Dear Family and Friends,
For the last decade we've been struggling to get local municipal
councils to provide the services we pay them for. Services like clean
and continuous supplies of water; garbage removal; road repairs and
street lighting. Sadly, despite the election of MDC councillors to
run our towns and cities two years ago, very little has changed.
Services in the majority of urban areas remain erratic, elusive or
simply non existent. Local councils complain of operations having
being sabotaged, of town assets having been looted, of previous
office bearers refusing to hand back council property and of massive
political infiltration and faction fighting tearing our councils
apart.
Zimbabweans have become very adept at 'making a plan' to cope with
non existent municipal services and then living in the safety-bubble
created around their own homes - thereby absolving the municipalities
from doing the jobs we pay them to do.
Its very common to see people dumping wheelbarrow and truck loads of
garbage on the roadside; trucks pumping up bowser loads of water from
steams and rivers; vehicles compacting tracks in the grass parallel to
existing roads which are so littered with potholes and gullies that
they have become unusable. When a funeral is planned relations have
to go the cemetery the day before with grass slashers and rakes to
clear a path for mourners to use in order to get to the graveside. At
a cemetery near my home the grass is eight foot tall, graves are
invisible amongst the weeds, fences and signposts have gone, rotting
household garbage, broken glass, condoms and car wrecks adorn the
road and surroundings. Amongst this squalor lie the graves of the
great men and women who built up the town. A welling of shame rises
in your throat as you clamber through the jungle and the filth in
order to pay respect to friends and relations long gone.
There is, however, a note of tragic humour in this sorry state of
affairs. Every month we pay what is called a fire levy on our
municipal bills - supposedly for the upkeep of the fire engine and
equipment needed to fight fires. This week the fire engine in my home
town has been very visible. Everyone's talking about repeated
sightings of the fire engine racing around town - ladders, hoses and
all. Not putting out fires though, instead confiscating the wares of
roadside vendors and apprehending people they accuse of trading
without licences. And this is being done with the town's one and only
fire engine. It doesn't bear thinking what will happen when there's a
real fire to put out. Until next time, thanks for reading, love cathy
� Copyright cathy buckle 3rd July 2010. www.cathybuckle.com
<http://www.cathybuckle.com/>
For information or orders of my new book about Meryl Harrison's
animal rescues: "INNOCENT VICTIMS," or previous books "African Tears"
and "Beyond Tears," or to subscribe/unsubscribe to this newsletter,
please write to: cbuckle@mango.zw <mailto:cbuckle@mango.zw>
HOT SEAT: Global Witness on Kimberley Process & Zimbabwe diamonds
LINK: http://www.swradioafrica.com/pages/hotseat280610.htm
SW Radio Africa Transcript
HOT SEAT: Global Witness on Kimberley Process & Zimbabwe diamonds
The human rights
campaigner tells us why there was a lack of consensus at the Kimberley Process
meeting in Israel over the certification of Zimbabwe’s Chiadzwa diamonds, and
why there was also no consensus on the future role of the controversial KP
Monitor, Abbey Chikane. What are the implications of Zimbabwe’s threat to
unilaterally export diamonds?
BROADCAST: – 25
JUNE 2010
VIOLET GONDA: Member states and partners of the Kimberley
Process, an organization set up eight years ago to eradicate the trade in blood
diamonds, failed to reach agreement on whether to allow Zimbabwe to resume its
trade in diamonds from the controversial Chiadzwa fields. To get the details on
the outcome of the KP meeting in Israel, I spoke to human rights campaigner
Elly Harrowell from Global Witness – an organisation that is a member of the
Kimberley Process Civil Society Coalition. I first asked her to tell us what
happened at the meeting.
ELLY HARROWELL: Well as you know, the meeting in Israel was
a long meeting, quite a difficult meeting. We spent a lot of time discussing
the situation in Zimbabwe and whether or not exports of rough diamonds from Marange
could go ahead. We were at the negotiating table for a very, very long time.
These talks went on through the night up to 5.30 in the morning and were even
reconvened after the conference had officially closed. So there were a lot of
people trying very hard to find a way through this crisis but unfortunately as
it stands, we weren’t able to find consensus on a way forward. We’ve come out
of this meeting still with a few questions hanging in the air but I would say
that I think that the negotiations aren’t over and I think there is a lot of
will on the part of all members of the Kimberley Process to try and work
together over the next few weeks to find a solution to this problem.
GONDA: Right so now as it stands, Zimbabwe is not allowed
to export diamonds?
HARROWELL: Yes as it stands, there wasn’t consensus to
allow exports of rough diamonds from the Marange diamond fields. Of course the
other mines in Zimbabwe are not the subject of this Joint Work Plan and so they
are perfectly able to go ahead and export as normal, but there wasn’t consensus
for exports from Marange, simply because a lot of participants, or a number of
participants still have serious concerns regarding the situation on the ground
in Marange. The fact that not enough progress and not enough change has
occurred since we got together in Swartkopmund for the plenary session last
year and until some of these changes happen we can’t be confident that the
diamonds being produced in Marange are compliant with the minimum requirements
of the scheme.
