By Thelma Chikwanha, Community
Affairs Editor Thursday, 30 June 2011 12:17 AddThis Social Bookmark
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HARARE - In a further confirmation that all is not well in
faction-ridden Zanu PF, secretary for administration Didymus Mutasa
yesterday contradicted party spokesman Rugare Gumbo and sided with serial
political flip flopper Jonathan Moyo, who is allegedly usurping Gumbo’s
position by stealth.
In a public rebuke of Moyo at the weekend, Gumbo
told the Daily News’s sister paper the Daily News on Sunday that the
political turncoat should wait for the former ruling party’s next congress
if he wanted to speak on behalf of President Robert Mugabe’s troubled
party.
“Moyo is free to talk but he does so in his personal capacity. He
cannot speak for the party. I am the spokesperson of the party. If Moyo
wants to be the spokesperson he should wait for the next congress,” a miffed
Gumbo said when asked about Moyo’s numerous and controversial utterances –
allegedly on behalf of Zanu PF.
But Mutasa was reading from a
different script yesterday and even defended Moyo’s much-criticised call for
the arrest of the Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Jameson
Timba.
“All members can say what they want to defend the party apart from
those given specific portfolios. The party’s constitution says that every
party member should defend the party in every way.
“People have the
wrong views about Zanu PF. They think we are a party of dictators but that
is not true. We allow people to hold their own views. What Jonathan Moyo is
doing is exercising his freedom of speech and we enjoy his
expressions.
“If Moyo says something that is offensive to anyone that
person is entitled to take action. If there are people who are offended,
they should certainly take action. As a party we enjoy what he says. He is
defending his party. We have multiple roles,” Mutasa said.
Moyo, who
is infamously regarded as a media hangman within the journalistic
fraternity, for the role he played in crafting the repressive Access to
Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) which was used to shut
down the popular Daily News and the Daily News on Sunday seven years ago, is
said to be very angry with journalists who are criticising him.
His
critics say the belligerent former junior information minister has taken
advantage of the current weaknesses and confusion inside the imploding party
to become the unofficial, but de facto party spokesperson and political
commissar.
Top analysts were also quick to point out yesterday that
Moyo was taking advantage of the divisions and the vacuum inside Zanu PF to
advance his interests, after failing to topple Mugabe in the ill-fated
‘Tsholotsho Declaration’ in 2004.
Political analyst Ibbo Mandaza said
Moyo’s actions said a lot about the state of health of the party, which had
been in power since the country attained independence in 1980.
“There
is confusion in the party if you look at the fact that Gumbo says he (Moyo)
is not the spokesperson (of the party) and Mutasa says he is free to speak
on behalf of the party. They should clarify their position,” Mandaza
said.
Human Rights researcher Pedzisai Ruhanya agreed with Mandaza
adding that what Moyo was doing was far from what ordinary Zimbabweans
expected from their leaders. He said Moyo’s latest antics manifested the rot
within the former ruling party.
“When a political party system
collapses there is no single person with authority. The sources of power are
everywhere which is a reflection of the collapse and confusion within Zanu
PF.
“Jonathan Moyo exhibits apartheid and Rhodesian tactics in his
utterances. Of course, the results of this style of leadership will be very
clear when people go for elections,” Ruhanya said. He also warned Zanu PF
against giving Moyo more room to manoeuvre in the party, particularly as his
motives were still questionable among some party members who felt that he
was out to destroy the party from within.
“If you sow rotten seeds, you
reap rotten fruits. Look at what he (Moyo) is doing. He is now everything.
Why is he behaving like the President, CIO head and police
commissioner?
“Zanu PF will reap the fruits of Moyo’s Nazi-like
behaviour. I don’t think Zimbabweans celebrate repression. Zanu PF will see
the consequences,” Ruhanya said.
University of Zimbabwe political
science lecturer Eldred Masunungure said what Moyo was doing was not out of
character. He also said Moyo was trying to fill a vacuum within the
party.
“There is a huge vacuum in the party which he is trying to fill
single-handedly. The centre can’t really hold if he exits. This should not
be a matter for celebration by the party because it essentially proves that
the party is dysfunctional.
“It is no longer operating as an
institution and depends entirely on one person to resuscitate the party.
They must be worried because where the party is going at this rate remains
unclear.
“Why should Zanu PF depend on one person? Defence of the party
is a collective duty. Zanu PF is utterly vulnerable because it is dependent
on the skills of one person and that is tragic,” Masunungure said.
It
has been reported that Moyo is increasingly irritating fellow party members
with his outbursts.
Insiders also say that some top party members such as
vice-president Joice Mujuru and John Nkomo were very unhappy with his
controversial utterances as they felt that these were harming Mugabe’s and
Zanu PF’s image.
They also doubt his credibility and appear to believe
that he is in it for personal gain, given his vicious and scathing criticism
of Mugabe in the recent past. At one time, Moyo told journalists at the
National Press Club in Harare that Mugabe was so unpopular and unmarketable
that even if he were pitted against a donkey, the octogenarian leader would
lose badly.
The editor of the Zimbabwe Standard newspaper,
Nevanji Madanhire, spent the night in police custody after he was arrested
on Wednesday together with reporter Patience Nyangove and company Human
Resources Manager Loud Ramakgapola. Senior reporter Nyangove and Ramakgapola
were released Wednesday night after spending hours at Harare Central police
station.
SW Radio Africa was unable to find out if Madanhire had been
freed by Thursday.
The trio were arrested over a story Nyangove wrote
which was published by the paper on Sunday, headed ‘MDC-T fears for missing
Timba’s life.’ Jameson Timba, the Minister of State in Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai’s office, was detained over the weekend but has since been
released on the orders of a High Court Judge.
Alpha Media Holdings
lawyer Linda Cook said in statement that the police charged Madanhire,
Nyangove and Ramakgapola, with criminal defamation under Section 96 of the
Criminal Code, for the’ publication of false statements prejudicial to the
State’.
Cook explained that the allegation states that it was falsely
reported Timba was arrested by police officers who included ‘the notorious
Chrispen Makedenge’ when the state says Makedenge was not present and
involved in the arrest.
Despite their release Nyangove and
Ramakgapola were ordered to return to the Law and Order Section on Thursday
for further questioning. The Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe released a
statement calling for the immediate release of Madanhire while imploring the
police to desist from harassing and arresting journalists on frivolous
charges.
‘We urge the police to resort to the Media Complaints Committee
(MCC) to raise their concerns, objections and complaints on stories that
they may deem unfair to their profession. Cases such as the unwarranted
arrest of the Standard Newspaper journalists are cases where the police can
use the self-regulatory mechanism set up by the journalists themselves to
deal with such matters,’ the VMCZ said on Thursday.
MISA Zimbabwe
deplored the arrest saying; ‘If indeed the information complained of is
false then there are alternative remedies open to the police like filing a
complaint with the Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe or demanding a
retraction rather than arresting journalists. Demanding a retraction is more
effective in any event as it has a more direct impact on the integrity or
reputation of the concerned journalist or media house.’
On Thursday the High Court in Harare postponed
ruling on the bail application by 24 MDC-T activists to Friday, the fifth
time such a hearing has been pushed forward since their arrests last month.
High Court Judge Tendai Uchena has been repeatedly saying he needs more time
to go through defence and state arguments.
In protest at these
constant delays, supporters have set up a Facebook site to demand the
release of this group, now known as the ‘Glen View 24.’ It’s widely believed
that the charges they are facing in the murder case of police officer Petros
Mutedza are trumped-up and are nothing more than harassment of the
MDC-T.
The activists were arrested in the aftermath of a violent brawl
that killed Mutedza in late May. The police claim he was murdered by MDC-T
members who held a meeting at a night club in Glen View, a charge denied by
the party. The police then descended on Glen View and randomly arrested a
total of 24 MDC-T members.
In a statement, the MDC-T condemned the
continued postponement of the bail ruling saying ‘it is nothing but a
delaying tactic by the state.’
‘So far the bail application ruling has
been moved five times, with the state requesting the postponements for
various reasons,’ the MDC said.
Obert Gutu, the deputy Minister of
Justice and the MDC-T spokesman for Harare province, told us the decision by
the High court to postpone bail has left him shocked.
‘You know in
any bail application, any lawyer would tell you that it is by its very
nature an urgent application. I am convinced no decent court can reject
their application and with due respect one tends to believe there is
something more to it,’ Gutu said.
Among those being held are Cynthia
Manjoro, Last Maengahama (a member of the MDC National Executive Council),
two Harare City Councillors, Tungamirai Madzokere of Ward 32, Glen View and
Oddrey Sydney Chirombe of Ward 33, Budiriro.
Cynthia Manjoro, a 26
year old IT specialist graduate from NUST University, was arrested not for
committing a crime, but as ‘bait’ to arrest her alleged boyfriend whom
police say is connected to the murder of Mutedza.
She and three other
women were being held in the female section of Chikurubi Maximum prison
while their male colleagues were at Harare remand prison. But defence lawyer
Charles Kwaramba said on Thursday that three of the women were moved to the
male section of Chikurubi. Manjoro remains alone in the women’s section.
Much concern has been expressed about putting the women into the men’s
prison.
IN an unprecedented move, the Southern African Development
Community has scrapped its showcase regional court, set up to deal with
regional litigation on human rights and other issues.
