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Zanu-PF shoring
up army illegally - violent poll expected
http://www.news24.com
2012-06-18 15:47
Jan
Raath
Harare - More that 10 000 people have been hired
"illegally" in Zimbabwe by
ministries run by President Robert Mugabe's
Zanu-PF party, including those
responsible for the army and police, Finance
Minister Tendai Biti has
warned.
Biti is tasked with
implementing austerity measures, as the southern African
country tries to
dig itself out of a deep economic hole.
But the minister, who is
a member of the former opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) -
Zanu-PF's partner in government - has had trouble
reigning in ministries run
by Mugabe's party.
"The two chief culprits are the ministry of
defence, which employed 4 600
since January, and the ministry of home
affairs which has recruited 1 200
personnel without Treasury approval," Biti
told Parliament last week.
The addition of new recruits was
exacerbating the acute shortage of food at
army barracks and adding to a
wage bill Zimbabwe could not afford, he said.
"Even if they are
'illegal,' they are now part of the force," said Biti.
But their
recruitment has raised even deeper concerns in the country where
polls have
been fraught with violence over the past decade.
"All the
indications are that the military is preparing for elections and
for a
violent election, like there was in 2008," said Dewa Manhinga, a South
Africa-based political analyst for Crisis Coalition, an international think
tank.
The military has in recent months vocally supported
Zanu-PF and dismissed
the MDC, which is led by Mugabe's main rival in 2008
and current prime
minister, Morgan Tsvangirai.
MDC not
allowed
Last week the army's Chief of Staff Major-General Trust
Mugoba declared at a
public parade: "We will not even allow them (the MDC)
to go into office."
When Biti at a ministerial meeting last week
refused to pay the wages of the
new army recruits, Defence Minister Emmerson
Mnangagwa reportedly threatened
him with violence.
The MDC
has been the target of state-sponsored violence in the past.
Tsvangirai was
arrested and severely beaten by police in the run-up to the
2008
election.
MDC supporters were among the more than 200 people
reportedly killed by
security forces, in what was widely regarded as a
fraudulent poll that saw
Mugabe return to office for a sixth
term.
The 88-year-old who became prime minister at independence
in 1980 and later
moved into the presidency, is widely expected to run for
office in the next
election.
"The country has already started
recording an increase in cases of
politically-motivated violence and we must
rely on the likes of Mnangagwa,
as a senior government official to denounce
unruly behaviour," said an MDC
statement.
"The defence
minister must know that there are other means of solving
challenges other
than by threats and intimidation."
- SAPA
Analysts
warn of bloodbath in Mugabe's last election
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com
by Tendai Kamhungira 21 hours
16 minutes ago
HARARE - Rival political parties and analysts have warned
that Zimbabwe
could plunge into chaos and bloodbath if the military heeds
Zanu PF plans to
have them campaign on its behalf in the next
elections.
The warning comes against Friday’s statements by Zanu PF that
soldiers will
campaign on their behalf in next elections “because the MDC
had the backing
of trade unions and other groups” disliked by the liberation
movement.
President Robert Mugabe has been pushing for a snap poll
without
implementing reforms he agreed with his coalition partners — Morgan
Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara.
“It is a ploy not only to bring
soldiers into politics but to ensure that it
(Zanu PF) will win the next
elections. Soldiers are trained to kill. If they
are to campaign for Zanu PF
they will do what they know best and that is
killing and inflicting pain,”
warned University of Zimbabwe lecturer and
political analyst, John
Makumbe.
Makumbe told the Daily News on Sunday the idea by Zanu PF to use
the army to
campaign for them was unconstitutional and should not be
allowed.
“If soldiers are allowed to campaign for Zanu PF, there will be
instability
and the situation will be worse than the 2008 scenario and
before we know
it, we will be having GNU number two,” said
Makumbe.
On Friday, Zanu PF secretary for administration, Didymus Mutasa,
said his
party would not have problems with the military campaigning for
them.
“Personally I do not have a problem with the military choosing to
campaign
for a party of their choice. It is common knowledge that trade
unions (ZCTU)
campaign for the MDC and should we then say they should not do
that.
“These people (military) fought with us during the liberation
struggle, so
why should we discriminate against them. We cannot stop them
from
campaigning,” Mutasa said.
His remarks are consistent with
findings by a broader civic society
coalition — Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition
— which released a report in June
last year warning about military
deployment in provinces to prop up Zanu PF.
In the unsettling dossier
titled: “The Military Factor in Zimbabwe’s
Political and Electoral Affairs”
— which followed three months of extensive
investigations — Crisis in
Zimbabwe Coalition alleged that the military had
demanded, and Zanu PF had
agreed, that at least 25 percent of all
legislative seats that the party
will contest for must be reserved for
serving or retired military
personnel.
“The military plans to deploy senior commanders from either
the Zimbabwe
Defence Forces (ZDF) or the Central Intelligence Organisation
(CIO) in each
of Zimbabwe’s 59 districts to co-ordinate the fight to retain
Mugabe in
power.
“Information from military sources is that more than
80 000 youth militia,
war veterans and soldiers will be deployed across the
country in an army-led
drive to ensure victory for Zanu PF candidate,
President Mugabe in the next
elections,” read part of the report handed to
Sadc leaders last year in
Johannesburg.
Constitutional law expert and
public law lecturer at the University of
Zimbabwe, Lovemore Madhuku, did not
see anything wrong with Mutasa’s
comments.
“What matters is that
elections should be free and fair. Anyone can campaign
for any political
party,” Madhuku told the Daily News on Sunday.
He said the law was very
clear that soldiers and police officers are not
allowed to campaign for
political parties but said they can only be dealt
with according to the
statutes governing their work.
Ever since Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai appeared on Zimbabwe’s political
scene, the country’s belligerent
security leaders, Augustine Chihuri,
Constantine Chiwenga, including the
late Vitalis Zvinavashe, have openly
shown their support for Zanu PF and its
octogenarian leader.
“We are aware of a group within Zanu PF… seeking to
set up the party against
the army. Since our formation, the MDC has never
taken a stance to fight the
military and we will not do that. Our fight is
not against the army, but
institutions and individuals who are against the
emancipation of our
people,” MDC spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora
said.
“It means Zanu PF wants to force certain professionals of the army
to
campaign for them against their conscience. Zanu PF has realised that it
has
no structures and capacity to win against MDC. It has ceased to be a
campaign of Zanu PF against MDC but the army versus MDC,” said
Mwonzora.
“On the diplomatic side Mugabe has seen that he has lost, so he
now wants to
unleash violence. We urge every right-thinking Zimbabwean to
reject that and
the intervention of the international community. There is a
high possibility
of the army clashing with civilians and there will be
bloodshed,” Mwonzora
warned.
He further said Zanu PF’s moves were
“unconstitutional, unlawful and
unreasonable”.
Secretary-general of
the smaller MDC, Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga
scoffed at
Mutasa.
“It’s a myth. As far as I know they will be violating the Global
Political
Agreement,” said Mushonga.
“The army is not a homogenous
group. There are a lot of young people in the
army who want change. No one
owns the army. The army is made from various
people from different political
backgrounds. It will not succeed,” said
Mushonga.
Analysts warned
that the elections won’t be free and fair once the military
stepped into
campaigning for Zanu PF.
In the run up to the 2008 Presidential run-off,
at least 200 MDC supporters
were killed in the bloodbath that followed a
retributive campaign launched
by alleged war veterans and soldiers in the
political hotbeds of Mashonaland
East and Central, respectively. - Daily
News
Battle
lines drawn as COPAC negotiations begin
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tichaona Sibanda
18
June 2012
Talks between negotiators from parties in the GPA to conclude
the drafting
of the new constitution have begun in Nyanga, amid hope that
the latest
negotiations will yield some positive results.
The indaba
in Nyanga is aimed at resolving all outstanding issues in the
drafting of a
new constitution, whose process has taken over three years and
left many
Zimbabweans frustrated.
The country’s rival parties have been stuck on
certain contentious issues in
the draft, despite pleas from NGO’s and civil
society organisations for a
quick resolution to the crisis.
It is
hoped that these negotiations at a secluded lodge in Nyanga will yield
a
breakthrough on the crucial issues. The country’s current constitution was
drawn up in the run-up to independence from Britain in 1980 and has been
revised repeatedly, giving Robert Mugabe sweeping powers.
After the
constitutional outreach program Zimbabweans have said they want a
charter
that would reform how their country is run following decades of
abuses by
the former ruling ZANU PF government.
A highly placed source in the MDC-T
told SW Radio Africa on Monday that the
six party negotiators, who are the
management committee of COPAC reviewing
the contentious draft constitution,
are expected to agree on key issues.
COPAC officials from the three sides
of coalition government had mainly
differed on the proposal for a less
powerful president, the devolution of
power and dual citizenship.
