SW Radio Africa
By Lance Guma
30 June 2010
State prosecutors on Wednesday sought to have diamond rights activist Farai Maguwu detained in remand prison for another two weeks. Maguwu, whose Centre for Research and Development has been investigating human rights abuses in the Chiadzwa diamond fields, has now spent nearly four weeks in custody while police claim they are carrying out investigations.
Mugabe’s regime accuses the activist of publishing false reports on the Marange diamond fields which in their view undermine the interests of the state. Prosecutors used the court session on Wednesday to claim that the investigating officer in the case, Detective Inspector Henry Sostein Dowa, had evidence to support their application to keep Maguwu locked up for another 2 weeks. The court will now wait to hear Dowa’s testimony on Thursday morning before ruling on the matter.
Tinoziva Bere who leads Maguwu’s defence team objected to the application, arguing their client had handed himself over to the police in the first instance and there was no need to imprison him while investigations were underway. He said prosecutors had previously submitted in writing to the court that police investigations would be completed by the 22nd June but now they were seeking a ‘blind remand’ without giving good reasons for doing so.
Bere said it was clear the state was pursuing a vendetta against Maguwu, given the treatment he is being subjected to ‘in particular the fact that he is being chained when he has diarrhoea and is in hospital and can’t easily access ablution (toilet) facilities when his legs are shackled together.’ Maguwu has also been told by prison officers that they have instructions from above to treat him like a class D prisoner (a dangerous offender).
Maguwu was arrested on the 3rd June after handing himself over to police in Mutare. He was initially forced into hiding after police raided his offices, his house and arrested and assaulted some of his relatives. Before his arrest he gave an exclusive interview to SW Radio Africa telling us he was ‘set up’ by the Kimberley Process (KP) monitor Abbey Chikane. Maguwu was arrested soon after Chikane’s fact-finding mission and believes the monitor ‘shopped’ him to the police because of the information on human rights abuses by the state that he gave him.
SW Radio Africa
Tererai Karimakwenda
30/06/10
The deadline for companies to submit forms to the government in line with the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act arrived on Wednesday with many affected businesses and economists warning that the new policies would mean disaster for an already ailing economy. The controversial law which came into effect in March, requires companies deemed to be “non-indigenous” to give up more than half of their businesses to locals. Under heavy criticism for attempting to takeover foreign owned businesses, the government was forced to clarify many of the terms in the Act, and announced last Friday that it had altered it.
But economist John Robertson explained that the basic aim of the Act was purely to meet the needs of the few in charge, who want to remain in control, and that it was not about the needs of the country. He compared it to the farm takeover exercise, in which the government grabbed productive farms claiming it wanted to empower the masses. The result was a farm grab frenzy by government officials and Mugabe’s cronies.
“It’s really all about dispossessing people that are targeted for this treatment. The people who will profit from this would probably be selected and they are probably already well off. They are probably closely connected to the ruling party and they would be the ones who would acquire the shares that are going to be redistributed.
Foreign-owned businesses with a net asset value of, or above, $500,000 will be forced to sell 51% of their shares to new shareholders chosen by committees that report to the Minister. Those that fail to find a local buyer of their shares will be taken over by the government’s Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Fund.
Robertson added: “The company that is being taken over in this way might even have to pay for the shares being taken over. In other words a separate levy is being introduced that can be imposed on a company to raise the money with which to pay for the shares. So companies have got to fund their own takeover and in this way lose control. The 51% shares will give control to the new shareholders who will then be able to appoint the board of directors that suits them.”
The economist said that many businesses would probably try to continue operating in this environment that is unsuitable for business, but would inevitably shut down in the end. But even shutting down might be a problem, as they would require permission to do so.
“Many would try to shut down, but one of the requirements if anyone tried to restructure their company in any way, is that they would need to seek permission from the minister. And a shut down would be classified as a restructuring exercise”
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is one of many people who have said the Indigenisation Act will only chase away investors from the country, Local businessmen have also condemned the law, saying it will be the final nail in the coffin for the economy.
