http://www.businessday.co.za
Hotels, private schools, sports
facilities, engineering and construction
companies, and the
telecommunications and energy sectors will be expected to
comply with rules
on local ownership within a year
RAY NDLOVU
Published: 2012/07/04 06:33:28
AM
THE Zimbabwean government has expanded its indigenisation campaign to
include hotels, private schools, sports facilities, engineering and
construction companies, and the telecommunications and energy
sectors.
A notice in a government gazette dated last week but made public
yesterday,
indicated that businesses in these areas would be expected to
comply with
rules on local ownership within a year, fast-tracked ahead of
elections
likely to be held in the first quarter of next
year.
Business Day could not establish yesterday whether the powersharing
Cabinet
had approved the takeover of the new sectors listed in the
government
gazette, but a senior official in Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai’s office,
Jameson Timba, said yesterday that the move by
Indigenisation and
Empowerment Minister Savior Kasukuwere was
"regrettable".
"Those schools are owned by public trusts and there are no
shareholders. To
that extent, there are no shares to alienate or sell to
anyone," said Mr
Timba.
Zanu (PF) spokesman Rugare Gumbo said he was
not "up to date" with the
latest plans in the indigenisation ministry, but
was certain these would
uphold the Zanu (PF) policy of empowering
locals.
Meanwhile, foreign-owned banks operating in the country will be
required to
meet indigenisation regulations by month-end.
Nedbank ,
which owns MBCA, and Standard Bank ’s Stanbic, which both posted
impressive
financial results in the year ending April, are among the foreign
banks
trading in Zimbabwe that will be affected.
Sources at Barclays Zimbabwe
said last month that the bank had agreed to
start the implementation of the
contentious indigenisation policy by
transferring a significant portion of
shares to employees.
Standard Chartered is also understood to have
already submitted
indigenisation proposals to Mr Kasukuwere, although
details were not known.
Standard Chartered’s stake is valued at
$30m.
National Indigenisation and Economic Board chairman David Chapfika
insisted
that the takeover of foreign-owned banks and the newly listed
sectors would
go ahead in spite of concerns of dire consequences for the
economy. "There
are no sacred cows, there is no special sector. At this
point saying the
banking sector is special would be foolhardy," he
said.
Mr Kasukuwere, who has been locked in a war of words with Reserve
Bank of
Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono — who warned him in May "not to come
near my
banks" — is certain to clash with more Cabinet colleagues as he
turns up the
indigenisation heat in their sectors.
Education Minister
David Coltart, Power and Development Minister Elton
Mangoma — who are linked
to the Movement for Democratic Change party — and
Tourism Minister Walter
Mzembi of Zanu (PF) are likely to clash with
firebrand Mr
Kasukuwere.
Officials at the different ministries canvassed by Business
Day indicated
yesterday that they were still trying to figure out what steps
to take next
now that their sectors had come onto the radar of the
indigenisation
programme.
Trevor Maisiri, a political commentator
based at the International Crisis
Group in Johannesburg said: "If this
expansion is about creating conditions
for indigenous people who want to
enter these sectors, then it is
progressive.
"The moment it becomes
about taking over established entities without paying
fair value for them
and without necessarily creating business partnerships
between indigenous
people and foreigners, then it is retrogressive for the
country."
Tony Hawkins, an economics professor at the University of
Zimbabwe, said the
lack of clarity and contradictory statements on the
indigenisation programme
made it difficult to know what to do
next.
"What is being indigenised? Is it money or brand names? The truth
of the
matter is that the majority of Zimbabwe’s banks are already
indigenised," he
said.
http://af.reuters.com
Wed Jul 4, 2012 9:33am
GMT
* Private schools targeted along with mines, banks
*
Coalition gov't sharply divided over policy
HARARE, July 4 (Reuters) -
Zimbabwe's bid to force private schools to come
under majority black control
under a much contested empowerment law is
illegal, the country's education
minister said on Wednesday, highlighting
divisions within the coalition
government over the policy.
A government notice issued last week by
empowerment minister Saviour
Kasukuwere gave foreign-owned banks and private
schools a year to comply
with a law requiring 51 percent shareholding by
local blacks.
But Minister of Education David Coltart, a member of the
Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) party in a coalition government formed
with
President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF, said the directive was
illegal.
"This action is unlawful, unconstitutional and therefore
unenforceable,"
Coltart said on his official Twitter account.
Coltart
also told the state-controlled Herald newspaper on Wednesday that
Kasukuwere
had previously assured him that private schools would not be
targeted under
the empowerment drive.
He said most private schools, formerly the
preserve of whites but are now
largely multi-racial, were owned by churches
and trusts.
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai who is sharing power with
long-ruling
Mugabe in a shaky coalition, has also sharply criticised the
empowerment law
and said Kasukuwere's latest announcement does not reflect
the cabinet's
position.
Kasukuwere, a Mugabe ally, has already forced
mining companies such as Rio
Tinto and Impala Platinum , the world's
second-largest platinum miner, to
turn over majority stakes in their local
units to black Zimbabweans.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
04/07/2012 00:00:00
by
Gilbert Nyambabvu
CENTRAL Bank Governor, Gideon Gono said
Wednesday he would seek President
Robert Mugabe’s intervention as the row
over the takeover of foreign-owned
financial institutions escalated after
Empowerment Minister Saviour
Kasukuwere ordered the banks to transfer
majority control to locals within a
year.
Gono, who is out of the
country on business, has launched a scathing attack
on Kasukuwere and
National Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Board
chairperson, David
Chapfika, saying they were not “fit and proper persons”
to be involved with
banks.
“The fact that the two main proponents of the recent illogical
moves have
presided over the failure of their two banks before, namely
Unibank and
Genesis, calls for Solomonic wisdom on the part of Zimbabwe’s
population and
leadership,” Gono said in a statement on
Wednesday.
“Ordinarily, anyone who was near a failed bank is not a fit
and proper
person to deal with banking matters or to ever own, run or talk
about the
ownership of a bank again until cleared by the central bank; his
is a
universal practice.”
Chapfika was involved in the collapsed
Unibank while Kasukuwere was
reportedly one of the shareholders in Genesis
Bank which surrendered its
licence after failing to meet the minimum capital
requirements.
