http://www.thezimbabwemail.com
Staff
Reporter 23 hours 38 minutes ago
The principals to the Global
Political Agreement (GPA) have met in Harare
this Monday to review ways of
addressing national needs of the Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission (ZEC) and to
discuss progress made by the Special
Cabinet Committee on the
constitution-making process.
In a statement, Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai’s Acting Spokesperson,
William Bango said the committee is
expected to meet on Tuesday to complete
its work and submit a report to the
political leaders in the GPA.
He said the Ministry of Finance has
committed to disburse US$2 million to
ZEC as government intensifies efforts
to mobilise additional resources.
The leaders want the process speeded up
so that the 18 July 2012 draft
constitution can be taken to a referendum as
soon as possible.
Meanwhile, the GPA facilitation team says it is committed
to the completion
of the constitution and awaits the final report from
deliberations currently
underway.
South African facilitation team
spokesperson, Lindiwe Zulu, who is also the
International Relations Adviser
to South African President Jacob Zuma, told
the ZBC News that there has been
constant feedback with the negotiators.
Zulu said her team awaits the
final report from the committee tasked to deal
with the constitution after
the 2nd All Stakeholders’ Conference held
between the 21st and 23rd of
October last year.
“There has been some work that the committee is
working on since the 2nd all
stakeholders. We are in constant contact with
the negotiators,” she said.
The parties are reported to have been engaged
over sticking issues in the
COPAC draft constitution while the nation awaits
the completion of the
document which should be tabled for a
referendum.
If the document is adopted, the country is expected to hold
elections under
the new supreme law although the delays do not stop Zimbabwe
from going to
the polls using the Lancaster House constitution.
There are
chances that there could be a breakthrough soon following
indications that
Copac co-chairpersons had found common ground on five of
the remaining six
issues.
It is now up to the Cabinet committee to deliberate on the Copac
co-chairpersons’ recommendations. Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, who was
asked by the other principals to issue a statement on the matter yesterday,
confirmed the development.
“On the constitution-making process, the
leaders acknowledged the progress
made by the special Cabinet committee,
including the Copac co-chairpersons,”
said PM Tsvangirai.
“In this
regard, the political leaders will be meeting on Thursday to
receive a
report from the committee. Meanwhile, the committee is expected to
meet
tomorrow, Tuesday, and if necessary on Wednesday to complete their work
and
submit a report to the political leaders.”
Deputy Prime Minister Arthur
Mutambara concurred: “We emphasised that
Wednesday is the Cabinet
committee’s deadline and beyond Wednesday their
mandate is finished as the
principals we will be taking over the process.
“We have made a decision as
principals that the Cabinet committee should
complete its work by Wednesday
and submit the report. We are not going to
extend the deadline,” he
said.
A member of the committee and Justice and Legal Affairs Minister
Patrick
Chinamasa confirmed the development yesterday.
“They (principals)
met today (yesterday) and directed that the Cabinet
committee submits their
report to them by Wednesday,” said Minister
Chinamasa. “The principals will
then meet on Thursday to deliberate on that
report. So in the meantime, the
Cabinet committee has been instructed to
finalise their deliberations by
Wednesday.”
Copac co-chairperson Mr Douglas Mwonzora recently said as
co-chairpersons
they reached consensus on devolution, national prosecuting
authority,
executive authority, national peace and reconciliation commission
but failed
to agree on the issue of running mates.
Minister Chinamasa
said they were going to receive the Copac report today
when they meet so
that they could deliberate on it.
Meanwhile, PM Tsvangirai said together with
President Mugabe and DPM
Mutambara, discussed ways to solve the financial
needs of the Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission.
He said the Ministry of
Finance had made a commitment to immediately
disburse US$2 million to ZEC as
government intensifies efforts to mobilise
additional resources.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
15/01/2013 00:00:00
by Staff
Reporter
THE MDC has threatened to take “appropriate action” after party
leader,
Welshman Ncube, was excluded from Monday’s meeting of party leaders
where
President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai discussed
the
stalled constitutional reform process.
In a statement Tuesday,
the MDC said the exclusion of Ncube was a violation
of the “SADC resolution
(at a recent meeting in Mozambique) which clearly
states that Ncube is one
of the Principals”.
“We know that this is a deliberate ploy to shut Ncube
out as he is the only
voice of legal reason and refuses to be arm twisted
into ridiculous
compromises around critical areas which include the
devolution clause,” the
party said.
“He is the only leader who has
stood firm against Zanu PF’s endless attempts
to snatch control of the
constitution making process and referendum, unlike
some and for that he is
being muzzled.”
Mugabe and Tsvangirai were joined by Deputy Prime
Minister Arthur Mutambara
to discuss the stalled constitutional reform
process as well as funding for
the registration of voters ahead of elections
this year.
Ncube and Mutambara are fighting for the leadership of the MDC
with the
deputy premier challenging his ouster as party president at the
Supreme
Court.
The regional SADC grouping decided at a meeting in
Maputo last year that its
mediation team would deal with Ncube but Mutambara
retains his post in
government and continues to attend meetings of the GPA
leaders.
Said the MDC: “(Ncube has) been excluded from these meetings
time and again
and we see this as a gross violation of the SADC resolution
which clearly
states that Ncube is one of the Principals.
“We would
like to state it on record that we will take appropriate action.”
The party
said the side-lining of its leader as down to “those whose new
found comfort
within the spaces created by the GPA, has compromised their
desire for real
change that will deliver a fair and just Zimbabwe, built on
a constitution
which gives real power to the people.”
Meanwhile, the GPA leaders warned
after Monday’s meeting that they would
take over the constitutional reform
process if a Cabinet committee appointed
to bridge differences between the
parties failed to reach a deal.
Issues holding the process back include
devolution, national prosecuting
authority, executive authority as well as
running mates for Presidential
candidates.
The committee was told to
present its report Wednesday with the leaders set
to meet on Thursday to
thrash the way forward.
“We emphasised that Wednesday is the Cabinet
committee’s deadline and beyond
Wednesday their mandate is finished as the
principals we will be taking over
the process,” Mutambara said.
“We
have made a decision as principals that the Cabinet committee should
complete its work by Wednesday and submit the report. We are not going to
extend the deadline.”
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tichaona Sibanda
15
January 2013
Despite a hopeful breakthrough in the COPAC talks to
finalize the drafting
of a new constitution, negotiations by a cabinet
committee on Tuesday ended
without a deal.
The cabinet committee was
expected to ratify proposals recommended by the
three COPAC co-chairmen, who
last week reported progress from their talks to
overcome differences holding
up the finalization of the country’s new
charter.
Douglas Mwonzora,
the MDC-T spokesman and COPAC co-chair, told SW Radio
Africa the latest
talks to remove the one remaining obstacle to the process
proved elusive,
after ZANU PF brought back issues already agreed to by the
co-chairmen.
It was assumed the meeting on Tuesday would tentatively
ratify the four
issues the co-chairs thrashed out in the last two weeks. The
co-chairs met
on four occasions during the festive season and provisionally
managed to
iron out everything, with the exception of the issue of running
mates.
During their meetings the co-chairs had bridged the differences on
chapters
dealing with the devolution of power, national prosecuting
authority, peace
and reconciliation commission and land
committee.
‘We went into today’s (Tuesday) meeting specifically to deal
with the one
remaining issue of running mates but for some strange reason
Patrick
Chinamasa decided to re-open the other issues that we dealt with
weeks ago,’
Mwonzora said. Chinamasa is the chief negotiator representing
the former
ruling ZANU PF party.
‘Instead of trying to make progress,
Chinamasa was only filibustering,
simply making empty arguments that
wouldn’t stop. From his intransigency it
was clear ZANU PF do not want a new
constitution,’ a furious Mwonzora
claimed.
The Nyanga North MP
explained that the cabinet committee will meet again on
Wednesday as
suggested by the principals to try and resolve the contentious
issues.
Following the principals’ meeting on Monday, Deputy Prime Minister
Arthur
Mutambara said they gave the committee a Wednesday deadline and
beyond that,
their mandate will be over, as the principals will be taking
over the
process.
‘Yes we are meeting again tomorrow (Wednesday) but we don’t
expect any
different attitude from Chinamasa. This committee is not
serious…it’s not
producing results,’ he said.
Mwonzora confirmed the
COPAC chairs will send their resolutions, adopted
from their meetings during
the festive season, to the principals on
Wednesday.
The cabinet
committee is expected to send theirs. Chairman Eric Matinenga,
the
Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs Minister, will explain in
detail
the issues still be resolved.
Mwonzora denied reports that the GPA
parties were ready to abandon the
process and instead work to amend the
Lancaster House constitution and come
up with Amendment 20, which
incorporates all the agreed issues from the
COPAC draft.
‘That is
absolute rubbish, we don’t accept amendment 20. The people of
Zimbabwe said
they wanted a new constitution and that is what they will get,
despite
delaying tactics by ZANU PF,’ he added.
Blessing Vava, the National
Constitutional Assembly (NCA) spokesman, said
COPAC should admit that
they’ve failed to produce a constitution.
‘They should admit their
failure and instead of wasting time, government
should now make efforts to
produce reforms that can endure a free and fair
election.
‘It’s a
shame they’re still trying to resuscitate a process long declared
dead.
These parties have taken the people of Zimbabwe for granted, all they
want
now are reforms that would allow the country to have violent free
election
and deal with the constitution later,’ Vava said.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
14/01/2013
00:00:00
by Staff Reporter
ZIMBABWE’S three main parties
appear set to abandon their commitment to a
new constitution before
elections following insurmountable disagreements,
New Zimbabwe.com can
reveal.
Instead, Zanu PF and the two MDC factions are now seriously
considering
amending the current Lancaster House Constitution – an admission
the US$42
million exercise to draft a new constitution is doomed.
The
plan to introduce Amendment 20, giving effect to areas of agreement
between
the parties, was revealed by Finance Minister and MDC-T secretary
general
Tendai Biti in London last Friday.
Biti told an investment conference the
parties would then ask Zimbabweans to
weigh in on the contested issues at a
referendum to run simultaneously with
general elections set to be held this
year.
The development is a serious blow to Zimbabwe’s reform agenda
agreed by the
parties in September 2008, which had a new constitution as the
centrepiece.
New Zimbabwe.com understands a cabinet taskforce set up to
try and break the
impasse will meet the coalition leaders on Thursday to
make four
recommendations.
A source familiar with the negotiations
said: “The first of those
recommendations will be that the principals should
try and reach a
compromise on the contentious issues in order to save the
draft constitution
of July 18. This will likely fail.
“The second
recommendation is that SADC, as the guarantors of the power
sharing
agreement, should step in and break the impasse. Zanu PF is likely
to resist
this.
“The third suggestion will be that the parties should all agree to
take the
July 18 draft to a referendum as is, but we know Zanu PF has
already trashed
that document so that one is a dead end.
“The fourth
option is to take the July draft constitution to a referendum
with the
agreed positions and ask Zimbabweans to vote ‘yes’ or ‘no’. The
people will
also decide on the disputed areas by being offered two
alternatives. There
is no appetite for that vexatious procedure.