GONDA: And I understand that delegates at the meeting
were sharply divided over the Zimbabwe diamond saga and you’ve just explained
why some people were still not happy to lift the ban, but why were the others
happy to support Zimbabwe because I understand that countries from Southern
Africa were particularly supporting this. What is the reason for this?
HARROWELL: It’s true. I think one of the key problems;
one of the key reasons that countries took such differing stances was actually
a lack of communication. To give some background to your listeners on how the
Kimberley Process works, the situation in Zimbabwe and the Working Plan and the
report of the Kimberley Process monitor are all discussed in the Monitoring
Working Group, which is a smaller group of Kimberley Process members. Now in
discussions in recent weeks in this Working Group, there hasn’t been consensus
on the reports that the Kimberly Process monitor, Abbey Chikane, presented. A
number of participants weren’t happy that this report was accurate or
represented all of the facts from the ground. Unfortunately, I think the
Zimbabwean delegation took advantage of this – the fact that only a smaller
group has been having these discussions and somehow the report has been
presented to the wider group, the wider Kimberley Process community as having
been accepted.
That means obviously that some countries
can’t understand why we wouldn’t be allowing exports if this report has been
accepted but it hasn’t been accepted. There are still deep concerns about the
accuracy and content of it. So we’re in the situation where there is a lack of
understanding of the base line that we’re working from I think. However, I
wouldn’t necessarily characterise the Kimberley Process as being deeply divided
at this point. One thing that became very clear through the discussions that
we’ve had this week and the amount of people who remained at the table at 5.30
in the morning was that there is unity in the Kimberley Process in the
importance we place on trying to find a solution to this issue and there is
unity on wanting Zimbabwe to become compliant with the Kimberley Process and to
be able to export its diamonds once it is compliant with these rules. So whilst
there may be different feelings about the current situation and the accuracy of
the information presented and the exact next steps there is a great deal of
mutual understanding of the importance of this issue and a great deal of will
from participants to try and find a practical and positive solution.
GONDA: And you’ve just said that there has been deep
concern within the KP about the accuracy of Mr Chikane’s report. Now there’s
also been serious allegations that have been raised about the monitor and
people question his impartiality and that a source of his information Farai
Maguwu became a target after they’d had a meeting in Zimbabwe about the
situation in the Chiadzwa area. Was this brought up and if so what happens to
Mr Chikane since all these questions have been raised about his conduct?
HARROWELL: Yes, we at Global Witness have been very
concerned about the information contained in Mr Chikane’s report, or in fact
more accurately about the information that isn’t contained in Mr Chikane’s
report. We have concerns that it didn’t reflect a lot of what is going on in
the ground in terms of the military’s involvement in mining and smuggling, in
terms of the very high illicit trade crossing the border into Mozambique, and
in terms of on-going rights abuses carried out by State bodies. We also had
concerns about his conduct when he was on the ground in Zimbabwe about the fact
that he turned up to a meeting with local civil society who as we all know,
work in a very difficult context, accompanied by State minders. This is for us
is a deeply troubling thing to do. We have made those concerns very clear at
this meeting as have a number of participants. In terms of Mr Maguwu and his
on-going detention, this was a matter that was raised time and again at this
meeting. Most participants here I would say have expressed deep concern at his
on-going detention and it really is a question that has hung over this meeting.
It drives to the very heart of the Kimberley Process. Your listeners may or may
not know but one of the unique things about the Kimberley Process when it was
set up was the way that it brought together three main parties to try and work
collaboratively to solve the issue of conflict diamonds. Those parties being
governments, the industry and civil society. Now if one third of the Kimberley
Process, that is civil society, can’t do its job on the ground in Zimbabwe, if
civil society activists who attempt to provide the Kimberley Process with
information, with research, with news and so on, if they are then persecuted or
arrested, then that really does undermine the tri-partite system at the heart
of the scheme. So yes, the question of Farai Maguwu was very much at the centre
of discussions this week and I think that participants in the Kimberley Process
sent a very strong message to the Zimbabwean authorities that his arrest and
continued detention really isn’t acceptable.
GONDA: What about Mr Chikane? Does he remain the Zimbabwe
monitor?
HARROWELL: Yes, well this comes back to the lack of
consensus on the way forward. The role of the KP monitor is part of the wider
Joint Work Plan agreed between the Kimberley Process and Zimbabwe last year. So
whilst there’s no consensus on how to move forward within this Joint Work Plan
it means that there’s no consensus either on how to, on Mr Chikane’s future
role. So I imagine that this will be another thing that will form part of
on-going negotiations over the next few weeks.
GONDA: And some have said that the KP should not have
allowed one person to investigate the situation in Zimbabwe but rather sent,
set out a task force. Do you agree with this?
