At most voter registration centres in Zimbabwe there are
long queues and the process to register a tedious one. Most civil society
organisations believe that this is a deliberate attempt by President Robert
Mugabe’s supporters to frustrate people and prevent them from registering.
Credit: Michelle Chifamba/IPS
HARARE, Jul 6 2013 (IPS)- Like many other aspiring voters, Emilia
Magirazi, 27, braved a chilly winter’s morning as she waited patiently to
register as a voter in the slow-moving queue at Kuwadzana 8 Primary School in
Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare.
Zimbabwe’s second round of
voter registration commenced on Jun. 19 and is expected to end on Tuesday Jul.
9, with the presidential elections set for Jul. 31. A first round took place
over 20 days in April and May.
But people like Magirazi
are finding it hard to put their names down on Zimbabwe’s electoral role. This
is because she is a foreign national: Magirazi was born in Zambia, of Zimbabwean
parents.
“I arrived here before the
break of dawn, and by lunch time I eventually got service from the officials.
But they told me that I am an alien and not eligible to register. I was referred
to the army barracks or the police for clearance of any criminal offences,”
Magirazi told IPS.
While the 12th amendment
of Zimbabawe’s Citizenship Act 2011 outlaws dual citizenship, the country’s new
constitution, which was enacted in May after the first round of voter
registration, recognises those born abroad of Zimbabwean parents to be citizens.
It also recognises all people born in this southern African nation, regardless
of their parents’ citizenship, as Zimbabweans.
But like Magirazi, scores
of other foreign nationals have been denied the right to register as voters,
despite the stipulations in the new constitution.
According to the Harare
office of the International Organization for
Migration, between
500,000 nd four million Zimbabweans are living abroad. Most fled Zimbabwe
foreconomic
reasonsas between 2003 and 2009 the country had one
of the worst rates of hyperinflation in the world.
With the word
“alien” inscribed on her national identity document (ID), Magirazi was referred
to the Registrar General’s office to apply for a new one. TheZimbabwe Electoral
Commission(ZEC) has stipulated that persons previously
categorised as foreign nationals should apply for citizenship and national ID
cards that reflect this changed status in order to
vote.
But long queues and
cumbersome demands have become the order of the day at the Registrar General’s
office. Marshal Bachi, 35, of Dzivarasekwa in Harare, said he had to sleep at
the Registrar General’s offices when he went to obtain a new ID as his previous
one stated that he was a foreign national.
“They refused to process
my national ID because my birth certificate was soiled and they said that I
should get a new one … Due to this cumbersome process, I might not be able to
get a new ID to register as a voter before the process ends,” Bachi told
IPS.
TheElection Resource
Centre(ERC), a local NGO, believes that the
Registrar General’s office is deliberately trying to frustrate first-time voters
in order to prevent them from voting.
“It seems to be happening
to a lot of prospective voters. Foreign nationals will not be able to vote in
the next election. For the first time they were able to enjoy being citizens
under the new constitution, but they will not be able to exercise their right
under prevailing conditions.
“The stipulations by the
electoral commission are contradictory to what is happening on the ground. A
number of people are being denied the right to claim their citizenship at the
Registrar General’s office despite the ZEC’s stipulations that those
formerly-categorised as ‘aliens’ can apply for new IDs,” ERC director, Tawanda
Chimhinhi, told IPS.
Harare-based social
commentator Tawanda Mukurunge agreed.
“Despite the fact that the
elections are only three weeks away, there has been no serious attempt by the
ZEC to educate Zimbabweans on the impending vote and their right to vote. The
information blackout by the ZEC is a deliberate ploy meant to keep unsuspecting
citizens in the dark. The possibility of a free and fair election will remain a
pipe dream unless these issues are addressed,” he told IPS.
Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai’s chief of staff, Ian Makone, told IPS that many more people were
being turned away from registering to vote.
