Zimbabwe teachers suspend strike

(AFP) – 10 hours ago

HARARE — Zimbabwean teachers said Saturday they will suspend their 11-day
strike to consider the government's offer of an pay rise that fell nearly 90
percent short of their demands.

The Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe went on strike on June 22 to
demand that the government raise their salaries from the current $200 a
month to $500 a month.

Government late Friday offered teachers an average increase of $34, said
union leader Takavafira Zhou.

"The award by government of an average of 34 dollars falls far short of our
expectations," he said.

"We will go back and re-strategise and get ready to fight another day. There
are a number of issues that should be addressed, including the issues of
transport and housing allowances," he said, adding that teachers would
return to the classroom on Monday.

The strike was only partially observed as the rival Zimbabwe Teachers
Association, which is aligned with veteran President Robert Mugabe, had
discouraged teachers from joining the stayaway.

The Consumer Council of Zimbabwe says that an average family of five needs
$500 a month to survive, but the cash-strapped government insists that
figure is unaffordable as the nation claws its way back from a decade-long
economic collapse.

The country's public-sector workers, particularly teachers, nurses and
doctors, have been striking on and off for better salaries and working
conditions since 2008.

Many have left the country to work overseas, while those who have remained
behind often resort to moonlighting as small-time traders to supplement
their pay.

Teachers also want a review of their housing and transport allowance and the
removal of "ghost workers" from the government payroll.

Zimbabwe has 105,000 teachers on the payroll, but Zhou's union estimates
only about 77,000 are working.

Inflated payroll numbers are a problem throughout the civil service, with
Finance Minister Tendai Biti estimating that about one-third of the
government's 230,000 employees do not exist.

Zimbabwe's Lowest-Paid Civil Servants Get a Raise - But Can Harare Afford It?

http://www.voanews.com

01 July 2011

The lowest-paid government worker will now receive a basic salary of $153,
up from $128, though some economists say the government doesn't have the
means to afford even this modest wage increase

Irwin Chifera & Sandra Nyaira | Washington

Unions representing Zimbabwe's government workers agreed Friday to accept a
pay rise boosting salaries of the lowest-paid state workers to $253 a month
starting this month.

Entry-level government workers will receive US$153 a month compared with
US$128 previously, including a US$50 housing allowance and a US$44 travel
allowance.

The Apex Council, which represents all Zimbabwean civil servants, accepted
the increase although the Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe, whose
members have been on strike since early this week, dismissed the increment
as paltry.

PTUZ General Secretary Raymond Majongwe stormed out of a news conference
called by the Apex Council to announce the negotiated salary increase.

Majongwe later told VOA that the Apex Council, the Zimbabwe Teachers
Association and others were selling out by accepting "peanuts."

The Apex Council includes representatives of the Progressive Teachers Union,
the Zimbabwe Teachers Association, the Teachers Union of Zimbabwe, the
Public Service Association and the College Lecturers’ Association of
Zimbabwe.

Apex Council President Tendai Chikowore said the pay rise would take affect
in July and would remain in place through December 31, with a review to take
place in January.

“A protracted process of negotiations and consultations between government
and the leadership of the Apex Council has resulted in an agreement,"
Chikowore said, adding that the objective now was to push wages up to the
poverty line around US$500.

“We don’t need a spirit medium to speak on our behalf," said Majongwe. "We
are very disappointed and we want to state categorically that we are
unhappy.”

Other union leaders accused Majongwe of grandstanding, noting that his PTUZ
had accepted the increase during negotiations only to renege at the news
conference.

ZIMTA Chief Executive Sifiso Ndlovu said civil servants are elated they are
getting even a modest pay rise that will help make ends meet. He said the
government can afford  it.

But economist John Robertson said he doesn’t see where the government will
find the money, and commentator Rejoice Ngwenya, reached at a Nyanga seminar
on the Zimbabwean economy, said revenues are insufficient to fund the
increase.

Civil servants get $31 pay rise

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

By Everson Mushava, Staff Writer
Saturday, 02 July 2011 11:36

HARARE - The salary increase for civil servants promised by President Robert
Mugabe turned out to be a paltry $31 each, a development which triggered a
nasty fallout between unions with some taking it while others emphatically
said no.

The paltry increase comes at a time when Mugabe, government ministers and
officials blow tens of millions of dollars on useless foreign trips.
Hundreds of millions of dollars of money realised from diamond sales have
not found their way to treasury amid reports that influential individuals in
the country are busy lining their pockets.

Some hard pressed civil servants, most of whom are living from hand to mouth
Civil servants get pay rise immediately dismissed the increment as a mockery
and vowed to press ahead with strike action.

The Zimbabwe Teachers’ Union (Zimta), Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (TUZ) and
Public Service Association representatives accepted the increment. The three
unions are generally regarded as pro-Zanu PF.

But  the militant group, Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) said
their counterparts were “sell outs” for accepting such a “ridiculous figure”.

PTUZ secretary-general Raymond Majongwe stormed out of the press conference
in protest and exchanged harsh words with TUZ chief executive Manuel Nyawo
outside the press conference room at Zimta house in Harare.

The press conference to announce the paltry increment was being conducted by
Apex Council.

Majongwe called the increment a “pretence and a cruel insult” to the
conscience of civil servants who had been negotiating for a pay rise for
over six months and vowed to continue with the strike to pressure government
for better salaries.

In the new salary structure, the lowest paid civil servant will earn a basic
salary of $159 up from $128 per month, realising a $31 increment with effect
from yesterday.

Housing allowance has been upped to $50 from $30 with transport allowance
rising marginally from $28 to $44.

Cumulatively, the lowest civil servant will earn $243 from about $180 a
month.

The salary hike agreement was reached in a meeting between the Apex council,
the mother body for government worker unions and the government negotiating
team, the National Joint Negotiating Council in Harare yesterday.

Apex council chairperson Tendai Chikowore said she welcomed the provisional
salary increment that came after protracted negotiations with the
government. The negotiations included a meeting between Mugabe and civil
servants’ representatives in April this year.

Mugabe promised to double the salaries by June. After failing to honour his
promise, teachers led by PTUZ embarked on a strike that Majongwe yesterday
said would continue.

Zimta denounced the strike saying the action was too premature.

Chikowore yesterday said the salary increment had moved the least paid civil
servant to 50 percent of poverty datum line of $502, hence was acceptable.

