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Paul Chizuze - Disappeared
Solidarity
Peace Trust
27 February 2012
A long established Zimbabwean human rights activist has been missing since 8
pm on Wednesday 8 February 2012.
Over the last three decades, Paul has been either employed by, or active
with, the Legal Resources Foundation, Amani Trust Matabeleland, The Catholic
Commission for Justice and Peace, ZimRights, Churches in Bulawayo, CivNet, and
Masakhaneni Trust.
WHERE IS PAUL?
He allegedly left his home around 8 pm on 8th February, and what
happened after this remains a mystery. He may have been murdered, hijacked or
abducted by parties unknown.
His car, a white twin cab Nissan Hardbody Reg Number ACJ 3446 is also
missing.
Paul has searched for other activists and never given up. We appeal to the
police to pursue all the possibilities, and we in civics vow to maintain a
campaign to find Paul wherever he may be.
CHURCHES IN BULAWAYO
GRACE TO HEAL
LEGAL RESOURCES FOUNDATION
MASAKHANENI TRUST
RADIO DIALOGUE
RESEARCH AND ADVOCACY UNIT
ZIMBABWE HUMAN RIGHTS NGO FORUM
ZIMBABWE CIVIC EDUCATION NETWORK TRUST
ZIMBABWE LAWYERS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
For further information, please contact Selvan Chetty - Deputy
Director, Solidarity Peace Trust
Email: selvan@solidaritypeacetrust.org
Tel: +27 (39) 682 5869 Fax: +27 (39) 682
5869
Address:
Suite 4 3rd Floor MB Centre 49 Aiken Street Port Shepstone
4240 Kwazulu-Natal South Coast
Concern is building in Zimbabwe over the fate of
a human rights activist who has been missing for 20 days. Paul Chizuze has
been missing since the 8th February and his friends and colleagues have
launched a campaign on social networking sites Facebook and Twitter, to try
and find out where he is.
Pressure group Sokwanele posted an alert on its
website saying Chizuze “Allegedly left his home around 8 pm on 8th February,
and what happened after this remains a mystery. He may have been murdered,
hijacked or abducted by parties unknown.” His car, a white twin cab Nissan
Hardbody (registration ACJ 3446) is also missing.
“Over the last
three decades, Paul has been either employed by, or active with, the Legal
Resources Foundation, Amani Trust Matabeleland, The Catholic Commission for
Justice and Peace, ZimRights, Churches in Bulawayo, CivNet, and Masakhaneni
Trust,” a statement from his friends said.
His friends say he has worked
tirelessly as a paralegal to track activists in jail and offer them support.
Chizuze was part of the campaign to uncover the truth of what happened to
Patrick Nabanyama, after his abduction and disappearance in 2000, and “has
selflessly worked to expose human rights abuses in the last
decade.”
Nabanyama, an election agent for MDC parliamentary candidate
David Coltart, was abducted by 10 armed state operatives and never seen
again. It was no surprise that Coltart, now Education Minister, used his
twitter page to say he was “distressed by disappearance of friend and human
rights activist Paul Chizuze”.
Coltart has known Chizuze for over 20
years and told SW Radio Africa that Chizuze “was one of the first paralegals
I employed as Director of the Bulawayo Legal Projects Centre in the late
1980’s.”
Coltart said Chizuze also worked with the Catholic Commission
for Justice and Peace and was one of the researchers into the ‘Breaking the
Silence’ report into the Gukurahundi Massacres.
The Bulawayo24
website quoted Chizuze’s sister, Maxim Phiri, saying he had been visiting a
brother and after he left in his car has not been seen since. “He was last
seen wearing a white T-shirt and khaki trousers. We are worried about his
whereabouts and we appeal to members of the public to assist us to search
for him.”
By Thelma Chikwanha, Community Affairs
Editor Monday, 27 February 2012 12:00
HARARE - President Robert
Mugabe has all but confirmed that he is increasingly getting isolated by
Africa’s new crop of leaders, whom he has described as “naive and
weak”.
Mugabe used his birthday celebrations, held at a packed
Sakubva Stadium at the weekend to attack the African Union, which forced him
into a coalition government with arch rival-Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai
after the disputed 2008 election.
Signalling how he intends to take
his fight with South African President Jacob Zuma to the very end, Mugabe
used the occasion to pack punches on South Africa for legalising gay
marriages and agreeing to a UN resolution that resulted in the bombing of
Libya by Western countries.
At 88, Mugabe retreated to dead friends such
as Tanzania’s Julius Mwalimu Nyerere and Ghana’s Kwameh Nkrumah, the
founding fathers of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU).
New
leaders who form the African Union (AU), the successor to the OAU, came in
for a lashing, described by Mugabe as a lily-livered crop that is being
easily manipulated by Western “imperialists”.
“The Africa of today is
full of cowards...The leaders are weak and naive,” said Mugabe in the local
Shona language.
“We are letting imperialists dictate terms to us. We are
letting down founding fathers such as Nyerere. Whites have infiltrated
Africa with impunity,” he said in a defiant speech that marked his intention
to remain on the political scene for longer in spite of old age and reports
of ill-health.
“Kududza hatikuzive. Kana une chinangwa haudududze.
Africa yatanga kududza (Retreating is not in our vocabulary. You don’t
retreat when you have set your mission. But Africa has started retreating.
Africa is retreating). It has bowed down to imperialism,” Mugabe
said.
In power since independence from Britain in 1980, Mugabe is the
oldest African president and has seen most of his peers retire or
die.
This has left him in an awkward position of having to deal with an
emerging group of young leaders who are increasingly democratising their
countries and opening their economies to the broader world.
The
attack on current African leaders is significant because the continent has
remained Mugabe’s last bastion of back up after being ditched by former
friends in the West.
These are the same African leaders that in 2008
mandated regional organisation Sadc to ensure a negotiated coalition
government in Zimbabwe after rejecting results of a presidential election
runoff in which Mugabe ran as a solo candidate.
Winner of first round
voting, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, had boycotted the runoff citing
violence that he says left more than 200 of his supporters dead.
In
Mutare, Mugabe took his war with Zuma, who voted for the UN resolution used
to oust his old friend Muammar Gaddafi to new levels.
Describing
homosexuality as unAfrican Mugabe said: “We won’t accept it in Africa. But
other African countries have put it in their constitutions.” South Africa
legalised gay marriages in 2009.
Relations between Mugabe and Zuma have
been deteriorating since the South African President took over as mediator
to Zimbabwe’s political crisis.
