http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Alex Bell
26 July
2010
Ongoing smuggling of diamonds out of the controversial Chiadzwa
diamond
fields has once again been exposed, with the army still brutally
controlling
the illegal operation.
In a report by the UK's Sunday
Times newspaper, published over the weekend,
Zimbabwe's soldiers are forcing
villagers in the Marange region to mine the
stones from Chiadzwa and smuggle
them across the border to Mozambique. Once
there, Lebanese gem traders buy
the stones for tens of thousands of dollars
in what the newspaper described
as a "flagrant breach of international
rules."
The newspaper, during
an undercover investigation into the illegal diamond
trade between Zimbabwe
and Mozambique, spoke to a number of smugglers forced
to the bidding of
soldiers. The smugglers told the paper's journalists, who
posed as South
African diamond traders, that they are "being held to ransom"
describing the
terror they have for their lives and the lives of their
friends and
relatives.
A desperate smuggler, named only as Joseph, described his fear
of returning
to the soldiers empty handed, saying "they will beat us beyond
recognition."
Joseph explained that some soldiers have threatened to bury
the smugglers
alive in the diamond pits if they return without money for the
plundered
diamonds.
"I've seen a man who failed, beaten until his
eyes bled," Joseph said. "If I
don't go back soon my friends and my brother
at the mines will be shot and
buried in the dirt."
Another smuggler
explained how the trade was only good for the soldiers, who
can cross the
border with impunity, pockets lined with diamonds dug up by
desperate
villagers. The smuggler said that "the military are personally
coming across
from Zimbabwe each day," doing a brisk trade with mainly
Lebanese buyers.
They prefer the quality of stones the soldiers smuggle into
Mozambique, as
the soldiers merely put the higher quality stones in their
pockets and walk
across the border, certain that they will not be searched.
The Sunday
Times reported how the illegal diamond trade is "flourishing" in
Mozambique's border town of Vila de Manica, where trading is done in full
view of the provincial headquarters of the Mozambican Revenue Authority.
Local laws on diamond trading are sidestepped to avoid suspicion, with
traders registering as government approved mineral dealers, buying and
selling gold. The front provides them enough space to buy smuggled diamonds,
which are ultimately shipped to Surat in western India. One trader told the
newspaper that the Lebanese traders have established trade routes through
Nairobi and Mombasa "where they have bought off customs
officers."
More than 50% of Zimbabwe's diamonds are said to be smuggled
out of the
country, which is still floundering in the midst of economic
collapse. The
estimated annual value of the Chiadzwa fields is said to be
more than one
billion dollars, which could drastically help Zimbabwe's
economic plight.
But it is instead "being plundered by the military propping
up Robert Mugabe's
regime."
Ending the military control of the
Chiadzwa diamond fields and cracking down
on the ongoing smuggling, have
been listed as key conditions by the
international diamond trade watchdog,
the Kimberley Process, for diamond
exports from Zimbabwe. The group recently
decided to give Zimbabwe the green
light to sell some of the stones, after
trade was briefly suspended. The
Kimberley Process decision will let the
Mines Ministry sell a portion of the
stones while agreeing to a strict
regime of monitoring and supervision.
The abuses at Chiadzwa are well
documented and have served as the basis of
calls for the diamonds to be
classed as "conflict stones." However the
Kimberley Process insists that the
profits of the stones are not funding a
known conflict in Zimbabwe,
effectively letting the human rights abuses at
Chiadzwa continue. As the
Sunday Times reports, the flourishing illegal
trade in Mozambique suggests
that the Kimberley Process "simply is not
working."
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Irene
Madongo
26/07/2010
The MDC-T has announced it will protest to the
Southern African Development
Community (SADC) over recent diplomatic
appointments made by Robert Mugabe,
and it is calling for all the posts to
be reversed.
Mugabe reshuffled some of the ambassadors over a week ago,
without
consulting Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, contrary to the
provisions in
the Global Polictial Agreement (GPA), which is causing outrage
in the MDC-T
camp.
Mugabe has placed Phelekezela Mphoko as the
country's ambassador to South
Africa, replacing Simon Khaya Moyo, who now
works full time at Zanu PF
headquarters in Harare. Mphoko was Zimbabwe's
diplomat in Moscow. Ambassador
Boniface Chidyausiku leaves his post as the
country's permanent
representative to the United Nations in New York to take
up a post in
Harare, while Chitsaka Chipaziwa replaces him.
James
Manzou, who was in Angola, replaces Chipaziwa who was Zimbabwe's
permanent
representative in Geneva while former ambassador to Australia,
Stephen
Cletus Chiketa, has been moved to Sweden to replace Mary Mubi, who
was moved
to Italy.
