http://www.zimonline.co.za/
by Sebastian Nyamhangambiri Tuesday 09 February
2010
HARARE - Zimbabwe's three ruling parties today resume
negotiations to end a
power-sharing dispute threatening their coalition
government after spending
Monday briefing South African facilitators on
ground covered and issues
still outstanding in the talks that have dragged
on for months.
The facilitators sent by South African President Jacob
Zuma -- the Southern
African Development Community (SADC)'s mediator in
Zimbabwe -- are expected
to take part in the talks between negotiators from
President Robert Mugabe's
ZANU PF party and the two former opposition MDC
formations of Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai and Deputy Premier Arthur
Mutambara.
"We've given the facilitating team our feedback. We hope will
resolve the
outstanding issues this time. Never mind the grand standing
parties do in
front of their supporters. Talks is about give and take," said
Welshman
Ncube, lead negotiator for Mutambara's MDC-M as left a Harare hotel
where
the Zimbabweans were meeting with the South African
mediators.
Tendai Biti secretary general of Tsvangirai's MDC-T formation
said the new
round of talks has to be the last one - hinting at growing
frustration
within the Prime Minister's party over the seemingly endless
negotiations.
Biti said, "negotiations have to come to an end we've been
negotiating since
2007 . this round of talks must rest this
matter."
ZANU PF's Nicholas Goche declined to comment when approached by
ZimOnline
reporters.
The talks to resolve outstanding issues between
ZANU PF and the MDC
formations have dragged on since the former foes agreed
to join hands last
February in a coalition government that has been credited
with stabilising
the country's economy to improve the lives of ordinary
Zimbabweans.
While analysts are confident the unity government will not
collapse, they
say unending bickering among coalition partners could cripple
the
administration and render it ineffective.
The MDC-T accuses
Mugabe of flouting the global political agreement that
gave birth to the
unity government after the veteran leader refused to
rescind his unilateral
appointment of two of his allies to the key posts of
central bank governor
and attorney general.
Mugabe has also refused to swear in MDC-T treasurer
Roy Bennett as deputy
agriculture minister and to appoint members of both
MDC formations as
provincial governors.
On its part ZANU PF insists
it has done the most to uphold the power-sharing
deal and instead accuses
the MDC of reneging on promises to campaign for
lifting of Western sanctions
on Mugabe and his top allies. - ZimOnline.
http://www1.voanews.com/
South African
facilitators hope to break a deadlock arising in large part
from ZANU-PF's
declaration that it will make no concessions until Western
sanctions on
President Mugabe and others are lifted
Ntungamili Nkomo | Washington 08
February 2010
Negotiations among Zimbabwe's three power sharing
parties resumed Monday
following a new round of consultations with
facilitators sent by South
African President Jacob Zuma, mediator in the
country's political crisis on
behalf of the Southern African Development
Community.
The South African facilitators hoped to break a deadlock in
the talks
arising in large part from ZANU-PF's declaration that it will make
no
concessions until Western sanctions on President Robert Mugabe and others
are lifted.
After meeting with the South African facilitators,
negotiators for ZANU-PF
and the two formations of the former opposition
Movement for Democratic
Change returned to the table for intra-governmental
talks late Monday. But
observers were skeptical as to the likelihood of
progress at this point.
Representatives of the parties in the talks were
not available for comment.
But sources close to the negotiations told VOA
that Mr. Zuma's facilitation
team told the negotiators that Pretoria was
becoming impatient with the
protracted talks, urging them to compromise and
resolve outstanding issues.
The governing partners are haggling over the
appointments of Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe Governor Gideon Gono and Attorney
General Johannes Tomana as well
as the swearing-in of MDC provincial
governors and MDC Treasurer Roy Bennett
as junior agricultural minister,
among many other issues.
The facilitation team of Zuma adviser Lindiwe
Zulu, Mac Maharaj and Charles
Ngqakula was to meet Tuesday with President
Robert Mugabe, Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister
Arthur Mutambara.
Political analyst John Makumbe of the University of
Zimbabwe told VOA Studio
7 reporter Ntungamili Nkomo he is hopeful Zuma's
team can break the deadlock
by pressuring ZANU-PF to move matters forward
regardless of the sanctions,
which he said are not within the control of the
MDC.
http://www.monstersandcritics.com
Feb 8, 2010, 20:16
GMT
Johannesburg - Zimbabwe's Public Service Minister Eliphas
Mukonoweshuro said
Monday that his government had no money to pay tens of
thousands of striking
civil servants the salary increases they were
demanding.
On Friday, the Zimbabwe Public Service Association (ZPSA),
which represents
about 200,000 civil servants, announced an indefinite
strike to press their
demands for a hike in pay.