SW Radio Africa
By Alex Bell
30 June 2010
Human rights organisation Amnesty International has warned that Zimbabwe could face a new wave of political violence, following a spate of recent attacks on human rights activists.
The incidents have all taken place since the outreach campaign to garner public opinion on a new constitution kicked off two weeks ago. The process has already been marred by administrative issues and a multitude of reports of intimidation and violence. In the latest incident of violence three human rights monitors, overseeing the public consultation process, were captured and beaten with logs by ZANU PF supporters on Sunday.
“This intimidation and harassment of activists undermines Zimbabwe’s efforts to form a new constitution with public consultation and it is also a worrying reminder of the organised violence that took place in 2008,” said Amnesty International’s Africa researcher, Simeon Mawanza.
He added: “The Zimbabwean authorities need to show that the country is not sliding back into that era.”
According to Amnesty the monitors, Paul Nechishanu, Artwel Katandika and Shingairayi Garira, were working for the Independent Constitution Monitoring Project, which is jointly run by the Zimbabwe Election Support Network, the Zimbabwe Peace Project and the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights. The men were reportedly abducted by ZANU PF supporters and taken to a farm in the Makonde district of Mashonaland West. Garira sustained injuries to his eardrum while Nechishanu and Katandika suffered head injuries after all three were beaten with logs.
The beatings followed the arrest of another team of monitors, Godfrey Nyarota and Tapiwa Mavherevhedze, plus their driver Cornelius Chengu, in Mutare last Thursday. They were charged with practicing journalism without accreditation and released on US$20 bail each. Reports indicate that the police acted at the instigation of a well known ZANU PF activist and “war veteran”.
Another activist in Mutare, Enddy Ziyera, the provincial coordinator of the independent monitoring project, was detained for several hours and released without charge on last Friday after bringing food for the three activists in detention. On the same day in Marondera, three MDC activists were seized by unidentified state security agents. They were later found detained at Marondera police station and are yet to be charged.
The constitution-making process was part of the agreement signed by Robert Mugabe and MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai in September 2008, following six months of intense violence that followed the country’s disputed presidential election. Hundreds of MDC activists and supporters were killed during the period, many thousands were seriously injured and tens of thousands were displaced by the violence.
“The unity government was formed to create a new political order where human rights are respected,” said Amnesty’s Mawanza. “It is worrying that such an order, meant to bring about national peace, is still being undermined by violence.”
SW Radio Africa
By Tichaona Sibanda
30 June 2010
The MDC-T’s deputy organizing secretary, Morgan Komichi, on Wednesday claimed CIO operatives were now speaking on behalf of ZANU PF during constitutional outreach programs countrywide.
‘ZANU PF as a party doesn’t exist anymore. It is increasingly becoming clear from the exercise that they don’t have the people to articulate their views on the new constitution. The daily reports that I’m getting across the country say that the CIO’s are now their voices during consultative meetings,’ Komichi said.
Komichi reiterated that ZANU PF is once again hiring it’s ‘thugs and killers’, who caused havoc during the 2008 presidential run-off, to do their dirty work. He said these people were making it impossible for ordinary Zimbabweans to participate freely in the outreach, as they were issuing threats and intimidating MDC supporters.
‘What kind of a political party can rely on state security organs, known killers and thugs, to push their policies on a new constitution? If they had support, as they claim, why don’t they let the people speak for themselves? Because they don’t have any support anymore they resort to sending security agents to try and influence the process,’ Komichi added.
The MDC-T senator who is coordinating the outreach program on behalf of his party said ZANU PF tactics have reduced the people into mere spectators. He said soldiers, war vets and the militia were still roaming around the country intimidating people from attending the meetings, while the more intellectual CIO’s were masquerading as party activists.
‘The whole world can come and witness what ZANU PF is up to. They’re manipulating the process. It is now clear that ZANU PF politicians and the ordinary people of Zimbabwe have diametrically opposed interests in constitution making.
‘It must always be remembered that while Zimbabwean people are interested in values, accountability, social justice, transparency, morality, human rights and security, ZANU PF politicians are obsessed with the structure of the executive. They still don’t believe in change. Why are they not ashamed? Komichi asked.
