http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tichaona Sibanda
12
January 2012
Heavily armed riot police carried out two raids at Harvest
House on Thursday
looking for vendors they alleged were linked to
Wednesday’s disturbances in
the city centre.
We had reported on
Wednesday that the capital was briefly turned into a war
zone after street
vendors clashed with police trying to close down their
stalls. Around 10
policemen surrounded vendors between First Street and
Nelson Mandela Avenue.
Vendors were furious at having their wares impounded
and retaliated by
throwing stones.
On Thursday our correspondent Simon Muchemwa told us the
police were out in
full force, looking for the ‘culprits’ in what the MDC-T
called ‘a
disproportionate show of force.’
‘The police brought three
trucks loads, carrying over 100 heavily armed riot
officers, to arrest four
people. Many innocent people were caught up in the
crossfire as the police
went about beating innocent people on the streets.
‘It was a show of
force in harassing and detaining harmless residents.
People were saying this
is typical of the police, which sees itself as
beholden to the elite in ZANU
PF while daily intimidating and brutalizing
ordinary Zimbabweans,’ Muchemwa
said.
One senior MDC-T official expressed shock over the number of police
officers
who swooped on Harvest House to execute the search for the vendors.
He
described the raid as ‘harassment’ and questioned the motive behind the
police actions to search for the vendors at the MDC headquarters.
The
MDC-T Youth Assembly released a statement saying those arrested were
members
manning the party regalia shop, located on the ground floor of
Harvest
House. The statement said the reason for the arrests is unknown. The
party
identified the four as Jephias Moyo, Leonard Dendera, Patson Murimoga
(a
musician) and one named only as Nerwande.
‘We condemn the arrests. This
is a deliberate ploy by an old and idealess
organization to destabilise and
disturb the Youth Assembly activities and
operations. The arrests are
unconstitutional and therefore, illegal. We call
for their immediate
release,’ the Youth Assembly statement said.
A team of lawyers was
dispatched to Harare central police station to act on
behalf of those picked
up.
http://www.radiovop.com
HARARE, January 12, 2012 –
Hordes of war veterans on Wednesday evening
stormed Vumba Mountains where
the Zimbabwe Constitution Select Committee
(COPAC) technical team has
retreated for the drafting of the final document
and demanded the halting of
the process.
MDC-T COPAC co-chair Douglas Mwonzora told Radio Vop that
about 30 marauding
war veterans descended on the remote area armed with a
petition that was
also accusing COPAC of ignoring the views of the
people.
“The war veterans came with a petition that was demanding that we
stop the
process,” Mwonzora said.
“They were also accusing me and the
drafters of rejecting what they said
were COPAC preliminary reports which
are being published in The Herald. They
went on to accusing the drafters of
not incorporating what they want in the
constitution. “
MDC-T
politicians, who are part of COPAC, were forced to run for dear life
after
the militant Zanu PF aligned group started chanting party slogans and
singing liberation war slogans while marching around Leopard Rock hotel
which COPAC had identified as suitable for a hindrance free
exercise.
The incident happened soon after Zanu (PF) politicians who are
part of
COPAC, among them Co-chairperson Munyaradzi Mangwana, had left for
Harare
after finishing the week long drafting exercise.
Among MDC-T
politicians who were present during the incident were Deputy
Ministers
Jessie Majome and Gift Chimanikire, MPs Amos Chibaya, Brian Tshuma
and
Senator Rorana Muchihwa.
"This is basically to intimidate the drafters
and COPAC," Mwonzora said,
"This is a clearly co-ordinated thing meant to
harass and intimidate the MDC
team within COPAC. The police did not
intervene again showing this is a
state sponsored thing.”
War
veterans leader Jabulani Sibanda, who has been agitating for the
disbandment
of COPAC and the immediate holding of elections, could not be
reached for
comment.
Sibanda was quoted in the media early this month saying COPAC
had “betrayed
the views of the people of Zimbabwe”.
“We, the war
veterans of Zimbabwe, having read the preliminary reports of
COPAC Drafting
Committee published in The Herald, hereby express our shock,
indignation and
displeasure at the total disregard of and departure from
what the people of
Zimbabwe said they want in their constitution through the
outreach
programme,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mwonzora is adamant they will not allow
anyone to derail the
constitution making process.
“We will not be
intimidated. We know there are many more Zimbabweans who are
serious about
what we are doing and it is those Zimbabweans that we are
determined to
serve.”
http://www.radiovop.com
Harare, January 12, 2012 - Police on Wednesday
arrested and detained Daily
News journalists who were covering their clash
with vendors in Harare.
The two, Xolisani Ncube a reporter and Anne
Mpalume photographer were
arrested together with journalists from the Herald
while covering the
clashes which turned central Harare into a war
zone.
However the Herald journalists were quickly released leaving the two
Daily
News journalists detained at a police post in First
Street.
Mpalume was later released after she was forced to delete all her
pictures
but Ncube who was arrested last month together with the Daily News
editor
Stanley Gama was not so lucky.
He was taken to Harare Central
Police Station where he was bundled together
with vendors who had been
arrested and accused of smashing the First Street
police post and injuring a
police officer.
Ncube was released later in the evening after the
intervention of Daily News
lawyers without charge.
The police clashed
with the vendors after they tried to arrest them and
confiscate their wares
under a joint police and city of Harare clean-up
operation. The operation is
designed to clean up the city of unregistered
vendors most of who have
clogged the city’s pavements and walkways.
However the vendors have vowed
to fight back and resist the clean up arguing
that they have no jobs and
have been reduced to vendors as many of the
companies that they used to work
in were long closed.
Wednesday’s clash was the second such clash in as
many months. Last year the
police clashed with vendors leaving a couple of
police officers injured.
Then, the police accused MDC activists of
masterminding the attacks on the
police.
On Wednesday police
spokesperson, Chief Superintendent, Oliver Mandipaka
again accused the MDC
members of the disturbances.
“They are MDC members who are masquerading
as vendors. These are people who
operate in front of Harvest House and
somewhere near Harvest House selling
pirated CDs,” said Mandipaka adding
that they had arrested six people in
connection with the
clashes.
Several anti riot police vehicle could be seen patrolling the
streets of
Harare circling around Nelson Mandela Avenue and Jason Moyo
Avenue.
Several shops along First Street were forced to close shop during
the
running battles.
