http://www.timeslive.co.za
ZOLI MANGENA | 19 June, 2011 03:37
A cabinet minister in Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's office, Jameson
Timba, has taken an
unprecedented step to expose President Robert Mugabe and
senior Zanu-PF
ministers as "liars" over the outcome of Southern Africa
Development
Community (SADC) summit held in Sandton, Johannesburg, last
week.
Timba's daring move on Friday, taken in his capacity as the
MDC-T secretary
for international relations and international co-operation,
could trigger
fierce clashes within the tension-filled inclusive government
and cabinet.
The Minister of State in Tsvangirai's office, who attended
the closed
session of the Sandton summit on Zimbabwe, said Mugabe's version
of events
was untrue.
Although the Sunday Times already had most of
the details, Timba confirmed
the information which exposed Mugabe and his
ministers as "liars". The
Sunday Times has a detailed record of what
transpired, showing intense
clashes between Mugabe and SA President Jacob
Zuma, the SADC facilitator on
Zimbabwe, over the Livingstone
report.
The record shows that Zuma was supported by at least regional 10
leaders and
officials in the meeting, while Mugabe fought a lone battle. The
information
shows that Zuma prevailed and Mugabe left with his tail between
his legs.
Timba's joining-in the fray is likely to exacerbate the
unfolding vicious
propaganda war between Zanu-PF and MDC-T since the summit.
Mugabe and his
ministers, assisted by the pliant state-controlled media, are
claiming
regional leaders "rejected" resolutions of the Livingstone summit
of March
31, but records show this is not true.
SADC leaders,
including the chairman, Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba
and Zuma,
read Mugabe the riot act in March and issued a damning communiqué
which left
him shocked. Last month Mugabe admitted in Windhoek that the
Livingstone
communiqué was a "bombshell".
Since the Windhoek summit could not discuss
Zimbabwe as Zuma was not there,
Mugabe went to Sandton itching for a fight
to bully the SADC leaders into
changing their decisions, but he was stopped
in his tracks.
This week, Timba took the bold step to counter the
heavy-handed president.
"I attended the SADC troika meeting held at
Livingstone on March 31, 2011. I
also attended the extraordinary summit of
SADC held at Sandton in SA on June
12, 2011. The distortions of the outcome
of the summit being peddled by some
in Zanu-PF and the public print media
have reached dishonest proportions
which border on insanity .
"Before
the summit, the MDC-T expected the summit to embrace the spirit and
recommendations from the troika summit at Livingstone," Timba
said.
"We also expected the summit to embrace the concept of a time-bound
and
task-based roadmap to free, fair and credible elections, where violence
plays no part."
Timba said Mugabe and Zanu- PF went to Sandton hoping
to have the
Livingstone resolutions set aside. He said they also wanted a
declaration
that the life span of the inclusive government had expired and
as such the
country should hold elections this year.
"SADC refused to
dance to the Zanu-PF tune and refused to commit political
infanticide by
killing its own baby called Livingstone. Instead, the summit,
guided by the
report from President Zuma, which included the Livingstone
resolutions and
the report of the SADC committee on re-engagement with the
West as
annexures, embraced the letter and spirit of Livingstone," he said.
Timba
also disclosed what transpired during the closed session. "President
Zuma in
his report to the summit stated and I quote: 'The report takes off
from
where the last one, the summit of the organ troika on politics, defence
and
security co-operation, held at Livingstone in the Republic of Zambia,
left
off on March 31.That report is attached as annexure F and also carries
the
troika summit communiqué'."
He said Zuma also spoke about the Joint
Monitoring and Implementation
Committee and demanded an immediate end to
political violence, intimidation
and harassment and any other breaches of
the Global Political Agreement
(GPA).
Zuma told the summit his
Sandton report was supplementary to the Livingstone
report and he went
further to say: "The extraordinary summit should remember
and accept that
all the annexures hereto are building blocks of the overall
report that we
are presenting and, therefore, should be read at all times as
a single
entity."
Timba said Zuma then made five recommendations and his report
was adopted.
"Zanu-PF cannot therefore say on the one hand the Livingstone
report was
rejected and on the other they were happy with the report of
President Zuma
to the full summit when the Livingstone report was part of
it.
"Zanu-PF also cannot say that SADC resolved to campaign for the
lifting of
sanctions when that recommendation came from a report which was
noted but
not endorsed. This amounts to twisted logic bordering on
insanity."
http://www.radiovop.com/
11 hours 21 minutes
ago
Harare, June 19, 2011 - The Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC-T) led by
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is at pains to explain and
correct lies
being peddled by the state broadcaster. The MDC met with
ambassadors last
Friday in an effort to dismiss lies that suggest the
Livingstone summit
resolutions were thrown out at the Southern African
Development Community
(SADC) summit in South Africa last Sunday.
The
meeting of the MDC-T and the diplomats comes at a time when Zanu (PF)
has
been claiming victory of the just ended summit.
Zanu (PF) has been
spreading information that Livingstone summit which was
critical of
President Robert Mugabe and his party over violence was
discarded by the
Sandton meeting. The MDC has said the summit endorsed the
Livingstone summit
resolutions.
The Livingstone summit by the Sadc troika on politics,
security and defence
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" and that "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."
Jameson Timba, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's top aide
told journalists
that the meeting with the envoys is normal as the party was
explaining or
reporting back to ambassadors of what transpired in
Johannesburg.