“More than 50 people
failed to register on the grounds that they were aliens and were sent back home,
while the elderly who did not have IDs were told to get clearance from KG ‘6’ an
army headquarter where national documents such as passports are processed.
Cabinet must therefore revisit this issue because this is taking place all over
the country,” he said.
However, on Thursday Jul.
4, the Zimbabwe Constitutional Court overturned appeals to delay the elections.
Many here say that the haste with which President Robert Mugabe set the election
date has not allowed for sufficient time to reform the country’s security
forces. In previous elections, state security have been accused of instigating
violence against those opposed to Mugabe.
Civil society groups have
said that holding the elections on Jul. 31 would likely incite fear and possibly
result in an unfair election.
Zimbabwe
Election Support Network, a coalition of NGOs monitoring the
elections, said that the nature of the voter-registration process, the
atmosphere associated with it, and the disruption and intimidation of civil
society were an attempt by Mugabe’s Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic
Front to instigate violence at the polls in order to reclaim its political
legitimacy. Mugabe has been in power for 33 years in a reign marred by
corruption, violence and political oppression.
The Youth Agenda Trust, a
youth networking organisation, added that the process had been deliberately
designed to deny bona fide citizens their right to vote.
“The cumbersome processing
of ‘aliens’ is a direct violation of the rights of the people of Zimbabwe and a
breach of the constitutional right to vote as stipulated in the new
constitution. The time that has also been allocated to register is not enough as
most people have either failed to cope with the long and winding queues and or
have not had time to visit the centres in the short period due to other
competing interests,” director of Youth Agenda Trust, Fortune Nyamande, told
IPS.
HARARE – Hundreds of first-time voters in most urban centres have
accused the Registrar General of employing “delaying tactics” in the ongoing
intensive voter registration exercise.
The disgruntled aspiring
voters, most of whom are youths, told the Daily News that officials from the
Registrar-General’s office were denying thousands of prospective voters
their right to register.
Most centres have capped the number of people
who can register to 120 per day.
In Waterfalls in Harare, only 200
people were being attended to by the officials with a bulk of those wishing
to vote being sent back home.
The Daily News has been inundated with
calls from disgruntled voters.
“We are being turned away by these
officials who are saying they can only attend to not more than 200 people
per day,” said one caller from Waterfalls.
“It means that by the end
of their three days here, only 600 people would have been registered as
voters. What about others especially the youths?”
Aspiring Waterfalls
councillor Cephas Zibute said the situation in his ward was pathetic as
hundreds of aspiring voters were going to miss out due to the delaying
tactics.
“It is very bad what is happening here. People are being denied
their right to vote,” Zibute said.
The delay in the voter
registration process also forced MDC Women’s Assembly chairperson, Theresa
Makone together with party activists to petition the Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission demanding that normalcy prevails.
The women groups who joined
Makone said Registrar General ?Tobaiwa Mudede should put in place,
mechanisms which will allow more women to register to vote in the next
elections.
Thousands of women who have been disenfranchised by the slow
process in registering to vote in the coming elections marched in the
capital this week before presenting their petition to the Zec chairperson,
Justice Rita Makarau.
In their petition, the women groups said they
wanted to register and demanded that the voter registration exercise must be
conducted in a gender-responsive manner.
Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has launched his party's
campaign for the 31 July general elections, predicting a 90% victory for
Zanu-PF.
But the 89-year-old leader warned it was a "do-or-die struggle"
and to prepare for a "battle for survival".
The election will mark
the end of a coalition government, which has stabilised the country's
economy.
He is standing for president against his long-time rival Morgan
Tsvangirai, who has been serving as prime minister.
The 61-year-old
leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) pulled out of the second
round of the 2008 presidential election, accusing the security forces and
pro-Mugabe militias of attacking his supporters around the
country.
He had won the most votes in the first round but, according to
official results, not enough to win outright.
After Mr Mugabe went
ahead with the run-off, winning with 85% of votes cast, regional mediators
intervened to organise the power-sharing agreement.