There are fears that police’s continued
clampdown on vendors might spark a
wider crisis as witnessed in Tunisia. The
famous Arab spring started in
Tunisia when a vendor set himself alight after
he had his wares confiscated
by the police.
http://www.timeslive.co.za/
Sapa-AFP | 12 January, 2012
14:37
"We voluntarily suspended bungee jumping for two days (from
Wednesday) to
allow an audit of the accident that happened" after a cord
snapped,
Shearwater Adventures spokesman Clement Mukwasi told AFP on
Thursday.
"This was to allow the auditors, management and crew the
opportunity to
analyse the causes of the broken cord and review the new
system and
procedures without distractions."
Jumps could resume from
the weekend, he added.
On New Year's Eve, 22-year-old Australian Erin
Langworthy jumped from the
Victoria Falls bridge and fell head-first into
the Zambezi River, 111 metres
(364 feet) below.
The hair-raising
accident was caught on video and Langworthy is seen hitting
the water with
her feet still tied before being swept towards rapids on the
river, which
separates Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Langworthy managed to avoid any crocodiles
and swim to the Zimbabwe side of
the river, where she hauled herself
out.
She suffered a fractured collar bone and severe bruising and was
taken to
South Africa for treatment.
Mukwasi said "all other
activities including bridge swings, slides tours and
the restaurant facility
will continue as normal."
Zambia's tourism minister Given Lubinda on
Sunday took a bungee jump in an
attempt to assure tourists of its
safety.
Tourism is the life blood of the towns of Victoria Falls and
Livingstone in
Zambia, where upmarket resorts attract visitors from around
the world.
Mukwasi said the probability of an accident was one in 50 000
jumps a year.
http://www.voanews.com/
11 January
2012
South African and Zimbabwean sources said Mr. Zuma is setting
up a meeting
with President Robert Mugabe, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai
and Industry
Minister Welshman Ncube to complete the road map
Brendan
Murphy
Facilitators working under South African President Jacob Zuma,
mediator in
Zimbabwe for the Southern African Development Community, have
wrapped talks
on the election road map with Zimbabwe negotiators and will
now refer
outstanding issues to their principals.
South African and
Zimbabwean sources said Mr. Zuma is setting up a meeting
with President
Robert Mugabe, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Industry
Minister
Welshman Ncube to resolve all issues and complete a road map to
elections.
Outstanding issues related to the road map include reform
of the media and
the national electoral process, and depoliticization of the
police, army and
secret police.
Zuma international relations adviser
Lindiwe Zulu told VOA reporter Blessing
Zulu that the negotiators had
deadlocked on the remaining outstanding
issues.
Law lecturer Alex
Magaisa of Kent University in Great Britain commented that
the principals
can break the impasse over the elections road map if they are
committed.
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Lance Guma
12
January 2012
In SW Radio Africa’s continuing exposés we look at the ZANU
PF MP for Mudzi
West, Aquilinah Katsande. Between April and June 2008 she
orchestrated a
reign of terror that left many people with terrible stories
to tell about
her brutality.
A dossier in our possession documents
how Katsande, “Moved around the entire
Mudzi district hunting for her
victims. She was present when most heart
wrenching punishments were meted
out on MDC activists in her constituency.”
Most of her victims either died
instantly or a few days later.
After Morgan Tsvangirai’s presidential
election victory over Robert Mugabe
in March 2008, a run-off was engineered
by ZANU PF. Tsvangirai withdrew
citing violence and the murder of his
supporters. The one-man run off went
ahead anyway and in the build up to
that election many opposition activist
were targeted.
In Mudzi West
Aquilalinah and her son George Katsande rose to notoriety.
They teamed up
with Bramwell Katvsairo, described by many in the area as a
‘known killer’.
On the 6th April 2008 Aquilinah Katsande and Peter Nyakuba,
the local ZANU
PF councillor, held a rally at Bensen Mine.
Katsande openly declared that
all the MDC-T supporters who had campaigned
for Tsvangirai in the March 29
election should be assaulted to force them to
change allegiance. “If any of
the MDC supporters foolishly resist, kill them
all. We have been granted
authority by the president to kill MDC
supporters,” she
said.
According to witnesses, immediately after this rally ZANU PF youths
and war
vets, “Went on the war path, many MDC supporters were brutally
assaulted,
homes were destroyed and livestock forcibly taken for food, to
feed comrades
at the torture bases.”
On the 1st June 2008 George
Katsande and Tawanda Mazunze, leading a gang of
ZANU PF militia, abducted
Fianda Katiyo. They took him to Nyahondo torture
base using a vehicle
provided by Katsande. Katiyo was subjected to terrible
torture throughout
the night and only released the following morning.
The torture was so
serious Katiyo died a week after his release.
Again on the 1st June 2008
Bramwell Katsvairo, in the company of George
Katsande and three unknown
people, hunted down Tafadzwa Meza after accusing
him of transporting MDC-T
supporters to rallies using his pick up truck.
After several days they
caught up with him at Nyamuyaruka Business centre
near Kotwa.
“Meza
tried to flee but Katsvairo shot him in the leg. Meza jumped off his
truck
to hide under some bushes close by as it was getting dark, probably
hoping
that the killers would not find him. George and the band of killers
set
Meza’s truck on fire and the resultant light from the flames betrayed
his
hiding spot,” the dossier says.
The gang dragged Meza’s to their vehicle
then took him to the Broken Bridge
in the Nyamanyora area. His body was
recovered there the following morning.
Witnesses reported that George
Katsande, using his mother’s gun, had shot
Meza at close range, killing him
instantly.
Not only did George boast about killing Meza but his mother,
Aquilinah
Katsande the MP, is said to always use this murder as an example
at all her
meetings and rallies in Mudzi. Meza’s mother, who survived a
stroke in 2009,
said that she is reminded of her son’s murder every time the
Katsande’s hold
a rally in the area.
On the 6th June 2008 an MDC-T
ward official, identified only as DK, was
abducted from his home. He was
bundled into Aquilinah Katsande’s truck and
taken to Nyamanyora base. The
people who took part in assaulting him were
identified as Nyamaromo,
Mangwende, George Katsande and other ZANU PF
supporters.
According to
the dossier, “They kept on assaulting him for several days
before releasing
him, he never recovered from the injuries inflicted on him
and passed away
at his home on the 28th June 2008.”
