http://www.voanews.com/
Civil
Protection Department Director Madzudzo Pawadyira said his agency had
warned
authorities that it may need assistance in the event of flooding and
has
already started issuing tents and supplies to vulnerable areas
Marvellous
Mhlanga-Nyahuye | Washington 21 January 2011
With heavy rainfall
continuing in the Southern African region, Zimbabwe's
Civil Protection
Department is urging people who live near Kariba Dam in
Mashonaland West
province to move to higher ground before its flood gates
are opened to ease
mounting pressure.
Officials issued flood warnings this week as rains
swept Southern Africa
causing scores of deaths in South Africa and
Mozambique and ravaging crops
in Zimbabwe.
Civil Protection
Department Director Madzudzo Pawadyira said his agency had
warned related
authorities that it may need urgent assistance in the event
of flooding and
has already started issuing tents and supplies to area
susceptible to
floods.
Pawadyira said flooding was reported in Tongogara, Middle Sabi
and Chipinge,
all in Manicaland province, but had subsided due to a respite
in the rains.
He said traditional flood prone areas needed to be watched
included lowlands
around Muzarabani in Mashonaland Central province,
Beitbridge in
Matebeleland South province, Tsholotsho in Matebeleland North,
Gokwe in
Midlands.
Pawadyira told VOA Studio 7 reportern Marvellous
Mhlanga Nyahuye that his
agency has launched a massive awareness campaign to
instruct inhabitants of
low lying areas to take timelyl precautions against
possible flooding.
In the event of flooding, Pawadyira said people should
move to higher
ground, avoid crossing rivers and draw on their knowledge of
local rivers to
determine safe crossings should need arise, and to find
secure shelter until
flooding subsides.
http://www.voanews.com/
ZESA
Public Relations Manager Fullard Gwasira said that while the utility
did not
write off estimated bills , indications are that some people delay
paying
their bills until they can no longer afford to settle them
Gibbs Dube |
Washington 21 January 2011
A spokesman for the Zimbabwe Electricity
Supply Authority on Friday
dismissed reports the parastatal has disconnected
power supplies to
Zimbabweans in urban areas based on 2009 estimated bills
which a regulatory
body had ordered it to write down.
ZESA Public
Relations Manager Fullard Gwasira said that although the
estimated bills
were not written off by the electrical utility, indications
were that some
customers delay paying their power bills until they can no
longer afford to
settle them.
Gwasira said the Competitions, Pricing and Tariff Commission
ordered a
revision of the bills based on meter readings. He could not
account for
bills as high as US$600 in some cases.
Residents who have
been cut off said bills were based on 2009 estimated
usage.
Gwasira
said consumers must pay their electricity bills in order to continue
receiving power from the utility. “We are currently not disconnecting power
on estimated bills but for electricity consumers used over a long time
without paying for it,” he said.
http://www.zimonline.co.za
by Own Correspondent Saturday 22
January 2011
HARARE – Construction of Kunzvi Dam which will augment
Harare’s water supply
is due to start in April while the government has
allocated the initial $4
million to kick-start a long-delayed
multi-million-dollar project to pipe
water to the second largest city of
Bulawayo, a cabinet minister has said.
Water Resources Minister Samuel
Sipepa Nkomo said construction of the dam
would take between 18 and 24
months.
“It has been on the cards for too long and we are starting to
build the dam
in April,” he told the latest edition of The Prime Minister’s
Newsletter.
The construction project is a partnership between the
government and local
and foreign private companies.
“We are in
partnership with a local company and two other companies from
Nigeria and
France,” he said without naming the partners.
The government has
contributed $2 million towards the project, he said.
Construction of
Kunzvi Dam on Nyaguwe River in Mashonaland East province was
approved by
cabinet in 1996 to ease shortages of water in the capital.
The dam was
supposed to be commissioned in 2002.
Lack of funds has stalled
implementation of this and other water projects
such as the National
Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project, an ambitious
project to draw water from
the Zambezi River to supply Zimbabwe’s perennial
dry second city of
Bulawayo.
A long held plan to tap water from the Zambezi River through
the
construction of a 450km pipeline to arid Matabeleland, the project was
mooted way back in 1912.
The total cost of the pipeline has
sky-rocketed and the project is now
estimated to cost more than $600
million.
However, the crisis-ridden government has been unable to
implement the
scheme, drawing the ire of Bulawayo residents and other
pressure groups from
the region.
http://www.radiovop.com/
22/01/2011 12:00:00
HARARE,
January 22, 2011- Crisis ridden MDC faction led by Welshman Ncube
meets in
Harare on Sunday to discuss among other issues, the decision by
disgruntled
former members who have dragged the party to court to challenge
the legality
of its congress held two weeks ago.