Zuma took over from his predecessor Thabo
Mbeki who helped broker the power sharing agreement that led to the
formation of Zimbabwe’s unity government in 2009.
He has used the
position to push for credible reforms to ensure a free vote, a stance
resented by Mugabe. Mugabe last week said he would not hesitate to ask for
the removal of Zuma as mediator.
JOHANNESBURG - South African President Jacob Zuma
will this week undertake a two-legged state visit to Botswana and Namibia,
the government announced Monday.
According to a statement released by
the Office of the Presidency, Mr Zuma will visit Botswana on Wednesday and
Namibia on Thursday.
“The working visit takes place within the context of
promoting the African Agenda and is aimed at strengthening relations between
the Republic of South Africa and the two countries,” said the
statement.
Emphasising that South Africa maintains strong relations with
the two countries, the statement added that President Zuma will also take
advantage of the visit to hold bilateral consultations with the presidents
of Botswana and Namibia “on a variety of multilateral
issues”.
Although the agenda of the meetings has not yet been officially
declared, media reports in South Africa said part of the reason for the
visit was to seek support against Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe, who
recently threatened to expel Mr Zuma from his role as facilitator of the
country’s crisis talks.
In the run-up to President Mugabe’s 88th
birthday celebrations, which took place over the weekend, the Zimbabwean
leader reportedly threatened that his country would soon be forced to reject
Mr Zuma as mediator if he continued to oppose the octogenarian
leader.
Mugabe had previously expressed anger with Mr Zuma’s efforts to
broker a deal leading to reforms before elections in Zimbabwe.
The
three countries are all members of the Southern African Development
Community (SADC), which last week gave its backing to President Zuma’s
continued mediation of Zimbabwe’s crisis.
The Spokesperson for the
Department of International Relations and Cooperation in South Africa, Mr
Clayson Monyela, however told the Africa Review in a telephone interview
that the meetings between President Zuma and his two counterparts would not
dwell on the developments in Zimbabwe because the SADC position on this
issue is clear.
He said: “President Zuma was appointed by SADC as a
facilitator. It is not a position he sought. He has got the support of the
SADC leadership so he does not have to go back and seek for it.”
A panel of
MPs in charge of rewriting Zimbabwe's constitution says it it has not
reached any conclusions about imposing an age limit for the
presidency.
State media reports have said there are moves by opponents of
President Robert Mugabe, 88, to disqualify him from contesting new
polls.
The all-party Parliamentary Constitution Select Committee said
yesterday that it has "not yet deliberated" on a reported age limit of
70.
Harare, February 27, 2012 - Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe (RBZ) Governor Gideon Gono has accused his former lieutenant,
Munyaradzi Kereke, of betraying him calling him a “turncoat” seeking to
curry favour with unnamed national figures after he allegedly authored a
dossier specifying the central bank boss’ alleged financial
transgressions.
In a development which exposes the serious feud between
the former allies, Gono laid bare the details of his fallout with his
advisor and blew the whistle on the reasons for Kereke’s departure from the
central bank. Kereke left the employ of the RBZ late last month after
spending eight years as Gono’s advisor.
Kereke is said to have
authored a 20-page dossier entitled “Summary of financial and economic
threats to the survival of Zanu (PF) and maintenance of state security in
Zimbabwe,” detailing his ex-boss's financial misdemeanours. Kereke has
however denied authoring the dossier.
In the dossier, Gono was reported
to have weakened and sabotaged President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu (PF) party
through supporting pro-Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) policies. The
dossier claims Gono gave the go ahead for Zimbabwe’s leading mobile telecoms
provider, Econet, to create a parallel central bank by allowing it to launch
its mobile money platform, Eco-Cash, which allows its subscribers to make
payments using cell phones.
The report alleges Econet has now established
a quasi bank web that is poised to become the largest handler of cash in the
country at a time when the country's financial system is very dry of
liquidity."
According to the dossier, Gono also allowed the expansion of
TN Financial Holdings under a plan to penetrate popular business lines that
could be used for political advantage.
But in response to the
allegations raised in the dossier which was submitted to some Zanu (PF)
officials, Gono denied committing the alleged transgressions and dismissed
the charges as malicious and unmitigated insanity.
In a 28-page
report entitled “Reserve bank responses to allegations of compromising
financial, economic and national security” authored by Gono, the central
bank boss gave an insight into the mysterious departure of Kereke from the
central bank, which had been kept under wraps and managed as a
“reassignment.”
When Kereke left the RBZ on 31 January, Gono claimed in a
press statement that he had left on re-assignment to take charge of “broader
responsibilities in the national sphere of national service.” In the
press statement, the departure of Kereke which came as a shock to the
financial markets was disguised so as not to tell that it had been prompted
by fallout between the two former allies.
Now details have emerged
that Gono was so incensed by the production of the dossier that he elbowed
Kereke out of the bank’s employ.
Gono did not mention Kereke by name but
referred to him as a “senior official” charged that Kereke as the author of
the dossier had overleapt his mandate and duties and would be disciplined
accordingly.
“it is apparent that the author’s Machiavellian charm
offensive to the security forces/agents and Zanu (PF) politburo is a
manifestation of his vaulting ambitions, which are overleaping his current
mandate and responsibilities, in the vain and self glorifying effort of
catapulting himself to the positions higher than he is currently, a case of
punching one’s weight so to speak.
The author’s desperate and
indefatigable efforts to sow seeds of discontent against the Governor of the
Reserve Bank with a cross section of influential circles across the nation
should be treated with the contempt they deserve, and will not be allowed to
distract me as the Governor and my committed team in our conscientious
execution of the Bank’s mandate.
The Holy Bible (ESV) in Hebrews 12 v 7-8
teaches that “…For what son is there whom his father does not discipline. If
you are left without discipline…then you are illegitimate children and not
sons.” In light of the foregoing, the author has crossed the line and has
conducted himself in a manner not befitting a senior official in a national
strategic institution and this calls for appropriate remedial action to
mitigate further damage, and this shall be done,” reads part of Gono’s
response.
Gono said accusing Econet of usurping the central bank’s duties
would be forgiven if such a charge came from novices in central bank matters
and bank supervision and surveillance. He said Eco-cash, Econet’s money
transfer service was subjected to a due diligence process and is not the
only mobile banking product on the Zimbabwean financial market.
The
central bank boss also insinuated that his former subordinate could have got
carried away in the process of mingling with powerful politicians and
securocrats.