Gono said President Mugabe would give final direction
regarding Kasukuwere’s
notice ordering foreign banks to reduce shareholding
in their local
operations to 49 percent, which he dismissed as “devoid of
detail and
rationality”.
“The Zimbabwean banking sector needs to be
advised that there is no law that
provides for arbitrariness on the part of
anyone and/or expropriation of
banking assets in Zimbabwe yesterday, today
or tomorrow,” he said.
“I will soon be consulting with and obtaining
further guidance from
President Mugabe on the latest moves by the Minister
in relation to the
sector that I superintend, the Banking Sector, and his
instructions will be
final in the manner in which we will
proceed.
“Until such guidance is received from the President, we regard
the
regulations as gazetted as devoid of detail and rationality as they are
contradictory in many respects with existing laws in the country such as the
Banking Act and the RBZ Act which stand at par with any other law in the
country except the Constitution of the Republic of
Zimbabwe.”
Gono, along with Finance Tendai Biti have long opposed
Kasukuwere’s bid to
force banks to comply with the indigenisation
legislation, warning the
programme could destabilise a key economic
sector.
Kasukuwere says he is simply implementing the law and accuses the
foreign
banks of undermining economic recovery and growth by refusing to
lend to
black Zimbabweans. British-based Barclays and Standard Chartered
banks as
well as Stanbic, which is owned by South Africa’s Standard Bank,
dominate
the sector.
Gono said the RBZ was ready to issue new
licences to individuals keen to own
banks, giving the example of Mines
Minister Obert Mpofu who now owns ZABG
bank.
“As the Reserve Bank, we
repeat our earlier invitation to any Zimbabwean
wishing to start a bank to
come forward with their application and we will
give them a licence to join
the sector at 100 percent ownership than waste
money taking over other
people's banks,” he said.
“The example of Minister of Mines Dr Obert
Mpofu who came forward with his
money and sought permission to take over
ZABG bank which was ailing then is
a case in point.
“We gave him two
years within which to regularise the ownership structure of
that bank to a
maximum of 25% for any single shareholder which he committed
to do but for
the time being he has put in money and is a 99,9 %
shareholder.”
Gono, who has been pushing an alternative empowerment
model, said the money
is banks did not belong to foreigners but to the
depositors adding that the
foreign equity component was no more than 20 per
cent.
He repeated earlier warnings that Kasukuwere’s forced equity
transfers would
not benefit the ordinary people insisting: “You do not need
to be a rocket
scientist to realise that someone is (trying) to take
Zimbabweans for a
ride!”
The RBZ chief also dismissed claims he was
protecting foreign banks because
they had advanced loans to his family
businesses.
“It has falsely and mischievously been suggested in some
quarters that as
governor, I am protecting the foreign banks because I owe
them huge amounts
in the form of loans given to my family business
entities,” he said.
“Well, for the record, my family and I have had
business dealings with
Barclays and Standard Bank dating back to 1977
(Barclays), 1980 (Standard
Chartered), 1996 (Stanbic Bank). At present, I do
not owe any of these banks
a single penny by way of loans or facilities.”
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com
By Staff Reporter 12 hours 41 minutes
ago
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor Gideon Gono’s battle
to save
foreign-owned banks from Zanu PF’s indigenisation crusade has
suffered a
major blow after government gazetted new regulations ordering
such banks to
cede their majority shares to locals.
The regulations,
contained in a Government Gazette published last Friday,
effectively mean
that Gono is now at the mercy of Indigenisation and
Economic Empowerment
minister Saviour Kasukuwere, who last week went into a
rage when this paper
asked him to comment on his feud with the governor.
Gono and Kasukuwere
have exchanged bitter words over the minister’s
insistence that
foreign-owned banks must sell their stakes to locals after
forcing major
mining companies to do the same.
The RBZ chief has argued that such a
move would be a final nail on Zimbabwe’s
comatose economy, but the move to
gazette the regulations could mean that
Zanu PF has left him out in the
cold.
He, however, has support from Finance minister Tendai Biti, who
yesterday
insisted that Kasukuwere’s mode of indigenisation of banks would
not work.
Biti maintained that the government position on banks had not
changed.
“Gono is out of the country at the moment and when he comes
back, we will
hold a joint Press conference to announce that nothing has
changed and that
banks will not be touched,” he said.
“The central
bank and the Ministry of Finance have always said the banks are
sufficiently
indigenised . . . so we should protect the goose that lays the
golden
egg.”
Gono, who once warned against “dishing out threats to sensitive
institutions
that are custodians of people's hard-earned savings”, had all
along boasted
that he had support from Zanu PF’s presidium in the fight to
save banks from
indigenisation.
He revealed this at a function where
he sat alongside Vice-President John
Nkomo in Bulawayo early this
year.
He described Kasukuwere’s statements on banks as a sign of
“irrational
exuberance during these times of necessary
soberness”.
“Tendencies towards firing harmful verbal economic gunpowder
must be
minimised by all stakeholders in the interest of the economy and the
Reserve
Bank of Zimbabwe board forewarns people playing with economic
gunpowder to
leave the game to those well-trained in its use and safe
custody, lest the
unintended will happen, to everyone’s future regret,” Gono
once warned.
Kasukuwere hit back at Gono saying: “We cannot run a nation
based on profane
language.
“Let’s respect the laws of the land and
not personalise issues.”
Kasukuwere has received support from Zanu
PF-linked politicians and
activists who claim the banking sector must not be
treated as a sacred cow.
Mugabe — who has stood behind Gono even after
demands by his inclusive
government partners that he be relieved of his
duties — has steered clear
from commenting about the banks.
A top
Zanu PF insider, who refused to be named, dismissed Kasukuwere as “a
daydreamer”.
“He has been talking about indigenisation since 2009,
but nothing tangible
has really happened,” the source said.
“This is
just an aspiration and we can only say there is indigenisation when
someone
has paid up and there is a transfer of shares. There is no money.
Who has
$300 million to pay for Zimplats shares? Who has $30 million to buy
Stanchart?”
He said companies that had indigenised like Schweppes had
done so
voluntarily with local consortiums pooling resources to buy
shares.