'No violence' On
Thursday, the Constitutional Court rejected an appeal by both parties to
delay elections set for 31 July for a couple of weeks.
Critics says
key security, media and electoral reforms demanded by regional mediators,
the Southern African Development Community (Sadc), have yet to be
implemented.
The MDC also warned last month that the voters' roll was
in a "shambles" and the vote could be rigged.
"Let it be known that
we are in Sadc voluntarily; if Sadc decides to do stupid things we can move
out and withdraw from Sadc," Mr Mugabe told a crowd of between 5,000 and
7,000 party supporters at the Zimbabwe Grounds in Highfields, a suburb of
the capital, Harare.
The BBC's Brian Hungwe in Harare says the choice of
the Zimbabwe Grounds to launch the campaign was significant.
It was
there that Mr Mugabe gave his first address in 1980 to a crowd of some
200,000 people after returning to Zimbabwe from Mozambique, where he had led
the armed struggle against white-minority rule.
In an address that lasted
well over an hour, Mr Mugabe urged the Zanu-PF faithful in 2013 to avoid the
violence of five years ago.
"Let's kick our opponents with votes. But
please no violence. Let's have an election without violence, without
intimidation," he said.
Analysts say that the MDC has usually garnered
most of its support in urban areas, but Zanu-PF has been making a concerted
effort to appeal to younger voters.
Jonathan Moyo, a member of
Zanu-PF's politburo, said he expected a "huge and emphatic victory this time
round".
The party had "a very clear policy... on indigenisation and
economic empowerment of the people of Zimbabwe", he told the BBC's Focus on
Africa radio programme.
"There's no other party with any other
programme that competes significantly or seriously with Zanu-PF's policies
for the next five years," he said.
HARARE – Zanu PF’S election manifesto launch at the Zimbabwe
Grounds on Friday turned into a farce as fist fights broke out over bread
and T-shirts emblazoned with President Robert Mugabe’s
picture.
Hundreds of supporters did not concentrate on Mugabe’s speech
and instead spent time fighting over free bread which had been freely made
available at the venue.
Riot police had to move in to control the
hungry crowds fighting ferociously for bread.
Others were viciously
fighting for Mugabe’s T-shirts with security personnel battling to control
them.
Under the theme, Indigenise, Empower, Develop, Employ —Mugabe is
targeting the evasive urban and youth vote.
“I cry to you, Highfield,
Highfield where are you?” Mugabe pleaded to the crowd around
mid-morning.
“We have come here to regain what we lost along the way when
we made a huge political error in 2008.
“We decided that we should
bring our entire team to this sacred place and lead it in the fight to
conquer,” Mugabe said.
In a sentimental moment, Mugabe wistfully
recounted how he and the late vice president Joshua Nkomo were received at
Zimbabwe Grounds when they arrived from Mozambique on the eve of
independence in 1980.
“It is here in Highfield, the cradle of mass
nationalism that Joshua Nkomo and myself were received by multitudes so we
must be ready to reorganise ourselves with the full knowledge that it’s a do
or die election and we don’t want to die, it’s a battle for survival, we
need political life,” said Mugabe.
Despite having lined up the
country’s top charting artistes — Suluman Chimbetu, Jah Prayzah and Mathias
Mhere — the crowd was no match to the tens of thousands who turned up to
greet Mugabe when he returned from the gruelling war of
independence.
The sparse crowd was an exact antithesis of the bumper
crowd that graced the stadium in 1980 when Mugabe returned from the
war.
This was despite the fact that praise singers and Zanu PF sponsors
such as the Urban Transporters Association of Zimbabwe had reportedly
provided 150 kombis to ferry people to the venue.
When Mugabe arrived
around midday yesterday, there was a small crowd.
But the crowd swelled
towards the end of the day as Zanu PF officials, embarrassed by the low
turnout, force-marched people into the grounds.