HARROWELL: Possibly. I think it is easy to look back
with hindsight on the decisions that we made in another late night session in
Swartkopmund six months ago. Looking now, I think that we as civil society are
very open to thinking creatively about a monitoring team in the future. How can
we ensure that the monitor, whether it’s one person or whether it’s a team, is
getting all the information they need and is reflecting this back to the
Kimberley Process. So yes, we are very open to the idea that a team could go,
or any number of more creative solutions to this issue. Of course another
aspect of the Joint Work Plan is the provision for a review mission, the
official Kimberley Process review mission to visit Zimbabwe. That should have
gone in March, however no invitation has been forthcoming from the Zimbabwean
authorities until at least last week, but this review mission would reflect the
tri-partite nature of the Kimberley Process and would also be able to play a
role in finding out more about what is going on, on the ground. So yes, a more
creative monitoring mechanism may be necessary, I think that at this point the
more clear and accurate information we can get from what’s going on in Marange
the better it will be able to make decisions on how to move forward.
GONDA: And what has been the reaction from the Zimbabwean
government in terms of the KP not lifting the ban on the exports?
HARROWELL: It’s been an interesting reaction I think.
On the one hand they haven’t walked out, they haven’t left the Kimberley
Process, which I think a lot of people were worrying about beforehand. We
remain concerned about some of the language they were using throughout the week
especially regarding civil society. But the threats they have made are to
instead to just unilaterally export diamonds. What this means is that it’s not
leaving the Kimberley Process but it’s reinterpreting the rules in the
situation. They’re taking the monitor’s report as fact, they’re taking it to be
universally accepted and they may yet go ahead and try and export diamonds
without the monitor’s sign off. We hope that they won’t do this. We sincerely
hope they will continue to work within the Kimberley Process, to work with all
members of the Kimberley Process to find a solution to the situation. What will
be tricky is that if they do follow through with their threats to start
unilaterally exporting diamonds, it will be difficult for Kimberley Process
members to refuse them.
To explain a bit about how the KP works –
it’s not an international treaty organisation, it’s implemented through the
domestic legislation of each member country and many of these member countries
have got legislation that ties what they can and can’t do to the list of
countries on the Kimberly Process web site. So as long as Zimbabwe isn’t
suspended or doesn’t walk away, then a number of countries will find it quite
difficult to refuse shipments. So I think it is going to be very important for
participant countries to come together in the next few weeks and try and decide
on a way of dealing with this situation. I also think that it will be
absolutely imperative that the industry steps up in the next few weeks –
they’ll have a pivotal role to play in ensuring that rough diamonds aren’t
leaving Marange without the full consent of all Kimberley Process members. So
really I would call on the industry to step up to the mark here and to show
that they can play a very strong role in regulating the international diamond
trade.
GONDA: I was actually going to ask that - can the
Kimberley Process actually stop the sale of these diamonds, these Zimbabwean
diamonds and is there policing for that?
HARROWELL: Whilst they remain a member, it’s a very
tricky situation for the Kimberley Process to deal with. I think it will
require a creative solution and that’s something actually the Kimberley Process
has often been quite good at working out, creative solutions to problems. It’s
a relatively young scheme and so quite often we are working on issues that are
within the Kimberley Process unprecedented and we are trying to, having to find
a way forward as issues arise. And as I say, I think that central to the
response, central to the ability to regulate the flow of Marange diamonds that
haven’t been approved by the Kimberley Process will be the industry, will be
the cutting and polishing industry in different countries around the world,
will be the trading industry and they are really going to have to think long
and hard about how they respond to this issue.
GONDA: Are there people right now who would be interested
in dealing with the Zimbabwean government before the situation has been
resolved within the Kimberley Process? Are there people in the world who
actually go along with this right now?
HARROWELL: Well I think it’s quite clear that all the
time that we’ve been talking about Marange, Marange diamonds have been reaching
the international markets. There is a very brisk trade in diamonds from Marange
across the border into Mozambique to Vila de Manica. One of my colleagues from
a different civil society organisation, recently visited Manica and counted 30
diamond trading houses, trading in diamonds from Marange. So evidently even
now, even six months ago when we first put this Joint Work Plan into place, there
were people out there willing to trade in Marange diamonds and to accept
Marange diamonds into the international system. So this is really an issue that
has been on the table for a while but I think now it will become sharply into
focus and Kimberley Process members, governments, industry, civil society are
going to have to sit down and work out how they can deal with people who are
willing to go outside the KP consensus.
GONDA: Right and of course the Zimbabwean government is
saying that it’s a bunch of westerners who are making complaints as part of
their regime change agenda. What can you say about this?
HARROWELL: I would completely refute those accusations.
The Kimberley Process is at its heart, a technical scheme. It is an
import/export certification scheme based on very technical requirements. Now
the reason we, and I would say that other governments as well, the reason that
they haven’t been happy to give the go-ahead for exports from Marange at the
present time is simply because the technical requirements of the Kimberly
Process in Marange as a whole remain unfulfilled. We still, as I mentioned at
the start of the programme, there are still real issues with smuggling over the
border, there’re still issues with the internal controls in Marange when you
have the people who are meant to be ensuring internal controls in fact running
syndicates and driving the illicit trade – then that represents a real problem
to compliance, to Zimbabwe’s compliance with the Kimberly Process. So no, this
isn’t to do with regime change, this isn’t to do with western governments
ganging up on someone, it’s, I think that’s a very clear attempt on the part on
Mr Mpofu to divert attention from the issues at hand and the issues at hand are
technical issues, they are technical areas in which Marange, and operations in
Marange as a whole, do not comply with the requirements of the scheme then how
can we allow these diamonds to be exported? How can we assure consumers that
they are getting a clean diamond at the end of it?