Party insiders told Radio Vop that
the national working council of the
MDC-M, which unceremoniously ousted its
previous leader and Deputy Prime
Minister Arthur Mutambara in a bloodless
coup two weeks ago, would move to
take disciplinary action against
disillusioned members who attempted to
disrupt the congress.
The group,
led by the party’s former national chairperson Joubert Mudzumwe,
petitioned
the party leadership on the eve of the congress citing
irregularities in the
way the congress was convened. The group is
challenging the election of
Ncube saying delegates invited for the congress
were allegedly cherry-picked
to endorse the former secretary general’s
presidential bid.
In its
petition to Ncube and other top leaders of the party, the group also
alleged
misuse of party funds by the leadership it also accused of
dictatorial
tendencies. On Monday the disillusioned members, including
former
chairperson of the party’s Women’s Assembly Hilda Sibanda, filed an
urgent
court action in the Harare High Court challenging the legality of the
congress which elected Ncube.
The group still maintains that
Mutambara is the legitimate leader of the
party, a development which has
created despondency in the faction amid fears
of a looming split,
reminiscent of the infamous 2005 split from Prime
Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai.
The same sources added that the party’s national working council
would also
deliberate on deployment of officials in the coalition government
as it
emerged that supporters of Ncube were pressuring him to remove
Mutambara
from the post of Deputy Prime Minister.
Ncube, by virtue of
being elected the leader of the MDC-M, is now the
principal of the party in
the coalition government, alongside President
Robert Mugabe and Prime
Minister Tsvangirai.Nhlanhla Dube, the MDC-M newly
appointed spokesperson
confirmed that a national working meeting of the
party has been slated for
Sunday.
“Yes, there’s a meeting of the national standing committee on
Sunday,”said
Dube. “It’s the first meeting after congress. It’s a strategic
formulating
meeting. The focus is on how the party will collectively move
forward and
implement resolutions to the last congress,” he added.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
22/01/2011 00:00:00
by Staff
Reporter
LONG queues have resurfaced in Harare as a shortage of
diesel threatens to
cripple business operations in the
country.
Motorists waited patiently in meandering queues stretching two
kilometres in
places for a chance to be served at the few filling stations
that still had
diesel in Harare on Saturday.
Filling station owners
blamed the shortages on financial problems at the
state procurement agency,
the National Oil Company of Zimbabwe (NOCZIM).
Fuel shortages have also
been reported in Bulawayo, Gwanda, Masvingo,
Plumtree and Victoria Falls,
which are geographically dependent on South
African exports.
The
shortage of diesel is expected to trigger an increase in prices as most
manufacturers depend on the commodity to move products to
markets.
Energy Minister Elton Mangoma appeared to blame the crisis on
his colleague
at Finance, Tendai Biti.
“For the good part of December
we didn’t have any supplies coming from Beira
and the only fuel that was
coming into the country was from South Africa.
But South Africa did not have
adequate supplies hence they also stopped
supplying us,” Mangoma said
recently.
“In the middle of all this, we had our own domestic affairs
with $35 million
disappearing from NOCZIM which was due to the Zimbabwe
Revenue Authority.”
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC-T party on
Saturday urged the
coalition government to resolve the fuel supply
problems.
“The (MDC-T) national executive noted that three decades of
Zanu PF
corruption and mismanagement of the economy was at the centre of the
current
challenges of fuel and power," it said in a statement.
“The
executive called on the inclusive government to immediately find
permanent
and sustainable solutions to the aforesaid challenges to mitigate
the plight
of Zimbabweans."
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
By Thelma Chikwanha
Saturday, 22 January
2011 19:03
HARARE - War veterans have invaded the bird sanctuary,
Kuimba Shiri, on the
shores of Lake Chivero in Mashonaland West, ostensibly
to make way for
President Robert Mugabe’s nephew Patrick
Zhuwao.
Garry Stafford, the founder and owner of the flourishing
bird garden, a
popular tourist centre which caters for more than 450
species of birds said
that the invasion came after a meeting at Zanu PF
headquarters.
“There was a meeting held at Zanu PF and a Tapfumaneyi told
us that it had
been decided at party level that only 12 farmers were to
remain in Mashonald
West. Patrick Zhuwao is the one who is interested in
this place,” Stafford
said.
Zhuwawo could not be contacted by late
yesterday for comment.
The war veterans who were led by the director
general of the Department of
National Parks and Wild Life Vitalis Chadenga,
have already hoisted the
national flag and placed Mugabe's portrait bearing
the inscription,
“Tinokutendai nekuvhota murunyararo,” which means, we thank
you for voting
peacefully.
When Daily News crew visited Kuimba
Shiri, a family business, there was no
sign of physical violence and
disturbances save for the presence of the war
veterans clad in Zanu PF
regalia.