On Monday the MDC-T's Secretary for International Relations,
Eliphas
Mukonoweshuro said of the diplomatic appointments: "We have
expressed in the
strongest terms and we hope that the guarantor of the GPA,
which is the
SADC, is going to take note. That issue [of diplomatic
appointments] and
other issues where Zanu-PF has reneged in the
implementation of the GPA,
they will form our agenda for action at the SADC
meeting. We will be making
a comprehensive presentation to the SADC heads of
state." He also added
that: "There is a lack of sincerity on the part of
Zanu-PF to implement the
GPA."
It is understood that Zanu PF was
uncomfortable with allowing the MDC-T to
take control of the embassy in
Pretoria, as it feared it could create strong
relations with the African
National Congress. ANC leader and South African
President Jacob Zuma is the
facilitator in the ongoing Zimbabwe
power-sharing
talks.
Mukonoweshuro declined to say who his party would like to nominate
for the
South African post, saying: "The name is not important, we have got
so many
confident people who can take on ambassadorial posts and in
particular the
South African Ambassadorial post. It is a matter of principal
that is should
be filled by consultation and taking into account the number
of Zanu-PF
appointed diplomats throughout the world, we believe that in all
fairness
the South African post should have been given to the MDC and there
is no
shortage of qualified men and women who could aptly fill that
post."
It is not the first time Mugabe has shown disregard for his
partners in the
GPA or the agreement itself. In May, he appointed a new
Supreme Court judge
and four High Court judges without the knowledge of his
partners in
government and he has consistently shown that he has little
interest in
genuine power sharing deal.
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Alex
Bell
26 July 2010
Media groups have slammed a move by the Securities
Commission of Zimbabwe
(SEC) to register financial journalists as securities
investor advisers,
which some analysts say will be an effective media
gag
In terms of the Securities Act, financial journalists will now be
required
to pay a license fee of $2 000 by December 31 2010, to report in
their
field. Media practitioners argue that this would result in
over-regulation
of media practitioners because financial journalists are
already accredited
by the statutory Zimbabwe Media Commission
(ZMC).
MISA-Zimbabwe chairperson Loughty Dube said the SEC should have
consulted
the media community first before making the recommendation to
government. He
said the decision was a “simple way of gagging the media”
explaining that
journalists cannot afford such a high licensing
fee.
“Journalism is a dissemination profession, not an idea-generating
profession. The job of a reporter is to report. Can we, for example, say an
entertainment reporter should become a member of the Zimbabwe Music
Association in order to write news about the arts?” Dube said.
Change
to the media space has been slow in taking place despite promises by
the
unity government to free the media. Dube said that repressive acts used
against journalists are still in place, meaning the industry is still
stifled. The government this year finally awarded newspaper licences to
independent papers, but Dube dismissed this as “not good enough.”
“We
need to see the freeing up of the airwaves,” Dube said. “Only then can
we
say there is real change on the way.”
http://www.nation.co.ke/
Posted Monday, July 26 2010 at
19:38
HARARE, Monday
Zimbabwe has threatened to close
9,000 foreign owned firms after they
ignored a deadline to submit plans on
how they intend to release some of
their shareholding to
locals.
President Robert Mugabe's government wants the foreign owned
companies with
a value of over $500,000 to transfer 51 per cent of their
shareholding to
locals.
The tough regulations which were initially
introduced in March were reviewed
last month after causing a split in the
unity government.
But despite the changes to the legislation that allow
for exemptions to be
made on companies who do considerable community
service, the government has
done little to re-assure sceptical
investors.
The Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE), which was consistently
among the top
performing bourses in Africa at the height of the country's
economic
problems has lost about US$1 billion in revenue since
March.
State media reports indicated that only 480 out of a provisional
list of
9,577 companies had submitted proposals on how they intend to
empower
locals.
Youth Development, Indigenisation and Economic
Empowerment Minister Savious
Kasukuwere said the companies that continued to
defy the law would be closed
down.
"If the companies do not comply,
we will take legal action," he told The
Sunday Mail newspaper. "Currently we
are in the process of sending forms to
companies to comply within 30
days.
"If they don't comply within 30 days, we will cancel their
licenses, if they
are in trading.
"They will also appear before the
courts."
He said the majority of the companies in the mining industry had
not
complied with the regulations.
The regulations have also been
blamed for the slow pace of the country's
economic recovery with Finance
Minister Tendai Biti being forced to revise
the projected economic growth
from seven percent to 5,4 per cent this year.