A
Harare based political analyst was less optimistic, convinced that ZANU PF
wants to collapse COPAC and declare a deadlock.
‘No good news will
come from Nyanga. ZANU PF is digging in, the securocrats
have Mugabe by the
throat. There will be very little, if any, compromise
from ZANU PF,’ the
analyst said.
Constitutional reform was part of wide-ranging deals
reached under the
power-sharing agreement to avoid a repeat of bloody
clashes in the country.
If it emerges that there is a breakthrough, the
parliamentary select
committee panel will to hand its report to a committee
of experts on the
constitution, which in turn will hand it to parliament
before being
submitted to a referendum, most likely by September this year.
SADC
urged to ‘safeguard’ regional human rights court
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Alex
Bell
18 June 2012
Leading Southern African legal rights groups have
called on regional
governments to safeguard the still suspended SADC
Tribunal, and to fully
reinstate the court with a strengthened human rights
mandate.
The court was suspended more than a year ago for a 12 month
review, in what
was described as a serious blow for the rule of law in
Southern Africa and
for the protection of human rights. The suspension was
also slammed for
appearing to side with the Robert Mugabe regime, which was
held in contempt
by that court for ignoring a 2008 ruling on the unlawful
land grab campaign.
The review process is now being finalised, with
regional justice ministers
finishing a draft amendment to the Tribunal
Protocol, which is set to
dictate some key changes in the role and functions
of the court. These
recommendations will be handed to the SADC Council of
Ministers ahead of a
SADC summit in Mozambique in August, where it is hoped
the court will
finally be reinstated.
Three top legal groups have
since urged the ministers to safeguard the role
of the Tribunal by agreeing
on recommendations that “protect the core
mandate of the Tribunal and ensure
it is finally allowed to function again.
The SADC Lawyers Association,
the Southern African Litigation Centre (SALC)
and the International
Commission of Jurists (ICJ) made a joint submission to
the SADC ministers
last week, reminding them of their duty to protect the
Tribunal.
SALC’s Lloyd Kuveya told SW Radio Africa on Monday that
there are key issues
that are set to determine the whole region’s future in
terms of human rights
and the rule of law. He explained that these issues,
which are feared to
become recommendations to the Council of Ministers, will
drastically change
the mandate of the Tribunal.
Kuveya explained
these changes include blocking access to the court to
individuals, NGOs and
private companies, and also removing the court’s human
rights
mandate.
“We want a Tribunal that is accessible to all and SADC should
not diminish
the human rights jurisdiction of the court. In fact that should
strengthen
this mandate,” Kuveya said.
He added: “If these changes go
ahead then SADC leaders will have shown that
they are only paying lip
service to the rule of law, so there are serious
implications.”
According to its current mandate the court is meant to
provide access to
legal recourse to all SADC citizens, when the courts in
their own countries
fail them. It is also supposed to be a neutral legal
ground for citizens to
take grievances against their own countries
governments.
This was the case for the late former Chegutu farmer Mike
Campbell and his
son-in-law Ben Freeth, who took the Mugabe regime before
the court for the
land grab campaign. The court ruled this campaign was
unlawful and ordered
the government to compensate farmers who lost land and
protect the remaining
farmers from further attack.
None of this
happened and the Tribunal repeatedly held the regime in
contempt for
ignoring the 2008 ruling. But instead of protecting the
jurisdiction of the
court, which was enshrined in the SADC Treaty, regional
leaders chose to
suspend it instead.
Zanu
PF battles to portray a fit, energetic Mugabe
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com/
7 hours 54 minutes
ago
Zanu PF is battling to portray President Robert Mugabe as fit
and energetic
to represent the party in the next election by having him
appear in public
more often as depicted in his schedule last
week.
Mugabe, the Zanu PF presidential candidate, had a busy schedule
last week
that saw him officiating at four different occasions within four
consecutive
days in Harare, Darwendale and Mutare.
In the four days,
Mugabe officiated at the Science Technology and Innovation
Policy Launch in
Harare on Wednesday before officiating at a police pass-out
parade at Morris
Depot on Thursday.
The 88-year-old leader was in Darwendale on Friday
where he addressed the
Zanu PF Womens League before travelling to Mutare to
open a
Chinese-built hotel.
On Saturday, Mugabe was at the Harare
International Conference Centre where
he addressed the Day of the African
Child commemorations together with Prime
Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai.
But analysts yesterday said Zanu PF was overworking Mugabe in
a bid to
convince the electorate that he could stand the heat, come election
time.
Its a desperate attempt to portray him publicly as someone with a
lot of
energy and they know the biggest handicap is that he is viewed as a
frail
and old man, hence the strategy to have him appear in public more. The
same
has been happening to the First Lady as seen in the State media and all
is
meant to portray the First Family as fit and full of energy, Charles
Mangongera said.
Its almost like (Barack) Obama and (John) McCain
(during the 2008 United
States presidential election campaign) where they
realised age was not on
McCains side and roped in Sarah Palin as his running
mate and what happened
was disaster, Mangongera said. Last week, Mugabe told
his the Zanu PF Womens
League that he was fit and took a swipe at those
saying he was dying.
They are saying Mugabe is going to die in 2013, but
why should I die? I am
as fit as a fiddle, I am still very far from it,
Mugabe said.
Another analyst, Ernest Mudzengi, said: He is now in a
campaign mode now
that elections are looming. He is trying to market himself
as a caring
leader. This will not work because the majority of Zimbabweans
no longer
have confidence in Zanu PF. - NewsDay
Mugabe
arrives in Brazil for Rio +20 summit
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com
By Staff Reporter 2 hours 18 minutes
ago
President Robert Mugabe has arrived in Brazil to attend the
ongoing United
Nations Conference on Sustainable Development.
Mugabe,
who is being accompanied his wife Grace Mugabe; Environment and
Natural
Resources Management Minister, Francis Nhema; Foreign Affairs
Minister,
Simbarashe Mbengegwi and other senior government officials, were
welcomed at
the Galeo International Airport by the Zimbabwean Ambassador to
Brazil,
Thomas Bvuma and senior Brazilian government officials.
Rio +20, a major
international environmental conference underway in Brazil,
provides an
opportunity for the global community to renew its commitment to
promote
sustainable development and devise strategies of addressing
challenges such
as climate change.
For three days from June 20, many world leaders and
thousands of people from
all over the globe will meet in Rio de Janeiro in
the hope of reaching an
agreement on how to achieve sustainable
development.
For three days from June 20, many world leaders and
thousands of people from
all over the globe will meet in Rio de Janeiro in
the hope of reaching an
agreement on how to achieve sustainable
development.
It is hoped that the conference will produce or lay the
groundwork for a set
of sustainable development goals that can be adopted
worldwide.
These will set targets for consumption and production and put
in place a
system of monitoring to ensure that the goals are
met.
According to reports, countries are expected to sign up to 10
separate
goals.
These could include a deal on protecting oceans, the
establishment of a
powerful global agency for the environment, financial
support to encourage
sustainability for poorer nations and the appointment
of an ecological high
commissioner.
Southern Africa, which has been
preparing for the summit, agreed to be
guided by the Africa Consensus
Statement to Rio that was adopted by the
Ministers of Environment and
approved by the African Union Summit held early
this year.
For Africa
and Zimbabwe included, the position is very clear.
They are calls for
developed countries to fulfil previous commitments and
pledges to help
Africa's efforts in achieving sustainable development.
Africa also wants
the conference to adopt concrete measures, supported by
adequate means of
implementation that would ensure accelerated
implementation of sustainable
development commitments.
In an interview, Environment and Natural
Resources Management Minister,
Francis Nhema said developing countries,
which are the worst affected by
climate change, expect the developed world
to commit to the second Kyto
Protocol on the reduction of green house gases
since the first protocol
expired.
The world is facing urgent global
challenges ranging from access to energy,
water and food, to climate change,
overfishing, polluted oceans, and
unemployment and widening
inequalities.
The historic UN Conference on Sustainable Development, also
known as Rio+20,
is being held 20 years after a similar earth summit in the
same city and is
an opportunity for government leaders and thousands of
other participants to
map how the world adopts policies and measures that
can promote prosperity
and reduce poverty while ensuring environmental
protection.
Minister
confirms army ownership of diamond mine
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Alex Bell
18 June
2012
A Zimbabwean government minister has confirmed that an army firm has
a 40%
stake in one of the most lucrative concessions in Chiadzwa, in a clear
admittance of the military’s direct involvement in the Zim diamond mining
industry.
The country’s Deputy Mines Minister told parliament last
week that the
Zimbabwe Defence Industries (ZDI) owns 40% of the Anjin mining
firm, which
is a joint venture with the Chinese. Although the ZDI is, on
paper, a
private company, all the shares in the company are held by the ZANU
PF
controlled Ministry of Defence.
