The Zimbabwe Situation

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Tichaona Sibanda
13 June 2011

South African President Jacob Zuma on Sunday reportedly got into a verbal
confrontation with Robert Mugabe, after the ZANU PF leader challenged him
over the ‘inaccuracy’ of the Livingstone Troika resolutions.

Mugabe and his delegation had lobbied hard for the Summit to reverse the
findings of the March Troika meeting in Zambia, that for the first time
sharply criticised the ageing leader for the crackdown on his political
opponents.

During his 45 minute address to the Summit in Johannesburg Mugabe sought to
paint Zuma as a mediator who ‘misrepresented’ facts during the Livingstone
summit, whose report was endorsed by the Troika on 31st March.

SW Radio Africa is reliably informed that at some point during Mugabe’s
presentation, Zuma interjected and told him he does not manufacture things.

‘My reports are based on things that are happening in the country, based on
facts,’ Zuma reportedly told Mugabe, who failed to convince the Summit to
backtrack on the Troika resolutions.

The Johannesburg Summit went on and ‘noted’ the decision of the Organ Troika
in Livingstone, dealing a major blow to ZANU PF who had wanted the
resolutions thrown out altogether.

The Summit also resolved that the Troika would appoint a three member team
of officials from South Africa, Zambia and Mozambique to join the
facilitation Team. The team will work with Zimbabwe’s Joint Monitoring and
Implementation Committee (JOMIC) to ensure monitoring, evaluation and the
full implementation of the GPA.

But the regional leaders also appeared to soften their language towards
Mugabe, urging him to work with his partners in government to create an
environment conducive to elections and to speed up the implementation of the
GPA.

They used diplomatic language in their communiqué, unlike the harsher
language used in March, which called on him to end political violence
against his opponents.

The wording of the Johannesburg communiqué has also generated a lot of
confusion regarding the use of the word ‘noted’ instead of ‘endorsed.’
ZANU PF’s interpretation of the communiqué is that the Summit did not
endorse the Troika resolutions and they were only ‘noted’, while both the
MDC formations are claiming the Summit ‘endorsed’ the Zambia decisions.

Contacted to comment on this issue, Lindiwe Zulu, Zuma’s international
relations advisor, told us the communiqué was clear, in that the Heads of
State agreed with the Troika resolutions.

‘Whether you use noted or endorsed, it means the same. As far as the Summit
is concerned the Troika report presented in Zambia by President Zuma has now
been fully endorsed by SADC,’ Zulu said.

Asked to explain further why the communiqué’s wording was ambiguous,
especially on its decision to endorse the Troika resolutions, Zulu remarked;
‘The problem is people try to create problems out of nothing. The leaders
used noted because it is the language they felt like using on that day. If
people want to be honest they will tell you what happened during the meeting
and what was agreed and what was not.’

A legal expert said; ‘SADC can only note and encourage the Troika to
continue as they have done. I do not see how they (ZANU PF) will wriggle out
of this one though noted and endorsing is splitting hairs. What should be
said is that SADC did not reject the Troika report.’

It remains to be seen if Mugabe and ZANU PF will adhere to SADC’s
recommendations. The ZANU PF leader however told the state media on Monday
that he welcomed the outcome of the Johannesburg Summit.

Welshman Ncube, President of the smaller MDC faction, confirmed that Zuma’s
report on Zimbabwe was accepted and endorsed. He added that SADC appealed to
the three parties to move with urgency and speed, to conclude the
outstanding issues in the GPA and electoral roadmap, before the next SADC
summit in August.

The electoral roadmap was also endorsed, though the parties still have three
issues to iron out – security sector reform, changes to the Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission and the best method of overseeing elections. ZANU PF
wants ‘observers’ for the next poll while the MDC formations want monitors.

Observers can watch but can’t do anything, while monitors have the mandate
to question certain issues and make recommendations to the electoral
commission.

Welshman Ncube said; ‘Overall we are satisfied with the results of the
Summit. We always knew it would not be the fireworks anticipated by some
because for most issues we knew the parties had already agreed on issues.

‘The task at hand has been for us about implementation of what has been
already agreed, not reinventing the wheel. Our hope is that there will be a
clear focus on the implementation’.

The MDC-T led by Morgan Tsvangirai said they were pleased that the SADC
summit adopted the resolutions of the Troika in Livingstone.

‘The adoption of the facilitator’s report is particularly important for
Zimbabwe as it identifies ZANU PF as the offending party in the inclusive
government. We welcome the unequivocal adoption of the idea of a clear
roadmap to free and fair elections.

‘This involves the completion of all the steps necessary for the holding of
free and fair elections including the finalisation of the constitutional
reform process, and the removal of all state-sponsored violence,’ the party
said in a statement.

Dewa Mavhinga, the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition regional director, said the
people of Zimbabwe should claim victory from what transpired on Sunday. He
said SADC leaders have maintained their position taken in Zambia, and are
fully behind Zuma.

‘While they have said the right things, the challenge remains that of
implementation. We wait to see ZANU PF’s reaction, it may continue on the
path of defiance. From this communique it is inconceivable that elections
will be held in 2011,’ Mavhinga said.

Zimbabwe's neighbors to take more active role

http://www.forbes.com/

Associated Press

By DONNA BRYSON , 06.13.11, 12:36 PM EDT

JOHANNESBURG -- A regional bloc of southern African states said it wants
three of Zimbabwe's neighbors to appoint officials to a committee charged
with preparing for elections in Zimbabwe, but the country's long-ruling
party indicated on Monday it would resist such a move.

The 15-nation Southern African Development Community SADC urged member
states South Africa, Zambia and Mozambique late Sunday to appoint officials
to the Zimbabwean committee and said Zimbabwean leaders should hasten to
create an environment for free and fair elections. President Robert Mugabe
has been accused of using violence and election fraud to hold onto power in
Zimbabwe. Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party have been in power since independence
from Britain in 1980.

The ZANU-PF released a statement indicating it would resist including the
three countries on the committee even as Mugabe was quoted by Zimbabwean
state media Monday as welcoming the outcome of the SADC summit in
Johannesburg. Mugabe's supporters are calling for polls this year to replace
his shaky coalition with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. Independent
groups say the possibility of a vote has led to attacks on Mugabe's
opponents.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told a news conference in
Tanzania on Monday that the U.S. is encouraged by the regional bloc's
stance, saying it emphasizes that Mugabe must follow an agreement that paved
the way for the coalition after inconclusive and violent 2008 elections. The
agreement calls for reforms before a new vote. Both sides in the conflict
have turned to SADC, of which Zimbabwe is a member, to mediate.

The Zimbabwean committee, the Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee,
is currently comprised of members of Mugabe's party, of Tsvangirai's
Movement for Democratic Change and of a third party allied with the MDC.

Zimbabwe was once the region's breadbasket, but now its main export is
millions of people who have fled economic collapse. Observers blame Mugabe's
orders to seize thousands of white-owned farms in 2000, disrupting the
country's agriculture-based economy.

In addition to the economic misery, Zimbabwe is politically isolated because
of the Mugabe regime's brutality. But Zimbabwe's neighbors have been
reluctant to completely shun Mugabe, saying he must be part of a negotiated
solution.

Dewa Mavhinga, spokesman for a coalition of Zimbabwean rights and
development groups, said SADC's action shows it wants to step up involvement
in solving Zimbabwe's festering political situation.

"There is definitely a shift that ZANU must contend with," Mavhinga said.

Still, Mavhinga said it will be difficult to translate words in a communique
into change on the ground.

In a related development, two leaders of the MDC's youth wing learned after
leaving Zimbabwe for Johannesburg for a SADC briefing that police are
seeking them on murder charges in the death of a police officer, according
to Sibanengi Dube, a party spokesman in Johannesburg.

Several party activists have been arrested after the killing of police
officer Petros Mutedza on May 30 in Harare. Tsvangirai supporters deny
involvement in the policeman's death and say the arrests are politically
motivated.

Dube said the two canceled the briefing because they feared being attacked
by ZANU-PF agents in Johannesburg. Dube said they would return to Zimbabwe
Tuesday to face arrest and trial to prove their innocence in the homicide
case.

Approval all round of Zim resolutions at SADC summit

http://mg.co.za

HARARE, ZIMBABWE - Jun 13 2011 20:37

A status check by southern African leaders on the progress of Zimbabwe's
power-sharing deal was welcomed on Monday by both factions of the country's
tense coalition government.

"It came out very well," Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe told journalists
on his return from South Africa, where leaders from the 15-nation Southern
African Development Community (SADC) on Sunday reviewed the progress of the
so-called Global Political Agreement between Mugabe and Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai.

The power-sharing government between the two rivals, formed in the wake of a
violent, failed election in 2008, is meant to oversee the drafting of a new
Constitution and implement reforms to guide the country to a clean vote.

But regional leaders on Sunday urged them to speed up the process, which is
running a year behind schedule, and asked them to finalise a roadmap laying
out a new timetable for the Constitution and elections.

Both Zimbabwean factions sought to spin the summit in their favour on
Monday.

Mugabe said President Jacob Zuma, the SADC's point person on Zimbabwe, had
given a "very good report" on the progress of the power-sharing deal.

Zuma "acknowledged the efforts that the Global Political Agreement is
making, in other words what our negotiators and the principals put together
are making, and that there is progress now that there is work going on to
establish the roadmap, that the highlights of the roadmap have been marked,
what remains now are the timelines", Mugabe said.

Yes to a new roadmap
Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) meanwhile said it
supported the announcement of a new roadmap.

