The following comment was incorporated into the Zimnews issued on the
2nd of July 2002. It is a pungent, tough statement on the land issue and I
found the summary of Mugabes statements in the penultimate paragraph very
telling.
What he did not mention in this section were the statements Mugabe
made recently that "whites are second or third class citizens in Zimbabwe" and
that the "only good imperialist (read white) is a dead one". The statement that
whites can leave the country - they are not wanted here, is a damming indictment
of Mugabe who constantly alleges that it is the whites who are racist and
reactionary. We are yet to see a real condemnation of this language from other
African Heads of State although Mbeki came close recently.
As for black Africans living abroad and for "Afro-Americans" in the USA, do
they accept this racist language and policies? To do so is to invite the racist
extreemists in their adopted homelands similar rehetorical rights.
My own
wife, a citizen of Zimbabwe for 42 years, has recently been told she may not
vote or claim a new passport simply because she was born in South Africa. To
get past this she must renounce any claim to a citizenship she does not have any
right to (she has renounced her South African citizenship rights twice before -
when she became a citizen in 1960 and then after independence, when required to
do so by the Mugabe regime. Her most recent renouncement of her right to SA
citizenship is actually signed by the present Registrar General, Tobiwa
Mudede.
Eddie Cross
The Zimnews Statement reads thus:
Mugabe’s ramshackle cavalry rides on many lies. One in particular seems to
serve them well. It is the claim that every white farmer has been allowed to
keep one farm and has been encouraged to carry on farming it. This claim is
utterly untrue: hundreds of farmers have lost all that they have ever owned
already, illegally evicted by Zanu PF supporters. Mugabe’s chaotic fast track
resettlement process makes no distinction between one of the thousands of farms
it would destroy, and another. Mugabe’s henchmen and supporters are equally
unfettered when they set off into what was once commercial farmland in search of
plunder. Yet Mugabe and his mouthpieces continue to spout the lie. And some
African leaders choose to believe it.
Gaborone, November 2000: wounded by the (then) Zimbabwean Supreme
Court’s contemptuous rejection of Mugabe’s fast track land resettlement policy,
his security chief, Nicholas Goche, tells the SADC conference that Mugabe’s
clear intention was to abide by the findings of the 1998 donor’s conference and
acquire only those farms which meet certain criteria: an absent owner or one who
owns other farms, under-development, proximity to a communal area.
The same
line has been trotted out at every SADC or AU conference since.
Every
visiting delegation, every interested head of state, the UN, the EU, all have
been subjected to the same plausible, reasonable, argument.
Mugabe was at it
again last week, telling the visiting Human Rights forum that every farmer would
be encouraged to farm one farm. Often delivered more in sorrow than in anger,
these lines suggest a benign administration, resolved to repair a crippling
colonial legacy but stymied by the reactionary resistance of a rump of feudal
white land owners. African leaders, increasingly concerned as Mugabe slams down
the cards of death, famine and war, are reassured by his trump card, ‘land’ -
faded and unconvincing though it may be - and, yet again, sink back into
inaction and ineffectiveness.
Some argue that Mugabe speaks from the heart, that he really believes
that out there on the farms brave, resettled, indigenous farmers are defending
rich fields of maize and sprouting wheat against the prowling Selous Scouts and
Rhodesian Light Infantry. His henchmen, particularly the spectacularly
incompetent Minister of Agriculture, Joseph Made, and the rest of the boys, keep
the truth from him. He knows nothing of the wasteland that Zimbabwe has become,
of the tens of thousands of farm workers now homeless and unemployed and the
millions waiting to join them, of the most competent farmers in the world swept
out of their homes by a tide of racism and violence. It is certainly true that
Mugabe and his inner circle now inhabit a neo-Maoist cell, luxuriously appointed
and utterly remote from the hungry Zimbabwean family on the Masvingo road. But
can it really be true that Mugabe has no idea how his policies are being
implemented? Let us hear from the man himself:
"Whatever the courts might say, the land is ours and we’ll take
it."
(November 2000); "The courts have no role to play in the resettlement
process." (January 2001); "This is the land-based 3rd Chimurenga (liberation
war)." (April 2001); "To those of you who support whites, we say ‘down with
you’." (September 2001); "This is war, this is not a game. This is the 3rd
Chimurenga. We must do without the white man in this country"; (December
2001); "To those farmers we allowed to continue farming…we have
reconsidered. We have no mercy left. We are going to take all the
farms.
All of them." (February 2002). "White settlers have not repented…the
British should keep their pink noses out of our business."(March 2002); "Land
redistribution is under attack from radical and reactionary (sic)…racist
commercial farmers" (June 2002). This is pretty conclusive. Neither Mugabe,
nor his threadbare apologists, can claim that he does not know what is happening
on the farms when his public utterances so enthusiastically direct his followers
to throw the white farmers off their farms, and throw Zimbabwe into poverty as
they do so. He wishes to see all the white farmers gone from Zimbabwe: that is
his policy and it is implicit in every howling drunk outside a remote farmhouse,
every confused and mis-directed despatch from the Ministry of Lands, every
battered family leaving its farm village and shuffling off to poverty and
hunger.
To Mugabe, truth is whatever he says it is, whatever is of use to him.
In conversation with the leaders of Africa he is a nationalist freedom fighter
who, nevertheless, is prepared to include the agricultural expertise of the
whites in his land plan. In Zimbabwe he is a war leader who will destroy his
country rather than yield power, brandishing the banners of race and land until
he drops. It is bizarre that anyone should still believe a word that Mugabe
says. His land reform programme is illegal, unconstitutional and incompetent.
The parliamentary majority that passed the laws that license it, and the
self-styled president who signed those laws, owe their position to stolen
elections. Mugabe’s Supreme Court judges, who seconded those laws, have
personally benefited from the programme. Constitutional practice, legality, due
process, all lie shattered in its path. Human rights and natural justice have
been ripped up in the interests of Zanu PF and plunder.
The incoherence and
the randomness of the land programme beggar belief.
Already Zimbabwe is
hungry. Soon it will starve. Mugabe’s land policy may be a lifeline for him,
but for Zimbabwe it is a suicide note. When will the likes of Mbeki, Chissano,
Obasanjo, and Kofi Annan look at the facts and, by so doing, see Resident
Mugabe’s lies for what they are? For how much longer can he make fools of them?
From IRIN (UN), 3
July
Food crisis forcing people from homes
Zimbabwe's food security crisis, brought on by drought and a
controversial plan to redistribute commercial farms to landless citizens, has
forced people to leave their homes in search of food, UN sources said. The
creation of internally displaced persons (IDPs) due to the food crisis is cause
for concern as there are no accurate figures on the number of IDPs in need of
aid, said the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in Harare. The UN's World Food
Programme and Food and Agricultural Organisation estimate that about six million
Zimbabweans require food aid. In order to enable aid agencies to better prepare
themselves to mitigate the complex humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe, the UN is
set to begin an independent assessment of the number and situation of food
security-related IDPs in the country.