'It is not
unwillingness on the part of the government. It is simply the
lack of fiscal
capacity on our part,' Mukonoweshuro said, expressing
sympathy with the
workers, most of whom are teachers.
'Everyone in government knows that
what our workers are getting does not
meet their daily basic expenses,' he
admitted.
The civil servants are demanding that the salary of the lowest-
paid workers
be increased from 120 dollars a month to 630 dollars a
month.
The power-sharing government of President Robert Mugabe and Prime
Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai has offered to increase their wages to 122
dollars in
February, rising to 134 dollars in April.
'Even if they
ask for 300 dollars for the least paid, that would bring the
salary bill to
1.3 billion dollars, which is more than the annual budget of
the
government,' Mukonoweshuro explained.
He appealed to the workers to
return to negotiations, saying their decision
to strike was
'premature.'
Raymond Majongwe, secretary-general of the Progressive
Teachers Union of
Zimbabwe, ruled out a return to work, saying: 'Let them
sell diamonds and we
share that wealth instead of it being enjoyed by few
individuals.'
Majongwe was referring to the Chiadzwa diamond field in
eastern Zimbabwe,
which the state seized from a British mining company in
2006. Geologists say
the alluvial diamond site is the largest find in a
century.
On Monday, most public schools were closed and the functioning
of the
country's courts was also affected.
A year ago, when
Tsvangirai took his then opposition party into government
with Mugabe's
Zanu-PF, striking doctors, nurses and teachers returned to
their posts to
help rebuild a wrecked economy.
Although the salaries paid by the new
government were low, the workers were
hopeful that they would improve
quickly with aid from donor governments.
But the billions of dollars in
aid sought by the government never
materialized. Western governments have
said they want to see deep reforms in
the area of human rights and
governance before committing long-term,
non-essential aid.
The MDC
blames Zanu-PF for blocking the implementation of agreed- upon
reforms,
while Zanu-PF blames the MDC for failing to secure the lifting of
targeted
sanctions aimed mainly at Mugabe and his clique.
http://www1.voanews.com
Committee Chairman Chindori Chininga told Zimbabwe Mining
Development
Corporation Chief Executive Dominic Mubaiwa that he would be
held
responsible for financial losses to the nation
Sandra Nyaira |
Washington 08 February 2010
Zimbabwe's House Committee on Mines
warned government officials that they
risk being charged with corruption and
sentenced to prison if they keep
mismanaging the controversial Marange
diamond field of Manicaland province
and embarking on deals prejudicial to
the national interest.
Committee Chairman Chindori Chininga told Zimbabwe
Mining Development
Corporation Chief Executive Dominic Mubaiwa in a hearing
that he would be
held responsible for corrupt deals and any financial losses
to the nation
even if he should plead ignorance of what has been
happening.
The committee blasted the parastatal agency for incompetence,
especially
when Mubaiwa insisted he knew nothing about a planned auction of
diamonds
which his institution's partner, Mbada Holdings, was forced to
cancel last
month under pressure from the Office of the Prime
Minister.
Committee members expressed irritation that Mubaiwa could not
name other
Mbada directors although the Zimbabwe Mining Development
Corporation holds a
controlling interest in the private company formed to
develop the alluvial
deposits in Marange, site of alleged human rights
abuses.
Studio Seven Harare correspondent Irwin Chifera reported on the
tough
questioning of Mubaiwa by parliamentarians.
Elsewhere, Mines
Minister Obert Mpofu has not disclosed the whereabouts of
diamonds he
removed last week from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe despite a
Supreme Court
ruling saying all gems from the field should be held in
custody at the
central bank until a mining claims case between African
Consolidated
Resources and the Zimbabwean government has been resolved.
Political
analyst Farai Maguwu of the Center for Research and Development in
Mutare,
Manicaland's capital, told VOA Studio 7 reporter Sandra Nyaira that
he
believes Mpofu's actions last week reflect a deepening struggle within
ZANU-PF over the diamonds coming out of the Marange field.
http://www.zimonline.co.za/
by Basildon Peta in Brussels Tuesday 09 February
2010
Divisions have rocked the European Union about whether to renew
targeted
measures against Robert Mugabe and his regime cronies or heed
Morgan
Tsvangirai's plea to end them to try and coax the geriatric
Zimbabwean
leader into fulfilling outstanding issues in the Global Political
Agreement
which ushered in Zimbabwe's unity government early last
year.
The EU's council of ministers meets on 16 February to decide on the
matter
and authoritative diplomatic sources say it is now most likely that
some
names would be struck off the sanctions list as a compromise among the
differing EU countries. But these would mainly be names of companies
sanctioned over their close links to regime cronies and not those of
targeted individuals.