The southern African
country is just emerging from a decade of economic
decline blamed on
President Mugabe's policies that included the seizure of
white owned farms
that started in 2000.
http://www.businessweek.com
July 26, 2010, 11:38 AM
EDT
By Ron Derby
July 26 (Bloomberg) --
Zimbabwe may water down a demand that foreign
companies hand over majority
stakes in their local operations to black
investors, instead asking that
they sell 15 percent holdings and invest in
social programs, the country's
Chief Mining Commissioner said.
Achieving a 51 percent black-ownership
level was proving to be the "major
obstacle" to implementing the law, Chief
Mining Commissioner Fredson Mabhena
said in Johannesburg today. "It looks
like direct equity could be a 15
percent stake, with the balance achieved
through corporate social
investments." The terms of the bill have yet to be
completed, he said.
The proposed black ownership legislation was
scheduled to come into effect
on March 1, giving companies worth more than
$500,000 five years to increase
the proportion of their assets owned by
black investors, according to a copy
of the law distributed by
non-governmental organization Veritas Trust.
Zimbabwe on May 18 extended
a deadline by which all affected businesses must
say how they plan to meet
the requirements, Indigenization and Empowerment
Minister Saviour Kasukuwere
said that day.
Zimbabwe is trying to rebuild its economy after a decade
of political
turmoil and recession under the leadership of President Robert
Mugabe. The
country has the world's second- largest reserves of platinum and
chrome
after South Africa, as well as deposits of gold, coal, diamonds and
nickel.
'Win-Win Solution'
Mining companies would be among the
first businesses targeted in the effort
to hand control to black
Zimbabweans, Kasukuwere said on April 21 from the
capital,
Harare.
Anglo American Plc, which controls the world's biggest platinum
producer,
and South African insurer Old Mutual Plc both have operations in
the
country. Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd., the second-largest producer of
the
metal, said on May 17 it is pushing ahead with a $500 million expansion
in
Zimbabwe even as talks with government over black-ownership rules
continue.
Black investors in Zimbabwe are facing difficulties raising
funds to buy
controlling stakes in foreign-owned companies in the country,
Anglo Platinum
Ltd. spokeswoman Mary-Jane Morifi said by mobile phone.
"We're engaging with
government to come up with a solution which is a
win-win for company and
country."
The company, which is 79.7 percent
owned by Anglo American, is drawing up
plans to boost its involvement in
infrastructure development and "other
community programs" in Zimbabwe, she
said. Anglo Platinum's Unki mine, being
built in the south of the country,
is scheduled to start production in the
fourth quarter of the
year.
"Investors are saying they can't invest until they know" the final
terms of
the black-ownership laws, Mabhena said. "We've been consulting and
listening
to industry."
Aquarius Platinum Ltd. operates in Zimbabwe,
while Rio Tinto Plc has a
diamond mine.
http://www.ipsnews.net
By Ignatius Banda
BULAWAYO,
Jul 26, 2010 (IPS) - As African Union heads of state consider
child and
maternal health at the 2010 summit in Kampala, Uganda, the
perennial
question of user fees has reared its head in Zimbabwe. Fees for
services are
opening a growing gap between policy and implementation in
maternal health
care in the Southern African country.
Under government policy, care for
pregnant women, new mothers and infants
receive free care. But the country's
rapid economic decline in the past
decade has compelled health institutions
to raise their own revenue to meet
costs.
Women complain they are
being denied health access because of failure to
meet maternity and other
hospital costs. New mother Thandeka Mbewe says she
has been through it all,
and is having second thoughts about having another
child.
The
25-year-old Mbewe didn't have the money for either hospital booking fees
or
even to pay for an ambulance to ferry her to clinic. A month after giving
birth, she still has not managed to pull together the funds necessary to pay
the hospital bills.
"It's been tough having this baby," a distraught
Mbewe said.
Fees too high for many
Expecting mothers are required
to pay a 50 U.S. dollar booking fee at
clinics and government hospitals, but
this is equivalent to about a third of
a low-ranking civil servant's monthly
salary, an amount many here cannot
afford.
In some cases, new mothers
are told by officials that they cannot leave the
hospital until they have
settled their bills; women have responded by
smuggling their babies out of
the hospital - one mother in Gweru hid her
newborn under a heavy jacket and
slipped out of the ward.
Elsewhere, mothers who fail to pay their fees
are denied the necessary
documentats needed to get birth certificates for
their newborns.
"Our children cannot become full citizens of this country
until we pay. It's
all so unfair," Mbewe complained, expressing what has
become a major talking
point here.
Mothers like Mbewe say until they
find the money to pay the outstanding
fees, they can't get care for their
newborn babies.
"Nurses at the clinic have refused to attend to the child
for the mandatory
two-week check up," Mbewe told IPS.