"This involves the completion of all the steps necessary for the holding of
free and fair elections, including the finalisation of the constitutional
reform process and the removal of all state-sponsored violence," the party
said in a statement.

"We are happy that the summit emphasised ... the need [for] clear timelines
to be added to this roadmap."

Mugabe (87) has ruled Zimbabwe since independence in 1980.

He has called for elections this year, with or without a new constitution,
in a bid to put an end to the coalition government. But Tsvangirai wants the
SADC to endorse polls for no earlier than 2012.

The power-sharing deal has seen Zimbabwe's economy rebound from
record-setting hyperinflation, but has not ended reports of political
abuses.

Amnesty International has accused Zimbabwe's security forces, which remain
firmly in Mugabe's grip, of complicity in a wave of violence against MDC
supporters this year. -- AFP

Final SADC Communique

Mugabe Set To Confuse The World On Outcome Of SADC Meeting On Zimbabwe

http://www.radiovop.com/

11 hours 26 minutes ago

Johannesburg, June 13, 2011 - Zanu (PF) was on Sunday night set to confuse
the world on the outcome of the Southern African Development Community
(SADC) special meeting on Zimbabwe held here as it told state owned media
journalists that SADC had rejected the Livingstone resolutions which is a
personal view expressed by President Robert Mugabe in the meeting.

According to insiders, Mugabe's requests to completely throw away the
Livingstone resolutions were flatly rejected by the mediator, South African
President Jacob Zuma.

Insiders said Mugabe gave a very long speech trying to justify why the
Livingstone recommendations should be shot down. Insiders further said on
finishing his long speech, one of Mugabe's close aides in the meeting rushed
to communicate this view to Caeser Zvayi of the state owned Herald and
Reuben Barwe of the ZBC as the view of the SADC meeting.

This view was later contradicted by the executive secretary of SADC, Tomaz
Salamao, who read a communiqué of what had transpired in the 3 hour meeting
on Sunday night and later answered questions from journalists.

"The SADC Troika Organ is a treaty of the institution and no -one has the
right to reverse its decisions," he said clarifying on what he meant by the
fact that the Johannesburg meeting had noted the Livingstone
recommendations. "The deliberations of the Troika Organ are final," he said.

He said what this means is that the political parties in Zimbabwe should
proceed to work on the elections road map and other recommendations made in
Livingstone, Zambia in March and finalise them.

The West and the European Union will continue to be encouraged to remove
sanctions on Zimbabwe.

Mugabe shunned the media and left the Sandton Convention Centre, the venue
of the special meeting, looking visibly angry.
Insiders alleged Mugabe's officers left with a draft communiqué, which did
not capture everything that transpired at the meeting so it could cause
'confusion to the world'.

"Mugabe was highly humiliated by Zuma today," confirmed one insider who did
not want to be named.

Lindiwe Zulu, the South African President, a member of Jacob Zuma’s
facilitator on Zimbabwe told Radio VOP in an interview:“the meeting had
mixed feelings with some expressing displeasure and discomfort”, a comment
believed to be referring to Mugabe.

The meeting was said to be attended by four officials from each political
party. Mugabe was accompanied by among others, Justice Minister Patrick
Chinamasa and Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa. Those who attended from
the Morgan Tsvangirai led Movement of Democratic Change included,
Tsvangirai, Finance Minister and Secretary General of the party, Tendai
Biti, Organising Secretary, Nelson Chamisa, Jameson Timba and Elton Mangoma.
Welshman Ncube and Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga were among those that
represented the smaller MDC faction while Arthur Mutambara left before the
meeting started.

However Salamao confirmed that Mutambara had left because of the internal
struggles of their party, the smaller faction of the MDC, and SADC did not
want to be involved because the matter is still before the courts.

Mutambara, who is one of the three principals who signed the Global
Political Agreement (GPA), insists he still heads the MDC and has refused to
step down as the deputy prime minister of Zimbabwe to pave way for Ncube.

The SADC meeting on Zimbabwe started around 6pm after SADC heads of states
and their representatives had finished a Common Market of Eastern and
Southern Africa (Comesa) meeting which launched a Free Trade Area, and ended
around 9pm.

Tsvangirai also left without addressing the media, although his officials
availed themselves for interviews. The MDC formations were happy by the mere
fact that the Livingstone resolutions had been endorsed, paving way for
implementation. They were pleased by the fact that Zuma had insisted there
was no going back on the Livingstone resolutions.

The Livingstone document basically sought to end violence, called on the
full implementation of the GPA, the drawing up of an election road map and
the appointment of a three member delegation from the Troika of the Organ to
join the Facilitation Team and work with the Joint Monitoring and
Implementation Committee (JOMIC) to ensure monitoring, evaluation and
implementation of the GPA.

The next SADC summit is expected to be in August in Luanda, Angola. It is
also expected that the Zimbabwe political parties would have finalised time
lines for elections and implemented fully the outstanding issues of the GPA.

Some of the outstanding issues of the GPA includes the conclusion of media
reforms particularly the broadcasting sector, security reforms, clean up of
the voters' roll, finalisation of the constitution and the holding of the
referendum.

Political analysts however feared that implementation of the Livingstone
resolutions will remain a challenge if animosity between MDC parties and
Zanu (PF) continues.

"It means the struggle continues and it also means that Zuma and his team
need to continue to push harder for a solution. If the strict stance taken
by Zuma at this meeting continues, then Zimbabwe is on a sure road to
change," said one political commentator. "This will only work if SADC
enforces what it agrees upon and not to leave it to the parties to solve the
problems on their own because that will be an enormous challenge. For
example it is difficult to see how Zanu (PF) can agree to the resolutions
endorsed by the summit when its leader wanted the resolutions completely
thrown away."

SADC Angers Mugabe As It Intensify GPA Monitoring

http://www.radiovop.com

20 hours 50 minutes ago

Sandton, Johannesburg, June 13, 2011- The Southern Africa Development
Community (SADC) special summit on Zimbabwe mandated the Organ Troika to
speed up the full implementation of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) by
Harare’s governing parties, Sunday.

Speaking to Radio VOP, Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) negotiator,
Elton Mangoma said Harare has been given up to August, 2011 when the next
SADC meeting is held, to implement the GPA in full.

The GPA signed in September 2008 is yet to be implemented in full as both
MDC formations and Zanu (PF) continue to fight on outstanding issues among
them sanctions imposed by the West and state sanctioned violence on selected
party members.

MDC formations blame President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu (PF) for stalling
progress.

“Summit urged the Organ Troika to appoint their representatives as soon as
possible to participate in the Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee
(JOMIC)”, read part of the communiqué.
Organ Troika comprise of Zambia, Mozambique and South Africa.

Lindiwe Zulu, the South African President, a member of Jacob Zuma’s
facilitator on Zimbabwe told Radio VOP in an interview:“the meeting had
mixed feelings with some expressing displeasure and discomfort”, a comment
believed to be referring to Mugabe.

A Zimbabwean official who attended the meeting confirmed that Mugabe was
shot down by the mediator, president Zuma when he tried to call for the
nullification of the Livingstone resolutions. Mugabe is believed to have
castigated the Livingstone resolutions, arguing that proper procedures had
not been followed. He is said to have given a 45 minutes speech on that,
resulting in other delegates dozing off but insiders said he was still told
point blank that the meeting would not deviate from the Livingstone
resolutions.

The March summit, chaired by Rupiah Bwezani Banda, Chairperson of Organ on
Politics Defence and Security Cooperation and President of Zambia resolved
that there must be an immediate end of violence, intimidation, hate speech,
harassment, and any other form of action that contradicts the letter and
spirit of GPA (Global Political Agreement); all stakeholders to the GPA
should implement all the provisions of the GPA and create a conducive
environment for peace, security, and free political activity.

It also resolved that the inclusive Government in Zimbabwe should complete
all the steps necessary for the holding of the election including the
finalisation of the constitutional amendment and the
referendum and that SADC should assist Zimbabwe to formulate guidelines that
will assist in holding an election that will be peaceful, free and fair, in
accordance with the SADC Principles and
Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections.

The Troika of the Organ shall appoint a team of officials to join the
Facilitation Team and work with the Joint Monitoring and Implementation
Committee (JOMIC) to ensure monitoring, evaluation and implementation of the
GPA. The Troika shall develop the Terms of Reference, time frames and
provide regular progress report, the first, to be presented during the next
SADC Extraordinary Summit. Summit will review progress on the implementation
of GPA and take appropriate
action.

The tough stance taken by Zuma was seen by insiders as an indication of
growing impatience with Mugabe by South Africa and other regional countries.
Zuma is viewed as sympathetic to the MDC-T leader a stark contrast to his
predecessor, Thabo Mbeki who was attacked for his ‘quite diplomacy’ approach
that favoured Zimbabwe’s frail leader.

The appointment of representatives to beef up the mediation is viewed as a
sign meant to intensify the implementation of the GPA, a move likely to
upset Mugabe and his party.

SADC Executive Secretary, Tomaz Salamao speaking on elections said,
“elements that made the 2008 elections to be criticised as not being free
and fair needed to be addressed and among them, the issue of politically
motivated violence”.

Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, Jameson Timba said his
party was satisfied with progress made.
“SADC has endorsed the Livingstone report and that is progress as well as
success on our part as the MDC, though the process of coming up with a
roadmap with timelines for elections is still in progress”, said Timba ,a
confidante of Tsvangirai.

Mugabe looked tired and defeated while leaving the summit venue late Sunday.
This summit has been labelled ‘a historic victory’ for the MDC which in the
past has been facing strategic defeats by Zanu (PF) on previous SADC
meetings.