Zanu PF national
commissar Webster Shamu admitted at the start of the programme that
committees set up to fundraise for the campaign had dismally failed to raise
the cash and had to rely on the goodwill of the First Family which provided
the party campaigning regalia.
There are conflicting reports as to the
exact figure that greeted Mugabe and other liberation war luminaries at the
Zimbabwe grounds on January 27 with the party’s information department
putting the figure at around ?1,6 million.
However, the British
Broadcasting Corporation put the total figure of attendance at 200 000 while
the Rhodesian police claimed 150 000 people had graced the
occasion.
Just over 10 000 people attended Friday’s puffed-up manifesto
launch.
Bussed party supporters from the country’s 10 provinces made the
majority of the crowd and were looking disinterested when Mugabe gave his
long and winding speech at times mixing up dates.
Shamu, Zanu PF
national commissar, had to hastily alter the programme line-up, opting first
to introduce aspiring candidates — perhaps to allow the crowd in the grounds
to swell up.
Initially, Shamu, who was his usual bootlicking self —
gushing praises at Mugabe, had indicated that the octogenarian leader, who
will turn 90 next year, would speak before the introduction of the more
than 250 candidates lining up to represent the party in the forthcoming
crunch election.
But the programme was altered as Zanu PF officials
bussed more people.
With the country set to hold polls on July 31,
Mugabe’s election campaign, in what promises to be a gruelling battle for
power, started on a wrong foot notwithstanding the fact that prospective
candidates had ?each been tasked to bus in followers.
As members of the disciplined services,
officials and their spouses, election officers or monitors and those in the
service of Government of Zimbabwe who are working outside their
constituencies due to work commitment, prepare for the special vote on 14
and 15 July 2013, they must do so with the full knowledge that the law is on
their side. The time for a new Zimbabwe is now, no wonder they have been
allowed to vote at a polling station outside barracks and police
stations.
The Zimbabwean law provides for special voting or early voting
where voters [such as election officials, government workers or security
personnel] who are unable to attend their designated polling stations on the
day of elections to cast their ballots on a designated day before the
election day.
The MDC urges members of the security forces and elections
officials to appreciate that while voting is every citizen’s right, section
81 of the electoral act further provide sufficient protection against
potential cohesion and flagrant abuse of their rights.
In particular,
section 81 of the electoral law provides that “Every officer, candidate and
election or polling agent in attendance at a polling station shall maintain,
and aid in maintaining, the secrecy of voting at that station and shall not
communicate to any person any information likely to defeat the secrecy of
the voting, except for some purpose authorised by law”.
Furthermore,
section 81 of this act, specify that “any person who attempts to induce any
other person to obtain a postal ballot paper with the intention of
influencing him or her by bribery or intimidation to record his vote in
favour of a particular candidate shall be guilty of an offence” liable to
paying a fine or imprisonment.
The Electoral act also protects citizens
and members of the disciplined forces against interference or any “attempt
to interfere with a voter when making his vote or otherwise attempt to
obtain in the polling station information as to the candidate for whom the
voter is about to vote for or has voted for”.
We therefore urge
members of the Security sector to remain calm and assured that their rights
cannot be violated even though they must raise an alert should they suspect
that their rights are being undermined. As such, no amount of Zanu PF
machinations to manipulate the vote through this noble facility will change
the people’s ultimate voice and choice. The time is now!
HARARE – South Africans reacted sharply to comments made by
President Robert Mugabe during the launch of Zanu PF’s election manifesto at
Zimbabwe Grounds Friday.
The country’s octogenarian leader not only
inexplicably threatened to pull Zimbabwe out of Sadc at the rally, he also
tore into South African President Jacob Zuma’s trusted international
relations advisor, Lindiwe Zulu, who is also one of the facilitators to
Harare’s political crisis — describing her as “an ordinary, stupid and
idiotic street woman” for allegedly meddling in Zimbabwe’s
affairs.
Zulu’s crime appears to be her recent suggestion that Zimbabwe
should have postponed its forthcoming elections to pave the way for the
implementation of agreed, but outstanding media and security
reforms.
