http://www.newzimbabwe.com
23/01/2013 00:00:00
by Staff
Reporter
POLICE say they are yet to establish the cause of
Tuesday’s mystery blast at
the home of a traditional healer in Harare’s
Zengeza 2 suburb which killed
five people and injured a dozen
others.
The powerful blast also damaged up to 12 other properties – two
of them
extensively.
It took a combined investigating team of the police,
military experts, fire
services and state intelligence more than 24 hours to
collect all the body
parts for the victims who included a 7-month old child
who was asleep at the
time of the explosion.
The bodies were removed
to a local morgue on Wednesday as investigators
grappled for
answers.
Harare police spokesman Inspector Tadius Chibanda said: “We know
there are a
lot of assumptions as to what happened, but we need to be
thorough so as to
come up with what really happened.
“We have our
experts on the ground, the army bomb disposal unit, (power
utility) ZESA,
homicide have all been there and we also had a pathologist
attending the
scene.”
The traditional healer, who has been named as Speakmore Mandere,
was in
consultations with a South Africa-based businessman, Clever
Kamudzeya, and
two of his associates shortly after 3PM on Tuesday when the
house was rocked
by a loud explosion.
Kamudzeya’s wife, Svodai, who
escaped the blast as she was in the car
outside told StarFM: “I was in the
other room and they were working in the
spare bedroom. I stepped out to pick
something from the car and I only
remember seeing a light before the
explosion.
“We had consulted Mandere before and he identified the source
of our
problems. We decided to seek assistance from him for the second time
and
that’s when this misfortune happened.”
Another lucky survivor was
Mandere’s aide, Tawanda Maruma, who said he had
stepped outside to stir some
concoction in a clay pot which Mandere used for
casting out bad spirits when
disaster struck.
“I don’t really know what caused the explosion, but this
guy used to be a
prophet at the same time as being a traditional healer,”
said Maruma.
Several theories have been floated by some locals to explain
the mystery
blast.
Some locals claim Kamudzeya – who owns buses – brought
a landmine to Mandere
which he wanted “blessed” to improve its red mercury
composition. Red
mercury is said to be in huge demand worldwide and is known
to have been
used in dirty bombs.
It is reported that an
elderly man has come forward to tell investigators
that he advised Mandere
against going ahead with the procedure he was
planning to carry out due to
its complex nature.
Others claimed Kamudzeya was returning a “goblin”
which he bought from
another healer who would not take it back due to
disagreements over the fee.
Mandere, they say, offered to take it off him
for a lesser charge.
But the most common rumour locally – also in the
sorcerers realm – is that
Mandere was performing a procedure which has come
to be known as
“bluetooth” – the act of sending lightning to strike a chosen
target.
Locals believe the target individual may have been “protected” or
had
superior powers to Mandere. The theory goes that the targeted recipient
of
the lightning instigated what is known as “return-to-sender”, resulting
in
lightning striking at Mandere’s rented home.
A self-declared
practising traditional healer, Morrison Mafuta, who was
among tens of people
at the scene said what he had witnessed bore the
tell-tale signs of
lightning.
“I have seen this in Manicaland. This is lightning,” he said.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
Wednesday, 23 January 2013 11:34
HARARE
- A bomb could have caused the mysterious blast that killed five
people in
Chitungwiza on Monday, as top security officials cordoned the area
yesterday
searching for clues.
Top officials from the Criminal Investigations
Department (CID) (homicide
and law and order section), a foreign pathologist
and members of the army’s
bomb disposal unit have been called in to lead
investigations into the
Chitungwiza “house of death” explosion which has
left the country in shock.
Police said they have roped in the army and
have alerted cooperating foreign
laboratories to be on alert for assistance
as they are leaving no stone
unturned.
Head of the Harare law and
order and homicide sections Crispen Makedenge and
Cuban pathologist
Gabriella Alvero are leading the investigations in a case
that police
officers say is complex.
Charity Charamba, the national police
spokesperson, said they have brought
in their most senior and well trained
experts to try and unravel the
mysterious blast.
“Those people
(experts) you saw today (yesterday) at the scene were called
in to ascertain
the real cause and we are leaving nothing to chance,” said
Charamba.
In 2011, both Makedenge and Alvero led investigations into
the mysterious
death of the country’s celebrated war hero, Solomon Mujuru,
who succumbed to
unknown inferno at his farm house in
Beatrice.
Tragedy struck on Monday afternoon in Chitungwiza’s Zengeza
suburb where a
traditional healer and four other persons were blown into
pieces by a yet
“inexplicable” explosion.
More than four houses were
damaged by the blast that some initially
attributed to black
magic.
However, the presence of bomb disposal and forensic experts brings
in a
whole new dimension to the unravelling case and could mean that
authorities
suspect a bomb detonated at the house.
Tadious Chibanda,
Harare police spokesperson, said investigations will
include the army who
have supplied their bomb disposal unit to examine the
presence of a bomb and
land mines.
“We have roped in Central Investigation Department (CID)
homicide, law and
order, special forensic unit, and among other interested
parties. We have
summoned all our experts to attend to this complex matter,”
said Chibanda.
Top security details told the Daily News they had taken
chunks of flesh and
debris for laboratory test and these could be sent
outside the country for
further examination.
When the Daily News
arrived at the scene yesterday afternoon, police and
soldiers had sealed off
the house which is at the centre of the mystery.
Hordes of curious
Chitungwiza residents besieged the scene as they expected
to get an answer
to the blast.
Police maintained a heavy presence while the road leading
to the house has
been temporarily closed.
Swelimu Mandere father to
the deceased traditional healer said his son
doubled in ritual and apostolic
activities, a development which makes the
superstitious endorse the black
magic theory.
Security officials seem to be maintaining a tight lid on
how investigations
are continuing.
The blast rocked Ndororo Street
and caused massive damage to houses as far
as a kilometre radius. - Xolisani
Ncube
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com
Staff Reporter 21 hours 10
minutes ago
HIGH Court judge, Justice Bharat Patel told the
Lands Ministry Tuesday to
come up with a “clear, transparent and
accountable” land allocation system
as he reversed the Minister’s decision
to offer a Seke property to a Zanu PF
legislator
Former deputy minister
Phineas Chihota was given Denby Farm in 2005 after
the Lands Ministry
reversed an earlier decision to allocate the property to
Transmedia
Corporation chief executive Florence Sigudu who challenged the
decision at
the courts.
The Ministry claimed that Sigudu had breached the conditions of
the offer
letter by allegedly failing to take up residence at the farm but
Justice
Patel found in her favour and ordered Chihota off the
property.
Justice Patel said the Lands Ministry must come up with a
transparent land
allocation system.
"The administration and allocation of
land for resettlement purposes,
whatever the modality or form of allocation,
should be properly and
effectively regulated, so as to create a land
allocation regime that is
clear, transparent and accountable and susceptible
to judicial scrutiny," he
said.
In the hard hitting ruling, Justice Patel
said the relevant Act does not
provide for the allocation of land through
the popularised “offer letters”.
"The Act does not contemplate the allocation
of land for settlement through
offer letters and it does not entitle the
minister or any authority to
cancel offer or terminate rights conferred
thereunder," he said.
"The minister's argument that the offer letter was
automatically withdrawn
simply cannot be accepted. The power to withdraw or
cancel an offer of land
must be exercised lawfully and
procedurally."
Sigudu was offered part of Denby Farm in June 2002 and
insisted she took
occupation of the property and prepared the land, moulded
bricks for farm
buildings and purchased equipment for farming
activities.
But in 2005 during a meeting chaired by the Lands Minister, a
decision was
made to consolidate her property with the farm allocated to
Chihota. It was
also agreed at the same meeting that she be evicted from her
farm.
The Ministry had claimed that the consolidation procedural and that the
offer to Sigudu was automatically withdrawn because she had failed to comply
with the conditions of the offer letter.
http://www.mdc.co.zw
Wednesday, 23 January
2013
MDC calls for an urgent land audit
The MDC has been
vindicated on its calls for the government to carry out a
proper land audit
following a ruling by the High Court on Tuesday that the
Ministry of Lands
should have a clear, transparent and accountable land
allocation
policy.