There were no visitors as the Zanu PF youths manning the gate
turned them
away. The only two cars parked in the visitors car park belonged
to the
Zambian Ambassador to Zimbabwe who was asked to leave and an ML
Mercedes
Benz belonging to one of the war veteran leaders.
The news
crew however was lucky and was allowed in without fuss.
Stafford, who was
flanked by fellow white farmers from within the community
sat in the shed
near the bar and the war veterans had planted themselves
like weeds on a
well manicured lawn.
The two parties sat facing each other without any
communication for close to
two hours. The silence was only broken when
Chadenga arrived and addressed
the parties separately.
Chadenga first
addressed the first group of whites and told them that they
were not under
arrest.
“You don’t have to stay here, you are free to go home and take a
shower, eat
and watch t.v. We are not at war ,” he said.
The group of
white farmers left without establishing their fate which is
now hanging on
a thread.
A source who declined to be named for fear of victimization
said the farmers
were eager to know if they would still have their homes and
properties after
the planned invasion.
According to Stafford, the war
veterans have been putting up at his farm
since Friday resulting in loss of
revenue. The farm, a sanctuary for
abandoned and injured birds on an average
day receives at least 50 visitors.
“They came and asked who my supporters
were; they wanted to know who had
visited the sanctuary and I showed them my
visitors book,” he said.
The take over of Kuimba Shiri comes at a time
when the country is
experiencing violent protests from Zanu PF
supporters.
Last week, Zanu PF youths tried to bar the Member of
Parliament for
Harare North, Theresa Makone from constructing a market
place for Hatcliffe
women saying it was a Zanu Pf project which the MDC
wants to take over.
In the same week, rowdy youths invaded Town House,
destroyed property and
beat up council employees and innocent members of the
public while
protesting against “Mugabe’s maize “that had been slashed by
council
workers.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
22/01/2011 00:00:00
by
Staff Reporter
PRIME Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC-T party has
blamed its coalition
partners in Zanu PF for the country’s civil service pay
crisis as state
employees threaten a potentially disastrous walk-out on
Monday.
Talks between the government and civil service unions collapsed
with no
agreement on Thursday leaving open the prospect of a nation-wide
strike that
could be a major blow to the country’s still-recovering
economy.
And as pressure mounts, Tsvangirai’s MDC-T party– which oversees
the social
and economic affairs portfolios in the coalition administration
-- claimed
that Zanu PF was responsible for the crisis.
In a
statement issued on Saturday following a meeting of the party’s
national
executive meeting the party said it “noted the destructive role
being played
by the Zanu PF side of the inclusive government in the quest to
redress the
concerns of the civil servants”.
The party also claimed there was no
accountability in the use of proceeds
from the sale of diamonds from the
eastern Marange district..
“The Executive further noted the lack of
accountability in the management of
the proceeds from the sale of diamonds
in Chiadzwa to address the plight of
the civil servants,” the statement
read.
“The Executive called for all the proceeds from the sale of
diamonds to be
channeled towards the civil servants and not to line private
pockets as is
currently the case.”
But Public Service Minister,
Eliphas Mukonoweshuro – who is also a senior
official in the MDC-T – earlier
told state media that diamond sales were not
bringing in “enough money to
transform the lives of government employees”
anyway.
Still, the party
further claimed that Zanu PF had worsened the problem by
massing the ranks
of the civil service with thousands of “ghost workers”.
“The Executive
also called for the immediate action on all ghost workers,
Zanu PF
functionaries smuggled into civil service as youth and women
officers in
every ward in the country.
“Further, the Executive called for the release
of the Public Service audit
without delay as well the immediate cessation of
all new recruitments of
soldiers and other civil servants until the plight
of the existing civil
service is addressed,” the party said.
Unions
representing the civil service have rejected pay rises of between
US$6 and
US$9 announced by Finance Minister, Tendai Biti, last week.
Advertisement
The salary review, rejected as an insult across the board,
will see the
least paid government worker paid US$128 up from
US$122.
The highest paid civil servant will be paid US$241.
http://www.radiovop.com
22/01/2011
11:42:00
TENGWE, January 22, 2011- War veterans who fought under the
Zimbabwe
People,s Revolutionary Army (Zipra) during the war for independence
have
urged Zapu supporters in Mashonaland West province to join Zanu (PF)
and
attend that party,s rallies for their own safety.
The Zipra war
veterans who spoke to Radio Vop on conditions they were not
identified said
they have split from the Zimbabwe National Liberation War
Veterans
Associations (ZNLWVA) headed by Jabulani Sibanda and are currently
re-organising their party structures in resettlement areas around Tengwe 50
km east of Karoi town in preparation for elections.