“Threats to national security also emanate from the
ignorance of those that pretend that they know and have just tasted how
sweet it is to move in influential, especially political and security
circles, where they mistakenly think or assume that they are in the company
of “chickens” and not “eagles.” Well many people have underestimated the
reasoning and exploits of these offices to their own eventual detriment,”
said Gono.
Gono accused Kereke of disrespecting President Robert Mugabe
since he is the one who appointed him to the RBZ governorship.
“The
said Senior Official, for some reasons best known to him, has preposterously
questioned some decisions taken by the Reserve Bank. In doing so, he has not
only questioned the efficacy of the Reserve Bank Governors and the Board,
but is also openly challenging the competency of the appointing authorities.
This is tantamount to questioning the authority and wisdom of the President
in making certain key appointments, obviously after taking advice from
either line Ministries or Security vetting Agencies of the State. ………One
would be forgiven if the alleged shortcomings of the Governor and his team
were whole and factual. The author’s contentions are based on convoluted
deficiencies and bloated ego,” said Gono.
The central bank governor
accused Kereke of betraying him and peddling falsehoods designed to mislead
some Zanu (PF) officials.
“It defies logic that the author of the
document, a senior official of the Reserve Bank, who is expected to
demonstrate impeccable levels of integrity, professionalism, objectivity,
and accountability, has taken it upon himself to propagate falsehoods about
the bank on issues he is severally accountable for. In the corporate world,
good governance practices require that all senior officials are severally
accountable for well-meant decisions collectively taken by management. Thus,
any attempts to unjustifiably criticise or artificially apportion
accountability are at best hypocritical and at worst an institutional
treasonous betrayal. It is my considered view that the loyalty, sincerity
and patriotism of a corporate turncoat of this calibre and track record of
disingenuous manoeuvres aimed at currying favours with key national figures
and institutions can be, and is anyone’s guess.”
The MDC-T has blasted the police in
Gwanda for arresting its officials who were attending a party workshop over
the weekend.
The six officials who were arrested on Saturday in Gwanda,
Matebeleland South were released from custody on Monday. No charges were
laid against them.
On Saturday, police said the provincial and
district leaders were holding an ‘illegal’ training workshop. A further 14
members who were arrested in Beitbridge carrying out the same exercise,
appeared in court on Monday. The State opposed bail.
Nelson Chamisa,
MDC-T National Organising Secretary, said that the police were policing the
MDC.
‘They want to supervise us selling our party cards. They are now our
observers,’ Chamisa said. Our Bulawayo correspondent Lionel Saungweme said
it was clear the arrests were part of a scheme by the police to disturb MDC
programs.
‘The police are failing to interpret their own laws. The
MDC people were having private workshops and inside their party offices and
they didn’t need to notify the police.
‘You only need to notify the
authorities when you are going to have a public rally, so in this instance
it was a private workshop,’ Saungweme said. The MDC has accused ZANU PF of
waging war against its members.
Last month the party said it will take up
the matter with the party principals, the Southern African Development
Community mediator Jacob Zuma, as well as the African Union. Party spokesman
Douglas Mwonzora said ZANU PF wanted to cow them, but that they will not
relent until free and fair elections are held.
’We will take the
matter to the political party principals and SADC. We hold ZANU PF
accountable for anything that happens to our people because one of its hard
core factions is working to destabilise the coalition government,’ Mwonzora.
The violent and untouchable Chipangano group has banned all
delivery of fresh produce from areas known to be supportive of the MDC led
by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.
The MDC-T MP for Mbare Piniel
Denga told SW Radio Africa that the group nearly set alight a truck that was
carrying tomatoes to the farmers’ market on Monday.
‘The truck was
from an area in Mashonaland East that is perceived to support the MDC. The
driver, including a farmer who has a stall at the market, had to make a
hasty retreat as they threatened to set the truck on fire,’ Denga
said.
The MP told us reports reaching him suggest that most farmers
were no longer delivering their produce to Mbare but have instead looked for
alternative markets elsewhere.
The legislator, who has also faced the
wrath of the group, said even the police were too scared to arrest members
of Chipangano. He said the group was operating with impunity and had become
a law unto themselves.
‘For months now the group has terrorized people
perceived to not support ZANU PF. The group has almost taken over the suburb
making it a no-go zone for those thought to be anti-ZANU PF. I’ve personally
been assaulted by some of the members but the police ended up arresting me
and not the perpetrators,’ Denga added.
There are also reports that
four men suspected to be members of Chipangano, who allegedly murdered MDC
activist Shepherd Chimusoro two weeks ago, were released from custody over
the weekend.
‘I wouldn’t be surprised by such reports. The police are
terrified of the group such that most of the time officers can be bystanders
when they beat up and intimidate people of Mbare. One thing is clear though,
ZANU PF will never win in election in Mbare or anywhere in Harare,’ the MP
said.
BULAWAYO - Douglas Mwonzora the Constitutional Parliamentary
Committee (Copac) MDC co-chairperson has revealed that Attorney General’s
(AG), wings will be clipped by the new constitution saying he will not have
powers to prosecute.
Speaking at the memorial service of the late MDC
senator for Mabutweni constituency Gladys Gombami held at the Large City
Hall in Bulawayo on Saturday, Mwonzora said under the new constitution the
AG will only remain a government legal advisor and won’t have any powers to
prosecute.
He said an independent body responsible for persecution will
be set.
“We have agreed in Copac that, the AG should remain as a
government legal advisor because the office has been used mostly to
prosecute those people opposed to the President and government of the
time.
“We had some people prosecuted while some don’t get prosecuted
after committing the same crime.
“So this is going to stop under a
new constitution; we are going to have an independent body led by a
prosecutor-general, who will be appointed by Parliament,” said
Mwonzora.
Current Attorney General Johannes Tomana, a self-confessed Zanu
PF supporter, is one of the outstanding issues of the Global Political
Agreement (GPA) that led to the formation of the Zimbabwe unity
government.
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and the MDC have been
demanding Tomana’s removal as one of the many pre-conditions for the holding
of free and fair elections, accusing the AG of prosecuting people in a
partisan manner.
The MDC argues that Tomana’s unilateral appointment in
December 2008 was irregular because the GPA signed in September of that year
stipulated that President Robert Mugabe needed to consult Tsvangirai on such
appointments.
Mugabe has vigorously resisted this demand.
Last
year Tomana told the Daily News that Tsvangirai and the MDC should instead
learn to respect him.
Local Government Minister Ignatius Chombo owes the national power
utility ZESA almost $130,000, for power supplied to his Allan Grange farm in
Mashonaland West province.