Komichi said ZANU PF is only interested in safeguarding it’s position and ill gotten wealth, but despite these stumbling blocks, he urged all Zimbabweans to remain resolute and participate in the program.
He said the MDC as a party was advocating for a constitution that provides a vision for all Zimbabweans, adding ‘the country needs a new leadership that has a big picture and has a vision to transform the nation into an inclusive, fair and democratic state.’
‘The ordinary people should have the final say because their support gives legitimacy to a constitution. Why, because ZANU PF politicians see the constitution as an instrument of power and domination. We must let people decide on the system of government not on the basis of the ambitions of a few politicians, but on the principles of democracy, participation, accountability and efficiency,’ he said.
Komichi told us that COPAC (the parliamentary select committee spearheading the drafting of a new constitution) was still meeting in Harare to address a number of ‘challenging’ problems.
The constitutional outreach program that was launched two weeks ago has faced so many problems that it nearly ground to a halt over the weekend, forcing COPAC to urgently convene a meeting to carry out a post mortem of what has gone wrong.
There were reports that COPAC was considering firing its national coordinator, Peter Kunjeku, for poor management of the process. This will only be known late Wednesday.
Journalists was left fuming on Tuesday when it was suggested they could attend meetings on the new constitution, but not interview participants or report what went on at the meetings.
The proposed blackout was suggested by Paul Mangwana, the ZANU-PF co-chairman of the select committee, who argued that reports on outreach meetings could influence areas where the process had not yet begun.
Zimbabwe Union of Journalists secretary-general Foster Dongozi shot down the idea, saying scribes would report professionally on the meetings, blasting the committee for acting ‘unreasonable’ by trying to restrict the free flow of information.
SW Radio Africa
In Hidden story this week Tabvirita Khumalo, an independent constitutional outreach program monitor, explains how the current process is deeply flawed. He warns that the process itself is inherently unrepresentative and dominated by politicians, and if changes are not made now it will fail to deliver a constitution that is legitimate.
Callback
Kariba resident Kudakwashe Matura says most people, especially those in rural areas in the district, are still unaware of the constitutional outreach programme, owing to the little airtime the state media is giving it. Hope, a Zimbabwean living in South Africa, says that he’s worried about the harassment his family is suffering right now during the constitutional outreach.
Wednesday Forum
The forum features Rev Useni Sibanda the National Director of the Zimbabwe Christian Alliance. Rev Sibanda talks about how the church leaders who were involved in our political recovery are battling to complete our moral rebirth.
--
Together to the end, marching to a new Zimbabwe
The Changing Times is the official mouthpiece of the Movement for Democratic
Change.
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[30th June 2010]
Published Outreach Programme for
Week 2 being Revised
The Parliamentary Constitution Select Committee
[COPAC] is revising the itinerary/schedule of meetings for the second week [1st
to 8th July] of the Outreach Programme. The one published in the press
over the weekend and on Monday is having alterations made to it, which were
necessitated by the many delays and interruptions that prevented completion of
the first week’s programme. Each province is rescheduling the lost
meetings and sending its new itinerary in to the COPAC head office.
Veritas will distribute the revised itinerary as soon
as COPAC is able to make it available.
Tomorrow’s meetings will proceed but not necessarily
according to the itinerary published in the press. The district
administrators of the districts where meetings are scheduled have been tasked
with letting the people in that district know. The outreach teams are
already out there and should be informed about what is happening. For
those civil society groups who may not be in the district information loop it
is advisable to confirm when and where meetings are taking place with the
provincial contact persons [Listed below].
Provincial Contact Persons
Mashonaland Central:- J. Jaji [0912 762241]
Mashonaland West:- C. Shumba [0912 964204]
Midlands:- C. Chitiyo [0712 310908]
Manicaland:- F. Mbesta [0912 730655]
Matabeleland North:- L. Dhlamini [0712 242824]
Mashonaland East and Harare:- C. Ndarukwa [0916
353567]
Masvingo:- F. Chikovo [0913 897820]
Matabeleland South and Bulawayo:- D. Mpofu [0734
044064]
Note
Outreach Meetings in Harare Metropolitan and Bulawayo Metropolitan Provinces
are postponed until after the World Cup is over.