The war veterans
also confirmed the deployment of the army in the rural
areas of Mashonaland
West.During the liberation war Zipra guerrillas who had
military bases in
Zambia operated in Hurungwe, Makonde and Kariba tribal
trust lands-as they
were known during the colonial Rhodesian rule.
“ We are busy
restructuring our support base in preparation for the next
elections and we
are convinced our party, Zapu will win some seats here, ”
said one of the
Zipra veterans.Zapu split from Zanu (PF) IN 2008 on the
grounds that the
unity accord signed in 1987 between Joshua Nkomo and Robert
Mugabe was no
longer serving any useful purpose.
The party is now led by Dumiso
Dabengwa who headed Zapu,s intelligence
organ, the National Security
Organisation (NSO) during the liberation war.
" We are concerned about
the government,s decision to freeze pensions of
some of our members.This is
another Zanu (PF) way of manipulating voters, ”
said another Zipra veteran.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Written by JEFFREY MOYO
Saturday, 22 January 2011
12:45
HARARE - A thick stench sweeps across the passage from the toilets,
cutting
across the entire reception area at the second floor of the Zimbabwe
Broadcasting Corporation’s Pockets Hill Studios in Harare. Staff members
criss-cross, barring the stench from intruding their nostrils with their
open palms, while disgusted visitors and occasional job–seekers frown as
they throng the corridors waiting to be served. The independent media has
been awash with stories of corruption at the once-revered Pockets Hill, but
have been branded misinformed and unprofessional. But the beleaguered
broadcaster still manages to churn out an unceasing flood of Zanu (PF)
propaganda – the electronic mouthpiece of a desperate dying
horse.
Nothing has ever been done to address reports of corruption at ZBC,
with the
Chief Executive Happyson Muchechetere having rather chosen to press
lawsuit
charges against The Standard. Last year that newspaper carried a
story
detailing the huge salaries awarded to management while ordinary
workers,
including reporters, fetched for as little as US$350 per
month.
Some top officials at Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings were reportedly
taking
home over US$20 000 monthly, excluding allowances.
The main
building that houses the CEO’s office right through to the Human
Resources
department depict a gloomy picture of the national broadcaster. A
recent
visit showed walls cracking while the white-wash paint was peeling
off the
outside. A walk in the corridors of most of the buildings at ZBC by
this
reporter revealed cracking floors. Some wooden floors were breaking up,
tiles scattered on the floors with nobody bothered by their presence in the
passages. The ceiling at the far end to the side of the Human Resources
department in the first floor hang down, threatening to fall off, onto the
hapless head of any passerby, be they the CEO or any other bigwigs at
ZBC.
Some doors in other offices that clearly were no longer serving any
purpose
were broken down, some hanging off, almost coming off their hinges,
the
inside of the abandoned offices full of all sorts of garbage and broken
furniture, with the dust of ages covering every object.
Hordes of flies
buzzed discordantly in the staff canteen, crowding the area
from where food
was being served. The poor employees appeared unmoved by the
flies as they
joyously devoured their 50 cent sadza, laughing and sharing
jokes.
Most
of the chairs and tables in the canteen were aged and broken and some
of the
staff just stood as they ate their food.
A further visit to the CEO’s office
revealed a sharp contrast.
The spacious office was furnished with brand-new
furniture, while the ZBH
boss relaxed comfortably in his imported leather
armchair, pompously talking
on the phone, clearly giving some instructions
to someone junior to him as
he rocked up and down, to and fro in his
armchair, clearly content with the
luxury that filled his office. But
employees who spoke to this reporter on
condition of anonymity revealed that
they were enslaved at the embattled
broadcaster.
“We are here working as
slaves, the salaries we are getting are next to
nothing, yet our bosses are
taking home thousands of dollars every month
each,” said one of the workers
in the TV Production department. Another
employee, who gave her pseudo name
as Tracy Mhere, said she was coming to
work daily simply because she had no
other alternative. “If an option could
arise anytime for me, I would leave
this job without a second thought,”
Mhere said. She takes home less than
US$350 although she has a family to
feed and is a single mother.
Other
reporters lamented that the journalism profession at ZBC was now
completely
non-existent. “Considering the ridiculous salaries that we are
earning here
as reporters, it is humiliating for us to come out in the open
about our
jobs,” said another journalist in the Channel 2 TV Station at the
national
broadcaster.
“We feel absolutely downgraded and dehumanised by the sarcastic
salaries we
continue to earn here at ZBC while reporters at News Day, The
Zimbabwe
Independent and The Standard are reported to be earning over
US$850,
starting from the most junior reporter,” said the disheartened
journalist.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/
Written by SW Radio
Africa
Saturday, 22 January 2011 11:58
This week Behind the Headlines
SW Radio Africa journalist Lance Guma speaks
to Nhlanhla Dube the newly
appointed national spokesperson of the MDC led by
Welshman Ncube and gets
his reaction to accusations they hired thugs to
retrieve party vehicles from
two senior officials who rebelled against the
new leadership. Why did the
party decide against changing the MDC name? When
will Ncube take over from
Mutambara as Deputy Prime Minister? Is it fair
they are labelled a tribal or
regional party?