Zulu refused to comment when contacted by the Daily
News.
“I have no comment. I don’t think commenting on that will solve the
situation,” said Zulu.
However, an SA government official who
requested anonymity said last night that Pretoria was “appalled” to hear
that Mugabe had “stooped this low to attack both Sadc and one of our
officials at his rally today (yesterday)”.
“If he did indeed, let this
old man be warned that we are all capable of acting very badly. After all,
it was Sadc and South Africa who made sure that he is ble to enjoy the
status of being acknowledged around the world as the president of
Zimbabwe.
“So, like the laughing stock and mampara (fool) that he is
making of himself, he is effectively biting the hand that feeds
him.
“He clearly has become oblivious to the fact that whether he wins or
loses, Sadc and South Africa will still be here and that he will probably
still need our assistance.
“We expected this kind of unnecessary and
destructive vitriol from the likes of (Jonathan) Moyo, not from the State
president of Zimbabwe, whom all of us have gone to great lengths to prop
up.
“But if that’s his wish, then good luck to him,” the angry
official said.
An analyst last night described Mugabe’s ?utterances as
“ill-advised and unpresidential”, whatever his personal views of Zulu
were.
“It is very likely that as a direct result of this poor behaviour
and choice of words by president Mugabe that relations between South Africa
and Zimbabwe will plummet over a fairly frivolous issue.
“If this
analysis is correct, this will have a deleterious effect not just on Mugabe,
Zanu PF and the government, but also on all Zimbabweans given South Africa’s
political and economic standing within Sadc and the international
community.
“What makes Mugabe’s appalling statement even more shocking is
that president Zuma very clearly and publicly boxed in Mugabe’s and
Zimbabwe’s corner when he recently met President Obama in Pretoria, by
calling for the lifting of sanctions and the normalisation of relations with
Harare.
“So, why shoot oneself in the foot?” Johannesburg-based Shepherd
Mntungwa asked.
BULAWAYO
– The MDC formation led by Welshman Ncube and Dumiso Dabengwa’s revived Zapu
Friday forged a double-headed alliance to enhance chances of regional
representation as the country hurtles towards watershed elections on July
31.
The partnership emerged soon after MDC led by Morgan Tsvangirai
forged an alliance with Mavambo /Dawn/ Kusile leader Simba Makoni and Zanu
Ndonga leader Reketai Sengwayo in a bid to remove President Robert Mugabe
from power.
Dabengwa hailed the alliance as a historic event for the
region and Zimbabwe.
“We met to discuss the efforts we have been
making to come together in order to forge some sort of alliance particularly
towards the elections,” Dabengwa said.
The talks between Zapu and MDC
started last December although they could not be finalised owing to Ncube’s
busy schedule.
As part of the new arrangement, Ncube and Dabengwa will
remain in charge of the alliance and various committees that are selected in
terms of the constitution of the two parties.
“We are still separate
parties but we are working towards coming together in full at some point in
the future,” Ncube said.
Ncube pledged to work together with Dabengwa
regardless of the election outcome.
“In those areas we have both
fielded candidates, we have agreed that we will compete against each other
peacefully as a model of what Zimbabwe should be and have peaceful
co-existence,” Ncube said.
He said the parties had pledged to continue
engaging each other at all contested levels with the view of minimising the
number of MDC and Zapu candidates who are going to face each other in the
election.
In a show of solidarity, Zapu Bulawayo East parliamentary
candidate Rodger Muhlwa agreed to step down in support of MDC’s David
Coltart.
HARARE – President Robert Mugabe Friday revealed that he has been
working confidentially with Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) to introduce a
gold-backed Zimbabwe dollar currency once the economy has stabilised.Mugabe
told thousands of his Zanu PF supporters during the party’s election
manifesto launch in Harare yesterday that it was possible to restore the
local currency which was dropped for the multicurrency regime in
2009.