The state owned Zimbabwe Mining
Development Corporation (ZMDC) owns a
further ten percent of Anjin, with the
remaining half of the shareholding
being held by the Chinese Defence
Industries.
Minister Gift Chimanikire told parliament that there was
nothing sinister
about the ZDI’s involvement in diamond mining, and that
“Anjin itself is a
defence industry company that is owned by the
Chinese.”
But Chimanikire’s admittances come amid fresh reports that the
army, along
with police and private security, is still leading a violent
campaign
against diamond panners at the Chiadzwa alluvial fields. According
to a
report in the UK’s Sunday Times newspaper, witness have described
continued
shootings, beatings and the use of dogs by soldiers, police and
private
guards against illegal miners at the controversial
fields.
One victim described being shot in the face by soldiers while
four friends
were murdered and others beaten after digging for diamonds near
a
concession. The man claimed he had been recruited to dig for stones by the
soldiers who had later killed his colleagues and disfigured him for life,
apparently in an attempt to eradicate witnesses to their
brutality.
“We agreed to share the proceeds,” the victim was quoted as
saying. “They
said for every five diamonds that we get, we give them one or
give them
two.”
“But when we were digging there was a change of
officers, soldiers that were
not used to seeing us. They came to surround us
and started firing on us,
using live bullets, and as we were running away
they then fired on us using
big guns. There was no warning
given.”
Human rights groups and campaigners have for years warned about
the
involvement of the military in diamond mining operations, after the army
led
the ‘clean up’ campaign in Chiadzwa in 2008. That ‘Operation Hakudzokwi’
saw
soldiers on the ground and in helicopter gunships opening fire on
defenceless diamond panners, leaving at least 200 dead and many more
injured.
This violence saw Zimbabwe being barred from international
diamond trading
by the industry watchdog, the Kimberley Process (KP). The
group ordered
Zimbabwe to reform and meet the minimum standards of
international trade,
including demilitarising the diamond fields.
But
this never happened, as Chimanikire’s admittance in Parliament last week
has
shown. And yet Zimbabwe was still cleared for sales by the KP last
year.
Alan Martin from the human rights group Partnership Africa Canada
(PAC) told
SW Radio Africa on Monday that the reports of violence are a
serious
concern, but not surprising, explaining that “we have warned
repeatedly that
the Anjin firm is a military to military
arrangement.”
“We have been hearing the reports of violence for a long
time and it really
highlights the deficiencies of the KP’s ‘conflict
diamond’ mandate. The
majority of abuses in diamond mining, not just in
Zimbabwe, are no longer
committed by rebel groups, but by state security,”
Martin said.
The KP has been urged to make key reforms and expand its
human rights
mandate, but so far there is little sign that Zimbabwe will be
brought to
task over the ongoing violence.
“The KP has lost the
political appetite to deal with Zimbabwe head on. Now
they just want to try
prevent future incidents like Zimbabwe from
happening,” Martin said.
84 Abandon
Main MDC To Join Smaller Faction
http://www.radiovop.com
Nompumelelo Moyo Bulawayo, June
18, 2012 - Eighty-four members of the
mainstream Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) led by Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai have abandoned the
party to join the smaller MDC faction.
The members, all from Bulawayo
Makokoba Constituency, said they had decided
to cross the floor to join
Professor Welshman Ncube's led MDC because they
had been insulted by Deputy
Prime Minister Thokozani Khupe, the incumbent
Member of Parliament for the
area.
They also accused Khuphe of causing divisions and supporting Zanu
(PF)
without the knowledge of the party and its leadership.
They also
alleged Khuphe of neglecting the constituency and causing violence
prior to
MCD-T 2011 congress in Bulawayo.
Former MDC-T ward chairperson, Stella
Takawira, said Khuphe had lost respect
for the electorate which voted for
her.
“Hon Khuphe is a disgrace to Makokoba Constituency, she dines with
Zanu (PF)
members...” said Takawira.
Takawira alleged Khuphe had told
the people at Stanley Square that political
leaders come and go and that she
had called them names. In addition,
Takawira said, Khuphe, had failed to
attend rallies held in her constituency
including the Bulawayo Youth
Assembly Day of the Africa Child
Commemorations.
“As we speak right
now, she has told us that she will not be standing as MP
for Makokoba
Constituency in the next election because she has found a
better
constituency and then you call that person a leader. More people are
yet to
defect from MDC-T because there is poor leadership that lacks
democracy,”
added Takawira.
A youth who also defected to MDC, Simbarashe Chakawuya,
claimed they had
found a Zanu (PF's) flag with the party's slogan on it in
Khuphe's car.
"We got the photo of that flag in Hon Khuphe’s white Benz
and we sent it to
President Tsvangirai but nothing was
done."
Welcoming the defectors, who were issued with party cards and
T-Shirts, MDC
Bulawayo Provincial Chairperson, Oscar Ncube, said his party
is welcoming
them in good faith as they have come back home.
“We
welcome you. l therefore urge you to behave, go and register to vote so
that
you remove stooge politicians and replace them with the people of your
choice. Elections will be held next year in June or after June as per SADC
(Southern African Development Community) resolutions and there is time for
you to register to vote so that you develop your constituency as the new
constitution will guarantee devolution of power,” said Ncube.
Chipangano’s
days are numbered: MDC
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
Written by Xolisani Ncube, Staff Writer
Monday,
18 June 2012 15:21
HARARE - The mainstream MDC has warned shadowy
Zanu PF-aligned militia
group, Chipangano saying its days are numbered in
the political hotbed of
Mbare.
The known, untouchable and dangerous
group whose trademark is violence has
virtually taken over Harare’s busy and
densely populated suburb of Mbare.
MDC supporters have fallen victim to
the ruthless antics of Chipangano, an
outfit believed to be sponsored by
powerful individuals in the rank and file
of Zanu PF.
Addressing
party supporters, mainly youths, who had gathered to commemorate
the Day of
the African Child on Saturday, Nelson Chamisa, MDC’s national
organising
secretary said the net was closing in on members of Chipangano.
He said
his party’s leadership in collaboration with Harare police were
closing in
on Chipangano members who in the past were left to roam freely
after their
violent escapades.
The violent outfit has literally taken over business
in Mbare where vendors
are even expected to pay homage to Chipangano to
secure their vending stalls
at Mbare Musika and Mupedzanhamo flea
markets.
Other businesspeople believed to be sympathetic to the MDC like
Sten
Zvorwadza, have been threatened and told that Mbare was a no-go area
for
people who do not support Zanu PF.
“There is no place in this
country that is a no-go area for anyone, I want
to tell you that we are
working with the police and soon, we will disband
that group called
Chipangano,” Chamisa said.
He told youths who had come to celebrate the
Day of the African Child
running under the theme “The rights of children
with disabilities: The duty
to protect, respect, promote and fulfil,” that
members of his party bore the
brunt of violence the most.
Chamisa
warned Chipangano saying the law would soon catch up with them.
“Go and
tell them that as the MDC, we have an agreement to free Zimbabweans,
ivo
varikupangana, isusu tiri pachirangano (they are agreeing but we also
have
an agreement). They risk injuring each other while we fix the future of
this
country,” the youthful minister said.
He added: “We are very worried
about the plight of disabled youths, but we
are more worried of those who
are being disabled by Zanu PF’s violent
nature. This should not continue to
happen; God did not create us to be
disabled by Zanu PF."
“He created
us as hardworking people. We know that some are born disabled,
those are the
people we should care for and not those immobilised by
Chipangano or Zanu
PF.”
Zanu PF has since distanced itself from the violent group. The
party’s youth
leader Jim Kunaka who has been linked to Chipangano, professed
ignorance on
the existence of the group.
Last month, an interparty
implementation monitoring team formed to oversee
the performance of the
Global Political Agreement, (GPA) Jomic, declared
Chipangano a criminal gang
whose members should be arrested.
Tsvangirai
backed ZCTU wins Supreme Court battle
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com/
By Staff Reporter 1 hour
ago
HARARE - The bid by the Lovemore Matombo-led ZCTU faction to
hold on to the
labour organisation’s brand has hit a brick wall after the
Supreme Court
upheld the decision by High Court Judge, Justice Chinembiri
Bhunu in favour
of the George Nkiwane faction.
The two ZCTU factions
have been at each other’s throats following their
nasty split over
contentious elections which led to irreconcilable
differences.
This
Monday, the application by the Matombo-led faction contesting a High
Court
ruling over the control of ZCTU assets, properties and use of name was
heard
by a Supreme Court panel led by Deputy Chief Justice Luke Malaba.
The
Supreme Court panel of judges dismissed the application put forward by
the
Matombo-led faction with costs and upheld the High Court ruling.