In his judgment, Justice Bharat Patel slammed the Lands
Ministry over its
murkiness in land distribution as he reversed the Lands
Ministry’s 2005
decision to offer Denby Farm in Seke to a senior Zanu PF
politician who
already had another farm next to Denby Farm in
2001.
The MDC condemns the continued greed shown by the senior Zanu PF
politicians
in acquiring more than one farm and the MDC’s position remains
that there
should be a comprehensive, transparent and non-partisan land
audit to weed
out multiple farm ownerships and identify underutilised land
as stipulated
by the law.
Zanu PF’s land allocation process has been
fraught with corruption and
confusion as only last week, Grace Mugabe was
reported to have taken over
part of the lucrative Mazoe Estates in Mazowe
leaving hundreds of workers
without jobs. Grace Mugabe already owns several
farms in Mazowe.
It is therefore important for the inclusive government,
to carry out a land
audit in line with the Global Political Agreement (GPA)
in order to reassert
agriculture on the pole position as the country’s
economic mainstay.
Article V of the GPA is very specific. It requires the
inclusive government
to undertake a land audit in order to clear up Zanu
PF’s disorder, created
during the chaotic land reform exercise. For that
reason, the MDC and the
people of Zimbabwe are calling for an audit to
revisit Zanu PF’s land reform
exercise with the aim of restoring to maximum
productivity, all agricultural
land.
By carrying out a proper land
audit, Zimbabwe will be able to improve food
security and increase the
sector’s employment contribution.
In its economic policy, Juice, the
MDC’s position is that when it forms the
next government this year, it will
carry out an independent land audit and
restore Zimbabwe’s status as the
breadbasket of Southern Africa within the
next three years.
The Last
Mile: Towards Real Transformation!!!
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Violet Gonda
23 January
2013
Police on Wednesday formally laid charges against ZimRights, as more
details
emerged in the fraud case that led to the arrest of the group’s
director
Okay Machisa and his deputy.
Board member Nunurai Jena
signed a “warned and cautioned statement”, on
behalf of ZimRights, after he
reported to the police station with his lawyer
Selby Hwacha.
Jena
told SW Radio Africa shortly afterwards that the organisation was
charged
with fraud and forgery, the same charges brought against their two
detained
employees.
Jena said, “They are saying because our employees Leo
Chamahwinya and Okay
Machisa are being charged with the same offence, in
essence they are acting
with the blessings of the board.”
The police
allege that ZimRights was involved in an illegal voter
registration
exercise, but the organization denies participating in illegal
activities.
According to Jena, the police apprehended two white
foreigners who initially
were arrested for having fake visas to Zimbabwe.
Upon questioning the
foreigners said they received the fake documents
through a Mr. Bamu, who is
not a member of ZimRights.
As a follow-up
the police searched Bamu’s premises and found some stamps and
a voter
registration document. Bamu implicated another unidentified person,
at
whose home the police found 990 voter registration slips.
Jena said upon
questioning by the police, the unidentified man implicated
Dorcas Shereni,
the ZimRights chairperson for Highfields local chapter. It
is Shereni who
allegedly claimed the voter registration slips are filled out
and taken to
Leo at the ZimRights offices.
Jena said it was this link to Chamahwinya
that also led to Machisa, the two
Zimrights executives being in
detention.
He said the police are claiming that the employees were given
the mandate by
the organization, but he insists the board disassociates
itself from any
alleged criminal activities.
Machisa’s lawyer
Beatrice Mtetwa said it is “extremely difficult” to know
what the exact
allegations against her client and the organization are as
they have been
implicated by third parties, “some of whom they did not know
and some of
whom have no connection with ZimRights”.
Mtetwa said, none of these
documents were found at the ZimRights premises.
She added that the
individuals who have implicated her client are unreliable
as they were found
in possession of other fake documents, including
passports, birth
certificates, and visas for other countries.
Commenting on reports that
suggested Shereni fingered the ZimRights
employees, Mtetwa said she has not
seen any statements showing this and
Shereni is not an employee of ZimRights
but just a member.
The human rights lawyer said the entire case is
speculative as the state has
so far failed to show the direct involvement
of her client.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tererai
Karimakwenda
23 January, 2013
Delegations from Zimbabwean civic
society travelled to Addis Ababa this
week, hoping to lobby Heads of State
on the sidelines of the African Union
Summit that opened on
Monday.
The Zimbabwean crisis is not officially on the A.U. agenda this
time, as the
focus will most likely be on serious conflicts in the Sudan,
DRC, and now
Mali. But recent developments, including progress in
constitutional reform
and arrests of human rights activists, are expected to
be discussed in
meetings on the sidelines.
Civic groups at the summit
said they want to push for the implementation of
other key reforms
stipulated by the Global Political Agreement (GPA) and
present an accurate
picture of the intensifying situation on the ground.
This includes ongoing
violence, harassment of NGOs and the abuse of civil
liberties.
The theme
for this year’s summit, “Pan-Africanism and African Renaissance”,
will focus
on issues that are hindering economic development on the
continent.
Ambassadors and Ministers are already conducting meetings,
with Heads of
State scheduled to meet on Sunday and
Monday.
Delegations were sent by the Crisis Coalition, Zimbabwe Lawyers
for Human
Rights, Human Rights Watch and the NGO Human Rights
Forum.
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai says he does not believed they
will be any
more dissenting voices, in either party, in the drafting of a
new
constitution following an agreement last week by the party leaders to
bridge
their differences on all outstanding issues.
http://www.radiovop.com
Davos, Switzerland,
January 24, 2013 - Zimbabwe’s new constitution limits
the president to two
terms in office and will probably be approved in a
referendum in March,
allowing for elections to take place this year, Prime
Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai said.
“We believe we can have this constitution drafted by
next week,” Tsvangirai
said in an interview yesterday in Davos, Switzerland,
where he is attending
the World Economic Forum. “Since there is a national
consensus by all
parties, the referendum will be a
formality.”
Agreement on the constitution ends a four-year political
impasse that’s
hampered Zimbabwe’s recovery from a decade-long recession.
Tsvangirai’s
Movement for Democratic Change has shared power with President
Robert Mugabe’s
Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front since 2009
following a
disputed election that observers including from the European
Union said was
marred by violence and voting irregularities.
Under a
pact brokered by the 15-nation Southern African Development
Community to end
the political deadlock, Zimbabwe is required to hold a
referendum on a new
constitution before elections can be held. Negotiations
between the two
parties had stalled over issues including dual citizenship,
reform of the
security forces and land rights.
“I don’t think there will be any
dissenting voices,” Tsvangirai, 60, said.
“By March we can go to the
referendum.” The election “is definitely going to
be this year.”
Economic
Revival
The draft of the constitution, which will be ready by the end of
next week,
will allow Zimbabweans to hold dual citizenship, Tsvangirai
said.
Mugabe, 88, has ruled the country since it won independence from
the U.K. in
1980. In the 2008 election, Mugabe’s party lost its majority in
parliament
and a second-round presidential vote was boycotted by Tsvangirai
because he
said the army and ZANU-PF militia were intimidating his
supporters.
Zimbabwe needs to focus on reviving its economy now that the
political
impasse has ended, Tsvangirai said.
“Now we need to go to a
growth phase,” he said. “We cannot continue to have
an economy that has no
infrastructure. We are looking to have 5 percent
growth.”
Zimbabwe
has the world’s second-biggest platinum and chrome deposits after
South
Africa and also has reserves of coal, diamonds and gold. Impala
Platinum
Holdings Ltd. (IMP) and Anglo American Platinum Ltd. (AMS) operate
platinum
mines in the country while Rio Tinto Plc (RIO) runs a diamond mine.
Units of
Barclays Plc (BARC) and Standard Chartered Plc (STAN) operate in
the
country. Bloomberg News
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com
Staff Reporter 55 minutes
ago
HARARE - Zanu PF Secretary for Information and Publicity,
Rugare Gumbo says
the party endorses the new constitution and will urge
their voters to vote
yes.