“The issues relating to the reintroduction of the rural allowances and the
education allowances have been agreed to. However, there payment has been
deferred to a time when the government has generated sufficient revenue,”
said Chikowore.

Majongwe, on the other hand, described the whole salary structure as a
“rigged process”.

He said transport and housing allowances were “committed money”, not
disposable income. Because of that his organisation would only recognise the
$31 increase effected on the basic salary.

“Is that negotiation when you go in to simply receive set figures that had
already been leaked in the Herald about three weeks ago? Then you call a
press conference to announce an increase of $31 to the nation. It’s
atrocious,” he said, adding that the whole negotiating was politicised.

“Even the outcome of the negotiations has been politicised. That is why
there was a stampede to thank President Mugabe as an individual as if the
money is coming from an individual’s pocket,” said Majongwe, fuming with
anger.

Majongwe said the increment was unacceptable to rural teachers who did not
get incentives from parents and were the ones hard hit by “this pretentious
agreement”.

College Lecturers Association of Zimbabwe president David Dzatsunga said
while he appreciated the government’s effort, he would need to consult his
members first before they could call off the strike.

He said the increment fell far too short of his expectations. College
lecturers have been on strike since Tuesday pressing for higher salaries.

“We will decide as a separate entity on the course of action to take in
light of this development,” said Dzatsunga.
Zimta chief executive officer Sifiso Ndlovu described Majongwe as a “novice
in union politics” who was not “purely” a teacher and had limited experience
in trade union procedures when engaging the government.

Since April when President Mugabe promised a pay rise for civil servants, a
political battlefield had been triggered with Zanu PF accusing Finance
Minister Tendai Biti of sabotaging government effort.

Biti said government coffers were dry and could not sustain any increase
unless funds were availed to him.

Demilitarise Zim polls body: NGOs

http://www.zimonline.co.za

by Edward Jones     Saturday 02 July 2011

HARARE – Zimbabwean rights groups have said the international community
should apply more pressure to Harare to adopt a clear roadmap to new
elections while demanding the demilitarisation of the Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission as a condition to a free and fair vote.

The Zimbabwe Europe Network (ZEN), a coalition of rights groups that
includes the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, told a meeting of foreign
donors in Brussels that it was deeply concerned with the slow progress in
implementing the global political agreement.

The unity government formed in 2009 between President Robert Mugabe and
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has managed to stabilise the economy but
has failed to undertake critical media, electoral and security reforms
needed to democratise the country.

ZEN said there was still widespread state-sanctioned violence, partisan
application of the law and a rise in the deployment of soldiers in the
countryside to campaign for Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party.

“There is a general consensus amongst civil society that, due to the
prevailing political environment, Zimbabwe is not ready for elections in
2011 without extensive constitutional and legislative reforms as outlined in
the GPA, including the constitutional reform process, media and electoral
reforms,” ZEN said.

Mugabe, who turns 88 next year wants fresh presidential and parliamentary
elections held this year and accuses his Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC) rivals of stalling on a new constitution to delay the polls.

But the MDC says without a new constitution, an overhaul to security and
electoral laws, the election will be heavily tilted in favour of the
octogenarian leader and his ZANU-PF party.

Tension has been rising in the country in the past weeks with the MDC
accusing ZANU-PF (which controls the police and the prosecution service) of
political persecution by arresting members of the party’s top leadership.

ZANU-PF and MDC political negotiators were expected to meet yesterday to try
come up with timelines to the electoral roadmap that was adopted by Southern
African Development Community (SADC) leaders at a summit last month.

ZEN said SADC together with African Union and United Nations should help
deploy peace-keeping monitors at least three months ahead of elections to
avoid state-sponsored violence.

Zimbabwe’s previous elections have been marked by violence since
independence in 1980 and the security service has been accused of helping
ZANU-PF supporters, war veterans and youth militia in a violent campaign
against Mugabe’s opponents, especially the MDC.

ZANU-PF denies the charge, instead the former ruling party says this is
propaganda peddled by MDC to gain international sympathy and justify its
losses at the ballot box.

Last week Brigadier-General Douglas Nyikayaramba said the military was
justified to dabble in politics, adding that the army would die to keep
Mugabe in power, in comments that angered ordinary Zimbabweans and raised
fears the military could block the MDC from taking power even if it won the
next elections.

“All soldiers currently deployed across the country should be returned and
confined to their barracks; all service chiefs should publicly commit to
restricting their activities to their constitutional mandate and separating
themselves completely from interference in political and electoral matters,”
ZEN said in its presentation to Western donors.

The organisation said donors should increase financial and technical support
to civic society groups to ensure continued monitoring of the mining of
diamonds from the controversial Chiadzwa fields to make sure the resource is
not used to fund political violence.

Five companies have been licenced to mine diamonds in Chiadzwa, including
three owned by the Chinese, but production figures and earnings have rarely
been made public, leading to allegations that Mugabe loyalists were also
involved in illegal mining of the gemstones. -- ZimOnline

Worry over absence of roadmap timelines

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

By Bridget Mananavire, Staff Writer
Saturday, 02 July 2011 11:47

HARARE - The Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) says it welcomes the
crafting of an  election roadmap but remains worried by the lack of binding
landmarks.

The roadmap negotiations lack effective mechanisms for smooth power transfer
in the event that there is a change of government.

“ZESN welcomes the crafting of the roadmap to elections and the emphasis on
reforms before any election can be conducted. The spirit and letter of the
GPA should be respected as the country needs to heal before an election is
conducted,” ZESN said in its monthly update on electoral issues.

“However, ZESN is concerned about the absence of definitive and enforceable
timelines in  the roadmap leaving it rather open ended. In addition, the
roadmap does not deal with the issue of national healing which is critical
to the conduct of any election in Zimbabwe considering our history of
deep-seated election related conflict.“

More crucially ZESN said it remained worried that the roadmap does not
provide for elements of power transfer in the event of a change in the
country’s political guard.

“The roadmap also does not provide for power transfer which is critical in
any country undergoing a transition. ZESN recommends that timeframes be
provided for in the document so that performance can be evaluated against
time,” ZESN stated in the update released yesterday.

ZESN said utterances by Army Brigadier Douglas Nyikayaramba’s is a sign of
deep seated lack of professionalism in the security sector, a situation
which makes security sector reform an immediate necessity.