The decision
has prompted outrage about SADC’s commitment to the rule of law and judicial
independence.
In addition, the court’s four judges, removed without
notice, have denounced their treatment and have demanded compensation from
SADC for the loss of their jobs.
The decision to do away with the
court, officially named the SADC Tribunal, was made in a series of meetings
last month between senior ministers of countries in the region and between
regional heads of state. It followed Zimbabwe’s growing anger about the
court’s rulings against it on the grounds of its land policy and human
rights abuses.
According to Lloyd Kuveya, programme manager for the
regional advocacy project of the Southern African Litigation Centre, who
closely monitors legal developments in SADC, Zimbabwe’s representatives
initially challenged the tribunal’s legitimacy.
This issue was
referred to an international panel of experts, who found the tribunal
operated under a valid mandate and was entitled to hear human rights abuse
complaints from individual litigants against SADC states.
Zimbabwe then
raised other complaints, according to Kuveya. “They said individuals should
not have the right to go to the tribunal, otherwise there could be all kinds
of problems – even gay rights cases might come to the court.”
In the
absence of South Africa’s representatives, these concerns won support at
meetings in mid-May, and the SADC leadership decided to close the tribunal,
mandating an investigation into a possible replacement, with final reports
on a replacement due in August 2012.
After this decision, an angry letter
was sent to SADC from the court’s four judges – its president and a former
chief justice of Mauritius, Ariranga Pillay, along with Rigoberto Kambovo,
Onkernetse Tshosa and Frederick Chomba from Angola, Botswana and Zambia
respectively.
The judges speak of “illegal and arbitrary decisions” taken
“in bad faith” by SADC. They say they were “shabbily treated and sent
packing overnight, without any reason being given and without a hearing,
like an employee who had been caught red-handed while committing a gross
misconduct”. They are claiming compensation “both material and moral” for
being “unlawfully and arbitrarily denied reappointment”.
Like Kuveya,
the judges believe SADC’s decision to close the court follows Zimbabwe’s
anger over the tribunal’s decisions on that country’s human rights
infringements. They warn the move would “send the worst possible signal… to
potential investors, donors and the international community” that the
highest authorities of SADC at best “only pay lip service to the principles
of human rights, democracy and the rule of law”.
l Justice Pillay has
agreed to come to South Africa to address the issue at a public meeting. He
is due to speak on Monday July 11 at 6pm at Werksmans Attorneys in 5th
Street, Sandton.
Harare, June 30, 2011 - Zimbabwe's continued political bickering
is seriously chasing away potential investment and causing much mayhem in
the country, a top corporate official has confirmed.
Herbert Nkala,
current Chairman of FBC Financial Hldings Limited (FBCL) said despite the
fact that last year Zimbabwe had grown by an impressive 8,1 percent, this
growth was likely to be "slackened as political and business uncertainty
increases".
Nkala, past Chairman of the government-controlled Zimbabwe
Newspapers (1980) Limited, another Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE)-listed
concern, said: "Having attained a growth of 8,1 percent in 2010, the economy
is finally starting to show signs of sustainable recovery.
"However,
growth is likely to be slackened as political and business uncertainty
increases. There is need for deeper reforms focused on economic as well as
sector policies to consolidate recovery, address vulnerabilities, and put
the economy on a path to higher growth and employment.'"
Nkala is also
current Chairman of the wealthy Turnall Holdings Limited (THL), the cash-cow
of FBC Holdings Limited. Last year Turnall chalked up a profit of more than
$4,9 million and injected this into the FBC Holdings' dwindling
coffers.
Turnall then became the biggest contributor to Group profit,
with a profit of $4,9 million before income tax. FBC Holdings Limited
then immediately made a profit of about $1,5 after the Turnall
windfall.
"There are several scenarios for the economy ahead, but all of
them are ultimately linked to Zimbabwe's political economy and governance
situation," Nkala told FBC Holdings shareholders gathered in
Harare.
"External finance will be necessary for the recovery to take
hold, but finance will not come in unless policy uncertainty is
reduced.
"Inflationary pressures will remain substantial due to firming
foreign currencies and, in particular, the South African Rand, as well as
possible wage increases.
"The FBC Group's diversified portfolio, lean
structure and adequate capital resources leave it poised to seize
opportunities as they arise in the recovering economy."
For the
period ended December 31, 2010, FBC Holdings Limited recorded a profit
before income tax of $5 million.
The Bank's capital at $23 million
comfortable exceeds the minimum regulatory capital requirement of $12,5
million. Nkala said it "leaves room for other capital demanding
initiatives".
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), currently under the
stringent guidance of Governor, Dr Gideon Gono, has laid down these
stringent minimum capital regulatory requirements for all local commercial
banks operating in the country.
FBC Limited is listed on the Zimbabwe
Stock Exchange (ZSE) with a market capitalisation of $20 674 978, up from
$12 623 465 in 2009.The share price currently stands at $2c
each.
It's Chief Executive is John Mushayavanhu, who also doubles up as
President of the Bankers Association of Zimbabwe (BAZ).
The government has been given a two weeks ultimatum to address
the Zimbabwe Nurses Association Harare Province's grievances or risk
crippling industrial action.
The nurses accuse government of
backtracking on its promises, saying their salaries have been eroded by a
general increase in prices of basic commodities that have seen the poverty
datum line for a family of six being pegged at around $502.
Speaking
to reporters soon after a heated meeting attended by its members, Zimbabwe
Nurses Association Harare Provincial Chairman, Mr. Mugove Chipfurutse said
his organisation has decided to down tools if nothing materialises within
the two week window period.
Turning to the issue of locums which is money
paid for overtime duties, Mr. Chipfurutse said it is disheartening to note
that government is owing nurses allowances backdated to December last year,
a situation that he said has gone too far.
The ultimatum by nurses
follows a similar one by the Progressive Teachers Union of
Zimbabwe.
The disgruntlement within the civil service has been a result
of the refusal by Finance Minister, Tendai Biti to increase their salaries
in direct defiance to the directive by the GPA principals.
This week the Centre for
Community Development in Zimbabwe (CCDZ), held two community meetings in
Chihota’s Ward 10 and Ward 14 to raise awareness on the constitution-making
process, provide an update on progress in the implementation of the Global
Political Agreement reforms as well as prepare communities ahead of the
planned referendum and elections. Participants complained that they are
being forced to attend political rallies convened by ZANU PF including
meetings held by ZANU PF MP for Marondera West Rtd Brig Ambrose
Mutinhiri.
'We are forced to attend ZANU PF rallies.If you stay at home
you have your name entered into a register and they tell you that they will
deal with you come election time," said one female participant. She added
that: "ZANU PF members can meet anywhere, anytime even without police
clearance but if we want to meet we are first required to tell the sabhuku
(village head) or seek police clearance."
Most participants pointed
out that it has become increasingly difficult for them to wear their party's
(MDC) regalia and hold meetings without being victimised. Participants
expressed disappointment over the way civil and political rights continue to
be trampled even with the existence of the government of national
unity. "
Traditional leaders (sabhukus, madzishe) were also castigated
by participants for intimidating people by forcing them to attend ZANU PF
meetings. Participants were of the view that traditional leaders should be
impartial and should represent community interests rather than the interests
of ZANU PF. One participant was of the opinion that the new constitution
should do away with the office of traditional leaders completely as the
institution is inimical to the practice of democratic governance because
they are not elected and hence they do not represent the interests of any
particular group. One participant had this to say: "Mubumbiro idzva remutemo
hatidi masabhuku nemadzishe nekuti varikutsigira bato rimwe chete reZANU PF"
(In the new Constitution we should do away with the institution of
traditional leaders because it is biased in favour of ZANU
PF).
Participants also expressed concern over abuse of the Constituency
Development Funds (CDF). In Ward 14, one participant said that the Member of
Parliament of the area, Brigadier Mutinhiri, had brought a truck load of
door frames and window frames to the area and these were intended to be used
in the construction of the blocks at Furamera Primary and Secondary Schools.
However, after the meeting, attended by ZANU PF supporters only, the
material was transported back to some area and up to date, none of it has
been used to develop the school. Participants called for transparency and
accountability in the use of public resources from the leaders. They also
called for responsiveness from the leaders to the needs of the community and
vowed that they vote only for councilors, MPs and a President who can listen
to their grievances and stop victimization and harassment by politicians and
youths.
The need for a clear roadmap before elections was also an issue
that participants felt was important. According to the participants,
elections in this country will never be free and fair if they are going to
be held under the same conditions as those in the past decade. Participants
felt that security sector reforms are very important if the elections in
Zimbabwe are to be credible. Participants also said that during past
elections, the military was used to victimise people through Operation
Wavhotera papi? (Who have you voted for?).
"We commend SADC and
President Zuma for what they are doing-insisting on a clear elections
roadmap.The roadmap must address the issue of the soldiers.Nguva
yemaelections tinoona zvikopokopo zvichingotenderera munyika.(During
elections we see military helicopters flying around the country.We don't
want this because this instills fear in people," said one youth
participant.Participants also called for a new voter’s roll and observers
from SADC and the UN before during and after elections.
HARARE - A senior Zanu PF official has threatened
Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) operating in Masvingo province with
expulsion accusing them of dabbling in politics, sending the organisations,
among them international relief organisations, into panic mode. Zanu PF
Masvingo provincial Chairman, Lovemore Matuke accused the NGOs of using food
handouts and relief programmes to prop up Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s
MDC party.