The UNDP said: "Issues around the food security crisis in the
country have raised the concern of population movements and IDPs. The matter,
however, has become highly politicised on all sides and it is very difficult to
get precise figures on [IDPs]." The issue was raised with the government by UN
Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief
Coordinator, Kenzo Oshima, during his recent mission to Zimbabwe. It was now
being pursued by UNDP Resident Coordinator Victor Angelo. "An assessment will be
carried out, and a database established, of IDPs in the near future through the
Resident Coordinator's Relief and Recovery Unit," the UNDP said.
While there was concern that the food crisis in Zimbabwe could
cause refugees to flee to Zimbabwe's neighbours - South Africa, Botswana and
Mozambique - there had as yet been no reports of this, said the UN High
Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in Pretoria. UNHCR Assistant Representative Abel
Mbilinyi told IRIN that "if there were any large movements we would certainly
know". He said Zimbabweans continued to cross regularly into South Africa but
that this was not out of the ordinary. "For the time being we have not been
alerted [about refugees fleeing Zimbabwe] either by Home Affairs [in South
Africa], or our other offices [in the region], but we are watching what is
happening," Mbilinyi said.
From The Mail & Guardian (SA), 4
July
Report shows how Bob rigged the
vote
Some 17,2% of ballots cast in Zimbabwe's March 9-11
presidential election were "directly problematic," the Human Rights Forum of
local and international rights groups said on Wednesday. "Of 3 062 303 votes
accounted for by the ESC (Electoral Supervisory Commission), at least 526 479
(17,2%) were directly problematic," the forum said in a new report. President
Robert Mugabe was declared the winner of the election with 56,2% of the votes,
against 41,9% for opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC). "Many results changed even after they had been verified
and announced. The total prejudice to Morgan Tsvangirai on these
post-verification changes alone was 50 729 votes," the report said. "Over half
of all polling booths at some stage lacked opposition observers. In four of the
120 constituencies, opposition electoral agents were banned from verifying the
counting of votes. In another five, MDC agents were allowed to be present for
only part of the time," the report said. Tsvangirai has refused to accept
Mugabe's victory, and the MDC has launched a court challenge to his win.
FinGaz
Govt urged to repeal oppressive laws
Staff
Reporter
7/4/02 11:18:54 AM (GMT +2)
AMNESTY
International, the international human rights watchdog, this
week urged the
Zimbabwe Government to repeal or amend legislation which
curtails freedoms of
conscience and expression and of peaceful assembly
and
association.
In its latest report, Policing to Protect Human
Rights, a survey of
police practice in the 14-nation Southern Africa
Development Community
(SADC), Amnesty says such legislation denies
fundamental human rights and
can facilitate political use of the
police.
The mountain kingdom of Swaziland is the only other country
in the
region sharing with Zimbabwe similar legislation limiting these
rights.
The report says that Botswana, Lesotho, Zambia and Zimbabwe
have
constitutions which fail to properly limit the use of lethal
force.
Amnesty urged Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Swaziland and Angola to
sign or
ratify the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other
Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
The survey
follows similar other reports by Amnesty and other human
rights groups of
alleged police brutality in the run-up to Zimbabwe's
parliamentary elections
in June 2000 as well as the March 2002 presidential
elections.
Amnesty documents cases of Zimbabweans beaten up or tear-gassed by
the
police.
It also profiles various citizens and members of the
opposition
Movement for Democratic Change who it said had been assaulted by
supporters
of the ruling party with what the agency said was the full
complicity of the
police.
It noted that although Zimbabwe had a
human rights training component
in its police training, the gains of the
training had been ignored since
2000.
Earlier this year Amnesty
International spokesman Samkelo Mokhine
said: "The ordinary Zimbabwean hasn't
had any sense of justice, not just
from the 1970s under the minority
Rhodesian government but up to 2002 under
the current regime."
Mokhine, who was launching an earlier Amnesty report entitled
Zimbabwe: The
toll of Impunity in Johannesburg, noted: "With this report, we
are hoping to
jog the international community and SADC into action. If we
don't do
anything, what hope are we giving to the ordinary Zimbabwean?
"They
are facing a food crisis, unattended human rights violations and
the
undermining of the judiciary. People are assaulted or killed
with
impunity."
The latest report urges all SADC governments to
ensure that training
on human rights is a permanent component of police
training programmes and
that the commitment to human rights training is
reflected in police plans
and budgets.
Mozambique and Angola
were urged to incorporate human rights training
into their relevant training
programmes.
The report said the international community had a role
to play in the
SADC, which has suffered years of armed and civil conflict and
pressures on
its economic resources by increasing its efforts and resources
in
transforming the region into a democracy
FinGaz
Nkomo's allies fight for Nuanetsi
Staff
Reporter
7/4/02 11:16:08 AM (GMT +2)
A POLITICAL showdown
is looming between powerful Masvingo politicians
and close allies of the late
vice-president Joshua Nkomo over his vast
Nuanetsi Ranch which the ZANU PF
provincial leaders want to hive off for the
production of irrigated maize, it
was learnt this week.
Nkomo established the Development Trust of
Zimbabwe (DTZ), the owner
of Nuanetsi, in 1989 as a vehicle for black
empowerment.
DTZ bought the 311 000-hectare Nuanetsi Ranch -
reputed to be the size
of one percent of the total area of Zimbabwe - from
Imperial Cold Storage of
South Africa during the same year at the then
princely sum of $20 million.
According to Nkomo's vision, Nuanetsi
was to be the hub of a new
settlement scheme drawing agro-minded technocrats
such as water engineers,
agronomists, trainee farmers and economic planners -
among others - to
create a new crop of black commercial farmers.
Thirteen farmers have since been resettled in Nuanetsi by the DTZ on
60
hectares each of its land in the Mwenezi area and are already involved
in
large-scale sugar production.
Nkomo's land reform plan for
Nuanetsi, which was finalised in 1996 in
association with neighbouring
large-scale commercial sugar producers, would
have resulted in the systematic
resettlement of thousands of other new
farmers on 100 ha each to produce
sugar and cotton.
The whole project was to be fuelled by the
billion-dollar construction
of the Tokwe- Mukorsi Dam, one of the most
ambitious dam projects being
planned by the Zimbabwean
government.
According to sources, both Nkomo's vision for Nuanetsi
and plans for
the Tokwe-Mukorsi Dam are now in tatters because of the bitter
political
jockeying for turf that has torn ZANU PF apart in
Masvingo.
A faction led by governor Josaya Hungwe, which has the
blessings of
Vice-President Simon Muzenda, has eyed the acquisition of a
large part of
Nuanetsi to resettle thousands of supporters as the jewel that
could crown
its political dominance of the province.
Last week
Foreign Minister Stan Mudenge, a senior member of the Hungwe
faction, said
his executive was formally applying to the Cabinet for 100 000
ha of
Nuanetsi.
Contacted this week, DTZ board secretary Liberty Mhlanga
said no
formal request had yet been received by the trust from the government
for
the land on which ZANU PF in Masvingo wants to grow irrigated
maize.
It was also learnt that DTZ board chairman Vice-President
Joseph
Msika, a long time close ally of Nkomo who took over the affairs of
the
trust after the death of the veteran former ZAPU leader, had not yet
been
formally approached with the request for the land.