This summit since the formation of the Government of National Unity (GNU)
was the first to be held in the absence of another GPA principal and alleged
Mugabe loyalist, Arthur Mutambara.

Mugabe and Tsvangirai left the venue of the meeting without talking to the
members of the media.

The MDC welcomes SADC summit resolutions

http://www.sokwanele.com/thisiszimbabwe/archives/6809

June 13th, 2011

Via press release: The people of Zimbabwe and the MDC heartily welcome the far reaching resolutions of the just ended SADC summit on Zimbabwe.

Before the summit, the MDC had demanded the following; -

The full adoption of the Livingstone Troika resolutions;
The adoption of a roadmap to free and fair elections with clear timelines and benchmarks. The roadmap would include the crucial issue of security sector reform.
The implementation of all outstanding issues within a specific time period

It is gratifying to note that the SADC summit adopted the resolutions of the troika in Livingstone. The adoption of the facilitator’s report is particularly important for Zimbabwe as it identifies Zanu PF as the offending party in the inclusive government.

We welcome the unequivocal adoption of the idea of a clear roadmap to free and fair elections. This involves the completion of all the steps necessary for the holding of free and fair election including the finalisation of the constitutional reform process, and the removal of all state-sponsored violence. Therefore this election should be held in accordance with the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections. We are happy that the Summit emphasized on the need of clear timelines to be added to this roadmap, which must be ready for adoption by the summit in August 2011.

We reiterate that as the MDC, we are and have always been ready for free and fair elections. We are also thrilled and exhilarated by the order given by the Summit that all outstanding issues must be implemented by August 2011 to create an environment of peace, security and free political activity in Zimbabwe.

Contrary to the assertions by Zanu PF, the Executive Secretary of SADC Tomaz Salomao reiterated, relying on article 2 of the founding document on defence and security that SADC has a mandate to intervene in the internal affairs of a troubled member state such as Zimbabwe.

As such SADC resolved that the Troika of the Organ would appoint a team of officials to join the facilitation Team and work with the Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee (JOMIC) to ensure monitoring, evaluation and the full implementation of the GPA.

As MDC, we salute President Jacob Zuma and his team for all the efforts and sacrifices they have made on Zimbabwe. The MDC thanks all the heads of states and governments in SADC for having stood by what is right in spite of the frantic efforts by some political parties to force SADC leaders to abandon the truth.

The people’s party of excellence acknowledges and salutes the sterling efforts made by the MDC negotiating team led by President Tsvangirai for a job well done at the Summit. We are more convinced than ever that victory is certain and the end is nigh for Mugabe and Zanu PF.

Together, united, winning – voting for real change!!

This entry was posted by Sokwanele on Monday, June 13th, 2011 at 3:43 pm.

Robert Mugabe and Jacob Zuma clash

Meeting went ‘very well’, says Mugabe

http://www.iol.co.za/

June 13 2011 at 12:43pm

AP

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has expressed satisfaction with the
outcome of a regional summit which discussed Zimbabwe's electoral roadmap.
Photo: AP

President Robert Mugabe on Monday expressed satisfaction with the outcome of
a regional summit which discussed Zimbabwe's electoral roadmap saying the
meeting went “very well”.

“It came out very well,” Mugabe told reporters on his return from South
Africa after regional leaders pressured Zimbabwe to make democratic reforms
before holding elections.

The veteran leader added that facilitator South African President Jacob Zuma
gave a “very good report” on the progress of the power sharing deal with
long time-rival Prime minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

“He (President Zuma) acknowledged the efforts that the global political
agreement is making, in other words what our negotiators and the principals
put together are making, and that there is progress now that there is work
going on to establish the roadmap, that the highlights of the roadmap have
been marked, what remains now are the timelines,” Mugabe said

On Sunday, regional leaders from the 15-nation Southern African Development
Community (SADC) called on Mugabe and Tsvangirai to speed up implementation
of the power-sharing deal that brought them together in an uneasy coalition
government in 2009.

The leaders stopped short of the unusually harsh language used in March by
the regional bloc's troika which called for an end to political violence and
insisted that promised reforms be carried out.

Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party also welcomed the
outcome of the meeting in Joburg “We are pleased that the summit has noted
and endorsed the Livingstone resolutions,” secretary for international
affairs James Timba told the privately-owned NewsDay newspaper after the
summit.

“We are equally pleased that the summit has directed that the parties should
immediately develop time limits of the agreed roadmap.”

While the summit had been expected to agree a roadmap to lay out a new
timetable for the constitution and elections, leaders pushed that decision
back to their next summit in August. – Sapa-AFP

Report by Peter Fabricius

Foreign Editor, Independent Newspapers, South Africa
Monday, June 13, 2011

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe suffered a major setback last night when
the Southern African Development Community (SADC) refused to withdraw a
harshly critical report of his Zanu PF party.
At a full SADC summit in Sandton, regional leaders declined his appeal for a
review of a communique issued by SADC’s security organ troika in
Livingstone, Zambia on March 31.

In that communique President Zuma, SADC's Zimbabwe facilitator, and
presidents Hifikepunye Pohamba of Namibia, Rupiah Banda of Zambia and
Armando Guebuza of Mozambique sharply rebuked Zanu PF (though not by name)
for its tardiness in implementing its commitments in the unity government
and for its growing political violence, arrests, intimidation and harassment
of its Movement for Democratic Change ( MDC.) coalition partners.
Mugabe and Zanu PF mounted a major diplomatic and propaganda offensive ahead
of yesterday’s summit to try to get the Livingstone decision reversed. Zanu
PF polituburo member Jonathan Moyo said the decision was unprocedural
because Mugabe and Zanu PF had not been shown Zuma’s report on which it was
based before the summit.

And Zanu PF also tried to prove that the two MDC factions were largely
responsible for the violence.
But after yesterday’s summit in Sandton, SADC’s executive secretary Tomaz
Salomao made clear that the Livingstone decision was “final.”

“No one has the power or mandate to change what the Organ deliberated in
Livingstone,” he said.
He added that the full summit in Sandton had not softened the Livingstone
communiqué.

The Sandton summit also urged the SADC Organ Troika to appoint
representatives as soon as possible to Zimbabwe’s multiparty Joint
Monitoring and Implementation Committee (JOMIC) which is tasked with
ensuring the implementation of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) which
the Zimbabwean parties agreed to in 2008 as the framework for the unity
government.

Salomao explained that these representatives would be drawn from South
Africa, Namibia and Mozambique, the present members of the SADC Organ
Troika.

This decision was also a setback for Mugabe and Zanu PF who had complained
that appointing outsiders to JOMIC would be a violation of Zimbabwe’s
sovereignty.

Tendai Biti, secretary-general of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s main
MDC faction and also finance minister in the unity government, said he was
“very pleased” with the summit, which had endorsed the Livingstone
decisions.

“From our point of view this was a fundamental summit that carried on the
pattern of democraticising our country from where Livingstone left it.”

He welcomed especially that the summit had focused on political violence and
also that it had confirmed the need to appoint SADC Organ Troika members to
JOMIC and had backed Zuma’s facilitators’ recommendations for the “roadmap”
out of the crisis and towards elections, which Zanu PF and the two MDCs are
negotiating.

A South African official said the SADC leaders had in effect rejected Mugabe’s
insistence that elections should be held this year as it had endorsed the
need for all parties to implement their GPA commitments first, which would
push elections back until at least next year.

Un-Commonwealth

http://www.iol.co.za

June 13 2011 at 12:29pm
By Peter Fabricius

POINTLESS: Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai after a swearing in ceremony of deputy ministers in 2009. After being suspended from the Commonwealth for rigged elections, Mugabe said the organisation had nothing to offer the country. Picture: AP

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe mocked the Commonwealth as a useless and intrusive organisation when he walked out of it in December 2003. “The Commonwealth is a mere club, but it has become like an ‘Animal Farm’, where some members are more equal than others,” he scoffed after the organisation refused, at its summit in Abuja, to lift its suspension of Zimbabwe the year before because it said he had rigged his re-election.

“If the choice was made for us to lose our sovereignty and become a member of the Commonwealth or to remain with our sovereignty and lose membership of the Commonwealth, then I would say… let the Commonwealth go. What is it to us? Our people are overjoyed, the land is ours. We are now the rulers and owners of Zimbabwe,” Mugabe declared, suggesting that the organisation had nothing to offer the country but meddling.

Iden Wetherell, then editor of the Zimbabwe Independent newspaper, remarked at the time: “Despite all the rhetoric, few doubt that Mugabe wants to be readmitted. He wants to strut upon the world stage. The suspension has been a huge humiliation for him.’’

Even so, was Mugabe right to suggest that leaving the Commonwealth would cost his Zimbabwean compatriots nothing worthwhile, except the dubious pleasure of watching their president strut his stuff at summits?

Champions of the Commonwealth do not make huge claims for the benefits of membership of the organisation. Yet they do insist it is worthwhile. The Commonwealth is unusual in that it brings together a few rich developed countries with many poor, undeveloped ones.

That provides a potential for the rich members to give a helping hand to the poorer members. And they do provide help.

It is not large amounts of aid that the Commonwealth offers. The Commonwealth Fund for Technical Co-operation (CFTC) is the organisation’s development arm.

Compared with those of many member states, its annual budget of about R300 million is small.

But that aid is leveraged through other resources, such as bilateral aid from richer member states, and about 40 percent of it is focused on Africa.

The CFTC is also a typical Commonwealth organisation in that its “assistance is targeted towards helping member countries acquire knowledge and institutional capacity to address their own development priorities”.

