http://www.voanews.com/
Mr.
Zuma is under pressure from the MDC formation of Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai to press President Mugabe not to call elections before a range of
fundamental reforms have been put in place
Blessing Zulu & Thomas
Chiripasi | Washington & Harare 28 January 2011
Crisis in
Zimbabwe coordinator Dewa Mavhinga, in Addis Ababa, said his group
wants the
African Union to be directly involved in Harare in discussions on
the
elections
The African Union’s Political Affairs Department of Human
Rights, Elections,
Peace and Security has undertaken to lobby Zimbabwean
President Robert
Mugabe and his former ruling ZANU-PF party to agree to put
off new elections
until 2013.
The Zimbabwe Independent newspaper,
citing AU commission sources, reported
that the AU department will send an
envoy to Harare to assess conditions and
recommend the postponement of
elections which Mr. Mugabe has urged be held
this year.
But ZANU-PF
spokesman Rugare Gumbo told VOA that Zimbabwe is a sovereign
state and alone
will determine when to hold elections. Gumbo said the
ZANU-PF politburo met
on Wednesday and reaffirmed its stance that elections
should be held this
year.
AU sources say South African President Jacob Zuma, mediator in
Harare on
behalf of the Southern African Development Community, with the AU
a
guarantor of power-sharing in Harare, will be a key link between the
commission and Harare.
Mr. Zuma is under pressure from the Movement
for Democratic Change formation
of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai to press
President Mugabe not to call
elections before a range of fundamental reforms
have been put in place.
The MDC standing committee asked Mr. Tsvangirai
to convey that view to Mr
Zuma on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum
in Davos, Switzerland. But
Zuma international relations advisor Lindiwe Zulu
said that before this
could happen Mr. Zuma was obliged to head to Addis
Ababa where an African
Union summit was unfolding this week.
Crisis
in Zimbabwe coordinator Dewa Mavhinga, in Addis Ababa, said his group
wants
the African Union to be directly involved in Harare in discussions on
the
elections.
"The team to be assembled by the political affairs unit of the
AU is
expected to be dispatched before March to investigate, as requested by
civil
society organizations, conditions on the ground," Mavhinga said. "They
will
seek to establish whether Zimbabwe has a conducive environment and
sufficient reforms to hold credible elections that are free and dfair and
withoput violence or intimidation."
Elsewhere, the parliamentary
committee in charge of revising Zimbabwe's
constitution on Friday appealed
to the government to provide additional
funding so it can meet the new
deadline of September 30 it has set to hold a
referendum on the
document.
Correspondent Thomas Chiripasi reported from Harare on the call
for funds.
http://www.bulawayo24.com
by Byo24NEWS
2011 January 29
17:44:41
The African Union has decided to appoint a panel of leaders
to join Raila
Odinga of Kenya in mediating in the Ivory Coast
crisis.
African Union Commission chairperson Jean Ping told a news
conference Friday
night that the over six hours of deliberations by various
African heads of
state meeting in the peace and security council of the AU
decided that the
Ivory Coast crisis could not be mediated by one person but
by a battery of
leaders who will give various perspectives towards ending
the Ivorian
Crisis.
Ping said the multiple issues arising from the
crisis require an African
approach to deal with the problem in Cote
d'Ivoire.
The panel includes Presidents Jacob Zuma (South Africa),
Jonathan Goodluck
(Nigeria), Robert Mugabe (Zimbabwe) and the President of
Mauritania among
others and Ping said the mediation already undertaken by
Kenyan Prime
Minister Raila Odinga was part of the building stones towards
achieving a
realizable goal of peace in Ivory Coast.
The AU chairman
said it was not in anybody's interest that Ivorians should
continue to be
dragged into an unending crisis that is on the brink of a
full blown civil
strife in Africa's key cocoa producer.
Earlier Friday, Raila Odinga had
asked the African Union to explore other
ways of dealing with the Ivorian
crisis other than the mediation talks that
seem not to be
working.
Raila who spoke on the sidelines of a meeting of heads of state
at the
African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa Ethiopia said in a
statement read
to the press that the mission of the African Union was not
about imposing
democracy or free and fair elections but "they are about
avoiding a much
greater disaster."
Raila he implored the African
Union to find other means of dealing with the
crisis that he now says
borders on the brink strife and civil war.
However, after the second
session began Raila again came out in company of
one of the protocol
officers to announce that Africa would never have a
stable base unless
Africans internalize the democratic culture of ceding
power after losing in
a competitive electoral process.
"If one's vote does not count in
determining who will lead the nation, which
is the most elemental dimension
of democracy, elections will become
meaningless, democracy will lose its
luster, and the future will be riddled
with widespread unrest and
instability," said Raila in a one page statement.
He urged the AU to send
a strong message to Ivory Coast that the incumbent
Laurent Gbagbo and his
arch-rival Allasane Ouattara must have face to face
negotiations aimed at
dealing with the crisis once and for all.
In an apparent reference to the
closed door negotiations Raila said inaction
now poses the greatest peril in
the crisis in Cote d'Ivoire.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
By Reagan Mashavave
Saturday, 29
January 2011 17:26
HARARE - Civil servants want a meeting with
President Robert Mugabe to
resolve the issue of their salary increaments
after negotiations with
government hit a brick wall.
Progressive
Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) president, Raymond Majongwe
told the Daily
News on Saturday that negotiations between civil servants
and government
over the last weeks did not yield any positive results so the
government
workers resolved to meet Mugabe over the contentious issue.
“What is left
is a meeting with the President. We want something reasonable
and government
must show us why they can’t pay us,” Majongwe said.
Majongwe said civil
servants believe that a meeting with Mugabe, a former
teacher, might provide
a solution to improving their conditions of service.
“How many times have
people asked the President for money and were given
since independence ? We
are following that route,” Majongwe said.
No date has been set for the
meeting, but Majongwe said the civil servants
have already asked for a
meeting Mugabe.
The country's 230 000 civil servants who earn between
US$180 and US$250
per month are demanding a minimum salary of $500 per
month.
The government has said it does not have resources to increase the
salaries.
Last year civil servants went on strike demanding better
salaries but called
off the job action after agreeing to continue
negotiating with government.