The authoritative diplomatic sources said some
countries led by Germany and
Denmark favoured an easing of the measures to
try and prod Mugabe into
cooperating with Tsvangirai in addressing all
outstanding issues in the GPA.
Another group led by the Netherlands and
the United Kingdom was of the view
that the targeted measures should stay
because nothing much has changed in
terms of fostering the rule of law in
Zimbabwe.
In the end, the view of some softening of the measures,
accompanied by an
equal easing of language to "acknowledge the reality of
the GPA and
encourage its implementation" would prevail, the sources
said.
Mugabe has vowed he will not cede any further ground in
negotiations with
Tsvangirai's MDC until all sanctions against him and his
cronies are lifted.
Sources disclosed that Tsvangirai had written to the
EU recently urging the
powerful bloc to lift the targeted measures, arguing
that there would be no
movement in talks to resolve the outstanding issues
in the GPA unless the
sanctions were lifted.
Last week a meeting of
six "like minded countries" met in Denmark to review
the situation in
Zimbabwe and formulate a position ahead of the 16 February
council of
minister's meeting. The meeting was attended by Zimbabwean desk
officers in
the foreign ministries of Germany, Denmark, Netherlands,
Ireland, UK and
Sweden.
Sources said the meeting was told that Zimbabwean civic society
very much
wants the targeted sanctions to remain until there was real
progress in
implementing the GPA.
But it was also argued in that
meeting by the Europeans that "removing the
sanctions in an incremental
fashion could well be used in the bargaining
power with ZANU PF.." to move
the GPA forward.
It was also suggested that efforts be made to engage
directly with hardliner
elements in the defence forces and reformists in
ZANU PF to move the reform
process forward.
Countries like Denmark
and Germany supported softening the sanctions regime
to encourage reforms.
"Their view is that any softening of sanctions is not
rewarding ZANU PF but
the MDC after Tsvangirai asked for the removal of the
sanctions," said
another source.
Because the EU works by consensus, the view that would
finally emerge is on
lifting at least some of the restrictions but not the
entire package of
measures, said one diplomat.
"Although the final
decision will be on the 16th, you can expect the
knocking off some 10
percent of the measures. Ninety percent will then
remain pending
implementation of the GPA. This 10 percent would be
restricted to the
removal of names of companies on the sanctions before any
individuals are
considered." said a diplomat.
But senior Members of the EU Parliament
(MEPs), who spoke at a meeting
organised by the Zimbabwe Europe Network
(ZEN), this week made it
categorically clear that they want to see the
sanctions maintained.
MEP Anna Gomes from Portugal of the socialist
S&D party told the meeting
held in the EU Parliament premises that EU
MEPs had wanted to visit Zimbabwe
in December to get first hand feel of what
was happening on the ground and
had first been invited before being blocked
at the last minute by the
Zimbabwe government which said the time wasn't
right.
She said they were still anxiously waiting for a new date of a
visit to be
confirmed by the Zimbabwean embassy in Brussels. She emphasized
the need to
maintain the sanctions until serious progress was
recorded.
Her sentiments were shared by MEP Olle Schmidt from Sweden of
the liberal
ALDE party who described it as a "huge shame" that Mugabe was
still in power
as well as Geoffrey Van Orden from UK of the Conservative ECR
party, who
noted that while there have been progress a lot still needed to
be done.
"It seems for every two steps forward made in this process,
there is always
one huge step backwards.," said Van Orden, insisting that
sanctions should
stay.
Prominent Zimbabwean rights activists argued
for the sanctions to stay .
In fact, Gabriel Shumba, after chronicling a
list of violations of the GPA
by Mugabe, said he was puzzled by any
suggestions that the sanctions should
be lifted.
"The debate should
instead be on intensifying the restrictive measures
against people thwarting
the implementation of the GPA," he said.
Okay Machisa of the Zimbabwe
Human Rights Association (Zimrights) said the
restrictive measures must be
maintained until there was real democracy in
Zimbabwe.
The
implementation of the GPA has stalled over Mugabe's refusal to cede
further
ground on issues like appointment of MDC governors, reversal of his
unilateral appointments of Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono and Attorney
General Johannes Tomana, among others.
He argues that the MDC should
ensure the lifting of sanctions and put an end
to broadcasts by "pirate
radio stations" into Zimbabwe. Although it is
secretly lobbying for the
lifting of the sanctions, the MDC publicly argues
it has no liability over
the sanctions measures imposed in reaction to poor
governance in Zimbabwe. -
ZimOnline.
http://www.zimonline.co.za/
by Own Correspondents Tuesday
09 February 2010
HARARE - Parliament's mines and energy committee on
Monday raised concern
over the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation
(ZMDC)'s inept handling of
the controversial Chiadzwa diamond field, with
some committee members
suggesting that the government-owned firm be
disbanded.