This stress on training and knowledge is common to much of the Commonwealth’s work. It offers people-to-people contact across its 54 member states and in a wide variety of fields, including training to government officials, business skills and scientific research.

The Commonwealth Africa Investment Fund also channels long-term investments to the continent.

Patrick Wintour, formerly of the Commonwealth Foundation, the umbrella body for Commonwealth civil society organisations, and now associate director at the Royal Commonwealth Society, says being out of the Commonwealth has deprived Zimbabwe of participation in Commonwealth Heads of Governments meetings every two years and the more frequent meetings of Commonwealth ministers in fields such as education, finance and foreign affairs.

This is where leaders deliberate the organisation’s key values and aims: building democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of law, resolving conflicts and promoting social and economic development. That is also a fundamental mission of the London-based Commonwealth Secretariat, the official heart of the organisation.

These values, ironically, are comprehensively enshrined in the Harare Declaration of 1991.

Likewise, Wintour believes that Zimbabwe is the poorer for its stance because over the past nine years, ‘‘high-flying military officers” from that country have not participated with Commonwealth peers from Nigeria, Pakistan, India, Kenya and so on in training at Britain’s Sandhurst military academy.

He suggests that the main benefit of this training would be to instil the values of democracy and civilian rule, which are key to the future of Zimbabwe, since the question of whether Mugabe’s military officers would accept real political change is crucial.

Again, these are precisely the sorts of values Mugabe would not want his top brass to uphold.

But if all these important functions of the Commonwealth hold no appeal for Mugabe, Mugabe is of course not Zimbabwe, even if he often acts as if he were.

Many other Zimbabweans, likely a majority, appreciate the Commonwealth precisely because it kicked Mugabe out and believe that in doing so, it added yet another bit of pressure for political change.

But, apart from losing out on these official activities, Zimbabwe has also lost the “opportunity to take part in fullest sense of Commonwealth organisations – for instance, Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, Commonwealth scholarships, Commonwealth Local Government Forum, and so on,” Wintour says.

Some tentative efforts have been made to restore Zimbabwe’s links to these Commonwealth civil society forums – of which there are about 60 – since the unity government was formed in 2009.

Wintour notes that four Commonwealth Professional Fellows, nominated by Zimbabwean civil society, visited Britain on a study tour in March.

Depending on progress in the unity government, these links could increase, he suggests.

An Australian official with considerable experience of the Commonwealth believes that even if he can’t say it publicly, even Mugabe has recently privately expressed regret that Zimbabwe remains outside the Commonwealth.

And, with a multiparty unity government (ostensibly) in charge, the range of opinions about the Commonwealth, even in the Zimbabwe government, is quite broad.

For instance, the Speaker of Parliament. Lovemore Moyo, a member of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), is known to feel regret that MPs cannot join the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and so can’t visit other parliaments throughout the member states, to learn how they operate and to build solidarity among democrats.

David Coltart, a member of the smaller MDC and the education minister in the unity government, expressed the hope that Zimbabwe could return to the Commonwealth nearly two years ago when the subject was briefly raised at the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in Trinidad.

Despite this widespread yearning to return to the Commonwealth, experts do not expect the country to apply for readmission at this year’s heads of government meeting in Perth, Australia.

That is likely to happen only after new elections, and depending upon who wins, they say.

That’s how it happened with other members that were suspended or walked out and then were readmitted, such as South Africa, Pakistan and Nigeria.

But they note that even after elections, Zimbabwe might not get back in quickly, because the Commonwealth requires a country which applies for admission or readmission to demonstrate broad public support for the move.

If Tsvangirai, prime minister in the unity government, wins the next election, he will probably have to include some Zanu-PF members in his government, to discourage the military or the other security forces from interfering in politics.

If so, such a new government would find it hard to reach consensus on readmission to the Commonwealth because the Zanu-PF members might be against it.

If and when Zimbabwe does rejoin the Commonwealth, it could be a more useful organisation for its members, though, again in ways that might not always appeal to Zanu-PF.

An Eminent Persons Group (EPG) is studying ways of making the Commonwealth more relevant and increasing its effectiveness. Its recommendations will be considered by the Perth summit.

That the Commonwealth felt the need to improve itself in this way was an implicit acknowledgement that its benefits to members (including, potentially, Zimbabwe) were in some ways deficient.

Canadian Senator Hugh Segal, a member of the EPG, explained on a recent visit to South Africa that among the key recommendations are ways to strengthen the Commonwealth’s ability to ensure that its members uphold the organisation’s fundamental values of democracy, human rights, the rule of law and good governance.

The EPG’s draft report recommends that all the Commonwealth’s basic values and principles, which are scattered across various declarations, should be consolidated into a single charter.

The Commonwealth secretary-general would be explicitly mandated to ensure all member states uphold these values.

That would address the existing problem where secretaries-general sometimes feel they have to consult all the member states before criticising a member government for violating the Commonwealth’s values.

The problem has come into focus sharply with the current secretary-general, Kamalesh Sharma of India, who has been exceptionally reluctant to voice any public criticism of member governments.

Last year, he faced an interval revolt in the Secretariat, the British press revealed, because he failed to say anything about major transgressions, such as the Sri Lankan government’s slaughter of unarmed Tamil civilians in the last days of its defeat of the Tamil Tigers in 2009.

Sharma responded to the internal criticism by instructing his staff that his and their mandates did not include such criticisms.

If the EPG’s recommendations are accepted in Perth, that would change and he would be obliged to criticise such violations – “within a normal news cycle”, Segal said.

To help him engage transgressors, he would be given a special commissioner dedicated to protecting the Commonwealth’s political values.

The EPG has also recommended improvements in the Commonwealth’s development and training functions, sometimes in innovative ways.

Segal noted, for instance, that although the Commonwealth Games are probably the most visible activities of the organisation, they and the official Commonwealth have practically no links.

The EPG proposes to change that by recommending programmes for Commonwealth Games athletes to provide sports training for athletes from less-developed member states.

The EPG also wants the Commonwealth to beef up its efforts to fight HIV/Aids, for example.

And again it proposes tackling the problem via the organisation’s value system.

Segal noted that several member states still have anti-sodomy laws inherited from the colonial era.

These laws obviously discourage many men from signing up for Aids treatment so that the Commonwealth should engage those governments “robustly” to repeal the laws, the EPG proposes. – Independent Foreign Service

Corruption probe councillor arrested over policeman’s death

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Lance Guma
13 June 2011

A councillor who led a probe into the corrupt acquisition of council land by
businessman Philip Chiyangwa and Minister Ignatius Chombo, was arrested
Sunday morning over the death of a policeman in Glen View last month.

Warship Dumba, the MDC-T councillor for Ward 17 in Mount Pleasant, was
arrested around 6am on Sunday after officers from the Law and Order Section
swooped on his residence. MDC-T Senator and Deputy Justice Minister Obert
Gutu confirmed the arrest in an interview with SW Radio Africa on Monday.

Dumba’s lawyer Charles Kwaramba suspects his client was briefly held at the
notorious Matapi Police Station in Mbare before being transferred to Harare
Central. It brings to three the number of councillors arrested by police
after Tungamirai Madzokere and Sydney Chirombe were picked up last Thursday.

A total of 24 MDC-T activists are now in custody as police brazenly continue
a politicized witch hunt. This follows the death of Inspector Petros Mutedza
in a night club brawl with street vendors in Glen View last month. ZANU PF
are determined to use the incident for propaganda purposes, claiming it
shows the MDC-T are a violent party.

But as Gutu observed, the arrest of Dumba has nothing to do with the death
of the policeman but an attempt by Chombo and Chiyangwa to settle old
scores. Dumba hit the headlines last year after leading a council
investigation of corrupt land deals that involved Local Government Minister
Chombo and businessman Chiyangwa.

When Dumba and his team gave the incriminating report to the police to
investigate, the police instead arrested them and the journalists who
covered the story. In March Chombo claimed to have sacked Dumba and Casper
Takura, accusing them of dishonesty, fraud and mismanagement of council
funds.

Last month at least 20 MDC-T activists were arrested over Mutedza’s murder,
in what the party said was an attempt to tarnish their image ahead of the
crucial SADC discussions about Zimbabwe, in South Africa this past weekend.

Meanwhile attempts to get bail for the activists again hit a brick wall on
Monday after the Attorney Generals’ Office for the third time in a row
engineered a postponement in court. Justice Tendai Uchena claimed he needed
more time to rule on last minute submissions by the state in opposing the
bail application.

WOZA troubles continue after police raid

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

by Irene Madongo
13 June 2011

Police in Bulawayo are still camped at a house used for meetings by Women
and Men of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA), following a raid on the premises on
Friday, the organisation has said.

WOZA says on Friday a number of policemen showed up at the house in Bulawayo
without a search warrant and were aggressive; also present were two
notorious members of the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) who have
been involved in torturing WOZA members.

The WOZA members at the house left through the back entrance. The riot squad
arrived after they had departed and forced the gates open to enter the
premises. It’s understood the police are after WOZA leaders Jenni Williams
and Magodonga Mahlangu, as well as the owner of the house, who is not a WOZA
member and is understood to be out of the country

On Monday Williams said; “The police are still occupying the house. There
are armed police guarding the house. The owners of the private cars (at the
house) are even afraid to get to the house as they have been warned by the
lawyers that they will be arrested.”

Williams added that so far three houses, whose occupants are linked to WOZA,
had been raided by police who never produce search warrants.

The organisation says the police are threatening to arrest Williams and
Mahlangu and throw them in jail with male prisoners.