Over the last decade skilled workers who
include teachers left the country
in thousands in search of better working
conditions in neighbouring
countries like Botswana, South Africa, Namibia
and overseas.
The formation of the unity government about two years ago
stabilized the
economy while the free falling Zimbabwean dollar was
discarded for the
stronger US dollar and the South African rand. Despite
this, unemployment
continues to rise because of lack of investment.
http://news.scotsman.com/
Published Date: 29 January
2011
Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe has sent soldiers and youth
militias into
townships and remote villages to cow locals into submission
following the
popular uprisings in Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen.
Dozens of
opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) supporters have
been shot
at, stabbed, attacked with iron bars or beaten up in a wave of
"choreographed" attacks that started at the weekend in the Harare townships
of Budiriro, Mbare and Chitungwiza, the party claims.
"We have seen
an escalation of intimidation tactics by ZANU-PF," MDC
spokesman Nelson
Chamisa said.
Government supporters have tried to quash any attempt to
draw a parallel
between Mr Mugabe's three-decade-long hold on power and the
23-year-long
rule of ousted Tunisian president Zine El-Abidine Ben
Ali.
"A Tunisia on Zimbabwe is not possible," former information minister
Jonathan Moyo said, while Zanu-PF columnist Alexander Kanengoni stated that
"the people of Tunisia have risen up because it has systematically excluded
and sidelined them from participation in the exploitation and ownership of
their countries' resources and wealth. Our situation is the exact
opposite."
Mr Mugabe wants Zimbabweans to "own and control" their
resources through a
land-grab and soon-to-be-launched foreign company
seizures, Mr Kanengoni
argued in the official Herald newspaper.
Loyal
to Mugabe, state-controlled media has given little coverage to the
unrest in
the Middle East, delaying by a day reports that Mr Ben Ali had
fled to Saudi
Arabia. Yesterday, the Herald gave no coverage to the protests
rocking
Egypt.
However, for the many Zimbabweans who watch satellite TV and tune
into
foreign radio broadcasts, Mr Mugabe is making it clear he will tolerate
no
similar forms of dissent. Hundreds of ZANU-PF youths besieged the MDC's
offices in Mbare last week, smashing the relative calm in Zimbabwe since the
setting-up of a coalition government in February 2009. Five MDC youths were
seriously injured.
In echoes of the clampdown launched by Mr Mugabe
when he lost the first
round of presidential elections in March 2008, MDC
supporter William
Mukuwari was shot in the leg in Budiriro by ZANU-PF
youths.
Party official Gashirai Gurure was reported abducted; his wife
and son
beaten.
ZANU-PF official Amos Midzi said the attacks were
attempts by the MDC to
"discredit" a constitutional referendum and elections
that Mr Mugabe appears
determined to hold this year, despite opposition from
South African
president Jacob Zuma, the regional mediator on
Zimbabwe.
Villagers in eastern Manicaland were this week terrorised into
signing a
controversial "anti-sanctions petition".
A pro-Mugabe chief
stated: "We shall be breaking hands and teeth."
Despite ZANU-PF denials,
parallels between Mr Mugabe and 74-year-old Mr Ben
Ali are startling. Both
have clamped down on the press and have a
predilection for placing their
portraits in government buildings and
schools.
http://www.radiovop.com/
29/01/2011
15:45:00
DAVOS, January 29, 2011- The following is a conversation
between Amy Kellogg
of Fox News and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai on the
sidelines of the
World Economic Forum.
Tsvangirai, as the leader of
the opposition party, Movement for Democratic
Change, was tortured at the
hands of Mugabe’s regime and survived several
assassination attempts. In
2009 Tsvangirai’s MCD party formed a unity
government with President Robert
Mugabe –who has held power in Zimbabwe for
30 years.
He talked to
FoxNews.com about anti-government riots in the Middle East,
China’s growing
economic influence in Zimbabwe and his country’s struggle
for economic and
social stability.
Amy Kellogg: What do you think of events in Egypt and
Tunisia, and how do
they relate to Zimbabwe?
Prime Minster Morgan
Tsvangirai: There are two issues. One is the general
resentment of
autocratic regimes, the manner in which these governments have
stayed in
power forever and ever. I think people resent that, naturally. But
there is
also another aspect which I have pointed out in the last interview.
The
aspect of incumbents leaving power to their children, dynasties, as we
may
call it. That is very resented by the people.
So it’s like a spring. The more
pressure you put on a spring, the more it
will bounce.
I think what we
are witnessing here is a general suppression of the people.
People are
demanding more freedoms and there is nothing wrong with that.
AK: Could
that happen in Zimbabwe and is President Mugabe nervous?
MT: To me, when
people take their rights, and start demanding more rights,
there is nothing
wrong with that, including in Zimbabwe. That was the whole
purpose of our
struggle for the last 10 years
AK: What do you think of China’s
involvement in Africa? Do you think it’s
been positive? Or do you think in
some cases they have been propping up
people like your President
Mugabe?
MT: Whatever you can say about the Chinese, they are not
missionaries. They
have business interests, they have their own national
interests especially
when it comes to resources.
AK: Do you think
China has been exploitative at times?
MT: They have not been exploitative.
There are certain practices that I
would not subscribe to. They are not
philanthropists. They are coming there
for business interests. In that
regard, it’s mutually beneficial.
AK: So you think you should be tougher
with them?
MT: We should be tougher. We should not be preferential to them.
Of course,
we should recognize our historical linkage through the liberation
struggle,
but certainly we should get the maximum advantages in whatever
deals are
made.
AK: Do you see a day when the U.S. will have
investment opportunities in
Zimbabwe?
MT: Definitely. I don’t see anyone
excluded from the potential of the
country including business opportunities
and investment opportunities. There
is energy potential, there is mining
potential. There is industrial
development potential. The people are the
most educated in Africa.
AK: You have been tortured and survived
assassination attempts by this
government? Why did you decide to join
them?
MT: It’s a difficult question but the relevant question is: was it
strategic? I think given the state of the nation and the state of the
people, it was very strategic that we join with our erstwhile opponents in
making sure we can respond to the plight of the people. The country was
facing a precipice, and we do it for the sake of that. I don’t regret
that.