“The final recommendation
which seems to be gaining traction is the
Amendment 20 route. It was in fact
introduced by Patrick Chinamasa of Zanu
PF and all three parties have since
come up with their own positions.”
Zanu PF wants all the provisions it
accepts to be introduced into the
Lancaster House Constitution as Amendment
20, while the disputed provisions
fall away retaining the status quo on
issues such as presidential running
mates, devolution, presidential powers,
constitutional court, land
commission, peace and reconciliation commission
and the attorney general’s
powers.
The plan came under
attack, particularly from the MDC led by Welshman Ncube,
which pointed out
that Zanu PF was in fact trying to give effect to its
politburo’s amendments
to the July 18 draft.
The Zanu PF politburo rejected changes such as
devolution, the introduction
of presidential running mates, the
establishment of a constitutional court
as well as a land commission. The
MDC argued if the Zanu PF plan was
accepted, that would mean Zanu PF would
have introduced its pro-status quo
draft through the back door.
The
MDC-T’s position, according to sources, is that provisions already
agreed
should be injected into the current constitution through an
amendment, with
the disputed elements being put to a referendum to run at
the same time as
elections.
But Zanu PF is poised to reject the MDC-T’s recommendations,
fearing defeat
at a referendum which would be poisoned by the election mood
with the
winning political party also carrying the constitutional
argument.
The MDC’s recommendation, meanwhile, is that if the parties
want
Constitutional Amendment 20, the amendments should be confined only to
issues which have a bearing on the forthcoming election. The winning party
from the general elections would then carry the mandate of writing a new
constitution.
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Alex Bell
15
January 2013
There are mounting concerns that ZANU PF is funding its
election campaign
using money secured through the indigenisation drive, with
warnings that
there could be a repeat of the 2008 election
scenario.
Last week platinum mining giant Implats finalised a ‘sale’ of
51% of its
Zimbabwe unit, following months of threats from the ZANU PF led
empowerment
ministry.
The deal, finalised last Friday, will see
Implats ‘sell’ its shares for
US$971 million to Zimbabwe, with 10% of the
shares going to a Community
Trust, 10% to an ‘employee share ownership
trust’, and 31% to the State’s
National Indigenisation and Economic
Empowerment Fund. The fund, which
officials say now has US$2 billion of
assets, is headed by a former army
general and administered by
Indigenisation Minister Saviour Kasukuwere.
MDC-T spokesman Douglas
Mwonzora has since been quoted by the Standard
newspaper as saying that the
deal is being used by ZANU PF to raise funds
for its party
activities.
“That is asset-grabbing on the part of ZANU PF. It does not
increase
national wealth. We must adopt policies that are designed to grow
the
national cake instead of just sharing what is there,” he was quoted as
saying.
“We know that the proceeds (of the transaction) will be
abused. All funds
must be held by treasury,” he added.
Mwonzora said
the housing of the funds under the National Indigenisation and
Economic
Empowerment Fund, instead of the Ministry of Finance, was designed
to
sponsor ZANU PF’s “terror machine.”
His concerns have been echoed by
other observers and analysts, who have
warned that lessons should have been
learned from the 2008 election period,
when ZANU PF’s bloody poll campaign
was financed by an international ‘loan’.
This cash injection saw the Mugabe
regime cling to power through a campaign
of violence and murder.
An
investigation by the Mail & Guardian newspaper in South Africa last year
showed that an American institutional investor named Och Ziff financed that
loan.
The deal started in 2008 with ZANU PF pressuring Anglo American
Platinum to
hand over about a quarter of its platinum concessions to the
state, which
then awarded the concessions to a group called Todal Mining, a
joint venture
between the state-owned Zimbabwe Mining Development
Corporation and a
private company called Lefever Finance. This company in
turn was owned by a
shadowy group based in the British Virgin Islands called
Meryweather
Investments, linked to controversial businessman and ZANU PF
functionary
Billy Rautenbach.
Lefever Finance was then bought out by
the Central African Mining and
Exploration Company (Camec) for about five
million dollars. It also threw in
the US$100 million loan which it said was
to help Lefever comply with its
contractual obligations to Zimbabwe. The
money went straight to Mugabe’s
government, in a deal that saw the regime
get its hands on much needed cash.
Political analyst Clifford Mashiri
told SW Radio Africa that here is “every
reason to suspect that Implats and
others forced into indigenisation deals
are indirectly financing ZANU
PF.”
“This is ZANU PF ransacking ahead of what will be another bloody
election.
These deals have nothing to do with empowerment,” Mashiri warned.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Violet Gonda
15 January
2013
ZimRights director Okay Machisa appeared in court on Tuesday, facing
charges
of conspiracy to commit fraud.
State prosecutor Michael Reza
asked the court to remand the human rights
boss in custody, saying he needed
more time to change his case file and lay
out formal charges against Machisa
as an individual.
But reports say the ZimRights’s lawyer, Beatrice
Mtetwa, urged the court to
release her client saying there was no evidence
or reason of suspicion
against Machisa as an individual.
The court
hearing was still underway at the time of broadcast.
Machisa was arrested on
Monday on allegations of involvement in ‘illegal
voter registration. He is
accused of publishing false statements with the
intention of inciting public
disorder and violence.
Four other people, including Machisa’s deputy Leo
Chamahwinya, are in police
custody facing similar charges. The four, who
were arrested last month, were
denied bail by a High Court judge on the
grounds that their crime is so
serious that they may run away if
released.
The state has alleged that the group forged voter registration
certificates
“to tarnish the name of the Registrar
General.”
Meanwhile, the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition said in a statement
that the
move by the police is the, “latest attack on non-governmental
organizations
by the coalition government, which in recent months has been
harassing human
rights defenders and NGOs ahead of a constitutional
referendum and planned
general elections.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com
By Associated Press, Updated: Wednesday, January 16, 2:42
AM
HARARE, Zimbabwe — The United Nations says it needs $131 million in
humanitarian assistance to meet food, water and emergency needs in
Zimbabwe.
The U.N. humanitarian coordinator, Alain Noudehou, said Tuesday
at least
$110 million of the money will be used to provide food for more
than 1.6
million Zimbabweans facing starvation this year.
Noudehou
said the appeal is less than the previous year’s $197 million
because of “a
steady improvement” in the humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe
brought about
by an upturn in some sectors of the economy.
The U.N. said this year’s
food shortages are “worse” compared to the past
three years due to drought,
erratic rains and cash shortages to buy seed and
fertilizers for
impoverished farmers in the countryside, many who took over
formerly
white-owned farms.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Alex Bell
15
January 2013
Two Zimbabwean farmers, who both had their farms seized
under the land grab
campaign, will make history this week when a legal
challenge against the
suspension of the regional human rights Tribunal is
filed at the African
Commission on Human and People’s Rights.
A
comprehensive submission contesting the crippling of the Tribunal’s work
will be filed with the African Commission by the farmers’ legal team this
week. This follows the Commission’s ruling last November that the complaint
lodged with it on behalf of farmers Luke Tembani and Ben Freeth, against
SADC leaders for suspending the human rights Tribunal, was
‘admissible’.
The complaint by Tembani and Freeth was filed as part of
the ongoing battle
for the future of the Tribunal, which was suspended more
than two years by
SADC leaders over its rulings against the Zimbabwe
government. The court had
ruled that the land grab was unlawful, and then
held Zimbabwe in contempt of
court for refusing to honour its original
ruling.
The court also held the government of Zimbabwe in breach of the
SADC Treaty
and other international legal obligations. But instead of taking
action
against Zimbabwe, SADC leaders suspended the court in 2010 for a
review of
its mandate. Two years later the court remains inactive. Regional
justice
ministers have proposed that the court only be reinstated with a
very
limited human rights mandate, which blocks individual access to the
court.
14 SADC leaders have been cited as respondents in the landmark
case launched
by Tembani and Freeth, which was originally made to the SADC
Tribunal in
2011, but will now be heard by the African Commission. It is the
first time
in legal history that a group of heads of state is being cited by
an
individual as the respondent in an application to an international
body.
The Tribunal meanwhile has been deliberately hamstrung by SADC
governments,
who have agreed that the court will only be allowed to continue
its work if
individual access to the court is stopped. This means that the
court cannot
fulfil its chief mandate, which is to uphold the human rights
of all SADC
citizens.
Freeth told SW Radio Africa on Tuesday that the
African Commission’s
interest in the case is “exciting,” because the fight
for the Tribunal will
now be held on an international stage.
“We will
now have this argued before the eyes of the world,” Freeth said.
He
explained that the case is not just about farmers in Zimbabwe, but about
fundamental human rights of the entire SADC region, rights that are being
actively infringed on by the suspension of the court.
“This fight
goes to the core of problems in Southern Africa. The region has
huge
potential for growth and development, but we are not moving forward.
This
case addresses the reasons for this,” Freeth said.
He added that the case
will also shine a spotlight on the human rights
situation in Zimbabwe ahead
of elections, which he warned are likely to be
“bloody.”
“This is
going to be an extremely difficult year. Nothing has happened to
stop what
happened in previous elections from happening again,” he warned,
adding that
the case will highlight the need for a strong, independent human
rights
court.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tererai
Karimakwenda
15 January 2013
A branch chairman from the MDC-T’s
Bulawayo structures, who was arrested and
detained by the military two weeks
ago, was seen by residents in his
constituency last Friday walking around in
handcuffs and leg irons as police
searched his house.
Happison Ncube,
a former soldier and chairman of the MDC-T Cowdray Park
branch, has been in
detention at Brady Barracks in Bulawayo since he handed
himself in to the
police on Wednesday, January 2nd.
SW Radio Africa correspondent Lionel
Saungweme said residents in his
constituency saw Ncube outside his house on
Friday, with soldiers searching
the property.
“They came and asked
his mother a few questions then proceeded to thoroughly
search the house.
They took party records and party cards and other
materials from Ncube’s
time as MDC-T official in South Africa. Sources said
he was handcuffed and
with leg irons outside the house,” Saungweme
explained.
He said the
arrest centres on the way Ncube left the army, but the MDC-T
believe he is
being treated like a criminal simply because he is branch
officicial in the
MDC-T in Cowdray Park constituency.
Officers from the Police Internal
Security Intelligence (PISI) had left a
message ordering him to report to
Luveve police station. When he presented
himself, they arrested him and
handed him over to army officials.
The officers want Ncube to prove that
he resigned from the military through
the normal procedures. He was based at
the army’s 4 Brigade headquarters in
Masvingo.
Saungweme said Ncube
handed in a letter of resignation before he went on
leave in November last
year, because he wanted to return to civilian life.
But it is not clear
whether the army accepted his resignation or not. No
evidence has been
produced to show he simply disappeared, especially since
he turned himself
into the police.
Saungweme said MDC-T officials in Bulawayo accused the
authorities of
abusing their powers and treating Ncube like a criminal. They
believe he is
being prosecuted because of his position as an MDC-T
official.