“We are mining a lot of gold in this country. That gold should
support our currency. We will be able to put our Zim Dollar equivalent to
the American dollar or even stronger depending on the quantity of our gold
so that you are able to have a good balance of payment,” said
Mugabe.
The Zanu PF presidential candidate, who is seeking to extend his
33-year-old rule by another term, said reintroducing the local currency will
enable the general populace to access money easily.
“When you have
enough gold, you can sell that gold and make your payments for imports
because currently an ounce of gold is worth over a $1 000.
“So we are
going to be discussing that issue soon but it will depend on our
preparedness.
“We have been talking with Gono (Gideon) the Reserve
Bank governor over the matter,” he said adding that the rural folk is
finding it hard to get hold of the United States dollar.
“We will do
it through the central bank although it will be a government policy. When we
do that, we will be able to print our own money because this American dollar
we can’t print and more so, we have sanctions,” Mugabe said.
Mugabe’s
announcement came as a surprise to many especially within the Zanu PF system
amid rumours spreading that relations between Mugabe and Gono were strained.
Gono kept the Zanu PF government afloat after taking over the governorship
of the central bank in December 2003.
He faced the daunting task of
stabilising the economy and embarked on quasi-fiscal activities in an effort
to sustain the economy, but this led to unprecedented
hyperinflation.
Gono was criticised for saving Mugabe from going down due
to economic pressures while also assisting key institutions of the State
functional through quasi-fiscal activities.
He became a top enemy of
the MDC whose secretary-general Tendai Biti at one stage called for his
public execution.
Interestingly, Biti recently praised Gono describing
him as “ very experienced and sober”.
But hardliners in Zanu PF have
been clamouring for Gono’s head accusing him of working too closely with MDC
and Biti leading to reports that all was not well between Mugabe and the
central bank boss.
WASHINGTON — Finance Minister Tendai Biti says
Zimbabwe is still struggling to raise money for this year’s general election
despite President Robert Mugabe’s hasty move to have the polls on July
31.
Biti says Harare needs US$132 million for the elections. “We are
working on a budget of $130 million. We do not have this money at all. We
have been doing a number of things and we are trying to engage the
international community to raise this money,” said Biti.
Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission (ZEC) chairperson Rita Makarau says the commission
needs US$164 million to run a credible poll.
Government initially wrote
to the United Nations Development Programme seeking US$225 million election
assistance.
The initiative, however, fell through after Justice Minister
Patrick Chinamasa, backed by some hardliners in his party, blocked a UNDP
electoral assessment mission from coming to Zimbabwe to meet stakeholders,
and checking the political environment before funding could be
released.
But President Mugabe, having failed to secure funding from the
Southern African Development Community and diamond revenue, is said to be
contemplating appealing again to the United Nations.
Mr. Chinamasa
could not be reached for comment as his mobile went unanswered. But Biti
told VOA that the government is cash-strapped and time is running
out.
Zimbabwe's Constitutional Court unanimously rejected a series of
appeals on Thursday to delay a July 31 general election in order to allow
more time for more reforms as demanded by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai
and the regional Southern African Development Community.
The owners of the Bally Vaughan Game Park
and Bally Vaughan Bird and Animal Sanctuary (BVS) outside Harare, which provide
a safe haven for a broad spectrum of wildlife and are home to some of the
largest lions in the country, have issued a statement confirming that their
Bally Vaughan Sanctuary is not moving premises.
In the circular letter
released on July 3, Kathie McIntosh, who co-founded the wildlife operations on
Bally Vaughan Game Park in the 1980s with her late husband, Robin, and formed
the bird and animal sanctuary in the early 1990s, said that the project was
continuing under the good care of the owners and their
families.
Members of the family
assisting Kathie are her daughter, Debbie Putterill, a professional wildlife
guide, and her husband, Gordon Putterill, an ex-National Parks game warden with
20 years of National Parks service. He is also a professional wildlife guide.