The
Secretary General for the Nkiwane-led faction, Japhet Moyo said justice
had
prevailed and it was now time for the body to concentrate on its
mandate.
“Justice was long overdue and these squabbles were
disturbing us from
carrying out our mandate of serving workers' interests,
it is a welcome
development," said Moyo.
Secretary General for the
Matombo faction, Mr Raymond Majongwe, though
visibly upset by the new
development, was positive that another matter still
pending at the High
Court will go his group’s way.
“Winning the matter in court is another
issue but we are looking at
delivering to the workers and in as far as we
are concerned we still have
the larger chunk of workers so the issue of the
name is not serious,” said
Mr Majongwe.
The ZCTU split into two over
leadership wrangles last year and since then
the two groups have been
claiming to be in control of the labour movement.
Mangwana
raps 'undemocratic' Chombo
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
18/06/2012 00:00:00
by Staff
Reporter
PAUL Mangwana, the joint-chairman of the Constitution
Select Committee
(COPAC), has launched an astonishing attack on his Zanu PF
colleague and
Local Government Minister Ignatius Chombo, claiming his
interventions in
urban councils are “undemocratic and
anti-development”.
Mangwana was guest speaker at the Residents’ Summit
organised by the
Masvingo United Residents and Rate payers Association
(MURRA) over the
weekend.
The Chivi Central MP discussed the
constitutional provisions for local
government at the summit also attended
by the Bulawayo Progressive Residents
Association, Combined Harare Residents
Association, Gweru Residents
Association and Bulawayo
Agenda.
Mangwana said the Urban Council Act had given Chombo too much
powers which
he abuses through “wanton suspensions and firing of
mayors”.
He claimed Chombo’s interventions which have led to the
suspension of mayors
in Chitungwiza, Gwanda, Chinhoyi and Mutare were “not
in line with
international best practices”.
Chombo has justified his
meddling, insisting that he is protecting residents
from the excesses of
corrupt local authorities – most of which are run by
the MDC-T.
The
minister has faced accusations from the MDC-T and MDC that he uses the
power
to suspend individual councillors and mayors to settle political
scores.
But it was the MDC-T which took the decision to expel its
entire Chitungwiza
council and fire its mayor for Masvingo over corruption
allegations.
The residents’ associations called on the government to push
for the
reinstatement of mayors and councillors who were suspended or fired
under
unclear circumstances and amend the Urban Councils Act.
They
also vowed to fight for devolution of power in the new constitution –
and
surprisingly got support from Mangwana, who appeared to break ranks with
his
party which has vowed to resist devolution.
Mangwana said a draft
constitution written after public consultations
provides for a devolved
system of governance.
“There is a world of a difference between
devolution and secession. The
people of Masvingo should not to be misled by
those against devolution of
power,” he said.
He stressed that devolution
was “not a Matabeleland issue but a national
one”.
He told
representatives of the residents’ associations that 71 percent of
Zimbabweans consulted by COPAC during its outreach supported devolution of
power.
Japan Funds
Polio, Measles Vaccination in Zimbabwe
http://www.voanews.com/
Sebastian Mhofu
June
18, 2012
HARAE - Japan has provided funds to immunize about two million
children in
Zimbabwe against polio and measles as well as provide for
Vitamin A
supplements. The national immunization week is part of efforts by
Zimbabwe,
working with U.N. agencies, to reduce child mortality rates in the
country.
The weeklong immunization program, which launched Monday, was
funded by the
Japanese government. However, the money went to the United
Nations
Children's Fund, UNICEF, instead of Zimbabwe's government because of
fears
of corruption.
Peter Salama, the head of United Nations
children's agency in Harare, is
hopeful all children in Zimbabwe will have
access to life-saving vaccines.
"In partnership with the international
donor community, the rate of children
immunized will continue to rise.
Through the support of (the) government of
Japan and the ministry of health,
UNICEF has managed to provide all the
measles and polio vaccines and
injection and safety materials," Salama said.
For more than a decade now,
Zimbabwe has depended mainly on aid agencies and
foreign donors in its
health care sector. With official figures showing
that 100 children die
every day in Zimbabwe, the immunization program is
seen as the most
cost-effective way to reduce child illness and child
mortality.
Henry
Madzorera, Zimbabwe’s health minister, hopes Japan and the
international
community will continue to provide funding to Zimbabwe.
“Despite their
own problems that emanated from natural disaster which we all
know of -- the
combined tsunami, the great earthquake and nuclear disaster
at Fukushima --
they have continued to prioritize the welfare of our own
children and have
neither withdrawn or reduced support to the EPI program
through UNICEF,”
Madzorera said.
EPI stands for Expanded Program on
Immunization.
Zimbabwe's health care sector fell into shambles several
years ago, after
years of political turmoil and the collapse of the
economy.
Finance Minister Tendai Biti has complained on several occasions
that
proceeds from diamond sales are not reaching the treasury. He said he
fears
that President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party is keeping the money to
fund
future election campaigns, at the expense of ordinary
Zimbabweans.
Until that changes, Zimbabweans will likely have to rely on
the generosity
of donors such as Japan to meet basic health care needs.
Zimbabweans protest over Zambian interference
Dear Supporters
The
Zimbabwean diaspora leader in the USA Den Moyo has called for protests outside
Zambian diplomatic premises on 21st June because of President Sata’s
support of Zanu PF (see press release below). It is the latest in the series of
21st Movement Free Zimbabwe
Global Protests held against the lack of
progress in Zimbabwe. Since the beginning of 2012 these protests held on
21st of each month have been supported by the MDC Diaspora. The
Zimbabwe Vigil has already targetted the Zambian High Commission in London
(see:
Zimbabweans in UK
protest at Zambian President’s visit – http://www.zimvigil.co.uk/vigil-news/press-releases/409-zimbabweans-in-uk-protest-at-zambian-presidents-visit--6th-june-2012
and Open Letter to Zambia – http://www.zimvigil.co.uk/the-vigil-diary/410-open-letter-to-zambia--zimbabwe-vigil-diary-9th-june-2012).
Our experience is the Zambian people are very responsive and we support Den
Moyo’s move. We await details of plans for London and suggest supporters consult
their local MDC representatives re what they plan to do about this.
Zimbabwe Vigil
Co-ordinators
The Vigil, outside
the Zimbabwe Embassy, 429 Strand, London, takes place every Saturday from 14.00
to 18.00 to protest against gross violations of human rights in Zimbabwe. The
Vigil which started in October 2002 will continue until
internationally-monitored, free and fair elections are held in Zimbabwe. http://www.zimvigil.co.uk
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/news/zimbabwe/58905/global-zimbabwe-protest-against-zambian.html
Global Zimbabwe protest
against Zambian President Sata's utterances
We members of The Free
Zimbabwe Global Campaign (FZGC) are utterly dismayed at Zambian President
Michael Sata’s misguided statements regarding our beloved motherland since he
landed the Zambian presidency a few months ago.
by Den
Moyo
As peace-loving but
tormented people, we were both excited and encouraged by the smooth transition
in Zambia following the demise of President Rupiah Banda. We thought it was the
epitome of democratic maturity and a development to be proud of in
Africa.
To our greatest
disappointment, Mr. Sata has become a self-appointed spokesman and gatekeeper
for not only ZANU PF but those who work daily to crash democratic voices in
Zimbabwe.
Recently he was shouting
ZANU PF slogans in an SADC Summit plenary meeting despite the fact that he was
there as part of the Security, Defense and Peace Troika, meant to maintain a
neutral position in helping Zimbabweans find each other in the ongoing
engagement.
Soon after he became
president, Michael Sata denigrated the MDC, Zimbabwe’s biggest and home-grown
political party, for being a puppet of the West which should never be allowed to
rule Zimbabwe.
As progressive
Zimbabweans who formed this party at home and in the Diaspora out of the need to
improve our own circumstances, we cannot take this insult lightly. Collectively,
we remind President Sata that he is the fifth President of Zambia. We ask him
the same question; where was his party, the Patriotic Front, when President
Kaunda’s UNIP liberated Zambia?
It is in this context
that we advise him to leave us to determine our destiny without him carelessly
supporting a party whose time has expired and trying to remain in power through
violent suppression of the democratic aspirations of people.
Does he not see any
paradox in wishing us a life president when Zambia has changed leaders five
times? If Zambia can have a Caucasian as deputy president, why can’t a white
deputy minister of Agriculture in Zimbabwe, as he suggested?
We hereby remind him that
Zimbabweans are very patient people but they are not intellectually deficient
morons? Our current struggle that we have been seized with for more than a
decade is to extricate our country from the morass created by this
regime.
We want to put on record
that the Zambian people are our sisters and brothers owing to our shared
geography, history and culture. Nevertheless, President Sata’s uninformed or
biased views on our political dynamics are a major concern.