Mugabe has said the indegenisation programme is a way of hitting
back at
countries that imposed sanctions against Zimbabwe. - NewsDay
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Lance Guma
04 July
2012
Viewers will have more reason to switch off from an already stale
Zimbabwe
Broadcasting Corporation after the station entered into a deal that
will see
them broadcast Chinese news programmes for the next three
years.
On Monday ZBC chief executive Happison Muchechetere, and Luo Ming
from China
Central Television (CCTV), signed a Memorandum of Understanding
spelling out
the terms of the deal.
It was reported that CCTV will,
among other things, provide ZBC with the
necessary equipment to receive the
programmes. The deal however is not
expected to help ZBC arrest a shocking
decline in audience figures.
Several SW Radio Africa listeners in
Bulawayo criticised ZBC for choosing to
promote Chinese programming when
there were a lot of groups in the city
being starved of publicity for their
activities.
In February a Zimbabwe All Media Products and Services Survey
(ZAMPS)
revealed that only 24 percent of the population now watches ZBC TV,
down
from 38 percent in 2008. Listenership of its radio channels also
slumped to
a new low.
ZBC over the years has allowed itself to become
nothing more than a campaign
platform for ZANU PF. Viewers have switched
off, choosing instead to invest
in satellite dishes and watch foreign
stations.
A coalition government formed in February 2009, to stem the
tide of brutal
ZANU PF violence, has also failed to reform ZBC’s biased
coverage. The ZANU
PF information minister has blocked all attempts at
reforming the broadcast
sector.
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Tichaona
Sibanda
4 July 2012
The executive director of the Zimbabwe Human
Rights NGO Forum, Abel Chikomo,
has been charged by the police for allegedly
running an ‘illegal’
organization.
Chikomo received the summons on
Tuesday and the case has been set to go for
trial on 25th July, according to
the chairperson of the forum, Irene Petras.
The police charge has raised
eyebrows within the NGO community as it comes
barely two months after the
United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights, Navi Pillay, visited
Zimbabwe. Her five day visit seemed to have
unsettled top ZANU PF officials,
with party spokesperson Rugare Gumbo saying
her tour was a ploy for military
intervention.
Speaking to SW Radio Africa’s Hidden Story program, Petras
said this latest
move by the police was just the start of a planned
clampdown against human
rights defenders in Zimbabwe.
‘We are quite
surprised that the police say Chikomo is running an
organization that is not
registered. That forum has been in existence for a
long time and we will get
to the intricacies of the legal aspect if at all
the case goes for trial at
end of this month,’ Petras said.
Petras, a lawyer by profession, said
that the Forum is operating entirely in
accordance with the laws of
Zimbabwe, adding that it was difficult to
understand why they were
continuously harassing Chikomo.
In the past year, police have been
summoning Chikomo to various stations for
interrogations and it was only on
Tuesday that they decided to lay charges
against him.
Petras added
that the persecution of NGO’s and civil society goes wholly
against the
spirit expected of a government that should be making moves
towards
reform
Meanwhile High Court Judge, Justice Chinembiri Bhunu, on Thursday
granted
the 29 MDC members facing false charges of murdering a police
officer, the
right to appeal for bail at the Supreme Court. Justice Bhunu
first denied
them bail just before the start of the trial in
May.
Defence lawyer, Charles Kwaramba told us they were now working on
the new
bail application that they will file at the Supreme Court
soon.
‘This is good news, it’s a step in the right direction forward and I
hope it’s
the start of better things to come for clients who have been in
custody for
a long time now,’ Kwaramba said. The trial of the 29 members
will resume
next week following a week long break.
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Tichaona Sibanda
4 July
2012-07-04
More daggers have been drawn against Defence Minister Emmerson
Mnangagwa, as
the political jostling to succeed Robert Mugabe in ZANU PF
becomes more
intense and vicious.
A storm has been gathering in
Mnangagwa’s bid to take over, once Mugabe is
out of the equation. The ZANU
PF strongman was dealt a serious blow with
respect to his political
influence within the party when the politburo last
week disbanded the
District Coordinating Committees.
The decision was made in his absence
when he was on working visit to China,
leading many to believe his influence
in the party is waning. A source told
SW Radio Africa that hardly anyone who
attended the politburo meeting last
week attempted to speak in his
corner.
‘There are many candidates with an eye on the highest office in
ZANU PF now.
Most have deep roots in the liberation struggle and have been
colleagues
with him until ambitions clashed. Then things have been getting
murky with
the military now planning to dislodge him,’ our source
said.
Newsday reported on Wednesday that the Zimbabwe Defence Forces
(ZDF) has
been sucked into ZANU PF’s worsening internal fights, amid claims
that a
group with links to serving and retired soldiers has embarked on an
elaborate smear campaign against Mnangagwa. It was reported that a group of
soldiers were now working overtime to ‘kill’ Mnangagwa’s
ambitions.
Newsday claimed it has seen an internal document detailing how
the military,
with help from ZANU PF director of commissariat Retired Air
Marshal Henry
Muchena ( linked to the Mujuru faction) is connected to the
plot.
The same document claims Muchena was targeting Mnangagwa’s business
empire
with named Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) officials being
allegedly used
to investigate his multi-million dollar deals.
‘I
think what some of these guys in the military have done is to take a
critical look at Mnangagwa’s chances of winning against the MDC’s Morgan
Tsvangirai. After critical analyzing and realizing he cannot win against
Tsvangirai, they’ve decided to take a stand before it is too
late.
‘The military guys believe if Mnangagwa is the ZANU PF presidential
nominee
it will have an adverse impact on the party candidates running for
parliamentary and council seats. He is a one-man-band who rarely takes
advice from anyone, so the soldiers are deserting him,’ the source
added.
On Tuesday we reported that Mnangagwa was left stunned by the
politburo’s
unprecedented decision to disband the party’s District
Coordination
Committees.
ZANU PF has been divided into two distinct
factions following the
controversial DCC elections in May. It is understood
that ZANU PF is clearly
split between the Joice Mujuru brigade and the
Mnangagwa cabal.
Since the elections Mnangagwa and Mujuru have
intensified their fierce
battle to succeed Robert Mugabe as the party leader
and possibly president.
http://www.radiovop.com
By
Professor Matodzi Harare, July 04, 2012 -Ailing Air Zimbabwe has
suspended
domestic flights barely two months after it resumed flights as it
emerged
that President Robert Mugabe only utilised the airline’s aircraft to
connect
his Singapore flight in Johannesburg.