This follows revelations by ZMDC chief operating officer
Dominic Mubaiwa
that some board members for Mbada Investments, a
joint-venture formed last
year by the ZMDC and Grandwell of South Africa to
mine diamonds at the
Chiadzwa field, also known as Marange, had been imposed
by Mines Minister
Obert Mpofu.
The ZMDC is also partnered by another
little known South African firm Core
Mining and Minerals in another
joint-venture operation trading as Canadile
Miners to exploit the Chiadzwa
deposits.
Although the parliamentary portfolio committee is yet to
prepare its final
report, three members of the committee openly voiced
concern on the
interventions by Mpofu in the appointment of the board
members.
"Yes we did receive that instruction (to appoint the board
members), yes we
did receive a letter from the minister," Mubaiwa
said.
The ZMDC chief also told the committee that Grandwell had no
experience in
diamond mining as they were involved in scrap metal dealing in
South Africa.
He however added that "they had financial muscle to bring in
expertise in
diamonds".
Of concern to the committee was the
imposition of four members - Robert
Mhlanga (chairman) Sthengisiwe Mpofu,
Dingiswayo Ndlovu (an employee of the
Ministry of Mines) and Ms Chrystosoma
Kanjoma - to the Mbada Investments
board by Mpofu.
Pearson Mungofa, a
Member of Parliament (MP) from Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai's MDC party
said both Mbada and Canadile had no capacity to
operate at
Chiadzwa.
"The companies in Chiadzwa have no capacity to reap benefits
from diamonds.
The whole thing has to be reviewed and have the Botswana and
Namibia
models," he said, adding: "We want to bring in people with
experience in
diamonds."
Simbaneuta Mudarikwa, an MP from President
Robert Mugabe's ZANU PF party
described the goings-on and management at
Chiadzwa as chaotic.
"There is bush, jungle management at Chiadzwa. We
are poor as a country
because we have ZMDC which has no capacity to control
its resources," said
Mudarikwa. "Are Chiadzwa diamonds meant to benefit a
few people or the
country?"
Mubaiwa who was visibly uncomfortable
revealing the irregularities in the
appointment of the Mbada board told the
committee: "Honourable members, I
try to run away from politics."
But
he received a caution from the committee chairman Edward Chindori
Chininga
that he was under oath and that he should tell the truth.
"The country is
starving, civil servants are on strike, we can't afford to
play around,"
Chininga said. "Botswana has diamonds, that have helped to run
its country,
South Africa has diamonds that have helped to run the country.
The unlocking
of value (of Chiadzwa diamonds) is it for Zimbabwe or it's for
personal
benefit? You will be jailed, sometimes you have to be real to a
point to say
you have control of what is going on."
The ZMDC boss said between April
2007 and October 2008 when the ZMDC
operated alone at the diamond field
where it controls some 69 000 hectares
of exploration rights, it extracted
1,366 million carats of diamonds and
"sales that have been made amount to
876 000 carats, leaving a balance of
490 000 carats which are still in
stock".
"The value of the sales made is US$8.3 million and royalty paid
to
government is US$827 000. ZMDC stopped operating in Oct 2008," said
Mubaiwa.
Mubaiwa added that Chiadzwa was a huge and porous area which
resulted in
some of the smuggled diamonds finding their way to nations such
Dubai and
South Africa.
"Before ZMDC moved in there were incidences
of leakages which were rampant
resulting in some of the diamonds finding
their way to countries such as
Dubai and South Africa. When we moved in
there were nearly 10 000 panners
who had moved in."
The ZMDC chief
said the announcement by Mbada last month that it was set to
sale 300 000
carats of diamonds was premature as it had not followed laid
down
procedures.
He stunned the committee when he conceded that government has
not received
any dividend from ZMDC's other mining operations throughout the
country
ranging from gold, tin and copper over the past 20
years.
Zimbabwe is currently embroiled in a dispute with the diamond
regulator
Kimberly Process (KP) over the appointment of a monitor to assess
diamonds
emanating from Chiadzwa with Mines Minister Mpofu preferring a
monitor from
an African country whereas the KP insists on the monitor coming
from Europe.
The KP monitor has to assess diamond production at Chiadzwa
and inspect if
there is no illegal diamond digging taking place in a bid to
ensure
operations at the controversial field comply with KP
requirements.