“ZESN calls for the professionalisation of the security sector and the
removal of military personnel in electoral issues. The role of the security
sector should be limited to law and order and national security, not
interfering with electoral processes,” said ZESN adding that national
healing remains an outstanding issue in the country’s communities.

Furthermore the network called upon the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC)
to ensure that the voters’ roll is up to date, complete and comprehensive
through a transparent, inclusive and participatory process.

“The voters’ roll can determine the integrity or lack of integrity of an
election,” said ZESN.

MDC activists get bail

http://www.dailynews.co.zw/

By Thelma Chikwanha, Community Affairs Editor
Saturday, 02 July 2011 11:44

HARARE - A High Court judge yesterday granted bail to 12 MDC activists who
were arrested in connection with the murder of a policeman in Glen View last
month.

The activists were arrested following the death of Inspector Petros Mutedza
during a public brawl at a shopping centre in Glen View last month.

Among those granted bail were the MDC national executive member Last
Maengahama who was granted a $1 000 bail while the other eleven were granted
a $ 300 bail but with stringent reporting conditions.

They have to report to the nearest police station three times a week on
Monday, Wednesday and Friday and surrender their passports.

Justice Tendai Uchena however did not give bail to twelve others saying they
were a flight risk.

Among those denied bail are Tungamirai Madzokere and Oddrey Sydney Chirombe,
Rebecca Mafukeni, Yvonne Musarurwa, Cynthia Manjoro, Edson Maengahama,
Lazarus Maengahama, Lloyd Chitanda, Stenford Mangwiro, Phineas Nhatarikwa,
Tendai Chinyama, Jefias Moyo and Abina Rutsito.

The other eleven activists granted bail are Gabriel Shumba, Stephen
Takaedzwa, Linda Muradzikwa, Tafadzwa Billiard, Simon Mudimu, Dube
Zwelibanzi, Simon Mapanzure, Edwin Muingiri, Francis Vambai, Augustine
Tengenyika and Gapara Nyamadzawo.

Meanwhile, the activists also appeared before Magistrate Shane Kubonera for
a routine remand hearing which was postponed to July 14 2011.

The activists who are being represented by Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights
(ZLHR) had applied for permanent stay of prosecution until their case of
torture which they allegedly suffered while in police custody was concluded.

ZLHR’s spokesperson Kumbirai Mafunda said his organisation was concerned
about the continued arrest of Glen View residents.

“We have handed over the appeal to the Supreme Court with copies to the ZRP
and the Attorney General. What this means is that our clients should not be
prosecuted until the courts have dealt with the torture issues which they
raised when they were first brought before the court,” said Mafunda.

“As you are aware the 24 accused persons were seriously tortured by the
police while in their custody and we need that to be addressed first, before
their case is heard.

“As Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights representing these people, we strongly
believe that the police tortured them because they had some visible wounds
when they appeared before the court.

One of them, Cynthia Manjoro, told the court that she was beaten on her
knees by the police using an empty bottle and it’s a clear indication of
torture.”

Biti insists on voters’ roll clean-up

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC party says it has unearthed plans by
President Robert Mugabe to rig next year's presidential election, just as
the beleaguered GNU begins gearing up for the crunch ballot which the aging
dictator is widely expected to lose.
02.07.1101:09pm
Chief Reporter

His plot hinges on inflating the number of eligible voters and multiple
registration of Zanu (PF) supporters in different constituencies to allow
them to vote several times. The second part of the strategy involves
relocating thousands of urban dwellers on the register to rural
constituencies.

The plot was unveiled by MDC secretary-general Tendai Biti at an MDC rally
held in Kuwadzana on Wednesday evening. He described the rigging plans as a
"stinking plot."

“On the current voters’ roll, there are over six million registered voters.
In reality we have about only two million genuine voters and the rest are
ghost voters," Biti said.

“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.

The plan has been tailor-made to fit Zanu (PF)'s overall presidential
election strategy. A pilot phase proved successful in the 2008 run-off
election where a shambolic voters roll was used. Registrar General Tobaiwa
Mudede insists the roll is clean, and has challenged civil society groups
questioning the integrity of the register to inspect it.

The South African Institute of Race Relations said in a recent report the
register has “an impossible figure” of more than 40,000 people older than
100 years. The voters register contains names of 132,540 people more than 90
years-old, 4,368 of who didn’t appear on previous rolls, SAIRR said.

The report is based on a digital copy of Zimbabwe’s October 2010 voters’
roll, which hasn’t been publicly released. A total of 16,828 names on the
roll were for people born on Jan. 1, 1901, it said. But Mudede dismisses
these claims.

"Our system is programmed in such a way that it rejects any person below 18
years of age on data entry. Therefore minor children cannot appear on the
voters' roll," he said.

"The RG has repeatedly requested the organisations that are making these
allegations to come with names, or evidence for verification. To date such
information has not been submitted to us."

Claims of people with more than 100 years appearing on the voters' roll is
surprising as the Electoral Act did not discriminate such people from having
their names on the roll, he said.

"You don't want these people to attain 100 years, you don't want them to be
alive? The law does not say once one attains 100 years he/she should be
removed. It is their right to vote unless they come to say they want to be
removed. We will, however, still advise them that it is their right to
vote," said Mudede.

On claims that the voter register contained names of dead people, he said:
"If these are the ‘ghosts' political parties are talking about, then they
must draw comfort in that the system currently in place would require
positive identification before one is allowed to vote, which may not be the
case with a dead person."

The SAIRR said the Zimbabwe voters register “is not only a wholly incredible
document but an extremely dangerous one, which lends itself to all manner of
electoral manipulation and ballot stuffing.”

The list of potential voters used in Zimbabwe’s previous parliamentary and
presidential elections contained “at least” two million fictitious voters,
it said. The registrar general should be replaced ahead of a referendum,
expected to take place this year, and elections, the Johannesburg-based
institute said in its report.

But President Mugabe's Zanu (PF) insists Mudede will run the next elections.
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC has called for the removal of Mudede
in the administration of polls and called for a biometric voters roll.

Biti told the rally: “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 - they will only be there to provide protection and maintaining
peace”.

Mutambara says Zim ‘over-borrowed’

http://www.newzimbabwe.com

02/07/2011 00:00:00
    by Business Reporter

DEPUTY Prime Minister, Arthur Mutambara, says Zimbabwe is practically broke
with the national debt now outstripping the country’s gross domestic product
(GDP).