GONDA: Do you think that the KP has handled the Zim saga
effectively since technically the government can still sell the diamonds since
it hasn’t even pulled out of the KP?
HARROWELL: Yes it’s a difficult one to answer. I think
the Kimberley Process has been to a certain extent, feeling its way through
this crisis. The Joint Work Plan which was decided last year was an
unprecedented step, never before has the Kimberley Process attempted to look
just at one producing area in the country instead of looking at the country as
a whole and evidently, this new approach which civil society still remains
somewhat sceptical about. We’re not sure that the country should be able to
pick and choose the areas in which it is compliant with the rules and section
off different areas that aren’t. But that aside, the Kimberley Process has been
working in an unprecedented manner and I think there has been teething problems
and issues that perhaps weren’t envisaged at the start when we were negotiating
this agreement that have perhaps made the application of the Joint Work Plan,
the collaboration of Zimbabwe and bringing them back into compliance, more
difficult or more complicated than was first envisaged. I think that’s the
nature of dealing with situations as they arise in a creative way. Sometimes
you don’t quite foresee all the issues that might end up on the table, but I
would come back again to the point that whereas it’s been very difficult,
whereas negotiations were tense and fraught and difficult, there are still a
lot of people remaining at the table, there are a lot of people who want to see
this situation resolved, who want to see Zimbabwe in compliance exporting its
diamonds for the benefit of the Zimbabwean people so there’s still a lot of
will to see this through and see it to a positive conclusion.
GONDA: And in terms of the value of the diamonds does the
Zimbabwe government stand to lose or make more from dealing on the black market
as compared to if it was dealing as a registered KP member?
HARROWELL: Yes I think that the Zimbabwean government
wanted to stay in the KP and want to deal legitimately simply, if you deal on
the black market, you don’t get as good a price for your goods and we want the
Zimbabwe government to deal legitimately. Dealing on the black market won’t
allow very valuable diamond wealth to start flowing into the State coffers and
to start rebuilding the Zimbabwean economy and funding education and health
care and all the things that are so vital to the ordinary man on the street in
Zimbabwe, so we would very much urge the Zimbabwe government to stay in the KP
to work with everyone who has been working very hard over the past few years,
the past few days to get Zimbabwe on the right track because by selling
diamonds legitimately they’ll get a better price and that money will go to
helping the Zimbabwean State get back on its feet. Selling on the black market
is very much a less positive option for them I would say.
GONDA: And is it possible to trace the diamonds sold on
the black market to find out where they came from?
HARROWELL: The difficulty with the Kimberley Process is
that as a scheme it only applies to rough diamonds and not polished diamonds so
once a diamond reaches a cutting and polishing factory in say India or Dubai or
China or Antwerp, as soon as it’s cut, you lose the ability to trace it. That
means it can go anywhere in the world from that moment on and end up in any
market, any jewellery store and the consumer won’t know where it’s come from.
The key is for the KP to be looking at this at the source, for people to be
acting on that first link in the chain to stop the exports coming out from
Zimbabwe because that’s the only place actually the Kimberley Process as a
scheme has leverage is on the rough trade. We have long been campaigning at
Global Witness to extend the statistical oversight of the Kimberley Process to
include cutting and polishing centres so that participants would be able
reconcile figures of what’s going in to polishing centres and what is coming
out and make sure that there isn’t an illicit stream of diamonds also going in
and getting laundered into the process. I think the situation we have right now
highlights why such a move would be so important but for the time being the KP
still only has oversight over the trade in rough diamonds and once they get to
a cutting and polishing centre they are lost to the oversight of the Kimberley
Process.
GONDA: Earlier on you mentioned that it’s only the
diamonds from the Chiadzwa fields that have been affected. What is the
situation with the other diamond mines in Zimbabwe?
HARROWELL: Yes the Joint Work Plan that was agreed at
Swartkopmund last year was only meant to address problems in Chiadzwa Marange
diamond field; that actually is in itself quite an unprecedented step for the
Kimberley Process because it doesn’t normally subdivide countries into
different regions. The other diamond fields are two mines in Zimbabwe, River
Ranch and Murowa and as far as we know, things seem to be going pretty well at
those mines; they haven’t posed any challenges in recent years to the
compliance of Zimbabwe with the Kimberley Process.
GONDA: So as human rights groups you have done
investigations into the mining activities of these other two diamond mines in
Zimbabwe?
HARROWELL: No we as Global Witness haven’t run any
investigations into activities at Murowa or at River Ranch. They haven’t really
come up on the agenda that much.