The struggling airline suspended
its domestic flights to Harare, Bulawayo
and Victoria Falls on Monday after
grounding one of its Boeing 737 aircraft,
which had been servicing the
routes to let it undergo a corrosion check
commonly known as
C-check.
A C-Check is a maintenance check where most components of the
aircraft are
checked and some replaced.
Air Zimbabwe resumed flight
services in early May after grounding its planes
for almost four months
since January when it suspended domestic, regional
and international flights
chocked by debts, industrial action by key
personnel including pilots and
engineers and fear that some of its planes
could be seized to recover
debts.
Mugabe flew to Singapore on Monday for what state media called a
“routine
medical check-up” and is expected to return back in the country at
the
weekend where, an Air Zimbabwe’s long haul plane will ferry him to
Harare
from Johannesburg after his Singapore flight.
The suspension
of flights is the latest setback for the airline which is now
famous for
poor service and bungling and had been battling to regain
passenger
confidence.
The grounding of Air Zimbabwe’s planes is just but one of the
woes affecting
the national flag carrier. Once one of the best airlines in
Africa, Air
Zimbabwe has been run down due to successive years of
mismanagement and
inadequate funding.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
Written by Staff
Writer
Wednesday, 04 July 2012 14:20
HARARE - Police on
Tuesday summoned Chesterfield Samba, the director of the
Gays and Lesbians
of Zimbabwe (Galz) for allegedly undermining the authority
of or insulting
President Robert Mugabe in contravention of Section 33 of
the Criminal Law
(Codification and Reform) Act.
Samba, who was accompanied by his lawyer,
Jeremiah Bamu of Zimbabwe Lawyers
for Human Rights reported at the Zimbabwe
Republic Police’s CID drugs
section after he was summoned by detective
assistant inspector (DAI)
Mupandawana on Monday.
Mupandawana and the
officer in charge of CID drugs section identified as
Chibvuma interrogated
Samba over the operations of Galz and advised that the
police intended to
charge the organisation for contravening Section 33 of
the Criminal Law
(Codification and Reform) Act.
The police claim that in 2010, Galz
displayed a plaque of former San
Francisco Mayor Willie Lewis Brown, Jr in
their office in which the
African-American denounces Mugabe’s homophobia
against gays and lesbians.
These charges were initially pressed against
two Galz employees Ellen
Chademana and Ignatius Mhambi when they were
arrested in 2010 but they were
never prosecuted on these charges.
The
two Galz employees, who stood trial for allegedly possessing
pornographic
pictures in contravention of Section 26(1) of the Censorship
and
Entertainment Control Act (Chapter 10:04) were acquitted in 2010.
Samba
is expected to return to the CID drugs section today in the company of
his
lawyer to furnish the police with a letter advising them of who the
legal
representative of Galz is. — ZLHR
http://www.voanews.com
04 July
2012
Jonga Kandemiiri | Washington
The much-anticipated
National Joint Negotiating Council meeting between
civil servant and
government representatives in Harare Wednesday failed to
produce positive
results with officials bringing nothing to the negotiating
table.
The
meeting was expected to discuss civil servants' salaries and working
conditions but state officials seemed oblivious of the agenda, angering
union leaders.
The government, through its team led by mines
permanent secretary Prince
Mupazvirihwo, then asked the union leaders to
present their proposal for the
rise.
Mupazvirihwo and his team, after
then discussing the union's position on
salaries, requested the civil
servant representatives not to disclose
figures they presented to the
government for consideration saying this may
trigger unnecessary price
increases with shop owners anticipating their
biggest customers may soon
have disposable incomes.
But sources said the Apex Council, led by
chairperson Tendai Chikowore,
presented its demands of at least $560.00 for
the lowest paid government
worker, currently earning $296.00 per month, a
review of all allowances and
better conditions of service.
Since
January civil servants have been trying to push for a salary review to
no
avail, even after downing tools for one day. The government insists that
it
does not have the money to for increments.
Chikowore told the VOA that
government officials promised to come back to
them within the next seven
days with a response on the figures they
presented
Wednesday.
Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe general secretary
Raymond Majongwe
said the government was trying to buy time, especially with
officials coming
to the meeting without a position.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Zanu (PF) has devised a plan to push Harare Mayor,
Muchadeyi Masunda, out of
office saying he is frustrating their efforts to
regain control of the
capital ahead of the next general elections, The
Zimbabwean has learnt.
04.07.1211:36am
by Staff
Reporter
But a defiant Masunda has dismissed the Zanu (PF) bid as
futile. According
to information leaked to this newspaper by a member of the
Politburo, the
party’s decision-making body, members are concerned that
Masunda was heavily
involved in a housing project in Kuwadzana that could
give political
leverage to the rival MDC-T.
The issue of the housing
project and Masunda’s perceived dilution of Zanu
(PF) influence were
discussed at a recent Politburo meeting, according to
the
source.
“The Politburo expressed concern at Masunda’s involvement in the
proposed
Kuwadzana 2 housing project, which Zanu (PF) fears will put the MDC
in good
stead ahead of next elections,’’ said the Politburo
member.
The Politburo meeting was told that Zanu (PF) had gathered
intelligence
indicating that Masunda had sourced about $3m from a named
local bank to
fund the project, which is expected to benefit about 18,000
people.
‘‘It was resolved that Masunda must be stopped as the project
will clearly
hand over the constituency to MDC-T,’’ said the source. Nelson
Chamisa, the
MDC-T National Organising Secretary, is the sitting Member of
Parliament for
Kuwadzana.
The Politburo expects Ignatius Chombo, the
Local Government Minister, to
charge Masunda with incompetence or other
derelictions and then fire him.
Chombo has already fired or suspended mayors
and councillors from Harare,
Chitungwiza, Chinhoyi, Mutare, Bindura, Gwanda
and Rusape on allegations of
misconduct and maladministration – none of
which have been proven in court.
Masunda, who was elected mayor in 2008,
said Zanu (PF) could not determine
his removal or departure from
offices.
‘‘How will they accomplish their mission when they played no
part in my
election as Mayor? I was elected at the behest of 46
democratically elected
councillors, of whom 45 belong to the mainstream
MDC,’’ Masunda told The
Zimbabwean.