"Zimbabwe's GDP is zero," Mutambara told delegates to a recent book launch
in Harare.

"If you owe some one US$7 billion and your GDP is US$7 billion then you do o
not have any money.”

Zimbabwe’s national debt is said to be more than US$7 billion, outstripping
the country’s GDP which is estimated at just over US$6 billion.
"We are heavily borrowed and we do not have a GDP to talk about," Mutambara
said.

Early last month, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Zimbabwe was in
“debt distress” with a large and unsustainable external debt stock which
represented 118 percent of GDP at the end of 2010.
The bulk of the debt was also said to be in arrears.

Central Bank Chief, Gideon Gono also said the country’s national debt to GDP
ratio was out of sink with international best practice.

“The country’s total external debt stock amounted to US$6 929 million as at
31 December 2010, representing 103 percent of GDP, a level which is above
the international debt sustainability benchmark of 60 percent,” Gono said in
a monetary policy review presented in January.

“The bulk of the country’s external debt is owed to multilateral creditors,
which account for 36 percent of the country’s total debt.”

Gono said bilateral and commercial creditors were owed 33 percent and 31
percent, respectively with central government remaining the largest debtor
at 57 percent while parastatals and the private sector owed 35 percent and 8
percent, respectively.

In a statement issued following consultations with local authorities in
June, the IMF welcomed the government’s strategy for arrears clearance and
re-engagement with the international community.

The government was however urged to refrain from further “non-concessional
borrowing and to seek better terms for recently contracted debt”.

S Africa's Zuma Urges Zimbabwe President, PM to Increase Cooperation, Ease Tension

http://www.voanews.com/

01 July 2011

There is concern in Pretoria that President Rupiah Banda of Zambia and
Mozambican President Armando Guebuza have not sent delegates to bolster
Harare's Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee

Blessing Zulu | Washington

A senior aide to South African President Jacob Zuma, regional mediator in
the chronically troubled Zimbabwean government, said Friday that Mr. Zuma
has asked President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai to
increase cooperation.

Zuma foreign affairs adviser Lindiwe Zulu said Mr. Zuma, who represents the
Southern African Development Community, has been concerned at the
deterioration of relations among the parties in the Harare unity government
parties in recent weeks despite the resolutions for reform adopted at the
recent SADC summit in Johannesburg.

Sources said there is also concern in Pretoria that President Rupiah Banda
of Zambia and Mozambican President Armando Guebuza have not yet sent
delegates to bolster Harare's Joint Monitoring and Implementation
Committee - a SADC resolution.

Zulu said Pretoria has decided not to dispatch a South African
representative to work with JOMIC having decided that its current
facilitation team is up to the task.

Reflecting some confusion in the regional body, SADC Executive Secretary
Tomaz Salomão told VOA Studio 7 reporter Blessing Zulu that as far as he is
concerned the SADC delegates to JOMIC have already been appointed.

Zimbabwean Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa, chief negotiator for
President Mugabe's ZANU-PF, would not comment on the state of current talks
among the governing parties.

But Energy Minister Elton Mangoma, negotiator for Mr. Tsvangirai's Movement
for Democratic Change, said Mr. Zuma had a conflicting commitment that
obliged him to postpone his participation in talks that were to have opened
in Harare this weekend.

International relations expert Clifford Mashiri said Mr Zuma must stay
involved and not outsource resolution of the conflict to the belligerent
parties.

Controversial Zimbabwe Diamonds Dispute Deepens

http://www.voanews.com

June 30, 2011

Peta Thornycroft | Johannesburg

There is growing confusion over whether Zimbabwe can legally export rough
diamonds from its military-run Marange fields under the Kimberley Process,
the mechanism meant to stop the flow of so-called "blood diamonds." Experts
have conflicting views on whether Zimbabwe is complying with Kimberley
Process rules.

Zimbabwean Finance Minister Tendai Biti has repeatedly said he wants revenue
from the Marange fields so he can increase public sector wages.  But he
added that he wants the Kimberley Process to achieve a consensus on
Zimbabwe.

Kimberley Process Chairman Mathieu Yamba, from the Democratic Republic of
Congo, says Zimbabwe can legally export the Marange diamonds. But
international human-rights groups, backed by some Western countries,
including the United States, say consensus on Zimbabwe was not reached at
the recent Kimberley Process meeting in Kinshasa.

The process was created to stem the flow of so-called blood diamonds used by
armed groups and rebels to finance wars.  Human-rights groups say Zimbabwe's
military has beaten, tortured, and killed civilians to exercise control of
the Marange fields.

Research Director Alan Martin of Partnership Africa Canada, a
non-governmental organization that has done considerable research on human
rights abuses committed by Zimbabwean security forces in 2008.  He says
Zimbabwe should not be allowed to export diamonds from the Marange area.

“The military and police remain very much in charge of how diamonds are
produced in Marange, which is sort of like guns and alcohol - and the two do
not go together,” Martin said.

Mining minister blamed

Martin blames Mining Minister Obert Mpofu and his ZANU-PF party colleagues
in government for obstructing the country's progress toward exporting
certified diamonds.

“It has its destiny in its own hands.  [If] It can have respectful
negotiations with the Kimberly Process, it will probably get its way, but up
to now it has not done that,” Martin said.

He says, for example, Mpofu has had two years to draw up a plan to involve
small-scale miners in exploiting alluvial Marange diamonds, but has failed
to produce a plan.

“They have insulted people, refused to negotiate, obfuscated, lied,
threatened, intimidated, et cetera, which is the normal way ZANU works.
This is a matter of ZANU locking itself into a room, throwing away the key
and blaming us for the fact it can not get out of the room,” Martin said.

Protest walkout

At last week’s Kimberley Process meeting in Kinshasa, Partnership Africa
Canada walked out in protest of Chairman Yamba's decision to certify
Zimbabwe’s diamonds.

Veteran diamond writer and analyst Chaim Evan-Zohar has been highly critical
of previous human-rights abuses in Marange.  He was a member of a Kimberley
Process review mission that inspected Marange diamond mines last year.

He says Marange mines have now complied with Kimberley Process rules and
regulations, and that Chairman Yamba's decision in Kinshasa was correct in
ruling that rough stones from Marange can be exported legally.