GONDA: Why is it though that people are concentrating on
Marange?
HARROWELL: Well there’s an interesting question about
the kind of diamond deposit found at Marange as opposed to at the other mines.
Marange is what we call an alluvial diamond field which means the diamonds are
very easy to get at, they are near the surface and can be got with quite low
grade technology – digging and sifting and so on. The other two mines in
Zimbabwe aren’t mines of this type and so they don’t represent the same
problems of securitisation and so on. To give you some context, the classic
diamond-fuelled war that we saw in places like Sierra Leone and Liberia
involved diamond fields of the alluvial type so they really have been the ones
to pose security challenges and have unfortunately provoked in a lot of cases a
very brutal response from the authorities.
GONDA: What’s the next step after this meeting?
HARROWELL: Well I think the important point to retain
is that negotiations, at least from our point of view and I think from the
point of view of most people around the table, aren’t over. I think it’s very
important that Kimberley Process members continue to engage with Zimbabwe and I
absolutely urge the Zimbabwean government to respond, to work with members of
the Kimberley Process and absolutely to work with civil society in a
constructive and a collaborative manner to find a way forward that is amenable
to everybody. I think, I believe from the Kimberley Process chair’s final
statement, that he is looking to convene a meeting in the near future to get everyone
back together to try and discuss how we can move forward and we very much hope
that such a meeting could find a way to resolve this situation. Perhaps when
everyone around the negotiation table has had a little more sleep than we have
had this week. I think it’s important to us to reflect on what’s happened this
week in Tel Aviv. It’s been a really hard week for everyone involved; the
negotiations we’ve had have been difficult and draining and we’ve also had
on-going concerns and worries about our colleague Farai Maguwu who remains in
prison, but we don’t think that this is the end. We very much think that the
Kimberley Process still has more work to do and there can still be on-going
negotiations that we will be taking part in wholeheartedly in order to try and
find a resolution.
GONDA: Thank you very much Ellie Harrowell from Global
Witness. Thank you for speaking to us on the programme Hot Seat.
HARROWELL: You’re welcome, it’s been a pleasure.
Feedback can be sent to violet@swradioafrica.com
“We have 98 percent of the coffee production coming from five white commercial farmers while the remaining 2 percent comes from small-scale farmers in the Honde Valley."
http://www.sundaymail.co.zw/inside.aspx?sectid=18024&cat=8
Sunday Mail, Business July 04, 2010
Coffee strategy on the cards.
By Augustine Moyo.
THE Ministry of Industry and Trade is crafting a comprehensive strategy framework which seeks to protect and secure the sustainability and viability of the coffee industry.
Unless there is immediate intervention with a sustainable business plan, Zimbabwe will no longer be able to produce fine coffee arabica, which fetches high prices on the international coffee markets.
The strategy framework is expected to be complete within the next two months and tabled before Cabinet.
Minister of Industry and Trade Professor Welshman Ncube told The Sunday Mail Business in an interview last week that the new strategy framework will also seek to protect the remaining five white commercial farmers who are the country’s main coffee producers.
He added that these commercial farmers contribute 98 percent of the country’s total coffee production output with the remainder coming from the small-scale farmers.
Zimbabwe’s coffee production has steadily plummeted from 10 000 tonnes in 2002 to less than 2 500 tonnes in 2005 and below 300 tonnes as of April 2010.
Owing to the low production figures, the Mutare coffee mill, which is reputedly one of the best in Africa, had to cease operations as it needs 4 000 tonnes to be viable.
Minister Ncube added that much of the challenges affecting coffee producers were not the coffee industry’s own problems but policy and operational problems within the country’s agricultural sector.
“We have 98 percent of the coffee production coming from five white commercial farmers while the remaining 2 percent comes from small-scale farmers in the Honde Valley.
“In the new strategy framework that we are crafting, we seek to ensure that the remaining commercial farmers are protected and not moved off their land so that they maximise production and increase output. We will seek to have those coffee-producing farmers that were evicted from their land return and start producing coffee.
“Some of the land that was used for coffee production was used for resettlement and the farmers resettled on the coffee farms cut down the coffee trees and replaced them with maize.
“It only makes economic sense for the country to craft a framework that protects coffee producers and creates an enabling environment to revive the coffee industry bearing in mind that coffee is for export markets and now sells for almost US$4 000 per tonne compared to maize that sells for US$275,” he said.
Minister Ncube added that his ministry is in high-level talks with the European Union to find support mechanisms for the coffee industry.
The European Commission sent its officials to the Eastern Highlands in December 2005 to assess the coffee sector and had been instrumental in supporting small-scale farmers in Honde Valley with the inputs ranging from seeds, fertilisers, chemicals and technical assistance.
Minister Ncube said the strategy framework seeks to rope in the financial sector, as coffee farmers need a comprehensive financial system that understands what is involved in coffee production.
“It takes three years for the coffee crop to mature from seed to harvest and coffee producers need access to long-term financing. So we need a financial system that understands that.
“That will also be included in the strategy framework.