“Since the beginning of the year, 38 WOZA members have been arbitrarily
arrested and 24 detained and charged under the Criminal Law Codification and
Reform Act. Threats were made that upon the eventual arrest of Williams and
Mahlangu, they would be denied bail and imprisoned in the male prison,” a
WOZA statement said.

Fuel tank victims ‘risked death for income’

http://www.swradioafrica.com

13 June 2011

An economic analyst says the people who died on the scene when a petrol
tanker exploded, were poor locals who saw the fuel spillage as an
opportunity to earn much needed cash.

Three people died and 13 others were sent to hospital on Saturday after a
haulage truck with petrol exploded in Sunningdale, Harare. There are fears
that several others, who were reportedly seen stealing petrol on top of the
tanker, could have been burnt to ashes.

Its’ believed the truck overturned while trying to avoid a vehicle that had
encroached onto its lane.

According to eyewitnesses, after the tanker overturned, some locals and
passer-bys began stealing petrol from the truck. The driver warned people
about the possibility of his tanker bursting into flames, but people did not
listen.

Economic analyst Bekithemba Mhlanga says these will have been people on very
low incomes, desperate to make money.

“If you look at the area in which that tanker actually overturned, its’ a
fairly high density populated area, it is an area where you find people with
very low incomes and I think [they] therefore would have foreseen a fuel
spillage over there as a source of income.”

Police are understood to be to be carrying out investigations.

Police camp at WOZA house following raid

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

by Irene Madongo
13 June 2011

Police in Bulawayo are still camped at a house used for meetings by Women
and Men of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA), following a raid on the premises on
Friday, the organisation has said.

WOZA says on Friday a number of policemen showed up at the house in Bulawayo
without a search warrant and were aggressive; also present were two
notorious members of the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) who have
been involved in torturing WOZA members.

Those WOZA members at the house then decided to depart through the back
entrance. The riot squad arrived and forced the gates open to enter the
premises. It’s understood the police are after WOZA leaders Jenni Williams
and Magodonga Mahlangu, as well as the owner of the Suburbs house. The owner
of the Suburbs’ house is not a WOZA member, and is understood to be out of
the country

On Monday Williams said: “The police are still occupying the house. There
are armed police guarding the house. The owners of the private cars (at the
house) are even afraid to get to the house as they have been warned by the
lawyers that they will be arrested.”

Williams added that so far three houses whose occupants are linked to WOZA,
had been raided by police and that the police constantly do not produce
search warrants.

The organisation says the police are threatening to arrest Williams and
Mahlangu and throw them in jail with male prisoners.

“Since the beginning of the year, 38 WOZA members have been arbitrarily
arrested and 24 detained and charged under the Criminal Law Codification and
Reform Act. Threats were made that upon the eventual arrest of Williams and
Mahlangu, they would be denied bail and imprisoned in the male prison,” a
WOZA statement said.

Mozambique to step up diamond controls

(AFP) – 8 hours ago

MAPUTO — Mozambique is speeding up preparations to join an international
conflict diamond monitoring scheme amid widespread gem smuggling from
Zimbabwe's controversial Marange mines, state media said on Monday.

Mining Minister Esperanca Bias said Mozambique, which hopes to start mining
its own diamonds soon, wants to join the Kimberley Process diamond
certification scheme by December, Noticias newspaper reported.

"Government's idea is that we shouldn't lose time. We are in the prospecting
phase, yes, but we have to join the Kimberley Process already, so that we
are familiar with it when we start mining activities," Bias said.

Currently 27 companies and individuals are prospecting for diamonds in
Mozambique under 40 separate licences.

Tests are already being done to see if some samples are commercially viable,
Bias said.

Her announcement comes amid reports that diamond smugglers are trading in
gems worth millions of dollars from neighbouring Zimbabwe's Marange diamond
mines through the central Mozambican border town of Manica.

The Marange fields, touted as Africa's richest diamond find of the decade,
have been at the centre of a years-long controversy over reported abuses by
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's military.

Monitors say the military seized control of the fields in late 2008,
violently evicting tens of thousands of small miners and then beating and
raping civilians to force them to mine the gems.

Human rights groups say about 200 people were killed, and Kimberley Process
investigators later documented "unacceptable and horrific violence against
civilians by authorities", prompting a ban on exports of the gems.

The Kimberley Process last year allowed two special sales of Marange
diamonds. In March, Zimbabwe's deputy mines minister announced that the
Kimberley Process would again allow the country to sell diamonds from the
mines.

The watchdog's current chairman, Mathieu Yamba of the Democratic Republic of
Congo -- who has links with Mugabe -- was subsequently criticised for acting
unilaterally in authorising the sale.

Robert Mugabe credits David Cameron for easing Zimbabwe tension

http://www.guardian.co.uk

Zimbabwe ready to bury decades of hostility towards Britain following
Cameron's election says senior Zanu-PF MP

David Smith in Pretoria
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 12 June 2011 20.55 BST

Robert Mugabe's chief spin doctor has signalled that Zimbabwe is ready to
bury decades of hostility towards Britain following the election of David
Cameron.

Jonathan Moyo, a senior MP in Mugabe's Zanu-PF party, credited the British
prime minister with reducing tensions between Zimbabwe and its former
colonial master. "The fact of the matter is, sooner or later Zimbabwe and
the UK should engage each other," Moyo told the Guardian during a visit to
South Africa. "There are many reasons why that should be possible."

Once knighted by the Queen, Mugabe has reserved his most embittered rhetoric
for Britain, accusing it of neocolonial meddling that he blames for the
country's ills more than 30 years after independence.

But Moyo said last year's general election result in the UK created space
for a shift in relations. "For one, we can all see that David Cameron is not
as loquacious as [Gordon] Brown or, worse, Tony Blair. Definitely not. He's
kept his views on Zimbabwe to himself. He's not even as loquacious as
[William] Hague, who sometimes gets carried away, because of what he
imagines is the success he's having in Libya, to say ridiculous things.

"But, by and large, they are behaving as the Conservatives we historically
have known. It is a historical fact that the independence process was in
colonial terms made possible by the Conservatives. The approach of the
Conservatives under Margaret Thatcher was very different from the approach
of Labour."

Moyo did criticise Cameron for being a "cheerleader" in the military
intervention in Libya, but added: "Re: Zimbabwe, I think an objective
assessment would be that he has managed to lower down the levels of noise
which in turn has contributed in lowering levels of tension. We don't make
as much noise ourselves against the UK as we did because we think that
there's an opportunity that was squandered by Brown and Blair.

"Also, I think it is safe to say there have been attempts by both sides to
reach out and there have been some re-engagements and there have even been
attempts to solve things on the cricket front, which would be one useful
entry point."

He deployed a colourful image to suggest Britain might now be willing to
climb down from its former position. "I think the British problem is that
they behaved like a drunkard who climbed a tree overnight only to wake up in
the morning naked and unable to come down, and so conjures up all sorts of
stories to justify why they are there, and it takes time to get down," Moyo
said. "We are prepared to give them a ladder. What we don't know is will
they want to use it at night or during the day."

Moyo, 54, is a former information and publicity minister seen as the
architect of Zimbabwe's harsh media laws. He fell out with Zanu-PF in 2004
and became an independent MP and outspoken critic of Mugabe, only to return
to the fold in 2009. He is likely to be the mastermind of Zanu-PF's next
election campaign, which, opponents say, will include propaganda aimed at
demonising the rival Movement for Democratic Change. Moyo has been described
as "the dictator's most notorious henchman" with a "deviously brilliant
mind".

Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Zimbabwean civil society groups
and countless media reports have accused Zanu-PF of killing, torturing and
beating its opponents and rigging elections. Last week finance minister
Tendai Biti of the MDC, whose home had been bombed, compared the mood in
Zimbabwe with Rwanda on the eve of its 1994 genocide.

But Moyo said: "Not to say we have not had violence in Zimbabwe because
we've conceded that, and all the political parties have conceded that. But
the way it's blown out of proportion and there's harrowing tales of torture
chambers, I think it's unfortunate."

Alleging a gigantic conspiracy, he went on: "It's going to collapse because
sooner or later you will hear completely different stories. I don't deny
there have been cases of violence but the way they have been told and the
extent of the incidents told has been exaggerated beyond what is rational.

"I'm not denying that you guys get told all sorts of horror stories, I'm
just saying most of those stories, especially told by people who are
refugees, are fictitious. They are looking for economic opportunity – these
are economic refugees."

Asked for an honest assessment of Mugabe's weaknesses as a leader, Moyo
replied: "Contrary to the public image, I think he's too tolerant of things
and people. I always wish we could get him to sometimes be more decisive in
dealing with misfits than he often is. He doesn't have a history of firing
people. I wish he could fire people more often."

Zimbabwe prepare to put beauty in the eye of the bowler with new ground next to Victoria Falls

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

The most beautiful cricket ground in the world? Everyone will have their favourite. Cape Town and Adelaide spring immediately to mind for their picturesque backdrops, then Lord’s and Sydney for their man-made beauty.

Ground with a view: touring teams to Zimbabwe could soon have a spectacular view of Victoria Falls to enjoy Photo: REUTERS

By Steve James

7:18PM BST 13 Jun 2011

Turn to county cricket and many would instantly offer Worcester and its cathedral setting as the best of the main grounds. Any number of outgrounds might qualify. In Sussex there is Arundel and Horsham, in Kent there is Tunbridge Wells, in Gloucestershire there is Cheltenham, and so on and so on.

It will probably be of little surprise to you if I mention Abergavenny, nestled near the Black Mountains, as a county favourite.