The MDC-T say that if the army had issues with the way Ncube
resigned, they
could have simply checked their records before arresting and
jailing him.
This is a continuation of what the MDC-T has called
“persecution by
prosecution”, where the police arrest first, then
investigate later.
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com
Staff Reporter 21 hours 1 minute
ago
HARARE - The Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs,
Patrick Chinamasa says
the government has the right to continue
re-possessing land under the land
reform programme.
In rant in Harare
Chinamasa also said even farms under Bilateral Investment
Promotion and
Protection Agreement (BIPPA), can be acquired on condition the
government
can fully compensate the affected owners.
The recent eviction and arrest
of 55 farmers, who were allocated A1 plots at
Tavydale Farm after a white
farmer destroyed 70 hectares belonging to the
farmers in Mazoe has exposed a
lot of issues with newly resettled farmers
questioning the logic of being
given offer letters under the land reform
programme but later being evicted
from the farms.
The feisty Justice Minister Chinamasa said the white
farmer, Mr Mattison
destroyed the maize following a directive by the
Minister of Lands and Rural
Resettlement, Dr Herbert Murerwa to stop
resettling people on BIPPA farms.
Lands, Land Reforms and Resettlement
Minister Hebert Murerwa said this month
the law conferred Government with
powers to acquire any land, it had decided
to put on hold acquiring of farms
under BIPPA.
Agreements under BIPPA require that Government pay fair
compensation in
currency of the former owner’s choice for both land and
improvements.
Minister Murerwa said the decision to stop acquiring BIPPA
farms was in
respect of the agreement while managing State liability.
He
said Government was saddled with a US$25 million debt owed to 40 Dutch
farmers.
The farmers successfully sued at the International Court for
Settlement of
Investment Disputes.
“Although under Zimbabwean law,
Government can legally acquire such farms,
in view of the ongoing litigation
in the ISCID, Government has taken the
decision not to settle persons on
farms covered by BIPPA for now,” said
Minister Murerwa.
“Government will
abide by the provision of the agreement and at the same
time we do not want
to increase our liability.”
Some of the countries covered by BIPPA include
Denmark, Germany, Belgium,
Netherlands, Italy, Malaysia and
Switzerland.
Minister Murerwa said Government would have to find alternative
land for the
affected A1 farmers.
“At Tavydale farm, a decision has been
made by myself and the Mashonaland
Central Governor and Resident Minister
Martin Dinha that we will not settle
farmers on the property,” he
said.
Minister Murerwa said the offer letters issued by Mazowe district
administrator Ms Shelter Nyakudya were done in error.
The issue has since
spilled into courts and the High Court of Zimbabwe
Justice Francis Bere in
November last year threw out an urgent application
by the white farmer to
evict the A1 farmers.
He said the case represents a very sad state on the
part of the Minister of
Lands and Rural Resettlement as an acquiring
authority.
Justice Bere bemoaned land acquiring authority for sending
conflicting
signals to occupiers of Tavydale Farm, saying the approach by Dr
Murerwa
does not bring transparency to the whole land reform process in the
country.
Meanwhile, officials who spoke on condition of anonymity in the
Attorney
General’s offices said the white farmers can be charged with
malicious
damage to property as the A1 farmers were legally resettled by
government.
On the same note, the Attorney General, Mr Johannes Tomana
says the Ministry
of Lands and Rural Resettlement’s failure to evict some
white farmers who do
not have offer letters is causing delays in finalising
the land reform
programme.
AG Tomana says several cases of white
farmers refusing to move out of the
land allocated to newly resettled
farmers which are now being heard in
courts, represent a worrying state of
affairs on the relevant ministry which
is failing to fully implement the
land reform programme.
He said laws of the country are clear that all
farmers with offer letters
have the right to move onto farms allocated to
them.
The latest statement by the AG comes at a time when several farmers
who were
given offer letters are facing resistance from white farmers who
are
refusing to vacate pieces of land allocated to the black majority under
the
land reform programme.
While the Minister Murerwa agreed that all
farmers with offer letters should
take up their land, his ministry has on
many occasions come under fire from
offer letter holders for allegedly
embarking on a replanning exercise aimed
at downsising the farms to
accommodate some of the white farmers.
Sources said there are plans are
at an advanced stage by the land acquiring
authority to come up with new
maps at several farms.
The already rickety Zimbabwe government of national
unity is facing yet
another divisive issue - how to react as international
courts rule that the
government must pay millions of dollars to white
farmers whose lands are
protected by Bilateral Investment Promotion and
Protection Agreements
(BIPPAs).
Cabinet sources say the Movement for
Democratic Change wants the government
to stop seizing land or compensate
the farmers. However, hardliners in Zanu
PF say there is no going back on
the land reform program.
A German, Heinrich Von Pezold, and other farmers are
suing the government
for US$600 miillion.Von Pezold bought a forestry and
sawmilling firm, Border
Timbers, which operated 5 forest estates and 3
sawmills.
He also had several tea estates in Manicaland Province, which
were forcibly
taken by the government under the land reform
scheme.
As Pezold’s purchases were protected by a BIPPA between Germany
and Zimbabwe
signed in 1995, the take-over of the Von Pezold properties
caused a
diplomatic row between the two countries.
Pezold’s case is
now up for arbitration at the International Centre for
Settlement of
Investment Disputes in Paris.
Germany has accused Zimbabwe President Robert
Mugabe’s Zanu-PF ruling party
of betrayal after its senior officials invaded
a prime game reserve run by
German investors.
Mr Hans-Gunter Gnodtke,
Germany’s ambassador to Zimbabwe, told journalists
in Harare early this
month that his country was now considering boycotting
the World Tourism
Conference to be jointly hosted by Zambia and Zimbabwe in
August in
protest.
Over 25 Zanu-PF officials invaded the 340,000-hectare Save Valley
Conservancy amid threats of additional sanctions by the European Union (EU)
on President Mugabe’s government.
Mr Gnodtke said the conservancy owners
in the Save Valley were covered by a
Bilateral Investment Promotion and
Protection Agreement (BIPPA) between
Zimbabwe and Germany signed by the
Zanu-PF government.
“When we talk of German investors in Zimbabwe, we are
talking of those
investors who came here at Zanu-PF’s invitation,” he
said.
“We had Zimbabwe ministers coming to Germany inviting Germans to
Zimbabwe.
Even President Mugabe came to Germany and invited Germans to come
to
Zimbabwe,” he added.
Tourism infrastructure
Authorities have denied
foreign operators hunting permits at the vast Save
Valley Conservancy in
south-eastern Zimbabwe, but granted land and 25-year
permits to senior
members of ZANU-PF under the government's black
empowerment scheme.
The
envoy said the invasions threatened the successful hosting of the United
Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNTWO) conference in Zimbabwe’s resort
town of Victoria Falls and Zambia’s adjoining Livingstone town.
“Let
there also be no doubt we have not yet made our decision if and at what
level to participate at that conference,” Mr Gnodtke said.
“But if
elements wishing to destroy wildlife and tourism infrastructure in
Zimbabwe
protected by an international BIPPA should succeed, this will
seriously
affect Zimbabwe’s qualification to host an international meeting
on
tourism.
“This is what we have told both the Zimbabwean and Zambian
governments. We
hope and pray that common sense and responsibility will
prevail and that the
Victoria Falls meeting will be a success.”
The
invasions have brought divisions in Zanu-PF with the Tourism minister
Walter
Mzembi warning the move will seriously affect preparations for the
conference.
A fortnight ago the government announced that it had stopped
the compulsory
acquisition of commercial farms protected by BIPPA after it
lost a series of
cases at international courts lodged by dispossessed
farmers.
Ranchers under the aegis of the Save Valley Conservancy include
foreign
investors from South Africa, Germany, Italy and the United States
who are
protected by investment agreements between Harare and their
respective
countries.
According to Mr Gnodtke, two German investors have
filed for compensation at
the World Bank's International Centre for
Settlement of Investment Disputes.
He said that economic co-operation between
Zimbabwe and Germany — which was
frozen in 2002 when the EU imposed
sanctions on Mugabe and his allies —
would only be restored "once the rule
of law and democracy have been
re-established in this country."
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
Tuesday, 15 January 2013 11:02
HARARE - Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is courting top army officials,
thus far the
biggest threat to his potential rule.
Since the emergence of the MDC in
2000 as the foremost threat to Zanu PF and
President Robert Mugabe’s rule,
the army has threatened to subvert the will
of the people even if Tsvangirai
wins a free and fair election.
Tsvangirai’s efforts to win the trust of
army generals come at a time when
MDC formations in the unity government are
sweating over what they say is a
covert military operation that could
scupper prospects of a peaceful
election.
Soldiers, according to MDC
formations, are carrying out an operation
code-named “nyika yaenda — nyika
haiende” (the country is under threat)
across the country in order to ensure
a Zanu PF victory come elections.
High-placed sources close to the PM
yesterday said the MDC leader “has
changed tact” and will now use the
regular, National Security Council (NSC)
meetings to allay fears of army
generals who include defence chief
Constantine Chiwenga and police boss
Augustine Chihuri.
One of the army commanders, Douglas Nyikayaramba, has
previously described
Tsvangirai as a national security threat while the MDC
leader has described
the major general’s statements as a pre-emptive coup
and demanded security
sector reforms before elections.
Mugabe on his
part has refused to reform the security sector arguing
tempering with the
army would compromise the country’s security.
Army top-brass have vowed
not to recognise anyone without liberation war
credentials amid fears
someone from outside Zanu PF could see them
persecuted for various crimes
against humanity as well as strip them of
their riches.
Tsvangirai
unlike Mugabe did not participate in the protracted liberation
war of the
1970s but has been able to attract the support of a disgruntled
electorate
through his party’s bread and butter policies.
Chihuri, Chiwenga and a
host of other military top-brass have openly
declared their allegiance to
Mugabe, at times threatening to thwart the will
of the people.
For
some time, MDC officials including, Tsvangirai, himself have played in
the
hands of the military hardliners as they have attacked the security
sector
establishment.
But well-placed sources in the Premier’s office said the
former trade
unionist is now trying a new method and managed to build
bridges with
service chiefs at the last NSC meeting that was also attended
by Mugabe and
top unity government ministers.
William Bango,
Tsvangirai’s spokesperson, could neither confirm nor deny
that the PM had
changed approach.
“What I know is that the National Security Council has been
meeting
previously in order to address national security issues,” said
Bango.
However, a high-placed source in the Premier’s office said since
December
last year, there has been a gradual change in the PM’s approach to
the
military.
The source said the MDC is moving from “confrontation
to engagement”.
“The Prime Minister is shifting from confrontation to
engagement. The aim is
to try and allay fears of those who are afraid of his
rule. This is a major
policy shift in the MDC as previous attempts to
confront the army have
failed to move hardliners,” said the
source.
Apart from courting army generals, who will no doubt play a
significant role
towards the country’s transition, Tsvangirai has been
openly meeting
officials from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and
Registrar General’s
offices — two bodies that will play a major role in the
forthcoming
elections.