‘‘My mandate is to get our
capital city working again for the benefit
largely of the vulnerable and
disadvantaged stakeholders of Greater Harare,’’
he said. “The provision of
services (to residents) has absolutely nothing to
do with petty party
politics!’’ He denied sourcing funds for the housing
project.
Critics
say the charges are spurious and politically motivated and are a
strategy to
dilute MDC power in urban constituencies that the party gained
from
2000.
“James was a victim of Zanu (PF) racial politics. We decided that
it was not
in the best interests of the liberation struggle for Mutare to
host Mugabe
21st Movement Birth day Celebrations with a white man as Mayor.
Chombo was
then tasked to remove James from Town House at all costs,” said
the source.
Zanu (PF) councillors have been used to obtain information
about their MDC
counterparts that Chombo has used to victimise them. The
party, which still
has influence in the management of councils, is
reportedly instructing town
clerks not to implement MDC resolutions so that
the party is seen as a
failure.
Chombo acts with utter impunity. He
recently vowed to ignore a court order
compelling him to reinstate
Zvishavane MDC –T Council Chairperson, Alois
Zhou, who was acquitted of
corruption charges by a local magistrate.
It remains to be seen if he
will respect a recent High Court judgement
stopping him from instituting
disciplinary action against Chinhoyi Mayor,
Claudius Nyamhondoro, and
Councillor Owen Charuza on charges of misconduct.
Chombo’s mayoral
battles
April 2003 - Chombo suspends MDC Mayor, Elias Mudzuri, without
giving
reasons. Sets up a nine member commission led by Jameson Kurasha to
investigate.
Nov 2003 - Kurasha Commission declared illegal by the
High Court.
March 2004 - Chombo sets up a new three member commission
that recommends
Mudzuri be fired for mismanagement and
corruption.
Dec 2011 - Chombo suspends Chinhoyi Mayor Claudius
Nyamhondoro, for
allegedly defying his directive to reverse a sewer
reticulation tender.
Jan 2012 - Chombo suspends Chinhoyi Deputy Mayor,
Willie Nyambi on the same
charges.
Jan 2012 - Chombo suspends Brian
James, the Mutare Mayor, for misconduct.
The Mayor is ejected by council
security from his office.
June 2012 - Chombo attacks Masunda, describing
him as worse than Mudzuri.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
In a month’s time, Zimbabwe will be conducting a
national population census.
Held decennially, national censuses are a vital
tool for any country.
04.07.1211:18am
by Editor
They
give the government, civil society, the humanitarian community and
other
policy and decision makers comprehensive and reliable information
about the
country’s population and its characteristics. They provide an
opportunity to
closely examine small and special population groups. Economic
and
sociological information gathered through censuses is important for
national
and sectional planning by governmental and non-state agencies.
The last
national census was held in 2002 and the impending one is special
in that it
will be conducted after a debilitating socio-political-economic
crisis that
has affected us for about a decade.
It will be interesting to note how
the crisis has demographically affected
the population.
However, the
census’s reliability and usefulness will depend on how it is
conducted
throughout the preparatory, enumeration and information
reconciliation
stages. Our immediate worry is that Zimstats, which
coordinates the census,
seems not to be doing enough to prepare the nation
for the census.
As
it stands, the majority of people are in the dark regarding the
soon-to-be
held census. Save for one or two isolated advertisements,
Zimstats is not
doing anything to publicise this very important process.
One would expect
that, by now, Zimstats would have launched a massive public
awareness
campaign educating the population about what the census is all
about, its
importance and what role citizens should play to ensure that it
succeeds.
Sadly, nothing of that sort is happening. All the censuses
held in the past
three decades suffered the same blight. People have become
accustomed to
enumerators waylaying them and attempting to explain issues
that they find
alien and confusing.
The net effect of failing to
inform people adequately ahead of a census is
that it misses its goal of
providing dependable and accurate information. In
turn, any subsequent
planning on a broad scale is based on insufficient
information and
data.
Granted, Zimstats might be facing financial and other constraints
at the
moment. However, this is not acceptable as an excuse because there is
always
a way of mobilizing resources for this noble cause.
There is
no point in setting aside $100 million for the eventuality of an
election,
as is the case according Finance Minister, Tendai Biti, when many
do not
want it now. That money should be used to augment Zimstats coffers.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
04/07/2012 00:00:00
by Staff
Reporter
Zimbabwe’s supermarkets this week began stocking dairy
products from First
Lady Grace Mugabe’s farm in Mazowe – a brazen challenge
to Swiss food
conglomerate, Nestle, which bowed to political pressure to
stop buying milk
from Gushungo Dairy Estate.
The country’s biggest
supermarket chain, OK, on Wednesday was selling pints
of fresh milk and sour
milk under Mugabe's Alpha Omega brand.
Also being processed at the farm
is powdered milk, ice cream and various
other products which will soon enter
a market dominated by Nestle.
Zimbabwean blogger Cynic Harare observed
that the packaging was “pretty
dull”, but added: “It tastes like milk,
which means it’s better than some
stuff around. It’s a bit cheaper
too.”
In a recent interview with state media, President Robert Mugabe’s
wife
boasted that her dairy farm had 2,000 cows and was the second biggest
in the
SADC region, with the capacity to milk 64 cows at one go.
In
2009, Nestle announced it would stop buying milk from Gushungo Dairy
Estate
– built on a farm which was seized from a white farmer – after coming
under
pressure from rights activists who threatened to campaign for a
boycott of
Nestle products.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Lance Guma
04 July
2012
The Grain Marketing Board has now been ordered to remove stickers on
bags of
maize imported from Zambia, because they show the names of
dispossessed
white Zimbabwean farmers who are now effectively feeding the
country from
Zambia.
A report in the Zimbabwean newspaper says the
recipients of the government’s
grain loan scheme in Matabeleland were
shocked to discover that the names on
the stickers on the grain bags were of
former white farmers.
One of the recipients told the paper he received
two bags of maize grain
under the scheme, from the GMB depot in Insiza, and
confirmed that one of
the bags had a green sticker inside written ‘supplied
by Michel Handris’ a
former Karoi commercial farmer now farming in the
southern parts of Zambia.