We will visit Zambian
embassies in the US, in London, and all over the world on the 21st of June to
remind his officials of these truths.
For and on Behalf of the
People of Zimbabwe
Den Moyo, Coordinator
21st Movement Free Zimbabwe Global Protest Tel: +1 571 221 3858 Email:
21stMovement2012@gmail.com
Zimbabwe accused of signal piracy
http://advanced-television.com
Tuesday,
June 19, 2012
By Chris
Forrester
Zimbabwean TV viewers are about to lose some of their most
popular TV
channels. The signals come from neighbouring South Africa, and
are broadcast
onto satellite by Sentech, South Africa’s state-owned signal
carrier.
Zimbabwe is claimed to have Africa’s highest broadcast piracy
rate.
A 3 month transmission ‘grace period’ ended in May following a
Johannesburg
court ruling which ordered that Sentech encrypt South African
Broadcasting’s
Channel 1, 2 and 3.
SABC spokesman Kaizer Kganyago on
June 15th confirmed that the encryption
would cut off SABC transmission to
free-to-air satellite decoders in
countries such as Zimbabwe, Namibia and
Mozambique. “We broadcast in South
Africa and Sentech is in charge of
ensuring the signal is protected and
stays in SA,” he said. “Anybody who is
not in SA and is watching SABC
content terrestrially is doing so
illegally.”
MultiChoice Zimbabwe, which offers pay-TV on its DStv
platform, would
benefit from the looming blackout. An official said: “We are
aware that
Sentech was ordered to cut its signal to Zimbabwe. But we can’t
discuss
MultiChoice plans with regard to the disconnections.”
Mugabe
denies links to SA mansion, bunker
http://www.nation.co.ke
By KIPTESILE NYATHI, NATION
CORRESPONDENT
Posted Monday, June 18 2012 at 17:41
HARARE,
Monday
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe has denied reports that he is
building a
luxurious mansion with an underground bunker in neighbouring
South Africa.
According to weekend reports, the KwaDukuza municipality in
South Africa
obtained a court order to stop the Zimbabwean ruler’s former
personal pilot
from constructing the R200 million mansion citing
environmental concerns.
Retired Air Vice Marshal Robert Mhlanga was
rumoured to be building the
mansion on be behalf of President Mugabe. A
private newspaper, The Standard
speculated that the Zimbabwean ruler wanted
to use it as a “bolt hole.”
But President Mugabe’s spokesperson Mr
George Charamba dismissed the
reports. “There is no substance to that,” he
told the paper.
“The only relationship between them (President Mugabe and
(Mr Mhlanga) is
the name Robert and that they are Zimbabweans.”
Mr
Mhlanga is chairman of one of the companies mining diamonds in the
controversial Marange area in Zimbabwe.
He was also a prosecution
witness in the 2003 treason trial of Prime
Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai.
In the past, President Mugabe has dismissed allegations that
he plans to
escape from Zimbabwe in the event that he is dislodged from
power.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwean First Lady Grace Mugabe says her husband’s
party would
never lose an election.
She was responding to a question
from a state media journalist on whether
she was not afraid that President
Mugabe would lose this year’s election.
“I do not think that it will ever
happen that Zanu PF will lose this
election,” she said.
“I don’t
think it will. Never!” In 2008, Mrs Mugabe was forced to hit the
campaign
trail after her husband was beaten by Mr Tsvangirai in the first
round of
the presidential election.
He won the presidential run-off poll after Mr
Tsvangirai withdrew due to
violence against his supporters.
President
Mugabe’s victory was rejected by the international community
forcing him to
form an inclusive government with his rivals
Mr. Ugly: My face makes me special
http://www.sfgate.com
By GILLIAN GOTORA, Associated
Press
Monday, June 18, 2012
(06-18) 08:52 PDT HARARE, Zimbabwe
(AP) --
The latest winner of Zimbabwe's Mr. Ugly pageant has ambitions of
fame and
fortune. But, so far, he remains a simple market
porter.
William Masvinu, 38, who won the second edition of the pageant
last month,
makes his living carrying loads for shoppers in a market in the
impoverished
western Harare township of Mbare. The victory has made him a
local
celebrity, but the modeling offers he thought he'd be getting aren't
yet
pouring in.
"I was expecting to do some adverts and some modeling
if I was asked. But
I'm still poor, still carrying loads of cabbages onto
buses," he said.
"I am ready to show the world my gift," he said. "Being
ugly is not a curse.
It's a gift God gave me and I'm proud of it. My face
makes me special and I
am not making any excuses about
it."
Organizers say they started the pageant as a novel way to entertain
audiences. Zimbabwe already has a host of conventional beauty
contests.
Masvinu beat four other ugly men to land the title, $100 in
cash and a night
at a hotel. Masvinu said he cashed in the hotel voucher to
buy food.
"It didn't make sense to sleep in a nice hotel on an empty
stomach," he
said.
Masvinu said he has long lived with being shunned,
even by his own family.
"My mother died when I was three and no one
wanted to take care of me or
send me to school because of my looks," he
said.
Before he reached his teens, he was herding cattle in southern
Zimbabwe.
Masvinu said when he went out hunting for a regular job, it wasn't
easy.
"Whenever employers open the door and see me, they go, `Ahh,' and
shut it,"
he said.
When he smiles, it looks like he is crying or in
pain, his fans say. His
wife, Alice Chabhanga, isn't concerned about his
looks.
At his side in the market, Chabhanga said she was drawn to Masvinu
because
of his kindness, cheerfulness and humor in the hardest of
times.
"She was the only one who wanted me and she knows she has no
competition,"
Masvinu said.
Zimbabwe is happier than
SA
THANDO MGAGA | 18 June, 2012
00:06
It's official. South Africans are a
grumpy bunch.
The index, released last week, placed South
Africa 142nd of 151 countries on experience of wellbeing (happiness), life
expectancy (health) and ecological footprint.
Even South Africa's embattled northern
neighbour, Zimbabwe, has a better outlook, being in 115th position, with
Ethiopia 94th. Botswana occupies the bottom ranking.
The Happy Planet Charter has been endorsed by
leading environmentalists, economists and politicians ahead of this week's UN
Earth Summit.
Topping the happiness index is Costa Rica, with
Vietnam and Colombia in third place.
The U S , Russia, the UK, Germany, Japan and
France did not do so well either, with none of them making the top
10.
The US is ranked 105, Russia 122, UK 41, Germany
46, Japan 45 and France is placed 50th.
Nic Marks, of the New Economics Foundation, the
creator of the index, said: "The index measures what really matters - long and
happy lives now and the potential for good lives in the future.
"For too long we have relied on incomplete
measures of progress that focus only on economic activity, such as gross
domestic product. Rich and poor nations face different challenges but their
ultimate goal is the same," he said.
Foundation senior researcher Saamah Abdalla said
that countries such as Costa Rica outrank the UK - and other bigger countries -
because their inhabitants live long and happy lives using a fraction of the
planet's resources.
"They point the direction towards a development
model that can achieve healthy, happy and sustainable lives."
South Africa scored 52.8 on life expectancy, 4.7
on experience of wellbeing, 2.6 on ecological footprint and its index score is
28.2.
Changing the rules of the
resettlement game: The descent from developmental to predatory state
June 18th, 2012
by Dale Doré, a discussion paper in the
Zimbabwe Land Series
As late as 2008, Reuters, a news agency, would
invariably add a phrase to their articles to say that “President Robert Mugabe’s
government began seizing white-owned farms to resettle landless blacks.”
[1] It is quite true that the resettlement programme soon after
Independence and during the 1980s did resettle the poor and landless. But, by
2008 the debate had moved decisively towards the need for a land audit to
identify those Zimbabweans who had seized multiple farms.
This article looks back on how land policy and
the rules of the resettlement game have changed over the last three decades.
There was never a dispute about the need to correct the historical imbalance in
land distribution. Nor was there any question that land would be acquired from
white farmers. What have been contested were the criteria, methods, pace,
ambitions and, above all, the laws and rules for acquiring and distributing
land. In this paper I examine how the rules changed for acquiring land and for
allocating it.
Three trends were evident. The first was that
the rules changed from supporting the livelihoods of the poorest families to
privileging the richest. The second was that resettlement rules changed from
promoting national agricultural production to allocating land regardless of any
training, aptitude or farming experience. And third, rules that guaranteed
strong property rights gave way to wide state discretion over the possession and
use of land.
This paper concludes that Zimbabwe must move
towards a just and pro-poor land policy based on secure property rights, land
markets, and the rule of law. These are a sine qua non for restoring
agricultural productivity, creating employment, and improving rural
livelihoods.