On the 5th of July 2008 Aquilinah
Katsande, in the company of Peter Nyakuba,
caught up with Gwindiri Mutadza,
an MDC-T activist they had tried to capture
before the 27 June elections but
had failed. Witnesses say Mutadza had
returned from hiding on the assumption
elections were now over and peace
would return.
But: ‘Katsande’s gang
had other plans for him and quickly descended on him
in full view of all the
people who had gathered at Chimukoko Business
Centre. Aquilinah Katsande,
and Peter Nyakuba, assisted by two other unknown
men, heavily assaulted
Mutadza with fists and booted feet they bashed him
all over the
body.”
Mutadza passed out and died on the spot. On realizing that he was
dead,
Aquilinah and gang jumped into their double-cab truck and sped off
from the
murder scene.
On the 8th August 2008 MDC-T activist Winnet
Makaza was assaulted on the
instructions of Katsande. The MP mentioned
Makaza as being on a list of
MDC-activists on her ‘wanted list’. Carrying
out the assault on behalf of
the MP was Tambadzi Gombe.
The assault
was so severe that Makaza is reported to have screamed only
once, then
collapsed and died. Relatives reported the incident to the police
but
nothing was done. The police did not even bother to take the body to the
mortuary. Tambadzi Gombe is still a free man in Makaza village.
Later
on Aquilinah Katsande issued an order forcing the Makaza family to
bury
Winnet without delay, or they would also meet with the same fate.
More
recently on the 1st January 2010 George Katsande; “Now a seasoned
killer was
roaming the area armed with a gun”. Along with his gang he
attacked Bennizah
Nyapfunde Mutize at Rukonde School in Mudzi. Mutize’s
children were also not
spared.
Members of the gang included Asmore Simoko, Tichafa Kativhu,
Josiah Nyamuda,
Punzu Charles, Martin Mutaundi, Daniel Chitedega, Misheck
Pengapenga, Dinga
David, Solomon Chingwete, Tonde Chipwanya and four other
unknown men.
As part of a new terror campaign in 2010 the group was,
“revisiting their
victims at night and many MDC activists are sleeping in
the bush and going
back to their homes in the morning. Aquilinah through her
son George is
sponsoring this new wave of terror; George has vowed to shoot
all MDC
supporters in Mudzi West.”
Many of Aquilinah Katsande’s
victims have reported their cases to the police
and despite the glaring
evidence linking her to these terrible crimes she
has remained untouchable
and continues to sit in parliament.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Lance Guma
12
January 2012
Professor Welshman Ncube, who leads the smaller MDC
formation, has told SW
Radio Africa that ‘it is extremely unlikely’ his
party will unite with the
larger MDC formation led by Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai.
The formerly united MDC split in 2005 over whether to
participate in senate
elections. Since then relations have gradually
deteriorated, with regular
sniping including personal attacks between Ncube
and Tsvangirai.
On Wednesday Ncube was a guest on our Question Time
programme and explained
why attempts to unite the factions in 2008 had
failed. He claimed
negotiations to unite the factions were conducted between
Tsvangirai and
Ncube’s predecessor, Arthur Mutambara, and an agreement was
struck.
Ncube says the national council of his party approved the
coalition pact but
the equivalent body in the MDC-T rejected the
agreement.
“In 2008 we did everything that was reasonably possible to
actually fight
the election from the same one corner. Our national council
approved the
coalition pact that had been negotiated between the two
parties, which would
have seen Morgan Tsvangirai stand as the sole
candidate, whom we would all
support.”
“But you will also know that
the MDC-T national council rejected that
agreement, and going by the reasons
for the rejection I believe it is really
unlikely that they could ever
change their position on those issues,” Ncube
told SW Radio
Africa.
“It is extremely unlikely, that there will be any re-unification
of the MDC
in whatever form but I don’t think that conclusion is as a result
of any
alleged or purported acrimony, it is essentially because as political
parties, we represent and stand for different things now,” he
added.
Several in Tsvangirai’s party accuse Ncube’s group of demanding
representation in the coalition, which does not reflect their support on the
ground. Ncube dismissed this saying the agreement had “extremely oppressive
clauses against my party.”
Ncube said the main principle in the
agreement was that each of the parties
would not field candidates in any
constituency that already had an MP from
the other faction.
Asked by
listeners why the two MDC’s could not build on the unity they
showed in
re-electing MDC-T chairman Lovemore Moyo as Speaker of Parliament,
Ncube
said the MDC-T did not approach them as a party but instead approached
their
MP’s as individuals.
Ncube accused Tsvangirai’s party of lacking
‘respect’ for them and said at
present the MDC-T was enticing their MP’s and
councillors to defect. He said
because of this ‘there was nothing to build
on.”
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
12/01/2012 00:00:00
by Staff
Reporter
A PARTIAL strike by one of the teachers' unions continued to
disrupt
learning at some government schools as a meeting between the
government and
civil service unions Wednesday failed to agree a new pay
deal.
The Apex Council – which represents the various civil service
unions – met
Public Service Minister, Lucia Matibenga in Harare for about
five hours but
failed to secure a commitment from the government for a
salary increase.
Matibenga is said to have requested five more days to look
into demands made
by the government employees.
Apex head, Tendai
Chikowore said the Unions warned Matibenga that civil
servants would call a
nation-wide strike on the 19th of January if the
government fails to meet
their demands.
The civil servants -- who on average earn about US$300 a month
-- want an
increase to around US$540.
But the cash-strapped
government insists it cannot meet the demand with
Finance Minister Tendai
Biti arguing that employment costs already take up
an unsustainable 63
percent of total expenditure.
The wage dispute threatened the opening of
the new school term this week
after some teachers' unions urged their
members not to report for work.
Most schools around the country however
opened as normal, but learning did
not take place at some institutions as
teachers affiliated to the
Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ)
heeded the organisation’s
strike call.
Unions are generally united in
their demands for salary increases of more
than 50 percent, but they are
divided over how to force the government into
making the
adjustments.
The Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association (ZIMTA), the oldest and
largest union,
has urged members to continue teaching while it pursues
negotiations with
the government.
ZIMTA secretary general, Sifiso
Ndlovu said: “We have an agreement in Apex
Council not to go on strike while
negotiations are continuing.
“We don’t support this strike action called
by the other union. Our members
understand this position and are continuing
to teach.”
But the more militant PTUZ has insisted that its members would not
report
for work.
“The government has money. Where are the diamonds
dividends going?” PTUZ
secretary general, Raymond Majongwe said recently
referring to recent
government sales of precious stones from the Marange
diamond fields.