Lance Guma: Hello Zimbabwe and welcome to another
exciting edition of Behind
the Headlines. This week my guest is the newly
appointed national
spokesperson for the MDC led by Professor Welshman Ncube.
His name is
Nhlanhla Dube. Mr Dube thank you for joining us.
Nhlanhla
Dube: Thank you very much for having me on your programme.
Guma: Now over
the weekend there were accusations that your party, led by
Professor
Welshman Ncube, had hired party thugs to retrieve vehicles that
belong to
the party. Making this accusation of course is your former
national chairman
I believe, Mr Jobert Mudzumwe who, as we’ve been reporting
these past weeks
tried to lead, or led a rebellion of senior party
executives. Let’s start
off with that story Mr Dube and get your reaction.
Is it true that over 20
youths were hired to go take away this Mazda 323
from Mr
Mudzumwe?
Dube: I think the correct thing to say is to remind listeners
that Mr Jobert
Mudzumwe having gone public a day before our National
Congress which was on
the 8th and 9th of January in Harare, he then stepped
outside his drawn
parameters of being a party representative. That party
representative status
had given him the right to use a party vehicle which
he had in Masvingo.
At Congress, elections were done for national
chairman for the party. Let me
remind listeners also that Mr Jobert Mudzumwe
had not been nominated, not by
a single province, to stand for election at
Congress, so he lost the right
to be party chairman, both by the fact that
he went away from the party, he
walked away from the party caucus, but also
because he couldn’t stand at
Congress because he wasn’t nominated so he is
no longer national chairman of
the party.
And not being national
chairman of the party meant that he lost the right to
use the party’s
vehicle. So what happened is that the party sent a couple of
drivers to go
and retrieve the vehicle from him. Also the party sent drivers
to go and
retrieve a vehicle from Mashiri who was the chairman of Masvingo,
also
because Mashiri was no longer the chairman of Masvingo and he had lost
the
right to use that party vehicle.
The party does not hire thugs and it
does not have thugs – that is a huge
departure, would be a huge departure
from the principles of our party which
espouse non-violence and constructive
resolution to any disputes so…
Guma: Yes but our listeners will be aware
that there is a political dispute
between several members of the national
executive and that these gentlemen
convened a press conference a few hours
before the Congress at which they
were laying out their disputes essentially
and made it very clear that they
were the legitimate MDC as far as they were
concerned.
So the first question our listeners will ask is, bearing in
mind there is
this dispute, obviously this retrieving of the vehicles could
not have been
done peacefully?
Dube: No, no, no it is an imaginary
dispute, there is no dispute. What
happened was this – and I think it is
important for the listeners to hear
this and understand this and we will
always be available to explain this at
any given time, that at the last
national council which was the day before
Congress, they presented, together
with other provinces, a petition with a
number of issues that they wanted
debated.
Now during the course of that debate, you’ll appreciate that the
agenda item
which was going to deal with those petitions was clashing with
their time to
address the press conference that they had arranged so they
then stormed out
of the meeting before the petition was even attended to,
before the petition
or their concerns were addressed or debated.
So
there are people that were creating a smoke screen through the
presentation
of the petition, all they really wanted was to create a
sideshow which they
called a press conference, which they called a potential
split. After they
did that, Professor Arthur Mutambara who was leading the
party until
Congress, took over the chairmanship of the national council
meeting and the
national council went ahead, so there is no dispute,
absolutely
none.
We know of no split, they can call themselves whatever they want to
call
themselves – we are not sure what they are calling themselves if they
form
themselves into a party. We will obviously have no negativity about
that
because it is their right to form themselves into any party if they
wanted
to. You’ll appreciate that people belong to political parties by
choice and
if they decide they no longer belong to that political party, it
is fine.
But that property that you have as a member of the political
party that went
to Congress, re-elected people and re-positioned people will
then collect
its property and it’s a legal property owned by the party, not
by an
individual and that property must go back into the inventory of the
party,
which party owns those properties, not its leader, not its secretary
general, not anyone else in their individual capacity except the party as a
body politic.
Guma: OK, point taken but the question I think and this
is the question that
a lot of people have been asking, given these
individuals were insisting on
holding onto the cars, did they willingly hand
over these vehicles to you?
Dube: Absolutely, absolutely, nobody, nobody
was touched violently, nobody
was touched physically. They were handed over
peacefully and we took it as
their understanding of the fact that those
vehicles did not belong to them
individually but belonged to the party and
they handed them over and there
were absolutely no incidents of
violence.