Development
goals threatened
According to a 2009 assessment of progress towards
Millennium Development
Goals on child and maternal health by the Ministry of
Health and Child
Welfare, between 1999 and 2006, infant mortality rate
declined from 65
deaths per 1000 live births to 60, but this still falls
short of the country's
desired target of 22 per 1000 live
births.
Healthcare workers warn that progress will be slowed by the
insistence on
full payment by defaulting mothers before necessary care is
given to their
children.
"I am now even afraid to go to the clinic
when I get the money as the nurses
will ask why I have been keeping the
child when it is them in the first
place who refused him treatment," Mbewe
said.
Amid growing concerns about the poor antenatal and post-natal
health
provision, midwives have lobbied government to scrap maternity fees
entirely.
"Many mothers are blaming us nurses for denying them the
right to health for
their infants," said Ntandokayise Ndebele, a midwife
working at a council
clinic in one of the city's high density suburbs. "But
we get our directives
from the council to make them pay. In the past, many
have disappeared after
being treated."
Turning to dangerous
alternatives
The cost of public health services has spurred the
proliferation of dealers
in traditional medicine.
"When mothers fail
to access formal health care, they will seek out older
women who claim to
have knowledge of herbs that can treat infants. But this
does not always
work as it exposes infants to unnecessary life threatening
conditions," said
Hilda Noko, a senior nurse working with the Bulawayo City
Council.
The herbal market is highly visible at the city's Renkini
Bus Terminus and
in the oldest township, Makokoba.
Here, men and
women who claim to be certified herbalists, sell herbs they
claim can treat
a variety of infant illnesses or simply "strengthen" the
infant.
Deep
cuts in social spending imposed by structural adjustment programmes in
the
late 1990s badly affected Zimbabwe's public health system while failing
to
restore the health of the economy, though the country is far from alone
in
demanding fees for service at government clinics.
With some support from
international donors, African governments including
Sierra Leone - which in
2010 introduced free health care for pregnant women,
new mothers and
children under five - are exploring ways of eliminating
charges at the point
of service.
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Lance
Guma
26 July 2010
The National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) has
resolved to campaign against
the government backed constitution making
process, after describing it as
far from being people driven. Speaking on
Monday at the end of a three day
conference NCA spokesman Madock Chivasa
told our 'Rules for our Rulers'
programme that they will use a combination
of demonstrations, public
meetings and road shows to get people to reject
the flawed government
process and its resultant draft.
Since Saturday
members from the NCA, Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions
(ZCTU) and a faction
of the Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) have
been meeting to plot
their resistance to the government process. NCA leader
Dr Lovemore Madhuku,
ZCTU Secretary General Wellington Chibebe and ZINASU
President Tafadzwa
Mugwadi, were among those who addressed the meetings.
One of the
resolutions to come from the meeting calls on all NCA leaders in
the
national and provincial structures to quit their positions if they are
taking part in the process driven by the Constitutional Parliamentary
Committee (COPAC). Chivasa said all those in this situation were compromised
and could not be expected to carry out their mandates properly within the
organization.
Last week Friday MDC-T spokesman Nelson Chamisa was
particularly scathing of
the outreach exercise, saying his party will have
to meet and decide whether
to continue participating in the sham exercise.
He said it was clear people
were not being allowed to express their views
and that ZANU PF was
frog-marching people into torture bases and telling
them what to say during
outreach meetings.
Meanwhile Chivasa said the
NCA intends to move away from its traditional
dependence on donor funds and
will seek other means of funding its
activities. He said they would embark
on a membership drive and get members
to pay subscription fees to pay for
their activities.
http://www.sabcnews.com
July 26 2010 ,
2:35:00
John Nyashanu; Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe's Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) party is appealing for
President Jacob Zuma's
intervention following what they allege to be
President Robert Mugabe's
unilateralism and disregard of the country's truce
agreement.
The
latest straw was the weekend's appointment of new ambassadors by the
veteran
leader without consulting Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and his
deputy,
Arthur Mutambara.
Zimbabwe's ambassador to South Africa Simon Khaya Moyo
is returning home and
a replacement has been announced. More diplomats were
shifted and the MDC is
crying foul.
"We are calling on President Zuma
to come in. This just goes to show how
insincere Zanu-PF operates. Day in
and day out, the Global Peace Agreement
is being broken. We cannot be junior
players in this partnership. The former
opposition party is arguing that the
Global Political Agreement states that,
executive appointments must be
agreed upon by the three principals in the
unity government," says MDC
spokesperson, Nelson Chamisa.
But Zanu PF insists that the president is
not offside. "There is nothing
out of order with those appointments. The
president is the head of state and
government and as such he has the
prerogative to appoint whoever he sees fit
to become an ambassador, with or
without consultations," says Zanu-PF
spokesperson, Rugare Gumbo.