Under a set of measures meant to bring Zimbabwe's
controversial diamond
industry in line with Kimberley Process (KP)
standards, the diamond watchdog
must monitor production and sales of
diamonds from Chiadzwa field where the
army has been accused of rights
abuses against civilians.
International rights groups have been pushing
for a world ban on Zimbabwe
diamonds until Harare acts to ensure mining at
Chiadzwa is in full
compliance with KP standards.
The southern
African nation however escaped a KP ban last November but the
global body
gave Harare a June 2010 deadline to make reforms to comply with
its
regulations. - ZimOnline
http://www1.voanews.com
The three
Botswanan rangers were fined US$100 apiece in a court appearance
in Zimbabwe
on Monday after being found guilty of unlawful entry into the
country, but
were acquitted on arms charges
Patience Rusere | Washington 08 February
2010
A spokesman for the government of Botswana said Monday that
Gaborone would
hold bilateral security talks with Zimbabwe on February 22 to
iron out a
dispute over the arrest of three Botswanan game ranges within
Zimbabwe.
The three were fined US$100 apiece in a court appearance Monday
after being
found guilty of unlawful entry into Zimbabwe, but were acquitted
on charges
of smuggling guns into the country and illegally possessing
firearms.
The wildlife officials were picked up three weeks ago after
inadvertently
straying into Zimbabwe as they tracked lions that had killed
some cattle in
Lesoma village on the Botswana-Zimbabwe
border.
Botswana recalled two attachés from its Harare embassy late last
week over
the incident and said it was demanding that Zimbabwe's
corresponding
security and military attachés Gaborone to leave by the end of
the month.
Botswana government press secretary Jeff Ramsay told Studio
Seven reporter
Patience Rusere he had not heard of the court he says their
release would be
quote helpful in mending relations with Harare.
Our
Gaborone correspondent Martin Ngwenya said the incident has increased
tension between Botswana nationals and Zimbabweans there
http://www.zimonline.co.za/
by Edith Kaseke Tuesday 09 February
2010
HARARE - Zimbabwe is stalling on naming a new investor for the
Zimbabwe Iron
and Steel Company (ZISCO) months after the parastatals
ministry recommended
the winning bidder, in a move that risks scuttling
badly needed foreign
investment into the recovering economy, a senior
government official told
ZimOnline.
The Ministry of State Enterprises
and Parastatals last September shortlisted
global steelmaker Arcelor
Mittal's South Africa unit and a consortium led by
number two Indian steel
producer Jindal Steel and Power Ltd, to take a
majority stake in
ZISCO.
ZISCO has been mothballed for two years, but the privatisation of
what at
its peak was the largest integrated steelworks in Africa outside
South
Africa, would have resuscitated production given the strongest signal
from
the unity government that it was determined to sell off badly
performing
state enterprises, that are a drain on the fiscus.
But a
senior government official said nothing had moved since the State
Enterprises and Parastatals Ministry carried a due diligence exercise on
Arcelor Mittal South Africa and the Jindal Steel and Power Ltd-led
consortium last October and recommended a winning bidder to the Ministry of
Industry and Commerce.
"Nothing has happened so far and investors are
getting very, very anxious,"
the official, who is involved in the
privatisation of ZISCO, said.
"We did our job and Minister (for Industry
and Commerce, Welshan) Ncube
should have convened a cabinet committee on
privatisation to come up with a
final position to take to the principals but
this has not happened," the
official said.
Now the two bidders are
anxious and continuous delay would give investors an
impression that
Zimbabwe is not yet ready to welcome foreign investment.
"We are getting
phone calls everyday from India and South Africa and the
question is always
'is this how you do business in Zimbabwe?'. Equipment is
rotting at ZISCO,
it is our national asset and we need to take advantage of
it," the
government official told ZimOnline.
Joel Gabbuza, State Enterprises and
Parastatals Minister referred all
questions to Ncube, who was unreachable
for comment.
Jindal Steel is India's second largest steel maker after
Arcelor Mittal and
the two companies would bring desperately needed capital
and technical
expertise to ZISCO, which used to directly and indirectly
employ more than
3,000 employees.
Foreign investors are keen on
investing in the country, that registered its
first growth in more than a
decade in 2009, but political uncertainty has
forced them to hold
back.
Zimbabwe is desperate to raise more than $8 billion to reconstruct
the
devastated economy but Western donors, who are able to provide the money
say
the unity government should fully implement the September 2008 political
agreement.
"The successful disposal of shares in ZISCO will
definitely give confidence
to investors that there is no going back on
privatisation and re-aligning
this economy. Its something that has to be
done," John Robertson, an
economic consultant said.