The farm, according to NewsDay, is at the
centre of an ownership wrangle between Chombo and his estranged wife Marian.
The duo is among several senior government officials and politicians who owe
ZESA millions of dollars in unpaid bills.
The paper revealed that the
couple has a bill of $129,656.44 still to be paid, for power supplied to
their farm. A number of cabinet ministers from ZANU PF are beneficiaries of
the controversial land redistribution exercise that saw thousands of white
farmers being evicted from their properties.
Last week Energy minister
Elton Mangoma ordered the disconnection of all delinquent customers. The
minister’s directive followed complaints by the Parliamentary Committee on
Mines and Energy that top government officials owed millions in unpaid
electricity bills but were getting away unscathed, while ordinary people had
their supplies cut off for non-payment
The utility company has been
forced to take this drastic action as it tries to find money to pay main
suppliers, like Cahora Bassa in Mozambique.
Development minister recently hosted Zimbabwe's finance
minister and sent him home with another 40 million kroner
After
giving 200 million kroner to aid the democratic process and long term
development in Zimbabwe, the development minister, Christian Friis Bach
(Radikale), has now given an additional 40 million kroner to Zimbabwe’s
finance minister, Tendai Biti, after Biti’s visit to Denmark, according to
Politiken newspaper.
Since 2009 the country has had a split
government, in which Biti is part of the reform-friendly wing, and the
financial aid is intended to help Zimbabwe complete its new constitution and
to assist democratic procedures for an election slated for later this
year.
The way to democracy in Zimbabwe seems long, especially as the 88
year-old Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe refuses to give up his
presidential post. In 2008 he was defeated by Morgan Tsvangirai, but refused
to leave. In spite of this fact, Zimbabwe’s finance minister remained
positive.
“You can fight against a dictator. The Egyptians didn’t say:
‘Oh, Mubarak is a great dictator, we can’t do anything’; the Libyans didn’t
say: ‘Oh, Gaddafi is a great dictator, we can’t do anything’; the Syrians
didn’t say: ‘Assad is a great dictator, we can’t do anything’. They looked
the dictator directly into the eyes without blinking,” Biti told
Politiken.
But to do confront Mugabe, Biti said, the Zimbabweans need
financial support, an assertion that Bach agreed with.
”We should
support the democratic powers when they take a step in the right direction,
like what we see in Zimbabwe,” Bach said.
The Danish government already
granted Zimbabwe 200 millions in 2011-2012, but have now donated the
additional 40 million to maintain progress in the country and to assure the
completion of free and fair elections.
Biti told Politiken that at the
last elections millions of non-existent voters cast a ballot for Mugabe, and
vowed to fight corruption in the future. The country is also in the process
of establishing election districts, and Bach told Politiken that an election
shouldn’t take place before the necessary reforms have been
made.
“People like Mugabe give Africa a bad image,” Biti said. “It
reinforces the stereotype of Africa as being a hopeless
continent.”
The next election in Zimbabwe is scheduled to take place no
later than June 2013.
THE government will soon move to audit the Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe’s (RBZ) US$1.5 billion debt, Finance Minister Tendai Biti has said
insisting the exercise was not a “witch hunt”.
Biti last week told
the Parliamentary committee that the government would set up a special
purpose vehicle (SPV) to establish how the RBZ – which is now technically
insolvent – ended up with the huge black-hole.
“We create an SPV, we
appoint an administrator at law and that administrator then receives claims
by creditors but in receiving those claims, he should satisfy two things
that are the legality of that transaction in terms of the Zimbabwean law,”
Biti said.
“There is also the accounting issue — was debt actually
incurred, where 40 bags of maize actually delivered? He is almost a
liquidator in a liquidation or insolvency issue.
“What then happens
is that the administrator will also receive assets from the RBZ including
those who owe the bank; that is if they say we are owed by farmers for
equipment.”
The huge RBZ debt has been a source of friction between
treasury and the central bank with critics blaming governor Gideon Gono for
the bank’s troubles.
They accuse the RBZ chief of presiding over a
spending spree after assuming office in 2003 which saw the bank freely
printing money and engaging in so-called quasi-fiscal operations that
included funding elections, acquisition of farm implements and luxury
vehicles for government officials.
Gono’s policies are also blamed for
stoking inflation which reached record levels of 11.2 million percent in
2008, forcing the country to ditch a virtually worthless Zimbabwe
dollar. But Biti insisted that the move to audit the debt was not witch hunt
adding it was necessary to help recapitalize the bank.
“It will also
allow for the recapitalisation of the bank and it will also even give an
opportunity of a debate that so far has been taboo in Zimbabwe — the partial
privatisation of the bank,” he said.
“The State doesn’t have to own the
central bank, the central bank is just a conduit. The South African central
bank is not owned wholly by the State but people in Zimbabwe think that
there is magic that comes with owning even if you are owning a rat that has
kwashiorkor.”
Gono however, denies any wrong-doing arguing that all the
expenditure was requested and authorised by successive Finance
Ministers.
He claims the RBZ could easily liquidate its $$1.1 billion
obligations if the government paid up its own debt of US$1.4 million to the
institution.
In a robust defence of his policies the RBZ chief said last
November: “There is belief that RBZ and my management team spent US$1,1
billion either buying tractors and scotch-carts or simply went on a debt
contracting spree and blew away the money in support of non-existent
programmes or at the worst, the whole amount is a Gono debt which he must
find a way to repay.”
“(But the fact is) we at RBZ asked for specific
letters authorising us to mobilise forex resources for government, with
limits being placed by government in relation to how far and how much the
Ministry of Finance wanted RBZ to mobilise on its behalf. "This we
insisted upon in order to avoid the kind of irrational debate we are
currently having as a nation.”
“If government was to repay RBZ US$1,4
billion that it owes the apex bank tomorrow, the bank would in turn be able
to pay its US$1,1 billion debt to creditors and still remain with US$300
million for its capitalisation, lender of last resort operations, day-to-day
needs and then focus on its core mandate!”
Scepticism has greeted news that Vice President Joice
Mujuru has been awarded a prestigious African prize, in recognition of
‘continental leadership’ and ‘protecting vulnerable women and
children’.
In a letter to the Vice-President, the Centre for Economic and
Leadership Development (CELD), said Mujuru’s leadership inspired many girls
and women worldwide.
“The organisers considered your dynamic role in
the leadership of Zimbabwe and the African region as a whole which has
served as an inspiration to girls and women all over Africa and the rest of
the world, as well as your contribution in protecting vulnerable women, and
have selected you as the recipient of the prestigious Distinguished African
Amazon Award 2012,” reads part of the letter.