Like the army, Zec the body mandated with
running elections, is accused by
civil society of tempering with 2008
harmonised election results.
With Zimbabwe hurtling towards elections
that could be held midyear, fears
are high that the impending poll could
turn into a farce if security sector
and legislative reforms are not put in
place.
A report released by Human Rights Watch last year listed the army
as the
biggest threat to the country’s hopes of holding free and fair
elections
this year.
Even though Mugabe has been reluctant to effect
security sector reforms,
there are signs that the army might be ready to
ensure that the forthcoming
elections will be held under peaceful
conditions.
MDC secretary-general Tendai Biti who also attends the NSC
meetings, in
December last year said army bosses are now committed to
creating peaceful
conditions ideal for a free and fair election.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tererai Karimakwenda
15 January
2013
The late Professor Gordon Chavunduka, who died last Friday after a
long
illness, was buried on his farm in Rusape Tuesday, at a funeral
attended by
some of Zimbabwe’s top political and cultural
figures.
MDC-T President Morgan Tsvangirai said they had lost a, “candid
and frank
advisor in the party” and the nation had lost “a true liberator,
who stood
by the ideals of a free Zimbabwe from the colonial era right into
the
pro-democracy era”.
Professor Chavunduka had battled with cancer
of the throat for about two
years, reportedly surprising doctors by fighting
it much longer than
expected. But he finally succumbed to the disease at the
Avenues Clinic last
week, aged 82.
Chavunduka was best known as a
practitioner of traditional medicine, serving
for many years as President of
the Zimbabwe National Traditional Healers’
Association (ZINATHA). He
published several books on traditional medicine.
But he had also entered
the political realm prior to that, when he served as
a delegate on Abel
Muzorewa’s United African National Council (ANC), during
the Lancaster House
Conference in 1979.
Robert Mugabe appointed Chavunduka vice chancellor of
the University of
Zimbabwe in 1992, a position he held for four
years.
The Professor later joined the MDC-T and held several senior positions
in
the party, including Secretary for National Healing and Chairperson of
the
party’s Guardian Council.
This was apparently a problem for ZANU
PF officials, who reportedly snubbed
a memorial church service for
Chavunduka at the Anglican Cathedral in Harare
on Monday. According to the
independent Newsday newspaper, ZANU PF officials
“were conspicuous by their
absence”.
The paper quotes party spokesperson Rugare Gumbo as saying:
“Some of us were
not here so we could not attend. We also understand he was
now a
fully-fledged member of the MDC-T. It is very difficult if faced with
such a
situation.”
Professor John Makumbe, who worked with Chavunduka
at the UZ, described him
as a humble man who was very professional. They
often shared tea together
with students and lower graduates in the
cafeteria.
Makumbe said it was very unfortunate that ZANU PF would snub
the memorial
service, especially when there is a unity government that
includes all
political parties. He said this shows how immature and
unforgiving ZANU PF
can be.
Senior MDC-T leaders who attended the
Harare service on Monday included the
MDC-T Vice President Thokozani Khupe,
Secretary General Tendai Biti,
Organising Secretary Nelson Chamisa and party
spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora.
Addressing mourners at the memorial, party
President Morgan Tsvangirai
described Professor Chavunduka as “a true giant
of our times”.
He said: “When the social, cultural, intellectual and
political history of
Zimbabwe is written, Professor Gordon Chavunduka’s name
will certainly
feature among the titles of great sons and daughters who have
made an
indelible mark on the nation’s pathway”.
The MDC Today
Tuesday, 15
January 2013
Issue – 499
Thousands of MDC supporters, civic society,
academics and villagers today
joined President Tsvangirai and the Chavunduka
family for the burial of
Prof. Gordon Chavunduka at No. 14 farm in Dowa,
Rusape.
President Tsvangirai bemoaned the loss of a candid and frank advisor
in the
party adding that the nation had lost a true liberator, who stood by
the
ideals of a free Zimbabwe from the colonial era right into the
pro-democracy
era.
In Masvingo, during the past month, a group of
self proclaimed war veterans
and Zanu PF supporters invaded land designated
for sporting facilities at
Mupandawana Growth Point. According to Senator
for Gutu, Hon. Empire
Kufachikati Makamure, a group of about fifty Zanu PF
supporters led by the
party`s losing council candidate for ward 34 Jephison
Nemashakwe Muzorori
allegedly approached the local council offices and
demanded land for
agriculture and proceeded to grab land designated for
sports and
recreational facilities.
“I was surprised to see Zanu PF
supporters cultivating land that has been
designated for sporting
facilities. In actual fact they have invaded the
netball and volleyball
pitches at Makombo ground. That is the place where
all School competitions
for the entire district are held. We are deeply
disturbed by the primitive
mentality reflected by Zanu PF. They have also
encroached onto my
residential stand and that kind of barbaric behaviour is
reckless and
uncouth”.
“We wonder where school pupils are going to conduct their
activities after
the invasion of their sports facilities. As a former
educationist I am well
aware that sport is part of the education curriculum
and the Zanu PF
supporters have reflected blatant disregard for children`s
rights to proper
physical and moral development .It is now very difficult
for the pupils to
carry out their activities because the crops have
literally clogged the
area, “said Senator Makamure.
He said frantic
efforts were being made to reverse the controversial process
adding that he
had engaged the local district administrator and local
council officials
over the matter.
MDC Gutu Central Constituency Secretary for Information
and Publicity Lloyd
Mupfudze described the incident as uncivilized and
retrogressive. “Zanu PF
supporters have shown their desire to destroy all
functional facilities in
the country. Apart from hosting district sports
competitions, the area is
also used for various exhibitions, so we are not
happy with the incident,”
said Mupfudze.
The Last Mile: Towards Real
Transformation!!!
http://nehandaradio.com
on January 15, 2013 at 1:44
am
By Gift Phiri
HARARE – An international consortium of
investors has said it was suspending
R10 billion (approximately $1,2
billion) investment in southern Zimbabwe,
apparently because of pervasive
corruption and demands for bribes by Cabinet
ministers.
Environment Minister Francis Nhema
The announcement
came after a rare statement by the consortium, represented
by the Cape
Town-based businessman Peter Kohler that he had decided not to
solve
problems by slipping money under the table.
The international investment
consortium had raised the cash to establish a
huge tourist facility in the
arid Matabeleland South, one of the poorest
areas of the country boasting of
a bird sanctuary and game reserve.
President Robert Mugabe has
acknowledged that corruption is a national
problem, and curbing official
corruption is one of the goals of his tenure
if he wins
re-election.
At his party’s conclave in Gweru last month, Mugabe railed
against his
officials often used to extort prospective investors, and said
the problem
had been brought to his attention by former South Africa
president Thabo
Mbeki.
Beyond embarrassing Mugabe’s administration,
the international consortium’s
stance could mark an economic turning point
if it leads to more foreign
businesses speaking out against corruption
here.
The decision is particularly damning for Zimbabwe as the
consortium, which
declined to be named, runs businesses in dozens of
countries around the
world and is hardly thin-skinned when it comes to
dealing with
bureaucracies.
Simon Spooner, a spokesperson for the
consortium, said they had decided to
keep the matter under wraps hoping to
rescue the R10 billion deal that could
have immensely benefited Matabeleland
South.
According to Spooner, the project would have created 10 000 jobs
and
provided huge infrastructural development for the local people;
electricity,
new villages, feedlots, irrigation, an international airport,
power station
and a large number of exclusive lodges and a 400 unit
condominium complex on
the Shashe River.
It was based on four
memorandum of understandings (MoUs) with the local
people and communities of
Matshatshuta, Hwali and Tuli Circle and the
National Parks, hence the
consent of Environment and Natural Resources
minister Francis Nhema was
required.
“Things stumbled along and it would seem that underhand
dealings were
demanded,” Spooner said.
The talks were said to have
involved Home Affairs minister Kembo Mohadi and
Zapu president Dumiso
Dabengwa, an ex-minister of Home Affairs, to persuade
Nhema to get the money
invested ahead of the November 2012 deadline.
Mohadi was unreachable for
comment.
But Dabengwa said he had advised the investor where to go and
did not get
involved beyond that.
“I advised him how to go about it,”
Dabengwa told the Daily News on Sunday.
“I don’t know how far he had
gone. But it was certainly a huge project. It
was also going to open a short
cut to Johannesburg on the Kezi road.”
Under the deal, the communities
were going to be granted ownership of the
whole investment and benefit from
about 10 000 jobs.
“From that point on (in 2010), much transpired until
finally Nhema put a
stop to it by stating, ‘If you think that people will be
given title, you
can forget it’,” Spooner said.
“Five MoUs needed to
be signed and minister Nhema stood in the way,” he
said.
“He
vehemently objected to title of the infrastructure being given to the
four
local communities.
“The discussion to unlock the process involved none
other than Dabengwa and
me at one stage and Mohadi. It was
scuppered.”
Nhema insisted he had nothing to do with the deal, which he
said should have
been handled by the Zimbabwe Investment
Authority.
“I don’t have anything to do with that. Did he go through the
Zimbabwe
Investment Centre?
“They are approved there. We deal with
policy issues,” he told the Daily
News on Sunday.
The consortium
cited the unpredictability of administrative processes in
Zimbabwe as the
basis of the decision to pull out the R10 billion
investment.
It is
just the latest case of bribe-taking and shakedowns by Zimbabwean
officials
that had become intolerable. The consortium’s announcement came
after
exhausting all channels, but took a principled decision not to pay
bribes in
Zimbabwe.
Foreign executives have complained privately for decades that
bribery is an
integral part of Zimbabwean business culture, often tolerated
or silently
rebuffed.
In fact, foreign companies retain legions of
lawyers so they can adhere
scrupulously to regulations in hopes of avoiding
providing an opening for
bribe-seeking officials.
Zimbabwe has fared
badly on Transparency International’s corruption
perception index (CPI),
ranked 163 in 176 countries polled worldwide,
according to the December 5,
2012 CPI. The corruption has become so endemic
that traffic police routinely
take cash bribes.
However, it is the next level of official venality,
so-called administrative
corruption that is most harmful to business and
authorities with the power
to halt business activity are blatantly demanding
bribes, a move that has
riled even Mugabe. -Daily News
http://www.israelidiamond.co.il
15.01.13, 12:48
An
unconfirmed report has identified a diversified Zimbabwe firm as about to
embark upon diamond mining activities in the country's Marange region,
according to All Africa. Meikles Limited, which owns a hotel in Harare and a
series of department stores in Zimbabwe, employing more than 6,000 people,
has reportedly expressed interest in becoming a player in the country's
diamond industry.
A report earlier late last week stated that Meikles had
already solidified a
partnership with the state-owned Zimbabwe Mining
Development Corporation to
mine at the intersection of the Odzi and Save
rivers, near Chiadzwa. But a
clarification issued early this week stressed
that no formal agreement was
reached, but rather that Meikles was believed
to have submitted an
application to partner with the ZMDC.