Saddled with $300
million in local and foreign debt, ZISCO has a capacity to
produce up to 1
million tonnes of steel annually. - ZimOnline.
http://www.zimeye.org/?p=13065
By Gerald
Chateta
Published: February 9, 2010
Harare - The
Commercial Farmers Union says it is going back to the
Southern African
Development Community (SADC) Tribunal and for the third
time to challenge
the refusal by the Zimbabwe's Supreme Court to honour the
SADC tribunal's
2008 judgment which ruled in favour of 78 former white
commercial farmers
who successfully challenged President Robert Mugabe's
2000 chaotic land
reform.
CFC president Deon Theron told ZimEye in an exclusive interview
that they
were returning to the SADC Tribunal to seek justice.
"We
are once again going to appeal to the SADC Tribunal, because we want
justice
to prevail. We are very much concerned by this sad development. How
can the
judge say he respects the SADC Tribunal when he fails to respect the
judgment it passed. We understand that this is not justice at play but
purely politics. SADC Tribunal is an internally recognized court and
Zimbabwe its signatory,"said Theron.
Zimbabwe's Supreme Court last
week said the tribunal's verdict did not apply
to the country.
The
Tribunal in November 2008 ruled in favour of 78 white farmers who were
challenging President Robert Mugabe's land reform programme on the grounds
that it discriminated against them on the basis of the colour of their
skins.
Zimbabwe's Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa last September
wrote to the
Tribunal advising it that Harare would no longer participate in
further
hearings at the Windhoek-based regional court, insisting that the
country
was not bound by the court's decisions.
Ben Freeth who is
heading farmers' SADC challenge said, "the SADC ruling
gives us the legal
title and therefore a right to compensation. We have a
right to equality
under the international law and we are going back to SADC
because it should
determine the methods of evaluation," he told journalist
in
Harare.
Political analyst Takura Zhangazha said the country's justice
delivery
system was compromised by the partisan land re-distribution
programme.
"Zimbabwe's justice delivery system has never been
professional since the
advent of the land reform because the people involved
also benefited from
the process.
"We also doubt SADC or AU because of
late there have been no strong voices
coming from these two organizations,
but what we know is that there are
going to be some questions from the
international community questioning the
legitimacy of the Zimbabwean
judiciary. We also need the legal basis of the
Tribunal and its legality in
Zimbabwe," said Zhangazha.
The Tribunal sessions open next month
http://www.iol.co.za/
February 09 2010 at 06:49AM
By Karen
Breytenbach
The South African government has been hauled over the coals
by a Pretoria
High Court judge for not protecting its citizens from Robert
Mugabe's land
expropriations.
The government was ordered to pay
damages to a South African farmer to whom
it failed to provide diplomatic
protection after Mugabe's government seized
11 of his farms in Zimbabwe
without compensation.
Although the damages have yet to be calculated, it
could amount to R100
million.
Free State farmer Crawford von Abo, who
began farming in Zimbabwe 50 years
ago, was arrested for "trespassing" on
his main farm in 1997 and even spent
time in a Zimbabwean jail as Zanu-PF
cracked down on white farmers and
expropriated their land.
After
trying unsuccessfully to negotiate with the Zimbabwean government, he
turned
to the government of then-president Thabo Mbeki for diplomatic
protection
and, later, out of frustration, to the courts.
In July 2008, Van Abo won
a landmark judgment in the Pretoria High Court,
which ruled that he was
entitled to diplomatic protection from the SA
government.
Judge Bill
Prinsloo ruled then that the government should, within 60 days,
take all
necessary steps to have Von Abo's violation of his rights remedied
and to
report back to court about the steps it had taken.
Despite a meeting in
August 2008 with the Department of Foreign Affairs and
Trade and Industry
officials, and several follow-up meetings involving
Zimbabwean diplomats and
officials, Van Abo did not receive the protection
to which he was entitled
and had to continue his legal battle.
In a strongly worded judgment
delivered last week, Judge Prinsloo threw the
rule book at the South African
government, taking issue with what he
regarded as its contempt of court and
failure to protect its citizens.
http://www.zimeye.org/?p=13063
By John Chimunhu
Published:
February 8, 2010
Harare - Time Bank of Zimbabwe (Time Bank)
says millions of dollars worth
of its assets seized in 2004 by the Central
Bank have not been returned,
weeks after a landmark Administrative Court
judgement restored its banking
licence.
The emergent banking giant
was stripped of its licence five years ago in
what sources claimed were
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) controversial
governor Gideon Gono's plans to
frustrate banks in which he, Mugabe and Zanu
PF had no interests.
On
Monday RBZ officials appeared set to delay returning the assets. In a
statement, Time Bank appealed to its customers to be patient as a date for
an official return of the assets was now going to be set.