Liberian President
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Gambian Vice-President Dr Isatou Njie-Saidy have
previously been honoured with the same award in 2010 and 2011 respectively.
Mujuru will receive the honour at an International Conference on African
Women Development in the United Arab Emirates next month.
Critics and
observers on Monday questioned exactly what Mujuru has done to deserve the
honour, with some observers stating that “she has done nothing but
disempower people in Zimbabwe for years.”
In her early years as a member
of Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle, Mujuru gave herself the name, Teurai
Ropa, which means “spill blood”. She has also boasted how as a young woman
during the war she grabbed an AK47 rifle from a dying guerrilla fighter and
single-handedly shot down and destroyed a Rhodesian Air Force helicopter,
killing all aboard. Her claim has never been independently verified by
anyone who fought alongside her in the liberation war.
This violent
streak did not diminish with time and when land seizures began in 2000,
Mujuru urged Zimbabweans not to hesitate to “spill the blood of white
farmers” to recapture their land heritage. She is also said to have
personally led several land invasions and threatened families with death
unless they vacated their properties. This cut throat attitude paid off, and
the Mujuru’s are said to be one of the biggest winners of the land grab,
amassing multiple properties.
As far as empowerment goes, Mujuru was
also one of the biggest beneficiaries of a controversial scheme set up to
pay compensation to those injured during the war of independence. The scheme
paid out huge amounts of public money, which assisted Zimbabwe’s subsequent,
spectacular economic collapse.
As a role model for children, it is also
clear that the only children she has empowered are her own, while
maintaining her share in numerous lucrative, shady deals.
In recent
years Mujuru was accused of trying to evade international sanctions by using
her daughter Nyasha del Campo to sell Congolese gold on her behalf. The deal
involved shipping about US$35 million worth of gold nuggets per month to
Switzerland, and Mujuru herself is said to have threatened the company that
refused to ship the gold fearing ‘criminal’ elements.
Journalist
Basildon Peta questioned “what women and children exactly has Mujuru
empowered?” when asked for his reaction to news of the Vice President’s
award. He told SW Radio Africa that she is better known for her
“disempowerment” of Zimbabweans in general than anything else.
“We
all know that has happened in Zimbabwe because of ZANU PF. Families have
been separated, millions have fled, there is no education or anything,” Peta
said.
He added: “The fact is that Mujuru is completely part of a
rotten regime that has destroyed a prosperous country. And if she is
eligible for such an award, then clearly Robert Mugabe is eligible for the
Nobel Peace Prize.”
It’s been one week since an ultimatum was set by the leaders in the
coalition government for Media and Information Minister Webster Shamu to
implement key reforms, but there is no sign yet that this deadline will be
met.
Shamu was last week given a three-week ultimatum to reconstitute
the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ), the Zimbabwe Broadcasting
Corporation (ZBC) and the Mass Media Trust boards. These boards have been an
ongoing issue since the Global Political Agreement (GPA) was signed in late
2008, with ZANU PF refusing to allow real media reforms.
Speaking at
a press conference at his Munhumutapa offices in Harare last Friday, Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai reiterated this, by stating that it was Shamu’s
ZANU PF led ministry that was refusing to implement reforms which would help
to open up Zimbabwe’s airwaves.
“At our Principals’ meeting on Monday, we
restated our position and gave the minister three weeks to comply with our
directive to reconstitute the BAZ board, the ZBC board and the Mass Media
Trust. We expect that to happen. Cabinet agreed to it, the principals agreed
and we expect the minister to implement this position,” Tsvangirai
said.
This is not the first time that Shamu has been ordered to
reconstitute these boards, and still nothing has been done. But according to
Tsvangirai the Minister now has another 14 days to complete this task.
By Ngonidzashe Mushimbo, Staff
Writer Monday, 27 February 2012 14:06
HARARE - HIV/Aids prevalence
is very high in Zimbabwe’s tertiary institutions due to the failure by the
students to develop into responsible citizens.
President Robert
Mugabe said this castigating the behaviour of tertiary students and bemoaned
the HIV/Aids prevalence at the country’s tertiary institutions during his
speech to celebrate his 88th birthday in Mutare over the weekend.
“It
is worrying that prevalence of HIV/Aids at tertiary institutions is very
high. Zimbabwe strives for an Aids-free generation and disciplined youth
should definitely portray high levels of sexual discipline,” said President
Mugabe.
Last week Mugabe said it was up to the young to “carry the
torch in the future” and maintain a high standard of moral and sexual
behaviour and also be responsible in order to live an HIV/Aids-free
life.
“Look after yourself...girlfriends...when you are young you want
two or three girlfriends, but you finally make a choice...little houses,
some little houses are dangerous these days. And then nechirwere chedu ichi
(this disease). I have seen youngsters in the extended families just going
one after another,” said Mugabe.
In October 2009, a sizeable number
of students at Chinhoyi University were diagnosed with sexually-transmitted
infections.
Recently some non-governmental organisations (NGOs) blasted
the Midlands State University (MSU) students for being the chief culprits in
spreading HIV/Aids in Gweru.
The revelation was made recently at a
Midlands provincial HIV/Aids general stakeholder’s meeting, where the
institution of higher learning, formerly Gweru Teachers College, was accused
of enrolling more 12 000 students which it could not accommodate, with the
spiralling rentals in Senga forcing some female students into the age-old
prostitution industry.
Midlands Aids Service Organisation behavioural
change co-ordinator Jabulani Mapingire said the students are
vulnerable.
“It is something which is likely to happen because of the
behaviour of some students due to their lifestyle and the environment they
are living in. What is needed therefore is for us to intervene and help the
students to realise that they are vulnerable to the deadly disease and at
risk to contract HIV/Aids,” said Mapingire.
Mapingire castigated the
behaviour of some students who have a tendency of living a loose and wayward
life.
“The behaviour of some students leaves a lot to be desired. The
behaviour of a certain student can influence a lot to engage in awful
antisocial acts in order to earn a living,” Mapingire said.
At times
students run out of food and as a result, some of them get involved in
deviant activities in order to earn a living, especially under the current
economic hardships.
By Bulawayo Correspondent Monday, 27 February
2012 14:47
BULAWAYO - Economist Eddie Cross says implementing the
indigenisation programme in Zimbabwe will be impossible as most people do
not have resources to acquire the reserved 51 percent
stakes.