“We must warn these NGOs who are assisting MDC to stick to
their mandate and not meddle in politics.
“We are aware of their
activities throughout the province where they are openly assisting the
British sponsored MDC formations,” said Matuke in an interview.
He
however did not name them but international organisations such as CARE
International Zimbabwe, Christian Care and Dutch Care have been soft targets
in the past.
This is not the first time that Zanu PF officials have
laid such allegations on relief organisations.
The organisations
provide much needed food aid to desperate rural folks in the drought-prone
province.
Matuke accused the organisations of taking advantage of the
desperate situation of the villagers to dabble in politics.
South Africa’s opposition Democratic
Alliance (DA) party has leveled strong criticism at regional ministers after
they removed the Zimbabwe crisis from their agenda this week. The
Ministerial Committee of the SADC Troika on Security and Defence this week
said it was decided last Thursday in Lusaka that Zimbabwe would no longer be
discussed in their meetings because the situation in the country had
“normalized”.
The Ministerial Committee said further action will now be
left to SADC’s appointed facilitator, South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma.
South Africa’s opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) reacted to the
development this week saying they were “deeply concerned”. In a statement
on Thursday the DA deputy Minister for international relations, Stevens
Mokgalapa, said the party would write to the Troika’s Ministerial Committee
and to President Zuma, to question the grounds for removing Zimbabwe from
their agenda.
The statement pointed to some recent incidents of
intimidation and violence in Zimbabwe, including last week’s arrest of
Minister Jameson Timba, saying these are “not the actions of a regime with a
stable political environment”. Minister Mokgalapa described the ongoing
abuses as “a powerful illustration of Robert Mugabe’s determination to
entrench repressive, tyrannical rule”.
The DA called on the regional
grouping to “exert its full might to pressure the Mugabe government into
taking decisive steps towards democratic reform. Until conditions in
Zimbabwe are sufficiently stable to allow for the hosting of free and fair
elections, Zimbabwe should remain very much on the Ministerial Committee’s
agenda.
In Zimbabwe the deputy Minister for Justice, MDC-T MP Obert Gutu
said the continuing crisis should remain on the Troika’s agenda, but there
needs to be less emphasis on SADC as the solution.
“The crisis is an
internal problem and the solution lies with Zimbabweans themselves”, Gutu
explained. “Don’t expect too much from SADC countries because you must
remember they have their own internal problems to solve,” he
added.
But Phillip Pasirayi from the Crisis Coalition said SADC should
remain engaged, along with other campaigns for democratic freedom. “We must
adopt a three-pronged approach where we engage SADC but continue with
demonstrations, protests and other campaigns,” Pasirayi explained. We
were unable to reach the DA for comment.
As we
reported, starting this Thursday SW Radio Africa will exclusively be publishing
a list of Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) agents working in and outside
Zimbabwe. The document is dated 2001 and is a list of ‘operatives’ working at
the time.
We will serialise the 480+ names alphabetically over six
weeks. A number of the people on the list may have retired or passed away, but
there will be many who are still serving.
Our list starts with Hamad Adam
who we have been able to verify is deployed at the Zimbabwean embassy in Germany
as a ‘political councillor.’ Sources at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in
Harare, unaware we knew he was CIO, confirmed his deployment as a councillor and
told us Adam has been in Germany for over 5 years now and is due to finish his
‘stint’ next month.
In the run-up to the violent June 2008 one-man
presidential election run-off, Adam was temporarily deployed back in his home
area of Mabvuku, Harare. This was the same area where MDC-T activist Tonderai
Ndira was abducted by 10 armed state security agents. Sources we spoke to placed
Adam in the area at the same time, with his presence there said to involve
‘campaigning’ for ZANU PF.
The Director General of the CIO, Happton
Bonyongwe, is number 8 on the list. His name is often spelled Happyton, but the
correct spelling is Happton. Bonyongwe is a retired Brigadier in the Zimbabwe
National Army and our sources say he bypasses State Security Minister Sidney
Sekeramayi and reports directly to Robert Mugabe. Under his watch the CIO direct
most of the abductions, torture and murder of opposition activists.
At
number 69 is Simon Chisorochengwe, listed as a Deputy Intelligence Officer. He
shot to prominence via his well publicized attempts to destroy the Zimbabwe
Liberators’ Platform (ZLP), a rival war vets association which is independent of
ZANU PF interference and manipulation. Although most media report refer to him
as Samuel, his correct name on the list is Simon.
Chisorochengwe
engineered a trumped-up case in which then ZLP leader Wilfred Mhanda (Dzinashe
Machingura) and former national programmes coordinator Wilson Nharingo, were
jointly charged with theft by conversion. Using his influence Chisorochengwe
ensured the case dragged on for more than 2 years. In June 2007 the presiding
magistrate eventually threw out the case.
At number 56 is Edward Chinoza,
another ‘Deputy Intelligence Officer’. Investigations have revealed that Chinoza
is working in the newly autonomous country of South Sudan as the Consul General.
Number 42 is Paul Chikawa, a Deputy Intelligence Officer at the time the
list was leaked in 2001. Last year it was reported that the pensions of two
retired soldiers were stolen in a well-orchestrated scam involving bank
officials and accomplices allegedly linked to the national registry office.
Chikawa, one of the victims, was referred to as a retired soldier but from our
list he actually works for the CIO and is believed to be currently deployed in
Hong Kong.
At number 34 is a notorious state security agent known as
Maxwell Chidzamba (spelt Chidzambwa in some reports). In January 2008 he
allegedly took part in the attempted murder of prominent MDC-T activist Shepherd
Maisiri, a poor farmer in the Inyati Resettlement area.
Chidzamba and
his gang of seven, on the orders of then State Security Minister Didymus Mutasa,
bundled Maisiri into a jute bag, then into a truck and dumped him in the Rusape
Dam. He was only saved by fishermen laying their nets that night. People in the
area usually refer to Chidzamba as a war vet, but our list says he is a CIO
operative.
Ms Cynthia Fungai Manjoro is a 26 year old information
and technology specialist graduate from Zimbabwe National University of Science
and Technology who works for a private commercial company in
Harare.
Ms Cynthia
Manjoro pictured with her son.
On 29 May 2011 her
world was quickly and unexpectedly turned upside when police arrested her and
her brother Steven in Harare, not on suspicion of committing any crime, but as
bait to arrest her alleged ‘boyfriend’ whom they suspected of being connected to
the murder of a police rare.
Her mother and
friends testify that Ms. Manjoro is a peace-loving person with a passion for
human rights advocacy. Notwithstanding that the mother of a two year old son was
nowhere near the scene of the alleged crime, she has endured life in custody for
a month now together were also randomly picked up and put in custody in the
absence of a shred of evi-dence linking them to the alleged
crime.
Their only crime
is that they are perceived to be MDC activists. Despite Ms Manjoro providing the
police with contact details and address of her alleged boyfriend whom they are
after, they still refuse to release her and denied access to legal rep--lice
custody since her arrest last month. The case of Ms Cynthia Manjoro and 23
others is a classical example of how elements within the police are using
persecution. And yet, perhaps as an alarming signal that the Zimbabwean society
is now normalized the abnormal, there has been little outcry over such a
travesty of justice.
If police suspect
Ms Cynthia Manjoro’s so-called boyfriend of com-mitting a crime, then they
should simply look for the said person without unfairly and needlessly depriving
Ms Manjoro of priced liberty.
On appearance in
court Fungai Manjoro is being held as bait.’As if deprivation of personal
liberty is not enough injustice, Ms Manjoro and 23 others have complained in
court that po-lice assaulted them while in police custo-dy. Ms Manjoro told the
court through her lawyer – Charles Kwaramba of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights
– that police assaulted her on the knees forcing her to disclose information on
the whereabouts of her alleged boyfriend. Several others also showed the
magistrate presiding over the case their wounds and bruises they suf-fered as a
result of the assaults by police.
The magistrate has
since ordered an investigation into the assaults of Ms. Manjoro and others but
all 24 remain in custody. Close relatives worry about Ms Manjoro’s health as she
is asthmatic.
We bring the
plight and case of Ms. Cynthia Manjoro and 23 others to the at-tention of the
international community we a plea to action in support of these victims of
police brutality who are mere victims of persecution through
prosecu-tion.
Circumstances of
their arrest and ill-treatment in police custody reinforce our calls for urgent
reform of Zimbabwe’s criminal justice system. We strongly urge groups like
Amnesty International to adopt Ms Manjoro and 23 others as pris-oners of
conscience and Human Rights Watch to closely monitor their treatment to ensure
that justice is done immediately. We call on Zimbabwe authorities to immediately
release Ms Manjoro and 23 justice to the attention of SADC leaders.
Dewa Mavhinga – Crisis in Zimbabwe
Coalition Regional Coordinator
International consumers have this week been urged to boycott any
diamonds from Zimbabwe’s controversial Chiadzwa diamond fields, until human
rights abuses there have stopped.
Last week a meeting of the diamond
trade’s international watchdog, the Kimberley Process (KP), ended in
stalemate on Zimbabwe’s trade future, with concern still high about the
situation at Chiadzwa. But despite ongoing reports of rampant smuggling,
incidents of violence and human rights abuses, the KP chairman last week
announced that Zimbabwe could resume exports.