Meikles group
chair John Moxon announced that the company was forming a wing
for carrying
out mining operations back in November and anticipated that
revenues from
the venture could exceed those it makes from all other
operations, All
Africa reported. Meikles qualifies as an indigenous company
under the
country's laws which mandate local ownership of the nation's
resources.
http://www.iol.co.za/
January 15 2013 at 08:41pm
By SAPA
Harare -
Zimbabwe's annual inflation rate eased to 2.91 percent in December,
down
from 2.99 percent the previous month due to reduced food and clothing
costs,
the national statistics agency said Tuesday.
The monthly inflation rate
for December remained steady at 0.13 percent.
Zimbabwe's annual inflation
rate has remained below 5.0 percent since the
country dumped its
hyper-inflation ravaged dollar for the US dollar and the
South African rand
in 2009.
Goods that had vanished from store shelves at the peak of a
post-election
crisis, are now in abundance. Prices, however, fluctuate
according to import
costs.
A one-time regional bread basket, Zimbabwe
has in recent years battled to
feed itself after President Robert Mugabe
embarked on a campaign to
expropriate white-owned farmland and the country
slipped into a political
and economic crisis.
The country now relies
on imports mainly from the neighbouring economic
giant South
Africa.
While the humanitarian situation has recently improved, the
United Nations
on Tuesday said the country will this year require $131
million in aid
mainly for food after crop failure due to erratic rains,
shortage of inputs
and poor farming practices.
Part of the funds will
also be channelled to the prevention of diseases
after a cholera outbreak
four years ago killed more than 4,200 people and
infected nearly 100,000
people.
President Robert Mugabe and his long-time political foe Prime
Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai were in 2009 forced into a power-sharing
government
following the 2008 violence-marred elections. - Sapa-AFP
http://www.voazimbabwe.com
Chris Gande, Thomas
Chiripasi
14.01.2013
The government of Zimbabwe will soon introduce
free cancer treatment, Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has
revealed.
Mr. Tsvangirai said this when he addressed mourners at the
funeral wake of
the late president of the Zimbabwe National Traditional
Healers’ Association
and force Vice Chancellor of the University of
Zimbabwe, Gordon Chavhunduka,
who died of throat cancer last
Friday.
Chavhunduka was a member of the council of elders in Tsvangirai’s
Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC) wing.
He said cabinet took the
decision to offer free cancer treatment following
the rising number of
people affected by the ailment, including his deputy,
Thokozani
Khuphe.
The prime minister added that the government would soon establish
two
centres in Harare and Bulawayo for early detection of the
disease.
“Cancer is a disease that has been affecting many people. This
is why there
has been a cabinet decision to have free treatment of the
disease and have
two centres to have it detected early,” said Mr.
Tsvangirai.
However, commentator, Rejoice Ngwenya of Liberal Market
Solutions told VOA
Studio 7 that the resources for free cancer treatment are
not availble and
therefore the prime minister may have been merely
politiking.
Meanwhile, hundreds of people, including Mr. Tsvangirai,
gathered in Harare
on Monday for a memorial service held in honour of the
late academic,
politician and traditional leader, Professor Gordon
Chavhunduka.
http://www.voazimbabwe.com
Tatenda
Gumbo
14.01.2013
WASHINGTON — Efforts by the Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) Youth
Assembly leader, Solomon Madzore, to resume his studies
at the University of
Zimbabwe (UZ) have been rejected by
authorities.
Madzore, who spent 12 months in remand prison on charges of
allegedly
murdering police inspector Petros Mutedza in the Glen View in
2011, had
applied to defer his social work studies during his incarceration,
but on
applying to resume his studies, the registrar gave him a one-line
response
saying his application was unsuccessful.
Madzore's letter
read in part: “I regret to inform you that your application
for resumption
of studies was unsuccessful.”
VOA reached out to UZ Dean of Students Dr.
Munyaradzi Madambi, who refused
to comment saying he was unaware of the
matter.
University students expecting to spend a considerable time away
from their
studies are allowed to apply for deferment but are required to
apply to
resume studies.
Madzore told VOA the university is yet to
give a reason for the denial.
"It was written all over their
faces that there was some kind of instruction
there and all they could tell
me was Mr. Madzore I think we have been told
that you can't proceed because
your case is not yet over," said Madzore.
Agent Gumbo, president of the
University of Zimbabwe Zimbabwe National
Students Union chapter, said it is
hard for him not to believe the move was
political. He said though Madzore
had been away, it was not based on his own
choice.
Madzore,
who is left with a semester to complete his studies, has left the
matter to
his lawyers to appeal the decision made by the universtiy.
http://www.bdlive.co.za
BY RAY NDLOVU, JANUARY 15 2013, 10:04 | 0
COMMENT(S)
A MULTIMILLION-dollar deal between Zimbabwe Power
Company (ZPC) and
Chinese-owned SinoHydro for the expansion of Kariba South
power station has
been delayed amid indications the deal document breached
procurement
regulations.
The delay will affect work on the expansion
of the power station, which was
expected to increase power generation by
300MW. The state procurement board
was now likely to investigate, energy
officials said on Monday.
At issue is the concern of SinoHydro about
changes to the deal document,
including an increase from the initial $355m
quote to $390m, for
"contingencies", seemingly added by ZPC without
consultation. Power
regulations stipulate that ZPC must first seek
authorisation from the state
procurement board for any price
changes.
"The actual contract was for $355m, but the total price that we
signed the
contract for was $390m, including contingencies," said Wu Yifeng,
at
SinoHydro Zimbabwe. "It is the final price that was approved that
concerns
us. We did not include the contingencies."
Energy Minister
Elton Mangoma said his office was not yet privy to the
"irregularities", but
advised that delays would increase the costs.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
Tuesday, 15 January 2013 11:02
HARARE - Human rights
campaigners have urged the Zimbabwean government to
stop a police
shoot-to-kill policy against criminals as the country sinks
into worsening
crime.
Rights campaigners said the policy violates all laws and
regulations, both
Zimbabwean and international, and has demanded that the
police immediately
retract this faulty policy and replace it with reasonable
and legal policies
for regulating police work.
Scores of officers
have been killed in the line of duty in gunfire exchange
with daring
criminals, mainly robbers and carjackers, and figures are likely
to rise as
violent crime steadily rises as the economy flat lines.
The police has
also been dragged to court by families of deceased criminals
who say they
were shot by the police, allegedly deliberately.
There are fears that
more violence will be sparked by the decree to use
lethal force against
violent criminals.
At a memorial service of detective assistant inspector
Thadius Chipanga, who
was killed last Wednesday, head of the Criminal
Investigations Department
(CID), assistant commissioner Simon Nyathi told
mourners at Morris Depot
over the weekend that the police force has been
allowed to match criminals’
firepower with deadly force, and permitted to
“shoot-to-kill” without
worrying about what happens next.
Rights
activists called on the Zimbabwean government to issue an urgent
order to
police to stop using “lethal force.”
Lovemore Madhuku, a constitutional
law expert and University of Zimbabwe
lecturer, said while Zimbabwean
security forces have a duty to rein in
criminal violence, shooting to kill
was illegal.
“It’s illegal, it’s very illegal, they cannot shoot to
kill,” Madhuku told
the Daily News. “Of course they can kill in
self-defence.”
Human rights groups and others warned that such macho
rhetoric would lead to
innocent people being killed by gung-ho policemen
believing they had been
let off the leash by the police chief.
Irene
Petras, executive director of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights said
in
terms of the law, police should have reasonable suspicion that an offence
has been committed.
“Where a suspect is resisting arrest, they can
use reasonable force,” Petras
said. “They are supposed to judge and use the
force that is necessary if a
suspect is resisting.
“Shooting-to-kill,
that should only be used in extreme circumstances where
they can’t use any
other alternatives.
“It should be the last resort; it should never be the
first option. It
should be used when there is no other way in terms of
subduing the suspect.
There must be a reasonable cause.”
Nyathi told
mourners at the funeral of Chipanga that violent crime was out
of control
and okayed the new “shoot-to-kill” dispensation.
He spoke hours before
suspected armed robber Takesure Dumba, an ex-cop,
alleged to have killed
Chapinga, died in a shoot-out with the police.
Chapinga is the latest cop
to be killed in the line of duty by criminals.
Earlier on January 5 this
year, police exchanged gunfire with suspected
carjacker Richard Timba in
Queensdale, critically injuring him.
In 2010 chief superintendent
Lawrence Chatikobo was gunned down by robbers
in Bulawayo while sergeant
Joseph Maximus was killed in Harare.
In 2011 inspector Petros Mutedza was
killed in Glen View.
“They have started a war they will never win. As
police, we now have orders
to shoot and kill such perpetrators,” said
Nyathi.
“Those who live by the sword will die by the sword.”
But
Madhuku said the officer was effectively telling his officers: kill and
you
will not be held accountable, kill and you will be rewarded.
“Even the
issuing of that statement is a serious offence,” Madhuku said.
“It shows
a society with no regard for the rule of law. They must place you
before to
court. If they kill, they become a judicial body not a police
department.
It’s illegal and contrary to the rule of law. It shows
lawlessness.”
He said police were allocating themselves
extra-judicial powers to carry out
summary executions.
The
constitutional law expert said police was an arresting authority not a
court
of law.
“They should arrest, the judicial body will try the person and if
they are
guilty they will be punished. These are separate roles,” Madhuku
said. “It
is the role of the executive to execute the sentence or
punishment. Even if
you are convicted for murder, it does not necessarily
mean death sentence.
The president can serve a clemency of mercy. It’s
completely wrong."
“They can’t give themselves that power. Its contrary
to the rule of law. The
state must never do that through the
police.”
He said the policy turns the police from an institution
responsible for
preserving citizens’ safety, arresting suspects and bringing
them to
justice, to one that immediately punishes suspects, without
resorting to the
judiciary or the law, and in the worst possible way;
intentional murder.
He emphasised that the law does not allow intentional
killings for the sole
reason that “armed robbers or carjackers started
shooting” — as the police
say — although the law does allow the use of
firearms under specific
conditions.
Zimbabwean law allows policemen
to use firearms only when arresting a
suspect caught red-handed for a felony
in which an arrest is permitted, if
this is the only way to achieve the
arrest.
According to the law, the policeman must first give warning that
he will use
firearms, and must use it in accordance to
regulations.
Firearms can only be used to secure an arrest and prevent an
escape; the
police law in no way permits the targeting of individuals with
the intention
of killing them.
There are also legal conditions in
cases of defence of self or others
against an imminent life-threatening
danger, including that the person
defending himself must be facing an
imminent and severe danger which they
cannot prevent by any other
means.
Police officers also have powers that allow them to defend
themselves and
others without resorting to firearms, such as arrests,
searches, and
interrogations.
In all cases, any case of death
requires a full judicial investigation, and
the burden of proof lies on the
officer to prove he was in a situation of
self-defence.