The bank
said among the clients' assets in the RBZ's possessions were title
deeds.
Bank properties were also held by the regulators in a
heavily-condemned
swoop on allegedly erring and corrupt financial
institutions. Gono, newly
arrived at the RBZ said he was going to clean up
what he alleged to be the
mess in the banking industry but was later accused
of nearly crashing
it.
TIME Bank managing director Chris Tande invoked the Administrative
Justice
Act (AJA) and successfully applied for a restoration of the bank's
operating
licence through an Administrative Court (AC).
http://www.monstersandcritics.com
By Jan Raath Feb 9, 2010,
5:04 GMT
Harare - When any section of the Zimbabwe civil service goes on
strike, the
usual retort from the long-suffering public is: 'How do you tell
the
difference?'
A year after the heady inauguration of the country's
power-sharing
government between autocratic President Robert Mugabe, 85, and
his former
opposition opponent, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai,
Zimbabweans want to
know: 'How do you tell the difference? (between this
government and Mugabe's
previous regime).'
The unlikely cohabitation
of Mugabe and Tsvangirai was brought about in
talks mediated in 2008 by
southern African leaders.
Mugabe had lost parliamentary and a first round
of presidential elections in
March that year. Three months later, he was
declared the winner of the
second round of presidential elections after a
bloody crackdown on the
opposition, in which around 200 supporters of
Tsvangirai's Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) were killed.
Yet
Mugabe emerged from the negotiations to continue as executive president
and
Tsvangirai was coerced by regional leaders, most of them Mugabe allies,
into
accepting the distinctly lesser job of prime minister.
A detailed
agreement signed by the two was meant to lead to the drafting of
a new
constitution by the end of 2010, a referendum to approve it next year
and
then, free and fair elections.
But progress towards those goals has been
scant. 'Not much to celebrate,'
said one MDC government official, confirming
no official celebrations were
planned. '(Mugabe's) Zanu-PF is in charge and
it's business as usual.'
On the government's first anniversary Thursday,
popular white MDC treasurer
and deputy agriculture minister-designate Roy
Bennett will be back in the
dock in his drawn-out trial on what human rights
lawyers call clearly
trumped-up charges of terrorism.
Another MDC
official, Pascal Gwezere, was finally released from police
custody last week
after being tortured and detained for three months for
allegedly stealing
military firearms. He was released for lack of evidence.
Three weeks ago
a 70-year-old Dominican nun was beaten up by police for
'resisting arrest,'
according to church sources.
The past year has also seen a resurgence in
the violent invasions of
white-owned farms. Only 300 white farmers are
precariously left on the land,
out of the 4,500 that were farming when
Mugabe gave the nod for lawless land
grabs to begin in 2000.
Aid
agencies are feeding 2.7 million people after a ninth consecutive failed
agricultural season.
There have been some positive developments,
however. Most Zimbabweans are in
better health and have far more purchasing
power than they did before
power-sharing.
A terrifying cholera
epidemic that claimed 4,300 lives was stopped by May
last year thanks to
Western aid agencies.
The shelves of shops that were emptied by Mugabe's
price controls are full
again, inflation is down to a manageable 4 per cent
and the endless queuing
for wages in worthless Zimbabwe dollars is over
after Tsvangirai's finance
minister, Tendai Biti, adopted the US dollar and
South African rand as
national currencies.
Political violence has
also fallen dramatically.
But hopes for an end to Mugabe's rule by
repression, as promised by the
accord he signed with Tsvangirai which
underpins the unity government,
remain elusive.
The drafting of a new
constitution, regarded as the most important item in
the accord, is running
six months behind schedule.
A year after applications to set up new
independent radio stations were due
to be processed, Zanu-PF, known for its
propagandistic invective, continues
to monopolize the media, and no new
newspapers have been permitted.
On a raft of major issues, from Mugabe's
unilateral appointment of a party
crony as attorney-general, to his refusal
to swear in provincial governors
from the MDC, the two coalition parties
have been in deadlock for the entire
year.
'Every step that is meant
to lead to reforms, freedom of expression, the
entrenchment of human rights,
is being blocked by Zanu-PF. Because that
means them losing power,' a
Western diplomat, who did not wish to be named,
told the German Press Agency
dpa.
At the weekend Tsvangirai said he was 'cautiously optimistic' over
the
future of the transitional government. Finance minister Biti was less
upbeat. 'Zanu-PF is trying to strangle this fledgling authority on its first
birthday,' he said.
http://www.zicora.com
Posted By Own Staff Monday, 08
February 2010 09:04
BRITISH Parliamentarians on Wednesday told Tsholotsho
villagers that their
government would continue supporting them financially
as they were impressed
with their agricultural skills.