A few years ago this newspaper ran a competition to scour Britain for the most beautiful ground. The winner was Bridgetown in Somerset, with its access by a wooden footbridge over the River Exe and it stunning views of Exmoor National Park.

Most intriguing for me in that search, though, was the revelation that the ground used by the Ship Inn Cricket Club in Fife is the beach!

The Ship Inn itself acts as the pavilion and during low tide a pitch is rolled on Elie Beach with views across the Forth estuary. The ball used? Something that is a cross between a tennis and cricket ball.

But if there is one ground I would like to visit it is Queenstown in New Zealand, where one-day internationals have taken place since 2003. I have a friend in whose house sits a huge picture of a match he played there.

I gasp in awe every time I see it. The ground is situated in farmland near Lake Wakatipu, but it is the stunning mountain range, the aptly named Remarkables, that acts as its background that makes it so jaw-droppingly picturesque.

But could there soon be a new candidate in this category? Last week it was announced that Zimbabwe are going to build a third Test ground to add to those in Harare and Bulawayo. Its location? Only next to the Victoria Falls!

Apparently the local council has granted planning approval and next year building work will begin on a stadium situated near to the iconic site on the River Zambezi between Zimbabwe and Zambia, known to the locals as Mosi-o-Tunya (the Smoke that Thunders).

It could be close enough for the famous spray to be felt by spectators and players. The term “spraying it”, as regards a bowler, could take on a new meaning. Maybe the stadium could be named after Zimbabwe’s most inaccurate bowler.

There might be a few candidates. Henry Olonga might have been foremost amongst them had he not effected his black armband protest with Andy Flower.

Joking aside, it sounds a good idea, even if Zimbabwe should not really be playing Test cricket again so soon. One-day stuff, yes, but not Tests.

They opted out of the longer game in 2005, but are now due to play Bangladesh in August, followed by Pakistan and New Zealand.

They are palpably unprepared, despite the efforts to restore cricketing credibility in the country through the return to the fold of good men like Alistair Campbell, Grant Flower and Dave Houghton.

Then again it is said that the stadium in Victoria Falls will take three years to build. Give the pitch five years to bed in and Zimbabwe may have a team by then.

“This is one of the great natural wonders of the world and playing international and first-class cricket there will cause a lot of excitement among visiting players and fans,” Zimbabwe Cricket chief executive Ozias Bvute said.

“Tourism is on the up in this country and sporting tourism especially so.”

Indeed Australia A and South Africa A will visit soon to play a triangular tournament with Zimbabwe, before the Australians take part in two four-day matches too; an interesting reversal by the Australian government given their banning of the national side’s tour to Zimbabwe in 2007.

The British government remains steadfast in its stance, though: last year the Scotland team were prevented from touring and a MCC fact-finding tour was cancelled.

“There is a lot of vision here at the moment,” chairman of selectors Campbell says. “We had eight or nine thousand for a recent Twenty20 tournament in Harare and that has given us confidence.

"People now go to Dubai for cricket. We will soon be an alternative to that.”

We shall see. For now I see that Glamorgan play at Wormsley this year. That’s not bad either.

David Coltart on Question Time: Part 2

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

In Part 2 of Question Time, Education Minister Senator David Coltart speaks to SW Radio Africa journalist Lance Guma and tackles a variety of issues, including why he is moving teachers who are being targeted by war vets, the controversial system of teachers incentives and the long awaited civil service audit. Can his ministry also do anything about under-age girls being denied an education and married off to old men in apostolic sects in the country?

Interview broadcast 01 June 2011

Lance Guma: Hallo Zimbabwe and thank you for joining us on part two of the Question Time interview with Education Minister, Senator David Coltart who joins us on the programme to answer questions sent in by listeners using FaceBook, Twitter, Skype, email and text messages. Senator Coltart, as ever, thank you for joining us once again.

David Coltart: Thanks Lance. Good evening and once again, good being with you.

Guma: Now last week we have some follow-up questions from some of the responses you gave in the interview, particularly what your ministry was doing about teachers and headmasters who are being harassed by war veterans and in your answer you pointed to the fact that you’ve moved some of these teachers and headmasters who are being victimised. A few of our listeners would like to know whether you’re not caving in and actually making the war veterans and ZANU PF youth militia win by moving some of these people?

Coltart: Well I suppose one can make that argument but I’ve got to deal with a practical reality. I don’t control the police, I don’t control the wider political processes and I have to act within my own power range. I’ve got to look after these teachers and the only way that I can guarantee their safety is to move them out.

That’s not the only thing I’m doing; as I mentioned last week, I have raised this issue in cabinet and I’ve raised it in parliament; I’ve spoken direct to ZANU PF cabinet ministers and ZANU PF parliamentarians telling them very clearly that that ultimately it’s their own children who suffer from this abuse.

But ultimately the only way that we can protect teachers and ensure the integrity of the entire education system is to get to the root of violence and that means an overhaul of the whole system and getting the police to enforce the law and the attorney general to enforce the law.

Guma: Georgina Munyongani says and I quote – I am really worried about children who cannot afford to pay for extra lessons because it seems as if no teaching is taking place during school hours. I feel for the teachers because they are trying to make ends meet. It is so unfair to those children who cannot afford extra lessons because they will be left behind. Minister, can you try and provide better education for the poor as well? That’s Georgina Munyongani there.

Coltart: Well this goes to the root of a financing of education. I’m very concerned about lawlessness that has crept in to the system and the provision of extra lessons is often just a means of extracting further money from parents. Obviously where extra lessons are genuinely needed and genuinely provided by teachers on top of efficient teaching during normal school hours, that is fine but sadly this is sometimes a scam employed by some unscrupulous teachers to extract more money.

But to get to the heart of the question – yes our primary focus has to be on the poorest children, to provide a basic quality education for all children but we can only do that once the education sector becomes an absolute priority of government and when the education sector is adequately funded. We need to be paying teachers a viable wage; they’re not paid a viable wage at present and unfortunately until they are paid a viable wage they will employ some of these tactics to extract money to enable themselves to live and at the end of the day, it’s children who suffer.

Guma: Now still on this subject, a guy who calls himself Vadzvanyiriri on FaceBook says how far true is this talk doing the rounds that teachers are teaching material that comes on exams only during extra lesson times so that those who don’t attend these lessons fail and are thus indirectly forced to pay and attend for these extra lessons?

Coltart: I don’t know how true that is. Let me make this point Lance – that the vast majority of our teachers are professional people who are committed to children and to their calling, so I don’t think that we can say that this involves the vast majority of teachers.

Clearly there are some teachers who are involved in these unscrupulous activities and it may well be the case that they’re not teaching the proper curriculum during normal school hours and only those who pay these extra lessons are going to pass but I think that that’s a tiny minority. What I see in most of the schools I go to is dedicated teachers who against tremendous odds are trying to do the right thing for children.

Guma: From Girl Child rights activist Betty Makoni comes the following question – she says there are 8000 girls married in Johanne Marange Church in Zimbabwe and girls are not in classrooms but in bedrooms. How can the school monitor children of school age that they are in school? She says that we have a full list of girls in bedrooms and working in people’s houses as house maids and if the minister wants it we can submit. What can we do to have social workers in schools to curb this menace?

Coltart: Let me deal with that in terms of the specific issue raised and then I’ll go to more general response. Specifically (inaudible) being kept deliberately out of school and as you say kept in bedrooms then that needs to be reported to the local district education officer and of course to the local representatives of social welfare, of the Social Welfare department because that is a breach of our law, it is a violation of those individual girls’ rights and we have mechanisms to ensure that those girls are protected and that is an intolerable situation.

But let me turn now to more general response – Lance, one of the great tragedies of what is going on in Zimbabwe is that we’ve got a huge drop-out rate that doesn’t just apply to girls but also to boys. What we are seeing at primary school level especially in rural settings is that in some schools two thirds of the children who start in Grade One have dropped out by the time they get to Grade Seven.

There’s also a massive drop-out rate between primary school and secondary school so this isn’t an issue that just applies to individual religious sects or to the girl child, it is a major problem that we face that because education is under funded, because many parents cannot afford to pay for secondary education, these children drop out and it’s creating potentially a massive social (inaudible).

I go back to this central theme – we need to fund education adequately and we need to have programmes which will ensure that these drop out rates are cut so that we get a much higher percentage of children going right the way through, to at the very least to the age of 16 which really is the first time that they should be moving out of the school environment.

Guma: From Joiline Chiponda Sengwayo comes the question – she wants to know are there any plans to introduce entrepreneurship as a subject in schools?

Coltart: Lance I’m delighted that your listener has raised that question because I’ve just recently signed off on a deal with the Open Society Institute for them to fund to the tune of three million US dollars a comprehensive review of our curriculum. Traditionally our curriculum has been very much academic in its orientation; we need to change that, we need to bring in more vocational and practical subjects such as entrepreneurship and that is what is going to be done in the course of the next two years.

We’ve got a very ambitious programme, we’re going to be completely revamping the Curriculum Development Unit in Mount Pleasant, bringing in Apple computer technology, connection to the internet, we want to bring in our best educational brains to the Curriculum Development Unit and expand the scope of our education so that it is more practical, it’s more applicable to the needs of Zimbabwean society than it has been in the past.

In the past we’ve often generated a lot of academic students who hadn’t been able to get jobs within Zimbabwe, we need to change that; we’re not going to of course dispense with an academic education but we need to ensure that children who are more business orientated or farming orientated, practically orientated come out of school with the practical education which they can immediately use in business and in the work place.