Speaking after the party’s first Politburo
meeting in 2013 at the Zanu PF
headquarters in Harare this Wednesday, Gumbo
said the party is delighted
that the GPA principals finally agreed on the
outstanding issues in the new
constitution.
Gumbo said the party is
now focussing on other issues like primary elections
as it is currently
restructuring at cell and village levels.
Calling for peaceful elections,
Gumbo said Politburo members echoed in
unison the now famous signature tune
of the late Vice President Landa John
Nkomo, which goes as; ‘Peace begins
with me, peace begins with you and peace
begins with us.’
Meanwhile,
Zanu PF and the MDC-T have dismissed allegations by Mavambo
President, Dr
Simba Makoni that leaders in the GPA have hijacked the
constitution making
process by disregarding provisions of the GPA.
Dr Makoni, who was
addressing journalists in Harare, said while the GPA
principals have made a
joint public announcement that they have reached an
agreement on all
outstanding issues in the new constitution, COPAC is yet to
release the
document with all the agreed positions.
He said it is surprising the
Prime Minister has made a sudden u-turn by
going against what he promised
during the opening of the 2nd All
Stakeholders Conference that he would not
cooperate or be part of anything
that violates the GPA or the mandate given
to COPAC and parliament.
However, MDC-T Spokesperson, Mr Douglas Mwonzora
said Dr Makoni needs to see
the document first before
commenting.
Zanu PF’s Gumbo said the three parties in the GPA were the
ones who went to
the people to gather information, adding that Dr Makoni has
no supporters.
On Thursday the 17th of January, GPA principals agreed on
the draft
constitution and the proclamation of dates for the referendum and
elections.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
23.01.13
by
Tarisai Jangara
The recently agreed COPAC draft was doctored to preserve and
safeguard
powers for certain individuals in the Global Political Agreement,
says
Mavambo Kusile Dawn, President, Simba Makoni.
Last week,
President Robert Mugabe, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, Deputy
Prime
Minister Arthur Mutambara and MDC President Welshman Ncube finalised
the
draft constitution paving way for a referendum.
Addressing journalists
today (Wednesday), Makoni said the COPAC draft had
been concluded through a
faulty process as the GPA principals were
interested in safeguarding their
positions in office.
“Why and how would anyone justify the agreement by
the principals to the
establish a Constitutional Court and National Peace
and Reconciliation
Commission which would be effected after 10
years.
“ Who is not likely to be there 10 years from now. If it is such a
good
provision for the constitution and governance, why should we wait for
10
years?” questioned Makoni.
Makoni said the official COPAC draft
should be availed to the people
detailing what was agreed by the
Principals.
“ We asked of the COPAC document on the agreed positions and
we were told
that it was not available thus we have been entirely informed
by the media.
“ The document was compromised in the interest and for the
mutual self
preservation of the GPA parties . The new constitution was
reduced to a
political expedient for the benefit of two individuals,” said
Makoni.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
23/01/2013 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter
MAVAMBO Kusile leader, Simba Makoni has demanded
that MDC leaders, Morgan
Tsvangirai and Welshman Ncube, explain their role
in the constitutional
“deception” reached with President Robert Mugabe
saying the deal “usurped
the mandate of Parliament and violated the terms of
the GPA”.
Mugabe met with Tsvangirai, Ncube and Deputy Prime Minister
Arthur Mutambara
last week to thrash out a deal on the country’s new
constitution after the
Parliamentary committee (COPAC) which had steered
failed to bridge
differences between the parties.
The leaders said
they had come to an agreement over various sticking issues
adding that the
final draft would now be put together leading to a national
referendum and
general elections to choose a new government.
But Makoni said the MDC
leaders were complicit in the “violation of GPA and
usurpation of the
mandate of Parliament” and accused Tsvangirai of going
back on public
commitments to ensure the country’s new constitution was not
decided by a
few individuals.
“Officially opening the 2nd All Stakeholders Conference
in October 2012,
President Mugabe dressed down the COPAC co-chairpersons,
and told the
conference …`the GPA Principals had the final say on the new
constitution’,”
Makoni said in a statement Wednesday.
“Prime Minister
Tsvangirai disagreed with the President, and declared that
he would not
cooperate in, nor acquiesce to the violation of the GPA, and
usurpation of
the mandate of COPAC and Parliament, to produce a new
constitution.
“(But) on 17th January 2013, the GPA Principals, in a
show of amity and
unity equalled only by what happened at the signing of the
Global Political
Agreement, announced agreement on all outstanding issues on
the new
constitution.
“We also ask Prime Minister Tsvangirai what
happened to his protestations of
October 2012. He owes the nation a full
explanation and justification of
what persuaded him to join in the violation
of the GPA and usurpation of the
mandate of Parliament.”
Makoni said
Tsvangirai and Ncube must explain why there were concerning
themselves with
the succession question in Zanu PF by agreeing to defer the
provision on
Presidential running mates by ten years.
“Deferment of implementation of
new provisions by ten years is clearly aimed
at taking care of particular
persons. So, what was conceived as a key
national development initiative …
has been reduced to a political expedient
for the benefit of a handful,
maybe just two, individuals,” he said.
“Maybe the presidents of the
MDC Formations might care to explain to their
members, and to all other
citizens, why it is now their primary concern and
responsibility to … `deal
with internal fissures in … ZANU PF’. Is ZANU PF,
in turn, dealing with the
internal fissures in the MDCs?”
The terms of the deal agreed the GPA
leaders have yet to be made public by
reports suggest compromises were
reached on issues such as dual nationality,
provincial governors, the
attorney general’s office, devolution and
presidential powers.
The
constitutional reform exercise has taken over three years as the parties
bickered over various issues, in the process blowing more than US$40
million.
Makoni said the exercise has been a waste of resources the
country could ill
afford.
“We are appalled by the cowardice and
pliancy of COPAC and the whole
Parliament, in abdicating from their
responsibility to produce a draft
constitution, and put it to the people of
Zimbabwe,” he said.
“We condemn, in the strongest terms, that national
resources were expended
in an exercise aimed primarily at allaying the fears
and concerns, and
advancing the aspirations of the GPA political parties.”
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tichaona
Sibanda
23 January 2013
Theresa Makone, the influential MDC-T women’s
assembly chairperson, has said
‘anyone from any party, including
independents’ is free to challenge her in
the upcoming parliamentary
elections.
Using her Facebook social networking site, the co-Home Affairs
Minister
dismissed media reports that she was in trouble because the former
MDC-T
deputy mayor for Harare, Emmanuel Chiroto, would be challenging her in
the
party primaries.
Chiroto was dismissed from the party last year
on allegations of corruption
and will not contest the election on an MDC-T
ticket. Recent media reports
have erroneously suggested Makone faces a stiff
challenge to retain her
Harare North seat from Chiroto.
‘I have been
receiving questions about who is and who is not challenging me
in the
forthcoming elections in Harare North Constituency. This follows an
article
in yesterday’s (Tuesday) press in the ‘independent’ media that
Emmanuel
Chiroto is challenging me, and therefore I am in trouble.
‘I am worried
about journalism that rushes to print without doing its
research, for
scribes have a duty to inform the public accurately. The
gentleman in
question is not a member of my party, so what is the beef?
Asked Makone on
her Facebook site.
She added; ‘Anyone from any party, including
independents are free to
challenge me. Those within the party who feel I
have not served the party
well within the constituency are also free to
throw their names in the hat.’
‘I am very happy to be challenged at any
time by anyone in and outside the
party at the forthcoming plebiscite, so
there is no need to make news out of
it. I just need everyone to know that a
person who does not want to be
challenged cannot be a member of the MDC,
because it was for that very
reason that the party was formed,’ she
added.