Intensive and Accelerated Resettlement in the
1980s
In 1980 the twin objectives of the resettlement
programme were to resolve the historical imbalance in land ownership and to
provide relief from population pressure in overcrowded communal areas.
Resettlement was considered essential for the “improvement in the levels of
living of the largest and poorest sector of the population of
Zimbabwe”.[2] The new beneficiaries were to be returning refugees and
displaced persons as well as the landless and unemployed. The most important
criterion for resettlement was therefore ‘need’.
At Independence, the government was determined
that resettlement would not be an extension of subsistence farming. It therefore
provided extension advice, infrastructure, and other services to ensure that
settler families achieved higher productivity and a better standard of
living.[3] Meeting these objectives required careful planning,
preparation and implementation. Hence, the earliest programmes were known as
intensive resettlement. At the time, the government also recognised the
role played by commercial agriculture to ensure the nation’s self-sufficiency in
food and as an earner of foreign exchange. The acquisition of land for
resettlement therefore focussed mainly on commercial land that was not being
farmed.
| 1980 estimate of
peasant farming families |
|
780,000 |
| Less: |
Numbers who can be
accommodated (based on carrying capacity |
325,000 |
|
|
Numbers of families
expected to migrate to towns and cities |
235,000 |
|
|
Numbers settled to January
1981 |
1,500 |
|
|
Numbers to be settled to
1984 |
18,000 |
|
|
Plus a
possible |
15,000 |
594,500 |
|
|
|
|
|
Excess number of families
to be resettled |
|
185,500 |
Table 1:
Source: The Report of the Riddell Commission of Inquiry (Zimbabwe,
1981)
The Riddell Commission’s Report on Incomes,
Prices and Conditions of Services in June 1981, however, had far-reaching
affects on the scope and ambition of resettlement policy. Based on the number of
families living in the communal areas and the carrying capacity of the land, the
Commission calculated – as shown in the table above – that 185,000 communal
families needed to be resettled.
Making adjustments to this figure, the
government planned to spend Z$260m (USD282m) to settle 162,000 families on 9
million hectares in just three years. To meet this ambitious target, an
accelerated programme was designed to settle families urgently.
Planning procedures were therefore cut to a minimum and only basic
infrastructure was provided.[4] What remained etched in the minds of
government planners for the next two decades, however, was the number of
families to be resettled and the amount of land to be acquired in order to
correct the historical imbalance in land.
Despite the resettlement programme’s ambitions,
the government’s commitment to land redistribution began to wane. As smallholder
cotton and maize production surpassed commercial production in the mid-1980s,
the government relied more on improved smallholder agricultural production than
resettlement to meet its development objectives. In its exasperation to realise
productivity gains from poor families that had been resettled, the government
decided to include better farmers in the resettlement programme to boost
agricultural production, as well as save on the costs of supporting new
settlers.[5] Thus, by 1985 master farmers were added to the list of
those eligible for resettlement. The allocation of land for resettlement was now
to be based both on ‘need’ and ‘ability’.
A
New Land Policy for the 1990s
By the end of the 1980s 52,000 families had been
resettled. But this achievement fell well short of the government’s original
target. Rather than rethinking, remodelling and improving the implementation of
the resettlement programme, the government turned on the commercial farmers. The
President called for a “revolutionary land reform programme to distribute land
without inhibitions”, stressing that “some farmers had to be made willing to
sell their land.”[6] In July 1990 the government announced a new
National Land Policy to resettle another 110,000 families on an additional 5
million hectares of land to be acquired at a ‘realistic’
price.[7]
The new land policy also involved changes in the
rules for acquiring land. The ‘willing buyer-willing seller’ principle was
dropped in favour of designating farms for compulsory acquisition based on
prices fixed by bureaucrats. And, contrary to the principles of natural justice,
any recourse to the courts would be denied. The new principles of ‘one man–one
farm’ and limiting farm sizes according to their agro-ecological region would
release many more farms for acquisition in better farming areas. Crucially,
however, the new policy laid greater emphasis on identifying, resettling and
assisting large-scale black farmers with finance and training. Henceforth,
beneficiaries would not necessarily be poor, but those who could ostensibly make
best use of the land. The criterion of ‘need’ had now been superseded by that of
‘ability’.
Although the Land Acquisition Act was revamped
in 1992 in order to put these policies into effect, the pace of resettlement
remained stubbornly slow. Only 2,500 households were resettled, on average, each
year between 1990 and 1993.[8] Worse, in 1994 the resettlement
programme became mired in controversy. It became evident that lease agreements
with white leasehold farmers had been cancelled, and that a Tenant Farmer scheme
had been launched clandestinely.[9] Included in the scheme were farms
that had been earmarked for resettlement, but allocated to senior government
officials, including ministers, and high-ranking military officers.
The secretive manner in which leases were
allocated further deepened concerns in Britain about the process of land reform
in Zimbabwe.[10] Britain had other worries too. They wanted to
support the needy rather than the well resourced, to maintain agricultural
production, and to fund a less ambitious resettlement programme based on the
‘willing buyer-willing seller’ principle. When the new Labour government
expressed reservation about supporting Zimbabwe’s revised resettlement plans, a
frustrated President rekindled the nationalist narrative. He made it plain that
he was not pleading with Britain for development assistance, but demanding the
monies that Britain had purportedly promised at Lancaster House for land
acquisition. As a sovereign state, the President claimed, Zimbabwe could choose
how it spent these funds.
Jambanja and the Seizure of Land after
2000
Following the ruling party’s defeat in a
referendum on a draft constitution in February 2000, it moved quickly to secure
the rural areas before parliamentary elections scheduled for June 2000. In a
process marked by coercion and violence – known as jambanja – thousands
of party-sponsored settlers occupied commercial farms in an exercise where the
army and state intelligence services played a decisive role.[11]
Suddenly the established rules for acquiring and allocating land were abandoned
in favour of a state-sponsored free-for-all seizure of farmland. The only
criterion for allocating land was loyalty to the ruling party and the very fact
of occupation itself. Thus, when the Supreme Court found the land programme to
be ‘entirely haphazard and unlawful’ in December 2000, it specifically objected
to the clear favouritism in distributing land to party supporters.
In June 2001 the government launched People
First: Zimbabwe’s Land Reform Programme, otherwise known as the ‘Fast Track
Land Reform Programme’. On paper, at least, the main objectives of the 1990
National Land Policy remained intact. The total area of commercial farmland
required for resettlement still stood at 8.3 million ha. An A2 resettlement
model had been introduced for the participation of black commercial farmers, but
the A1 model still catered for poor rural families. What changed was that A2
settlers were no longer required to demonstrate either training or experience in
farming; they needed only to show that they had sufficient resources. In fact,
neither ‘ability’ nor ‘sufficient resources’ were pre-requisites for
resettlement. The only criterion was that one was a Zimbabwean of a particular
political stripe who ‘wanted’ land.
In order to allocate land to those who wanted
it, the government changed the rules for land acquisition dramatically. After
2002, maximum farm sizes were strictly enforced, and the state was empowered to
immediately ‘exercise any right of ownership’ once a farm owner had been issued
with a land acquisition order. By 2004, any limit on the number of settlers or
the amount of land to be acquired by government was removed. A new array of
productive farming enterprises – from plantation crops to agro-industrial
properties – became eligible for acquisition. Farm owners could no longer object
to their only farm being compulsorily acquired. Then, in 2005, most commercial
farms were nationalised, making their owners trespassers on land that most had
bought since Independence.
But these rules did not apply to everyone.
Politicians, officials and military officers simply ignored the ‘one man-one
farm policy’ and any restrictions on farm size. They shamelessly helped
themselves to any number of farms, sometimes displacing those settlers who
originally invaded the farms. From the ideals of pro-poor land policies and
promoting national agricultural productivity, the rules of the resettlement game
have been changed – or ignored – to suit the depredations of powerful political
players. Agricultural production shrunk significantly, and Zimbabwe has become a
perennial food importer.
The GPA calls for those eligible to be allocated
land to be considered for selection irrespective of race, gender, religion,
ethnicity or political affiliation. This provision may help restore a more
equitable and orderly programme of land reform, but it still presupposes the
primary role of the state to acquire and allocate land. Elsewhere I have argued
that this dirigiste (statist) approach is financially ruinous,
administratively unworkable, and inimical to granting the necessary property
rights to stimulate agricultural productivity and growth. Any visionary future
government should rather concern itself with creating the legal and
institutional framework that enables land markets to operate fairly, efficiently
and securely, and in which every Zimbabwean can participate freely without fear
of dispossession by a predatory state.
[1] Reuters, 22 May 2008,
Zimbabwe farm invasions continue unabated – farmer
[2] Zimbabwe (1982) Report of the
Commission of Inquiry into the Agricultural Industry under the chairmanship
of Prof. Gordon Chavunduka. Government Printers: Salisbury.