Previously
police, who have themselves often been gunned down by the “Wild
West-style”
gangs that terrorise Zimbabwe’s cities once in a while, were
required to
fire warning shots. - Gift Phiri, Political Editor
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
15/01/2013 00:00:00
by Graham
Nyakudjga
FATAL road accidents in Zimbabwe continue their
shocking, upward surge. Road
accidents, whether fatal or non-fatal, have now
reached such alarming levels
that the carnage now needs the same special
attention accorded to the
HIV/AIDS pandemic.
According to Transport
Minister Nicholas Goche, there are 28 deaths per
every 10,000 registered
vehicles and there is a traffic collision every 15
minutes with an average
of 45 people getting injured per day while on
average five people are killed
daily.
If these statistics do not shock the government into action, then
nothing
ever will.
Fatal accidents have always been with us, but not at
the current levels and
frequency. In past years, the vehicle population was
in proportion to the
traffic infrastructure. In contrast, the prevailing
situation has the
vehicle population exceeding by far the traffic
infrastructure capacity
requirements.
Compounding the problem is that
the overwhelmed infrastructure is in an
advanced state of disrepair, which
requires massive effort, will power and
financial investment to put
right.
Zimbabweans in the Diaspora, and an upturn in the local economy
fuelled by
the discovery of diamonds and other minerals have seen the number
of
vehicles on Zimbabwe’s roads double or even treble in the last three
years
with cheap imports from neighbouring countries and
overseas.
The increased traffic is one of the causes of accidents, but by
no means the
only one. Combine non-licensed drivers, unroadworthy vehicles,
poor road
infrastructure including pot holes, lack of road signs and road
markings as
well as a poorly-resourced and corrupt police force then you
have a disaster
waiting.
The licensing office is also a contributor
to traffic accidents. Alleged
corruption where non-deserving people are
issued with licenses is a cause of
concern. An incompetent driver let loose
behind the wheel obviously is
always a danger to himself and others. The
government needs to act on
corrupt licensing officers to deter this sick
practice motivated by greed
for monetary gains.
Police details
manning roadblocks should shun selectivity when executing
their duties.
Checks should be done on every vehicle using the road
irrespective of who
owns it. I mean ZUPCO buses, army vehicles, and personal
cars driven by
police officers or soldiers wearing uniforms should all go
through normal
checks at roadblocks without favouritism. Little things like
this can lead
to serious accidents which otherwise are preventable had
normal practices
are adhered to.
Car manufacturers build cars according to geographical
location where it’s
destined for use. Cars built for Africa are built with
specifications to
withstand harsh African conditions. Importation of used
cars with tyres not
built for our conditions can also be a factor in this
upward accident trend.
Efforts to solicit informed data on how many
accidents are caused by these
imports were fruitless, but definitely our
conditions may cause serious
stress on certain components of the vehicles
providing conditions conducive
for accidents to happen.
Driver
fatigue and disregard of some basic road rules are two of the worst
causes
of accidents. Taking periodic refresher courses helps very much to
minimise
human error as an ingredient in the cause of accidents.
The Zimbabwe
Traffic Safety Board and the ZRP must be commended for doing a
good job of
random roadside safety awareness. In December 2012, I was one of
the drivers
who received a brief roadside lecture on how to drive safely
during the
rainy season and what checks I needed to do on my car to drive
safely. These
minor safety awareness briefings are very useful and they go a
long way to
make sure our roads are safe.
Driving is no longer enjoyable and safe in
Zimbabwe. I will quickly point a
finger to the state of the roads as the
main culprit. Too many cars on
small, damaged roads is not an ideal
situation for safe motoring.
New methods of driver training should be
explored. Traffic lights should be
backed up with solar power. The
authorities should also invest in
technology. Cameras strategically
positioned now play a major role in law
enforcement instead of countless
roadblocks which are not producing any
change in driving habits. Funds
generated by toll gates need to be used
specifically to repair and expand
the road network.
The government is responding generally well to combat
the traffic accidents.
Some few roads have been changed to one way only in
Harare. Harare to Mutare
road is being dualised. Repairs on Harare to
Bulawayo road are ongoing.
Repairs on other roads around the country are
taking place. Although this is
not good enough, at least something is
happening. The private sector should
also chip in and help in this mammoth
task of roads building and repairs
with the government providing a bigger
initiative.
Graham Nyakudjga can be contacted on e-mail: gnyakudjga184@live.com.au
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
Posted by Heal Zimbabwe
15th Jan
2013
Heal Zimbabwe castigates the unwarranted arrest of the Chairperson
for Heal
Zimbabwe and also Director for Zimbabwe Human Rights Association
(Zimrights), Mr Okay Machisa on Monday 14 January 2013 under false charges
of conspiracy to commit fraud, forgery and publishing falsehoods. His arrest
follows the subsequent arrest of the Zimrights Deputy National Programs
Coordinator, Mr Leo Chamahwinya in December 2012 on trumped up charges of
fraud and is currently detained at Chikurubi Maximum Prison. It is clear
that this a continued persecution of human rights defenders ahead of the
pending constitutional referendum and national elections. The police have a
tendency of arresting to investigate instead of first investigating the case
and arrest later. The clampdown is clearly meant to instil fear and daunt
civil society organisations from conscientising the masses on voter
registration and the voting process, a responsibility Zimrights has been
carrying out. HZT calls upon the Government of National Unity to end state
sponsored harassment and persecution of human rights activists and the
general populace at large.
The country has a precedence of increased
human rights violations towards
elections regardless of calls for peace by
the national leadership.
President Robert Mugabe was applauded in 2012 for
calling for free, fair and
peaceful elections but actions on the ground are
not reflecting the call.
There are continued reports of human rights related
violations in most parts
of the country especially in Mashonaland Central
and Masvingo and nothing is
being done by institutions responsible
especially JOMIC in ensuring
communities are living in peace. It is quite
disheartening that human rights
defenders are persecuted in the vicinity of
the Principals to the Inclusive
Government, it then raises concerns on how
safe the ordinary citizens in
Mwenezi, Mudzi, Gokwe Gumunyu and other remote
areas of Zimbabwe are in the
face of upcoming elections. HZT buttresses the
need for security sector
reforms before any calls for elections as the
country risk to fall into the
same armpits of the 2008 election violence if
these human rights violations
are left unabated.
NCA Press Release: COPAC MUST APOLOGISE
TO ZIMBABWEANS
15 January 2013
The National Constitutional Assembly
(NCA), having advised the parties in
the GNU about the provisions of Article
6 of the GPA , which fell short in
yielding a democratic constitution for
the country hereby demand a national
apology from COPAC to the people of
Zimbabwe for failing the nation.
From the start we contested that the process
was not democratic, not
inclusive and it has now proved beyond doubt that
the COPAC route was not
the way to go as it has dismally failed to provide a
constitution for
Zimbabweans.
The COPAC process was defective because
it was not led by an Independent
Commission. It was dominated by the three
political parties who constitute
the inclusive government. In short the
COPAC process was a
“politician-driven process” and not
“people-driven”.
We are also ashamed by the desperate attempts by the
Principals to
resuscitate and bring life to a corpse (COPAC). Instead of
laying wreaths
and admit that the COPAC process is dead they are busy
misleading the nation
that something will come out of the failed money
spinning project.
Apart from the process being not democratic, we also
therefore note with
great concern the millions of dollars wasted in this
failed project. As NCA
we are also alarmed that up until this day that money
has not been properly
accounted for.
The COPAC process also wasted the
time of Zimbabweans as those driving the
process failed to meet their set
timelines, and failed to produce a final
draft despite empty promises on
such. We have always wanted a referendum to
utilise that platform to reject
the flawed process. Unfortunately COPAC
cannot bring even a bad document to
referendum.
It is against this background that the NCA is calling for the
inclusive
government to issue a public apology to the people of Zimbabwe for
wasting
their precious time.
As NCA, we now call for a set of reforms to
ensure a free and fair poll
thereafter we immediately start a fresh
independent process to write a
charter for the country.
We remain firm,
resolute in upholding the Peoples Charter which calls for;-
a Comprehensive
consultation constitution making process with the people of
Zimbabwe wherein
they are guaranteed freedom of expression and information,
association and
assembly.
3) The collection of the views of the people and their compilation
into a
draft constitution that shall be undertaken by an All-Stakeholders’
Commission composed of representatives of government, parliament, political
parties, civil society, labour, business and the church with a gender and
minority balance.
m) A transparent process of the appointment of the
All-Stakeholders’
Commission members as well as their terms of
reference.
n) The holding of a national referendum on any draft
constitution.
In conclusion, the NCA remains engaged in ensuring that
Zimbabwe eventually
gets a constitution it deserves. In this respect, the
NCA is continuing with
its civic education activities across the country
which involves the
production and distribution of materials on
constitutional issues.
Madock Chivasa
NCA
Spokesperson
Bumbiro/Isisekelo House
http://africanarguments.org/
By Simukai Tinhu
January 14,
2013
Morgan Tsvangirai has done much to stand up to ZANU-PF in Zimbabwe,
but the
MDC must not prevent democracy from penetrating its own internal
workings.
The tendency of international statesmen to praise ‘the man of
the moment’
through an awards system or complementary rhetoric is amongst
one of the
most endearing features of contemporary international politics.
But
sometimes international leaders get it wrong. Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe
was
the quintessential ‘man of the moment’ who, even when he was commanding
his
cadres to carry out the 1983/84 atrocities in Matebeleland, was touted
as a
statesman whose administration was a model for other nations. As it
turned
out later, his formula for running the country – including the
latter-day
assault on democracy – proved to be too unconventional even for
the
‘international community.’
International leaders now seem to be
falling over each other to award
Zimbabwe’s opposition leader, Morgan
Tsvangirai (head of the Movement for
Democratic Change [MDC]) with accolades
in admiration of his courage in the
battle for political hegemony in
Zimbabwe. Though to some degree welcome
(they might help intensify the
recruitment of sympathy and support for his
cause from the wretched local
masses and the eager international community),
such awards can also
unwittingly give us an unrealistic sense of political
certainty about what
lies ahead.
The awarding of accolades would not be so contentious if they
were
attentively balanced with a deliberately active encouragement by
international leaders of debate on Tsvangirai’s performance to date. Honest
discussion of the immediate and current performance of the MDC leader whilst
in opposition might help us develop a realistic imagination of a post–Mugabe
era with Tsvangirai in power.
Taking the opportunity of the elections
scheduled this year, let us examine
Tsvangirai’s story as leader of the
opposition, and try to understand the
politician who is likely to occupy
state house, come free and fair elections
this June. The understanding that
I humbly propose here, departs from the
view that Tsvangirai is Zimbabwe’s
version of Nelson Mandela. The intention
of adopting such a view, hopefully,
is to inject a refreshingly problematic
understanding of the MDC
leader.
I will start by acknowledging the profundity of my admiration for
Tsvangirai. In particular, I revere his decision to sign on for what many
initially regarded as a suicidal political fight against Mugabe, and his
persistence in that mortal combat. This he has waged for most of the time
against all odds and in the face of adversity that threatened his immediate
family and even his physical existence. Indeed, I rank this decision as one
of the bravest ever made by a Zimbabwean.