Analysts believe that Makone’s ‘come and challenge me’ mantra puts
to rest
assumptions that the party leadership is trying to protect the
bigwigs and
sidelining young turks. This was after the party announced
stringent
selection criteria for its aspiring council and parliamentary
candidates, a
move the party said was aimed at weeding out corrupt elements
and guarding
against infiltration.
Nelson Chamisa, the party’s
national organizing secretary told SW Radio
Africa that they’re extremely
excited and gratified at the ‘rich menu’ of
candidates who have shown
interest to represent them in the primaries.
The party late last year
invited applications for prospective candidates for
the 2013 harmonized
general elections and has received hundreds of
application from across the
globe.
‘We are attracting the best of the best, the crème de la crème
from among
our communities and society. But it’s premature now to give
statistics of
where the applications are coming from.
‘The major
focus is the constituencies they want to represent. After the
deadline for
applications on the 30th January, we will then begin the
internal process of
validating the applications and this includes
scrutinizing and vetting the
CVs and the applications,’ Chamisa said.
http://nehandaradio.com
on January 23, 2013 at 4:23 am
Report by
Tatenda Chitagu
MASVINGO — Zanu PF Chivi South legislator Irvine
Dzingirai has declared
himself the new owner of troubled Renco Mine.
Dzingirai confirmed his
take-over of the mine last Friday, claiming he was
doing so as part of his
party’s indigenisation policy.
Production at
Renco Mine ceased last Monday after workers’ wives and
villagers barricaded
the main gate demanding an improvement in workers’
conditions and community
help projects.
“Yes, I have taken over Renco Mine as we speak. I am the
new general
manager. I am at the mine right now,” Dzingirai told
NewsDay.
“I just took over the mine. There were no talks.
“In
fact, there is no more time for talks as the mine failed to pay workers
their bonuses and there is no money at the pension fund, even though that
money was deducted from the workers’ salaries.”
Renco Mine manager
Suprene Kachisa refused to comment citing the company’s
protocol and
referred all questions to managing director Ashton Ndlovu who
is based in
Harare.
But Ndlovu said he was in a meeting and did not respond to
written questions
he had demanded, by the time of going to print. But some
of the disgruntled
workers’ wives accused Dzingirai of hijacking their
strike for political
gains.
“Ours was a genuine strike. It was an
apolitical protest comprising workers’
wives and villagers who support
either Zanu PF or MDC,” said a villager who
requested anonymity.
“But
we were surprised when Dzingirai came from nowhere and said he is now
the
new owner. What also baffled us is that he came all the way from Chivi
to
grab the mine. We cannot be used as political pawns like that.”
Dzingirai
vowed to stay put at the mine, saying he had the capacity to run
it.
“I have a long history in mining. In fact, I have a diploma in
mining and so
the mine will be as viable as it used to be. I will be paying
the workers
competitive wages,” he added. NewsDay
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Tererai
Karimakwenda
23 January 2013
The families of nearly two dozen farm
workers who were evicted from Mara
Farm in Goromonzi South last week are
reported to be desperate and living by
the roadside without adequate
shelter.
Armed riot police patrolling the farm are also said to be
blocking the
families from collecting their belongings, including blankets
and clothing
that was left during the forced eviction.
According to
the MDC-T legislator for Goromonzi South, Greenbate Dongo, the
new farm
owner claims he does not know the families. But Edward Dube, who
took over
in 2005 under the land reform programme, is being accused of
refusing to pay
the farm workers for long periods.
MP Dongo told SW Radio Africa that he
has visited the farm and seen how
desperate the families are. With the area
flooded by heavy rains that hit
much of Zimbabwe recently, plastic shacks
that have been erected by the road
near a neighboring farm cannot provide
enough shelter.
The neighbor, known as Mashingaidze, has been providing
water and other
basics that he can spare. The MP appealed to for well
wishers who can donate
blankets, food, water, clothing and any other items
that would make life
more pleasant.
The families can be found by the
road near a place called Rock Heaven, close
to the Epworth side of Mara
Farm. Young children and a disabled elderly man
with one leg are among the
evicted.
The farm workers and their families were evicted Monday last
week after Dube
was granted an eviction order by the courts. The court
victory was based on
his claim that strangers who do not work for him were
living on his
property.
But MP Dongo said some of the farm workers
had been at Mara Farm since 1985.
They told him that Dube pursued the
eviction after they started demanding
that he pay them what was owed, so
they could send their children to school.
Unfortunately many farm workers
and their families have experienced similar
circumstances over the years, as
commercial farms were taken over by
government and military chefs without
any knowledge of farming. This has
caused massive unemployment and
starvation.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
Wednesday, 23 January 2013 09:59
HARARE - Boarding a
rural-bound bus or what is referred to as a “Chicken
Bus” during this rainy
season can be a frustrating experience. The bus will
be raining
inside.
It becomes more annoying especially when the buses are
over-charging and
worse, continuously break down along the way.
With
the just-ended festive season turning itself into a culling season one
should be grateful for being alive after so many deaths and
injuries.
Despite the risk of being part of the statistics, I boarded a
“chicken bus”
to Bikita on a day that most people would not want to travel.
It was
Christmas Day and the mood was ripe for the once-a-year
celebrations.
One would have thought the coming in of the multi-currency
regime meant that
even those at the base of stock would at least afford a
decent meal on such
a day, but alas for most people these were just
wishes.
As it was raining from Harare to Chivhu everyone in the bus was
scurrying
for cover inside the bus.
People complained bitterly that
bus owners were reluctant to repair their
buses despite charging exorbitant
prices. Never mind the presence of
numerous police details on the country’s
roads.
As we reached Roy/Mhunga turn off a heat wave swept through the
bus and all
those who were wet due to the raining bus started to feel the
sudden high
temperatures. We were welcomed by the Bikita heat and everyone
sensed
danger.
The rains were not forthcoming and this spells
disaster for my loveable and
good-natured people of this area. Crop failure
has now become the norm year
after year but in this current season animals
like goats also found the
going tough.
The prolonged dry spell
spoiled the Christmas spirit, the usually overjoyed
vendors selling harurwa
were nowhere in sight, of-course it is not the
season for those sour insects
but the hot climate and unyielding clouds were
a sign of the tough times
ahead.
Going down to Bikita office, the mood changed for the worse as
there was
little activity as kids loitered agonisingly around the shops.
Those who
wanted to drown their troubles in alcohol were not spared
too.
Some could be seen ready to attack one scud of opaque beer, the rest
seemed
to be resigned to fate and one could almost predict what was going on
in
their minds.
The sorry state of the fields and the near wilting
maize crop seemed to be
saying to them — another failed season and more
frantic efforts to find the
precious American dollar to buy
food.
What about those kinds in their midst, I think food comes first
meaning that
some will drop from school, get married at a tender age or
flock to the once
touted bright city lights to join hordes of others engaged
in endless
running battles with municipal and the ZRP.
If at all you
spoiled your little ones with goodies then count yourself
blessed. For some
people Christmas was just but one of those painful days.
After another of
the several breakdowns and temporarily escaping being some
of the death
statistics, we disembarked from the bus to face the souring
temperatures and
the sure evidence of climatic change in an area that would
have been painted
green with near maturing maize.
Herdboys and girls were engaged in
endless battles with goats and cattle
which were always trying to evade and
help themselves to the failing green
crops.
Rivers resembled the dry
season as most people competed with domestic
animals for the remaining
shallow wells in the dry river beds.
Prices for a bucket of maize soared
to an average of $10 further dampening
the already shattered
spirits.
When the rains do finally come, it’s either too late or too
much.
Bikita is in dire straits; maybe “miracle money” might also come in
handy. -
Wellington Gadzikwa
http://www.herald.co.zw
Wednesday, 23 January 2013
00:00
Herald Reporters
The Beitbridge Civil Protection
Unit yesterday rescued 34 villagers marooned
for the past three days on a
delta along the Limpopo River in
Tshikwalakwala. The rescue mission which
lasted 30 minutes was conducted
with the assistance of a helicopter from the
Air Force of Zimbabwe.
The victims were airlifted from Mapho area to safety
atTshikwalakwala
Clinic.