Guma: From a guy calling himself Mutambara is the question – teachers as stakeholders in the provision of educational services in schools, or rather teachers are stakeholders in the provision of educational services in schools – what part as a percentage do they contribute to the policies implemented by your ministry?

Coltart: Teachers play a major role in the development of our policies; obviously all our civil servants, our district education officers, our provincial education directors, our senior management are all teaching professionals so they, at that level, play arguably the biggest role of anybody in the formulation of policy but we also try to take into account the views of current teachers through trade union representatives.

I have representatives of all three trade unions on my National Education Advisory Board. We are currently in the process of revising education regulations. Teacher representatives will be brought in on that process, so I have tried since taking over two years ago to make sure we are as inclusive as possible and take into account the views of what of course is our greatest asset namely our teachers.

Guma: And probably the final issue, we have a question on teachers’ incentives. Various arguments from various people describing them as divisive; what’s your take on this whole issue of teachers’ incentives Senator Coltart?

Coltart: Lance this has been a vexed issue; we brought it in two years ago to enable the education sector to survive. Had we not done so in 2009 I have no doubt that the haemorrhaging of teachers would have continued and the system would have collapsed. I think that had we not legalised this arrangement we may have driven the practice underground and made criminals of our teachers so I have no apology to make for having kept the system in place for the last two years.

But we all acknowledge and I’ve acknowledged several times that this has been highly divisive; it’s been divisive between teachers and parents and of course it’s been divisive even within the teaching profession because teachers in urban areas tend to get much greater incentives than teachers generally in rural areas so we recognise that we have to end the policy as soon as possible and I’ve said repeatedly that we will end it as soon as we can guarantee that we as a government can pay teachers a viable wage and retain them in the teaching profession.

But we’re just kidding ourselves if I were to abolish incentives overnight if we think that it would end this practice. It would drive it underground or it would result in teachers at this stage seeking greener pastures elsewhere which is not in the best interests of children. So I am the first one to accept that it’s divisive, that it’s a practice that needs to be ended as soon as possible and I’m committed to that but only once I can guarantee that we’re not going to cause major disruption to the education of our children.

Guma: How do we arrive at that stage where you are able to overcome these hurdles that force you to employ systems like teachers’ incentives? People listening in will be wondering what’s the magic bullet that will sort this out or what needs to happen?

Coltart: Well there’s no magic bullet because it will take a variety of measures to address this. At its core is the nation’s economy and the amount of money coming into the fiscus. We need to get the diamond receipts coming in, we need to get coherent economic policies and investment policies so that the economy grows and more tax is paid and there’s more money available for the minister of Finance to allocate to teachers. That is the core issue.

Then obviously tied into that is the question of the audit of the civil service to make sure that we are paying people who are actually working so that those dedicated teachers who are at their classrooms week in and week out are paid and that we don’t have ghost workers being paid for work they are not doing.

Then of course we need to stabilise the political environment. The international community has told me that they will not support recurrent expenditure such as teachers’ salaries whilst the political uncertainty persists so we need to agree amongst all three of the political parties who’re signatories to the Global Political Agreement that we’re going to stop this bickering, that we’re going to complete the constitutional reform process, that we’re going to agree on free and fair elections and go through that process and I have no doubt that once we do that, that we will unlock a lot more support from the international community.

And then finally we need to rationalise our laws, make the system of payment of levies and fees more transparent and to introduce more accountability. I never want to get to a situation where parents play no role whatsoever in the education of our children; it’s one of the unique features of Zimbabwe’s education system that parents are involved and whilst they are paying a very heavy price today and we need to lessen that, I think it’s important that we keep parents’ involvement in some way because ironically that is one of the key elements in guaranteeing a quality education for our children.

Guma: You raised an important issue there and if I could just add a question on it: the audit into the civil service, your ministry is one of those heavily affected by this. Now we were told that the report, the audit was given to cabinet in November last year and what’s the latest on it because it seems it has not yet been discussed conclusively?

Coltart: Well obviously Lance I’m not at liberty to discuss the finer detail of it; suffice it to say that yes, this audit report compiled by Ernest and Young has been submitted to cabinet, I have read it, I can say this that it does not focus on the Ministry of Education, there are some queries but we’re not the main problem area as identified in the report and it is the subject of an on-going and very intense discussion within cabinet. In fact it was discussed in cabinet yesterday and it hasn’t been resolved yet but we need to resolve it in the interests of all Zimbabwean children and the people generally.

Guma: Well Zimbabwe that was Education Minister Senator David Coltart joining us on part two of this Question Time interview. Senator Coltart thank you so much for your time.

Coltart: Thank you Lance, good night.

To listen to the programme: http://swradioafrica.streamuk.com/swradioafrica_archive/qt010611.wma

Feedback can be sent to lance@swradioafrica.com http://twitter.com/lanceguma or http://www.facebook.com/lance.guma

SW Radio Africa – on line 24 hours a day at www.swradioafrica.com and daily broadcasts on 4880 kHz in the 60m band between 7 - 9 pm Zimbabwe time. T witter : Facebook : RSS feedYou can now get SW Radio Africa on the Tunein Radio smart phone app.

Has Jonathan Moyo forgotten – ‘Britain is not the solution’?

By Clifford Chitupa Mashiri, 14th June 2011

Due to public demand expressed via e-mails, I am back to comment on Jonathan
Moyo’s latest spin project - his reported call for talks between Zimbabwe
and Britain on the Zimbabwean crisis. All of a sudden, the perennial
anti-British rhetoric has been shelved and cricket diplomacy is being mooted
as the suitable midwife for a revival of Anglo-Zimbabwean relations. How
imaginative of the serial flip-flopper!

“… I think it is safe to say there have been attempts by both sides to reach
out and there have been some re-engagements and there have been attempts to
solve things on the cricket front, which would be one useful entry point”,
Jonathan Moyo said (The Guardian 12/06/11).

What is strange about Moyo’s suggestion of the so-called re-engagement with
Britain is that Zimbabwe and Britain already have diplomatic relations at
full ambassadorial level and there is no problem, at least for now.
Curiously, Moyo suggests cricket as a useful entry point. It’s not clear if
his suggestion of cricket was influenced by the proximity of the Zimbabwe
cricket grounds to State House.

If someone in the opposition had suggested their party or leader to
re-engage the British government, there is no doubt the move would have been
seen as aimed at regime change therefore ‘treasonous’! Considering the fact
that the definition of treason in Zimbabwe only applies to the opposition,
it’s not surprising that Jonathan Moyo has immunity to suggest what he would
not want the opposition to ever dream of. Even watching recorded BBC and
AlJazeera coverage of the Jasmine Revolutions in North Africa can see you
behind bars without access to a lawyer as long you are in the opposition.

But, has Jonathan Moyo forgotten what he wrote in July 2006? In an opinion
piece that was bravely entitled ‘Mugabe’s mess doesn’t require British
solution’, Zimbabwe Independent, 08/07/06, Moyo did not mince his words, but
amazingly today he is Mugabe’s spin doctor extraordinaire and has never been
arrested for political offences.

In the stinging attack Jonathan Moyo said that one major outcome of the
Banjul meeting between Mugabe and the then UN Secretary General Kofi Annan
was that ‘Mugabe’s quest for self-preservation has now taken him back to the
colonial trappings of the 1979 Lancaster Talks’ He said that the mediation
between Zimbabwe and Britain by former Tanzanian president Benjamin Mkapa
‘smarks of colonial history repeating itself – but now as farce.’

The controversial Zimbabwean politician believed Mugabe hoped to use Mkapa’s
mediation to initiate direct settlement talks with Britain as Zimbabwe’s
former colonial power: ‘and this after 26 years of the much-touted
sovereignty and self-determination’ during which Zanu-pf has been rallying
the nation to become “our own liberators”.
To Jonathan Moyo, the Banjul Meeting had a decidedly colonial outcome in
that Mugabe used it to reveal his yearnings for a British solution to the
Zimbabwean crisis.

‘He now wants the world to believe his Zanu-pf propaganda that the cause of
the Zimbabwean crisis is a bilateral dispute between Zimbabwe and Britain
that started after the land reform programme in 2000”, Moyo said, describing
Mugabe as ‘principally a colonial politician steeped in an outdated
nationalistic outlook.’

The former independent MP for Tstholotsho was very critical of African
leaders with a ‘mendacious nationalist outlook’ which makes them to always
blame their former colonial powers for every major ill in their national
politics or economy while accepting no responsibility whatsoever for their
own policies or lack thereof. That is why such leaders come across as
opposition politicians when they are actually in power’.

Moyo said, ‘this perhaps explains why Mugabe has remained incorrigibly
unable to understand that the cause of the Zimbabwean crisis is deeply
national and urgently requires a national solution from and by Zimbabweans
supported by the international community.’

Few would disagree with the assertion that the Zimbabwean crisis requires a
national solution, however in typical fashion Jonathan Moyo has changed
again, and has a new project after the failed anti-sanctions 2 million
signatures campaign. He is now on a new mission to convince the whole world
that the solution is Britain, probably to justify the ‘puppets tag’ which
Zanu-pf attaches on the opposition by preferring to talk with ‘their
handlers’ rather than with them albeit holding weekly cabinet meetings with
their coalition partners.

On that basis, it is safe to say that Jonathan Moyo changes faster than
traffic lights. For example in a South African radio interview which was
aired on 9th June 2011 Jonathan Moyo claimed Western sanctions were causing
unemployment in Zimbabwe, but he forgot that in 2006 he wrote an article
entitled “Sanctions – an empty propaganda line!”