Even villagers in Umguza confirmed receiving
the maize bags with the green
stickers. A GMB source has since told the
paper: “We are now required to
destroy all the Zambian bags and repackage
the grain in our local bags”.
Agriculture Minister Joseph Made admitted
in May this year that Zimbabwe
would have a one million tonne maize deficit.
Critics have largely blamed
this on ZANU PF’s disastrous land grab policy
which rewarded cronies of the
regime at the expense of competent
farmers.
Even though Zambia used to import maize from Zimbabwe in the
past, the
tables have turned with white farmers who lost their farms in
Zimbabwe
moving across the border and helping to grow a surplus there in the
last two
seasons.
To rub salt into the wound the Food Reserve Agency
in Zambia confirmed in
May that it was destroying “the huge stockpiles of
rotting maize in a bid to
create space for this year’s harvest from June 1.”
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/
Suspected war veterans here have invaded
commercial farms owned by fellow
blacks in a move that flies in the face of
Zanu (PF)’s purported empowerment
drive.
03.07.1206:49pm
by Brenna
Matendere Munyati
Midlands Provincial Chief Lands Officer,
Joseph Shoko, confirmed receiving
reports of the invasions.
“We have
ordered everyone who has illegally settled on the commercial farms
to vacate
the plots as a matter of urgency,” he said.
Shoko added that it is not
the policy of government to forcefully occupy
resettled
farms.
Sources in the Chemagora smallholder farming area in Zhombe told
The
Zimbabwean that the war veterans were threatening the farm owners with
unspecified action if they refused to vacate their properties.
“I
have a lease for about 400 hectares of land here but the war vets have
gone
on to occupy it all,” said a farmer who refused to be named.
“What is
surprising is that the invaders are not being arrested despite the
fact that
we have reported the cases to the police,” said another farmer.
Scores of
other farmers said they were terrified by the levels of harassment
coming
from the former liberation war fighters.
The Zanu (PF) led government in
2000 embarked on a hurried land
redistribution programme that displaced more
than 4 000 commercial white
farmers.
President Robert Mugabe’s
government then claimed that the programme was
necessary to empower
thousands of black farmers who were landless.
However, political
opponents and critics accused the government of using the
land
redistribution exercise as a populist vehicle to regain support
following
the formation of the Movement for Democratic Change that was
threatening
Zanu (PF)’s hold on power.
Most of the prime land that was grabbed by
powerful Zanu (PF) functionaries,
while poor communal farmers were resettled
on unyielding land, a trend that
forced some of them to retrace their
footsteps to their old homes.
Zanu (PF) activists who were used as foot
soldiers have also invaded
conservancies, sugar plantations and woodlots.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/
TROUBLED Interfin
Financial Holdings Limited allegedly misled Tendai Biti,
the Minister of
Finance and gobbled funds from the African Export Import
Bank - Afreximbank,
the minister has confirmed.
04.07.1210:54am
by Ngoni Chanakira
Harare
Biti revealed that US$47,4 million had been abused by
Interfin which has
been put under curatorship by the Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe - RBZ.
Biti said - Interfins liquidity has now undermined the
performance of our
Zimbabwe Economic Trade Revival Facility - ZETRF - a
US$70 million facility
jointly funded by the Government of Zimbabwe and the
Afreximbank.
He said signitories to the facility agreement were his
ministry on behalf of
the government, Afreximbank and four initially
participating banks, namely
FBC Banking Corporation Limited, NMB Bank
Limited, TN Bank Limited and
BancABC Limited, as well as Interfin Bank
Limited as the Local
Administrative Agent.
He said 11 commercial
banks are currently participating under ZETREF.
He said the balance of
the funds currently held up at Interfin Bank Limited,
which was put under
curatorship, from the governments contribution of US$20
was made on October
24, 2011.
The request for release had been made by Afreximbank in
September last year,
Biti said.
Biti said - Releases were not
forthcoming from Interfin, notwithstanding
follow-ups through meetings and
letters over the expeditious processing of
ZETREF loan applications of
companies - e development which prompted the
Ministry of Finance to request
the RBZ, in April, 2012 to investigate
Interfin and ascertain the financial
situation at the commercial bank.
Biti said other funds stuck at Interfin
Bank Limited include US$9,7 million
from Afreximbank, being the balance
unpaid from US$15 million extended to
Interfin for on lending to clients
under a facility separate from ZETREF.
The minister revealed that the
problems at Interfin Bank Limited were also
compromising companies access to
resources amounting to more than US$21
million availed to the PTA Bank
Limited under facilities targetted at
supporting the revival of Zimbabwes
productive sectors.
Interfin was suspended from the Zimbabwe Stock
Exchange.
It was the least capitalised financial institution standing at
about US$400
000 in total.
Problems began when customers were allowed
to withdraw a maximum of US$200
daily from the entity in April, which then
dwindled to US$100 in May and
finally only US$50 last month before its doors
were shut by the RBZ.
http://www.herald.co.zw/
Wednesday, 04 July 2012 11:23
Business
Reporter
THE 43rd session of the Winter Banking School gets underway in
Nyanga in
about a fortnight’s time with dollarisation set to dominate
discussions at
this annual event this year.
High-profile speakers
from banking, mining, industry, Government ministries,
agriculture and
academia are scheduled to present papers.
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor
Dr Gideon Gono will be the keynote speaker
at the event that will put recent
bank crises under the spotlight.
RBZ senior division chief (bank licensing,
supervision and surveillance) Mr
Norman Mataruka would corroborate his
presentation.
Fellow experts in the banking sector, namely Barclays Bank
(Zimbabwe)
managing director Mr George Guvamatanga, Agribank managing
director Mr Sam
Malaba will also grace the occasion. Other high-profile
non-banking experts
scheduled to address delegates at the event include
Chamber of Mines
president and Mimosa Mining Company managing director Mr
Winston Chitando,
and Industry and Commerce permanent secretary Mrs Abigail
Shoniwa.
University of Zimbabwe Professor of Economics Ashok Chakravarti
will address
delegates on the eurozone crisis and its impact on
Zimbabwe.
Institute of Bankers of Zimbabwe executive director Mr Sij Biyam
confirmed
yesterday that dates for the event and presenters had been
determined. “We
have completed the programme for the 43rd Edition of the
Winter Banking
School. As usual, it will be held in Nyanga,” said Mr
Biyam.