And
to the further chagrin of the MDC, the state broadcaster has resumed
playing
the president's campaign messages, creating what critics say is an
uneven
playing field ahead of the next election.
http://www.zimeye.org/?p=20001
By Gerald
Chateta
Published: July 26, 2010
Bikita - ZANU-PF
activists one of them claiming to be a son of a local
chief in Bikita's
Maregere village on Thursday harassed a group of
journalists who had gone on
a United Nations mission-field visit to
investigate children's issues in the
area.
The middle aged man, approached journalists who were interviewing
local
people and demanded that they should present themselves to him first
before
talking to the community.
He said no issues concerning rights
of the children were supposed to be
discussed with local people who are not
members of the parliament led
constitution making process.
"Where are
you coming from and who gave you the permission to talk to my
people without
my knowledge?; which media organizations do you work for?,"
he asked, before
journalists said they were coming from the state controlled
newspaper Herald
and Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation.
Two members of the ZANU PF
militia join the slogan-chanting youths.
"Are you sure that you are all
from the Herald and ZBC?, he reiterated
before a senior official from the
ministry of Information and Publicity,
Regis Chikowore intervened and told
him that he was a government official
accompanying the
journalists.
The field visit was part of the on-going program of the
UNICEF four day
workshop which ends on Saturday in Masvingo.
It is
being attended by journalists from all the country's media
organizations.
Harassment of journalist continues despite having them
producing the
Zimbabwe Media Commission accreditation
cards.
Discussing the Bikita harassment in the workshop on Friday,
Information and
Publicity official who is part of the workshop said
journalists should
report to the police if they were being deprived of their
right to access to
information.
"The ZMC accreditation card opens
doors for you to access information and
should anyone be deprived of this
right upon the production of that card he
can approach the police who should
extend protection to such an individual,"
he said.
A journalist from
the private print media said the ZMC accreditation card
was not respected by
some sections of Zimbabwe's political parties as she
had once been denied
access to information despite having produced it.
http://www.newsday.co.zw
KELVIN JAKACHIRA/ MOSES MATENGA - Jul
26 2010 15:36
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai was forced to
cancel his scheduled visit to
the Zion Christian Church (ZCC) Mbungo Shrine
in Defe, Gokwe at the last
minute after state security agents reportedly
threatened and intimidated the
church with unspecified action.
Tsvangirai
was invited to address the ZCC's annual conference at Defe Dopota
at the
weekend but the church cancelled the programme citing threats and
intimidation by unnamed state security agents.
ZCC said state security
agents ordered them to remove PM Tsvangirai's name
from the list of invited
guests.
The issue became desperate when the church tried to resist the move.
The
church insisted that if PM Tsvangirai was stopped from addressing the
congregation then no politician would be allowed to address them.
Vice
President John Nkomo and MDC-M vice president Gibson Sibanda were among
the
invited guests.
The politicians were expected to address ZCC members on the
on-going
national healing and reconciliation process. The ZCC is one of the
biggest
churches in Zimbabwe and in the region.
PM Tsvangirai's
spokesperson James Maridadi, confirmed the last minute
cancellation of the
Gokwe meeting in the Midlands province after reports of
intimidation and
threats.
"Those reports have been received and a team from the Prime
Minister's
Office has been dispatched to ascertain the authenticity of the
reports.
Only after they ascertain the authenticity of the reports then a
position
will be taken," Maridadi said. The church said they had no choice
but to
cancel the programme because of the alleged threats and intimidation.
"There
was so much intimidation and we decided to cancel the programme and
shelve
it until further notice," said a senior ZCC member, who did not want
to be
named.
"The security guys stopped the programme," said another
church member. "It
looks like they did not want the Prime Minister to have
contact with our
church members."
While PM Tsvangirai's meeting with ZCC
members was allegedly scuttled by
security agents, last week President
Robert Mugabe addressed the Johanne
Marange Apostolic church at Mafararikwa
in Marange to mark the sect's annual
Passover.
Clad in white robes,
President Mugabe took the opportunity to castigate gays
and lesbians saying
their rights should not be recognised in the new
constitution.
He told
the Johanne Marange members there was nothing wrong with polygamous
marriages because they were recognised under the country's laws.
"Our
Constitution allows polygamy. We will not force people into monogamous
marriages. Inga muBhaibheri chaimo zvirimo. Solomon haana kungopihwa upfumi
chete asi nevakadzi vakawanda (It is written in the Bible that (King)
Solomon was not given riches only but also many wives.)" Senior MDC-T
officials last night said a battle "to control the mind and soul of the
church" had begun.
http://www.afrik-news.com/article18024.html
Monday 26 July 2010 / by Alice
Chimora
Propaganda songs praising President Mugabe have re-surfaced on
Zimbabwe’s
heavily state controlled radio and television and are causing a
storm in the
political circles.