AK: Do you see Mr. Mugabe loosening his grip at all, becoming more
democratic?
MT: Of course, I don’t subscribe to some of his activities
and some of his
actions. I don’t think he’s got a grip that he’s not willing
to let go. I
think because he has accepted to go through this transition, he
is in
acceptance that he cannot continue to hold on.
AK: Mugabe is
nearly 87. What do you think will happen when he dies?
MT: Hopefully he will
die after we have managed the transition and that it
won’t be chaotic. We
have always worried about the succession issue,
especially this part that he
has left it too late.
AK: Have you been able to make a difference in this
government?
MT: Firstly, the fact that we were able to stabilize
hyper-inflation
condition from billions of dollars percent inflation to
three percent.
The second thing is we have been able to revive and revitalize
the social
sectors: Education has been re-opened, schools are now in form,
hospitals,
they have now been reopened, water, sanitation. We had cholera,
we have
eliminated that. Generally there is peace and stability.
AK:
Some people say the opposition has been silenced now that you have
joined
the unity government. What do you say to that?
MT: You know, the media always
want to see blood on the floor, and when
there’s no blood, no chaos, they
think people have been silenced. We have
been a positive influence on the
inclusive government for the sake of the
people. We are not the opposition
in government. We are in government to
make a contribution for the
transition and I hope that people would
appreciate that we added value in
making sure we are able to deal with the
plight of our people and that we
have been appreciated by our people despite
what people can say
AK:
Zimbabwe’s economy still has a long way to go, in terms of improving the
standard of living for people. How do you plan to do that?
MT: We’ve got
priorities. Our program is based on five key priorities. One
is to insure
that we rehabilitate our infrastructure. Secondly, let’s not
forget
education, health—also very important yardsticks for people’s
development.
We do regard the isolation of the country as very important. We
need to
remove the country from being isolated.
AK: How will you do that?
MT:
Well, we are engaging the Europeans. We are engaging the Americans. We
are
engaging everyone. Zimbabwe’s on the path, the irreversible path to
progress. That must be recognized.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
By Staff Reporter
Saturday, 29 January 2011
17:53
HARARE - Bishop Chad Gandiya, head of the Church Province of
Central Africa
(CPCA) has expressed deep concern over a fresh order that
gives the police
power to restrict CPCA members from within a 200 metre
radius of any of
their Anglican church buildings.
In his latest
pastoral letter dated January 21 to the Anglican
congregation , Bishop
Gandiya, whose church is at war with the faction led
by Bishop Nolbert
Kunonga said he is “deeply disturbed by the prolonged
suffering of our
people at the hands of the police who continue to claim to
be receiving
orders ‘from above’ to prevent us from using our church
buildings.”
The Bishop said he was disturbed that on 16 January this
year, police
accompanied by two priests from Bishop Kunonga’s faction
harassed CPCA
parishioners who were attending a church service at the St
Andrews Church
in Chipadze, Bindura.
He said the priests claimed that
they had court orders to evict the CPCA
church members from the church
buildings but they could not produce them.
Bishop Kunonga’s faction,
which defected from the main church a few years
ago, continues to defy a
High Court ruling that the two factions should
share the church
properties.
An interim High Court order was issued on 4 June 2010 by High
Court Judge
Justice Mavangira saying the two factions must share the church
properties
pending the resolution of the matter in the Supreme Court. The
Supreme
Court is yet to make its ruling.
Members of the Bishop
Gandiya faction continue to be harassed by members of
the Bishop Kunonga
faction and many are attending church services in
buildings belonging to
other churches like the Catholic and Methodist for
fear of being beaten
up.
Bishop Kunonga is a strong Zanu PF supporter who has benefitted
from the
land reform programme.
http://www.voanews.com/
Fernando
Arroyo, United Nations Humanitarian Affairs chief in Zimbabwe, said
his
office is continuing efforts to curb the cholera outbreaks, but added
that
with the rainy season in progress resources could be stretched
Patience
Rusere | Washington DC 28 January 2011
Global health and
humanitarian organizations said cholera remains a threat
in Zimbabwe with
dozens of new cases reported in recent weeks amid regional
flooding.
World Health Organization sources said 71 suspected cases
of cholera were
reported in early January. They said cases have surfaced in
Bikita, Masvingo
province, Zvimba, Mashonaland West province and Mutare and
Buhera in
Manicaland province.
The United Nations Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said
cholera had spread to 20 districts
by the end of 2010 with some 1,000 cases
causing 22 deaths.
The
continued outbreaks are blamed on poor sanitation and contaminated
water.
Fernando Arroyo, United Nations Humanitarian Affairs chief in
Zimbabwe, said
his office is continuing its efforts to curb the new cholera
outbreaks, but
cautioned that with the rainy season in progress resources
could be
stretched.
Health organizations are urging Zimbabweans to
take precautions such as
boiling water or using water purification tablets.
Dr. Lincoln Sarimari, a
WHO disease prevention and control officer, told
reporter Tatenda Gumbo that
such steps are critical.
Meanwhile,
Zimbabwe's Department of Civil Protection Services said there has
been no
heavy flooding following the opening of Kariba Dam floodgates to
ease rising
pressure from heavy rains. But the agency says the country
remains on high
alert.
Civil Protection Services Department Deputy Director Sibusisiwe
Ndlovu said
a buildup of water could still lead to flooding in northeastern
Zimbabwe.
Neighboring Mozambique has been more heavily affect by floods,
which have
caused scores of deaths. South Africa has also experienced heavy
flooding
and loss of life in recent weeks.
Ndlovu told reporter
Patience Rusere that her department is remaining
vigilant.
The
International Federation of the Red Cross says it is expanding relief
efforts to the area, in particular providing clean water and water
purification tablets.
IFRC Disaster Management Coordinator Abdulkair
Farid said there are concerns
that with memories still fresh of the
2008-2009 cholera epidemic which
claimed more than 4,200 lives, there are
concerns flooding could promote the
spread of the disease.
http://www.apanews.net/
APA-Harare
(Zimbabwe) Germany has protested to the Zimbabwean government
over a new
wave of illegal seizures of game conservancies owned by its
citizens and
other foreigners in the south of the country, APA learns here
Saturday.