"It's
all politics and jealousy and none of this would have happened
were Nkomo
still alive," said one source who was also close to the former
ZAPU
leader.
He said although DTZ, the government and other interested
parties were
close to securing a deal for hard cash for Tokwe-Mukorsi, the
dam project
was now under threat because financiers were worried that without
Nuanetsi
there was no potential collateral.
The source said only
the political dexterity of President Robert
Mugabe could ease the tension
between Masvingo politicians and former close
allies of Nkomo who feel that
the veteran politician's legacy is under
threat.
FinGaz
UN, govt debate private sector role in food
aid
7/4/02 11:15:23 AM (GMT +2)
THE government has
so far allowed a limited role for the private
sector in importing food into
Zimbabwe as discussions drag on between the
administration and United Nations
representatives on setting up a foreign
currency facility which private firms
could tap into to pay for food
imports.
The United Nations'
resident co-ordinator in Zimbabwe, Victor Angelo,
yesterday told the
Financial Gazette that discussions were still going on
with the government to
allow a greater role for the private sector in the
importation of food to
feed the about six million Zimbabweans, half the
population, threatened with
starvation.
The proposed foreign currency facility, whose value
Angelo did not
give, would be set up with the aid of the international
community to ensure
that hard cash was available for private importers to
bring in more maize
and other foods into the country once the government gave
them the green
light to do so.
Angelo said: "There have been a
number of private players who have
already been allowed by the government to
import food on a case-by-case
basis.
"Discussions are now going
on to see if we can go beyond this
case-by-case arrangement and have an
approach that is acceptable to both the
government and donors and whereby the
private sector can play a bigger role
than is the case now."
Angelo said the foreign currency facility, if it were eventually
agreed upon,
would be an additional resource to the food aid already being
mobilised by
the UN's World Food Programme (WFP) from the international
community on
behalf of Zimbabwe.
Critics blame the government's chaotic land
reforms under which
productive farms were seized by ruling ZANU PF supporters
since February
2000 for the 60 percent fall in the production of Zimbabwe's
staple maize
grain this year.
The hard cash-strapped government
complicated matters last year when
it banished private sector players from
importing maize. It decreed that
only its debt-ridden grain utility, the
Grain Marketing Board, was allowed
to trade in maize and wheat.
Angelo said talks last week between President Robert Mugabe and the UN
's top
emergency relief co-ordinator, Kenzo Oshima, had helped convince
the
government to change its stance on the involvement of the private
sector.
Angelo spoke as diplomatic sources said the WFP planned to
make a
fresh appeal in two weeks' time for more than US$250 million worth of
food
and humanitarian aid to feed hungry Zimbabweans.
The new
consolidated appeal would be launched at the UN's New York's
headquarters
during the world body's Economic and Social Committee meting
expected to take
place in mid-July.
Previous appeals have met a lukewarm response
from donors, some of
whom accuse the government of adopting policies that
impede the country's
economic recovery. - Staff Reporter
FinGaz
ZDI rejects gun running charges
Staff
Reporter
7/4/02 11:12:01 AM (GMT +2)
ZIMBABWE Defence
Industries (ZDI) boss Tshinga Dube this week denied a
report that the
state-owned weapons-maker is supplying arms to Liberian
leader Charles Taylor
and Sierra Leone's Revolutionary United Front (RUF)
rebels.
"It
is totally false that we have supplied weapons to the west
Africans," Dube, a
retired Zimbabwe army colonel, said in response to
queries from the Financial
Gazette.
"It is unfair for people to want to conclude that, because
ZDI used
the same (international) bank that RUF and the Liberians use, we
therefore
were supplying arms to them. That is simply not true."
In its latest edition, the Paris-based Indian Ocean Newsletter charges
that
the ZDI is involved in a weapons-selling network which includes
gun-runners
who supply Sierra Leone and Liberia.
According to the newspaper,
the weapons are being bought mainly from
former Eastern Block countries and
delivered to rebel groups in Liberia and
Sierra Leone through neighbouring
Burkina Faso and Cote de'Voire.
It says the ZDI allegedly paid for
the weapon purchases through a
Hungary-based subsidiary of Italian bank
Intesa BCI, while rebel-clients
also reportedly paid the Zimbabwean arms
utility through the same bank.
For example, the newspaper said the
ZDI in April 1999 transferred
close to US$1.3 million to an arms supplier
through the Hungarian bank. The
Zimbabwean arms manufacturer made another
US$2.1 million transfer the
following month, it charged.
In
June, shortly after the two transfers by the ZDI, three successive
payments
totalling about US$300 000 were made to the Zimbabwean firm through
the
Hungarian bank.
It is these payments to the ZDI which, according to
the newspaper,
were suspected to have been from Taylor and the RUF, both
under an
international arms embargo.
Dube admitted making
payments for weapons through the Intesa BCI but
said the ZDI was making
payments for its normal supplies for its
weapons-making plant.
He said the firm had provided various suppliers with
end-user-certificates
confirming that the ZDI was the end-user of all
military goods supplied to
it.
He said the ZDI had only used Intesa BCI at the request of
the
suppliers of the materials.
FinGaz
ZBC faces eviction
Staff Reporter
7/4/02 11:09:18 AM (GMT +2)
BULAWAYO - The Zimbabwe Broadcasting
Corporation (ZBC) is being
evicted from its rented premises in Bulawayo and
Gweru due to outstanding
rent arrears of about $250 000, lawyers for the
property owners said
yesterday.
The corporation, already facing
difficulties in raising billions of
dollars to pay off almost 500 workers it
wants to retrench, owes property
firm Knight Frank $121 301.98 for the rented
offices in Bulawayo and $106
558 for the Gweru offices.
Lawyers
representing Knight Frank said yesterday they had sent summons
to the ZBC to
pay up immediately or be evicted before the end of this week.
They
charged that the ZBC had not made any effort to pay the
outstanding monies
despite being sent several letters of demand.
"We served the ZBC
with papers early this week and we will be evicting
them before the end of
the week," said Tavengwa Hara, a legal practitioner
with Bulawayo-based
Moyo-Hara and Partners.
The Gweru and Bulawayo offices housed the
ZBC's Licence Inspectorate.
It is understood that the corporation
has failed to remit the rentals
for the Bulawayo office at Mership House,
which is owned by the Construction
Industry Pension Fund, since November
2001.
It has not paid the rentals for the Gweru offices, situated
at First
Mutual Centre since March this year.
Hara said: "This
is clearly a violation of lease agreements signed
between the ZBC and our
client. As we talk, there has not been any payment
received from the
corporation."
No official comment could be obtained from ZBC
management yesterday
but insiders said the corporation's financial position
was unlikely to
improve in the near future.
"Most of the people
in the Licence Inspectorate in Bulawayo, for
instance, have been retrenched.
There is no one collecting revenue for the
ZBC at the moment," one insider
said.
The ZBC is already struggling to pay Zimbabwean musicians
their
royalties because of a severe financial squeeze blamed on a bloated
staff
hired in the run-up to the March presidential election. It is some of
these
staffers who are now being axed.