In the article Moyo said: ‘For example, Mugabe claimed, as part of his new
propaganda line, that the economic suffering in the country is being caused
by so-called illegal economic sanctions imposed by the European Union, the
United States and some white members of the Commonwealth.’ The MP claimed
Zanu PF leadership ‘is now brain dead, hence its policy delinquency’
although he denied criticising Zanu-pf leaders and its policies in the radio
interview.

How will the professor of contradictions reconcile his declaration that
‘Zimbabwe will never be a colony again’ but is calling for talks with
Britain, forgetting that he once said Britain is not the solution to the
Zimbabwean crisis? So, is Jonathan Moyo a serial denialist?

Clifford Chitupa Mashiri, Political Analyst, London,
zimanalysis2009@gmail.com

Welshman Ncube comments on SADC meeting

Welshman Ncube, as posted on Facebook, Monday 13 June 2011, at 17:22:

My responses to a number of questions on twitter and Facebook re the
sadc summit. There were many questions and I cannot answer them
individually but I have tried my best to respond to them with the
following:

First of all it is unfortunate and regrettable that some parties
have chosen to grand stand and politick by trying to spin and
deliberately falsify the facts to suit their goals and egos. Only
the honesty and the truth will take our country forward on these
issues and in general.

The second point is to split the matters regarding the Livingstone
TROIKA report. There was the narrative to the report and the
decisions made in the report.

What was "noted" at the SADC summit was the factual foundation
(narrative) of the Livingstone TROIKA report. This is because ZANU
PF objected to the fact that they were the only ones that
perpetrated violence. This however was overtaken by the facilitators
report in which both ZANU PF and MDCT were deemed to have been
perpetrators of violence by the facilitators findings. The
facilitators report as I said before was itself accepted and
endorsed.

That said the decisions of the Livingstone TROIKA report are not in
dispute and were clearly endorsed. These for the record include the
following:

1) A review of the implementation of the GPA

2) The drawing up of a roadmap to elections

3) The setting up of a three person panel to monitor (with JOMIC)
the implementation of the GPA

4) For the parties to desist from violence, intimidation and hate speech

Therefore for all practical purposes the decisions of the summit
have been endorsed

There were further questions regarding what the election roadmap
contains. It includes the following:

1) Regarding the constitution making process, it must be completed,
a report written and negotiated, a referendum passed to Parliament
and gazetted to become law

2) Regarding electoral reform. There is already an amendment agreed
to the Electoral Act, it must be implemented. This will deal with
matters such as how to handle electoral violence, the compilation of
a new voters roll based on polling stations, auditing the counting
and tallying of votes by an independent firm. Results of the
elections must be announced within 5 days (I will try to post an
electronic version of this Bill on my Facebook page later this week)

3) The human rights bill

4) Media reform and implementation. This includes the appointment of
a new Board for the ZBC. A new board of trustees for the Mass Media
Trust which includes the Herald newspaper and other state
newspapers. The issue of radio and TV licences to new applicants.

5) Other legislative reforms which include the above

6) The strict application of the Rule of Law

7) Full recognition of the freedom of assembly

I will try and post the electronic version of the election roadmap
by the end of the week

Zanu-pf in semantic war over SADC communiqué

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

Clifford Chitupa Mashiri, 14th June 2011

An unfortunate propaganda campaign is raging in Harare over the wording of
the Communique of the recently concluded SADC Summit held in Sandton, Joburg
over the weekend. Zanu-pf is engaged in an unnecessary semantics war about
just one word ‘noted’!

For unclear reasons, Zanu-pf has chosen to split hairs over the word ‘noted’
instead of ‘endorsed’ which was used in the communiqué in paragraph 22 where
it says:

‘Summit noted the decision of the Organ Troika Summit held in Livingstone,
Zambia in March 2011’.

Regardless of the interpretation one prefers, the meaning of the two words
in conference jargon is the same. A dictionary meaning of ‘endorsed’ is
‘formally supported by public statement,’ while, ‘noted’ means ‘to make
particular mention of in a writing.’

At the end of the day the two words mean the same. In other words the
Sandton Summit noted the resolutions which were endorsed by the Livingstone
Troika Summit in March. The Livingstone resolutions were about the need to
stop state-sponsored violence on the opposition; the need to stop hate
speech and to create an even playing field or conducive environment for
holding free and fair elections.

If you work in an office and write a memo to your boss who then says I have
noted your memo during a staff meeting, you don’t have to follow up with the
boss asking what they are going to do about it, unless you need a reprimand.

However, for Zanu-pf to say the Summit rejected the Livingstone Resolutions
is only wishful thinking or burying one’s head in the sand like an ostrich.
There is no reference to rejection of anything anywhere in the communiqué,
therefore the Zimbabwe State media is misleading the public.

Clifford Chitupa Mashiri, Political Analyst, London,
zimanalysis2009@gmail.com

Bill Watch 23/2011 of 13th June [Human Rights Commission Bill Gazetted]

BILL WATCH 23/2011

[13th May 2011]

Human Rights Commission Bill gazetted

The Human Rights Commission Bill was gazetted on Friday 10th June 2011. [Bill available on request from veritas@mango.zw] The gazetting came the day before the SADC Extraordinary Summit on Zimbabwe in South Africa. [Note: One of the Roadmap to Elections items agreed by the GPA political parties is the enactment of the Human Rights Commission Bill.]

Under normal Parliamentary procedure the Bill is now automatically referred to the House of Assembly portfolio committee on Justice, Legal Affairs, Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs. The portfolio committee must promptly consider the Bill and prepare a report for presentation at the Bill’s Second Reading in the House. The committee has the power to call for evidence from the public on any Bill, and it is expected to do so in this case, and to hold public hearings for this important Bill. In terms of Standing Orders the responsible Minister, the Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs, is permitted to present the Bill to either the Senate or the House of Assembly 14 days after its gazetting so the Bill could receive its First Reading as early as Tuesday 28th June. Interested individuals and organisations should therefore waste no time in presenting their views to the Portfolio Committee – and, if they believe any of the Bill’s provisions infringe the Constitution – to the Parliamentary Legal Committee.

There have been huge delays on this long awaited Bill. [A Human Rights Commission Bill was promised by President Mugabe when he opened the second session of the present Parliament in October 2009. The session came to an end in July 2010 without the Bill having been presented. The promise was repeated in the President’s speech opening the present session in July 2010.] Whether the Bill can be passed before the looming end of the present parliamentary session, if parliamentary and public hearing are held, is doubtful; and it would be very unsatisfactory if it was fast tracked. It is, however, hoped that now, with SADC pressure, the Bill will go through early in the next Parliamentary session which usually starts towards the end of July.

Background

The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission is established by section 100R of the Constitution, which:

· provides for the Commission’s size [chairperson and eight members, four of whom must be women] and method of appointment [by the President from a list of nominees submitted by Parliament’s Committee on Standing Rules and Orders]

· outlines the Commission’s functions [promotion of human rights awareness and development, monitoring and assessing human rights observance in Zimbabwe, investigating alleged violations of human rights, and assisting the Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs to prepare reports on Zimbabwe’s compliance with international human rights agreements to which Zimbabwe is a party]

· provides for the Commission’s information-gathering powers and its interaction with the Public Protector’s office

· authorises the enactment of an Act of Parliament to elaborate on the Commission’s powers of investigation and to empower it to secure or provide appropriate redress for violations of human rights and injustice.

Section 100R was enacted as part of Constitution Amendment No. 19, which came into force on 13th February 2009. [The section replaced a previous constitutional provision for a Human Rights Commission, dating from 2005, that had not been implemented by the previous Government.]

Delays in appointing Commission members The setting-up of the Commission has been beset by delay. Parliament took its time completing its procedures for the selection of nominees for appointment to the Commission by the President. Its list only went to the President’s Office on 12th October 2009. The names of the individuals to be appointed were announced just before Christmas 2009, but the members were only sworn in by President Mugabe at State House on Wednesday 31st March 2010. At that point a mistake came to light: there were only three women members instead of the minimum of four women required by the Constitution; one of the male members later resigned to allow this error to be corrected, but the appointment of the fourth woman member has still not been announced.

Commission still not operational Although Commission members were sworn in on 31st March 2010 the Commission has not commenced operations. The reasons given were:

· it was not properly constituted. Once the unconstitutional extra man had resigned there was a vacancy. But the fourth woman, although she has been selected, has not yet been appointed, and she will have to be sworn in by the President. It is hoped that in future a vacancy on the Commission does slow down its work.

· the Government’s failure to put in place an “enabling Act”, i.e., an Act of Parliament to fill the gaps left by the bare bones of the Constitutional provision. Although there are enough guidelines in section 100R of the Constitution to enable the Commission to work out its brief and make plans, the enabling Act will cover such practical matters as the Commission’s legal status, the remuneration and conditions of service of commission members, its supporting staff and finances, procedures for carrying out investigations and so on.

In the meantime the Commissioners have been meeting informally and travelling to other countries to see how their Human Rights Commissions operate.

To Prevent Further Delays

There is need to lobby to ensure that:

· the enabling Bill goes through Parliament – with the best possible provisions, taking into account the polarisation in the country – this means making submissions to Parliament and attending public hearings and making submissions

· at the same time a sufficient budget is found to enable the Commission to operate in practice – instead of just being a paper tiger as a sop to SADC.

Summary and Comment on the Bill to Follow

Veritas makes every effort to ensure reliable information, but cannot take legal responsibility for information supplied

Southern African Nations Urge Faster Progress on Zimbabwe Power Sharing

Zuma stands up to Mugabe during SADC summit