“Ministers and senior government (officials) are busy
driving (the) latest
models of cars while teachers suffer.”
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com/
By Staff Reporter 11/01/2012
19:16:00
HARARE - Local Zanu-PF business terror group masquerading as
empowerment
pressure group, Affirmative Action Group (AAG) has attacked the
recent
appointment of a Swiss national, Mr. John Swain as the new boss of
Telecel
Zimbabwe and has described the move as a breach of it said the
indigenisation drive.
In a statement, Chiyangwa's side-kick AAG Chief
Executive Officer, Dr.
Davison Gomo expressed disappointment at the
appointment of the Swiss
national ahead of locals, adding that the country
can not carry on appeasing
foreigners on jobs that local people can
do.
The empowerment pressure group has since asked the firm to give what
it said
a convincing reason why it believes there are no deserving
Zimbabweans to
fill the post.
According to the statement, appointing
a foreign national to the position of
Managing Director could be construed
as a vote of no confidence in the
abilities and capabilities of indigenous
people.
The mobile operator recently announced the appointment of Swain
as the new
Managing Director.
The Swiss national is replacing the
outgoing boss, Mr. Aimable Mpore who
left the country last year after
failing to renew his work permit.
It is believed that Mr. Swan is yet to
get a work permit despite his
appointment.
Industry analysts said
Chiyangwa, who is President Mugabe's newphew sold his
stake in the mobile
phone company many years ago and he is now trying to
regain access into the
cash-cow.
President Robert Mugabe's nephew, Leo, is also in a permanent
maneuvering
positioning to try to muscle-in his way into the company amid
reports of an
escalating fight to control the country's second largest
mobile phone
operator, but he has been kept at bay by Grace Mugabe's
sidekick,
shareholder Jane Mutasa who is assisted by the First Lady's
relatives
working in the Ministry of Justice and Attorney-General Johannes
Tomana.
Exiled businessman, James Makamba is the major player at Telecel
and sources
said her daughter, Chiedza who died in a mysterious car accident
just before
Christmas was a victim of the battle to control the
company.
In a statement Telecel said the newly appointed Telecel Zimbabwe
Managing
Director John Swaim viewed his appointment as a temporary one that
should
lead to the appointment of a Zimbabwean to run the local
company.
“I have come in as managing director in an interim position,
while looking
for a Zimbabwean to take over from me,” he said.
The
United States-born managing director is an experienced Orascom Telecom
executive and a member of both Telecel Zimbabwe and Telecel International
boards of directors.
Orascom Telecom, which owns Telecel
International, the present majority
shareholder in Telecel Zimbabwe became
recently part of the Vimpelcom group.
Mr. Swaim was appointed managing
director in December last year after his
predecessor, Aimable Mpore, was
redeployed to oversee other operations
within Orascom
Telecom.
Other expatriates taking up positions with Telecel would also be
doing so
for defined periods during which they would be expected to bring
local
managers up to speed with the way in which the group does things, Mr
Swaim
said.
“Orascom Telecom adheres to a philosophy of management
mobility which
entails managers in Telecel Zimbabwe taking up positions in
other operations
within the group and vice versa as a way of sharing
experience and skills,”
he said.
Mr Swaim said that, as Vimpelcom,
which is headquartered in Amsterdam, is
listed on the New York stock
exchange, there were additional internal
controls and corporate governance
rules applicable to companies listed on
that stock exchange that would have
to be implemented, hence the need for
deployment of specialist skills from
other operations to Zimbabwe.
He said he believed the integration of the
Group would benefit Telecel
Zimbabwe and should open up new opportunities
for it, as it continues on its
growth path in the coming year.
“We
are extremely interested in the African market and we view Telecel
Zimbabwe
as our potential crown jewel on the continent,” he said.
“The
accomplishment of this integration puts Telecel Zimbabwe within a first
class worldwide recognised group, which will give us purchasing benefits
and greater financial and technical support possibilities,” he
said.
He said a key part of the company’s development over the next 12
months
would be the continued expansion of its network to increase its
geographic
reach and further improve the quality of its voice and data
services.
Mr Swaim, who has been involved in the local company’s
operations since 2004
as a Telecel International financial consultant, is a
United States citizen
with right of residence in Switzerland.
He
began his telecommunications career just over 28 years ago working for
the
American telecommunications giant AT&T. He worked for AT&T for 12 years,
5 of which were spent in Riyadh, in Saudi Arabia.
Mr Swain also spent
some time in Kazakhstan in a general management
consultancy role for
AT&T/Lucent Technologies.
In 2002 he joined Orascom Telecom,
providing consultancy services for
international traffic. In October 2003 he
helped launch Orascom Telecom Iraq
as the company’s chief financial officer.
The company had a network in
February 2004, making it one of the fastest
start-ups of a cellular
operation in history.
His long association
with Telecel International and Telecel Zimbabwe, as
well as his 28 years
experience in the telecommunications sector, put him in
a good position to
steer Telecel Zimbabwe on its growth path over the next
year.
http://www.radiovop.com/
Harare, January 12, 2012 - A
Zimbabwean High Court judge has sternly
reprimanded the Attorney General’s
office (AG) for its continued invocation
of Section 121 of the Criminal
Procedure and Evidence Act in cases where a
magistrate would have granted
bail.
Justice Nicholas Mathonsi, in a ruling where the AG opposed bail to
Media
Monitoring Project of Zimbabwe (MMPZ) employees, said unjustified
invocation
of Section 121 brought the administration of justice into
disrepute.
“The abuse of Section 121 to keep persons in custody who have
been granted
bail has tended to bring the administration of justice into
disrepute,” read
the full judgement released on Tuesday.
“It must be
discouraged by all means and the time has come to announce to
law officers
prosecuting on behalf of the Attorney General that Section 121
should be
invoked only in those situations where there is merit in appeal.
MMPZ
employees, Fadzai December, Molly Chimhanda and Gilbert Mabusa were in
December arrested for contravening the Public Order and Security Act (Posa)
and were granted bail by a magistrate’s court.
The State, however,
invoked Section 121 meaning they had to spend seven more
days in
jail.
But Justice Mathonsi said the grounds of appeal were “spectacularly
without
merit” and “legendary by their lack of merit”.
“Persons who
have been properly granted bail should not be kept in custody
merely as a
way of punishment,” the judge continued. “That is an improper
exercise in
the discretion given to the Attorney General by Section 121.”