It is such spirited courage,
coupled with a sense of inadequacy in most of
us towards Tsvangirai’s
relentless struggle against Mugabe, which
understandably make it hard to pen
even the most restrained criticism of his
leadership. Not only does this
entire business of being critical of the MDC
leader induce uneasiness in the
critic’s conscience, but talk of such kind
often evokes, in some cases
justifiably, biting remarks. The bearer of the
critical mind can easily be
accused of wittingly or unwittingly undermining
the fight against democracy.
Worse, he can be seen as a vulgar apologist for
the existing regime.
I am
not, however, confident that the removal of the authoritarian Mugabe
regime
necessarily means that democracy will have won. It may be a rejection
of
arbitrary rule, but then what follows might in some way resemble the
existing political system.
I say so because to construct democracy
requires genuine democratic efforts
that must start from within the MDC
whilst it is still in opposition, which
judging from some of its current
behaviour, appear not to be the case.
Tsvangirai and his party have been
gravitating towards undemocratic
practices – this includes hostility towards
criticism, the issue of
Tsvangirai’s succession, and the MDC’s own political
violence.
The MDC and its leader has developed an attitude redolent of ZANU –
PF in
its attitude towards criticism. In recent years, increasingly, we
have seen
how they have become intolerably hostile to those who criticise
them. For
example, the response of its officials to a ‘slightly’ negative
2012 Report
on MDC by Freedom House, a Washington based democracy research
and advocacy
organisation, indicates how irascible and unaccommodating the
opposition
party can be towards those whose views are contrary to what they
want to
hear. This behaviour is also personified by the party’s leader who
has been
known to become apoplectic when criticised particularly by his
MDC–N rival,
Professor Welshman Ncube (leader of the smaller breakaway
faction of the
MDC). Such an attitude is totally incongruent with democratic
imperatives.
Most serious, the issue of Tsvangirai’s succession has been
stonewalled each
time it is raised within the party or on the public forum,
exposing the
limitations of democratic processes within the MDC. On this
matter, the MDC
leader reminds me of Dickens’s Mrs Jellyby in Bleak House,
worrying about
the democratic miseries of the nation, while ignoring the
shrieks for change
from under his window. Indeed, on this matter, Tsvangirai
could do with a
dose of humility before demanding of Mugabe at national
level, what he is
resisting within his party.
When questioned on the
matter, a case is made by those fiercely loyal to
Tsvangirai to justify his
undemocratic continuation as the leader of the
party, which unfortunately,
or significantly – or both – many of his
followers seem to have rushed to
embrace. The argument by the loyalists, is
that no one within the party is
popular enough to challenge Mugabe at
national level. The loyalists contend
that the removal of Mugabe
subordinates any changes that might be needed
within the party, in
particular, democratic elections of a new leader. In
other words, the fate
of the party is seen as intertwined with that of its
leader, and Tsvangirai
is seen as indispensable to the party.
One
official told me that senior members within the party would rather
prefer
Tsvangirai as its leader in comparison to Tendai Biti, the party’s
powerful
Secretary General and potential challenger to the MDC leadership.
These
senior officials, according to my source, see Tsvangirai as a saint,
who at
times comes across as affable and devoid of intellectual abilities;
hence
the assumption is that that he will be easy to manipulate in office.
However,
this thinking, if at all true, seriously underestimates the man.
The truth
is that the MDC leader is no small fry politician. He is a tough
leader who
was head of the most powerful trade union in Zimbabwe for 10
years before he
joined politics. We also easily forget that to lead a party
that fights
Mugabe, and to stay as head of that party for 14 years, you have
to be
ruthless. Tsvangirai’s personality, in particular his courage, leaves
no
doubt in my mind that he is a man who understands the art of power, and
knows how to use it.
The past year was a season of political silliness in
which the MDC leader
made a spectacle of himself. His antics in bed not only
gave us a glimpse of
his character, but also showed how politically ruthless
he is. With all the
scandals, one would have at least expected whispers of
regicide, with
pretenders to Tsvangirai’s throne firing some warning shots
in his
direction. But in the name of party unity, almost every official
played down
these antics, and rehearsed the same litany that the sex
scandals (which
left a string of heart broken women) were a private matter
that has no
bearing on Mr Tsvangirai’s abilities as the leader of the
party.
Such an unhelpful consensus not only indicates a lack of independent
thinking and constructive criticism, but more importantly, shows
Tsvangirai’s
impressive ability to chill disquiet within the party. We
shouldn’t forget
that in 2010 the MDC leader peremptorily dismissed party
stalwarts Elias
Mudzuri and Fidelis Mhashu from the Cabinet, a move
described as handiwork
strategically undertaken to act as an absolute
warning to those within the
party that trouble was unwelcome. This purge
must not have been far from the
minds of MDC officials, including
adversaries within the party, when they
lined up in support of their
leader.
The MDC claims that nonviolence is at the centre of its democratic
ethos.
Though I would not go as far as the MDC–N leader, Welshman Ncube to
say the
MDC is a violent party, but that on occasion, the party has
exhibited some
violent tendencies (see here also). What is most disturbing
is that claims
of violence apparently perpetrated by the MDC have mostly
been dismissed as
heresy and fallacy by the party.
In cases where, faced
with insurmountable evidence, with fine contempt, the
MDC has rationalised
this violence by arguing that ZANU–PF started or
fomented, even intra –
party violence. Such lowering of the democratic
threshold by a party that
loudly talks about democracy is indeed worrying.
The disturbing images of a
savagely beaten MDC–N’s senator Trudy Stevenson,
allegedly by MDC youths in
2006, shows how lacking in tenderness the MDC can
be towards its
adversaries.
I will close by saying that I might turn out to be just another
naysayer who
got it entirely wrong. But I also say it’s worth taking a
moment to ask
ourselves the question; With all that ‘democratic bungling’ so
far by a man
who wants to bequeath democracy to the masses, should we be
counting on
Tsvangirai suddenly getting it right once in office? It is not
too late;
The MDC leader and his party have to make that hard transition
themselves
before they can attain that transition for Zimbabweans. But if
they continue
on this trajectory, then no–one can guarantee democracy in the
post–Mugabe
era.
Simukai Tinhu recently graduated from the University of
Cambridge with an
Mphil in African Studies.
http://www.politicsweb.co.za/
Vince Musewe
15 January 2013
Vince
Musewe on what the country has to do if it is to succeed
Zimbabwe can be
a success but.....
We inherited an unaccountable government from Ian
Smith and have sadly
continued the habits that we fought so much
against
Despite the competing ideas about the future and the palpable
tension now
evident as we move towards probable elections, I am still
convinced that we
all can make our country even greater than we can
imagine. It is rather sad
that some amongst us think only their vision and
plan for a future Zimbabwe
is the only viable one and must be forced down
our throats. Here, I am
specifically talking about ZANU (PF)'s vision of a
new Zimbabwe. As far as I
am concerned, there is much more Zimbabwe can and
must become.
Throughout the years, Zimbabweans have never really had a
say in shaping the
future they desire simply because we have had a
dictatorship. We have
unfortunately allowed a few men to determine what we
can become but their
vision has been jaundiced by the past and limited in
its imagination. Our
challenge now is to dismiss those who have presided
over the economic and
social catastrophe that we face today and usher in a
new forward thinking
regime.
In order for our country to move
forwards, we must now debate on the
practicalities of what needs to be done.
Zimbabweans are an academic lot,
very good at coming up with economic blue
prints and academic arguments that
sound convincing on paper. I have argued
before that a sound constitution
without vision, although critical, will
definitely disappoint. Rather, the
engendering of a new value system, is the
only way we can purge old thinking
and old habits that continue to hold us
back.
Like the book "The seven habits of highly effective people", I have
come up
with "The seven habits that hold Zimbabwe back". Of course there are
much
more than that, but I will focus on a few.
I think that one of
our major mental challenges that we have, is the habit
of fear. It is
evident that our old politicians fear change while
progressive and
intelligent Zimbabweans, who should be at the fore front of
change, fear to
engage in politics. This has resulted in our country not
engaging in the
high gear of accelerated socio economic renewal and much
energy being spent
to address this imaginary fear factor.
Because of this, we have not been
able to openly challenge and urgently
address the developmental needs of the
country. A clear example of this for
me, is how our business sector is aware
of the damage being done to
investments potential by our indigenization
policy, yet I have not seen or
heard them loudly protest. We have all sort
safety I silence and this has
unfortunately limited our potential while
allowing loud politicians to
continue on what is clearly the wrong
path.
The second habit we need to purge is that of greed. It is utterly
amazing to
see how Zimbabweans in general, have become driven by the greed
to acquire,
or to be seen to have. This has resulted in corruption, unfair
business
practice and avoidable personal indebtedness. Corporate greed has
become
normal while consumers in general are victims of the provision of sub
standard services at ridiculous pricing. This involves both public and
private goods and services. At a personal level, we seem to have forgotten
our fore fathers' values of delayed gratification, hard work and patience.
Because we live for today, we have hugely compromised the potential of our
future and as a result Zimbabwe is becoming underdeveloped by the day. We
are all active participants in that.
The third is that of the non
accountability of our public officials. This
has led prescriptive attitude
and arrogance of our ministers. Where else,
for example, do you get a
minister firing elected councilors as happens in
local government often? We
should utterly reject that. I have always found
this the most ridiculous
practice where an unelected minister has the
audacity and authority to annul
the public vote. Where else o you get
public officials clearly acting in
the interest of a political party to
which they belong as opposed to
Zimbabweans in general? This I think will
continue to be a challenge we face
even in the event of a new dispensation.
We inherited an unaccountable
government from Iain Smith and have continued
the habits that we fought so
much against.
The fourth destructive habit is the lack of openness and
the right to differ
in opinion but still co-operate. Lack of this is clearly
demonstrated
through our media sector specifically television and local
radio stations.
One thing I admire about South Africa is the energy they
spend on openly
debating all the issues and challenges faced by the country.
An open media
is critical to economic and social development and I anxiously
await the day
where, for example, criticizing the President is not seen as
"undermining
the authority of the President" as is the case now. I also
anxiously await
the day where we can openly have multiple views and opinions
on all issues
we face debated on every radio station and on multiple
television channels.
The fifth habit that I think holds Zimbabwe back is
that of patronage. You
will be amazed at how patronage and favor is
ingrained into the Zimbabwean
psyche. For this of course I must blame ZANU
(PF), but I am beginning to see
some signs of it even with the so called
progressive political parties. You
see, in an environment where patronage is
acceptable, you do not get the
best of breed nor does the country live up to
its full potential.
Competition is stifled and mediocrity becomes the norm
in all we do.
Sixth is the habit of entitlement and holding onto position
regardless of
one's effectiveness in that position. This applies not only in
public
office, but also in the private sector. For goodness sake how can one
individual be the CEO of any company for 20 years and still be effective!