He says Kimberley Process rules have been politicized in the Zimbabwe
controversy, which has undermined the international regulator.

“Because of the politicization of the Kimberley system, which has brought in
all kinds of other elements, which are more detrimental even [to] the
Kimberley Process itself, than to Zimbabwe,” Zohar said.

He said with or without Kimberley Process approval, Zimbabwe has and will
find ways of selling its diamonds.

“Zimbabwe finds ways to get its diamonds out to the market one way or
another.  Kimberley Process has deviated from its own procedures and rules
and core purpose, that is a problem.  Sanity should return to the Kimberley
Process and there is a way it can be done,” Zohar said.

Zohar adds that retailers depend on their own due diligence, not the
Kimberley Process, to ensure diamonds came from ethical mines.

Although most African states say they agree that Zimbabwe’s Marange diamonds
can now be legally exported, Alan Martin says some African diamond producers
fear being tainted with the Zimbabwe brush.

Consumers to have final say

He says consumers will have the last say and that there is ongoing debate
about the evolution of the Kimberley Process to keep on top of changing
realities.

“Look at countries such as Botswana.  Botswana understand(s) the centrality
of their diamond industry to their economic livelihood.  Countries like
Zimbabwe, we do not have much hope for, we understand that.  Over time you
are going to see countries which do respect human rights, that do understand
the integrity of diamonds to their economies, they will make that move,”
Martin said.

In a related controversy, Zimbabwe's finance minister Biti says the state
treasury has received no income during 2011 from the diamond mines in
Marange, in which the government is a 50-percent shareholder.  That would
cripple any plan to increase public-sector wages, which Biti is facing
enormous pressure to do.

Several reliable sources in southeastern Zimbabwe, who asked not to be
named, recently told VOA that diamonds are being smuggled out of the Marange
fields.  The sources said junior soldiers in nighttime partnerships with
civilian diggers regularly facilitate the smuggling of the stones.

The country's youngest mayor falls prey to ZRP

http://bulawayo24.com

by Lincon Moyo
2011July02 18:42:36

Welshman Ncube led MDC formation Mayor of Gwanda Lionel De Necker is on the
run after expressing his views on fundamental issues of Zimbabwe. He and the
MDC-N Youth Assembly Secretary for Recruiting Kudakwashe Munengiwa expressed
their views on the fundamental issues of the country which angered the ZANU
PF watch dogs.

Freedom of Expression in Zimbabwe is of major concern because anyone who
speaks out becomes prey to the police, recently The Standard reporter
Patience Nyangowe and Editor Nevanji Madanhire were arrested.

This is not a out of the ordinary scenario. Many have been victims of the
ZRP for non-issues and freedom of expression. This reminds us of the Stallin
Era whereby who ever demonstrated mental freeness was an enermy of the
state. De Necker since his election to the Mayor's office he has done
nothing more than well serving people of Gwanda. From early age he
demonstrated good leadership qualities that could be of great use to the
state in the near future. But this stands questioned with the current ZANU
PF defence forces state.

The radical Kudakwashe Munengiwa popularly known for his scandal in COPAC of
threatening to strip nacked to proove that he is male, is also in the run.
He also voiced out basic principles that a country should abide by in order
to be rendered free and fair. Thus in its essence provoking the ZRP which
have now resorted to putting him and mayor Deneker behind bars.

Every opposition political activist in Zimbabwe is regarded as a state
enermy that deserve nothing more than staying behind bars.

Recently the former Student leader Solomon Madzore of the MDC-T and some of
his cdes where in hiding because the ZRP were chasing after them, accusing
them of murder.

For as long as one is not a ZANU PF cadre he is viewed as a national threat
in the eyes of the ZRP.

Journalists are not exempt from state enermity in the view of ZRP. Political
parties have condemned in strongest terms the arrest of The Standard
reporter Patience Nyangowe and Editor Nevanji Madanhire by the ZRP.

Welshman Ncube led MDC spokesperson Kurauwone Chiwayi said "Our party
believes that there could have been ways that the police may have expressed
their displeasure through reporting to the Voluntary Media Council , the
Media Information Commission or possibly they may have approached the courts
for redress as the law on defamation dictates without arresting the media
practitioners."

"We wish to point that any arrest and detention of journalists while
carrying out their duties reminds us of the fascist times where the enemies
of truth and angels of darkness proffered all ways to disturb the flow of
information" Said Chiwayi

Tsvangirai led MDC spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora couldn't be reached for
comment.