Daily News
Zanu PF woos Kadoma voters with jobs
7/3/02
1:04:00 PM (GMT +2)
By Luke Tamborinyoka Municipal
Reporter
THE Zanu PF-dominated Kadoma Town Council has embarked on
a massive
recruitment drive of casual workers, in what is seen as a bid to
bolster the
party's chances in the mayoral election scheduled for 27-28
July.
The nomination court will sit tomorrow. The workers,
mainly ruling
Zanu PF party supporters, were recruited last Monday in the
tension-filled
town under the food-for-work programme. Their tasks include
repairing roads
and cutting grass.
The unprecedented recruitment
drive takes place amid unconfirmed
reports that there was a sudden influx
last week of Zanu PF youth brigade
members in the town, ahead of the
polls.
Last week, Daniel Mugomba, the opposition MDC party's
mayoral
candidate, narrowly escaped death after suspected Zanu PF supporters
hurled
a petrol bomb into his house in Rimuka suburb in the early hours of
Tuesday,
destroying property worth more than $700 000.
Mugomba
will run against Fanuel Phiri, the acting Mayor of Kadoma, who
allegedly gave
the nod for the recruitment of more than 1 000 casual
workers.
Mugomba said: "We are aware of that development, but the people of
Kadoma are
not prepared for any mercenary votes. Their aspiration is to vote
for a
candidate of their choice and we know that democracy and the wishes of
the
people will eventually prevail in this election."
Yesterday, some
of the workers said they were recruited on Monday from
all the 16 wards in
the town to spruce up the roads, the parks and gardens.
They will be paid $7
000 a month.
They have three-month contracts, while more than 1 000
people, 95
drawn from each ward, would be paid $1 500 for 15 days in the
food-for-work
programme which Please, turn to Page 2
Zanu PF
has allegedly initiated as part of the electioneering. "We
were recruited by
our councillors," said a spokesperson for the casual
workers, who were
cutting grass in Rimuka.
"We have never been recruited in such
large numbers before and we all
hope our party, Zanu PF, will win the
election. "
Yesterday, Phiri said the only casuals they had hired
were for
food-for-work programmes.
"We have hired people for the
food-for-work programme, as it is being
done by all councils in the country.
There is no politics involved," he
said.
He denied his
councillors were giving the jobs to Zanu PF supporters.
"We have told them to
hire only elderly people and the disadvantaged in
the
communities."
The election follows the death in February of
former executive mayor
Ernest Shamuyarira.
Mugomba alleged that
some of the casuals employed by the council were
given permanent jobs to pave
the way for more recruitment.
"The idea is to induce into the
voters the idea that Zanu PF provides
employment, and make it difficult for
the elected opposition mayor to fire
those who would have been given
permanent employment," he said.
But Phiri denied the allegation,
saying his council was too poor to
afford hiring more people.
The election has been preceded by reports that Zanu PF bused in people
from
outside the municipal boundaries during the voter-registration
exercise,
charges Phiri denies.
Meanwhile, in an an Extraordinary Government
Gazette published
yesterday, the government has postponed to 28 and 29
September all elections
for rural and urban district councils originally
scheduled for July and
August.
In a General Notice 306A of 2002,
Patrick Chinamasa, the Minister of
Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs,
announced the postponement of
"rural district council elections and elections
for vacant rural and urban
wards.
Several wards are vacant in
Rusape, Chiredzi and other rural and urban
councils.
Daily News
Zimpapers suspended
7/3/02 1:51:26 PM (GMT
+2)
By Columbus Mavhunga
Former blue-chip company,
Zimbabwe Newspapers (1980) Limited
(Zimpapers), has been suspended from the
Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) for
flouting the bourse's regulations and the
Companies Act requirements.
Emmanuel Munyukwi, the ZSE
chief executive officer, said yesterday
Zimpapers, the government-controlled
publishers of The Herald and five other
newspaper titles, had not published
audited results for the year ending
December 2001 and had not held its annual
general meeting (AGM).
Munyukwi said: "Zimpapers was supposed to
have published its 2001
results at the end of March, but it only did that in
May and the results
were not audited.
The listing and Companies
Act requirements stipulate that an AGM must
be held within six months after
the publication of the audited results, but
Zimpapers has not yet done
that.
"We had no option but to suspend it on Monday until it has
put its
house in order. This is done to safeguard the
shareholders."
Zimpapers shares have been trading below 100 cents
and last year it
was among the strong contenders for the wooden-spoon award
on the ZSE.
After releasing lukewarm unaudited 2001 results
depicting a $31
million profit in May, from a loss of more than $73 million,
the Zimpapers
share price nose-dived by 29 percent.
Ever since
the launch of its major competitor, The Daily News,
published by Associated
Newspapers of Zimbabwe (Private) Limited, Zimpapers'
newspaper division has
been going through a nightmare.
Sales for its flagship, The Herald,
have plummeted from more than 115
000 copies to less than 30 000 a day, while
those of The Daily News had
leap-frogged from a mere 35 000, to more than 100
000 before saboteurs blew
up the company's printing press early last
year.
Despite that setback, The Daily News is still Zimbabwe's
best-selling
daily newspaper.
Enock Kamushinda, the Zimpapers
group chairman, was reportedly in a
meeting the whole day
yesterday.
Munyukwi, however, said: "Zimpapers have to rectify the
problem,
otherwise it will remain suspended until the requirements of the ZSE
and
Companies Acts are met."
Apart from The Herald, Zimpapers
also publishes The Sunday Mail, the
Shona language Kwayedza (Harare), The
Chronicle, The Sunday News (Bulawayo)
and The Manica Post in Mutare.
ITV
Zimbabwe heads for state of emergency
17.49PM BST, 3 Jul
2002
Zimbabwean police have accused the country's opposition of causing
massive
food shortages in a campaign of "economic sabotage" aimed at
creating
anarchy.
The charge was reported in the state-run Herald
newspaper. But the
opposition Movement for Democratic Change dismissed the
accusation as
government propaganda meant to pave the way for a state of
emergency that
would give President Robert Mugabe even greater
powers.
The United Nations has said about half of Zimbabwe's 12.5 million
people are
in danger of going hungry this year after drought and government
seizures of
white-owned commercial farms nearly destroyed the recent grain
harvest.
However, the police statement blamed the staggering shortages on
the
opposition. "It is believed the underlying cause is economic
sabotage
maliciously intended to discredit the lawfully elected government
of
Zimbabwe,"it said.
"The artificial shortages, in the minds of
detractors, would ferment or
agitate the masses to engage in looting and
defiance of the law."
That "would lead to an ungovernable state of
anarchy, which would pave the
way for the overthrow of the government,"
according to the statement.
Police said they had mounted roadblocks
across the country "to cut off
supply routes and trafficking" and prevent the
illegal export of staple
foods.
They urged security forces be given
more sweeping powers of search and
demanded the government take control of
production and distribution of food
and ensure "patriotic Zimbabweans" occupy
key positions in strategic
enterprises.
The opposition MDC, the
greatest threat to Mugabe's rule since he led the
nation to independence in
1980, said the government was trying to find a
scapegoat for its economic
mismanagement and disastrous agricultural
polices.
About 95 per cent
of white commercial farms have been targeted for
confiscation.