The German embassy in Harare has written to Zimbabwe’s
Foreign Minister
Simbarashe Mumbengegwi asking him to provide assurances
that German
interests in the Save Valley conservancy would be protected
under
international law after top officials in President Robert Mugabe’s
ZANU PF
party, the army and police muscled into conservancies and ranches in
the
area.
These include the Save Valley Conservancy Trust in which
German national
Willy Pabst is one of the major
shareholders.
Affected safari operators have been forced to surrender
between 50 and 80
percent shareholding in their properties to ZANU PF
officials, top police
and military officials, and traditional chiefs in a
renewed crackdown on
white-owned businesses.
The Save Valley
Conservancy is the world’s biggest private game reserve.
In a note verbal
to Mumbengegwi, the embassy said the illegal seizures,
codenamed Masvingo
Initiative, were allegedly being driven by Titus
Maluleke, the governor of
Masvingo province where the conservancies are
located.
"It should be
noted that the concept of partnership as advocated by the
‘Masvingo
Initiative’ does not seem to be based on normal business
considerations,"
the note said.
The embassy said the invaders have indicated that they
want to take over the
properties without paying for them.
This is the
second time in less than a year that the Germany has protested
to
Mumbengegwi over the illegal seizure by Mugabe’s supporters of properties
owned by its nationals.
The embassy wrote to Mumbengegwi in June 2010
protesting against continued
violation of an investment protection agreement
between the two countries
after farm invaders illegally grabbed three
properties belonging to German
citizens.
JN/daj/APA
2011-01-29
http://www.zimonline.co.za
by Own Correspondent Saturday 29
January 2011
HARARE – The International Organisation for
Migration (IOM) has launched a
new project to assist Zimbabwe craft
comprehensive anti-trafficking
legislation in the face of an unprecedented
rise in the smuggling of women
and young children out of the country by
prostitution rings.
The project, titled "Building National Response
Capacity to Combat Human
Trafficking in Zimbabwe", is funded by the US
Agency for International
Development (USAID) and supports a government
counter-trafficking strategy
focusing on raising awareness of trafficking in
persons among government
officials and members of the public.
“The
USAID-funded project is timely as it will allow IOM to strengthen the
government's counter-trafficking efforts, particularly as it intends to pass
counter-trafficking legislation this year," said IOM Chief of Mission in
Zimbabwe, Vincent Houver.
Other activities under the new project
include strengthening of the national
referral system for protection and
reintegration assistance to trafficking
victims with a special focus on
children and youths.
The socio-economic deterioration in Zimbabwe in
recent years has contributed
to heightened vulnerabilities of Zimbabwean
nationals to human trafficking,
particularly youths.
Recent research
on child trafficking, jointly conducted by IOM and the UN
Children's Fund
(UNICEF), revealed that a significant number of minors in
Zimbabwe are being
approached and recruited by traffickers.
The study found that children
are trafficked to work in agriculture, for
sexual exploitation and for
domestic servitude, both within and beyond
Zimbabwe, including in
neighbouring South Africa and Botswana.
Nigerian organised crime
syndicates operating from Pretoria, Port Elizabeth,
Johannesburg and
Bloemfontein lure young girls into prostitution.
Boys are often lured by
promises of work and end up as slaves in
agriculture, fishery, construction,
mines, sweatshops and catering.
In other cases the children are held for
domestic servitude, street begging
or peddling, forced military service,
removal of body parts for muti
purposes while others were trafficked for
adoption and forced marriage.
The US Department of State 2010 Trafficking
in Persons report also lists
Zimbabwe as a source, transit and destination
country for trafficking of
women and children.
Due to its
geographical location, Zimbabwe is highly vulnerable to both
trafficking and
smuggling in people from Asia, Europe and from other African
countries.
http://www.radiovop.com
29/01/2011 15:49:00
HARARE, January 29,
2011- The Constitution Parliamentary Committee (COPAC)
the body mandated to
produce Zimbabwe's first democratic constitution since
independence in 1980
has hired a computer expert from Kenya to be in charge
of information and
data processing.
The move comes in the wake of allegations of too much
interference by
political parties involved in the process.
“ The
committee has engaged an expert to make sure that technical
errors that have
occurred are corrected,” Douglas Mwonzora the
committee’s co-chairperson told
Radio Vop.
“He is an undisputed expert who was in charge of the data
processing during
Kenya’s constitution making process.”
The expert whose
costs will be met by the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) is
expected to arrive in the country next week to take
charge of the
process.
He has specialised in the use of Hewlett-Packard computers that
are being
used by the committee to store information submitted by the people
during
the outreach exercises.
The UNDP is funding the constitution
making process together with many other
donors but so far it remains the
main funding partner and has since made a
commitment to do so until the
completion of this important exercise.
Meanwhile the committee has moved to
ally fears caused by reports of
information tampering in the country’s
constitution making process. This
after Zanu (PF) officials had claimed
through suggestions in the state media
that the mainstream MDC party led by
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai might
have tempered with information that
has already been
stored in the committee’s main information
server.
Paul Mangwana, the committee’s co-chairperson representing Zanu
(PF) this
week briefed his party on the disappearing of information
on
issues of land, natural resources and the environment.
These are the issues
that Zanu (PF) strongly campaigned for during the
public outreach
meetings.
Its officials immediately raised the red flag pointing fingers at
MDC
officials saying they could have been responsible for the removal of the
information. However the Committee told journalists Friday that “no data had
gone missing.”
“All the data collected was verified through a
tri-partite
verification process. There were just certain technical problems
in
uploading information with the server,” said Douglas Mwonzora one of the
three co-chairpersons of the committee.
“There are three technical
experts representing the three political
parties and they all confirmed there
was a technical era in the
posting of information in the giant server and we
have no cause to
disbelieve them.”
In addition the spokesperson of the
Committee, Jesse Majome said,
“It’s totally impossible for information to
disappear because it was
collected in various forms – physical and electronic
forms such as
video and audio.”