ZANU-PF moves to tame old guard

http://www.financialgazette.co.zw/

Friday, 01 July 2011 10:53

Dumisani Ndlela, Deputy Editor-in-Chief

ZANU-PF's old guard, with the exception of President Robert Mugabe, faces an
uncertain future at primary polls likely to be held before the end of August
as pressure mounts for the infusion of new blood ahead of possible elections
to end a trouble-torn inclusive government. The move is said to be meant to
enhance the former liberation war party's chances of overturning a combined
victory by the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) formations in the 2008
harmonised elections.
This comes as it emerged that the party's election machinery has been oiled
for a possible election this year despite apparent agitation for a national
vote to be held after electoral and constitutional reforms expected to be
completed next year.
ZANU-PF has already started laying the ground for possible primary elections
before the end of August. This would be a month in advance of an expected
referendum on the national constitution as agreed by principals to the
Global Political Agreement (GPA), the document that culminated in the
formation of the inclusive government and laid the ground rules for the
democratisation of the country's political arena.
The Financial Gazette can exclusively reveal that pressure has been brought
to bear on the party's old guard - blamed for weakening ZANU-PF by fanning
internecine factional fights within the party's rank and file - to pave way
for new blood to revatilise and unify the fractious party ahead of
make-or-break national polls.
The feeling among members of a crack team led by Retired Air Marshal Henry
Muchena, appointed ZANU-PF director early this year, is that the
socialist-leaning party has lost ground to rivals because of the imposition
of tired political figures with nothing new to offer to an expectant
electorate.
Muchena's team is therefore determined to open the floodgates to young Turks
that are impatiently skulking in the periphery for a chance on leadership
positions.
ZANU-PF critics say the party's major letdown has been its failure to renew
itself by attracting young leaders to understudy the current crop of leaders
and subsequently take over.
But there are also fears that the restructuring could widen the rift between
the young Turks and the old guard if not handled properly. rom Page 1
Despite benefiting from the land reforms, most members of the old guard
still survive on politics and are still to sort out their retirement plans,
hence, they are unlikely to step aside without a fight.
Muchena's team, whose brief is shrouded in secrecy even among some of the
most senior members of the party, has assured President Mugabe that the
primaries would this time around produce an outcome reflecting the will of
the people.
ZANU-PF bigwigs claiming Godfather status in their respective provinces have
been rebuked for undermining the party by imposing candidates against the
will of the people and have been told to stay away from the primary election
process to avoid embarrassment.
Insiders within the party said the message from Muchena's team has been loud
and clear: No one would be allowed to meddle in internal party elections
after the current crop of leaders failed to secure President Mugabe victory
in the 2008 elections.
President Mugabe lost to Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai in March, but the
MDC-T leader failed to garner enough votes to be declared a winner, forcing
a run-off in June that was won by the incumbent after the former trade
unionist pulled out because of alleged violence against his supporters.
In the last election, the party witnessed a discrepant voting pattern that
suggested factionalism had undermined the vote against the party's
Presidential candidate.
Sources indicated that the party's election directorate has been placed on
notice for possible primary elections to be superintended by Muchena's team.
Muchena was seconded to the party headquarters early this year even before
his resignation from the Air Force of Zimbabwe to contain factionalism,
which has distressed President Mugabe, endorsed at the last congress as the
party's Presidential candidate in forthcoming elections.
Muchena, a veteran of Zimbabwe's liberation war, is working closely with a
cabal of trusted retired and serving service chiefs to ensure that top
provincial leaders are proscribed from interfering with the primary election
process.
The move comes as hostilities between the army and former opposition leader,
Prime Minister Tsvangirai, escalated, with the army insisting that President
Mugabe should rule for life.
The military has already sounded early warnings that it would be going for
broke to thwart any prospects for Tsvangirai in forthcoming polls,
statements that have bolstered the MDC-T's call for reforms within the
security sector.
Tsvangirai, the MDC-T leader, admitted late last year that his party had
failed to earn the recognition of the former fighters and the serving
security chiefs despite guarantees of protection should his party assume
power.
Top services chiefs have recently intensified their resistance against a
possible MDC-T leadership in the country, with several of them making public
pronouncements against the Prime Minister.
Brigadier-General Douglas Nyikayaramba, who indicated in a recent interview
with a weekly newspaper that President Mugabe should rule for life,
described Tsvangirai as "a major security threat" in the country.
In a retaliatory attack, Tsvangirai told a party rally that Zimbabwe's
service chiefs were "day dreamers" and that they wanted to intimidate him
out of the inclusive government so they could "call a snap election with no
election guidelines and roadmap".
"They (military) should stop scaring us and intimidating us with empty
threats because we are not scared," Tsvangirai said.
ZANU-PF secretary for administration, Didymus Mutasa, confirmed the party
was seized with the issue of elections and that a Politburo meeting that was
planned for yesterday to discuss the issue had been called off because of
the absence of President Mugabe.
The Politburo is ZANU-PF's decision-making body in-between congresses.
"It's what we were going to discuss at the Politburo meeting, but we've not
sat down because the Politburo meeting has been called off," said Mutasa.
He indicated that once the Politburo discussed the issue of primary
elections, it would be tabled immediately before the Central Committee and
then the National Consultative Assembly. These meetings, said Mutasa, would
be held "one after the other".
"That resolution (not to impose candidates), was agreed at the ZANU-PF
conference in Mutare in December," said Mutasa.
The Central Committee is the policy-making organ of the party while the
National Consultative Assembly comprises of members of the Central
Committee, National Assembly of the Women's League and their deputies, the
10 provincial executive councils and former members of the Central Committee
on account of their contribution to the liberation struggle or development
of the country after independence.
The assembly receives, hears and debates any major matters of policy as the
President or the Central Committee from time to time determine. It also
makes recommendations to the Central Committee on any matters of policy
relating to the party or government.
It meets at least twice a year.
Rugare Gumbo, the party's spokesperson, said he could not discuss issues
that had not yet been tabled before the Politburo.
"We have not deliberated on that (primary elections) because the Politburo
did not meet so I can't comment," said Gumbo.
ZANU-PF's secretary for the commissariat, Webster Shamu, said he could not
comment on the issue unless he is authorised to do so by Gumbo.

Zim media freedom cosmetic

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

By Leigh Pauline
Saturday, 02 July 2011 11:51

HARARE - Media freedom lobby groups say the fresh crackdown on journalists
is a sign that media freedom is sliding backwards under the coalition
government despite promises at its inception to open it up.
The country’s political parties agreed under the Global Political Agreement
(GPA) to repeal repressive media laws and reform other laws that affect the
media.

The Media Institute of Southern Africa (Misa) chairperson Loughty Dube said
the arrest of journalist this week is an act of intimidation.

“The continued harassment of journalists is a wider campaign to intimidate
the media,” said Dube saying the police should use appropriate mechanisms to
lodge complaints against the media.

The Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ) said the arrest of Standard
journalists this week is a telling sign that the situation for journalists
might get worse as the country draws close to elections.

“There is a lot of freedom of speech in the country but the question is, is
there freedom after speech?” said.

Forster Dongozi, ZUJ secretary-general adding that “freedom of speech is not
tolerated by the authorities” and “is under threat in the country.”

Dongozi  said the attacks on journalists are likely to increase as the
country draws closer to elections.

He said the fresh attacks on freedom of speech are “scare tactics” designed
to intimidate opposition to the government saying the arrests of journalists
this week is a fresh attempt to “crush or crack anything that gets in the
way.”

Nevanji Madanhire, the editor of the weekly Standard newspaper was on
Thursday charged of criminal defamation. The charges are related to a story
published in his paper under the headline, “MDC T fears for missing Timba’s
life.”

Iden Witherell, Chairman of the Zimbabwe National Editors Forum (Znef) said
the arrest is a sign of opposition to media freedom and need to  be fought.

“The essence of a democratic system lies in the ability of voters to make an
informed decision at the polls, that means they should have access to a
diversity of views,” said Witherell.

“The arrest of journalists and editors represents a severe curtailment of
the democratic process and needs to be resisted every step of the way so
Zimbabweans can exercise the liberties to which they are entitled, most
notably freedom of expression.”