Surely life not only becomes quite boring but one becomes resistant to any
change. Of course our politicians have been the main culprits, but our
private sector has taken its lessons well. The periodic renewal of
leadership is fundamental to growth and that is one reason why our country
has fallen behind despite having the talent.
The last habit is that
of limited imagination about the potential of our
future and the "me too"
mentality. We are a wounded nation which
inadvertently limits its options on
the future through our limited
imagination of what is possible and the
tendency to copy ideas. This of
course is a result of years of propaganda
and political conditioning that
has served to entrench a ruling class that
does not necessarily have the
best ideas about the future.
By now,
Zimbabwe should be way ahead given what it inherited at
independence. Our
dilapidating infrastructure says it all, and this is
exacerbated by the fear
of how new technology and can change our economy.
We have been held back,
if not driven backwards, for far too long and now is
the time for change.
Our country has so much potential but we limit it
because we are arrested by
the past.
I guess As Karl Max was right to say that: "Men make their own
history, but
they do not make it just as they please; they do not make it
under
circumstances chosen by themselves, but under circumstances directly
encountered, given and transmitted from the past. The tradition of all the
dead generations weighs like a nightmare on the brain of the
living."
The traditions of ZANU (PF), like a nightmare, continue to hang
on the
brains of the living and it is up to you and me to change
that.
Vince Musewe is an economist based in Harare. You can contact him
on
vtmusewe@gmail.com
BILL
WATCH 1/2013
[14th
January 2013]
Both
Houses of Parliament have Adjourned until Tuesday 5th
February
2013
Budget Acts Gazetted
The
Finance (No. 2) Act and the Appropriation (2013) Act were gazetted on 28th
December and came into force immediately [both
available from veritas@mango.zw].
All Bills passed by Parliament during 2012
have now been gazetted as Acts.
Acts
of 2012
[These
Acts are available from veritas@mango.zw]:
The
complete list of Acts of 2012 is as follows:
Older Persons Act [1/2012]
Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission Act [2/2012]
Electoral Amendment Act [3/2012]
Finance Act [4/2012]
Appropriation (2012) Amendment Act [5/2012]
Finance
(No. 2) Act [6/2012]
Appropriation
(2013) Act [7/2012]
Comment: Other than Acts 4,
5, 6 and 7 for the Ministry of Finance, which come up every year, only three
Acts were the outcome of a whole year’s Parliamentary work. This is a record low.
New
Vacancy in House of Assembly – Death of Deputy Minister Seiso Moyo
With
the death on 21st December of Seiso Moyo, MDC-T MP for
Bulawayo’s Nketa constituency and Deputy Minister of
Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development, the number of vacant
seats in the House of Assembly rose to 18 out of a possible full complement of
215.
Current vacancies
All
eighteen vacancies are in the 210 constituency seats.
Current membership
The
196 current members of the House fall into the following groups:
ZANU-PF
92
MDC-T
96
MDC 8
Note: There has been prolonged litigation brought
by dissatisfied would-be MPs
for compelling the holding of by-elections.
An appeal against Justice Chiweshe’s order allowing the Government until
the end of March 2013 to call by-elections is now waiting a hearing in the
Supreme Court. By the time a decision is
reached it may be too late to be of any practical value.
Status
of Bills
Government
Bills already gazetted
[all
available from veritas@mango.zw]
Microfinance
Bill
– this Bill was introduced in the House of Assembly on 29th November and
immediately referred to the Parliamentary Legal Committee [PLC]. Further proceedings must wait for the PLC’s
report on the Bill’s consistency or otherwise with the Constitution. [For
summary see Bill Watch 41/2012 of 4th September 2012]
Income
Tax Bill
– this massive Bill was gazetted on 30th November. It has not yet been introduced and referred
to the PLC.
Securities
Amendment Bill
– this Bill was introduced in the House of Assembly on 9th October 2012 and
referred to the PLC, but lapsed at the end of the last Session before the PLC
had reported on it. As with any lapsed
Bill, the responsible Minister, in this case the Minister of Finance, can ask
the House to restore it to the Order Paper at the point reached when it
lapsed.
National
Incomes and Pricing Commission Amendment Bill
– this Bill, long ago cleared by the PLC and awaiting the start of its Second
Reading stage, also lapsed at the end of the last Session. The Minister of Industry and Commerce can
request its restoration to the Order Paper.
Government
Bill being printed
[NOT yet
available]
Attorney-General’s
Office Amendment Bill
– this Bill was received by Parliament from the Minister of Justice and Legal
Affairs late last week and has been sent to the Government Printer for printing
and, in due course, gazetting.
Note: The Attorney
General’s Office
Act was gazetted in June 2011 but has never been brought into force. In his speech opening the present
Parliamentary Session the President mentioned this Bill, saying it would
amend provisions in the Attorney General’s Office Act that
potentially infringe upon the independence of that office as enshrined in
section 76 of the current Constitution.
Section 76 concentrates on the Attorney General’s prosecuting
functions.
Comment: The COPAC draft Constitution envisages the
Attorney General’s present
prosecuting functions being transferred to an independent National Prosecuting
Authority [NPA] headed by a Prosecutor-General.
This would mean the Attorney-General and his Office
would be left with the function of legal advisors to the Government. ZANU-PF has
objected to this part of the COPAC constitution and it remains one of the
“unresolved issues” presently being discussed.
Question:
Why is the Government persisting with this
Bill before the issue of whether or not to have a National Prosecuting Authority
has been agreed? The MDC would be able
to block the Bill’s passage through Parliament.
Bills
in the pipeline [copies
NOT yet available]
Bills
recently mentioned by Ministers but not yet ready include:
Banking
Amendment Bill Both in his Budget Statement in November and
since then the Minister of Finance has talked of his plans for a “plethora” of
amendments to legislation governing the banking sector, to include provision for
mandatory “stress tests” and a Banking Ombudsman to protect the interests of
customers.
Procurement
Amendment Bill Minister of Finance Tendai Biti has also made
known his desire to have the Procurement Act amended to improve efficiency and
reduce openings for corruption in the procurement
process.
Diamonds
Bill, to
ensure transparency and accountability in the exploitation of the country’s
diamond fields, and the receipt of Government revenue from diamond mining by the
Ministry of Finance. This is another
project of the Minister of Finance.
Mines
and Minerals Amendment Bill The Minister of Mines and Mining Development
said last week that Cabinet has approved this long-awaited Bill. He singled out a provision for landowners to
have far greater rights vis-à-vis prospectors and miners than under the present
law. Exactly what this means will only
become clear once the fine print in the Bill can be examined, but major changes
in basic mining law principles seem to lie ahead.
Government
Gazette 21st December to 11th January
Acts
of Parliament [gazetted
28th December]
Finance
(No. 2) Act (No. 6/2012]
Appropriation
(2013) Act [No. 7/2012]
[See
note at the beginning of this bulletin.]
Statutory
Instruments
Extra
public holiday
SI
187A/2012, gazetted on 20th December in a Gazette Extraordinary, made Christmas
Eve, Monday 24th December, a special one-off public holiday, in addition to the
regular public holidays on 22nd, 25th and 26th December. While there may have been good reason for the
declaration, the business community complained about inconvenience caused by the
last-minute nature of the declaration.
Immigration
regulations SI 189/2012 provides for the use of a special
identity document to facilitate movement across the Zimbabwe/Zambia border of
Zambezi River Authority personnel. Note
that passports will still be required.
Air
service permit fees SI 190/2012 specifies new application fees
for permits issued under the Air Services Act.
Local
authority by-laws SIs 191/2012 and 192/2012 are Masvingo
City Council by-laws dealing with bus-stops and pre-paid parking discs for
use in the CBD. Thoroughfares designated
by the Council for pre-paid parking bays are separately listed in a General
Notice gazetted on the same day, 28th December [see General Notices below].
The
first two SIs of 2013, gazetted on 11th January, are new Bindura Municipal Council by-laws covering
public health [SI 1/2013] and food hygiene ]SI 2/2013].
Customs
duty suspensions for mining companies SIs 194/2012 and 3/2013 add to the list of
mining companies to be granted customs duty suspensions.
Customs
and excise measures giving effect to Budget
[all gazetted in a Gazette Extraordinary dated 31st
December and effective from 1st January 2013]
SI
193/2012 adds over 20 commodities to the list of items on which a 25% customs
surtax is payable [e.g., cooking oils, butter, margarine, fresh cheese, washing
and cleaning preparations].
SI
198/2012 makes comprehensive changes to the customs
tariff.
SI
199/2012 contains detailed provision for the suspension of customs duty on
certain types of motor vehicles imported by approved safari
operators.
SI
195/2012 allows for the suspension of excise duty on ethanol for use as
fuel.
SI
196/2012 re-enacts a provision of the Customs and Excise (General) Regulations
for a customs duty rebate on goods imported for religious
purposes.
VAT
measure giving effect to Budget
SI
197/2012, also with effect from 1st January 2013, deals with VAT on live birds
and soya meal.
General
Notices
Special
mining grants
GNs
3/2013 to 12/2013, gazetted on 4th December, notify the issue of special mining
grants in Bulawayo, Masvingo and Harare mining districts. The grants have been issued by the Minister
of Mines and Mining Development, on the authority of the President, in terms of
section 301 of the Mines and Minerals Act.
While the notices state the names of the grantee companies and the
varying periods of the grants, they do not specify whether they are for
prospecting or mining, or both, or what minerals are covered.
Masvingo
pre-paid parking disc zones
are specified in GN 609/2012 of 28th December [see also under Statutory Instruments
above].
Veritas
makes every effort to ensure reliable information, but cannot take legal
responsibility for information supplied
Zimbabwe government continues harassment of NGOs. The new year hasn’t brought a new attitude to the Zimbabwe government about human rights and freedom of expression, if the recent harassment of ZimRights is anything to go by. Read this statement from Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR):
Police charge Machisa with publishing falsehoods as government steps up onslaught against NGOs
Zimbabwean police on Monday 14 January 2013 charged Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights) Director, Okay Machisa with publishing falsehoods, fraud and forgery as authorities intensify the onslaught against non-governmental organisations.
Machisa will be a guest in the police cells of the coalition government of President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai after detectives at the Law and Order Section at Harare Central Police Station detained him at Rhodesville Police Station following the recording of a warned and cautioned statement from him.
The police charged Machisa with contravening Section 31 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act for allegedly publishing or communicating false statements prejudicial to the State. The ZimRights director was also charged with committing fraud and forgery in contravention of Section 136 and 137 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act. Faith Mamutse, who is employed as a secretary at ZimRights was released after the police interrogated and recorded a statement from her.
Machisa, who is also the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition chairperson handed himself to the police on Monday morning, accompanied by his lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa, who is a member of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR). The police also raided and searched the ZimRights head office in Harare, where Mtetwa and Gift Mtisi, another ZLHR member lawyer were present during the search.
Meanwhile, ZimRights programme manager Leo Chamahwinya and three others, who were arrested in a raid on the ZimRights offices last year, remain in police custody, with their bail appeal having been denied last week.