The unilateral decision by
the DRC’s Mathieu Yamba, said to be a known ally of the Robert Mugabe
regime, has prompted calls for a boycott of Zimbabwe’s stones. Last week
both Canada and America insisted that the decision was against KP protocol
because there was no consensus from all KP members. At the same time the US
based Rapaport trading group re-issued its trade alert on Chiadzwa stones,
urging diamond dealers not to accept any diamonds sourced from Zimbabwe’s
alluvial fields.
Last week Israel also distanced itself from Yamba’s
decision, announcing that it would stop and search any diamond shipments
that come from countries known to be dealing with Zimbabwe, namely China and
India.
Leading rights organisation, Human Rights Watch, has this week
also called for consumers not to buy Chiadzwa diamonds and has also urged
the KP governments to suspend diamond sales until the Zim dispute is
resolved. Senior Human Rights Watch researcher Tiseke Kasambala told SW
Radio Africa on Thursday that the decision by the KP’s Yamba is “atrocious,”
in light of the situation at Chiadzwa.
“We have credible reports of
beatings, shootings, dogs being set on villagers, and other abuses at the
hands of the military,” Kasambala said.
She added; “This (decision by the
KP chair) is a terrible tragedy for the KP because it erases all the good
work it has done in the past. The fact that it now refuses to deal with
broader issues of human rights is a really sad indictment of the
institution.”
Diamond exports from Chiadzwa have been suspended since
June 2009 because of police and military abuses in the minefields. These
include killings, beatings, forced labor and rampant smuggling of diamonds,
all in contravention of KP standards. In November 2009 the Zim government
and the KP agreed to a joint work plan, in which Zimbabwe promised to carry
out a phased withdrawal of the armed forces from the diamond fields and to
allow a monitor to examine all diamond exports to certify that they met KP
standards.
None of these requirements have been met and the KP has
been deadlocked for almost a year over what to do. Human Rights Watch said
in statement that this dispute has “highlighted the failure of the
consensus-based decision-making process to address government
noncompliance.”
“The members have not been able to reach consensus to
revise the KP rules to explicitly prohibit the sale of diamonds by
governments that committed abuses to obtain them. Under the rules, a
conflict diamond is narrowly defined as one sold by a rebel group to wage
war against a government. That definition has left a major loophole since it
does not prevent a government like Zimbabwe's from committing abuses when it
mines or sells diamonds,” Human Rights Watch said.
Robert Mugabe is being favoured once again, to the detriment of his
people
Jun 30th 2011 | HARARE | from the print edition
THE
Kimberley Process (KP) is in danger of collapse. Set up in 2003, the system
is supposed to end the trade in “blood diamonds” which illicitly finance
civil wars. But its Congolese chairman has unilaterally decided to let sales
from Zimbabwe’s disputed Marange diamond fields resume. America, the
European Union, Canada and Israel are hotly contesting the move. Rulings by
the 49-member body, representing 75 diamond-producing and -trading
countries, are supposed to be unanimous.
Ever since diamonds were
first discovered in a 60,000-hectare site in Marange in eastern Zimbabwe in
2006, reports of killings, torture, corruption, bribery, looting, smuggling
and political skulduggery have been rife. The stakes are enormous. Tendai
Biti, Zimbabwe’s finance minister, has described the field as “the biggest
find of alluvial diamonds in the history of mankind”. Potential revenue has
been estimated at $1 billion-2 billion a year. One mining expert involved in
the area reckons it is “much, much more”. The IMF put Zimbabwe’s entire GDP
last year at $7.5 billion.
Following the announcement of the find by a
London-registered company, African Consolidated Resources (ACR), tens of
thousands of locals and foreigners rushed to the area to try their luck.
Diamonds were being scooped up by the handful. President Robert Mugabe’s
ruling Zanu-PF party quickly moved to claim the fields as its own,
cancelling ACR’s prospecting rights and sending in the army to oust the
panners and local inhabitants and to seal off the area. At least 200 people
were killed, many of them by bullets fired from army helicopters. Some
evicted civilians were then forced back by soldiers to mine the diamonds for
a pittance.
In the face of growing reports of human-rights violations,
the KP imposed a ban on all further sales of Marange diamonds. But
production, mainly by two South African outfits in joint ventures with the
Zimbabwean government, continued. By June last year 4.6m carats, worth $1.7
billion—money the cash-strapped government sorely needed—had been
stockpiled. A month later, following a report by KP’s monitor, Abbey
Chikane, a South African, claiming that Zimbabwe was now fully complying
with KP rules, two small sales of Marange diamonds were permitted, though no
more since then.
On June 24th, however, at the end of a four-day KP
meeting in Congo, the body’s chairman, Mathieu Yamba, announced that the two
Zimbabwean-South African joint ventures, Mbada Diamonds and Marange
Resources, could resume diamond sales. NGOs, who have continued to monitor
the disputed fields, are aghast. They say that human-rights abuses,
smuggling and other blatant breaches of KP’s rules are still going on, with
most of the proceeds going into the pockets of army leaders and Zanu-PF
bigwigs. Mr Biti says the Treasury has seen barely a cent.
Western
members of the KP insist that Mr Yamba’s announcement, not having been
approved by the required consensus, is invalid. They, together with the
World Diamond Council, are asking international diamond traders not to touch
Marange diamonds. But they may not be able to stem the flood of illicit gems
pouring out of Zimbabwe, to be snapped up in Bahrain, China, India and
Lebanon, among others. Many poor countries have long regarded the KP as a
plot by Western countries to control the diamond trade—and thereby prices.
This could sound its death knell—and help Mr Mugabe keep himself and his
party afloat.
WASHINGTON, Jun
30, 2011 (IPS) - Following a recent procedural breakdown of one of the
world's leading "blood diamond" watchdogs, experts warn that controversial
stones from the Marange fields of Zimbabwe may soon find their way into the
hands of unknowing consumers.
The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme
(KP), a voluntary self- regulation body, monitors the diamond industry by
labeling shipments of conflict-free diamonds with a government-validated
certificate, which guarantees consumers that their purchases do not finance
human rights abuses.
The KP's procedural guidelines require its 49
members, which represent 75 countries, to reach an absolute consensus over
the status of a diamond shipment before the product is
certified.
Last week, the KP convened in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of
Congo, to deliberate on whether or not Marange diamonds met KP's standards
of production.
Notwithstanding the members' failure to reach the
required consensus, exports of KP-certified diamonds from the Marange fields
resumed – a move that has severely jeopardised the watchdog's credibility in
the international community.
"The United States is deeply
disappointed with the Kinshasa [proceedings] as [they] related to Zimbabwe,"
Victoria Nuland, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, said in a
statement last week.
"The United States believes that progress with
respect to exports from the Marange area of Zimbabwe can occur solely
through a mechanism agreed to by consensus among KP participants. Contrary
to some [reports], the Kinshasa Intercessional did not reach a consensus
text.
"We believe that work toward a solution must continue, and that
until consensus is reached, exports from Marange should not proceed," she
asserted.
Since Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe quickly seized
control of the Marange diamond fields following their discovery in 2006,
exports from the area have generously funded his repressive party and come
under a harsh spotlight in the international community.
According to
a 2009 report by Human Rights Watch, Mugabe's soldiers have massacred at
least 200 individual miners and enlisted conscripted labourers - including
children – who work in appalling conditions in locations where reports of
torture and murder have gone unpunished.
A statement by HRW last week
reported that the Kinshasa Intersessional came three months after its new
chairperson Mathieu Yamba made a unilateral announcement authorising
Zimbabwe to export Marange stones without any monitoring of human rights
abuses or proof of compliance with KP requirements.
"Miners,
retailers, and consumers have relied on the Kimberley Process to stop blood
diamonds from being sold, but with Yamba's decision, the KP has betrayed
their trust," said Arvind Ganesan, business and human rights director at
Human Rights Watch.
"What the KP has done here is essentially legitimised
a dictator," Tom Zoellner, author of "The Heartless Stone: A Journey through
the World of Diamonds, Deceit and Desire", told IPS. "The industry was
acting in enlightened self interest when they [created] the KP, but it was
never the ironclad mechanism that they sold it as...now, it has discredited
itself thoroughly as a regulatory body."
The KP is no stranger to
such criticism. Since its inception in 2000, a response to a decade of
pressure from the United Nations, KP's protocol has often come under fire
for conceptual weaknesses that limit its regulatory viability; particularly,
its consistent failure to articulate a comprehensive definition of the term
"conflict" even while purporting to be a global watchdog of "conflict
diamonds".
"It had no provisions for when a government brutalises its own
people," Zoellner told IPS. "When the Marange fields were discussed, the
[KP] was one of the greatest gifts that came to Mugabe."
HRW added
that, "[According to the KP's] rules, a conflict diamond is narrowly defined
as one sold by a rebel group to wage war against a government."
"That
definition has left a major loophole since it does not prevent a government
like [Mugabe's] from committing abuses when it mines or sells diamonds," HRW
said.
Zoellner added that the KP's recently demonstrated indifference to
its own established procedures should "serve as a signal for people to have
even less confidence in the KP than [before]," and sharply question the
group's ability to govern the international industry.
While
Australia, Canada and the EU have joined the U.S. in refusing to recognise
Zimbabwean diamonds as "conflict free", others have been less inclined to
take a moral stand.