The constitution making process is a key
aspect of an election roadmap
currently being drafted by SADC appointed
facilitator President Jacob Zuma
of South Africa. Other requirements of the
roadmap includes the drawing up
of a new voters’ roll, ending political
violence and passing of new
electoral rules by Parliament however none of
these are in place.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/
Written by Ngoni Chanakira
Saturday, 29 January
2011 10:04
MUTARE - THE security around the diamond-rich Chiadzwa area in
the
Manicaland province just after Nyanyadzi has been tightened with police
roadblocks virtually after every 500 metres along the main road leading to
the controversial diamond field.
A Zimbabwean on Sunday news team that
toured the area last Wednesday
witnessed overzealous police officers
thoroughly searching cars at the
roadblocks. The police appeared to mostly
target vehicles bearing foreign
registration plates and high value cars
driven by the rich such as Range
Rover, Toyota Land Cruiser 4X4, Mercedes
Benz cars.
"You are no longer allowed to go into the area which has been
cordoned off
to the public," a Mutare-based journalist told our news
team.
"You are not allowed to take pictures or use your cell phone once you
are
allowed into the area. As a journalist you must make a request to the
police
bosses and tell them the angle of the story that you intend to
publish ….
and they escort you (around the diamond field)
“But this is a
very sensitive area and they do not usually want anybody
including
journalists especially the white ones to go into Chiadzwa," the
journalist
said. The police are said to step up patrols around the diamond
field at
night when illegal dealers invade the area in search of gemstones
for sale
on the illegal market for precious stones.
The Chiadzwa diamond field that is
also known as Marange is one of the world’s
most controversial diamond
fields with reports that soldiers sent to guard
the claims after the
government took over the field in October 2006 from a
British firm that
owned the deposits committed gross human rights abuses
against illegal
miners who had descended on the field.
Diamonds from the Chiadzwa region are
banned for exports as part of measures
to force Zimbabwe to adhere to rules
and standards set by the Kimberley
Process that regulates the world diamond
industry. The Zimbabwean army is
accused of alleged human rights abuses at
the Chiadzwa, including engaging
in forced labour and smuggling.
http://www.voanews.com/
The
Kimberley Process last year allowed two international auctions of
Marange
diamonds but the industry watchdog in November restored a ban on
export
sales amid concerns about alleged human rights abuses
Sandra Nyaira |
Washington 28 January 2011
An Indian diamond consortium says it
is moving to buy diamonds from the
controversial Marange field of Zimbabwe
with permission from the Kimberley
Process Certification Scheme following
months of wrangling over the terms
for export sales.
The Surat,
India, based companies said they will buy at least six million
carats of
Marange diamonds to relieve a serious shortage of rough stones.
This
means an agreement between Surat Rough Diamond Sourcing India, a
diamond
consortium of 1,500 firms, and the Zimbabwe Diamond Consortium to
purchase
$1.2 billion worth of diamonds a year can now be implemented.
VOA was
unable to confirm with Kimberly officials that Marange diamonds were
cleared
to be sold internationally. But diamond industry website IDEX Online
News
reported that a revised Kimberley Process agreement on Zimbabwe was
approved
by 17 members and outgoing Kimberly Chairman Boaz Hirsch issued a
notification of the clearance.
Chandrakant Sanghavi, head of Sanghavi
Exports in Surat, said rough diamond
prices had been rising due to the
shortage, and the Kimberley Process
clearance for diamonds exported from the
Marange field in the east of
Zimbabwe will ease this.
"KP's clearance
on the exports from Zimbabwe will put to rest the artificial
increase and
shortage of rough diamonds in the global market," he said.
"There will be
more work and more wages for the diamond workers."
The Kimberley Process
last year allowed two auctions of Marange diamonds but
the industry watchdog
in November restored a ban on export sales amid
concerns about alleged human
rights abuses and smuggling of diamonds through
Mozambique.
"If
things move in the right direction then we will import the first batch
of
precious gems from Zimbabwe worth $20 million soon to start our Surat
operations," said Ashit Mehta, chairman of Surat Rough Diamond Sourcing
India.
Zimbabwe Deputy Mines Minister Gift Chimanikire says the
Kimberley move will
greatly benefit Zimbabwe, whose government is seriously
strapped for
operating funds.
Political analyst Joy Mabenge said
however that the Harare government should
still be pressed to address
outstanding issues in Marange, including alleged
abuses of the local
population so that it can fully comply with Kimberley
Process standards.
http://www.bulawayo24.com/
by Byo24NEWS
2011 January
29 14:11:12
THE Bulawayo Thermal Power Station will start generating
power in February,
a development set to bring excitement to the city,
popularly known as
Kontuthu ziyathunqa because of the smoke emitted by the
towers.
The power station stopped generating power in 2000 owing to
operational
challenges. In an interview on Thursday ZESA spokesperson Mr
Fullard Gwasira
could not be drawn to reveal how much power would be
generated from the
plant.
"I can confirm that generation will
commence this quarter, thereby
contributing to the national
output.
"We hope to start generating electricity mid-February 2011 if all
goes
according to plan," said Mr Gwasira.
He said at the moment
preparatory work to refurbish the power station was in
progress hence could
not confirm when the plant could generate power.
"The activities that are
currently taking place at Bulawayo Power Station
are test runs of equipment
in preparation for the anticipated generation,"
said Mr Gwasira.
The
revival of Bulawayo's power generation comes after the signing of a
Memorandum of Understanding between Zimbabwe and Botswana in October last
year.
The MoU was such that Botswana would inject US$9 million, while
Zimbabwe
supplied 45 megawatts of power for three years in return.
At
the moment the country produces 1 200 megawatts instead of a peak demand
of
2 200 megawatts. Mr Gwasira said the only way to close this demand-supply
gap was to build extra generation capacity, which would take at least three
and-a-half years from the time funding has been secured
http://www.voanews.com/
The mass
retrenchments are part of a restructuring exercise at the Reserve
Bank of
Zimbabwe recommended by the International Monetary Fund, leaving 493
workers
out of 1,948
Gibbs Dube | Washington 28 January 2011
The
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe on Friday dismissed about 1,500 workers - 75
percent of its work force - giving each one of them a US$5,000 golden
handshake as part of a severance package double that amount for a total cost
of US$15 million.