Veritas makes every effort to ensure reliable
information, but cannot take legal responsibility for information supplied
Contacts:
Mobile: 0912 864 572, 011 756 840, 011862012, 0733 368 107 or email info@chra.co.zw, admin@chra.co.zw, ceo@chra.co.zw
Residents describe prevailing environment as not
conducive
....as
State security agents hover around constitutional outreach meetings
30 June
2010
The
residents of Marondera are complaining that the prevailing political
environment is not conducive for a people driven constitution making process as
there is still a lot of intimidation among the grassroots communities. The
Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) has received reports from
Marondera to the effect that some of the outreach meetings that were conducted
within the past week were being monitored by State agents; a situation that
negatively affected the participation of residents at the meetings.
It has
also been reported that the police are attending the meetings in plain clothes
and this has raised eyebrows among residents who wonder why the police would
not want to be recognised by wearing their official uniforms. The attendances
at some of the meetings have actually become low as some residents fear
victimisation after the meetings. Reports from some village Headmen in
Marondera Rural who requested anonymity have also revealed that residents who
are active in the opposition party have been threatened with unspecified
actions if they attend or participate at the outreach meetings. The meetings
that have been conducted so far have also witnessed a huge number of the old
aged while the youths have been conspicuous by their absence. Some of the
meetings in the area have actually witnessed less than 50 people due to
residents’ reluctance to participate for fear of victimisation.
CHRA
calls on the three Principals and the Organ on National Healing to attend to
the issues of security as a matter of urgency so as to ensure that the outcome
of the outreach process will reflect the true will of the people. The
constitutional outreach process is not a political issue and it should be
understood that Zimbabwe does not belong to one political party but to everyone
who has been born and bred in this country. There is a need for the Inclusive
Government to ensure the protection of the rights of citizens to freely
contribute to and participate in the constitution making process. Victimising
residents for their willingness to build a future for themselves through a
people driven constitution is nothing short of gross human rights violation.
CHRA urges all residents to brave the storm and participate in the outreach
meetings.
Meanwhile,
outreach meetings in Gweru were postponed yesterday for unclear reasons.
Reports from Gweru United Residents Association indicate that residents were
still waiting for the outreach teams as of today afternoon.
The
Association remains committed to advocating for good, transparent and
accountable local governance as well lobbying for quality and affordable
municipal services on a non partisan basis.
ZimOnline
by Own Correspondent Thursday 01 July 2010
KP monitor -- Abbey Chikane
by Caroline Mvundura Thursday 01 July 2010
by Own Correspondent Tuesday 29 June 2010
CAHORA BASSA . . . Zimbabwe is importing 150MW from Mozambican hydro power plant
Written
by Steven Nyathi
Wednesday, 30 June 2010 09:39
The Zimbabwean
BULAWAYO – Finance Minister
Tendai Biti should use his mid-year budget review to announce fresh measures to
boost manufacturing sector recovery, economic analysts have said. (Pictured: Shop
shelves are full – but mostly with foreign made products! )
Biti announces the budget review to Parliament on July 15 at a time inflation
is showing worrying signs of resurgence, while local industry has continued to
struggle largely because of a liquidity crunch that has deprived factories of
cash for re-tooling and to import raw materials.
Tony Nyangarara, an economic analyst with a local bank, said industry and
commerce was beginning to lose confidence in the inclusive government’s ability
to revive the economy that was in recession for the past 10 years and only
recorded growth last year after the coalition administration came into office.
Nyangarara called for a budget review statement that contains measures to keep
resurgent inflation in check and to address the liquidity crunch that has seen
local banks unable to provide loans to industries to pay for vital imports.
With foreign financiers reluctant to loan to Zimbabwe, local factories have
been left in a lurch, short of cash to boost production, while manufacturing
companies from neighbouring countries continue to entrench their positions in
the local market with shop shelves filled up with goods from foreign suppliers
especially from South Africa.