The government has so far failed to deliver on promises to free up the
media. Under the GPA political parties agreed to license new newspapers,
radio stations and recognise the crucial role that the media plays in
multi-party democracy.”

However, although a host of newspapers have been licensed no single
broadcasting licence has been issued and no media law has so far been
changed.

The Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (Aippa), considered
one of the most repressive media laws in the region, has routinely been used
to silence the media.

A Zanu PF politburo member was this week said to be plotting the arrest of
the country’s top journalists from the independent Press including the Daily
News.

A day after the Daily News warned of the plot against journalists, the two
from the Standard were arrested.

19 charged for stoning Zim man to death

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

Seven more people were recently charged in Seshego Magistrates following the
stoning to death of Zimbabwean Godfrey Sibanda two weeks ago.
02.07.1101:34pm
Mkhululi Chimoio

This brings the number of people charged for the xenophobic attack to 19,
including one ANC official.

Last week, six houses allegedly illegally occupied by foreigners were set on
fire in the area. About 20 Zimbabweans, including women and kids escaped
with their lives and are now staying at the Polokwane Police Station. All of
their belongings were burnt by the mob.

Polokwane Police Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said, “We arrested the
suspected ringleader behind the burning of the RDP houses and he will be
charged with arson. This week we arrested seven more suspects following the
death of Godfrey Sibanda.”

Last month Provincial ANC spokesman David Masondo said, “I am shocked and
disgusted by the killing of a Zimbabwean national in what appears to be a
struggle over jobs and housing Seshego. Such violent acts are not are
unacceptable because they are incompatible with the democratic South Africa
we fought for.

“The allegation that the Zimbabwean killed two South Africans during a
robbery is not justification for South Africans to take law into their own
hands. We call on all South Africans to refrain from further attacks.”

All 19 face charges of incitement, public violence, malicious damage to
property, arson and murder. The councillor and 11 others are out on bail and
will be back in court on 16 August.

31 Underprivileged Students Benefits From US Scholarships

http://www.radiovop.com/

9 hours 36 minutes ago

Harare, July 02, 2011 – 31 disadvantaged students are set to attend top
American Universities following the unveiling of $7 million worth of
scholarships by the United States Embassy.

The students, drawn from the country’s 10 provinces, were praised by Prime
Minister, Morgan Tsvangirai, for earning places at top American
universities and colleges.

The US Student Achievers Program (USAP) is 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, US 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, the Education, Sports, Arts and Culture
Minister, David Coltart, welcomed U.S. support to education in
Zimbabwe.

“This year’s scholarship awards will enable more students to pursue their
goals and career paths through higher education, something 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 US Student Achievers Programme (USAP) is a one-year intensive counseling
program that assists academically talented but economically
disadvantaged A’ level students to obtain full scholarships to top US
colleges and universities.

The programme helps the students research the best academic programs for
their talents, prepare for standardized American university
entrance exams, and write application essays.

The US Student Achiever Program (USAP), established in 1999 in Zimbabwe, has
been replicated by 15 other US 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.

Catastrophe: What went wrong in Zimbabwe?

http://www.thenassauguardian.com

 

 

Sir Ronald Sanders Published: Jul 02, 2011     At midnight on April 18, 1980 as the flag of independent Zimbabwe was raised for the first time, Tanzania’s president, Julius Nyerere, told the new prime minister, Robert Mugabe, that he had inherited “the jewel of Africa.”  Since then the “jewel” has become extremely tarnished. Today, Zimbabwe has the highest ratio of debt to GDP in the world, its talented people have fled the country and so too have hundreds of thousands of its unskilled workers. “Catastrophe: what went wrong in Zimbabwe?” is the title of a soon to be released book by Richard Bourne, senior research fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies at London University. The book will be published by Zed Books, London. Much has already been written about Zimbabwe and its decline since its independence in 1980. There is also a great deal of literature on Southern Rhodesia, as Zimbabwe was known before independence, particularly the Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) by a white minority regime led by Ian Smith. What has not yet been attempted is an account of how a country that emerged with such international goodwill and with considerable natural resources and markets for its products could decline so drastically in 30 years.  Bourne’s book is a well-researched investigation of this question. The contention of the book is that the central cause of Zimbabwe’s problems – what caused the racism that characterized the country as Southern Rhodesia; what bedeviled the constitutional conference leading to its independence; and what eventually led to its economic collapse, political instability and human rights atrocities – is land. Cecil John Rhodes was one of the biggest rogues to have entered Africa. The Rhodes scholarship, which he endowed at Oxford University, was provided on the back of the most nefarious land grab, in what is now Zimbabwe, ever orchestrated by one man. In 1888, he duped King Lobengula of the Ndebele into signing over to Rhodes’ chartered company complete charge over the metals and minerals in his kingdom “together with full power to do all things that they may deem necessary to win and procure the same”. At the point of a gun thereafter, he proceeded to displace Africans from their land and had no compunction in calling the land he seized “Rhodesia”, after himself. It was not all plain sailing.  Both the Ndebele and the Shona tribes rose up in protest at the seizure and occupation of their land. They were cut down brutally, some even dynamited in caves in which they hid.  By 1914, the land available for Africans was only 20.5 million acres out of a total in Southern Rhodesia of 96 million acres.  The situation worsened over time.  By 1931, Bourne records that “leaving aside the tribal trust lands for Africans not expected to be part of the European economy, 7.4 million acres were set aside for African purchase and 49 million acres for Europeans”. White emigration to Southern Rhodesia was encouraged after the Second World War.  And there was every reason for Europeans to take advantage of it.  They had access to land they could not purchase in their own homelands; they had a ready source of cheap African labour both for their farms and their homes; and a lifestyle far superior to their conditions at home. The white population rose sharply from 82,000 in 1946 to 135,000 in 1951 and then doubled again to 223,000 by 1960. By 1965, Ian Smith and his white minority government made their unilateral declaration of independence, determined to keep control of Southern Rhodesia and to deny the native Africans their political, human and civil rights.  Successive British governments – both Labour and Conservative – refused to intervene militarily to promote majority rule. But all of Britain’s former colonies that by then had come to independence and joined the Commonwealth were determined that racism in Southern Africa should not subsist, and that majority rule should be established. A series of events, well recorded by Bourne, including the machinations of Henry Kissinger, then U.S. secretary of state, and the abandonment of Ian Smith by the apartheid regime in South Africa (by this time more concerned with their own survival), led to the 1979 Lancaster House Constitutional Conference on Southern Rhodesia. At the table were Ian Smith and his African puppets.  So too were Robert Mugabe and Joshua Nkomo leading two separate groups, but recognized by the international community as the genuine leaders of the African people of Southern Rhodesia. Chairing the conference was Lord Carrington, the British foreign secretary.  And, behind the scenes, Shridath “Sonny” Ramphal, the Commonwealth secretary-general from Guyana who, as Bourne puts it, “was emphatic that he wanted an end to racism in southern Africa under his watch”. It is clear from Bourne’s account that Carrington had no interest in reaching a solution to the land question, which came up time and again and was almost the cause of a walk-out by Mugabe and Nkomo. A last minute undertaking, worked out by Ramphal with the U.S. government, was what persuaded them to stay. The U.S. President Jimmy Carter agreed to funding that would allow compulsory land purchases.  It was an undertaking never kept by Carter’s successor Ronald Reagan or any U.S. president since. In the years since Zimbabwe’s independence, “land starvation” became a central issue for Zimbabwe Africans, particularly those who were the soldiers in the fight for freedom in both Mugabe and Nkomo’s parties.  Theirs was an agitation Mugabe could not ignore. Unable to fund the compulsory acquisition of millions of acres of white-owned farms, Mugabe resorted to seizing them and the economy started its rapid decline.  In short order, the country became a basket case with inflation so high and the value of the currency so meaningless that the Central Bank actually printed $100,000 notes.  The price of a loaf of bread reached $825.  Unemployment soared to 60 percent and people were starving. Over time, the land also fell into the hands of the political elite.  As Bourne points out, in November 2010, “Mugabe and his wife Grace owned 14 farms and each minister and deputy minister had more than one; the vice president, her husband and their close relatives had at least 25”, and so the list goes on. This second land grab in Zimbabwe was very much a part of Mugabe’s attempt to hold on to power in the face of massive opposition.  His administration rigged elections, caused his opponents to be beaten-up, imprisoned, and killed, and hundreds of thousands of his people fled across borders as refugees.  The “jewel” was completely blemished. Bourne’s book is an important contribution to understanding what went wrong in independent Zimbabwe; it is also a good account of all the factors that blighted the country and its people long before Mugabe came to power. Printed with the permission of Caribbean News Now.