Many Zimbabwean public servants are making less
than US$200 a month.
Sources said the retrenched RBZ staff members were
seen leaving the bank's
Harare offices at noon after a meeting with senior
central bank officials.
Sources said the RBZ drew US$7.9 million from the
Ministry of Finance to
fund the operation.
The mass retrenchments are
part of a restructuring exercise at the bank
recommended by the
International Monetary Fund, leaving 493 workers out of
1,948.
RBZ
Governor Gideon Gono told the state-controlled Herald newspaper that the
bank is being streamlined so it can better focus on its core competencies.
He said he hoped the country would not slide back into instability which he
blamed for the economic crisis that peaked in late 2008 amid roaring
hyperinflation most blamed the RBZ for causing.
Economic commentator
Bekithemba Mhlanga said the RBZ layoffs will pave the
way for transformaiton
of the institution. “At long last, we think that
sanity will finally prevail
at the RBZ which has over the years been used by
[President Robert Mugabe's]
ZANU-PF for engaging in political programs meant
to benefit its members,”
Mhlanga said.
Gono was widely blamed for the bank's funding and
management non-core
activities such as land reform and an ill-fated farm
mechanization scheme.
Forced auctions of RBZ assets conducted last year
to pay off creditors
included so-called Scotch carts - rudimentary farm
implements.
Gono funded such programs by ceaselessly printing Zimbabwean
dollars in
ever-larger denominations that peaked at 100 trillion dollars,
debasing the
currency which was eventually abandoned in 2009 in favor of a
regime of
mixed hard currencies.
The former opposition Movement for
Democratic Change sought Gono's
dismissal - but he has been kept in place by
President Mugabe, a close
political ally.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/
Written by Lovejoy
Sakala
Saturday, 29 January 2011 10:39
NGO steps in to help, Zanu (PF)
blames ‘sanctions’
BUHERA - Although Zimbabwe attains 31 years of
independence in April,
villagers of Buhera Central under Chief Nyashanu say
they have nothing to
celebrate. They continue to live in perpetual fear of
landmines planted
during the liberation struggle in the 70s.
Villagers
likened their place to a war zone. “Living in a minefield area is
no
different from living in a war zone as you are always living in a fear of
being hurt or killed any day,” said a 56-year-old amputee, Maxwell Kahudya,
whose right leg and hand were amputated after he stepped on a landmine while
herding cattle two years ago. “I was born with all my body intact and I even
took part in the struggle to free the country. Now I am a victim of our
government’s failure to demine our area soon after independence in 1980.
Some people decided to misuse donor funds and made other people suffer,”
said Kahudya.
The father of three lost his leg and hand on a Monday
morning while driving
his cattle to pasture. He survived by the grace of God
after Good Samaritans
rushed him to a nearby hospital. “The government
should channel resources
towards the demining exercise to make our places
safe for farming and
inhabitation. The army should stop useless recruitment
exercises because we
are not in a war situation. They should focus on
demining,” said Kahudya. He
is not the only victim of landmines in Buhera.
Many others have suffered
silently after being seriously injured or
maimed.
Livestock killed
The landmines, which have also endangered the
livestock, were planted during
the particularly Maridzakowa Hills that
stretch about 150 km to the
Mozambique border. Local kraal head Jaison
Gotosa said: “We need places to
do farming and pasture for our livestock but
the mines have impacted heavily
on development in this area. We have to
discourage people from farming
around here, because it is very risky.”
He
added: “We appeal to the inclusive government, through our Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai, to expedite the demining exercise. We also lose
livestock, which is our only source of wealth.” Gotosa said villagers had
lost close to 100 cattle and several goats to landmines. Chief Nyashanu, who
controls the Maridzakohwa hills stretch, said he had appealed to government
to demine the area but nothing had ever been done about it.
The chief
said it was sad that people who fought in the war of liberation
struggle
continue to be victims of the mine traps they survived during the
war. “We
will continue to lobby the government to do something about this
situation.
We are not in a warzone and our people have a right to live
happily like any
other citizens,” he said.
Help at hand
Member of Parliament for Buhera
Central, Tangwara Matimba, from the MDC-T
said: “The demining exercise of
landmines should be a top priority. I am
very worried that 30 years after
the country attained independence some
places are yet to be demined. Mines
are for war and we are not in a war so
people should live freely. We are
pushing the inclusive government to
prioritise the issue of demining,” said
Matimba.
The former Zanu (PF) government has not done much to improve the
lives of
landmine victims. But the Landmine Victims Support Trust (LVST), an
organisation that seeks to assist the victims with income-generating
projects and counselling, has moved in to breathe a new lease of life into
victims. “These people need to survive – we are doing income-generating
projects such as poultry and horticulture so that they can fend for their
families. We believe these people still have value to our society despite
being handicapped,” said Claudius Moyo, the
coordinator.
Awareness
“This year we have initiated awareness
programmes to educate people living
in mine infested areas on the dangers of
mines and how to respond when they
discover mines in their areas,” said
Moyo. He added that the trust would
also source funds from donors to procure
equipment such as wheelchairs,
clutches and artificial legs. An official
from the Zimbabwe National Army
(ZNA) department responsible for the
demining exercise throughout Zimbabwe
declined to be named, saying he had no
authority to talk to press, but said
the army had had some successes and
challenges in its quest to remove
landmines.
He blamed people for
removing beacons and wire reflectors that are used to
warn and restrict
people in areas that have not been de-mined. During the
exhibitions events
such as Agricultural Show and Trade Fairs, the army
always displays pictures
of injured people and animals to remind people how
mines can be dangerous to
human and animal life.
Last year on the occasion of celebrating Zimbabwe
Defence Forces Day (ZDF),
President Robert Mugabe attributed slow pace of
demining to restrictive
measures imposed on him and about 200 individuals of
his inner circle and
companies by western countries. But, the western
countries rejected this
assertion and maintained that the so-called
sanctions were only targeted
against perpetrators of gross human rights
abuse and vote-rigging.
Zimbabwe is a signatory to the Mine Ban Treaty, which
bans the use,
production and stockpiling of
landmines.