The songs, which are being played on
state radio and TV every thirty
minutes, appear to belittle Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai and view Mugabe
as the supreme leader. The Zimbabwean
Prime Minister is said to have
complained about the propaganda songs at a
cabinet meeting last Tuesday.
“Who is in charge? It is President Mugabe
... Who is the second most
powerful? It is Vice President Mujuru ... And the
third most powerful? It is
John Nkomo,” reads part of the jingles. A
compilation of eight songs on a CD
produced by a local music outfit, Mbare
Chimurenga Choir, the jingles are
believed to have emerged with the
assistance of Minister of Media,
Information and Publicity, Webster
Shamu.
But, the jingles are seen by political commentators as Zanu PF’s
attempt to
win back votes in preparation for next year’s elections. They say
the move
will backfire as they remind the electorate of the violence and
repression
that characterised previous polls.
Political commentator
Ernest Mudzengi who believes the jingles were related
to impending elections
says the Zanu-PF leaders "are so desperate to win the
hearts and souls of
the people. So they are trying to reposition themselves
on the political
platform but over-doing it in the process.”
Another political analyst,
Eldred Masunungure said the jingles were a
“psychological appeal” by Zanu PF
in an attempt to mobilise the masses,
re-assure and demonstrate that Mugabe
was still in control of national
politics.
“This is a psychological
appeal in the absence of material goods to give
away,” said Masunungure.
“But the years of symbolic politics are long gone.
People want performers
and not psychological politics.”
The jingles, according to the analyst,
would neither lure more people to
Zanu PF nor change the perceptions
Zimbabweans already have about the party.
And he believes that, Shamu, the
architect of the jingles, has failed to
establish that the jingles were
actually alienating potential supporters.
Meanwhile, attempts by the two
MDC political formations to have the jingles
pulled off the air appear to
have failed.
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Lance Guma
26 July
2010
Job Sikhala, the leader of recently formed breakaway political party
the
MDC-99, claims he was the target of a petrol bomb attack late on Friday.
Speaking to Newsreel Sikhala said he was not home when suspected state
agents petrol bombed a minibus that was outside his St Mary's home in
Chitungwiza.
The controversial former legislator for St Mary's is
convinced the incident
was engineered by ZANU PF to try and get him into a
political fist fight
with the MDC, led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.
This is because the
culprits behind the attack moved around in a blue Nissan
Sunny vehicle that
had no number plates and were distributing MDC-T fliers,
suggesting the
party was behind the attack.
"Why would the MDC-T bomb
my residence then leave fliers implicating
themselves," he asked. He said
the fliers also alleged that he had met
secretly with MDC-T senior figures
like Finance Minister Tendai Biti, Elias
Mudzuri and Fidelis Mhashu, who are
alleged to be disgruntled with
inter-party power struggles. Mhashu and
Mudzuri were recently dropped in a
cabinet reshuffle while Biti is having to
deal with accusations he is
leading a faction opposed to
Tsvangirai.
The fliers also suggested Sikhala had met Mavambo leader
Simba Makoni. "We
have had enough of you, this is just but a warning," one
flier said. Sikhala
says the police have since collected what remained of
the petrol bomb and
are conducting their own investigations into the
incident.
In June this year Sikhala sensationally claimed that state
security
operatives tried to have him killed via a stage managed accident on
the
Gutu-Harare road one evening.
http://news.radiovop.com
24/07/2010 09:06:00
BY JOHN
MASUKU
"Politicians can go to any length in order to win votes and stay
in power
forever. I was not surprised to see recent pictures of President
Robert
Mugabe clad in full Apostolic Church regalia holding a hob stick, on
a
mission to lure the sect members to embrace his leadership. We have always
known him to be a devout Roman Catholic", remarked Leona Kazembe, a Catholic
lay leader.
The Apostolic sect is believed to command huge membership
in Zimbabwe and
throughout Southern Africa, since many people have turned to
it for deep
spiritual problems, which they think are beyond the liturgy of
conventional
churches.
Mugabe's Zanu (PF) party recently devised a
strategy to campaign among
different church groups in order to prop up its
waning support as shown by
March 2008 elections, which it narrowly lost to
Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC) - only to be
salvaged by a violent presidential
run-off poll three months
later.