The villagers, most of them from seven
families, were left stranded when
their six huts were destroyed by
torrential rains which have been pounding
the district for the past eight
days.
The Air Force of Zimbabwe has been kept busy since Monday when it
rescued
five people who were stranded across the Bubi River after a bridge
was swept
away by floods in Tshikwalakwala.
AFZ dispatched a
helicopter that rescued the stranded villagers after the
Civil Protection
Unit had raised alarm.
The district received 139mm of rain between
Saturday and Sunday night.
The latest figures bring to 110 people stranded
following the heavy rains in
Beitbridge East this week.
A bridge at
Tshikwalakwala linking Beitbridge and Chiredzi district through
the Bubi
River was also swept away on Monday morning.
Beitbridge Civil Protection
Unit chairman Mr Simon Muleya said nine people
had died due to flooding in
the area.
The CPU had distributed 130 tents, mosquito nets, kitchen
utensils and
several blankets for the victims from the International
Organisation for
Migration and Red Cross Zimbabwe.
The district also
received a truck from their national office to transport
supplies to all the
affected areas.
Mr Muleya said the victims also received food hampers,
480 bars of soap, 990
fleece blankets and 1 000 buckets among other non-food
stuffs.
He said authorities were mobilising resources to build two-roomed
houses for
the victims.
Beitbridge Senator Cde Tambudzani Mohadi also
donated food hampers and
clothing items to the floods victims at
Tshikwalakwala and Chituripasi.
The heavy rains have also left a trail of
destruction in the district where
most roads were left
impassable.
AFZ director of operations Group Captain Alphious Gwata said
that they would
remain on alert.
“In the face of warnings from the
Meteorological Services Department that
rains will continue, AFZ will remain
ready to dispatch personnel and
equipment to save lives of those threatened
by floods,” he said.
During the past week, AFZ has also conducted three
rescue operations along
the Save River in Manicaland and Gokwe’s Chirara
area, rescuing more than 80
people from the danger of
floods.
According to a Meteorological Services Department report, clear
weather was
expected to prevail starting yesterday until the weekend when
more rains are
expected.
"During this period, most of the rains
should be confined mainly to the
Mashonaland Provinces, Harare, and the
North of Manicaland,” the report
stated.
The Met Dept recorded
rainfall activity that occurred over most parts of the
country with the
highest falls being recorded at Wedza, which had 32mm,
Buhera 27mm, Kadoma
21mm and Zvishavane 19mm.
The Met Dept, however, advised that the rains
would increase from Sunday
onwards and urged people residing in low-lying
areas to seek shelter on
higher ground should they notice that their areas
were under threat of
flooding.
The weather experts also warned people
against taking shelter under trees
during a thunderstorm to avoid being
struck by lightning.
Expectations are that there should be a gradual
increase in rainfall
activity to cover much of the country from 27 January
onwards.
Ninety-six people have drowned while 33 were struck by lightning
across the
country since the beginning of the rainy season.
The heavy
rains have also destroyed 180 houses in Tsholotsho leaving the
families
homeless.
In Beitbridge, Zimbabwe and South Africa were on Monday forced to
stop both
vehicular and human traffic after the bridge at the border post
was flooded
on Sunday night.
The CPU has also reported major flooding
of rivers in Gokwe such as Ume,
Sesame and Sengwa with several people being
marooned on some of them.
According to the police, most people drowned
after attempting to cross
flooded rivers, while others had vehicles they
were travelling in swept away
in flooded rivers and bridges.
The Met
Dept has warned that both private and public vehicles should not
attempt to
cross-flooded or low-lying bridges.
It has also warned people against
attempting to cross-flooded streams or
rivers, and to quickly move to higher
ground if they notice their area
becoming flooded.
Motorists were
advised to refrain from parking their vehicles under big old
trees which
were likely to give way to heavy winds and to desist from
attempting to
cross flooded, low lying bridges.
Police have received reports of 14
people who have drowned after their
vehicles were swept away at flooded
rivers and bridges in separate incidents
this month.
Tobacco farmers
were urged to seek insurance for their crop against hail
damage to avoid
loss from the expected rains.
The highest rainfall totals recorded from 1
October to 21 January are:
Mukandi – 973 mm
Hwange – 893 mm, Gokwe – 764
mm, Nyanga – 756 mm, Chisengu – 734 mm,
Rusape – 694 mm, Murehwa – 657 mm,
Henderson – 650mm, Mutoko – 627 mm and
Harare Belvedere – 624 mm.
http://www.herald.co.zw
Wednesday, 23 January 2013 00:00
Felex Share
Herald Reporter
Enumerators from four provinces have received their dues
after participating
in the 2012 population census as Government battles to
cover the allowances.
More than 30 000 enumerators and 10 450 supervisors
participated in the
population census in August last year and most of them
are still to be paid
their allowances.
Zimbabwe National Statistics
Agency population census manager Mr Washington
Mapeta yesterday confirmed
that only four provinces were paid.
The provinces are Bulawayo,
Matabeleland North and South and Mashonaland
Central.
Enumerators in
Mashonaland Central received their allowances about a week
ago.
“We have
managed to fully pay up enumerators in the four provinces,” he
said.
Mr Mapeta said there were no definite dates when the remaining
provinces
would be paid.
“As for the remaining provinces, I do not have
the exact date when they will
be paid because we wait for the money from
Government. All I can say is the
money will be paid as and when it is
availed to us,” he said.
He could not disclose the amount needed to pay
the outstanding provinces.
About US$10 million is needed to pay all the
enumerators.
Scores of frustrated enumerators have complained over delays
in the payment
of their outstanding allowances.
The enumerators claim
that they had been promised US$500 and some of them
had incurred expenses to
participate in the exercise anticipating that
Government would immediately
pay them.
Those with outstanding allowances only got US$150 soon after the
exercise.
Most enumerators were drawn from the education
sector.
Donors contributed close to US$12 million towards the exercise and
the money
was used for food, accommodation and conferencing.
The
donors said Government should settle the allowances of the enumerators.
The
2012 population census was marred by disturbances when it started.
Thousands
of prospective enumerators wishing to take part in the process
jostled at
various centres countrywide to be considered.
The process was also
affected by late dissemination of material while
transport shortages also
affected the deployment of some officers to remote
areas.
The
population census will provide data on the demographic and related
socio-economic characteristics of the population at national and
sub-national levels.
It is also used for planning and implementing
development programmes such as
housing, provision of water and
sanitation.
Zimbabwe holds a census after every 10 years. The first
census was held in
1982.
Preliminary results have shown that Zimbabwe has
12, 9 million people, up
from 11,6 million in 2002.
Final results are
expected mid-year.
http://www.herald.co.zw/
Wednesday, 23 January 2013
00:00
Felex Share Herald Reporter
Administrative bungling has cost
over 200 prospective students places at
Belvedere Technical Teachers’
College after the institution failed to enroll
them even though they
received admission letters.
The students were turned away for the past
three days after arriving for the
first term studies.
College authorities
reportedly told the prospective students that they had
surpassed required
enrolment figures.
Most of the affected students had been asked to pay
US$100 deposit fees.
Some had even paid the required US$520 tuition and
boarding fees.
Non-resident students pay US$340.
The college gave the
students acceptance letters a few days after the
interviews held in
September last year
BTTC acting principal Mr Patrick Chinhoro yesterday
confirmed the bungling.
He said the college was refunding some of the
affected students while others
were being re-deployed to other
sections.
Mr Chinhoro said the college accommodated 650 students but
ended up having
more than 800 accepted students.
“Yes, there was some
misunderstanding between the students and the school
authorities but we have
managed to solve the problem and we are refunding
those who had paid
deposits and some who had paid full fees,” he said.
He said there was no
option but to refund the affected prospective students.
“We are sorry that
some innocent students were affected but we turned the
students away after
realising that we had over-enrolled.
“Further investigations showed us
that most of the people had forged
acceptance letters while others had
photocopied the fees-structure.”
He said they would not report to the
police those who forged acceptance
letters because the systems at the
institution needed tightening.