The judge
castigated officers from the AG’s office for invoking Section 121
without
applying their minds.
Political activists have been at the receiving end
of actions by prosecutors
using the section.
In most cases they are
acquitted of the charges even after spending seven
days following the
invocation of the section.
AG Johannes Tomana does not hide that he is a
Zanu (PF) supporter leading to
calls by President Mugabe’s opponents for him
to step down.
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Tererai Karimakwenda
12 January,
2012
An inquest into the death of Retired Army General Solomon Mujuru is
due to
begin on Monday at the Harare Magistrates’ Court and expected to end
on
Friday, according to NewsDay newspaper.
The report quoted Rex
Shana, Deputy Secretary for the Judiciary Service
Commission, who said the
docket was now within the jurisdiction of the
courts.
Mujuru died in
a mysterious fire at his farmhouse outside Harare in August
last year. The
circumstances surrounding his death raised much suspicion and
speculation
that foul play may have been involved.
The farm’s evicted owner said that the
house had so many windows he found it
shocking a military official had
failed to escape the blaze. The retired
general’s gun was also reported
missing.
Mujuru was the husband of Vice-President Joice Mujuru and
considered a major
power broker within ZANU-PF, leading one of the two main
factions in the
party battling to take over after Robert
Mugabe.
Mujuru’s family and youths from ZANU-PF called for investigations
into the
mysterious fire and police have said the investigations were
completed
recently. But none of the findings have been revealed and it is
not clear
why a further inquest is regarded as necessary.
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Tererai Karimakwenda
12
January, 2012
A group of commercial farmers whose properties in Zimbabwe
were confiscated
are due to appear in Chiredzi Magistrates’ Court on Monday,
facing the
criminal charge of “illegally occupying State Land without a
permit”.
The land in question refers to their houses on the farms, which
they
continued to occupy after losing the rest of their land and
agricultural
equipment, as top officials in the Mugabe regime grabbed prime
land under
the banner of the so-called land redistribution
programme.
Peter Henning’s farm was confiscated in 2003 and is one of the
accused in
court on Monday. He told SW Radio Africa on Thursday that his
property was
protected by a bilateral trade protection agreement, but this
made no
difference. Henning is South African and the others facing similar
charges
are Mauritian and Swiss. Zimbabwean Robert Style is also in court on
Monday
for refusing to leave his farm.
“We all have bilateral
agreements.” Henning said but he explained that the
Zimbabwe government
refuses to honour these agreements that are meant to to
provide
protection.
Also due to stand trial on 16th January are Mauritian
nationals Benoit
Lagesse and Benoit Fayd’herbe and Swiss national Theresa
Warth.
The chaotic seizure of commercial farms by the Mugabe regime has
caused much
suffering in the farming communities and destroyed the country’s
food
production created mass hunger and a dependency on donor hand
outs.
“It has been traumatic. I had a large staff and all my senior staff
died
from stress. There was nothing I could do. Not even hospitalization.
They
all died from stress because they could not find work in their trade
anywhere and it killed them,” Henning said.
Charles Taffs, President
of the Commercial Farmers Union (CFU), said there
has been an escalation of
farm seizures and intimidation following Robert
Mugabe’s speech at the
ZANU-PF congress in December. Mugabe said the
remaining white-owned farms
should be urgently taken.
Regarding enforcement of protection agreements,
Taffs said nothing has been
done by the coalition government.
CFU
figures show that Zimbabwe faces the lowest yield of maize in 50 years
this
year. “About 247,000 hectares were planted which should give us 350,000
tonnes of maize, versus consumption needs of 2 million tones. We are in
serious trouble,” Taffs explained.
The farming expert said Malawi has
stopped exporting maize to neighboring
countries due to a drop in their own
production, leaving Zimbabwe with no
hope of importing from
there.
Regarding the affected farm workers, Taffs said roughly 2 million
people
were housed on commercial farms – about 350,000 families. The
government’s
figures claim that 166,000 families were resettled. This is
less than half
the total evicted from the farms but the CFU also dispute
these figures and
say resettlement has been absolutely minimal.
The
regional human rights tribunal in Namibia ruled that Zimbabwe’s land
redistribution was racially discriminatory, constitutionally illegal and
dispossessed owners had to be compensated for their loss.
But the
Zimbabwean government ignored the ruling and SADC leaders suspended
the
tribunal’s operations, rather than deal with the Mugabe regime.
http://www.radiovop.com/
Harare, January 12,
2012 - The Morgan Tsvangirai Movement for Democratic
Change branch in the
United State of America has organised global protests
against South Africa,
which is Zimbabwe's mediator in the country's
political crisis, to push for
a lasting solution.
“This is an appeal to all Zimbabweans and Friends
of Zimbabwe wherever they
may to heed the call for a worldwide mass protest
at the Embassies,
Consulate Missions, Union Buildings and Parliament of the
Republic of South
Africa on Saturday.
“The protests will be held
simultaneously. We will hand over petitions of
our demands to the
authorities at these targeted institutions. These protest
demonstrations
will continue on a monthly basis,” Den Moyo, the chairman of
party’s USA
chairman said in the press release.
Moyo noted that South Africa is
targeted because as the as the Southern
Africa Development Community (SADC)
appointed mediator, the neighbouring
country is responsible for ensuring
that the GPA is implemented in full.
“South Africa has always maintained
to the world that the Zimbabwean crisis
is an African problem that requires
African solutions, so we want to hold
them true to their word.
“South
Africa as the dominant power in Africa has the political and economic
muscle
to get Robert Mugabe and his Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU
PF) to
respect the wishes of the Zimbabwean people which were demonstrated
through
the overwhelming support of the MDC in the 2008 elections,” Moyo
added.
He also indicated that “by virtue of being Zimbabwe's
neighbor, and
considering the number of Zimbabwean refugees in SA, it is
commonsensical
that SA has a strong national interest in finding a lasting
solution to the
Zimbabwean crisis.”
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com/
By
Staff Reporter 23 hours 49 minutes ago
HARARE - In a clear strategic
stance distancing her group from rival faction
led by Defence Minister
Emmerson Mnangagwa, Vice President Joice Mujuru says
Zanu PF has confidence
in South Africa’s role as a mediator in Zimbabwe as
it has assisted in
bringing an agreement between the country’s three
political parties since
its appointment by SADC.