Pro- polygamy constitution
Regurgitating what the
polygamous apostolic sect members wanted to hear
during their annual
pilgrimage in eastern Zimbabwe, Mugabe declared: "Our
Constitution allows
polygamy. We will not force people into monogamous
marriages. It's there in
the Bible; Solomon wasn't only given wealth but
many wives too. But we say
no to gays! We will not listen to those
advocating for inclusion of
homosexual rights in the Constitution".
Political analyst Mike Mgutshini
said: "Since Mugabe was already in an
election campaign mood, he avoided
telling the Apostolic pilgrims about all
the wrongs they are notorious for.
He should have told them that they should
avoid multiple sexual partnerships
which spread HIV/AIDS rapidly. He should
have also discouraged some of their
so-called 'prophets' from lying to
desperate people that AIDS can be cured
by water or raping of minors."
"While we applaud Mugabe for encouraging
the sect members to send girls to
school, we are dismayed that he forgot to
urge them to send their children
for immunisation in order to avoid the
child mortality rate from soaring.
President Mugabe also forgot to
discourage the Apostolic faithful from
illegally dealing in foreign currency
at most street corners".
Prophetic rhetoric
Praise singing is not
for political bootlickers only. The Apostolic
pilgrims, well known for their
insatiable appetite for huge quantities of
tea and bread had to recall some
prophetic rhetoric in order to aptly thank
their new convert for donating
two Iranian-sourced tractors, to help them
produce food for those who will
attend future Passover gatherings.
Said elder Daniel Mashaya during a
vote of thanks: "In 1957 our High Priest
Johanne Marange had a vision of a
black cock fighting a white cock. The
black cock triumphed over the white
one. The black cock represents President
Mugabe and his reign was foretold
years back. He is not just the leader of
Zimbabwe but the whole of Africa
and his visit to our shrine is a fulfilment
of the 1957 prophecy."
In
the meantime, Leona and other Catholics should be comforted by reading
the
parable of the prodigal son. Lastly, to what extent has South African
president Jacob Zuma's polygamous lifestyle influenced his northern
neighbour?
http://news.radiovop.com
24/07/2010
09:11:00
LUPANE - When Zimbabwe introduced the use of
multi-currencies, early last
year the move was hailed as noble.
While
the use of multi-currencies have gone a long way in resuscitating the
ailing
Zimbabwean economy, the same system has caused pain among rural area
dwellers, the majority of whom are not formally employed and survive on
farming and keeping livestock.
The multi-currency system has caused
confusion in the Matabeleland area.
Samukeliso Ndiweni (60) from Lupane,
which is about 120 kilometres north of
Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second largest
city said not many people in the rural
areas had access to foreign currency
because they were unemployed.
"When I want to sell a goat I know that it
exchanges for five buckets of
maize but it becomes difficult when someone
comes with US dollars, South
African rands or even Botswana Pulas because I
don't know what to charge
them as I do not understand the currencies. As a
result I resort to barter
trade," said Ndiweni.
"The last time I had
US$10 and when I bought mealie-meal I received 40 Rands
change but two weeks
later I bought the same commodity using the same
currency and I received 30
rands change and the reason was that the rate had
changed,"said Ndiweni."All
this is confusing because it becomes difficult to
know whether one has been
cheated or not."
Thabani Moyo also said he relied on barter
trade.
"Nowadays I exchange my produce for what I need and the local
schools have
made it easier for villagers as they allow us to pay school
fees with
whatever we have and the school will later sell whatever we have
bartered to
those with the money,"Moyo said.
Last term he parted with
three goats as payment for school fees for his
three sons in primary
school.
In the area a two litre bottle of fresh milk exchanges for a pumpkin
while a
bucket of maize exchanges for five litres of cooking oil. A live
goat
exchanges for a new blanket and two chickens can be exchanged for a
trouser.
Tricksters and conman have however taken advantage of the
confusion and
ignorance among the villagers by using counterfeit currencies
to procure
goods.
"Two months ago I sold four cows to two people who
claimed they were running
butcheries in Bulawayo and I later realised that
the 8 000 South African
Rands they gave to me were fake and I have resolved
that I will never use
any of the new currencies but I will trade whatever I
have with any goods
and services that I need,"said Timothy Ncube, a local
villager who keeps
cattle and goats in his small plot.
For some cases
the situation is hilarious. Evans Sibanda, a 24 year old
unemployed youth
from the area, said he had never touched any of the foreign
currencies and
begged this news crew to let him have a look and a feel of
the South African
Rand or any denomination of the US dollar.
"This money is not as
beautiful as the Zimbabwean dollar, it is so plain,"he
said excitedly as he
ran his fingers through a one US dollar note handed
over to
him.
Zimbabwe's leading economist, John Robertson, said the foreign
currency
shortages in rural areas were spurred by lack of employment
opportunities
and the reduced availability of funds from the
Diaspora.