[3] Zimbabwe (1982) Transitional National
Development Plan 1983–1985. Government Printers: Harare.
[4] Appendix E, Intensive
Resettlement: Policies and Procedures (Zimbabwe, 1985).
[5] Kinsey, B.H. (1984) The
Strategy and Tactics of Agrarian Reform: Resettlement and Land Policy in
Zimbabwe. Discussion Paper 136, University of East Anglia:
Norwich.
[6] The Herald: 19 August
1989.
[7] These figures were determined by
deducting the 52,000 families already settled from the initial target of
162,000, and by deducting the amount of land already acquired from the 1982
target of 9 million ha.
[8] Mhishi, S.G. (1995) A
Critical Analysis of the Resettlement Programme in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe
Farmers Union / Friedrich Ebert Foundation: Harare
[9] Tshuma, L. (1997). A matter
of (in)justice: law, state and the agrarian question in Zimbabwe. Harare:
Sapes Trust.
[10] ICG (2004) Blood and Soil.
International Crisis Group: Brussels
[11] Ibid.
This entry was
posted by Sokwanele on Monday, June 18th, 2012 at 12:20
pm.
The day Jonathan Moyo ‘forgot’ about 2008
By Clifford Chitupa Mashiri,
Of all people Jonathan Moyo appears to have
forgotten about the 2008
political violence which claimed the lives of more
than 200 people and
displaced hundreds of thousands.
In his recent
article he wrote: “There is pandemonium in the embattled GPA
circles with
scandalous warnings of a looming ‘repeat of 2008’ as
Zimbabweans continue to
lose faith in the GPA …” (Jonathan Moyo, The Sunday
Mail, 16 June
2012).
He then asks: “What is it about 2008 that should not (be)
repeated?” Then
immediately, he answers himself saying:
“Although
they (those in the GPA whom he refers to as ‘GPA creatures’) have
not
addressed this question the obvious implication is that there should not
be
a repeat of political violence whose allegations tarnished the 2008
election.”
Jonathan Moyo knew the answer to his rhetorical question,
and elaborated:
“In this connection there is no debate as everybody is
agreed that political
violence should be banished and eradicated not just
from Zimbabwe’s
electoral practice but from our political practice and
culture.”
The ever creative professor found an external enemy for what
happened in
2008 saying:
“When everything is said and done, the real
cause of what happened in 2008
which should not be repeated going forward is
that the UK, US and France
externalised an internal election process which
had gone remarkably well in
the run up to, during and immediately after the
March 29, 2008 election
which was without doubt the most peaceful, free and
fair election ever
witnessed in our country…”
On the contrary, an
Amnesty International report published on 16 May 2008,
said:
“In
Mberengwa, a large gang of Zanu-pf supporters – most of them youths
forcibly
recruited by ‘war veterans’ are going round attacking homes of
people
suspected of voting for the MDC in the 29 March 2008 elections. A
similar
gang was reported by an eyewitness in the Chiweshe area in Mazowe
district.
Police appear to be unwilling to stop the violence, only acting to
arrest
MDC supporters suspected of carrying out attacks on perceived Zanu-pf
supporters.”
However, Moyo has a different version. He went
on:
“Trouble started when it became clear that first and in terms of
Zimbabwe’s
laws the Presidential election did not produce an outright
winning candidate
with 50 percent plus one vote and that second, the
Parliamentary election
did not produce an outright winning party with 106
seats out of 210 in the
lower House of Parliament…”
But Mugabe
himself publicly admitted that he lost the disputed March 2008
election and
blamed his party loyalists who he said were de-campaigning him.
“We heard
others saying vote for this one and not this one. I lost votes as
a result
of that, Mugabe told the 11th people conference in Mutare in
December
2010.
In his instalment, Moyo then finishes off with what we shall from
now
onwards call “Jonathan Moyo’s signature statement” meaning his
characteristic threats against opponents e.g. of possible arrest or some
very severe action. In other words, he does not issue a statement which has
no threat in it. For example, he wrote:
“The nationalist movement in
Zimbabwe (by which he means Zanu-pf), is a
complex diversified and thinking
movement with the capacity for responsible
and resolute action against
imperial interests even if they want to sneak
through friendly channels (an
apparent reference to South Africa).”
Moyo’s ‘signature statement’ did
not end before he had been clearer who he
meant:
“It would be
catastrophic for any foreigners including neighbours to treat a
country (he
meant Zanu-pf party) like ours in simplistic or casual terms
through the
kind (of) Tshombe-like talk we keep hearing from some creatures
of the
GPA…”
In the past Jonathan Moyo warned of the “looming danger” which he
did not
specify) ‘will happen as sure as tomorrow is coming’. Although his
looming
danger has not yet materialised, ongoing threats of unspecified
military
action by the ZNA Major Generals resonate with Moyo own
warnings.
Ironically, he was once accused by his current boss (Mugabe) of
plotting a
coup and he cried, yes Jonathan Moyo cried when he was confronted
about it
by the Zanu-pf leader Robert Mugabe.
As for his
flip-flopping, it will be recalled that in March 2005 Jonathan
Moyo
denounced Zanu-pf calling it a tribal clique with no respect for
democracy
and said: “I think Zanu-pf people are sweating in their pants...”
referring
to parliamentary elections then.
On 29 October 2006 Jonathan Moyo wrote a
stinging attack on Mugabe titled
“Why Mugabe should go now.” Maybe someone
should have asked him why he is
now working for Mugabe at the much talked
about event hosted by the British
Ambassador to Zimbabwe last
week.
The sincere advice to the British Ambassador is to completely
forget about
Jonathan Moyo on the mailing list if she is serious about
building lasting
relationships with the people of Zimbabwe who include
victims of Moyo’s
notorious media law AIPPA and involvement in the crafting
of POSA – both
which are barriers to democracy, press freedom, civil rights,
justice and
peace.
Clifford Chitupa Mashiri, Political Analyst,
London,
zimanalysis2009@gmail.com
Bill Watch - Parliamentary Committees Series - 15th June 2012 [Meetings Open to the Public: 18-21 June]
BILL
WATCH
PARLIAMENTARY
COMMITTEES SERIES
Committee Meetings Open to the Public 18th to 21st
June
NB:
Members of the public who cannot attend meetings, including Zimbabweans in the
Diaspora, can at any time send written submissions to committees by email
addressed to to clerk@parlzim.gov.zw
Thematic Committee and Portfolio Committees will meet this week, in
both open and closed session. The
meetings
listed below will be open to the public as observers only, not as participants,
i.e. members of the public can listen but not speak. The meetings will be held at Parliament in
Harare. If attending, please use the
entrance on Kwame Nkrumah Ave between 2nd and 3rd Streets and note that IDs must
be produced.
This
bulletin is based on the latest information from Parliament. But, as there are sometimes last-minute
changes to the schedule, persons wishing to attend a meeting should avoid
disappointment by checking with the committee clerk [see below] that the meeting
is still on and open to the public.
Parliament’s telephone numbers are Harare 700181 and
252936.
Monday
18th June at 10 am
Portfolio Committee: Defence
and Home Affairs
Oral
evidence from the Secretary for Defence on war veterans bids from
1997-2010
Committee
Room No. 2
Chairperson: Hon
Madzore Clerk: Mr
Daniels
Portfolio Committee: Industry
and Commerce
Oral
evidence from the Minister of Mines and Mining Development on the Essar
Deal
Government
Caucus Room
Chairperson: Hon
Mutomba Clerk: Miss
Masara
Monday
18th June at 2 pm
Thematic
Committee: HIV/AIDS
Oral
evidence from the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare on ARV
procurement
Government
Caucus Room
Chairperson: Hon D.
Khumalo Clerk: Mrs
Khumalo
Portfolio Committee: Budget,
Finance, Economic Planning and Investment Promotion
Oral
evidence from the Minister of Finance on State procurement
procedures
Committee
Room No. 4
Chairperson: Hon Zhanda Clerk: Mr Ratsakatika
Tuesday
19th June at 10 am
Portfolio Committee: Agriculture,
Water, Lands and Resettlement
Oral
evidence from the Cotton Producers Association on their challenges in the cotton
industry
Committee
Room No. 4
Chairperson: Hon
Jiri Clerk: Mrs Mr
Mutyambizi
Thematic Committee: MDGs
Oral
evidence from the Ministry of Labour and Social Services on the Older Persons
Bill
Government
Caucus Room
Chairperson: Hon
Chief Mtshane Clerk: Mrs
Nyawo
Wednesday
20th June at 9 am
Thematic
Committee: Peace and Security
Oral
evidence from ZESA and the Minister of Energy and Power Development on the
policy and procedures on disconnection of electricity to consumers and carry
over balances from the Zimbabwean Dollar to the US Dollar
Committee
Room No. 4
Chairperson: Hon
Mumvuri Clerk: Mr Munjenge
Thursday
21st June at 10 am
Portfolio Committee: Media,
Information and Communication Technology
Oral
evidence from NetOne and TelOne on their
operations
Committee
Room No. 413
Chairperson: Hon
Chikwinya Clerk: Mr
Mutyambizi
Portfolio Committee: Women,
Youth, Gender and Community Development
Oral
evidence from CABS and CBZ on the Youth and Women's
Funds
Committee
Room No. 3
Chairperson: Hon
Matienga Clerk: Mr
Kunzwa
Portfolio
Committee Report on Zimbabwe United Passenger Company
[ZUPCO]
This
report was presented to the House of Assembly during the week by Hon Karenyi,
chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Local Government, Rural and Urban
Development. It is likely to be debated
during the course of the coming week.