The main theme this year’s discussions is “Dollarisation of the
Zimbabwean
Economy, Challenges and the Way Forward”.
The theme was chosen
in light of the crippling liquidity problems that
followed dollarisation,
which has, however, brought its own benefits. Local
firms have struggled
considerably to access funding for recapitalisation and
working capital
after savings in the Zimdollar era were all lost during the
decade long
economic instability.
External funding has trickled in, but in very
limited flows while low
production levels and old equipment mean generation
of meaningful revenue is
very difficult amidst high external competition.
This is despite the fact
that the US dollar brought an array of benefits
that has made business
planning easier through predictability, low
inflation, stability and
elimination of foreign exchange risk.
Other
topics for discussion include infrastructure development in Zimbabwe
as a
means for development, creating risk-free environment in banking and
industrial development strategy for job creation.
In addition,
presenters will deliver papers on overcoming challenges in
agriculture,
improved service delivery in banking and the role of technology
and how to
unlock Zimbabwe’s mineral wealth.
http://www.zenit.org/article-35121?l=english
2012-07-03
Aim to Keep in Touch With Those Who
Have Left Troubled Nation
HARARE, Zimbabwe, JULY 3, 2012 (Zenit.org).-
The Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops’
Conference has written a letter to those
Zimbabweans who have left the
country. Dated June 19 the letter is titled
“Zimbabweans in the Diaspora.”
“This letter attempts to cast a little
light upon an area of shadow and to
give recognition and hope to those who
have left our land,” the introduction
explains.
The letter explained
that already in colonial times people left for other
countries. Then, after
independence in 1980 others left looking for better
economic conditions.
Subsequently, in the first decade of this millennium
“this trickle became a
flood as ‘our country (was plunged) into an
unprecedented abyss
characterised by economic, social, and political woes
and unimaginable forms
of political intimidation and violence.”
“To stay for some meant risking
destitution; to go involved a wrench with
all one had known,” the bishops
acknowledged.
“As Church leaders and as members of society, we
acknowledge, with a sense
of humility and shame, that so many of our
citizens no longer felt welcomed
at home, and had to take flight,” the
pastoral letter continued.
The letter expressed disappointment at the
failure of the country’s leaders
to deal with the phenomenon of migration.
“Ongoing displacement, at best,
suggests political challenge; at worst,
political ineptitude, division and
failure,” the letter accused.
The
letter stated that the bishops remember and embrace those who were
obliged
to leave Zimbabwe. “This letter is a testament to our desire to
acknowledge
their existence, their story, their pain, their resilience and
their hope,”
they said.
Many Zimbabwean migrants have not had their rights as persons
respected in
their new places of residence, the letter noted. Many of them
encountered
exploitation, opportunism and indifference.
“What has
been done, and is still being done, to a good number of the
vulnerable who
cross alien frontiers, is cruel indeed,” the letter declared.
“Christ
continues to suffer in the members of his body.”
Many of those crossing
frontiers have been attacked, raped or robbed, the
letter
added.
“Christians must ‘speak the truth in love,” the letter noted. “In
this case
the truth is hard and cold.”
The bishops called for a
renewed effort of national healing and
reconciliation, warning that without
this Zimbabweans will continue to leave
the country in significant
numbers.
“In your pain and emotional struggles find strength in each
other especially
in the Church,” the letter urged.
“Be assured that
there are people - within government, civil society and the
Churches - not
least ourselves, who are committed to the road of national
healing and
reconciliation, to the common good and to creating a better
society for all
people,” the letter concluded.
http://www.bulawayo24.com
by Den Moyo
2012 July 04
10:14:19
The 7th Free Zimbabwe Global Protest/Campaign to take place
on July 21, 2012
in New York, NY and at NN Offices Worldwiden is inviting
all Zimbabweans to
join.
The 21st Movement's Free Zimbabwe Global
Campaign has grown in leaps and
bounds from its humble beginnings in January
this year. The efforts to put
pressure on South African President Jacob Zuma
as the Facilitator to the GPA
and on SADC as the guarantors of the GPA have
paid huge dividends as
evidenced by the positive outcome at the June 01,
2012 SADC Summit in
Luanda, Angola where it was resolved that there will be
no elections in
Zimbabwe before the full implementation of the GPA reforms
which should lead
to free, fair and indisputable elections.
The 21st
Movement is a nimble, versatile, and flexible organisation that
reacts to
political events as they unfold in Zimbabwe and elsewhere where
Zimbabwe is
directly or indirectly affected. The focus of the protests
should now be
elevated to deal with the stumbling blocks that stand in the
way of
Zimbabwe's democratization process.
The elephant in the room at this
juncture is the militarization of the state
by Zanu-PF, which is funded by
the illegal looting of the Marange diamonds.
We have a duty to stop this
militarization process.
Round 7 will target the United Nations Conference
on the Arms Trade Treaty
that is taking place at the UN Headquarters in NY.
From 2-27 July, all
countries of the world will come together in New York to
negotiate what is
seen as the most important initiative ever regarding
conventional arms
regulation within the United Nations. A robust arms trade
treaty can make a
difference for millions of people confronted with
insecurity, deprivation
and fear. Zimbabwe is firmly in this category of
countries.
The Movement will picket strongly against trade in arms for
countries that
are in conflict, especially Zimbabwe where the minority
Zanu-PF is
stockpiling arms to use against the citizens during and after the
forthcoming elections. The Movement aims to bring awareness to all countries
of the world gathered in New York that trading arms with Zimbabwe at this
moment is complicit to murder of innocent civilians wishing to exercise
their democratic and human rights. Petitions will be delivered to the UN
demanding a peacekeeping force and or international election monitors before
and after the elections.
Since this month's Protest day falls on a
Saturday, all members in the US,
supporters and sympathizers should converge
in New York for this historic
event. Others are encouraged to march at all
UN Offices Worldwide.
Do not watch things happening let alone wonder what
has happened. Be part of
the growing global movement.
Spread the
message. Lets finish it.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Zimbabwe has been accused for many years of
allowing members of the police
force, the Defence Forces and the Central
Intelligence Organisation, youth
militias, and members and supporters of
Zanu (PF), to enjoy impunity for
violence against those perceived to be
opposition supporters.