The MPs toured
Tsholotsho to assess agricultural activities they are
funding.
Team
leader, Nigel Evans said they were impressed with various activities.
"
What we are witnessing today is real hard work and determination by
underprivileged people who want to uplift their standards of living.' As
British government, we realise that our taxpayer's money is put to good use
here," said Evans.
The MPs mission was to assess how the monetary
aid that Britain advanced to
various non governmental groups was used. They
toured gardens, conservation
farming projects and livestock projects. At
Matindi Sand Abstraction point,
60 householders are into gardening using
water drawn from a nearby dam.
Catholic Relief Services installed a sand
abstraction system , a technology
which draws water from sandy river beds.
The water is used for watering
gardens, livestock and periodical tests are
done to ensure that it is safe
for human
consumption.
A total of
25 sand abstraction and micro-irrigation systems have benefited
2500
households. A beneficiary, Modie Ndhlovu, said she was grateful for
the
British assistance.
" Before the British came on board, I was struggling
to come up with a good
harvest. Now I can harvest up to five tonnes per
hectare up from just one
tonne per hectare".
She said after harvesting
she sold excess produce to the Grain Marketing
Board and that had helped her
to pay school fees for her children.
Britain pumped in US$100 million in
aid for 2009-2010. A report on how
Zimbabwe was using British money would be
produced and a decision would
then be reached on whether to
continue
funding.However, in a statement released on their arrival on
Monday, the MPs
said they were not in the country to " advise on political
developments".
"Our role is to provide independent parliamentary
oversight of how the
British government spends its aid. We are not here to
advise on political
developments," they said.They said the UK government
was committed to
helping the poorest and most vulnerable people in
Zimbabwe.
"We are looking forward to visiting a number of projects
covering areas,
such as health, HIV/AIDS and education, where the UK
Department for
International Development's work with local partners is
delivering real
benefits to thousands of Zimbabweans."
http://www.zicora.com
Posted by Jabulile Mlotshwa Monday, 08 February 2010
09:23
THE Bulawayo City Council (BCC) is still owed thousands of dollars
in rates
payments by individuals and companies, with the Government
remaining the
biggest debtor.
The public relations officer, Mrs
Nesisa Mpofu asked for questions in
writing, but later said she could not
reveal the latest figures as
Councillors had not yet been
informed.
However, according to inside sources, the Council had managed to
collect
about 35 percent of what is owed to it by individuals, companies and
the
government a situation which had contributed to Council workers not
receiving their salaries on time.
"Most people are still not paying
their rates due to high cost of living and
those who are, are paying what
they can afford. The Council only managed to
collect a significant amount of
money after it had disconnected services to
homes and businesses," revealed
the source.Two weeks ago, the BCC workers
were up in arms as they were last
paid in November 2009. Last week, they
were given half of their December
salary, an indication that the Council was
facing cash flow problems.
Meanwhile, the Council has proposed to have a
standstill budget which will
see the 2009 budget being carried over to 2010
and the tariffs remaining
unchanged.
This is because Council did not achieve what it wanted to do
and it would
not be logical to increase rates for 2010 when only 20 percent
of ratepayers
were able to pay in 2009.
The total budget for 2010 stands
at US$123,402,271 and the Council is also
proposing a capital budget of
US$179 million. Of this amount 37.5 percent
will be for general expenditure,
33 percent for repairs, and 27.5 percent
for staff welfare. Capital
contribution will be 1, 8 percent and 0, 2
percent will go to capital
charges.
These figures were reached after two budget consultations were
carried out
in Bulawayo's 29 wards, where it was also agreed that the budget
should run
up to June 2010 then it should be reviewed to assess whether
there was any
commitment from ratepayers to pay.Council went on to highlight
the actual
cost of some of their services and how much residents were
paying:
Service Actual cost What consumers are paying
(US$)
Dechoking 58.97 42.86
Ambulance
46.90 20.00
Maternity 71.19
55.00
Graves 43.22 38.99
Water
0.54 0.06
Fixed cost for water 7.82 0.66
At the
beginning of the year, the BCC was said to be sending a delegation to
Harare
in the hope of recovering a US$3.3 million debt it is owed by the
government.
The issue was brought up for debate during a full council
meeting held at
the council chambers in early January, with Councillors
suggesting that
sterner measures had to be taken to recover the
debt.
According to the minutes of the meeting, government departments owe
council
a total of US$3 231 153, 18 with the Ministry of Water Resources and
Development owing US$1 124 128 followed by the Ministry of Home Affairs
which owes about US$1 036 489. Of the total amount owed the government had
only managed to pay US$66 268 as of July 2009, which is just over two
percent of the total.