MDC
spokesman Learnmore Jongwe said the statement "borders on madness" and
the
government appeared to be paving the way for a state of emergency,
which
would give the increasingly authoritarian Mugabe even greater
powers.
Zimbabwe's police have repeatedly been accused of bias against
the
opposition during the country's two-year political crisis.
Human
rights groups said police often stood by passively while ruling
party
militants attacked white farmers and opposition supporters. In some
cases,
the police helped the militants, they said.
Before March
presidential elections this year, police commissioner Augustine
Chihuri said
he would refuse to recognise a victory by MDC leader Morgan
Tsvangirai
(pictured). Mugabe was declared the winner in a poll that many
international
and domestic observers called deeply flawed.
According to the Herald
report, police said they had confiscated staple food
worth 37 million
Zimbabwean dollars from black market traders working at the
behest of the
MDC.
Last week, Mugabe accused a company partially owned by Anglo
American of
hoarding salt and threatened to seize the mining giant's local
assets. The
company, National Foods, said it had been holding the imported
salt while it
negotiated with officials for the right to sell it at a price
higher than
the one mandated by the government. That price was far below its
costs.
News24
03/07/2002 14:54 - (SA)
17.2% of Zim ballots
spoilt
Harare - Some 17.2% of ballots cast in Zimbabwe's March 9-11
presidential
election were "directly problematic," the Human Rights Forum of
local and
international rights groups said on Wednesday.
"Of 3 062 303
votes accounted for by the ESC (Electoral Supervisory
Commission), at least
526 479 (17.2%) were directly problematic," the forum
said in a new
report.
President Robert Mugabe was declared the winner of the election
with 56.2%
of the votes, against 41.9% for opposition leader Morgan
Tsvangirai of the
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
"Many results
changed even after they had been verified and announced. The
total prejudice
to Morgan Tsvangirai on these post-verification changes
alone was 50 729
votes," the report said.
"Over half of all polling booths at some stage
lacked opposition observers.
In four of the 120 constituencies, opposition
electoral agents were banned
from verifying the counting of votes. In another
five, MDC agents were
allowed to be present for only part of the time," the
report said.
Tsvangirai has refused to accept Mugabe's victory, and the
MDC has launched
a court challenge to his win. - Sapa-AFP
Sunday Times - SA
Mugabe wants to patch US ties: report
HARARE - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe today
congratulated the US on its independence day and said he hoped for improvements
in relations between the two countries, the state-run Herald reported.
"I am confident that the years ahead will witness great improvements in
relations between our two countries," Mugabe said in his message to his US
counterpart, George W Bush.
"I wish you continued good health, peace and
prosperity for the people of the United States of America," Mugabe added.
The United States has banned Mugabe and his inner circle from entering
its territory, accusing the Zimbabwean head of state of widespread rights abuses
and of using violence and fraud to win the March presidential election.
Last week the US decried an order from Mugabe's government for 2,900 of
the country's 4,000 white farmers to stop working their land, calling it part of
a misguided reform programme.
And this week a US magistrate in New York
recommended that Mugabe's ruling party pay $73 million in compensation for
several cases of political killings and torture of political opponents.
Sapa-AFP
ABC
Zimbabwe Govt investigates judge after arrest order
The Zimbabwean Government is to investigate the conduct of a white judge who
last week ordered the arrest of the country's Justice Minister for contempt of
court.
The state-run Herald newspaper has reported that High Court
judge Fergus Blackie issued the arrest warrant last week after the Minister,
Patrick Chinamasa, failed to appear in court because he was abroad.
Mr
Chinamasa says the warrant is a "gross abuse of judicial office" and he will
recommend that a tribunal be set up to investigate the conduct of the judge, who
is expected to retire later this month.
The minister had been due to
appear in court to answer charges for criticising the High Court for imposing a
six-month jail sentence on three US missionaries convicted of weapons possession
in 1999.
Zimbabwe judge on the carpet for 'abuse of
office'
|
| Harare |
 |
| 04 July 2002 10:38 |
|
The Zimbabwean government plans to order
a probe into the conduct of a white judge who last week ordered the arrest of
the country's justice minister for contempt of court, the state-run
Herald said on Wednesday.
High Court judge Fergus Blackie issued
the arrest warrant last week after Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa failed to
appear in court because he was on a trip abroad.
Chinamasa told the
Herald the warrant against him was a "gross abuse of judicial
office".
He said he would recommend to the country's chief justice that a
tribunal be set up to investigate the conduct of the judge, who is expected to
retire on July 18. Chinamasa told the newspaper he wanted the probe to go ahead
regardless of Blackie's imminent retirement.
The minister had been due
to appear in court to answer charges for criticising the High Court for imposing
a six-month jail sentence on three US missionaries convicted of weapons
possession in 1999.
Concerns have been voiced abroad and at home over the
alleged erosion of the rule of law in Zimbabwe and reports that the southern
African country's judges are being intimidated.
Meanwhile, president
Robert Mugabe on Thursday congratulated the US on its independence day and said
he hoped for improvements in relations between the two countries.
"I am
confident that the years ahead will witness great improvements in relations
between our two countries," Mugabe said in his message to his US counterpart,
George Bush.
"I wish you continued good health, peace and prosperity for
the people of the United States of America," Mugabe added.
The United
States has banned Mugabe and his inner circle from entering its territory,
accusing the Zimbabwean head of state of widespread rights abuses and of using
violence and fraud to win the March 9-11 presidential election.
Last week
the US decried an order from Mugabe's government for 2 900 of the country's 4
000 white farmers to stop working their land, calling it part of a misguided
reform programme.
And this week a US magistrate in New York recommended
that Mugabe's ruling party pay $73-million in compensation for several cases of
political killings and torture of political opponents. - Sapa
News from the European Parliament
Dear Friends,
Please find
attached the emergency resolution on Zimbabwe which I have put
forward in
this week's plenary session in Strasbourg. I am calling on EU
Member States
to tighten its measures against the Mugabe regime, and on the
Commonwealth to
move on from 'partial' to 'full' suspension of Zimbabwe from
the
organisation.
Please continue to keep in touch with my office. I very
much appreciate the
information which I receive from you. Please be assured
that I will continue
to do all I can to apply pressure on the international
community to take
tough action against the discreditable regime of Robert
Mugabe.
Kind regards,
Geoffrey Van Orden MEP
PRESS RELEASE :
Thursday 4 July 2002, Strasbourg
For Immediate
Release
Geoffrey Van Orden GSM 0771374244
Private Office:
0044.1449.744.994
Parliamentary Office: 0032.2.284.7332
e-mail:
gvanorden@europarl.eu.intConservative MEP calls for Zimbabwe's
expulsion from Commonwealth Games
"Action
should now be taken to ban the Zimbabwean team from taking part in the
Commonwealth Games," said Conservative MEP Geoffrey Van Orden. "The
idea of allowing Mugabe's regime a showcase for taking part in what are
supposed to be the 'friendly games' is morally repugnant."
The
Commonwealth Games will take place in Manchester between 25 July and 4 August.
The Zimbabweans are planning to send around 60 competitors plus accompanying
officials.
"Since the
Commonwealth decided to impose a 'partial' suspension on Zimbabwe back in
March, Mugabe's oppressive policies have now contributed to the famine which
threatens millions of people in his country and the rest of the region," continued
Mr Van Orden.