Mujuru was speaking on arrival at the Harare
International Airport from
South Africa where she had attended the African
National Congress (ANC)
centenary celebrations over the weekend.
She
noted that South Africa should be credited for playing a critical role
in
the country’s dialogue process which culminated in the signing of the
Global
Political Agreement and eventually the formation of the inclusive
government.
Turning to the recently held ANC centenary celebrations,
Mujuru said the
Zanu PF delegation was well received at the celebrations and
commended the
ANC for valuing strategic leadership which promotes youth
participation in
political governance.
Vice President Mujuru led a
high powered delegation to South Africa over the
weekend, comprising party
Chairman, Simon Khaya Moyo; Secretary for
Security, Sydney Sekeramayi and
Secretary for Administration, Didymus
Mutasa.
The celebrations were
attended by several heads of state and government and
elderly statesman of
Africa.
Sources in Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF party say hardliners in the
Defence
Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa want Mugabe to tell peers in the
Southern
African Development Community that the Harare unity government
should be
disbanded because it has become totally dysfunctional.
The
hardliners are calling on the parliamentary committee responsible for
overhauling the constitution to abandon the revision process and let the
country to hold elections.
They say the views Zimbabweans expressed
in a 2010 outreach phase have not
been incorporated in early drafts, and
that Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s
Movement for Democratic Change is
delaying the process to fend off early
elections.
ZANU-PF members of
the constitution drafting technical team, Godwills
Masimirembwa and Jacob
Mudenda, say drafters have not delivered a proper
document.
ZANU-PF
politburo member Jonathan Moyo says the constitution-making process
has
become a "dead and already stinking donkey," charging that the two MDC
formations in government are using it to subvert popular views gathered in
public hearings.
Moyo contended that it is unthinkable anyone in SADC
would make putting the
new constitution in place a precondition for holding
new elections in
Zimbabwe - though that is one of the basic premises of the
2008 Global
Political Agreement for power sharing, which is the basis for
the unity
government launched in February 2009.
Attorney Jeremiah
Bamu of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights said ZANU-PF
knows broad
reforms would undermine its already weak electoral position.
Jonathan
Moyo is said to be managing the plan to attack the Constitutional
reform
process on the back of gatecrashing into the Zanu-PF negotiations of
the
SADC-sponsored power-sharing truce facilitated by South African
President
Jacob Zuma.
The former minister of information and publicity is seen as
one of the
hardliners in Zanu-PF and is close to the securocrats who have
vowed not to
salute Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai even if he beats
President Robert
Mugabe in the next elections.
Moyo has been a fiery
critic of Zuma's mediation efforts and particularly of
Lindiwe Zulu, whom he
has attacked in lengthy articles in the state media.
http://www.radiovop.com/
By Criswell Chisango Zvimba, January 12,
2012 - Farmers here, which is home
to President Robert Mugabe, are facing
various challenges ranging from an
unpredictable rainfall pattern which has
seen floods in some areas to
vandalism of irrigation pipes, raising fears of
another year of food
shortages.
The unpredictable rainfall
pattern has seen some parts especially in
Mashonaland East witnessing floods
while Mashonaland West is experiencing
dry patches.
Matinetsa
Kamurayi is a peasant farmer under Chief Chirau near Murombedzi
who has lost
hope to get better yields this farming season. She looks
dejected as her two
hectare plot of maize at knee height is wilting away due
to high
temperatures at her homestead.
She says the rains have been unpredictable
and therefore as a result the
farm inputs being distributed under the
Presidential scheme are coming in
late for people to start re-planting. She
says inputs should have been
distributed last August for proper
planning.
"If this input scheme was meant to boost production, then it
should have
come earlier," Daniel Matore of Chikaka village, a stone's throw
away from
President Robert Mugabe's homestead at Kutama agrees with
Kamurayi.
Villagers here have been relying on food handouts.In December
last year
United Nations' World Food Programme was seeking US$268 to help
1.45 million
Zimbabweans facing starvation.
Unlike Kamurayi and
Matore, Takemore Dzapera of Tengwe Estate would have had
something to smile
about had it not that irrigation pipes in his area were
vandalised.
"...We have water at our dam here but underground
irrigation pipes were
vandalised and we cannot irrigate any crops here. We
are witnessing the
effects of vandalism that heightened during farm
invasions. It is sad for
us."
Zimbabwe farmers planted 247 000
hectares of maize down from 379 993 last
year due to late rains according to
Agricultural Extension Services. Deputy
agriculture minister Seiso Moyo
admits it is a bad year.
However, Finance Minister Tendai Biti set aside
US$15 million to
rehabilitate 56 irrigation schemes throughout the country
of which Biri
irrigation scheme is among the beneficiaries.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
11/01/2012 00:00:00
by Staff
Reporter
POLICE have denied reports of fatalities after they fought
running battles
with illegal gold panners at a Kwekwe farm Wednesday,
raising fears of a
Chiadzwa-style crackdown as authorities try to regain
control of the area.
Thousands of illegal panners besieged Sherwood Farm
– some coming from as
far as Mutare – after word spread of newly discovered
gold deposits.
The gold was reportedly discovered by panners using metal
detectors on
December 26 last year.
Heavily armed police have since
been deployed as authorities moved to
lock-down the area, resulting in
pitched battles with panners searching for
the alluvial gold.
Several
panners were reportedly injured and admitted at Kwekwe General
Hospital
following new clashes with the police on Wednesday.
The panners claimed that
at least two people had been killed.
ZRP Midlands spokesman, Inspector
Patrick Chademana said they had managed to
seal-off the area but denied
there had not been any fatalities.
"We want sanity to prevail while we
identify the proper owners of the mining
claim,” he said.
“No one was
killed. Only a few rogue thugs who intended to pan, threw stones
at the
police."
Chademana said at least four people had laid claim to the gold
find and
police were waiting for the Mines Ministry to adjudicate between
them.
"Police have been called in and it is only after the Mining
Commission has
issued an order then the rightful owner will operate,”
Chademana said.
Reports of the gold find prompted a scramble reminiscent
of that for
diamonds in the country's eastern Manicaland province in
2008.
Human rights groups claim that more than 200 people may have been
killed
then after security services moved in to secure the area, allegations
denied
by the government.