“It is the system that is faulty and
because I am new in the office, I think
such a situation has been going on
for years and we want to rectify that.
Students should come through the
principal’s office not through anyone else
as before.”
Mr Chinhoro
said those with acceptance letters should have obtained the fees
structure
from the principal’s office.
“After getting the offer letter, we
ascertain the number of people we are
enrolling that year when the students
come to collect the fees structure and
in this case they should have done so
and paid the deposit by the end of
December,” he said.
Mr Chinhoro
said those in need of refunds should visit the institution with
official
receipts.
“We have no problems with refunding them and it is only a matter of
producing proof of payment. We are doing this in consultation with our
parent ministry and we have notified them of the problem.
“As for
some who are producing evidence that they attended the interviews,
we are
taking them on board. There is now normalcy and if you visit the
college now
you will see that the chaos has disappeared.”
Some of the affected
students told The Herald that they had secured study
leave at their various
workplaces only to be told that they no longer had
places.
“The fact
that they had given us acceptance letters and told us to pay
deposits was
enough guarantee that we had secured places,” said one of the
students who
declined to be named.
“What am I going to do with the leave days I had
secured? They should have
stopped us when we went to pay the
deposits.”
Other students accused college authorities of corruption,
saying those who
had secured the places had paid “kick-backs”.
“They
knew the actual number of people they wanted, and what was the purpose
of
enrolling more students when we had done the interviews?
“It means
something is going on in those offices and we urge Government to
look into
the issue,” another student said.
Some of the affected students had come
from areas such as Buhera, Chiredzi
and Karoi.
Another student added:
“Who is going to cover for all the expenses I
incurred since the time of the
interviews? If you do not pay them anything
then you know you do not have a
place.”
The prospective students said the most affected were those that
had applied
for Mathematics, Science and Geography. BTTC enrolls students
for academic
and technical teacher training programmes.
http://www.voazimbabwe.com
Tatenda
Gumbo
22.01.2013
WASHINGTON — Zimbabwe has been forced to shelf its
cervical cancer
vaccination program due to lack of funds.
Health
Ministry officials told VOA Studio 7 that cash is needed to help
acquire and
distribute vaccines against the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV).
Health
Minister Dr. Henry Madzorera said the ministry is currently applying
to
various donors for the necessary support to implement the program.
The
program is part of the government’s efforts to vaccinate ordinary
Zimbabweans against a variety of preventable killer diseases.
The
virus is sexually acquired and can lead to infections and cervical
cancer.
The HBV vaccination is given to young girls between the ages
of 9 to 12
before they become sexually active. Women up to the age of 26 can
also be
given the vaccination – three doses over a period of six
months.
The government recently also embarked on a major immunization
campaign
targeting young children under the age of five to prevent them from
killer
diseases
http://nehandaradio.com/
on January 23, 2013 at 4:09
am
HARARE – The controversy surrounding the votes from
Zimbabwe for the 2012
Ballon d’Or deepened yesterday amid shocking
revelations that some names of
the local voting panelists could have been
forged onto the official ballot
papers that were sent to Fifa.
The
embarrassing case has already triggered an internal investigation within
Zifa with the association’s vice-president, Ndumiso Gumede, saying those
responsible for this shameless act will have to be punished
accordingly.
The Ballon d’Or is an international award, whose integrity
is protected by
Fifa, who ensure that the right people — national team
coaches, national
team captains or vice-captains and selected journalists —
have to cast
votes.
Revelations that some names could probably have
been forged, onto the ballot
papers from Zimbabwe to dupe Fifa in terms of
those who voted, is certainly
an embarrassment that could see heads rolling
at Zifa.
Fifa use the voting system to harness data that will help them
establish the
trend of voting by coaches, players and journalists across the
globe and any
attempts to dupe the system is an insult to the efforts that
the world
football governing body will be making.
The Herald is now
in possession of all the official ballot papers for the
2012 Ballon d’Or
that came from Zimbabwe and were sent to Fifa on November
15, 2011, the
deadline day for the voting exercise.
The official ballot papers clearly
show that Rahman Gumbo, who was the
Warriors’ coach by the time the votes
were cast and was supposed to have
voted for the Player and Coach of the
Year awards, DID not take part in the
process. Rahman has maintained that
while his name appeared on the Fifa
list, as having voted in the process, he
didn’t cast his vote.
Zifa technical director, Nelson Matongorere’s name
appears on the official
ballot papers, but the former coach, who also denies
casting a vote during
the process, appeared to have indicated that he wasn’t
the Warriors’ coach.
The official ballot papers show that where
Matongorere is said to have cast
his vote, on the space reserved for the
national coach, an indication was
made that the person who was voting wasn’t
the Warriors’ coach but someone
else.
The ‘coach’ is crossed, on the
ballot paper, and the initials TD, as if to
indicate Technical Director, are
inserted, followed by the name ‘Nelson
Matongorere’.
The person who
voted as Matongorere, since the Zifa official denies casting
his vote, chose
Andreas Iniesta for the 2012 Fifa Ballon d’Or, with Lionel
Messi and Robin
van Persie in second and third places.
For the Coach of the Year, he or
she chose Vicente del Bosque, Pep Guardiola
and Jurgen Klopp. Interestingly,
Esrom Nyandoro, the Warriors’ vice-captain,
is sucked into the drama as his
name appears on the official ballot papers
as having voted during the 2012
Ballon d’Or voting process.
While a vice-captain of a national team can
vote, it’s unlikely that
Nyandoro did because not only was he not in this
country when Zifa battled
to beat the deadline, but a closer look at the
ballot shows that the person
who voted even spells the first name of the
Mamelodi Sundowns’ man wrongly.
On both ballots, for the Player of the
Year and Coach of the Year, Esrom’s
first name is spelt as Ersom and there
is even a signature to go with it to
confirm that he voted.
However,
the handwriting on all the ballot papers that came from Zimbabwe is
strikingly similar, especially the way the person constructed the “a”
letter, and all seemed to have been done by the same pen.
Wile Fifa
said the form should be completed in capital letters, the person
who signed
on behalf of Matongorere used both upper and lower cases and so
did the one
who signed on behalf of Nyandoro.
Until now, Nyandoro’s name had not
featured in this drama with Matongorere
being accused of having masqueraded
as the Warriors’ captain, in the voting
process, a charge that he
denied.
Zifa chief executive, Jonathan Mashingaidze, has publicly
maintained that he
was out of office when the ballot papers came from Fifa
and were then signed
and returned to the world football governing body in
Zurich.
But all the four ballot papers from Zimbabwe show that they were
authorised
by Mashingaidze, whose signature appears on all papers, as it is
a mandatory
requirement that either the chief executive (secretary-general)
or the
president of the association have to authorise the
votes.
Mashingaidze’s signature is followed by a confirmation, of the
date he
signed the papers, on November 15, 2011, and an official Zifa date
stamp, of
the same day, which made everything authoritative enabling the
votes to be
included for the 2012 Ballon d’Or.
If Mashingaidze is
right to publicly say that he wasn’t in office when the
voting process was
done, does it mean that someone then forged his signature
to give the ballot
papers the authoritative seal that was needed for them to
become official
documents at Fifa?
Who could be that person, if that is true, who
expertly copied Mashingaidze’s
signature on all four ballot papers without
making a mistake?
Or was the signature of Nyandoro and his name also
forged? These are the big
issues that will confront Zifa this morning and,
given that the association
have adopted a zero tolerance on malpractice,
this could be an interesting
case.
Mighty Warriors’ coach, Rosemary
Mugadza, confirmed to The Herald that she
took part in the voting process
after receiving a call on deadline day.
“Yes, I voted and, indeed, filled
in those ballot papers for Zimbabwe. I was
phoned to come to Zifa for that
and I took with me my captain, (Onai
Chingawo), for the same task and why is
there noise about this anyway?
“Wasn’t it a straight forward case?”
Mugadza said.