He was speaking
on the day that the European Parliament in Strasbourg passed an emergency
resolution on Zimbabwe. The resolution, initiated by Mr Van Orden, attracted
cross-party and trans-national support. It demands proper enforcement of the
EU's 'smart sanctions' and their extension to include all those in positions of
power in Mugabe's oppressive regime.
ENDS
Note to Editors:
Geoffrey Van Orden MEP is the Vice-Chairman of the Foreign Affairs
Committee of the European Parliament. He is Conservative MEP for the Eastern
Counties of England and Conservative Spokesman on Defence and Security Policy
and Human Rights.
He has initiated all five of the resolutions on Zimbabwe passed by the
European Parliament since last September. The resolutions were passed on 6
September 2001, 12 December 200, 14 March 2002 and 16 May 2002.
The General Affairs Council is due to meet on 22 and 23 July to review
the sanctions introduced against the Mugabe regime back in February.
RESOLUTION :
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
1999 2004
Session
document
3 July 2002
COMPROMISE JOINT MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION
pursuant to Rule 50(5) of the Rules of Procedure
by
- Geoffrey Van Orden, Nirj Deva, Neil Parish, Jacqueline
Foster, Mary Elizabeth Banotti, John Alexander Corrie, Charles Tannock, Michael
Gahler, Eija-Riitta Anneli Korhola, Klaus-Heiner Lehne, Hanja Maij-Weggen and
Lennart Sacrédeus on behalf of the PPE-DE Group;
- Karin Junker, Glenys Kinnock and Max Van den Berg on
behalf of the PES Group;
- Bob van den Bos and Jan Mulder on behalf of the ELDR
Group;
- Nelly Maes, Marie Anne Isler Beguin and Caroline Lucas
on behalf of the Green / EFA Group;
- Joaquim Miranda, Jonas Sjöstedt, Yasmine Boudjenah,
Salvador Jové Peres, Christel Fiebiger, Emmanouil Bakopoulos and Esko Sepännen
on behalf of the GUE / NGL Group;
- Bastiaan Belder on behalf of the EDD
Group;
on Zimbabwe
European Parliament resolution on
Zimbabwe
The European Parliament,
– having regard to its previous
resolutions of 13 April 2000, 18 May 2000, 6 July 2000, 15 March 2001, 6
September 2001, 13 December 2001, 14 March 2002 and 15 May 2002 on the situation
in Zimbabwe,
– having regard to the decision of the EU General Affairs
Council of 18 February 2002 to close consultations under Article 96 of the
Cotonou Agreement and to introduce a package of targeted sanctions,
– having
regard to the decision of the Commonwealth on 19 March 2002 to suspend
Zimbabwe's membership for a period of one year,
– having regard to the
conclusions of the General Affairs Council of 17 June 2002,
– having regard
to the conclusions of the G-8 Summit in Alberta, Canada of 26 and 27 June
2002,
– bearing in mind that EU Member States are due to review the existing
package of sanctions against the Mugabe regime at the next General Affairs
Council of 22 and 23 July,
A. whereas the situation in Zimbabwe has deteriorated
since the Presidential Election in March to the point of catastrophe, with the
population suffering from political repression, the daily fear of intimidation
and violence, and with attacks targeted especially against the membership of the
main opposition MDC and the media,
B. whereas a severe drought is afflicting
much of the southern African region and a growing food crisis resulting from a
1.8 million tonne cereal deficit now threatens over half the population of 13
million Zimbabweans with hunger and starvation the economy of Zimbabwe, and
furthermore the Zimbabwean economy is in a catastrophic state, largely as a
result of the disastrous land policies of the Mugabe regime, with inflation
running at 122%,
C. whereas the amended Land Acquisition Act, which came into
force on 24 June 2002, is an obstruction by the Mugabe regime to the necessary
legal and equitable land reform process and has had the effect of prohibiting
some 2,900 Zimbabwean farmers from working their own land and thousands of farm
workers are set to lose their jobs, thereby leaving much needed crops
uncultivated and livestock untended, exposing the country to even greater
famine,
D. whereas Mugabe's mishandling of affairs inside the country
threatens not only the people of Zimbabwe but also poses an increasing danger to
the stability of the whole of the southern African region, especially countries
already facing chronic food shortages like Malawi and Zambia, with the prospect
of a breakdown in the regional economy and a possible refugee
crisis,
E. whereas the international community has acted to provide emergency
aid to Zimbabwe, such as the €6 million of aid granted on 24 June 2002 by the
European Commission supplementing a sum of €6.5 million already given in April
2002,
F. whereas quasi-judicial measures, such as the Public Order and
Security Act and the Access to Information and Privacy Act, are now being used
to persecute political opponents and journalists, including the current
prosecution of Geoff Nyarota, Editor of the Daily News, Andrew Meldrum and Lloyd
Mudiwa for alleged 'abuse of journalistic privilege',
G. whereas the
authorities are intimidating any remaining independent elements of the legal
profession, on 3 June 2002 arresting and holding for several days the President
of the Zimbabwean Law Society, Sternford Moyo, and its Secretary, Wilbert
Mapombere, under the provisions of the Public Order and Security Act,
H. whereas leading members of the Zimbabwean regime and their families have
been travelling widely, including to European cities, in spite of the EU travel
ban, while opposition MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai and senior colleagues cannot
leave the country as they are still facing trumped-up treason
charges,
I. whereas it has been estimated that €8.5 billion worth of moveable
assets have been illegally impounded or looted by senior figures in the Mugabe
regime since February 2000, when ruling party militants began the programme of
seizing private farms,
J. whereas the EU troika's visit to the southern
African region in May was shamefully ineffective, exerting no pressure on the
governments of the region to take robust measures against Zimbabwe, and leaving
no clear message regarding action that is needed, and the Council has still not
formally reported its findings to Parliament,
K. whereas the New Partnership
for African Development [NEPAD] is supposed to commit African countries to
setting and policing standards of good governance across the continent, pledging
African leaders to consolidate democracy and sound economic management, and to
promote peace, security and people-oriented development in return for an extra
financial aid, greater private investment and a reduction of trade barriers by
countries in the developed world,
1. Expresses its deep concern that the problems of
Zimbabwe have grave implications for the stability of the wider southern African
region, not least at a time when UN agencies are warning of even more widespread
famine;
2. Condemns the merciless, counter-productive and corrupt land
appropriations and the catastrophic effect of the Land Acquisition Act in
contributing to human misery and starvation;
3. Underlines its commitment at
this time to provide Zimbabwe with emergency humanitarian aid, including
assistance with transportation; emphasises the importance that this is dispensed
in a non-partisan manner, including through non-governmental agencies which are
not under the control of Mugabe in order to prevent the misappropriation of food
by ZANU-PF for selfish political ends;
4. Restates its view that the Presidential Election of 9
to 11 March 2002 was deeply flawed, that the circumstances in which it was held
were certainly not free and fair, that human rights abuses have intensified
since the election and, accordingly, does not recognise the legitimacy of the
Mugabe regime;
5. Abhors the ruthless use of violence and intimidation by the
ruling party against political opponents and other representatives of Zimbabwean
civil society;
6. Calls upon all African leaders, especially the Presidents
of Nigeria and South Africa and those of other states neighbouring Zimbabwe, to
adopt a more assertive stance with regard to Zimbabwe and, in line with the
commitments outlined in NEPAD, to give substance to their claims to have learned