“We expect in two months to have completed crafting the coffee industry strategy framework and have it adopted as Government policy thereafter, obviously that will be after it goes to Cabinet.
“Its implementation will be as soon as Cabinet adopts it.
“If we delay in implementing it, it will mean that as a country we would have lost another year in potential exports as the coffee tree takes three years to mature,” explained Prof Ncube.
Meanwhile, coffee industry stakeholders gathered in Mutare last week to identify what is needed to restore the coffee industry to its former glory.
“Without vibrant commercial coffee production, small communal coffee growers cannot exist, for technical and economic reasons,” said Ambassador Xavier Marchal, head of the EU delegation.
“Zimbabwe needs to develop coffee production by small producers for social and political reasons. Small communal farmers and large commercial farmers need necessarily to develop and cherish their symbiotic relationship. It’s a question of survival for all.
“And this was to become the basis of what has been ever since called the ‘Coffee Initiative’ spearheaded by the European Commission. Unfortunately, it has unnecessarily failed so far.
“But the potential is significant in terms of coffee playing a significant role in the Zimbabwe economy and for Zimbabweans: coffee is in increasing demand worldwide,” said Ambassador Marchal.
Ambassador Marchal believes that if the coffee industry is allowed to stabilise and become self-sustaining, there will be tremendous opportunities for growth by attracting and promoting new entrants to the coffee industry.
This will, in turn, play a positive role in improving the living standards of
vulnerable communities, creating employment and improving the country’s gross
domestic product (GDP) and have an effect on the national economy.
Zimbabwe coffee has generally been of high quality and production reached a
peak of 15 000 tonnes back in 1990, making the country a notable player in
world coffee supply.
Today Brazil is responsible for about a third of all coffee production, rendering it by far the heavyweight champion of the coffee-producing world.
Bill Watch 26/2010 - 2nd July [Parliament Expected to be Prorogued Soon]
BILL WATCH 26/2010
[2nd July 2010]
Both Houses are adjourned.
The current Second Session of Parliament will probably be prorogued soon. This will be followed by the ceremonial opening of the Third Session of the 7th Parliament by the President.
Parliamentary Update
The Senate sat briefly on 15th June, heard two Senators make contributions to the debates on motions carried forward from previous sittings, and then adjourned until 19th October to allow Senators to participate in the Constitution Outreach.
The House of Assembly met for only a few minutes on 30th June and adjourned until 20th July [a mere 76 out of nearly 200 current members attended – Ministers, Deputy Ministers and other members who were not out of town on the Constitution Outreach, so the Outreach was not affected].
Both these adjournments will fall away if there is a proclamation summoning the new session before the periods of adjournment end.
Need for a New Parliamentary Session: Section 62 of the Constitution lays down that there must be a new session of Parliament beginning in each calendar year. Last year the new session started much later than usual, in early October, but this year the Government has decided to return to the normal practice of a July/August opening of the new session. The procedure is that a Presidential proclamation will be gazetted which will “prorogue” Parliament [this is the technical Parliamentary term for ending a session – it discontinues that particular session but does not dissolve the 7th Parliament] and will also summon Parliament to meet for the opening of the new session.
New Session to be Opened: Parliament expects the President will perform the ceremonial opening of the new session on Wednesday 14th July. The President’s speech always includes the Government’s plans for the legislation to be dealt with during the new session. After the President’s speech there will be an adjournment to the next day. [Usually the adjournment is for about two weeks so parliamentarians can study the President’s speech, but the Minister of Finance has asked to present his Mid-Term Fiscal Policy Review before Parliamentarians go back to the constitution-making process]
Mid-Term Fiscal Policy Review: Mr Biti, the Minister of Finance, is expected to deliver his Mid-Term Fiscal Policy Review in the House of Assembly on Thursday 15th July.
Further Intensive Sittings in August: After the Fiscal Policy Review both Houses are expected to adjourn until early August when there will be intensive sittings lasting only a few days to deal with all Bills ready for introduction by then [see Legislation Update below]. “Fast-tracking” and late-night sittings are predicted.
Comment on Fast-Tracking: Before the inclusive Government the practice of “fast-tracking” Bills, involving the suspension of normal procedures, was deplored by those wanting to see a more effective parliamentary democracy. Fast-tracking means there is no time for consultation with Parliament’s electorate and stakeholders, and indeed often no time for Parliamentarians to consider and debate Bills. The practice has been considered by many as an abuse of Parliament by the Executive. It is regrettable therefore that the inclusive government is now suggesting continuing the practice. The excuse this time is that it is to ensure that essential Parliamentary work is completed, without interfering with the Constitution Outreach. Granted that there is much legislation that needs to be passed, but the government has had since last February to prepare and introduce legislation.
Effect of Prorogation/End of Session
At the end of a session, all pending proceedings are terminated. Bills not already passed by both Houses lapse, portfolio and thematic committees cease to exist, uncompleted motions and unasked questions fall away, and both Houses start the new session with a clean slate. Uncompleted work is not necessarily wasted, however – Standing Orders permit lapsed Bills to be restored to the Order Paper [agenda] at the stage previously reached, and new committees can adopt the work and draft reports of their predecessors.