04.07.1208:20am
by
Veritas
Much of the violence undoubtedly constitutes torture
or inhuman or degrading
punishment or treatment. But two recent cases
suggest that cracks in that
impunity may be developing, and with them the
prospect of a more even-handed
application of the law by the police and
prosecuting authorities.
One is the criminal trial of three women police
detectives in Bulawayo who
subjected two women they had picked up on
suspicion of theft to brutal
assaults, apparently in an effort to extract
confessions. The assaults
included beating them on the soles of their feet
with pieces of wood and
batons. They were also beaten elsewhere on their
bodies with a sjambok and a
bottle, causing numerous bruises. One victim
sustained a broken leg, with
permanent disability.
The other had an
arm broken. After their beating, they were detained for two
days at Bulawayo
Central police station and denied food, water and medical
treatment. The
officers responsible were convicted of assault and sentenced
to pay fines of
$200 each or serve four months’ imprisonment.
In a case which came before
the High Court on circuit in Mutare last week, a
police chief superintendent
is being tried for causing the death of a
suspected illegal diamond panner
and assaulting three members of his family
also taken into custody accused
of illegal panning.
The victims had apparently claimed that as residents
of the area they were
digging a shallow well to obtain water for domestic
purposes. The State’s
case is that the accused officer perpetrated the
assaults to extract
confessions or to punish the suspects for attempting to
find diamonds. One
of the victims died in a police holding cell shortly
afterwards. The others
survived; and one of them has suffered lasting
disability as a result of the
assault.
Zimbabwean law does not have a
criminal offence specifically called
“torture”. This does not mean that
acts of torture are not punishable as
crimes. They are – but as the crime of
assault, indecent assault, aggravated
indecent assault, rape, murder, etc –
depending on what the perpetrator did
to his or her victim. We may, at some
future stage, find ourselves with a
new offence, specifically called
“torture”, when Zimbabwe becomes a party to
the UN Convention against
Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment, but
for the time being acts of torture will be
prosecuted under other
names.
For police officers specifically, conduct amounting to torture is
a serious
disciplinary offence under the Police Act, which amongst other
things
condemns “using unnecessary violence towards, or neglecting or in any
way
ill-treating any person in custody or other person with whom he or she
may
be brought into contact in the execution of his or her duty”. Again,
however, the word “torture” is not used.
Prize will award $150,000 USD to winners who deliver market-oriented solutions for African-led development
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, July 4, 2012/African Press Organization (APO)/ – The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the African Innovation Foundation (AIF) (http://www.africaninnovation.org) announced the call for the 2013 Innovation Prize for Africa (IPA) (http://ipa.uneca.org/aif) today. The prize aims to support Africans’ efforts to develop new products, increase efficiency and drive cost-savings.
Logo: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/logos/african-innovation-foundation-aif.jpg
At an event
organized by the ECA and AIF, researchers, entrepreneurs and innovators
will be invited to propose projects that unlock new African potential
under one of five categories which include: 1) agriculture and
agribusiness; 2) ICT applications; 3) health and wellbeing; 4)
environment, energy and water; and 5) manufacturing and services
industries.
“The IPA
team believes that best way to build Africa’s capacity is to invest in
local innovation and entrepreneurship,” said AIF Chairman Walter Fust.
“This prize encourages Africans to develop creative ways to overcome
everyday challenges.”
Only
innovations by Africans and for Africans are eligible to enter. Africans
in the Diaspora can also apply if their innovations are of significance
to Africa. The winning proposal will be awarded a cash prize of
$100,000 USD, with the two runners-up receiving $25,000 USD.
The
organizers expect the prize to promote among young African men and women
the pursuit of science, technology and engineering careers and business
applications.
The aims are to:
- Mobilize leaders from all sectors to fuel African innovation;
- Promote innovation across Africa in key sectors of interest through the competition;
- Promote
science, technology and engineering as rewarding, exciting and noble
career options among the youth in Africa by profiling success
applicants; and
- Encourage entrepreneurs, innovators, funding bodies and business development service
providers to exchange ideas and explore innovative business opportunities.
In pursuing those aims, the IPA expects the following outcomes:
- Increased commercialization of research and development (R&D) outputs in Africa;
- Increased funding of start-ups, adoption of new and emerging technologies and accelerated
growth of an innovative and dynamic private sector; and
- Increased economic activity and African led development that results in lasting impact.
The registration deadline for the 2013 prize has been set for 31 October 2012 with no possibility for extensions.
Distributed by the African Press Organization on behalf of the African Innovation Foundation (AIF).
For detailed information of competition categories, conditions of entry, and submission procedures, please visit: http://www.innovationprizeforafrica.org/. For highlights and more information, follow us on Twitter (https://twitter.com/#!/IPAprize) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/InnovationPrizeforAfrica).
Contacts
AIF Pauline Mujawamariya
Phone + 41 44 515 5466
Email ipainfo@africaninnovation.org
ECA Eskedar Nega
Phone + 251 11 544 5315
Email ipa@uneca.org
About UNECA
UNECA (http://www.uneca.org/istd)
is implementing the Information and Communication Technology and
Science and Technology for Development (ISTD) program to meet its
mandate to advance economic and social development in Africa. ISTD
manages the African Technology Development and Transfer Network
(TDTNet), the African Science, Technology and Innovation Endowment Fund
(ASTIEF), the African Science to Business Challenge (ASBC) and the
Technology in Government Award (TIGA) and is experienced in addressing
Africa’s special needs, emerging global challenges and hosting and
managing initiatives in Africa. For more information please visit: http://www.uneca.org/istd
About AIF
AIF (http://www.africaninnovation.org)
supports innovations and other novel initiatives with potential of
contributing to sustainable development of African countries. This
includes supporting home-grown innovations, facilitating technology
transfer as well as supporting other platforms that enhance the exchange
of ideas and collaboration among researchers, inventors, entrepreneurs,
investors and policy makers. AIF also promotes transparent processes
and procedures within the public sector and combat illegitimate
appropriation and dissipation of resources within both the private and
public domains. AIF’s areas of activity encompass programs &
projects in the fields of: Innovation & Access to Technologies,
Governance, Education & Culture and Health. For more information,
please visit: http://www.africaninnovation.org
SOURCE
African Innovation Foundation (AIF)