Both have dedicated their lives to animal welfare and
conservation.
The current controversy
relates to the termination of the BVS lease which was granted to Sarah Carter, a
former employee, in 2005. Following a misleading newsletter released by Sarah,
it has attracted widespread publicity internationally and resulted in
significant confusion.
“In the past, we have always
had managers resident in the BVS to look after the wildlife as well as the
restaurants and to run its operations,” said Gordon.
“In 2005 the manageress of
Bally Vaughan Sanctuary left, creating a vacuum. Sarah Carter, who joined the
BVS initially as a volunteer and helped with raising some of our needy orphaned
and new born wild animals, seemed like the most logical person to assist since
she had a proven association with us and our wild animals,” Gordon
explained.
Sarah suggested that she run
the BVS – with the 12 original, experienced staff - on a lease basis, and
assured the family that she could attract significant sponsorship to help and
aid the animal sanctuary.
This was during the period of
hyperinflation prior to the adoption of the US dollar and it seemed like a
better option for everyone.
At the time, Gordon and
Debbie were preoccupied with dealing with the larger Game Park and Elephant
Sanctuary, as well as numerous issues relating to land invasions and poaching in
the game farm.
It was therefore agreed that
Sarah would lease the BVS, which is a 20-acre section of the 1,500 acre Bally
Vaughan Game Park.
Terms of lease
According to the terms of the
lease, Sarah agreed to care for the sanctuary’s orphaned or injured birds and
animals, and to maintain the good name and public relations associated with the
Bally Vaughan sanctuary.
Although the animals
continued to be well cared for, and Sarah raised the profile of the BVS through
newsletters and other activities, the sanctuary and its facilities became very
run down and the buildings and infrastructure deteriorated due to a lack of
maintenance.
In view of this and more than
40 breaches of the agreement, the owners requested the rectification of these
breaches within the time frame prescribed by the lease. When these were not
attended to, the lease was duly terminated in May 2013.
Claims by Sarah that the
lease was not renewed because she was unable to afford the rental increase have
been refuted by the family.
“The initial monthly rental
for the property was set at a modest rate, which escalated gradually over the
eight-year period to US$1,500 – the current rate for a suburban apartment in
Harare,” said Gordon.
The rental included a fully
equipped, furnished restaurant, a fully equipped fast-food outlet, two houses, a
fully functioning animal and bird sanctuary and a pick-up
vehicle.
“We set the rental this low
to ensure that our animals and birds were well looked after, as they were our
main priority,” Gordon explained.
Prior to May 2013 when the lease was due to end, and
without the knowledge of the owners of the BVS, Sarah claimed in an
advertisement that Bally Vaughan was moving, together with its animals, to a new
location.
Numerous efforts made by the owners – and subsequently
their lawyers – to discuss matters relating to the BVS and the lease, and to
solve the areas of dispute were turned down. After being warned not to continue
to use or try to take Bally Vaughan's name, Sarah began to promote Twala
Trust/ Bally Vaughan as the new
sanctuary.
Court order
Following public statements
this month by Sarah of her intention to move Bally Vaughan’s animals to Twala,
and claim being laid to most of the animals and birds, it became necessary to
apply to the courts for a restraining order on wildlife movements from the BVS
pending a resolution.
Since rescued or donated
animals were given to the BVS as a reputable, functioning institution for
wildlife, the owners say that Sarah cannot lay claim to them. Large, dangerous
carnivores, for example, cannot be received by a person in his/her private
capacity.
The immediate effect of the
controversy - and public perception that the sanctuary was relocating - has been
a drastic drop in visitors who traditionally help to support the 150 large wild
animals in the Bally Vaughan Game Park. These include elephant, lions, buffalo,
giraffe and various species of plains game.
In 2012, a total of 10,724
school children went through Bally Vaughan Game Park, demonstrating the family’s
long-standing commitment to educating children so that the country’s future
leaders will appreciate, care for and conserve all
wildlife.