[Copy
of report available from veritas@mango.zw]
Veritas
makes every effort to ensure reliable information, but cannot take legal
responsibility for information supplied
Bill Watch 26/2012 of 18th June [Important Bills on Parliamentary Agenda - Not Dealt With Last Week]
BILL
WATCH 26/2012
[18th June
2012]
Both
Houses of Parliament will meet again on Tuesday 19th
June
In Parliament Last Week
Although scheduled to sit for three days, both Houses conducted
business on Tuesday and Wednesday only.
There was no discussion of Bills in either House despite important
Government Bills being on the agenda – such as the Human Rights Commission Bill
and the Electoral Amendment Bill. The
Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs, Hon Chinamasa, was out of the country,
which may account for the failure to proceed with the Committee Stage of the
Human Rights Commission Bill in the House of Assembly. The POSA Amendment Bill has still not been
restored in the Senate. Thursday afternoon’s sittings were
abandoned immediately after delayed opening prayers because of a ZESA power
failure and problems with the back-up generator.
Senate
Motions
African Charter on Democracy, Elections and
Governance Senator Marava of MDC-T
introduced a new motion calling on the Government to expeditiously sign and
ratify this Charter [for details see next Bill Watch]
Prisons and prisoners Debate continued on the
Human Rights Thematic Committee’s report on the state of prisons and prisoners
[report
available from veritas@mango.zw].
House of Assembly
Motions
On President’s opening speech Hon Zhuwao, the proposer of
this motion, wound up the debate, and the motion of thanks to the President was
adopted by the House. MPs had used only
8 hours of the 35 allowed for this debate by Standing Orders
On Portfolio Committee Report on the Public Media Debate on this motion
continued [report available from veritas@mango.zw].
On Portfolio Committee Report on ZUPCO Hon Karenyi, chairperson of
the Portfolio Committee on Local Government, Rural and Urban Development
presented the committee’s report on the Zimbabwe United Passenger Company
[ZUPCO] [report
available from veritas@mango.zw].
Question Time – Wednesday 6th June
The Minister of Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs told MPs that he had the previous week addressed Cabinet about the
large backlog of outstanding questions, identifying the Ministers
concerned. Perhaps as a result,
there was a better than usual attendance by Ministers on 6th June, and
Standing Orders were waived in order to devote the whole of the 3½
hour sitting to members’ questions [Standing Orders allow 1 hour on Wednesday
for Questions without Notice, and the following hour for Written Questions with
Notice, which appear on the Order Paper].
Sports and Education Minister Coltart, Home Affairs Co-Minister Makone, Water Resources Minister Nkomo and Deputy Mines Minister Chimanikire were kept particularly
busy. Subjects raised
included:
Use of schools for political meetings The Minister of Education
confirmed that Ministry regulations prohibit the use of school premises to
further political objectives.
Army and Police defiance of Treasury freeze on
recruitment The Minister of Finance that
in spite of a Treasury freeze on the making of new appointments, the Army had
taken on and was paying 4 500 recruits, and the Police 1 500, resulting in
unbudgeted and unlawful payments to the new personnel.
2012 Budget to be revised downwards The Minister of Finance also
said that when he makes his Mid-Term Financial Statement on 12th July he will
announce a “major revision” downwards
of the $4 billion 2012 Budget. This has
been necessitated by under-performance of revenue targets, principally the
receipt of only $30 million from diamond revenue instead of a projected $240
million.
Apology for police inaction when Parliamentary public hearing
disrupted in July 2011 Co-Minister of Home Affairs
Theresa Makone apologised for the “gross
dereliction of duty” by police on duty at Parliament on the day when an
unruly mob invaded Parliament, disrupting a public committee hearing into the
Human Rights Commission Bill and assaulting legislators and journalists.
Spot fines at police roadblocks Co-Minister of Home Affairs
Kembo Mohadi made heavy weather of replying to a question about Government
policy on spot fines. Eventually he was
asked to come back to the House at a later sitting with a properly prepared
reply.
Chiadzwa diamonds – who is mining, dividends to Government,
“leakages” Deputy Mines Minister
Chimanikire said there are five companies mining in Chiadzwa, not nine as
suggested by the questioner, all of them either 100% Government-owned or joint
ventures between Government and private investors. The CIO, the Prisons Service and the Police
are not, he said, involved in the companies.
Dividends to Government from the companies for January-March came to just
under $30 million. On “leakages” the
Deputy Minister claimed that smuggling to Mozambique was negligible, but
conceded that it could stem from small-scale operations at Chiadzwa, outside the
areas designated for the operations of the five companies.
Coming up in the House of Assembly this Week
Bills As there was no progress last week on any Bills, the agenda for Bills remains as
outlined in Bill Watch 25/2012 of 12th June.
Motions
Approval of Palermo Protocol [see next Bill Watch for details of this Protocol]
Elections and African Charter on Democracy, Elections and
Governance This motion refers to the
emergence of manifestations of violence, calls for the Government to put
mechanisms in place to ensure a peaceful pre- and post-election transition and
urges SADC and the AU to ensure member States “subscribe to the ethos” of the African
Charter on African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance [see next Bill Watch for details on this Charter].
Need for Government-fixed cotton price This motion may have been
largely pre-empted by Government action [see under Government Gazette below].
Alleged Reserve Bank corruption This motion, tabled by Hon
Zhanda of ZANU-PF, seconded by Hon Madzimure of MDC-T, asks the House to express
concern at alleged RBZ “corruption, shady
deals, acts of economic sabotage and poor corporate governance” and the
Anti-Corruption Commission’s apparent
involvement in the matter” and for
the appointment of an ad hoc Parliamentary committee to investigate.
Question Time – Wednesday
Prime Minister’s Question Time The Prime Minister will be
answering questions on Government policy put to him by MPs from the floor of the
House. Standing Orders have been waived
to permit this deviation from the rule that PMQs are on the last Wednesday of
each month.
Questions for Ministers There are also written
questions on the Order Paper awaiting responses from Ministers, all carried
forward. Following last week’s marathon
Question Time the backlog of unanswered questions has shrunk to 15.
Coming up in the Senate This Week
PLC
adverse reports on statutory instruments The Parliamentary Legal Committee chairperson
will present adverse reports on six SIs gazetted during March. [See
Bill Watch 24/2012 of 6th June for a list of the SIs. The adverse reports are not yet
available.]
Motions:
Approval of Palermo Protocol [see next Bill Watch for details of this Protocol]
Approval of African Charter of Democracy, Elections and
Governance [see next Bill Watch for details of this Charter].
On the Thematic Committee reports on education
in resettled areas
On the Thematic Committee report on the ARV therapy roll-out
programme
On assistance to farmers in drought-stricken agricultural region 5.
For
the restoration of the POSA Amendment Bill to the Order Paper
This long-stalled
motion is by Hon Gonese.
Government
Gazette 15th June
Statutory
Instruments
[NOT
available from Veritas unless otherwise stated]
Code
of Ethics for the Judiciary
– SI 107/2012 gazettes the new Code of Ethics for judicial officers as
regulations made by the Judicial Service Commission in terms of the Judicial
Service Act. The code is now legally
binding. [For
a detailed discussion, see Court Watch 7/2012 of 11th April.] [Code
available from veritas@mango.zw]
Tariffs for Deputy Sheriffs and Messengers of
Court
– SIs 109 and 110/2012.
Cotton declared a controlled product – In SI 106A/2012, published in a Gazette Extraordinary dated 8th
June, the Minister of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development
declared seed cotton and seed cotton products to be controlled products under
the Grain Marketing Act during the 2011/2012 growing season. This means the
cotton price will be as fixed by the Minister.
The SI says that a “contract
buyer” must pay that price even if a lower price was contracted for – or
refer the grower to the Grain Marketing Board and claim its grower’s input costs
from the GMB.
Veritas
makes every effort to ensure reliable information, but cannot take legal
responsibility for information supplied