The South Africa Diamond and Precious Metals
Regulator (SADPMR) announced in a notice to its members, "we will [continue
to] accept imports of rough diamonds from Zimbabwe."
Absent a
universally accepted ban, China – Zimbabwe's close ally – is likely to
follow suit.
Zoellner warned that the proliferation of conflict diamonds
in these countries would generate unintentional involvement in the blood
diamond industry, even among consumers whose countries have denounced the
trade.
"Diamonds on the international market all go into a single pool.
The reality is that the consumer has no control over where the diamond
originated," Zoellner told IPS.
As the week advances without any
apparent solutions to divisions among KP members, more shipments of conflict
diamonds are sailing around the world, leaving open the possibility that
consumers will unintentionally buy diamonds from the bloodstained Marange
fields.
"I think this does represent a disgraceful chapter in the history
of the diamond business and a lesson for the consumer," Zoellner told IPS.
"We would do well to think about the social misery that this natural
resource has brought along with its benefits."
Zimbabwe can only hold free, fair and uncontested elections
after the completion of a clear roadmap, the MDC Secretary General and Finance
Minister, Hon Biti said yesterday.
Addressing hundreds of Kuwadzana
residents in Harare at a monthly feedback meeting in the suburb last night, Hon.
Biti said the roadmap would look into various issues that need to be sorted out
before the country could hold any election that would not be in
dispute.
Some issues to be looked into are the Electoral Amendment and
the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission Bills which will be debated in Parliament
soon.
“On the current voters’ roll, we have over six million registered
voters when in reality we have about only two million genuine voters and the
rest are ghost voters.
“You will find an area that is infested only
with snakes and birds being recorded as having 45 000 registered voters while an
urban area with thousands of people will only have 8 000 registered voters.
Therefore, we need to clean up the voters’ roll before we go for the next
elections to avoid a repeat of what happened in the past,” he said.
Hon.
Biti added; “Voting in future will also not be as cumbersome as it was before.
We will ensure that voters are able to register to vote and exercise their
right. The police will not be involved in the voting process like before but
they will only be there to provide protection and maintaining peace”.
On
the Human Rights Commission Bill, Hon. Biti said the Bill would look at how best
the people’s basic rights are respected in this country.
“We do not want
a situation where one lives in fear when the day of elections is announced.
The people’s rights should be respected and unnecessary arrests would be a thing
of the past. The rule of law should be in place and functioning,” he
said.
Hon. Biti said during its next sitting, Parliament would look into
the Depositors’ Protection Bill that will put in place laws that safeguard
people’s savings in the banks.
“We don’t want a situation similar to 2009
when people’s saving simply disappeared from the banks,” he said to a wild
applause from the residents.
He explained that the country was failing to
increase the salaries of the civil servants because revenue collected in the
country was very low and below the Ministry of Finance’s target while most
companies were operating below target with some closing down due to the
unfavourable political and economic environment.
“The other challenge we
are facing is that we have over 75 000 ghost workers on the payroll with some of
the ghost workers getting five monthly payslips in his or her name. This has to
be looked into in order to improve the civil servants’ salaries.
“Also,
Zimbabwe is one of the few countries that are not getting loans to the Treasury
from the international community because the international community view
Zimbabwe as a country in a very volatile situation,” Hon. Biti said, appealing
for an end to Zanu PF state sponsored violence and unlawful arrests in order for
Zimbabwe to join the family of nations.
Hon. Nelson Chamisa, the MDC
National Organising Secretary and Kuwadzana MP told the residents that the
disbursement of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) would start soon. He
said they had carried out wide consultations with the local leadership on how
best the residents would benefit from the US$50 000 fund.
The councillor
for the area, Urayayi Mangwiro castigated police constabularies for confiscating
goods from vendors on a daily basis, a situation which was seriously affecting
the livelihoods of most families.
He said the Harare City Council was
working hard on improving service delivery and by the end of the year the
council would have increased its fleet of refuse collection trucks to 45 from
the current 26.
Councillor Mangwiro said the council was working on
having Mazowe and Kunzvi dams supplying water to Harare as the city’s population
had increased to over 4 million residents in recent years and therefore Lake
Chivero was failing to cope.
Present at the feedback meeting were; the
councillor for Ward 38, in Kuwadzana, Wilton Jangadzi, church leaders and senior
Kuwadzana district representatives from the MDC and Zanu PF.
MDC
provincial chairperson and Gokwe Kabuyuni MP arrested
Thursday,
30 June 2011
Hon. Costin Muguti the MDC provincial chairperson
for Gokwe Kabuyuni was arrested this morning outside the Kwekwe magistrate's
court by the police.
He was taken to Kwekwe Central Police Station where
the police opened dockets for three charges against him.
The three
charges are; undermining police’s authority at a rally at Manoti Business Centre
in Gokwe Kana on 18 June, inciting violence and taking pictures at a former Zanu
PF torture base without “authorisation”.
He is expected to appear in
court at the Gokwe magistrate’s court tomorrow.
Together, united,
winning, ready for real change!!
Harare - Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said
Thursday that the country's economic recovery was being affected by 'policy
paralysis' in the power-sharing government he formed with President Robert
Mugabe.
Addressing members of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions
(ZCTU) in Harare, the former trade unionist also ruled out a review of civil
servant salaries.
Zimbabwe's civil servants have been on strike since
last week, demanding a monthly salary increase to at least 500 dollars, from
the current average of about 200 dollars.
'We have a problem of
policy paralysis in the coalition government with some thinking this way and
some that way,' Tsvangirai told trade unionists.
'I certainly believe
that engagement with workers is the only way to go if we are serious about
developing the nation and fully recovering the economy,' the premier
added.
He was speaking at the launch of a ZCTU economic development
project titled 'Beyond the Enclave: Towards a pro-poor and inclusive
development strategy for Zimbabwe.'
ZCTU argues that the lowest paid
worker should get at least 500 dollars, which is the country's poverty line.
However the government says it has no money to pay civil servants such
salaries.
'The GDP (gross domestic product) of the country is around 7
billion dollars, if you are generous, and our debt is 7 billion dollars, so
we have nothing,' said Arthur Mutambara, Tsvangirai's deputy.
But in
an interview, ZCTU secretary Wellington Chibebe warned the government that
it was sitting on a time bomb.
'If you hear members of the army
complaining about salaries, then you know that it is a question of time. The
government will soon not be able to contain the situation,' Chibebe
said.
Mugabe, of Zanu-PF, wants to hold elections this year, ending the
coalition government with Tsvangirai, of the Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC). However the premier insists that key political reform must be
implemented first.
Johannesburg - South Africa issued 133,331 permits to
Zimbabwean migrants, allowing them to legally remain in the country, the
Department of Home Affairs reported Thursday.
In 2008, African
nationals, especially Zimbabweans, were victims of xenophobic outbreaks of
violence.
By the December 31 deadline last year, 275,762 Zimbabwean
nationals registered to legalize their residency. The total number in South
Africa is estimated to be up to several million people.
A report to
the Pan African Congress this week said Pretoria is failing to tackle the
discrimination problem and many officials are in denial about the
matter.
Jacob Mamabolo, from home affairs, said that not all the
Zimbabweans had picked up their permits. Others still needed to submit
further documentation and to have their fingerprints taken, so their
applications could be processed.
'The department continues to do
everything in its power to ensure it meets its obligation to document
Zimbabweans living in South Africa. However, we can only succeed with the
full support of all applicants,' Mamabolo said, according to the SAPA news
agency.
Jun. 30, 2011 By Bronwen Dachs, Catholic
News Service
CAPE TOWN, South Africa -- Zimbabweans fleeing
politically motivated violence at home often face hostility in South Africa,
said Father Chris Townsend, communications officer for the Southern African
Catholic Bishops' Conference.
"Zimbabweans face enormous stressors on
both sides of the border," Father Townsend told Catholic News Service in a
telephone interview from Pretoria.
In 2010, the number of refugees
seeking church help dropped by half compared to 2008 and 2009, but "now it
is increasing rapidly, largely because of intimidation and torture" of
President Robert Mugabe's opponents in Zimbabwe, Father Townsend
said.
Mugabe's supporters are campaigning for as-yet-unscheduled
elections.
Jesuit Father Oskar Wermter, who runs the order's
communications office in Harare, told Catholic News Service that incidences
of violence are "increasing dangerously" in Zimbabwe.
In what
analysts called xenophobic attacks, a group of South Africans in Polokwane
stoned to death a Zimbabwean they accused of killing two South Africans in a
house robbery; then the South Africans burned houses rented by
Zimbabweans.
Mid-June attacks in Limpopo province, which borders
Zimbabwe, have put Zimbabweans in South Africa "on high alert, with many
people feeling unsafe and intimidated," Father Townsend
said.
According to a priest in Makhado, a town in Limpopo, Zimbabweans
entering South Africa move swiftly through the province on their way to
Johannesburg or Pretoria, "presumably to look for work."
"They used
to spend longer in the town," Sacred Heart Father Frank Gallagher, pastor of
Queen of Peace Parish in Makhado, told CNS.
Father Gallagher's parish
distributes soup and bread to Zimbabweans who sleep in a field at the side
of the town's main road that leads to Johannesburg, 400 miles to the
southwest. He also runs a home for 16 boys who, unaccompanied by adults,
crossed Zimbabwe's border into South Africa.