If there was any we would encourage them to go to the police
and report this
and of course show evidence and so forth and so on but as
far as we are
concerned there was absolutely no violence. It was just a
normal collection
of a vehicle that doesn’t belong to that particular person
because of their
new status in the party or outside of the
party…
Guma: Why is Mr Mudzumwe being quoted as saying 20 thugs destroyed
property,
attacked his family in the Runyararo West suburb? Why is he saying
that?
Dube: Because from the start he is the man who created this phantom
break-away group which announced a split a day before Congress. He is
creating this bull in a china shop, he is creating attention to himself. He
will obviously go on a smear campaign and say all sorts of things. We
certainly can’t get into his head and say this is why he is doing this. What
we can give you is the fact as best as we are and say we absolutely have no
record, we absolutely have got no report of any form of violence happening
in the collection of those vehicles.
And as far as we are concerned
as a party, if he was touched violently, if
he was threatened and so forth
and so on the system in Zimbabwe will take
its course through the police, he
can make a report there. There was
absolutely as far as we are concerned,
there is absolutely no need for
anyone to be violent when you are collecting
something that belongs to an
institution not to an individual.
Guma:
In handing over the reins to Professor Welshman Ncube, Professor
Mutambara
urged party members to deal with the concerns raised by Mudzumwe
and the
other members who led this rebellion. Are there any moves towards
maybe
honouring those remarks by Professor Mutambara? Is this something the
party
is looking into?
Dube: When you belong to a political party you subvert
yourself to certain
dictates. You subvert yourself to a certain behavioural
types. There are
lines of communication. But if you say you belong to a
political party and
you are constantly attacking it from outside and in the
public space and so
forth and so on and not engage in that particular
political party within the
structures that are created it is then impossible
to fulfil the wishes of
our outgoing president, Professor Arthur Guseni
Mutambara.
It will be the best thing to do will be for them to approach
the organs of
the party that can start formulating a constructive resolution
of this
dispute, of their concerns. The party is open to speaking to any
disgruntled
member because it is their democratic right to raise issues but
while it is
a democratic right I don’t think that working for the station
that you are
working for my brother, you would go the BBC and speak about
your own web
station, I think that would create a problem in any
resolution.
The most important thing is to appreciate that when you have
got a dispute,
you are still within the confines of that political party and
then you
address your concerns within the guidelines of whatever party or
board you
belong to.
Guma: OK, moving on to the next issue – we have
seen vicious if not constant
speculation on when Professor Ncube will take
over from Arthur Mutambara as
the deputy prime minister. We even saw
Tsholotsho North member of parliament
Professor Jonathan Moyo joining in the
debate saying Professor Ncube should
come out in the clear open and say when
he is taking over. How is this
matter going to be resolved because people
are wondering? Professor Ncube is
senior in the party and yet junior to
Mutambara in the government. How is
this matter being sorted
out?
Dube: I for one, speaking on behalf of the party, don’t understand
why we
are being stampeded to state what or how the party is going to
deploy. I
think that is generated by people that want us to follow one route
or
another, but look, the party has said straight after Congress, what is
going
to happen is that the national council is going to sit and will give a
direction of how the party should deploy its new leadership into government
and anywhere else in the party where need be.
And that is going to
happen and no-one should halt that by criticising or
commenting adversely
we’ll then be stampeded into satisfying some ego-driven
decision making
process. I think it is a decision that should be arrived at
carefully and
following constructive forms of debate within the party and we
are currently
doing that. And when that decision is made believe me the
media will be the
first to know because that is the instrument that we will
use obviously to
communicate to everybody what decision we have taken. That
decision will be
made in due time.
Guma: OK but do you not think also Professor Ncube’s
supporters, having
taken joy in seeing him assume the position would
naturally want him as
deputy prime minister so it might not necessarily be
negative attacks coming
from people who just want to see the party destroyed
but Ncube’s supporters
who would want to see him take over as deputy prime
minister?
Dube: So far the only comments about his ascendancy or lack
there of, of
getting to be deputy PM has been coming from the negative
corner of the
participants in this discourse. His supporters understand that
an orderly
system has to be followed. We certainly aren’t going to wake up
tomorrow and
just decide knee-jerk how to do things.
I think a
process has been put in place, a decision making pattern has been
put in
place that is going to be followed until that decision is arrived at
and we
would urge all his supporters to be patient and to appreciate the
party is
the one that deploys. Professor Ncube as the leader of the party is
not the
one that deploys himself.
He is naturally by being the president of the
party, he becomes the
principal, that’s natural, however the party might
decide not to deploy him
to be deputy prime minister, might decide to deploy
him to be deputy prime
minister. He will also wait as patiently as everyone
else within the party
is waiting until the national council sits and makes
that decision. It is a
painful waiting process but it must be done because
things must be done
correctly.