Mugadza will probably see that there are startling
similarities, in the
handwriting that cast the votes, leading to suspicion
of foul play to defeat
the Fifa process. Zifa have launched an investigation
after the case was
tabled at a board meeting last week and, until now, all
eyes had been
pointed on Matongorere.
Mashingaidze told The Chronicle
that, because of the sensitivity of the
case, the names of the four members
of the investigating committee will
remain a secret until they complete
their exercise.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
Voter apathy and a growing
disaffection towards Morgan Tsvangirai will put
the MDC at a disadvantage in
the polls
Blessing-Miles Tendi Harare
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 23
January 2013 08.32 GMT
Zimbabwe's warring political leaders have finally
agreed on a compromise
constitution, starting a process that is expected to
end in elections later
this year.
A referendum on the new
constitution has long been a key prerequisite for
staging a vote, although
full details of the compromise are yet to be made
public. The referendum
date is set to be announced soon and elections will
follow
thereafter.
But instead of a lively public interest in the winding up of
the
constitution making process and the prospect of elections, Harare is
passive. The political bickering and power games that have characterised
constitution-making since 2009 have engendered passivity towards national
political processes.
Following the outcome of a similar situation in
Kenya, some analysts are
even skeptical that elections will take place this
year. Kenyan political
parties, like their Zimbabwean counterparts, entered
a power-sharing
government after a violent and disputed election in 2007.
Just as in
Zimbabwe, the completion of constitutional reform before fresh
elections was
seen as important. Kenya's drafting of a new constitution
proceeded rapidly
and with some consensus – in sharp contrast to Zimbabwe.
However the
aligning of old laws with the new Kenyan constitution was
hampered by
bickering politicians, taking two years to complete and forcing
delay of
elections until March 2013.
Political analyst Dr Ibbo
Mandaza of Sapes Trust believes that enduring
political differences between
Zimbabwe's major parties and the protracted
practicalities of harmonising
old laws with the new constitution will result
in a repeat of the Kenyan
scenario, thereby ruling out elections in 2013 in
Zimbabwe – which will only
intensify apathy.
There is also growing disaffection in urban areas
towards Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC). This will harm the
MDC's chances, particularly because urban
constituencies are its traditional
electoral stronghold. Tsvangirai, who
rose to prominence in the 1990s as
secretary general of the Zimbabwe
Congress of Trade Union, successfully
challenged Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF
government on a range of social and
economic policies that undermined urban
labour. But since Tsvangirai joined
Mugabe in a power-sharing government in
2009, his party's relations with
urban workers have slowly broken
down.
A good example of this is civil servants' long-running, futile
negotiations
with the public service ministry, which is controlled by the
MDC, over wages
and improved working conditions. While a 5% pay increase
promised in 2012
has failed to materialise, MDC ministers have lobbied for a
US$21,000 each
housing allowance from the state treasury. One MDC cabinet
member, who asked
not to be named, said: "We have lost our virginity, our
innocence, our high
moral ground. At the last cabinet meeting of (18
December) 2012 MDC
ministers put up a huge fight for an unwarranted US$21
000 housing allowance
per cabinet member. Tendai Biti (the finance minister)
was saying, how do we
justify this given that we are not going to increase
civil servants'
salaries? My colleagues in the MDC came up with clever ideas
for hiding the
housing allowance so the public will not know. What was
shocking is that
only one Zanu-PF minister spoke forcefully for the
allowance. The real
pressure came from my people. They were passionate. I
sat there thinking if
only the public out there knew this."
A
different MDC member, the constitutional affairs minister. Eric Matinenga,
has not been afraid to voice his disaffection publicly. Last year Matinenga
announced that he would not run for re-election in his Buhera West
constituency after serving a single term. In the cool of his office in
Harare's Compensation House, Matinenga said: "When I made a decision to run
for political office in 2008 I already had a plan for what I was going to
do. I was going to serve only one term as MP and go back to being an
advocate. The corruption and hunger for power I have seen on both sides of
government (Zanu-PF and the MDC) has not made me want to go back on my
original principle to serve one term. People go into politics to make money.
It is not about public service. I was naive."
Voter turnout in
elections has declined steadily in the last decade. The
current passivity
and disaffection of urban voters points to continued
decline in voter
participation in forthcoming elections. Low urban voter
turnout will
undermine the MDC's chances in elections, particularly in the
presidential
vote. Mugabe has secured the rural vote in the past because of
co-opted
traditional leaders who marshal their respective communities in
support of
his candidature, paramilitary control of the country side,
violence and the
party's land redistribution programme in the countryside.
These factors
preclude apathy and are the preserve of Zanu-PF. The MDC's
increasing loss
of touch with its urban support base, therefore, does not
bode well for
Tsvangirai ahead of elections.
Blessing-Miles Tendi is author of Making
History in Mugabe's Zimbabwe:
Politics, Intellectuals and the Media and a
politics lecturer at the Oxford
University's Department of International
Development
BILL
WATCH 3/2013
[22nd
January 2013]
Both
Houses of Parliament have Adjourned until Tuesday 5th
February
Land Reform Exercise to Avoid BIPPA Farms – “For
Now”
On
New Year’s Eve Minister of Lands and Rural Resettlement Herbert Murerwa
announced that “for now” the
Government would halt compulsory acquisition of agricultural land covered by
Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements between Zimbabwe and
other countries [BIPPAs]. In fulfilment
of this decision, official “offer letters” authorising resettlement farmers to
occupy plots on Tavydale Farm, Mazowe district, which is covered by the BIPPA
with Belgium, had, said the Minister, been withdrawn. The decision recognises the potential
practical implications, the costs, for Zimbabwe of failure by the Government to
abide by binding international agreements.
Government liability
to pay compensation under BIPPAs is the problem Minister Murerwa stressed – as did Minister
of Justice and Legal Affairs Patrick Chinamasa a few days later – that BIPPAs do
not prohibit compulsory acquisition or make it illegal under Zimbabwean
law.
[Note:
The Ministers are right. A typical BIPPA
recognises the possibility of expropriation for public purposes, under due process of law, on a
non-discriminatory basis and against payment of prompt, adequate and effective
compensation, which must be freely transferable outside Zimbabwe in convertible
currency. While the Zimbabwe
Constitution and Land Acquisition Act authorise acquisition of land covered by
BIPPAs and make provision for some compensation, BIPPA compensation requirements
are more generous to dispossessed landowners. And BIPPAs contain provisions for
disputes between investors and the Zimbabwe Government to be decided by
arbitration, typically by the International Court for Settlement of Investment
Disputes
[ICSID] set up in terms of the international Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and nationals
of other States.]
The Minister
explained that the Government’s decision to stop taking over BIPPA farms had
been reached in view of the ongoing litigation in ICSID and because “we do not want to increase our liability” to compensate those dispossessed farmers covered by BIPPAs.
As
an example of the Government’s liability under BIPPAs, the Minister cited
ICSID
compensation awards against Zimbabwe over the Government’s failure to pay
compensation after taking over farms covered under the 1996 BIPPA with the
Netherlands. The unpaid sum involved is
now some $25 million; it increases every six months when interest at 10% is
compounded [text
of ICSID award of 2009 available from veritas@mango.zw].
Save Valley Conservancy: another potential BIPPA
problem
Some of the investors in the Save Valley Conservancy, a high-profile
wild-life conservation and tourist attraction in the south-eastern Lowveld,
include German nationals protected by the BIPPA between Germany and
Zimbabwe. The Government’s granting of
hunting quotas in the conservancy under the banner of indigenisation, have
according to investors had an adverse effect on this on the conservancy’s
operations.
Potential cost to tourism: loss of upcoming UNWTO conference?