“Everyone supports the indigenisation law but it is not possible
to implement it because the truth is most people in the country cannot
afford to buy the 51 percent shares of any company,” Cross said in Bulawayo
during a business round table.
“Most people do not have funds to buy
the reserved shares as they were languishing in abject poverty,” he
said.
The government enacted the controversial indigenisation law that
compels foreign owned firms to transfer a controlling shareholding to
locals, but did not set a ceiling on the maximum shares which should be
ceded to Zimbabweans under various schemes including employment share
scheme, community shares trusts and public share offerings.
The law
has however been criticised as an impediment in attracting much needed
foreign direct investment.
The African Development Bank recently warned
that the indigenisation law would put a further damper on investment in the
country particularly in the mining sector.
European Union (Eu)
ambassador to Zimbabwe Aldo Dell’ Ariccia echoed the same sentiments
recently and added that the indeginisation process in Zimbabwe should not be
tantamount to theft where prospective partners just grab the shares without
contributing anything.
Ariccia said the indigenisation process was an
emerging trend in some countries but highlighted people who wish to be
shareholders of any company should genuinely buy the shares. “The
indenisation should not about takeover of companies.
It’s not about
taking the 51 percent shares and say they are mine. Proper empowerment
process should be a combined a participation in the function of the company
which you want to indigenise,” he said.
Economist Eric Bloch has also
criticised the law saying it will result in foreign investors becoming
minority shareholders in their local investments.
However the
Indigenisation Minister Saviour Kasukuwere is on record saying the
indenisation policy was irreversible and there to stay.,
Kasukuwere says
the law seeks to economically empower the previously disadvantaged people in
the country.
The minister argues that many people in the country were
embracing the law which he says can be a panacea to reducing poverty in the
country.
The Centre for Community Development in Zimbabwe
(CCDZ) expresses its disappointment and concern over recent developments by
the Minister of Local Government which serve to militate against positive
service delivery in urban and rural councils.
It is clear that
Minister Chombo is targeting MDC councils that he wants to neutralize ahead
of the planned elections in 2012/2013. Although there might be genuine cases
of corruption involving these officials, it is baffling why it is only
officials from one political party in the inclusive government that are
targeted. There is urgent need for reforms in local government to rid it of
partisan interference. The imperial powers vested in the Minister must be
curtailed. There are plenty of suspected/reported cases of corruption in
ZANU PF-run councils which are never investigated.
In almost all rural
communities where CCDZ is working there are reports of ZANU PF councilors
diverting agricultural inputs for their own benefit at the expense of the
intended beneficiaries; the communities Minister Chombo is also deliberately
disregarding the people’s will by using imposing the so-called ‘Special
Interest’ councilors in wards where MDC-T won.
Equally worrying is the
Ministers interference with traditional leaders. CCDZ notes with great alarm
the unilateral the installations and removal of chiefs and the creation of
new Headmen and Village Heads in former commercial farming areas.
The
Minister has also announced that the Ministry of Local Government will in
the next eight months create new boundaries for chiefdoms. Given the already
partisan approach to local government issues, there is a possibility that
this is a deliberate political move to give chiefs who support ZANU PF an
advantage over those perceived to be MDC. In light of this, CCDZ takes this
as defacto delimitation ahead of the impending election. Delimitation of
constituencies is the purview of the Delimitation Commission as per the
Electoral Act. The Minister of Local Government is acting ultra vires powers
by tampering with traditional chiefdom boundaries to give ZANU PF an
electoral edge over other parties.
We suspect that the distribution
of blankets, food, agricultural inputs and the electrification of chiefs’
rural homesteads could be a ploy to ‘buy’ the loyalty of chiefs ahead of the
next elections. This would be in violation of the Traditional Leaders Act
which stipulates that chiefs should not be involved in political
matters.
During CCDZ activities, community members have reported that the
so-called ‘Special Interest Councilors’ are being used for partisan purposes
by Minister Ignatius Chombo. Others have gone as far as alleging that the
Special Interest Councilors have become more powerful than the elected
councilors. CCDZ urges these Councilors to invest their energy into solving
the day to day problems which affect ordinary Zimbabweans such as the recent
typhoid outbreak and other critical service delivery issues; rather than to
meddle in petty political ploy.
CCDZ would also like to express its
concern over the increased harassment of vendors and small scale business
owners with links to political parties. Given the current estimated 80%
unemployment rate, such actions have the same effect as Operation
Murambatsvina in that they seek to destabilize the livelihoods of
Zimbabweans who are not in formal employment.
It is our hope that the
Second Draft Constitution of Zimbabwe will contain progressive provisions
which constitutionalise local government matters. and protect it from
partisan interference by the Minister.
Issued on 24.02.2012 by Centre for
Community Development In Zimbabwe. For more information
contact:
George Makoni Information Officer Centre for Community
Development in Zimbabwe
Feb 26 (Reuters) - Impala Platinum's Zimbabwe unit, Zimplats,
has been ordered to transfer 29.5 percent of its shares to a state-run fund
in order to comply with local empowerment laws, according to a letter
written by a government minister.
Zimplats, 87 percent owned by
Implats, had failed to comply fully with the law, which seeks to localize at
least 51 percent of shares in all foreign-owned firms, empowerment minister
Saviour Kasukuwere wrote in a letter seen by Reuters on
Sunday.
Failure to present the government with a plan to transfer the
holding within two weeks would result in unspecified "enforcement
mechanisms", the letter added.
Kasukuwere has in the past threatened
to cancel the mining licences of firms that do not comply.
On Friday,
Implats said Zimbabwe had rejected part of its empowerment plan, along with
that of Mimosa, its 50-50 joint venture platinum mine with Aquarius
Platinum.
Both mines have recently launched community share ownership
trusts, to which they each gave 10 percent shareholdings
each.
Zimbabwe's empowerment laws, being championed by President Robert
Mugabe, have been criticized by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, his
partner in a shaky coalition government formed three years ago after violent
and disputed elections in 2008.
Analysts say the law is holding back
the impoverished southern African country's economic recovery from a decade
of turbulence and contraction.
Critics link the empowerment push to
Mugabe's plans to hold elections this year.
HARARE Mining firm RioZim Limited (RioZim) has secured an
unnamed investor, whom it claims will help “restore efficiency and improve
productivity”.
The development comes as the miner has been linked with a
deal to a consortium including Old Mutual, some local and European investors
aiming to inject up to $35 million into the ailing base metals company —
reportedly owing $59 million to various financial institutions and which
have lodged an application to put the company under judicial
management.