More on Parliamentary Committees
Re-Appointment of Committees for new Session: Thematic committees and portfolio committees are sessional committees, which means that committee members have to be appointed afresh at the beginning of each new session by the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders. In practice committee members are usually reappointed to their former committees, and continuity is preserved.
New Chairpersons Needed for Four Parliamentary Committees: A side-effect of the Prime Minister’s appointment of four backbenchers to Ministerial and Deputy Ministerial posts is that new chairpersons will be needed for the Parliamentary committees these four have been chairing up to now. [A Minister or Deputy Minister cannot be a member of a Parliamentary committee.] The four committees affected are:
· Parliamentary Legal Committee [former chair Senator Gutu]
· Public Accounts Committee [former chair Hon Mashakada]
· Portfolio Committee on Justice, Legal Affairs, Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs [former chair Hon Tongai Matutu]
· Portfolio Committee on Information and Communication Technology [former chair Hon Chimanikire]
Committee Reports: Although Senate thematic committees and House of Assembly portfolio committees were meeting throughout the long adjournment from March to June, and although at least five committee reports are believed to have been finalised, no reports were tabled on either 15th or 30th June. This is unfortunate, because it means that the reports cannot yet be released, thereby depriving the public of the fruits of the work carried out by the committees on subjects of great public interest. Given the importance of the committee system, it is to be hoped that the incoming committees will adopt the work of the outgoing committees and that the reports can be tabled early in the new session – after which public circulation will be permissible. The objectives of the Parliamentary Reforms that gave birth to the committee system would be defeated if valuable work done by the committees over the past several months were to be lost simply because of the end of the present session.
Inclusive Government Update
New Ministers and Deputy Ministers sworn in: Following the Prime Minister’s reshuffling of the MDC-T Ministerial team on 23rd June [details in Bill Watch 24 of 23rd June], new Ministers and Deputy Ministers were sworn in by President Mugabe at State House on Thursday 24th.
No Movement on Deadlocked GPA Negotiations: There is no progress to report. President Mugabe, speaking on his return from the opening match of the World Cup in South Africa on the 11th June, said the South African facilitation team had been given the go-ahead to come and they were expected on Monday 14th . But they did not arrive and their spokesperson later denied any visit had been intended. Soccer has reigned supreme.
AU Summit Due in August: The next regular AU Summit is scheduled for 19th to 27th July, in Uganda. If the SADC report to the Summit on Zimbabwe is to record anything other than continued impasse on the main longstanding sticking-points and failure to implement most of those issues on which agreement has been reached, President Zuma and his facilitation team will have to move swiftly once the World Cup concludes on 11th July.
Resumption of EU-Zimbabwe Dialogue: The dialogue between the European Union and Zimbabwe resumed today, 2nd July, in Brussels. The purpose of the dialogue is to explore ways of normalising relations between the two sides. The inclusive government team is led by Minister Mangoma and includes Ministers Chinamasa and Misihairabwi-Mushonga.
Legislation Update
Bills:
Public Order and Security [POSA] Amendment Bill: This Bill [a Private Member’s Bill introduced by MDC-T Chief Whip Innocent Gonese last year] is presently part-way through its Second Reading debate. Although the Bill will lapse when Parliament is prorogued [see above], it is expected to be restored to the Order Paper and proceeded with at the earliest opportunity. [Electronic version available on request.]
Bills already gazetted and ready for presentation:
· Zimbabwe National Security Council Amendment Bill
· Criminal Law Amendment (Protection of Power, Communication and Water Infrastructure) Bill
[Summaries of both these Government Bills were given in Bill Watch 22 of 8th June. Both are listed to be presented by the Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs.] [Electronic versions of both Bills available on request.]
Bills being printed: Two more Government Bills have been sent to Parliament for presentation are being printed by the Government Printer:
· Energy Regulatory Authority Bill [to be presented by the Minister of Energy and Power Development]
· Attorney-General’s Office Bill [to be presented by the Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs]
[These two Bills are not yet available.]
More Bills in the Pipeline to Parliament: More Bills are expected to be ready for presentation in August – such as the Electoral Amendment Bill and the General Laws Amendment Bill [also not yet available for distribution].
Statutory Instruments: No statutory instruments were gazetted on 2nd July.
Veritas makes every effort to ensure reliable information, but cannot take legal responsibility for information supplied.
Zimbabwe Vigil
Diary
The Zimbabwean Deputy Prime Minister,
Thokozani Khupe, has spurned opportunities to meet the Vigil during her week
long visit to
We couldn’t fail to notice that the first thing that Tsvangirai’s new Minister for Home Affairs, Theresa Makone, did on taking office was to rush to the police to intercede on behalf of a Zanu PF thug, the son of genocidal maniac Mutasa: http://www.swradioafrica.com/news020710/mutasa020710.htm. This was in sharp contrast to the MDC’s inaction on other matters.