from experience that peace, security and good governance, human rights and sound
economic management are the necessary pre-conditions for economic development,
and therefore to end all diplomatic support for the Mugabe regime;
7. Insists
accordingly that the willingness of African states to support action against
Zimbabwe should be the first test of their seriousness about NEPAD
commitments;
8. Trusts that in view of the deteriorating situation in
Zimbabwe the Commonwealth troika will now intensify its measures against
Zimbabwe, including 'full' suspension to come into effect before the start of
the Commonwealth Games in Manchester on 25 July 2002;
9. Calls for the early
implementation of the recommendation by the UN Panel of Experts on the Illegal
Exploitation of natural Resources in the Democratic Republic of Congo [DRC] in
order to reduce the Zimbabwean Government's ability to ignore international
pressure to resolve its domestic problems, and for the Zimbabwean Government to
withdraw its armed forces from the DRC;
10. Urges Libya and other states to
end material support that reinforces President Mugabe's
intransigence;
11. Insists that at the next General Affairs Council of 22 and
23 July, EU Member States and the Council take steps to implement more
effectively the targeted sanctions already in place and to intensify measures to
bring about rapid improvement in the situation in Zimbabwe;
12. Demands that
these measures include the extension of the list of proscribed individuals to
cover other key figures, such as the vice-presidents, all ministers, senior
military, police and secret service commanders and leading businessmen who have
helped to bankroll ZANU-PF or benefited from its corrupt activities, and who
play a role in sustaining the regime and its campaign of violence, and also
include their families, as they also spend illegally acquired money
abroad;
13. Insists that the Council make a full statement to Parliament at
the earliest opportunity concerning the troika mission and the further robust
measures that it intends to take;
14. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to
the Commission, the Council, the Member States and candidate countries, the
Government and Parliament of Zimbabwe, the Presidents of South Africa and
Nigeria, the Co-Presidents of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, the UN
Secretary-General, the Secretary-General of the OAU, the Secretary-General of
SADC, the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth and the President of the World
Bank.
ENDS - as agreed at negotiations
between Political Groups on 3 July 2002 at 10h45 am
If amyone wishes to receive the original WORD documents for the above - please email me
Daily News - Leader Page
Joubert has learnt nothing from
history
7/4/02 10:27:55 AM (GMT +2)
SO the
Zimbabwe Tobacco Association (ZTA) president, Kobus Joubert,
believes "farmer
politicians" are a serious threat to
Zimbabwe's
agriculture?
According to a Reuters report of
20 June 2002, Joubert believes the
farmers' involvement in politics has "hurt
efforts to deal with government
over its seizure of white-owned farms". There
are three things Joubert and
those who think like him must understand.One: No
one is doing anything wrong
by belonging to a political party or playing an
active role in the
governance of one's country.
In fact, it is
the patriotic duty of every thinking citizen to do so.
Just because Zanu PF
has made membership or support of any political party
other than Zanu PF
and/or criticism of the ruling party a punishable
offence, does not change a
thing.
All it proves is that we have had the tragic misfortune of
being led
by men and women with no vision and, therefore, have relied on
brute force
to retain political power.
Still, that does not mean
we must all go around with our eyes shut.
Each time people like Joubert
agonise about how their organisation is
neither an opposing political party
nor affiliated to any opposition
parties, my skin cringes.
Non-governmental organisations supposedly fighting for human rights in
one
form or another are guilty of this too. The double message they send out
is:
Yes, it is OK for Zanu PF to intimidate, torture and murder those proven
to
belong to opposition political parties.
In the case of ZTA members,
Joubert believes all members who have
supported the MDC rightly deserved to
have their farms invaded, their
property burnt, and they and their families
and workers beaten up and even
murdered.
It is not only the
country that need quality leaders, but many, many
of our organisations and
associations too.
Two: The violent invasion of commercial farms was
a ruse for a
countrywide campaign of intimidation and violence to win the
parliamentary
and presidential elections.
For 20 years Zanu PF
had all the political instruments to address the
redistribution of land but
did little. Then after two decades the party
suddenly realised the urgency of
this matter!
It was so urgent now that the party could not wait for
due process,
but instead sent in murderous militants to seize farms. Only the
very naive
would believe that nonsense.
Zanu PF had always
relied on vote-rigging, intimidation and violence
against its political
opponents and the electorate to win elections. The
2000 parliamentary
election and the 2002 presidential election were to be
the toughest the party
had ever faced.
While Zanu PF militants were supposedly angry with
white farmers, it
was the farm workers who soon became the
target.
They were forced to burn their MDC T-shirts and pledge
their support
to Zanu PF. Violence and intimidation also spread to the rural
areas, making
most of them "no-go" areas to MDC election campaigners. The
facts on the
ground bear this out.
More than 50 people were
murdered, most of them MDC officials or
supporters, in the first three months
of 2002 alone, while a dozen
commercial farmers were murdered in the two
years since the farm invasions
started.
Even if all the white
farmers had heeded Joubert's warning and
remained apolitical, the invasions
would still have taken place. Zanu PF
needed a diversion to take the
electorate's mind off their economic
hardships, Aids, and other
problems.
The white farmers became the convenient scapegoat. I
would not be
surprised to find that a significant number of the white farmers
who were
victims of the Zanu PF-orchestrated violence of the last two years
were
either apolitical or were "supporters" of the ruling party.
It is impossible even to imagine a genuine white Zanu PF member
or
enlightened black Zanu PF member for that matter, but the one thing you
can
be sure of Zanu PF leaders is they will sell their friend without a
moment's
hesitation if they stand to gain anything from it all.
Friendship counts for nothing in their dog-eat-dog world. If Joubert
read The
Daily News and not The Herald, then he would know there are white
farmers who
know President Mugabe personally yet they too were victims of
the
juggernaut.
Three: Joubert may not be aware of this; the political
activism in
Zimbabwe was born out of the desperate need to remove a political
system
that has denied the majority of Zimbabweans economic hope, human
dignity and
the right to life itself.
"These people are playing
with our future, our lives, our very
existence," Joubert told his fellow ZTA
members.
Zimbabwe's high inflation has boosted tobacco farmers'
income 10 - 20
fold in the last five years. High inflation benefits all
exporters and our
tobacco farmers are even allowed to keep a percentage of
their foreign
currency earnings.
No doubt ZTA members have a
life and a future. I will not ask Joubert
how much of his members' increased
earnings have been passed on to their
workers.
My guess is, they
have taken advantage of the country's high
unemployment rates to cut their
workers' wages. The bottom line is unless
you are a white tobacco farmer the
future is grim.
To be apolitical in the face of such injustice and
tragic human
suffering is madness, even for those, like Joubert, who might be
doing well
out of it all.
It was people like Joubert - and their
parents before them - who at
best did nothing and at worst actively supported
white oppression and
injustice because the system gave them prime land and
provided them with
cheap labour.