On the morning of July 1
(2013), the owners were shocked to discover that a large capture operation was
in progress at the BVS involving a 30-ton rig, light trucks and numerous
cages.
In attendance were Zimbabwe
National SPCA officials and veterinarians from Animal and Wildlife Area Research
and Rehabilitation (AWARE). Sarah is married to Dr Vinay Ramlaul, a veterinarian
and owner of the 24HR Vet, who was also present.
The owners responded by
summoning assistance from Zimbabwe National Parks and the police who were
requested to uphold the court restraining order and prevent the unlawful removal
of animals from the BVS.
Following a meeting with all
parties, it was agreed that no movement of animals should take place until a
resolution had been achieved through the courts.
The owners confirmed that no
animals had been sedated or left in the sun, as had been claimed by Sarah, and
that all had been returned to their respective cages by her at the conclusion of
the meeting.
Once a resolution to the
dispute has been achieved, the owners confirm that the Bally Vaughan Sanctuary
will continue to operate under their care and stress that the welfare of their
animals and birds remains paramount.
It’s that time of year when the grey Louries sit up in the trees
and scold, repeatedly, telling you to go away. There’s no hiding from them
and every time you step outside the message from above is the same: Go
Away! It’s a sentiment that was echoed in our constitutional court this
week when Zimbabwe as good as showed two fingers to SADC and effectively
told them to ‘go away’ as it dismissed applications for a delay in the date
of elections. A couple of days later when launching Zanu PF’s election
manifesto in a five hour, live, uninterrupted ZBC TV broadcast, Mr Mugabe
went further. Referring to SADC’s recommendations for elections in Zimbabwe,
Mr Mugabe said : “If SADC decides to do stupid things we can move out and
withdraw from SADC.”
And so the date is set whether we like
it or not; whether the processes and reforms have been followed or not. On
the 31st July 2013 we will go to the polls in what are ironically called
‘harmonized’ elections although there’s never anything even remotely
harmonious about elections in Zimbabwe. There’s been nothing harmonious
about two voter registration processes which have been unable to get to the
end of the queues and left countless people angry, frustrated and
disappointed.
There’s also nothing at all harmonious about the voters
roll which the Registrar General said had 6,082,302 names on it as of the
30th June 2013. Allegations of voters roll irregularities are growing by the
minute. The Daily News’ had front page headlines this week saying:
“Election rigging underway… hired Israeli Firm tampering with voters
roll.”
Even more chilling was the report from Harare's Research and
Advocacy Unit which has looked at discrepancies between the voters roll and
last year’s population census. The RAU found that 63 constituencies out of
210 had more registered voters than the number of inhabitants counted in the
2012 census. RAU also found 2 million young adults not registered as voters,
a figure which throws into serious question the number of voters the
Registrar General says were on the roll last week. It looks like once again
we’re a country with far more voters than real people
That all of
this happened in the same week as millions of Zimbabweans woke up to find
that their satellite television channels from South Africa and Botswana had
been scrambled seems impossibly coincidental. ‘ Scrambled’ was the angry
buzzword everywhere but it soon left even more people following the infamous
Baba Jukwa Facebook page. Baba Jukwa’s stunning revelations about
corruption and dirty deals in government circles have become the latest
obsession in Zimbabwe and have attracted 50 thousand new followers in the
last fortnight alone, resulting in 217,000 followers as I write, and rising
every day.
Comfort at the end of a bad week came from MDC Finance
Minister Tendai Biti who wrote on his Facebook page: “The plan is to rush
into an election that will be stolen and then invite us into the elite
madness of another GNU. What crass madness, The people will not be betrayed.
This economy is suffering. Zimbabweans are suffering. The crises cannot be
prolonged. The people want to deliver their knock out blow. Zimbabweans want
to be free. The next few days will decide our fate ,watch them closely.
Every second is history .”
We are watching, every second. God save
Zimbabwe. Until next time, thanks for reading, love cathy.