In a pastoral letter read in
churches around South Africa June 19, the Southern African Catholic Bishops'
Conference urged South Africans to support refugees.
"We urge you, as
followers of Christ, to oppose the evil of xenophobia threatening to divide
the community of human beings," the bishops said.
"Each person should do
whatever he or she can to unite against this wickedness of xenophobia and
endeavor to build communities of love," they said.
"As refugees and
other displaced people continue to experience lack of love and suffer
injustices, we implore you to create communities that imitate the most Holy
Trinity, reciprocating love and compassion," the bishops said.
As well as
xenophobic attacks on Zimbabweans, the church is "very concerned about the
gangs" at the border that rape and steal from Zimbabweans as they make their
way into South Africa across the Limpopo River and through the African bush,
Father Townsend said.
Bishop Kevin Dowling of Rustenburg, a member of the
Solidarity Peace Trust, an ecumenical group of South Africans and
Zimbabweans, said that "severe poverty in South Africa, the lack of jobs
among young people and general hopelessness are a volatile cocktail" that
could help explain the xenophobic attacks.
He said elections in
Zimbabwe should be held only when the terms of the agreement that led to
Zimbabwe's unity government have been met. The unity government formed in
2009 after violence-plagued elections in 2008.
"To hold elections in a
vacuum, without a new constitution, is a recipe for further problems,"
Bishop Dowling said in a telephone interview from Rustenburg.
Civil
society in Zimbabwe needs to be "fully part of the constitution-making
process, and the Southern African Development Community must not let
anything derail the terms of the agreement, which forms the foundation for
free and fair elections," he said.
PM hails underprivileged Zim students for earning
U.S. scholarships worth $7 million
Harare, June
30th 2011: The United States Embassy today unveiled $7 million worth
of scholarships earned by 31 disadvantaged Zimbabwean students for the coming
academic year. The students, drawn from the country’s 10 provinces, were
praised by Prime Minister Tsvangirai for earning places at top American
universities and colleges thanks to the U.S. Student Achievers Program (USAP)
run by the Embassy’s Public Affair Section in Harare.
Among the 2011 USAP
group, three students are physically disabled, several are the heads of their
households having lost both parents, and others are the offspring of street and
market vendors. One scholarship recipient worked as a gold panner to pay his A
level fees and another will be the first Zimbabwean student in a wheelchair to
study in the United States.
“Today we celebrate
the potential of education to change our nations’ futures. This is a ceremony
to mark the meeting of merit and opportunity, as well as the power of investing
in the capacity of our youth for the future of society,” said Charles Ray,
U.S. Ambassador to Zimbabwe. “And while we do
this, it is also an opportunity to note the impact of positive cooperation
between our two nations, Zimbabwe and the United States of America. Education
is crucial to the success of both countries. As we share education resources
for the benefit of our young citizens, we both grow stronger.”
Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai was guest of honor at the event and hailed the USAP
initiative while encouraging students to exhibit the true Zimbabwean spirit of
hospitality and hard work.
“You must know that
as your Prime Minister, I attended a humble primary school in rural Buhera and I
did not have the great opportunity afforded to you today. So go and be good
students, respect your hosts and work hard. Exhibit the true Zimbabwean spirit,
that of hospitality and hard-work. Be vigilant,” said the Prime Minister.
In his congratulatory
message, Education, Sports, Arts and Culture Minister David Coltart welcomed
U.S. support to education in Zimbabwe. ”This year’s scholarship awards…will
enable still more students to pursue their goals and career paths through higher
education – something that they might not otherwise have been able to do.
Indeed, this generous support is particularly welcome at a time when families
are facing increased financial pressures,” wrote the minister.
The U.S. Student
Achievers Program (USAP) is a one-year intensive counseling program that assists
academically talented but economically disadvantaged A level students to obtain full
scholarships to top U.S. colleges and universities. The program helps the
students research the best academic programs for their talents, prepare for
standardized American university entrance exams, and write application essays.
The
U.S. Student Achiever Program (USAP), established in 1999 in Zimbabwe, has been
replicated by 15 other U.S. Embassies around the world, including Embassies in
Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Latvia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mongolia, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, and
Zambia. Since it began in Harare, over 200 Zimbabwean students have won full
scholarships covering tuition and fees, room and board, books and other expenses
for four year bachelor degree studies in the U.S.
#
# #
Comments and queries
should be addressed to Sharon Hudson-Dean, Public Affairs Officer.
Reporters Without
Borders condemns yesterday’s arrest of Nevanji Madanhire, the editor of
independent weekly The Standard, and Patience Nyangove, one of his
reporters, and the charges of criminal defamation and “publication of false
statements prejudicial to the state” that have been brought against
them.
“This latest case of judicial harassment of The Standard’s
journalists shows that government officials want to censor independent
media,” Reporters Without Borders said. “By criminalizing newspaper
articles, officials are trying to cover up the recent tension between the
two parties in the ruling coalition, President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF and
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
Designed to get outspoken media to censor themselves, these arrests and
charges are unacceptable. We fear they are a prelude to more arrests of
independent journalists.”
Madanhire, Nyangove and Loud Ramakgapola, the
human resources director of Alpha Media, the company that owns The Standard,
were arrested during a raid yesterday on the newspaper by members of the Law
and Order section of the Central Intelligence Department. Nyangove and
Ramakgapola were released yesterday evening, but Madanhire was held
overnight at Harare police headquarters and was due to be brought before a
judge late today.
The arrests were prompted by an article in The
Standard’s 26 June issue headlined “MDC-T fears for missing Timba’s life.”
It was about the arrest of Jameson Timba, a senior aide to Tsvangirai and a
minister of state in his government, on 24 June on his return to Zimbabwe
after attending a special Southern African Development Community (SADC)
summit on 11-12 June in South Africa.
During the summit, a South
African newspaper quoted Timba as describing Mugabe as a “liar.” Leading
Zanu-PF member Jonathan Moyo reacted by accusing Timba and Tsvangirai of
insulting the president and calling for their arrest. Zimbabwean journalists
who reported these developments are being accused of violating article 31 of
the criminal code on defaming the government.
Reporters Without
Borders has learned that several other leading journalists are threatened
with the possibility of arrest at Zanu-PF’s behest. Journalists with the
Daily News and Zimbabwe Independent who wrote similar articles are also
reportedly being accused of trying to tarnish the president’s image.
THE immediate but
suspicious supension of the hotel group the Rainbow Towers Group (RTG) from
the lacklustre Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) was allegedly done over a cloud
of uncertainty because the firm was not told about this, Chipo Mutasa, RTG
Chief Executive, has revealed. 30.06.1106:25am Ngoni Chanakira
Harare
In an emotional address to visibly worried shareholders
gathered at her five star Rainbow Towers Hotel in Harare, Mutasa said she
and her Board Members were actually surprised when the Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe (RBZ) boss, Dr Gideon Giono, "suddenly informed us that we were
going to be suspended from the Stcok Exchange".
"We were actually
shocked by the decision to suspend us from the ZSE," an emotional Mutasa
said sitting and clad in a pink outfit in a full house gathered at the
Jacaranda Room at her Rainbow Towers Hotel, formerly Sheraton Harare
Hotel.
The hotel is currently undergoing a major US$5,9 million upgrade
to refurbish dilapidated equipment and spruce up rooms, get new corporate
stationery, cutlery, paint dirty walls, as well as replace stinking and worn
out brown carpets.
"We were suspended but this was illegal," Mutasa
said. "We then received a letter from the ZSE saying our suspension was 'not
in order' and that we should return to the bourse because they had found
nothing wrong done by the RTG."
She said they had behaved above board
because all the cash borrowed from the Rennaisance Bank Limited (RNB) had
been done above board because they had borrowed cash from the commercial
entity before.
"We owe RMB about $5,1 million and not $5,7 mllion as is
being reported," she said. "BBut hthis money came from the Afreximbank and
we have borrowed from them before through RMB," Mutasa said.
"We will
get our cash back because we have a guarantee for it and we will seek legal
advice for this cash to be brought back to the RTg group."
Mutasa, said
their relationship with the tarnished rennaisance Merchant bank (RMB)
controlled by tycoon Patterson timba, was "very cordial and
truthful".
The RTG is listed on the ZSE. It has a market capital;isation
of $1 645 495 543 on the bourse. The hotel Group's share price currently
stands at 3c. More than 100 shareholders attended the event held in
harare.
Doors were closed by 12:15 to allow only bona fide shareholders
to attend the lavish party thrown later during voting.
The Indigenization Ministry said Anglo-American, Rio Tinto, Freda
Rebecca, Mwana Africa and Mettallon Gold Zimbabwe were among the 173
companies that have already submitted indigenization plans
Jonga
Kandemiiri | Washington
More than 170 foreign mining companies have
submitted plans to Zimbabwean authorities detailing how they propose to
satisfy the indigenization program requirement that local black investors
assume a controlling equity stake of at least 51 percent.
The
companies filed well ahead of a September 30 deadline for
submissions.
The Indigenization Ministry issued a statement Monday saying
Anglo-American, Rio Tinto, Freda Rebecca, Mwana Africa and Mettallon Gold
Zimbabwe were among the 173 companies that have already submitted
indigenization plans.