Before Elections - Abolish PresidentialTemporary Powers

Clifford Chitupa Mashiri, 02/07/11

It was shocking to learn that Zimbabwe’s coalition Cabinet has approved the
Electoral Amendment Bill which bars those in the Diaspora from voting in the
next elections. Even more scary is the possibility that the offending Bill
could be fast-tracked through Parliament after it was gazetted on Monday
27th June 2011 and become law soon.

We pray that the Parliamentary Legal Committee will find the intention of
the Bill to be discriminatory and inconsistent with the Constitution. The
Bill is favouring those said to be in public service abroad while punishing
those abroad who supported the country through remittance of billions of
foreign currency and food at a time when Zimbabwe was on its knees. It would
be a very BIG mistake if the Parliament passes the Bill in its present
retrogressive form.

MPs may want to remember some mistakes of the first Parliament of Zimbabwe
which have had drastic consequences for the country starting with the
removal of dual citizenship from the Constitution which barred the Diaspora
vote possibly contributing to the indecisive elections leading to today’s
GNU. Then there was the amendment of the Constitution to provide for an
executive presidency whose powers have caused serious problems including
undermining the rule of law, human rights and coming to the rescue of
Zanu-pf party at election time. For example Robert Mugabe has more electoral
powers than more than one million ordinary Zimbabweans by virtue of his
presidential powers to appoint 30 parliamentarians when 6 million voters can
only choose less than 180 parliamentarians.

Legal efforts to reverse the militarization of elections suffered a major
blow in 2002 after MDC president Morgan Tsvangirai requested that all staff
members of the Electoral Supervisory Commission of the registrar General who
were members of the defence forces, police, or prison services ‘immediately’
cease to act in such capacity.  However, the ‘urgent chamber application’
made on 1 March 2002 was not proceeded with after the provisions of the
Electoral Act were amended by Robert Mugabe on March 5, 2002 through a
Statutory Instrument No. 41D: Electoral Act (Modification) Notice, 2002
(pursuant to S158 of the Electoral Act).

By 2001 President Robert Mugabe had legislated 450 times by decree through
Statutory Instruments covering various Acts of Parliament including the
Electoral Act (See The Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum Special Report:
Enforcing the Rule of Law in Zimbabwe, September 2001, page 22 of 56). As
would be expected, said the ZHR NGO Forum, in such heavy use of Statutory
Instruments, there have been errors and more worrying illegalities.

The prerogative of mercy is another area in which Robert Mugabe has “bent
the law” to his own purposes said the ZHR NGO Forum. Of all his personal
pardons, GN457A/2000 most angered ordinary Zimbabweans. On 6 October 2000,
the President amnestied those involved in political violence from the
beginning of January to the end of July 2000, covering both the
Constitutional Referendum and the General Election but reportedly declining
to include members of ZAPU imprisoned for some 15 years on similar charges
(The Financial Gazette, 19/10/00). Some 1 300 people were thought to have
been amnestied, but Government played down on the numbers.

Sometimes legal redress expected under the best practice model appears very
straightforward only to be soon shrouded in mystery. For instance, in
Buhera North, the High Court declared that the Zanu-pf candidate, Kenneth
Manyonda had not been duly elected, thereby vindicating the petitioner the
MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, however, Zanu-pf appealed.  After the appeal
was filed, the tapes of the court record were stolen from a locked office at
the High Court, and the judge’s notebooks mysteriously went missing and the
case was never heard by the Supreme Court.

On December 8, 2000, after the legal process had begun, Mugabe attempted to
cancel, under the Electoral Act s158 all the MDC’s legal challenges to the
June 2000 election results (Statutory Instrument 318/2000, Electoral Act
(Modification) No3 Notice 2000 (Regulations) although it was not issued
under the Presidential Powers  (Temporary Measures Act.

It is therefore, important that before elections, Zimbabwe should abolish or
curtail the use of presidential temporary powers and amnesty for political
crimes.

©Clifford Chitupa Mashiri, Political Analyst, London,
zimanalysis2009@gmail.com