“Indications so far are that our local industry continues to struggle as shown
by the continued flooding of imports vis-à-vis our own products,” Nyangarara
said.
The Chamber of Mines’ Chris Hokonya said the government should shelve the
controversial black economic empowerment scheme because conflicting messages
and uncertainty over the direction of the scheme were discouraging potential
foreign investors.
Hokonya said despite the government announcing that it had reviewed the
indigenisation regulations to lift the blanket requirement on foreign firms to
cede 51 percent stake to local blacks, there remained uncertainty over the law
and investors were not sure about the long-term security of their investments
in Zimbabwe.
Indigenisation Minister Saviour Kasukuwere last week said the government will
set varying percentages of shareholding foreign-owned companies in various
sectors of the economy must transfer to local blacks, a major shift from the
earlier requirement that all foreign–owned firms cede controlling stake to
locals.
Hokonya said: “The budget review should clearly state the government
position on key policy issues if the country is to attract any meaningful
inflows of capital.”
He said while significant progress had been made since the last budget
announcement in December, there was little investment in infrastructure development,
adding that recurrent power outages were an example of how ensuring modern
infrastructure was crucial to any plan to revive the economy.
Biti in December presented a US$2,250 billion national budget statement which
included a US$810 million vote of credit. But a paltry US$3 million had by last
March been realised from the vote of credit as international financiers and
donors remain reluctant to provide funds to the unity government citing the
slow pace of economic and democratic reforms.
The Zimbabwean
Written
by The Editor
Wednesday, 30 June 2010 09:04
Just what kind of
constitution does the unity government hope to produce from so much chaos,
lawlessness and violence? Week one of the exercise to gather the views and
ideas of the public they want included in the proposed new constitution ended
yesterday with only a handful of public meetings having taken place in a few
parts of the country.
In the rest of the country, no consultations took place either because members
of the Constitutional Parliamentary Committee (COPAC) that is leading the
exercise failed to turn for reasons best known to that clearly overwhelmed
committee.
Or in the cases where they pitched up such as in some districts in Masonaland
East and Central provinces, consultation could not take place because there was
no stationery or recording equipment to capture the views of the public.
Just why this would happen only Messrs Douglass Mwonzora, Paul Mangwana and
Edward Mkhosi know. But you would have expected even the dumbest idiot to know
that there was no point launching the outreach exercise before the COPAC teams
and equipment were in position to record the views of the public.
With the COPAC overawed by the whole occasion and unable to show leadership,
the killing and torture gangs that have been in semi-retirement since the
advent of unity government are quickly emerging out of the woodwork to carry on
from where they left in June 2008.
It is definitely early days yet to say where this whole process will end,
suffice it to say the future looks bad – very bad!
If in doubt here are the statistics: last Thursday, that is a day after the outreach
exercise began, an estimated 200 uniformed soldiers marched in the Chikangwe
and Chiedza suburbs of Karoi in Mashonaland West province chanting Zanu (PF)
slogans.
They threatened to bring war to the doorstep of anyone who will dare utter
views contrary to those of Zanu (PF) during the outreach exercise.
In Mashonaland East province, four homes in Mudzi district were last week burnt
during political violence related to the outreach exercise. While in
Mashonaland West three monitors from the Zimbabwe Peace Project, Zimbabwe
Election Support Network and Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights were seriously
assaulted by Zanu (PF) youths who also stole money and property from them.
The list of incidents of violence is growing by the day and in short this means
we are slowly descending to the dark old days of the run-up to the June 27 sham
election.
Messrs Mwonzora, Mangwana and Mkhosi will tell you there is little they can do
to stop the violence or provide required resources if they are not given money
by central government or NGOs. Of course, they are absolutely right – and that
is the biggest problem with this constitutional exercise.
There is no one to take responsibility. Each is quick to point the finger at
the other and you can expect more of this blame game in the days ahead. How
pathetic that a government could chose to behave so dishonestly.