Rio Tinto Communications and External Relations
Manager Israel Chokuwenga told VOA he was not in a position to respond to
questions.
Deputy Youth and Indigenization Minister Tongai Matutu told
VOA Studio 7 reporter Jonga Kandemiiri that the response by companies was
overwhelming and that his ministry would need at least three months to
evaluate and respond to the proposals.
Friends of Zimbabwe pledge broad support as Zimbabwe moves down the path of democracy and human rights
Harare, June 30, 2011 – The Friends of Zimbabwe group of
donor countries and multilateral organizations met in Brussels, Belgium on June
28 to discuss how to support the current political and economic situation in
Zimbabwe and efforts underway in the region to facilitate free and fair
elections. The group pledged it is, “ready to broaden our support as the country
moves further down the path of democracy and respect for human
rights.”
The
group released a communiqué June 28 praising stronger regional engagement and
reiterating its continued commitment and support for a prosperous and democratic
Zimbabwe. While commending macroeconomic stabilization begun in 2009, it also
emphasized that the economy remains fragile and in dire need of domestic and
foreign investment. The group repeated previous calls for an end to ongoing
political violence and intimidation, the disregard of human rights, and weak
rule of law, as well as politically-motivated arrests.
In particular, the group commended SADC and South African
President Zuma for the progress made in facilitating the implementation of the
Global Political Agreement and in calling for the necessary conditions for
democratic elections. The group stated, “We support this important process and
stand ready to review and adjust, as appropriate, the full range of our efforts
and policies in response to real progress in the democratization
process.”
The Friends of Zimbabwe group is composed of the principal donor
countries and multilateral organizations committed to improving Zimbabwe’s
democratic and economic development. Combined, group members provided Zimbabwe
with USD 587 million in assistance in 2010 and intends to further increase its
aid in 2011. Friends of Zimbabwe assistance is given to support democratic
reform, the reestablishment of basic health and education services, and
improving livelihoods and social protection for the poorest Zimbabweans,
especially women and children. The group also contributes to the recently
established ZIMFUND managed by the African Development Bank to support the
rehabilitation of critical water and power supplies.
HARARE
(AFP) – FIFA president Sepp Blatter will visit Zimbabwe next week, en route
to South Africa for a meeting of the International Olympic Committee, the
national football boss said Thursday.
"I can confirm he is arriving at
6:55 am (0455 GMT) on Monday," Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA)
president Cuthbert Dube told AFP, saying Blatter would officiate at a
regional women's football tournament in Harare.
The visit will be the
first-ever by the world football body's chief, and comes as Zimbabwe is
under investigation by FIFA over an alleged match-fixing scam in
Asia.
"We will discuss issues to do with professionalising the game and
how we are making sure that there is fair play in our football in view of
all those match-fixing allegations that tainted our game," Dube said in the
state-run Herald newspaper.
In 2009, then-ZIFA chief executive
Henrietta Rushwaya sent the national team to play unsanctioned friendlies in
Thailand, Syria and Malaysia linked to a betting syndicate.
Rushwaya
was subsequently fired for her actions in October last year.
She is also
said to have cleared former top league champions Monomotapa to travel to
Malaysia where they masqueraded as the national team.
A FIFA anti-graft
team had been expected this week in Harare, but Dube said he could not yet
confirm their visit.
By Thelma Chikwanha, Community Affairs Editor Thursday,
30 June 2011 18:16
HARARE - He is an old charmer with an amazing
sense of humour. This is probably President Robert Mugabe’s other side away
from the ruthless manner in which he deals with political
opponents.
After being told I was the reporter from the Daily News
who has been writing about his health problems and other stories on
politics, Mugabe threw mock punches at me. Hesitating and knowing his
reputation for “degrees in violence”, I stepped back but before I knew it he
had my hand.
“Why are you afraid?” he asked, beckoning me to come closer
so he could shake my hand in greeting. The grip was a bit firm.
Maybe
this was his way of emphasising how healthy he is after runaway speculation
that at 87, he is a spent force who now spends more time in the doctor’s
surgery than at the office.
The setting was Harare International Airport
yesterday, from where he was taking off to Equatorial Guinea to attend an
African Union (AU) Summit.
His spokesman George Charamba had invited me
as part of the Press corps to see the president off.
He did not take
any questions but promised an interview upon his return.
The man has
power and is clearly feared by his subordinates. Those around him are
swallowed by his aura.
Powerful men and women, including ministers,
twiddled their thumbs at Mugabe’s presence.
Their admiration of the
man hated by many for plunging the country into political and economic
turmoil went way beyond the call of duty.
His loyalists, of course,
always came in handy to push his godly image to the limits.
“I want
you to accompany the President to Kariba when he returns from Equatorial
Guinea and see if you can keep up with him climbing mountains. He is a
strong man,” said Information Minister Webster Shamu in reference to
photographer Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi and myself.
Shamu spoke glowingly
about a time when Mugabe and his entourage had to walk a long flight of
stairs after the elevator had malfunctioned.
“They (entourage members)
only managed to go halfway and they were finished. But President Mugabe was
still going strong,” said Shamu.
A day before our meeting, Mugabe had
been spotted at a clinic in Harare’s Avenues area, raising speculation about
his health which is reportedly taking a battering from prostate
cancer.
“Does he not have family? Does he not have children? He could
have taken his child there,” queried George Charamba, his
spokesman.
A former broadcaster turned massive Mugabe cheerleader, Shamu
took the chance to lecture on “patriotic journalism”.
“Journalists in
some parts of the world would never report about their presidents the way
some journalists here do. “No Journalist in America or even Germany will ever
report their president in that manner,” said Shamu.
Of course, in the
midst of praise singing Mugabe, Shamu forgot that in countries like the US
the president’s health is publicised to avoid speculation which brings
instability to countries like Zimbabwe.
Charamba chipped in saying:
“Former American President Ronald Reagan led the country even when his brain
was half dead but the world only got to know about it years
later.”
He probably wanted to say that whether the president is ill or
not he has to go on.
Reagan was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease
which causes dementia.
Local doctors say that at 87, one is prone to
dementia and at the Sadc Summit in Johannesburg recently, Mugabe referred to
President Jacob Zuma as Mandela.
I will wait patiently for the chance
to interview Mugabe when he returns. He promised it.
At least he is
not like some bunch of his bootlickers who are gunning for the arrest of
journalists.
Department for Politics and
Administration (POLAD)
University of Zimbabwe
P.O.Box MP167
Mount
Pleasant
Harare
Zimbabwe
Dear Sir or
Madam,
RE: DPhil
research proposal, “Towards a new theory – a critical analysis of the
militarization of Zimbabwe’s elections (2000 – 2011) and the implications for
good governance.”
Having exhausted all
official channels of communication, I have no option but use an open letter in
frustration at the wall of silence by the Department for Politics and
Administration regarding my research proposal which I submitted on
7th June 2011 by email. Despite getting feedback relatively well
until May, I am not getting a reply to my follow-ups for progress since then.
Telephones are not getting through either.
As I am about to
commemorate the acknowledgement of my application by the Academic Registrar’s
office on 12 July 2010 and a departmental assessor recommended ‘that the
candidate be allowed to register’, I am justifiably concerned by the delay. It
would be a very sad day if academic freedom was under threat at Zimbabwe’s
Bastion of Learning.
Constitution Watch Content Series 5/2011 of 28th June [Citizenship]
CONSTITUTION WATCH
CONTENT SERIES 5/2011
[28th June 2011]
Citizenship and the New
Constitution
Should the new
Constitution deal with citizenship?
Citizens form the basis
of every independent State because a State is an abstract concept comprising the
people who live within a defined area.Of the people who constitute a State it is the citizens who have a right
to determine who will govern them and, sometimes, to decide the form which their
government should take.The extent of
the rights accorded to citizens varies considerably from country to
country.
Because citizens are the
building-blocks, as it were, of the State, and because in most States the right
to vote and stand for public office is reserved to citizens, every State must
specify who its citizens are and the extent of their rights and duties in
relation to the government.This should
be done in the constitution because if it is left to ordinary legislation the
government may be tempted to deprive citizens of their citizenship, and hence of
their vote, if it thinks they will vote for the opposition.Citizenship, in other words, is too important
and fundamental to be left to ordinary legislation:the rules by which people acquire and lose
citizenship should be set out in the constitution itself.
Hence the new Zimbabwean
constitution must deal clearly and comprehensively with
citizenship.
History of Citizenship in
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe’s history will
almost certainly affect the way in which the new constitution deals with
citizenship.Between 1891 and 1948
everyone in this country was a British subject, and after 1948 they were
citizens of the self-governing colony of Southern Rhodesia.There was no such thing then as equal
citizenship:Black citizens were not
given the vote until 1961, and then only partially, and other restrictions
imposed on Black citizens were so onerous that their citizenship meant very
little.
At Independence full
citizenship was given to:
·everyone born in Zimbabwe,
whether before independence or after independence, other than children of
foreign diplomats, enemy aliens, illegal immigrants, or foreign
residents;
·everyone born outside
Zimbabwe, if his or her guardian parent was a citizen (but not if the guardian
parent was a citizen by descent) or an non-citizen resident of
Zimbabwe;
·everyone who acquired
citizenship by registration (i.e. became a naturalised Zimbabwean).