The crack-down prompted a ban on
international trade of diamonds extracted
from the area by the Kimberly
Process, the diamond industry watchdog.
http://www.iol.co.za
January 12 2012 at
11:01am
Johannesburg - Logistical problems have delayed work on the
fibre optic
cable linking Harare and Beit Bridge through Bulawayo to the
undersea cable
in South Africa, a report on Zimbabwe's The Herald Online
said.
It was supposed to be completed in December last year.
When
complete, the fibre optic cable, whose installation commenced in May
last
year, is expected to bolster service provision by state-owned
telecommunications companies NetOne and TelOne.
“Our contractor ran
into a number of logistical problems that hindered
progress,” information
communication technology minister Nelson Chamisa said
in a report supplied
by New Ziana.
“All that has been resolved now and we expect to reach Beit
Bridge by
mid-year.”
Chamisa said all the necessary funding to
complete the project was
available.
“It is vital that we complete
this link on time because everyday that we go
without being connected is a
big loss for the country and the economy,” he
said.
In 2009, the
government completed installation of the Harare-Mozambique link
at a total
cost of $6.3 million.
The government embarked on the fibre optic projects
to improve broadband
services as the existing Mazowe earth satellite link
proved to be expensive,
and had limited internet services capacity. - Sapa
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Tichaona
Sibanda
12 January 2012
The trial of the MDC-T legislator for
Chimanimani West, Lynnette Karenyi,
has been moved from Thursday to Friday,
after her defence team raised some
objections related to the
case.
Karenyi was last month arrested and charged with denigrating Robert
Mugabe,
when she allegedly branded the ageing ZANU PF leader ‘a gay who
sleeps
around with Jonathan Moyo.’ Police allege the MP uttered the words
when she
addressed a rally in her constituency in early December at Nhedziwa
business
centre.
The legislator, who is also the MDC’s Women’s
Assembly organizing secretary,
denies the charge. Her lawyer David Tandire
told SW Radio Africa on Thursday
that the trial could not go ahead because
proceedings against the MP had not
yet been sanctioned by the
Attorney-General.
‘In terms of the law, the institution of proceedings
against the accused
(Karenyi) must be authorized by the AG. To our surprise
the state produced a
letter written by Michael Mugabe, a law officer in the
AG’s office, saying
he was authorized to institute proceedings.
‘We
raised an objection as the state failed to comply with a provision in
section 34 of the Criminal Codification Act, which stipulates that, that
power cannot be delegated to anyone,’ explained Tandire.
The defence
lawyer said they also pointed out to the magistrate that Karenyi’s
case
should be referred to the Supreme Court to determine if the section she
was
charged under is constitutional.
The MP was charged with contravening
Section 33 the Criminal Law
(Codification and Reform) Act for allegedly
making an unlawful, intentional
and abusive statement about Mugabe. The
MDC-T and pro-democracy activists
contend that this law is used by ZANU PF
for persecuting and not prosecuting
MDC officials and
supporters.
‘The law criminalizing insulting the President is just as
controversial as
the one which allows prosecutors to over-rule a magistrate
by invoking
section 121 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act, to deny
an accused
person bail. In this instance the prosecution invoked that Act on
21
December which meant the MP spent Christmas in police cells, when it is
known she does not pose a flight risk or a danger to witnesses,’ Tandire
added.
He emphasized that they are taking the matter to the Supreme
Court as they
felt Section 33 violated Karenyi’s rights and freedom of
expression.
‘Additionally we also want the Supreme Court to make a ruling
on the fact
that Karenyi’s liberty was violated when the state invoked
section 121,
which meant she spent seven days in police cells for no
apparent reason,’
the defence lawyer said.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
The financial difficulties usually
experienced by most Zimbabweans in
January after Christmas and New Year
spending sprees will this year be
experienced by the electorate alone. Our
parliamentarians will smile all the
way to the
bank.
11.01.1210:22am
by Special Correspondent
For the second
year running, parliamentarians have threatened to block the
approval of the
national budget unless government gives in to their demands
for new cars and
sitting allowances of$75 per sitting – backdated to 2008.
Indications are
that the three principals in the inclusive government have
bowed to the
legislators’ demands and agreed to pay a whooping $3,3 million
in
outstanding allowances.
Coming as most citizens battle daily power cuts,
food and water shortages,
and frequent disease outbreaks, has attracted
widespread condemnation.
Political analyst, Professor John Makumbe, said
parliamentarians were
entitled to their allowances, but should put national
priorities before
their own interests. “If the Finance Minister pays out
those allowances he
will not be able to improve the income of civil servants
who are earning
less than half of the Poverty Datum Line,” said
Makumbe.
Lawyer Dzikamai Machingura, said, “It is surprising that
parliamentarians
are only becoming visible when they make noise for their
own pockets. Yet
the legislative agenda has not moved an inch - except for
passing iniquitous
pieces of legislation”.
MPs were given a chance to
analyse the budget at a post-budget analysis
workshop organized by the
Southern Africa Parliamentary Support Trust in
November. Instead of getting
down to serious business, they turned the
workshop into a circus. Rest
assured they were paid sitting allowances for
spending half a day hurling
insults at each other like high school students.
Just a week later, they
allegedly refused to debate the budget, arguing they
needed more time to
scrutinize it.
SAPST reports that most parliamentary question and answer
sessions are
poorly attended by parliamentarians. It is also worrisome that
government
agrees to dish out these ridiculous amounts to legislators whilst
the
majority of the nation is living on less than $2 per day.
The
government is cash strapped and there is just no money to disburse for
many
of the commitments made in the 2012 budget. Among a host of national
maladies, maternal mortality rate stands at 795 deaths per every 100 000
live births - this amounts to more than 10 busloads of women who die during
the process of giving life!
As Parliamentarians get a ‘windfall’ in
allowances, there is virtually
nothing allocated towards programmes under
the Ministry of Education. Of the
$700 million allocated for education in
the 2012 budget, only one percent is
for programmes. The bulk is for
salaries. To make up for deficits, the
Education Minister has authorized
school fees hikes - further squeezing the
heavily taxed poor
citizens.
It is imperative to ask the why the electorate has to endure
the cost of
maintaining legislators and yet not be able to demand what is
due to them.
“This Parliament has not performed to expectation in respect of
the
legislative agenda. Due the paralysis in the inclusive government, so
they
have not executed national duty save for the deliberations on the
constitutional review,” said Makumbe.
The level of debate in
Parliament, and the gravity of the issues challenging
the nation are worlds
apart. The parliamentary monitoring group, Veritas,
reports how parliament
rubber-stamped a controversial $98 million Chinese
loan for the construction
of a National Defence College without much debate.