"There are no employment opportunities in rural areas and the
commercial
farms that used to employ the rural people are no longer
productive while
the majority of rural people in the past relied on
relatives in the Diaspora
to send them foreign currency but that is not
happening as the relatives are
also facing a financial crunch due to the
global recession," Robertson said.
He said as a result the local rural
business were not receiving any cash
inflows and this affected social
services and schools as the villagers did
not have any disposable
income.
"The situation is not likely to change as long as things continue
as they
are, people will continue resorting to barter trade and social
services will
also be paid through the barter system,"Robertson
said.
Ever since the economic situation deteriorated in Zimbabwe an
estimated
three million people left the country to seek greener pastures in
South
Africa, Britain, Australia, Botswana, New Zealand and in Canada among
other
countries and the immigrants have been sending foreign currency to
support
their families back at home.
http://www.businessday.co.za/
26 July
2010
Johannesburg - ELECTION rumblings are gathering pace in
Harare as the unity
government in Zimbabwe heads for the expiry of its
two-year mandate next
year. President Robert Mugabe's Zanu (PF) party says
it is more than ready
to take on an election next year and its partner in
the government, the
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), also appears to be
in favour of a
poll.
Despite the still-strong likelihood of violence,
support for an election
next year is gaining ground because of frustration
with the pace of reform
and the political infighting holding back the
country's recovery. The unity
government is not tackling the tough
issues.
As rebel Zimbabwe cricketer Henry Olonga said recently, the rot
in his
country is much deeper than anything a unity government can deal
with.
"As long as those leaders who have been perpetrators of all those
human
rights abuses are still around, it's just a facelift. They've just
tightened
things to make it look a little more pretty," he told Wisden
Cricketer
magazine.
Expectations of an economic dividend from the
political compromise have not
been met.
Finance Minister Tendai Biti
has revised downwards growth projections for
key sectors - mining, tourism
and manufacturing - forecasting gross domestic
product growth of 5,4%, down
from 7%.
Official diamond sales to fund revenue shortfalls have not been
possible
until now because of human rights abuses in diamond fields and
official
theft by old-guard politicians (Mining Minister Obert Mpofu is
reported to
have been on a property buying spree recently, acquiring 27
properties in
Victoria Falls alone).
A new constitution is the MDC's
condition for taking part in an election.
But the process of drawing it up
has been delayed by nearly eight months
because of political squabbles and
funding shortages.
Last month, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai of the
MDC and Mugabe jointly
kick-started it again, with the launch of the
constitutional outreach
programme, which will let Zimbabweans make
inputs.
The leaders urged people to keep to the timetable, suggesting a
new urgency
to complete the constitution, possibly with an election in
mind.
The public participation process is crucial to avoid a repeat of
what
happened in 2000, when the nation voted against a draft constitution
drawn
up by the government with minimal consultation and public
input.
But Mugabe has not been as eager to implement key reforms that are
considered necessary to the holding of a free and fair
election.
These mostly involve reversing legislation he introduced in the
heady days
of unfettered power up to 2008.
More than 23 bills before
parliament - relating to, among others, human
rights and security reforms,
media freedom and access to information - have
not yet been passed and the
Public Order and Security Act, which curtails
freedom of movement and
association, remains on the statute books. Mugabe
retains most of the powers
he has abused in previous elections.
These include presidential powers.
He retains control of the army and police
leadership, despite the shared
home affairs portfolio with the MDC.
State radio recently revived jingles
hailing Mugabe's leadership and airing
other crude Zanu (PF) propaganda that
had not been heard since the launch of
the unity government.
The
party has also been accused of mobilising its forces, using the
constitutional process to unleash its thugs in rural areas to intimidate
people into resisting MDC proposals.
Would a Zanu (PF) poll win, with
Mugabe at the helm, be taken seriously by
the international community, which
has resisted pumping aid and investment
into Zimbabwe because of what he and
his party represent?
There is likely to be a question mark over such a
win anyway, given the
history of violent and rigged elections.
A
clean slate is what the country needs. Zanu (PF) in its current form does
not represent this.
An overhaul of structures may give the party a
chance of winning an
internationally monitored poll - not an overnight
process.
Its eagerness to hold an election suggests a resort to tactics
of old.
The uneasy truce may have tided Zimbabwe over a difficult period
and broken
Mugabe's and Zanu (PF)'s stranglehold on power. But undue haste
to bring
about a new dispensation may be a bigger obstacle to progress than
continuing with the compromise for a while longer, in order to put sturdier
building blocks in place.
Games is CE of Africa @ Work, an
information consultancy.