The German Ambassador to Zimbabwe has recently pointed out that
failure to remedy the interference with the Save Valley Conservancy by positive
Government action might also affect perception of Zimbabwe’s qualifications to
co-host, with Zambia, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation [UNWTO]
General Assembly scheduled for Victoria Falls at the end of August. Relocation of the UNWTO gathering – or its
failure to attract comprehensive international attendance – would be a major
setback to those working to make the gathering a success. And relocation to Madrid is said to have been
mentioned as a possibility last week by visiting UNWTO officials dubious about
the slow pace of preparations, particularly on the Zambian side. The officials will also have taken note of
ZANU-PF supporters’ demonstration against the US Ambassador on his visit to
Mutare on 16th January – if an ambassador is treated in this way it could keep
foreign tourists away. Successful
hosting of the UNWTO event is generally regarded as vital to ongoing efforts to
showcase Zimbabwe’s tourism facilities and boost the tourism industry, with
benefits for the whole economy.
Coming
Up this Week– AU Regular Summit in Addis Ababa, 21st to 28th
January
The
AU Summit runs from 21st to 28th January.
Already under way are meetings of the Permanent Representatives [Ambassadorial level] and the Executive Council
[Ministerial level] preceding the two-day meeting of the AU Assembly of Heads of
State and Government on Sunday 27th and Monday 28th January.
The
Summit theme is “Pan-Africanism and African Renaissance”. The Zimbabwe situation does not feature on
the draft Heads of State Agenda, but that does not preclude Zimbabwe and the
latest developments in the constitution-making process being discussed in
official or informal side meetings.
There is also likely to be vigorous civil society lobbying at the Summit
about ongoing violence, attacks on NGOs
and the lack of civil liberties reform ahead of Zimbabwe’s upcoming
elections. The Summit will undoubtedly
be preoccupied with serious conflicts throughout Africa, e.g. Sudan, DRC, and
now Mali. The proposed AU intervention
in the Eastern DRC by a Neutral International Force which will include the SADC
Standby Brigade, may affect Zimbabwe if its troops are committed there.
Résumé
of Recent SADC Meetings
Regular
SADC Summit – Maputo, August 2012
This
Heads of State Summit in August 2012 was
covered in Bill Watch 39/2012 of 20th August.
On Zimbabwe the Summit communiqué [available
from veritas@mango.zw]
urged
the GPA parties to complete the constitution-making
process
and continue implementing the GPA. The
day before the Summit there was a meeting of the SADC Organ on Politics,
Defence and Security Cooperation. President Zuma’s Report to the Organ as
Facilitator of the Zimbabwe negotiations, which was transmitted to the full
Summit, has now become available
[from
veritas@mango.zw].
SADC Extraordinary Summit – Dar es Salaam, 7th and 8th December
Extraordinary Summits of the Troika of the Organ on Politics, Defence
and Security Cooperation and SADC Heads of State and Government took place in
Dar es Salaam on 7th and 8th December.
The main subject of the Summit meetings was the situation in the Eastern
DRC, but President Zuma also reported verbally on the latest developments in
Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe was represented by
Foreign Affairs Minister Mumbengegwi.
The communiqué of the full Summit [full
text available from veritas@mango.zw]
contained only one short paragraph on Zimbabwe, reaffirming the SADC
position that the elections in 2013 must follow the completion of the
constitution-making
process, including the Referendum:
“9.2 Summit urged the political stakeholders in Zimbabwe to fully
implement the GPA.
9.3 Summit also urged the political stakeholders to finalise the
constitutional process including referendum before the holding of the elections
in 2013.”
The
communiqué does not reveal what President Zuma told his Troika colleagues about
developments in Zimbabwe – but it would no doubt have included, on the
constitution-making process, the setting up of a Principal’s Committee to
resolve outstanding disputes and expedite the process.
Comment: Now that on 16th January the GPA principals
have duly announced agreement on the draft constitution, it is hoped that
President Zuma will focus more on the full implementation of the
GPA.
Zimbabwean
Troops for DRC?
What
the December SADC Extraordinary Summit decided
According
to its communiqué the SADC Summit in Dar es Salaam condemned the actions of the M23
rebels in the Eastern DRC and decided
that the SADC Standby Force should be deployed there. The Summit:
“(iv) affirmed that SADC, as a block will deploy the SADC Standby
Force in the Eastern DRC under the auspices of the Neutral International Force
(NIF) ...
(vi) mandated the SADC Interstate Politics and Diplomacy Committee
(ISPDC) and the SADC Secretariat to work together with the ICGLR [the
International Conference on the Great Lakes Region] to engage the African Union
Peace and Security Council and the United Nations Security Council for support
to the deployment and sustenance; ...
(vii) noted
pledges by Malawi, Namibia, South Africa and Tanzania to contribute to the
deployment of NIF, and called on other SADC members who had not made pledges “to
do so as a matter of urgency”.
A
day or two later President Mugabe confirmed that Zimbabwean troops might be sent
to the Eastern DRC as part of the SADC Standby Force, and stressed that the
costs of any such intervention would be shouldered by SADC or the AU or UN, not
by Zimbabwe. There have however been
local newspaper reports, perhaps based on an unconfirmed report in a Ruanda
newspaper, that Zimbabwean troops are already there.
About
the SADC Standby Force
The
SADC Standby Force was officially launched in Zambia in August 2007, when SADC
member States, including Zimbabwe, concluded a Memorandum of Understanding to
set it up. The function of the Force is
to participate in missions envisaged in Article 13 of the African Union Protocol
establishing the AU Peace and Security Council.
[Full
text of MOU available from veritas@mango.zw]. All the African regional economic
organisations have such Standby Forces in keeping with the “African Peace and
Security Architecture” of the AU.
When
will deployment of the Standby Force to DRC start?
AU
consultations on the envisaged Neutral International Force [NIF] for the eastern
DRC are still under way. There was a
Ministerial level meeting in Addis Ababa on 8th January, chaired by the AU
Commissioner for Peace and Security. And developments were discussed at the Organ
meetings in Dar es Salaam on 9th and 10th January [see below], after which SADC Executive
Secretary Salomao said neither the size nor the functions of the NIF have been
determined. [This will be discussed at the AU Summit
this week.]
What
the Zimbabwe Constitution says about Defence Forces
deployment
Section
96(1) of the Constitution gives the President, in the exercise of his functions
as Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces, the power to “determine the
operational use” of the Defence Forces.
Article 20 of the GPA does not in as many words impose curbs on this
power, but unilateral action by the President would not be in accordance with
the spirit underlying the GPA.
What
the COPAC draft Constitution says about deployment
Clause
5.23 of the latest available COPAC draft lists deploying the Defence Forces as
one of the executive functions of the President that has to be exercised on the
advice of Cabinet. Prior Parliamentary
approval is not needed, and for deployment in accordance with multilateral
international commitments – such as the commitment to the SADC Standby Brigade –
Parliament would not even have to give later approval, but would have to be
promptly notified.
SADC
Organ Troika Extraordinary Summit 10th January
On
Thursday 10th December there was an Extraordinary Summit in Dar es Salaam of the
Troika of the SADC Organ on Politics,
Defence and Security Cooperation, attended by Troika chairperson President
Kikwete of Tanzania and members President Zuma of South Africa and Pohamba of
Namibia, plus Mozambique President Guebuza in his capacity as SADC
chairperson. There was a preliminary
meeting at Ministerial level on 9th January.
Organ
Summit proceedings The agenda of the meetings included the
Eastern DRC, Madagascar and Zimbabwe, with the emphasis on the first two. According to its communiqué the Summit received a
progress report on the Neutral International Force [NIF] for the eastern DRC,
noted pledges by Malawi, Namibia, South Africa and Tanzania to contribute to the
deployment of NIF, and called on other SADC members who had not made pledges “to do so as a matter of urgency” [full
communiqué available from veritas@mango.zw].
On
Zimbabwe the communiqué records the following:
“8.1. Summit commended H.E. Jacob Zuma, President of the Republic of
South Africa and the SADC Facilitator on Zimbabwe Political Dialogue for his
efforts towards full implementation of GPA in Zimbabwe.
8.2 Summit urged the political stakeholders in Zimbabwe to expedite
the finalization of the constitution making process on the outstanding issues in
order to pave the way for peaceful, credible, free, and fair elections in the
country.
8.3 Summit mandated the SADC Facilitator to continue to engage the
political stakeholders in Zimbabwe.”
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