In the process they
ratified borrowing for non-productive purposes.
The state’s diamond
revenues are to be used to service the loan. Article 9
of the loan agreement
requires the government to ensure that its income from
the Sino-Zimbabwean
Anjin joint diamond-mining venture at Chiadzwa will be
dedicated to making
payments due under the loan agreement.
Veritas also reports that despite
some resistance to last-minute rubber
stamping and despite MPs querying
misplaced priorities and the country’s
capacity to service the loan, the
debate in Parliament did not sufficiently
reflect the outrage that people
have been publicly expressing about this
deal, nor did it probe the purposes
to which the college will be put.
Public concern has focused on the
diversion of diamond receipts from far
more pressing needs, on the fact that
the NDC will benefit an elite few
rather than the struggling general
population, and on reports that the
complex will include VIP recreational
facilities and medical facilities and
a “techno-spy centre” – in stark
contrast to the lack of health facilities
for the general
population.
A recent visit to one of the hospitals in Bikita by this
writer exposed the
appalling situation where several people injured from a
car accident could
not get their wounds dressed for three days - despite the
doctor having
indicated they only needed saline water and Betadine to clean
the wounds.
Two out of the three deceased people from that accident died due
to
excessive bleeding which could have been avoided if there was a ready
ambulance to ferry the injured on time. The nurse to patient ratio at the
hospital on that particular day was roughly 1: 50!
Zimbabwe is
already struggling to repay its external and domestic debts of
$7.1 billion
and $1.5 billion. This debt has blocked new lines of credit
and, no matter
how ‘cheap’ it may be, government is not in a position to
repay
non-productive loans such as the NDC loan.
These are some of the
important issues that should be taken seriously by our
parliamentarians.
Their demands for special treatment ahead of civil
servants and the rest of
us is unacceptable. The electorate should not
continue to endure years of
subsidizing MPs’ lavish lifestyles.
International Law, Zimbabwean law and the compensation debate.
By Ben
Freeth
For some years there has been a debate amongst valuators, lawyers,
farmers,
governments and others as to what farmers should claim compensation
for
after having had their homes, their businesses, their land with all
its
developments, their equipment, their crops, their livestock, their
wildlife
and all they ever worked for, trashed, stolen, destroyed or killed
without
compensation or restitution.
More than a decade has slipped by
since the land invasions began and through
that time Zimbabwean law has
become more draconian and unjust in terms of
the obliteration of property
rights and basic human freedoms - and still,
even Zimbabwean law is not
being applied in any way in terms of compensating
those that have been
brought into states of destitution through the
lawlessness that has been
allowed to prevail.
The monster of the controlled anarchy of land
invasions continues on in
2012 - and the last white owned farms continue to
be grabbed. The farm
workers are left in poverty and the country, every
year, has to be saved
from starving by Britain and America with millions of
dollars of their tax
payers money going to food aid.
It is clear to
any sane thinking person that Zimbabwean law and its
application is rotten to
the core. Why else would a new constitution be
required? Why else would
international courts and international jurists be
so scathing of it in
international legal forums - and international
Judgments from international
courts strike Zimbabwean law down? Why else
would the people of our land be
hungry and the demise of our economy through
the use of flawed Zimbabwean
laws have broken so many records?
It is disturbing therefore to have
various valuators insisting that in
Zimbabwe we must go by Zimbabwean
law.
The crux of the debate for all Zimbabweans who want a better future
for the
next generation should be "do we choose to be under man and
Zimbabwean law;
or do we choose to be under God and what is right in
International law?"
If we choose to remain under Zimbabwean law we choose
to accept that we are
under dictatorial tyranny and we choose to live our
resultant meager fearful
lives accordingly. When a paltry plate of
compensation is offered we must
accept it and allow that title to be
swallowed up in the sands of time by
the state for purposes of controlling
the people, knowing that under state
ownership it will never be very
productive again - and Zimbabwe will limp on
with its beggar hands out to the
rest of the world to feed its people. We
can only dream then of what was,
and what was not to be.
If we choose to accept that Zimbabwean law is
wrong then it is incumbent on
us to choose to throw fear aside and stand for
God and what is right in
international law. We choose then to do everything
we can to understand and
use what is right in international conventions,
international treaties,
international financial institutions, international
companies and
international organizations and governments to put pressure on
what is wrong
in the Zimbabwean system that is doing so much to destroy so
many lives.
If we all dare to stand unashamedly for God and what is right
in
international law, we will find that over time, what is right
in
international law will prevail. Property rights will be respected.
The
next generation will be able to rebuild our farms, schools,
hospitals,
businesses, electricity sources, roads, and other infrastructure.
With that
Zimbabwe will take its place internationally as a nation of hope -
employing
its people productively and exporting its surplus food to the
countries
around that have chosen the other road - the one that we are on now
- which
is called tyranny.
It is the time that the valuators gave
their clients a choice: "do you wish
to be like Esau and sell your
birthright - everything you have ever worked
for-for a bowl of stew? Or do
you want everything possible to be done to
ensure that international law
prevails?"
Ben
Freeth
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jack
McLellan - Arac Newsletter
What wonderful words in Arac"s Xmas message
(Arac update #14 20/12/11). I
am reminded of President Mugabe's inaugural
speech in 1980.
While being guided by sentiments expressed in the bible
may be acceptable I
maintain we should be looking forward not back 2000
years. Up till now, we
have not seen the metaphysical falling out of trees
either by our union
leaders or ZPF.
"I am not the one" certainly is
the hallmark of CFU's actions for the last
10 years, when in fact they should
have been "the one". As our industry
representatives, the responsibility of
thwarting ZPF unconstitutional
actions rested on their shoulders and as a
result of their failures we are
now living on locusts and not much wild
honey. The expression we are aware
of the "pressing financial and other
concerns" is a truism. That it has come
about under the mandate of CFU that
some older members have been forced to
surrender their title deeds and
accept a pittance from the government to
alleviate their poverty is an insult
to the integrity of CFU and must make
them examine their consciences. An
interesting issue here is the insistence
of surrendering their deeds of
transfer which are said to be null and void?
I am intrigued by the
reference to Zacheus. Is Mr Gilpin saying we were not
acting within the law
or within the spirit of the law by owning and working
our farms?. I think
not.
Happy New Year all and may this year be better Jack McLellan