Guma: And the issue of the MDC name? I
know since the party split in 2005
there has been much discussion about this
and when he took over, Professor
Ncube at your Congress, spoke about this
saying there had been a suggestion
to change the name and then it was shot
down. Various people have been
commenting on various forums wanting to know
exactly why the party does not
choose to get another name and get rid of the
confusion. What’s your
position on this?
Dube: The leadership of the
party sitting as the national council had come
out with a raft of possible
constitutional amendments. You’ll remember that
the constitution can only be
amended by Congress, can only be amended by its
members representing the
various provinces that they come from.
Now when the issue of the name
came up because the deputy national council
and a few, one name was agreed
on, it was agreed that there should be an
attempt to change the party to
possibly to read the Congress for a Movement
for Democratic Change but when
we got to Congress, the delegates who are the
owners of the party refused to
have the name changed in according to how
what they felt we were the MDC,
our compatriots are MDC-Tsvangirai and as
far as we are concerned they are
holding dear the name and they felt it was
absolutely unnecessary for us to
change the name.
The leadership had wanted to change it because of the
general fatigue around
explaining all the time that we are not MDC-M and now
we see that we are
being called MDC-N and we just wanted to do away with
that so that people
just stick to who we are so that so that we can work on
programmes and so
forth and so on…
Guma: But that actually works
against you because a lot of people are saying
that represents a fear on
your part to stand alone and you are holding on to
the old MDC name. If you
have new ideas, you have a new logo, you have a new
motto, why not adopt a
new party name and build your own brand?
Dube: You’ll appreciate that you
are talking to me as one of the leadership
of the party, I speak on behalf
of the party. Congress who are the owners of
the party decide otherwise.
They see it fit that we keep the name and
unfortunately you can’t bulldoze
and dictate to the Congress and say look
let’s change the name so we’ll just
have to work with the name as it is.
We have re-branded to go green and
black and white and that is what we are
going to go with. Yes we understand
that people out there will see it as a
fear but someone we will turn around
and say you know what, MDC led by
Tsvangirai call themselves MDC-T so is it
a fear factor also? Maybe can wait
for their Congress in May, maybe they
will also decide to change their name,
we will wait and see what goes so the
fear is certainly not on our part but
fear might be on their part
also.
But look, the way we carry on we always allow for the democratic
process to
take place; Congress must decide and whatever Congress decides
the
leadership implements so it’s not the leadership that decides. The
leadership is only there as representatives of the party.
Guma: My
final question for you Mr Dube – the emergence of ZAPU led by
Dumiso
Dabengwa – some analysts are saying basically you are going to have
Dabengwa
and Welshman Ncube fighting for the same political cake in terms of
the
Matabeleland vote and the prediction is that this can only benefit
Tsvangirai. What’s your reading of this scenario?
Dube: Look those
statements are largely made by very narrow minded people
who think that a
party led by a Ndebele speaking person is then only
confined to
Matabeleland. That is actually a very big insult to Zimbabweans
because you
are assuming that a party led by an Ndebele person or Tonga
person or a
Kalanga person or a Xhosa person or Venda or Sotho cannot be
representative
nationally and we are a national party whose interests are
national.
A Ndebele problem to us is a Karanga problem, is a Manyika
problem, is a
Bocha problem, is a Korekore problem. Any part of Zimbabwe
which has a
problem it must be seen as a national problem and to us, the
emergence of
ZAPU is absolutely of no concern to our national thinking about
how we
should address national problems in Zimbabwe. We are certainly not a
regional party, yes we will certainly debate and contest for position in any
province and any region in the party.
Guma: But you can’t argue, you
can’t run away from the fact that in the
March 2008 election, most of your
seats, if not all of them came from one
particular region so it’s more of a
historical fact; even ZAPU predominantly
draws its support from the
Matabeleland region so would you be running away
from that
fact?
Dube: No, no, no it’s not running away from the fact, it’s just
stating how
we are framed. I mean the result of 2008 stand, they are
historical, they
are then seen. Are you then saying to us that ZANU PF is a
few region party
because they are not dominant in Matabeleland? Now if we
look at it that way
then yah we will then say possibly that ZANU PF is
limited in effect in
Matabeleland and therefore they are not a national
party, which you could
even say the same for MDC-T which for me would be a
very myopic argument.
I think that all parties that are national must
focus on national problems,
it doesn’t really matter where the greatest
number of your seats come from.
It might be a case of strategy, it might be
a case of where your candidates
perform the best but it is not reflective of
the way you are framed because
you are framed nationally.