Dual or multiple citizenship
was specifically allowed — that is to say, people could be citizens of Zimbabwe
as well as of a foreign country.This
was generally regarded as a sop to Whites, most of whom were citizens of Britain
or South Africa, but as events showed it applied also to Zimbabweans of
Mozambican, Zambian and Malawian origin.
The right to dual
citizenship was removed from the Constitution in 1983 and Zimbabweans who were
dual citizens were required to renounce their foreign citizenship if they wanted
to remain citizens of Zimbabwe.This
proved difficult for the many Zimbabweans who were descendants of Mozambican,
Zambian and Malawian migrant workers, so from 1990 to 2005 they were given a
special dispensation (paragraph 3(1)(b) of Schedule 3 to the Constitution) so
that they could vote even though they had lost their citizenship.They were deprived of this right, however,
when it seemed likely that they would vote for the opposition.Since then the Citizenship of Zimbabwe Act
has been amended to allow them to “confirm” their citizenship and regain the
right to vote [though how they can
confirm something which has been taken from them is a
mystery].
One thing this history makes
clear is that citizenship should not become a plaything for politicians, to be
granted, taken away and restored at a political whim.It must be protected by the Constitution
itself.
Nature and
Responsibilities of Citizenship
Citizenship is a bundle
of rights and duties reflecting the relationship between an individual and a
State.The nature and extent of these
rights and duties vary from country to country.
Because of Zimbabwe’s
history, as outlined above, citizenship issues are likely to be contentious when
the new constitution is prepared, particularly the issue of dual
citizenship.To enable informed
decisions to be made on these issues, it may be helpful to examine the rights
and duties attaching to citizenship, and to see how far they extend to
non-citizens.
The following are the
main ones:
Right
to Protection from the State
Citizens are entitled to
protection from their State when they are within its borders and when they
travel outside it.The State protects
them by maintaining public order and ensuring that its laws are properly
enforced.In a country like Zimbabwe
where fundamental human rights are guaranteed by the Constitution, the State
must ensure that those rights are respected.When its citizens are in foreign countries, the State must do what it can
to uphold their rights in those countries.
The State’s duty to
protect its people extends to non-citizens within its borders.The police, for example, have just as much a
duty to investigate or prevent a crime committed against a Zambian or a South
African as they have in regard to a crime committed against a Zimbabwean.The citizenship of the victim is
immaterial.And the Constitution confers
on citizens and non-citizens alike the fundamental rights to life, liberty,
property and the protection of law.
Right
to vote
Most modern States give
their citizens the franchise, and some (Australia, for example) impose a duty on
citizens to cast their votes in national elections.It should be noted, though, that not all
citizens are allowed to vote:children
and lunatics cannot do so, and some countries (Zimbabwe for example) deprive
long-term prisoners of the right to vote.Some countries (again Zimbabwe is an example) impose residence
qualifications on the right to vote so that citizens living outside the country
usually cannot vote in elections.
It should also be noted
that while the right to vote in national elections is usually reserved to
citizens, some countries allow non-citizens to vote in local authority
elections.Zimbabwe used to, but does
not now.And, as pointed out above,
between 1990 and 2005 people of Zambian, Mozambican and Malawian origin were
allowed to vote in national elections even though they were not Zimbabwean
citizens.
Duty
of Allegiance or Loyalty to the State
As a corollary to the
State’s duty to protect its citizens, citizens owe a general duty of allegiance
to their State [it is the function of the
courts, not the Executive, to determine the extent of this duty].If citizens break their allegiance they may
be guilty of treason or an equivalent statutory crime.This applies not only to citizens,
however:States often expect all
residents to be loyal whether they are citizens or not.Hence in Zimbabwe treason can be committed by
citizens and by non-citizens who are ordinarily resident in the country (section
20 of the Criminal Law Code).
The
Obligation to Perform Military Service when Required
Arising out of their duty
to be loyal to their State, citizens are expected to perform military service in
defence of the State when called
upon to do so.Again, this duty extends
beyond citizens.In Zimbabwe, although
in practice there is no national service in the form of military conscription,
the National Service Act remains in force and it imposes obligations on all
residents, whether citizens or not.
The
Duty to Obey the Laws of the State
Citizens have a duty to
obey the laws of their State but once again this duty is imposed equally on
citizens and non-citizens.There is
probably no law in Zimbabwe, apart from laws relating to elections, that apply
only to citizens.
The
Duty to Pay Taxes
Just as citizens and
non-citizens must obey the laws of a State, so must they pay taxes to the State,
because tax laws are not imposed on the basis of citizenship.Liability to tax usually depends on the
taxpayer’s residence or on the nature of the transaction that is being
taxed.Sometimes, as in the case of VAT,
even temporary visitors are taxed.
The
Duty to Respect the National Flag and the National Anthem
This duty is imposed on
citizens by section 4(2)(b) of the Constitution.But non-citizens are expected to show similar
respect.
When the rights and
obligations that constitute citizenship are analysed, therefore, it can be seen
that there is little difference between citizens and non-citizens except in
regard to voting in national elections — and even there, not all citizens are
allowed the vote and in the past even non-citizens have been allowed to
vote.
The issues of who should
be given citizenship under the new constitution, and whether dual citizenship
should be allowed, must be viewed in this light.We now turn to examine those issues, as well
as the further issue of whether citizens should be allowed to hold dual
citizenship.
Who Should be Given
Citizenship Under the New Constitution?
Existing
Citizens
Obviously, everyone who
is a citizen of Zimbabwe before the new constitution comes into force must
continue to be one afterwards.This is a
point that was ignored when the citizenship provisions of the present
Constitution were replaced by Amendment No. 19.Existing rights of citizenship were not preserved, thereby throwing into
doubt the citizenship of all prior citizens from President Mugabe
downwards.Such an absurd result cannot
have been intended, but it shows how important it is for the new Constitution to
preserve existing rights.
Citizens
by birth
Everyone born in Zimbabwe
should be a citizen by birth under the new constitution, irrespective of the
nationality of his or her parents.The
only restriction might be that at least one of the parents should be lawfully
resident in the country.This would
avoid the possibility of people coming here from another country to have a
child, just so that the child can be a citizen of this country (which happens
regularly in the United States).It is
important to ensure that children born in this country are not stateless,
because although Zimbabwe is not a party to the UN Convention on the Reduction
of Statelessness, it is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights, which states in article 24.3 that every child has a right to
nationality.Moreover, the African
Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child requires member states to ensure
that their constitutional legislation provide for children to be accorded the
nationality of the States in whose territory they are born if they have no other
nationality (see article 6.4 of the Charter).Under our current law a child could be left stateless if neither of the
child’s parents is a citizen of Zimbabwe and the child does not acquire
citizenship of another country through them (which could quite easily be the
case – a citizen by descent usually cannot pass citizenship on to his
children).
Citizens
by descent
A person born outside
Zimbabwe, either of whose parents is a citizen of Zimbabwe, should be a citizen
by descent.
Citizens
by registration
Citizenship by
registration should be available to anyone who has lawfully resided in Zimbabwe
for a minimum qualifying period.The
qualifying period should not be excessive;five years is more than sufficient (this is the period currently laid
down in the Citizenship of Zimbabwe Act).
Clearly there must be
other qualifications, such as a clean criminal record, not being a burden on the
State, and so on.Provided the candidate
meets the requirements, he or she should be entitled to citizenship, although
there may need to be an overriding power granted to the executive to refuse
citizenship on specified grounds.Any
such refusal should be open to challenge in the courts.
Foreign spouses of
Zimbabwean citizens should be entitled to registration as citizens, perhaps
after a reasonable qualifying period and provided that the State cannot show
that the marriage is one of convenience (under section 7(4) of the present
Constitution, foreigners who marry citizens are entitled to become citizens
after five years’ residence in Zimbabwe).
Foundlings
Children who are found
abandoned in Zimbabwe and whose parents cannot be identified should be accorded
Zimbabwean citizenship by birth because, as mentioned above, the African Charter
on the Rights and Welfare of the Child requires our law to make provision for
this.
Dual
or multiple citizenship
The new constitution
should not deprive Zimbabwean citizens of their citizenship solely on the ground
that they are citizens of foreign countries.There are too many people born and bred in this country who through no
choice of their own are citizens of neighbouring countries, for us to be
exclusive in our citizenship.Some of
the unforeseen problems that arise when dual citizenship is abolished have been
mentioned earlier, and these problems will increase in future because the
children of Zimbabweans living abroad will acquire the citizenship of their
countries of birth as well as Zimbabwean citizenship by
descent.
If we allow dual or
multiple citizenship we shall be following the lead of some at least of our
neighbours.South Africa has allowed multiple citizenship
partially since 1995 and completely since 2004.Namibia allows dual or multiple citizenship for its citizens by
birth.Zambia allows its citizens to
hold foreign nationality until they reach the age of 22, when they must choose
between their Zambian and their foreign citizenship.
Under our new
constitution, therefore, a citizen by birth (or descent) should never lose his
or her citizenship, except possibly if he or she formally renounces it and only
then if he or she is not left stateless.A person who becomes a citizen by registration should not have to
renounce any previous citizenship held, though it would be fair to provide that
if such a person subsequently becomes a citizen of yet another country, he or
she should lose his or her Zimbabwean citizenship.
Veritas makes every effort to ensure reliable information, but cannot
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