The Zimbabwe Stock Exchange-listed company said in a
cautionary statement yesterday that it was engaging key stakeholders, mainly
banks, to secure approval of the deal.
“An agreement has been
concluded with the investor to recapitalise the company and significant
progress has been made on ensuring acceptance of the proposal by key
stakeholders,” the statement read.
RioZim chief executive Josh Sachikonye
has been quoted saying the company intends to raise $47 million through a
combination of a rights offer and private placement.
However a local
company teaming up with an international private equity group have also been
roped in the running for a planned capital injection into
RioZim.
Last month, the company announced it will oppose any plans to
place it under provisional judicial management as it had secured funds to
restructure its debt.
An initial plan by the miner to convert the
debt into equity failed due to disagreements with creditors over its
evaluations and the conversion rate.
The miner also had a setback when
its $40 million rights issue fell through after its intended under writer
pull out due its debt position.
RioZim owes banks such as BancABC,
Kingdom Bank, Trust Bank, Imara Corporate Finance, Infrastructure
Development Bank of Zimbabwe, Metropolitan, Premier Banking Corporation now
EcoBank ZB Bank.
The company operates Empress Nickel Refinery, Renco Gold
Mine and has a 22 percent shareholding in Murowa Diamond.
By Own Correspondent Monday,
27 February 2012 15:09
HARARE - Once one of the biggest economies in
southern Africa, Zimbabwe has shrunk to less than half of Zambia, Malawi and
Namibia’s economies, the National Economic Consultative Forum Executive
Secretary, Amos Mushaninga has said.
He said this while addressing a
stakeholders workshop on health equity in Harare last week.
“At one
time the country’s sole manufacturer of Aids drugs almost closed shop and
relocated to South Africa until we intervened and asked government to amend
policy.
“Did you know that at the height of the country’s crisis our
economy shrunk to less than that of little Swaziland and it’s still a dire
situation and this translates to very little investment in health care let
alone equity in the sector,” Mushaninga said.
He said there was need
to create an enabling environment that will attract investors in not only
the health sector but tourism and other sectors and if these pick up, the
effects will be felt across the board.
“We cannot have a situation where
people who are visitors in Zimbabwe if they want to travel to the Victoria
Falls have to go to South Africa first before connecting to the Victoria
Falls. It’s a shameful situation."
“There is need for good intra-country
connectivity so that we can import health in terms of patients. It’s a
business and if our infrastructure is resuscitated Zimbabwe could produce
like we used to do about 80 percent of our pharmaceuticals,” said
Mushaninga.
He said in 2010 according to GDP figures, Zimbabwe was at
most 2,5 percent of South Africa’s $329 billion economy and much lower than
Brazil with over a trillion dollar economy now though at some point the
country competed favourably with those countries.
The disclosure
displeased former Health minister David Parirenyatwa who said he had been
saddened by the figures.
“I am shocked to hear we have at one time been
smaller than Swaziland. My heart moved and something has to be done for the
sake of our national pride,” Parirenyatwa said.
Zimbabwe’s economy
only began to pick up after the consummation of the Government of National
Unity (GNU) but the health sector has continued to struggle alongside much
of the country’s economy because of skewed economic policies that include
the much vilified indigenisation law.
After a decade of economic collapse blamed on long
serving President Robert Mugabe's opaque economic policies, Zimbabwe is
daring to dream again.
Three years ago, Mugabe was forced into a
coalition government with his former foes after a disputed election, and the
coalition has brought about relative stability.
Now the once
prosperous southern African country has embarked on an ambitious initiative
to create a $100 billion economy by 2040.
KM Finanicial Solutions, which
last week gathered the cream of the country's business and political leaders
in Victoria Falls to discuss the grand idea, believes Zimbabwe is ready for
a new beginning.
The ambitious idea envisages Zimbabwe reducing its
unemployment rate to 30 per cent from 80 per cent and keep economic growth
at 10 percent per year.
Kenias Mafukidze, the KM FM chief executive said
Zimbabwe's economic problems could be traced to political polarisation and
dialogue fostered by thawing relations between Mugabe and his foes had
brought hope.
"The moment we started talking to each other (2008), we
instantly started registering economic growth," he said after the Victoria
Falls conference.
The initiative has been given impetus by an economy on
rebound. Economic growth is this year expected to top 9.4
percent.′′
But politics could derail the dream as parties devote more
energy in preparing for pending elections than nurturing economic growth,
analysts say.
′′Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai told the Victoria
Falls meeting that Zimbabwe had seen the worst politically and there was
reason to be optimistic. "Wе have weathered thе wοrѕt раrt οf thе storm," he
said.
"There іѕ nο reason whу уου ѕhουƖԁ nοt believe thаt wе саn achieve
a $100 billion economy. But уou must bе principled tο achieve a $100 billion
economy. Lеt's mаkе sure wе achieve іt, come hell, come thunder."
Thе
Business Council οf Zimbabwe (BCZ) says there are several fundamentals that
the country has to adopt to reach the target.
′′"We need to manage the
country's risk, create a favourite investment climate and exploit the quick
wins in mining, agriculture and tourism"′ said David Govere, BCZ
president.′′
Figures from BCZ indicate that at 10 percent GDP growth, it
will take 25 years to reach the $108, 34 billion mark.
The council
said the country should come up with a national economic vision, ensure full
execution of economic plans and add value to local products if the ambitious
initiative is to take off.
The MDC
believes that the people of Zimbabwe retain the prerogative to decide what they
want to see in their Constitution, just as they were aware of what they wanted
when they turned out in their millions to contribute to the first draft of this
document.
It is thus, wrong for The Herald to assume the position of
convener of public debate on whether the issues captured in the so-called draft
are pro-Zanu PF or not relevant to the Zimbabwean population.
Zanu PF
has, through its mouthpiece, The Herald, been trying to derail the process.
Firstly they published a supposed national report in their discredited
publication under the letterhead of Copac, then its element in the process once
leaked the purported draft to The Herald, which once again published this and a
myriad of commentaries. The paper also published analyses just to confuse the
public and discredit the process. But alas, when the general public did not
raise an eyebrow, the Zanu PF publications went further to try and confuse the
people by lying that the document has 70 percent of its content
changed.
It must be noted that The Herald is not qualified or authorised,
neither is it mandated to publish any document purporting to be the draft. It is
merely campaigning for Zanu PF forgetting that the majority of Zimbabweans do
not subscribe to the dead political party’s ideologies.
The MDC is
concerned that Zanu PF wants to hijack the people’s constitution, which
addresses the people’s concerns over a few clauses they seem not to agree with.