Factfile
1,5 million mines scattered across the country –
ZNA stats
1500 killed by mines – Oct 2010 figure
6 landmine regions -
Musengezi, Burma, Sheba, Sango border, Risutu, Victoria
Falls/Mlibisi
only 1 cleared – Vic Falls
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Written by The
Zimbabwean
Saturday, 29 January 2011 10:24
Journalist Ezra Sibanda
sits in London with lists of Zimbabwean cellphone
numbers. These are his
notes for his radio show which he broadcasts to
Zimbabwe via short wave (and
the internet).
From London’s East End he draws a massive rural listenership
by dragging a
finger down his list of 45 000 numbers and calling Zimbabweans
at random.
Sibanda speaks with a slow, intelligent accent, but for most of
his show he
lets his listeners do the talking: anonymously and freely about
what’s
happening in their country. They have become the country’s
reporters.
Last year, when South Africa’s media was decidedly rickety,
Sibanda
considered the possibility of having to double his broadcast time
and offer
a similar covert radio service to South Africa. Sibanda watched
media
freedom disintegrate under Robert Mugabe and though South Africa has
some
durability in the basement that Zimbabwe has never had it’s hard to
ignore
that Sibanda’s radio show — a mixture of personal stories and pointed
instruction — contains the crucial, often absent, elements that any country
needs from its media.
Sibanda’s early broadcasts reassured people that by
voting for the
opposition they weren’t in danger. There was the rumour of
cameras recording
which box you marked on your ballot.
Irresponsible
reporting
Subsequently you’d be hunted down if you voted against Mugabe. This
shows
the mediating level of control when running a dictatorship: you don’t
need
to install actual cameras — though you feasibly could — when you can
make
people believe that the cameras exist.
It isn’t like Mugabe hasn’t
tried his best to shut SW Radio down. Back in
2000 the Zimbabwean
government’s broadcasting monopoly was challenged in the
Supreme Court and
Gerry Jackson won the right to open the country’s first
independent radio
station. This was forcibly closed after six days of test
broadcasts.
In
2002 an Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act was passed.
It’s
been impossible to open an independent radio station in the country
since.
The Daily News was shut down that same year. “Reporters Without
Borders”
made claims of the country’s media being victim to threats,
imprisonment,
censorship, blackmail, abuse of power and denial of justice.
Before SW Radio
relocated to London, regional countries like South Africa
were possible
options but access was denied. “Because in their own way they
have given in
to Mugabe,” says Sibanda.
From these London-based broadcasts people have
gradually learnt a selection
of truths. When Sibanda returned recently to
Zimbabwe he stayed in rural
towns where he saw locals gathered around radio
hubs — like students in the
fifties eager for pop music, but these people
wanted news and debate. In
hostels owners took information from SW Radio’s
website and stapled sheets
into the government-controlled daily newspaper so
people could get proper
context on events.
With an increase in internet
content and slashing of media budgets this idea
of a trusted mouthpiece,
which SW Radio has become, is fading worldwide. In
the UK it flat out
doesn’t exist.
The MRR vaccine health scare during the last decade proved
that a campaign
of incorrect media can escalate into a public health
concern. When your
media coverage is causing sickness in children — through
irresponsible
reporting — where are the benefits of a free press?
In the
early 2000s British anti-MMR lobbyists intentionally targeted
generalist
journalists, instead of health correspondents, hoping that their
information
on vaccines causing autism would not be scrutinised. Once the
story became
feverish the editors avoided any evidence that was contrary to
their
original, incorrect stance and ran with it. “People make health
decisions
based on what they read in the newspapers, and MMR uptake has
plummeted from
92% to 73%,” says Ben Goldacre. “We have already seen a mumps
epidemic in
2005, and measles cases are at their highest levels for a
decade.”
Cops and robbers
Really what SW Radio has created is a
tin-can version of Twitter with the
necessary bonus in that it’s mediated by
a professional. In the sparseness
of Zimbabwe’s media it’s easy to see how a
relied upon, comforting Fairy
Godmother like Sibanda is necessary.
Unfortunately, this only occurs when
you are on the brink of a propaganda
implosion.
You get a comforting “cops and robbers” simplicity and it’s easy
to know
which side is right. Zimbabwe occupies a space in the frantic South
African’s
imagination as a worst-case-scenario. And it is true that if SW
Radio was
corrupted they could lead their listeners to eat their own
children, but
their intentions are noble, rather than
commercial.
Ironically, this works because they don’t have to think
commercially — there
is no competition or market. There is a scant 12
million people in Zimbabwe,
but there are easily that many people who would
benefit from an SW Radio
type service in South Africa or anywhere
else.
SW Radio is in the same part of London as the HQ for the British
National
Party. On the street there are pockets of white, thuggish kids
hanging on
like barnacles as waves of black people come out every few
seconds from the
train station. It is rush hour and folk are coming home
from their jobs.
The rich, fatty smell of a kebab shop is why this can’t be
Africa, not even
Johannesburg. There are a few words of French and a couple
of Xhosa clicks
from the crowd, but that kebab shop is the smell of England.
For Sibanda
there’s nothing to report here.
Broadcasting from another
continent means you lose the luxury of thorough,
face-to-face investigation.
And though richer, more established countries
have that kind reporting —
does it matter? Not if there isn’t a media outlet
that garners an
opportunity for basic trust. - Source:
http://www.thoughtleader.co.za
Dear Family and Friends,
All eyes
are glued on developments to the far north of Zimbabwe. First
in Tunisia and
then in Egypt we have witnessed what happens when
people finally reach the
end of their patience with leaders who have
been in power for too
long.
In Tunisia Mr Ben Ali had been in power for 23 years and
protesters
said they’d had enough of corruption, nepotism and a leader
and
government out of touch with the lives of ordinary people.
People
complained of high unemployment, a lack of political reforms
and
impunity. Weeks of repeated protests by thousands of people in
Tunis
ended with President Ben Ali fleeing the country. The people called
it
the Jasmin Revolution and woke up to a new era in the country and a
new
chapter in their lives.