It was the oppression and
injustice that led the whole nation into a
civil war, bringing suffering and
death to so many lives and the ascendancy
of Zanu PF and all the suffering
and injustices they have caused.
Joubert has clearly learnt nothing
from his past mistakes but, I hope,
some of us have.
Unless we all
join hands and fight to end the oppression of man by man
and for good
governance, then there is no hope for us all.
Daily News - Leader Page
This cynical plunder of funds must be
stopped
7/4/02 10:26:01 AM (GMT +2)
THE
government is never ashamed of exploiting even those in the most
tragic of
circumstances.
The latest in its questionable conduct is
the suggestion that the $4
million received for victims and survivors of last
month's Masvingo bus
disaster be deposited in a bank account in Harare, with
instructions the
disbursement be undertaken in August.
It is
proposed that the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and
National
Housing, with its tainted record of the VIP housing scandal and
Regina Coeli
bus disaster, administers the fund.
If put away in a high-yielding
investment instrument, the $4 million
will realise a substantial amount in
interest.
However, the immediate effect of such an announcement is
likely to
result in members of the public and the corporate world becoming
reluctant
to make any contributions because of the potential for
corruption.
There are many organisations particularly church
related bodies with
far better records of assisting people in distress, and
in this case it
would have been preferable to allow them to administer the
fund, while the
government plays the role of auditing the fund - preferably
through the
Office of the Comptroller and Auditor-General.
Survivors and the families of those who perished in the bus disaster
are
unlikely to agree that funds contributed towards their plight be
kept
elsewhere in Harare for some period before they can benefit from
them.
The immediate fear is that someone could stand to benefit
from the
interest generated by the money from the fund, while at the
end,
beneficiaries will still have the same $4million at their
disposal.
The government has had its fair share of scandals for
anyone -
especially potential sympathisers - to trust it where money is
involved.
The Nyanga Bus Disaster Fund is one example that
immediately comes to
mind. Surviving students at Regina Coeli Mission and the
families of 91
schoolchildren and teachers who perished in a bus accident in
1991 were
supposed to benefit from the fund.
They did not. The
funds disappeared while in the hands of government
officials. Many members of
the public or the corporate world have not
forgotten.
Some have
not forgiven the government for exploiting their misfortunes
to its
advantage.
There were no arrests or censure of those suspected of
diverting the
funds from the victims or relatives of the Nyanga bus
disaster.
There is also no guarantee that the government is
committed to stamp
out such callous and corrupt activities.
When
the public shows reluctance to come to the assistance of such a
fund, it is
the beneficiaries who are disadvantaged. There ought to be
public outrage at
this because the government is full of barracudas, while
its own record is
primarily one of looking after its own interests.
Society should
not just accept decisions by the government because
over the past 22 years
the government has demonstrated amply that it does
not have the monopoly of
wisdom and skills on most issues.
It is the same Ministry of Local
Government that was supposed to
administer the fund for the Regina Coeli
Mission students that is
administering the Masvingo bus disaster
fund.
It should have little to do with the administration or handling
of the
funds.
For far too long the government has been allowed
to do pretty much
what it wants with everything. The time has come for
society to dictate how
things should be done.
The primary
consideration for the survivors and families of the
victims of the Masvingo
bus disaster is money to help them cope with their
sudden loss or the
injuries they may have to live with for the rest of their
lives.
The money should be disbursed to the beneficiaries as it comes in.
There is,
therefore, no need for it to be housed somewhere else, while those
for whom
it was made available are left to suffer.
The funds should be sent
to Masvingo, where a church or any other
non-governmental organisation can
administer them. Sending them to Harare
would be like sending whisky.
Daily News
Suspected Zanu PF youths brutally attack former MDC
official
7/4/02 9:59:34 AM (GMT +2)
Staff
Reporter
ABOUT 30 suspected Zanu PF youths wielding axes, iron bars
and stones
attacked Kefas Madzongera, 33, a former MDC district youth
chairman at his
Bindura home on Tuesday.
Madzongera
sustained deep cuts in the head and bruises all over his
body. Property worth
$17 000 was destroyed in the raid.
Madzongera said he was coming
from a funeral only to be confronted by
the youths at his home.
He named some of the youths who were among the group that besieged his
home.
Sensing danger, Madzongera rushed into his house to seek refuge.
The youths then started throwing stones at the house, smashing
the
windows.
Madzongera said: "I realised that the youths were after
me because
they were shouting obscenities at me.
I recognised
most of them because that was not the first time I was
attacked. They
attacked me before in June last year."
He said soon after the
attack he reported the incident to the police
but they did not take any
action.
"The country is now lawless," said Madzongera. "I called
the police
and they said they did not have transport to come to my
house.
"I then hired a car and went to the police station where I
was given a
letter referring me to a hospital for treatment."
The police in Bindura confirmed the incident but could not give
details.
Daily News
Mugabe a stumbling block to Nepad: US
congressman
7/4/02 10:06:44 AM (GMT +2)
By Sandra
Nyaira Political Editor
EDWARD Royce, the chairman of the
International Relations Committee's
Africa sub-committee in the United States
Congress, on Tuesday lambasted the
Zanu PF government for its appaling human
rights record since the rejection
of the draft constitution in
2000.
Royce said it was sad that most African leaders
remained silent on
President Mugabe's reign of terror, saying this was bound
to have a negative
impact on the New Plan for Africa's Development
(Nepad).
Nepad is based on a common vision and a firm and shared
conviction
among African leaders that they have a pressing duty to eradicate
poverty.
The countries, individually and collectively, pledge to
launch
themselves on a path of sustainable growth and development underpinned
by
democratic tenets of good governance and subjecting themselves
voluntarily
to peer review to verify and ensure compliance.
Royce was commenting on an Amani Trust report released in the US
chronicling
allegations of torture and violations of human rights
in
Zimbabwe.
"I'm waiting for African leaders to embrace this
report and that is my
goal," he said.
"African leaders, with a
few exceptions, have remained silent about
Mugabe's reign of
terror.
"Without a better-demonstrated commitment by African
leaders,
Zimbabweans will continue to pay the price and there will be little
support
for the type of resource commitment that Nepad's founders
envisioned."
The government has dismissed Nepad, the brainchild of
Thabo Mbeki of
South Africa and Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, as an
imperialist ploy to
recolonise Africa.
"This report that's
released today condemns in considerable detail the
government's actions . . .
on ongoing gross violations of human rights, on
electoral fraud, on attacks
on Press freedom, on attacks on the rule of
law," Royce said.
Amani Trust is a non-governmental organisation which helps victims
of
organised violence and torture.
"Since January of this year,
more than 450 Zimbabweans have been
tortured," said Royce. "Many others have
been killed and many have
disappeared."
The report looks at 180
documented cases on human rights abuses by the
government.
The
US, said Royce, must be supportive of the tormented Zimbabweans
and "must
echo their words and amplify their peaceful protests".
Anthony
Reeler, Amani Trust's clinical director, said measures must be
taken to stop
Mugabe from violating basic human rights.
He said the number of
people affected by torture was growing and
torture prevention had to be
stressed.