This
country is one singular country within one border with one interest,
for us
at least as a party and we will project those interests at a national
platform and consistently refuse to be regionalised and paddocked within the
environment or the parameters of Matabeleland. We are not a regional party,
we are a national party.
Guma: I know I had said final question but I
just have to ask this – why do
people do that Mr Dube? Why do they frame
your party in this particular
manner saying either you are a regional party
or a tribal party? Why do they
do that?
Dube: It’s an age-old
behaviour. It’s a, if you look at it, it’s a colonial
legacy which people
have failed to shake off. It is a divide and rule legacy
which people have
failed to shake off, which people fail to look straight in
the eye and say
eh we need to get rid of this, if we are national, we are
national
irrespective of who leads what, irrespective of who (inaudible)
It’s a
colonial legacy which we need to deal with, which we need to disabuse
ourselves of, which we need to be free to debate in Zimbabwe and move on
from. So we understand it in that context but we think that it’s something
that certainly people need to be able to be brave enough to look in the face
and say you know Zimbabwe doesn’t deserve this, Zimbabwe deserves
better.
Guma: Well that’s Nhlanhla Dube the newly appointed national
spokesperson
for the MDC led by Professor Welshman Ncube. Mr Dube, thank you
so much for
joining us on Behind the Headlines.
Dube: I thank you
too. Have yourself a good day.
Feedback can be sent to lance@swradioafrica.com
http://twitter.com/lanceguma or http://www.facebook.com/lance.guma
SW
Radio Africa is Zimbabwe’s Independent Voice and broadcasts on Short Wave
4880 KHz in the 60m band.
Dear Family and Friends,
There is
a natural swimming pool on a cold mountain river in
Zimbabwe’s Eastern
Highlands. At a spot where the Inyangombe River
cavorts over an outcrop of
smooth, weathered, brown rocks, the river
settles briefly into a pool below
the waterfalls. Sometime in the
past, many decades ago, river sand was
brought in and deposited on the
banks, creating a perfect beach. The water in
the pool is clear and
cold, the river base covered in smooth pebbles and when
the wind blows
in the branches of the overhanging trees and whispers in the
pine
needles, you can’t help but forget the absurdity of current
affairs
in Zimbabwe.
When a friend got a hole in the exhaust pipe of
his car this week, a
simple job turned into a marathon. A visit to a local
garage, line the
vehicle up, drive onto the ramp and then wait while the car
is
elevated a couple of metres off the ground and the repair
is
undertaken. No problem you say? Ah, but only as long as the
electricity
stays on! Twenty minutes into the job the electricity went
off, the car was
left stranded 2 metres off the ground. Closing time
approached and my friend
got anxious. “What about my car,” he
asked?
“Nothing to do” the mechanic
replied, “I’ve got no way of
getting it down. It’ll have to stay there till
tomorrow.”
“Haven’t you got a generator?” my friend asked, his wallet,
ID
and house keys were all locked inside the car which was hanging
over
his head. The generator wasn’t powerful enough to run the
elevator
ramp and so the workshop was closed up till the next
morning.
Long before opening time my friend was back at the garage.
The
electricity had come on overnight when no one was around but had
gone
off again at 5 in the morning.
Close your eyes, can you hear the wind
in the pine trees above the
Inyangombe River, I thought to myself as I heard
the story.
8 o’clock came, 9, 10 and then finally at 11 in the morning
the
electricity flickered back into life. A simple 15 minute job had
taken
19 hours and the loss of business incurred by my friend and the
garage
owner another incalculable drain on our stone broke,
impoverished
country.
Every day brings to light another absurdity in
Zimbabwe, never more so
than now as talk of elections gains momentum. I could
hardly believe
news reports that a convicted rapist, the leader of an
Apostolic
Church, has just been released from prison 13 years early
because
he’s got high blood pressure. My own blood pressure soared at
the
news, particularly because this church man has long been an
outspoken
supporter and campaigner for Zanu PF. “High blood pressure!”
still
the words echo in my head as I close my eyes for a moment and
listen
for the hiss of the Inyangombe River tumbling over the
rocks.
Then came the staggering news from the Zimbabwe Election
Support
Network who have been conducting research into the state
of
Zimbabwe’s voters role. One of their findings is that a third of
the
registered names on the voters roll are of dead people. They also
say
that 2,344 names belong to people aged between 100 and 110 and that
9
names are of people apparently aged between 111 and 130 years. This in
a
country where life expectancy is less than 40 years, leaves us all
in no
doubt that without a new voters roll, change is certainly not
coming to
Zimbabwe anytime soon. Are you listening Mr Zuma, SADC and
the AU?
Oh
to sit on the beach alongside a clear, cool mountainous pool!
Until next
time, thanks for reading, love cathy. Copyright � Cathy
Buckle 22nd January
2011.
www.cathybuckle.com