Hardly was the revolution in Tunisia over when
protests erupted in
Egypt. Multiple thousands of protesters took to the
streets. They said
the wall of fear had been broken and that they were
inspired by what
they had seen in Tunis. In Egypt the protesters were met by
teargas,
rubber bullets and water cannons. Running in alongside the
protesters
were secret police in plain clothes, wielding fists, boots and
baton
sticks. Egyptian protesters kept on coming, walls and walls of
them:
bold, chanting, determined and fearless. Egyptian protesters said
they
want freedom, jobs, an end to corruption and a change to
genuine
democracy. They kept pushing forward demanding an end to
President
Mubarak’s 30 year rule. A glimpse of a news clip from Egyptian
state
television caused a moment of déjà vu when the country’s leader
was
described as “the President of the country and commander in
chief of the
defence forces.”
Everything from the reasons for the uprisings, to the
reaction by the
authorities, is chillingly familiar to Zimbabwe. Tear gas,
baton
sticks and water cannons; boots, fists and rubber bullets – all
are
methods of control well known to Zimbabweans. Familiar too are
the
complaints of the protesters; in fact they are so similar that
they
may have been describing the situation in Zimbabwe. Leaders who
have
been in power for two and three decades, corruption,
high
unemployment, lack of political reforms and impunity are top of
the
list of protestors’ complaints.
While these dramatic events were
going on in North Africa, President
Mugabe was in Addis Ababa for an AU
summit and
Prime Minister Tsvangirai was in Switzerland attending a global
forum
in Davos. Captured for a moment by a top BBC reporter, Mr
Tsvangirai
was asked a few pertinent questions and his answers left
raised
eyebrows:
What are your feelings about a free and fair election
being possible
he was asked. The Prime Minister replied that as long as the
AU and
SADC played their part then the “Zanu PF dirty tricks will
be
minimized.”
Asked about the 51% indigenisation of businesses, Mr
Tsvangirai said
changes had been made to the law, plans were being drawn up
and that
it was not a compulsory takeover but one of mutual
agreement.
Asked about land reform and if farmers were going to be able to
return
to their properties to farm, Mr Tsvangirai said : “that is gone,
we
are past that.”
And, back at home while Tunisia and Egypt exploded,
and while both
President and Prime Minister were out of the country,
the
independent press were full of shocking headlines. In the
Zimbabwe
Independent came reports headed: “Violence flares in
Harare,”
“MDC T can’t stop Zanu PF abuses,” “Elections – propaganda,
lies
and deception.” From NewsDay came screaming headlines: “70
000 government
ghost workers exposed. Of 250,000 civil servants in
Zimbabwe, the newspaper
reported that a recent audit: “has revealed
there are about 70,000 ghost
workers.” These are apparently people
on the payroll who “cannot be traced.”
The US$ 14 million dollars
paying ghosts every month is being swept under the
carpet when it
could be used to support genuinely employed civil servants who
are
continuing to pour out of the country in search of a living
wage.
As I write this letter the situation in Egypt has not been
resolved
and what is being described as a “political tsunami”
continues.
Where to next?
Until next time, thanks for reading, love
cathy 29th January 2011.
Copyright � Cathy Buckle. www.cathybuckle.com
|
The following is part of a series of Shona lessons provided by http://www.learnshona.com. The audio versions are available at learnshona.com. Please note that learnShona.com courses are designed to teach you by listening and repeating the words, as this is similar to the highly effective and proven Pimsleur technique. As such, it will be more difficult, and much slower, to grasp by reading alone. We recommend downloading the audio course to listen and repeat. We welcome your
feedback and hope that you find this useful. This week’s lesson is about education. Education is a significant topic in Shona, because it’s a big part of Zimbabwean culture. We’re the most literate country in sub-Saharan Africa, if not in all of Africa. School is an important part of Zimbabwean children’s lives, and adults often undertake further education. Adult education is common especially amongst City dwellers. Many people you meet will be studying for additional qualifications, even just for the challenge. Education is seen as both a necessity for career advancement, as well as a hobby. The read (listen) and repeat formula is designed to increase your intuitive understanding of Shona sentence structures. Education (Dzidzo)
What school - Chikoro chipi? To go to - Kuenda ku……. You go to - Unoenda ku…. He/she goes - anoenda It goes - Inoenda/chinoenda We go - Tinoenda They go - Vanoenda What school do you go to?(You go to what school?) - Unoenda kuchikoro chipi? What university do you go to?(You go to what university?) - Unoenda kuYunivhesiti ipi? I go - Ndinoenda I go to Hallway school - Ndinoenda kuHallway School Which? - Ripi/ipi Which grade? - Giredhi ripi? Which form - fomu ipi? Which year? - Gore ripi? Are you? - Uri…….here? In - mu……. Which grade are you in? - Uri mugiredhi ripi? Which form are you in? - Uri mufomu ipi? Which year are you in - Uri mugore ripi/rechingani? I am in my first year - Ndiri mugore rangu rokutanga My final year - gore rangu rokupedzisira To finish - kupedza I have finished - Ndapedza I have finished university - Ndapedza kuyunivhesiti To graduate - Kupiwa chitupa/kugirajuweta I graduated - Ndakapiwa chitupa I graduated this year - Ndakapiwa chitupa gore rino I have graduated - ndapiwa chitupa Just - ...ngobva… I’ve just graduated - Ndichangobva kupiwa chitupa To study/learn - Kudzidza/kuverenga Studying/learning - Kudzidza/kuverenga What are you studying/learning? - Uri kudzidza chii? I am studying/learning Shona - Ndiri kudzidza ChiShona You studied - Wakadzidza What did you study?( You studied what?) - Wakadzidza chii? I studied computer science - Ndakadzidza Computer Sainzi To want - Kuda You want - Unoda Do you want - Unoda here? To do - Kuita When - rini? When you leave - Kana wasiya What do you want to do when you finish school? - Unoda kuita chii kana wapedza chikoro I want - Ndinoda To - Ku…… To be - kuva I want to be an (architect) - Ndinoda kuva Architect Really? - Ho-o? That is - Izvozvo/Zvino Great/wonderful - zvakanaka That is great/wonderful - Izvozvo zvakanaka That is admirable - Zvinoyemurika What about? - Ko………? What about you?/And you - Ko iwe |