Vigil supporters were disappointed and
angered that Ms Khupe was unwilling to visit us next Saturday and that she had
chosen instead to attend a fundraiser on a farm in Buckinghamshire on that day.
We sent the following email to the organisers of Ms Khupe’s trip: ‘We are
pleased that you have pencilled in a one hour meeting (now cancelled) on Tuesday but are surprised that Ms Khupe is going
to a farm in Bucks owned by Zimbabwean Nyasha Gwatidzo for a fundraiser instead
of coming to meet true activists at the Vigil. We draw about 200 people
every Saturday from all over the UK (from as far afield as Scotland and
Wales) to protest outside the Embassy against human rights abuses, corruption,
the absence of the rule of law and for democracy. These people will not be able
to attend a weekday meeting in
We want to make it clear that we have got
nothing against Zimbabwean farmers in the
Anyway here are some of the questions Vigil supporters would have liked to put to the Deputy Prime Minster:
1. What is the outcome of the enquiry into corruption in the MDC UK? We were promised a statement some months ago. Have they decided it is all too embarrassing?
2. What is the MDC doing
to get a vote for the diaspora? When
3. Why is the MDC leadership so ready to campaign for Mugabe but so reluctant to question the abuses by Zanu PF? Have their pockets been stuffed with diamonds?
We drew the attention of Zimbabwean farmer
Ben Freeth to the irony of having a black Zimbabwean farmer in the
Other points:
· One of our supporters
Nyakallo Ncube got on the coach at
· We were anxious when
Sue and her daughter Francesca from the front desk were called home to
· The
· Caroline Witts made
her regular trip from
·
It
was good to see Adrian and Joyce Smale who came to talk to us about
· Today was the annual Gay Pride march. As always there were huge crowds and some extraordinary performers. Many of them came past the Vigil and were very supportive. Here is a BBC link to some of the festivities for Mr Mugabe’s benefit. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8134651.stm.
For latest Vigil pictures check: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zimbabwevigil/. For the latest ZimVigil TV programme check the link at the top of the home page of our website. For earlier ZimVigil TV programmes check: http://www.zbnnews.com/home/firingline.
FOR THE RECORD: 134 signed the register.
EVENTS AND NOTICES:
· The Restoration of Human Rights in Zimbabwe (ROHR) is the Vigil’s
partner organisation based in
· Another opportunity to meet Philip
Barclay, a diplomat stationed at the British Embassy
in
· Thokozani Khupe meeting with representatives and members
of ZDFG a coalition of some Zimbabwean organisations in the
· Evening discussion and dinner with Thokozani Khupe. Wednesday 7th
July from 7.15 – 9 pm. Venue: The Commonwealth Club,
· Discussion with Mark Canning, British Ambassador to
· ROHR
· ROHR
· ROHR
· ROHR
· ROHR
·
It
was good to see Adrian and Joyce Smale who came to talk to us about the
·
ROHR Hayes general
meeting. Saturday 31st July from 1 – 5 pm.
Venue:
· Vigil Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=8157345519&ref=ts
· Vigil Myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/zimbabwevigil
·
· Zimbabwe
Association’s Women’s Weekly Drop-in Centre. Fridays 10.30 am – 4 pm. Venue: The
Fire Station Community and ICT Centre,
· Strategic Internship for Zimbabweans organised by Citizens for Sanctuary which is trying to secure work placements for qualified Zimbabweans with refugee status or asylum seekers. For information: http://www.citizensforsanctuary.org.uk/pages/Strategic.html or contact: zimbabweinternship@cof.org.uk.
· For Motherland ENT’s videos of the Vigil on
Vigil Co-ordinators
The Vigil, outside
the Zimbabwe Embassy, 429
=====================================================
2010 07 02
Written by Staff Reporter
Friday, 02 July 2010 08:23
Here in Shamva, we are being barred from saying out our views and ideas for inclusion in the new constitution. Village heads have told us that they alone shall speak on behalf of everyone during public consultation meetings. Disappointed.
Let us not be cowed by these Zanu (PF) cowards, let’s defy their intimidation messages and go ahead to write a constitution ine zvido zvedu (that contains our views and wishes). Anonymous
I am appealing to all Zimbabweans to push for inclusion in the new constitution the following issues that affect us all: a bill of children and women’s rights, limited presidential powers and a cap on presidential terms to a maximum of two, press freedom, dual citizenship and a review of marriage and inheritance laws. Anonymous.
How can we write a people centred constitution when Zanu (PF) has unleashed chaos here ?.
Civic society bodies should monitor the outreach exercise and produce a report before the referendum so that we know whether to vote yes or no. Chirandu, Murehwa.
Thanks to The Zimbabwean on Sunday for providing a platform where we can discuss issues that concern us, I would like to share my opinion with the rest of Zimbabwe that we should resist trying to write a constitution to suit an individual like Zanu (PF) is doing.
We have seen Zanu (PF) campaigning for inclusion in the constitution of clauses designed to protect President Robert Mugabe seemingly forgetting that Mugabe is mortal like all of us. He will die one day and a constitution needs to live forever.
Anonymous.