This constitution is national and future-oriented in scope. It is not
personalised and myopic as Zanu PF would want it to be. Suppose every other
section and clause was to be released and commented on, then Herald would run
out of newsprint!
The People’s Party of Excellence refuses to allow the
dying Zanu PF party to influence and cause alarm and despondency to such a
sensible exercise that should give the people their voice back.
The
people want real change, they want transformation of the society. They want to
move into a new Zimbabwe where people are allowed to differ with their dignity
in place; where their security before, during and after expressing one’s views
is guaranteed; a new Zimbabwe where people embrace each other rather than fight;
a new beginning where the people’s welfare is a government’s top priority. What
the people want is renewed hope and confidence in the government of their
choice.
The People’s struggle for real change: Let’s finish
it!!
The chairman of the European Union Parliament Foreign
Affairs Committee, Geoffrey Van Orden, recently told Zimbabwean demonstrators in
London that the situation in Zimbabwe remained a cause for worry in the EU,
especially the resurgence of political violence against those that oppose Zanu
(PF).
by The
ZimbabweanHarare
Washington-based Zimbabweans showing their posters following the
demonstration at the South African Embassy.
He was referring
to murderers in Zaka and Mbare of MDC supporters by Zanu (PF) supporters, but
nobody in Zanu (PF) has come out in the Press denying that the murderers were
Zanu (PF) supporters, nor have they denounced the murders, nor apologized for
them.
Yet the European
Union in the same week announced the easing of sanctions on some 51 Zanu (PF)
characters, the implication being that the 51 had reduced responsibility for
Zanu (PF) violence; but a cursory glance at the list of the 51 individuals
reveals that they all have serious cases to answer. See Den Moyo article
here.
Van Orden said,
while SADC and South Africa had begun to demand concrete action from Mugabe,
they could still do more to support the transition towards democracy. That was
the understatement of the century and was the reason for Zimbabweans in the US,
Canada, Europe, Australia and South Africa demonstrating for more international
pressure on Mugabe since January this year.
Zimbabweans have
started demonstrating on the 21st of every month for the international
community, particularly President Jacob Zuma, to put more pressure on the Mugabe
regime to implement the roadmap to free and fair elections, including all the
reforms that have been agreed under the SADC Roadmap.
Zimbabweans had
expected that, following the failure and outright refusal by Mugabe’s Zanu (PF)
to implement the resolutions of three different SADC summits, the SADC-appointed
mediator, South Africa, would announce some measurers against Zanu (PF) and
President Mugabe to ensure that the next election in Zimbabwe would be free and
fair.
But this has not
happened, which has led to the formation of the 21st Moment Free Zimbabwe Global
Protest (FZGP), led by Den Moyo, the MDC chairman in the United States, with
representatives in other parts of the US, Canada, the UK, Mainland Europe,
Australia and South Africa so far.
Moyo and his
global co-ordination team want the movement to spread to every country where
South Africa has an embassy or a trade mission, including African countries, so
that it can be a truly global movement, putting pressure on South African
Ambassadors to take the message back to President Zuma.
The media has been
sympathetic and the protests have been carried in many Zimbabwean and
non-Zimbabwean media; but what the organizers now want is all Zimbabweans to
come out to show that they are really concerned about this and that they realize
that without such pressure Zimbabwe may be doomed to perpetual
strife.
The21st Movement
is not a purely MDC movement and all Zimbabweans are welcome to join initiatives
in their areas, or to start initiatives in the cities where they live, targeting
with a demonstrations South African Embassies, trade missions and consulates
once a month on the 21st.
The EU’s view as
expressed by Van Orden, that Europeans are encouraged that SADC has been
increasingly helpful in trying to come up a solution to the ongoing problems in
Zimbabwe, is at variance with the evidence.
While SADC heads
of states have met and made resolutions, firstly that the parties should enter
into the Global Political Agreement, which they did, then that Mugabe is not
living up to his end of the bargain, that there should be an end to political
violence and a roadmap to elections, and that there should be SADC monitors
assisting the Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee (JOMIC) to monitor
violations; as long as the resolutions are not being enforced, they may as well
not have been made.
(from left)
Interim Wolverhampton Branch youth chair Mashiri, and Organising secretary Simba
Manyonga, take time during the 21st demonstration in London to chat with MDC UK
chairman Tonderai Samanyanga, and South East District Chairman, Khama
Matambanadzo
Elections are not
a single event but a lengthy process, starting with creating an atmosphere
conducive for the election. It is obvious that if the election is to take place
before April 2013, when the term of the current GNU ends, then reforms set out
in the road map to elections need to be implemented NOW;
There are changes
to be made to the constitution, to be agreed and passed in Parliament, confirmed
in the Senate and signed into law by the President;
Then there are
changes to the institutions that would have been agreed in the constitution,
like the Electoral Commission and appointing and training of personnel, the
proper registration of voters according to the rules, delimitation of
constituencies; and inviting and accrediting, in good time, of local and
international monitors;
There has to be
implementation of the GNU agreement on the appointment of a police commissioner
general and other service chiefs, their retraining for operating in a democratic
environment, and enforcement, monitoring and confirming of an end to politically
motivated violence;
Changes to the
media to make it neutral, which will entail new boards for the Broadcasting
Authority of Zimbabwe and the Mass Media Trust, re-training and appointments of
personnel at Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings and Zimbabwe Newspapers,
registration and coming on stream of new and truly independent TV and Radio
stations and newspapers.
These are just but
some of the changes which should already have taken place over the last three
years, but there has not been a start on them because of Zanu (PF)’s
intransigence, according to an SADC resolution – clearly because Zanu (PF) fears
that a free and fair election will take it out of power.
But if Zanu (PF)
does not accept that getting in and out of power is the essence of democracy,
that it has to go to free and fair elections, it means they have not accepted
democracy and that all the last three years have been a waste of time where they
signed agreements which they had no intention to keep.
And if
Zimbabweans, both abroad and in Zimbabwe, do not force these changes to happen
now, there is a danger that the term of the current GNU will end in April 2013
while the country is not ready to hold a credible election, and we will be
forced into another Government of National Unity in which we do not know who is
responsible for what; we will have corruption and unaccountable leadership and
the same problems of lack of delivery of services that have resulted in hunger
and disease stalking Zimbabwe as if it is a failed state with no
resources.
By Makusha
Mugabe -Information and Publicity Coordinator, 21st Movement. He can be
contacted on czeditornew@googlemail.com, Mob +44750 332
2918