"The ambassadors who attended the summit told us that they
are surprised by
the levels of misinformation in the country by the media. I
am happy two
thirds of the ambassadors from the continent were in Sandton
and know what
the resolutions of the summit said," Timba told journalists
after meeting
the ambassadors.
"There is no difference between what
was adopted in Livingstone and what was
adopted in Sandton. Sandton
effectively just implemented the recommendations
and resolutions of
Livingstone and this came from two reports which came
from President Jacob
Zuma”, said Timba.
June 19
The Sunday Independent
Peter Fabricius
and Peta Thornycroft
The full summit
of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in
Sandton last weekend
was a setback for Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe
and his Zanu-PF
party.
They had lobbied hard for the summit to rescind a highly critical
report of
the SADC’s security organ troika in Livingstone, Zambia on March
31.
The Livingstone communiqué, squarely based on a report to the summit by
President Jacob Zuma, who is the Zimbabwe facilitator, had severely rebuked
Zanu-PF (though not by name) for being slow in implementing its commitments
to the Global Political Agreement (GPA) which underpins the unity
government, and for violence, arrests and intimidation of the MDC.
Though
the Sandton summit only “noted” rather than “adopted” the Livingstone
communiqué, this was apparently to save a little face for Mugabe. SADC
executive secretary Dr Tomaz Salomão made it clear afterwards that the
Sandton summit had not deleted a word from the Livingstone
communiqué.
And Zuma’s report to the Sandton summit, though more conciliatory
than his
tough Livingstone report, also reiterated that “the Organ Troika
resolution
was still relevant, 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 the GPA”.
The Sandton summit
also confirmed a decision at Livingstone which Zanu-PF
had vehemently
rejected, that three SADC officials should be attached to the
Joint
Monitoring and Implementation Committee (Jomic) set up among the
Zimbabwean
parties to review GPA progress. Salomão confirmed that the three
officers
would be drawn from South Africa, Zambia and Mozambique.
Yet Zuma also
referred to three reports by the Zimbabwean parties’
negotiators, which he
said showed some progress since Livingstone.
These were the Elections
Roadmap, signed on April 22, the Review Mechanism
Report signed on April 7,
a report of a workshop by the negotiators in Cape
Town on May 5 and 6, and
several Jomic reports.
These reports do show some progress, but also indicate
that elections –
which Zanu-PF wants this year – are still much further off
as the conditions
for holding them are far from conducive.
In particular,
after making some concessions on other issues, the reports
show Zanu-PF is
clearly refusing to surrender any of the “hard power” –
especially the
control of the security forces – which has always been
central to its
dominance. For instance, the Elections Roadmap notes that
both MDC factions
want the government to “instruct the security forces to
issue a public
statement that they will unequivocally uphold the
constitution and respect
the rule of law in the lead up to and following any
election or
referendum”.
But Zanu-PF objects to this, insisting that “this is not an
election matter.
Political parties have no right to direct uniformed forces
to issue
political statements”.
On the related issue of violence, both
MDC factions demand that the
government “end military and police abuse of
the rule of law and end all
state-sponsored/sanctioned violence”.
Zanu-PF
responds by denying such abuses, and demands evidence of them.
The MDCs also
demand that “there should be demilitarisation; soldiers and
other security
personnel have been unlawfully deployed in the country and
should thus be
sent back to the barracks”.
Zanu-PF however retorts that “we deny that there
are serving members of the
military doing political work” and objects to the
word “demilitarisation” as
an inapplicable “war term”.
The MDCs both
demand that Zimbabwe’s notorious Central Intelligence
Organisation (CIO) now
operating entirely through presidential fiat should
be brought under
legislative control.
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC (MDC-T) also
demands that the unity
government must “enact an act of parliament
regulating the operations of the
CIO”.
The other MDC, headed by cabinet
minister Welshman Ncube (MDC-N), concurs,
adding that “this is an election
issue” covered by the GPA principle that
such state institutions “do not
belong to any political party and should be
impartial in their
duties”.
But Zanu-PF again rejects such attempts at control, saying the CIO
is
neither a GPA nor an election issue and should be resolved in the
constitution-making process.
At a workshop of the negotiators in Cape
Town on May 4 and 5, there was a
“serious dispute” among the parties over
the CIO, according to a report by
the facilitators.
It said that Zanu-PF
claimed it was following the “British convention” of
“administrative action”
rather than legislative control, in managing the
CIO.
The parties also
disagree over the notorious Public Order and Security Act
(Posa) which
obliges political parties to get police permission to hold
public
meetings.
Both MDCs want Posa to be amended to prevent police abusing their
discretionary powers to disadvantage opposition parties.
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HARARE CORRESPONDENT | 19 June, 2011
03:37
The first review of the Global Political Agreement signed
between President
Robert Mugabe, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Deputy
Prime Minister
Arthur Mutambara confirms the power-sharing pact is on shaky
ground, a
report shows.
The damning report, "The First Review of
Progress on the Implementation and
Achievements of the Priorities and
Objectives Set out in the GPA", was
presented to Southern African
Development Community (SADC) leaders in South
Africa last week.
The
28-page report, while acknowledging that a measure of macro-economic
stability has been achieved, says there is tension within and outside the
cabinet presided over by Mugabe.
"The end of 2010 saw a polarisation
of the cabinet on a wide range of
issues. This has created a sense of
tension both within and outside the
cabinet. The tension seems to arise from
lack of clarity over an election
date," reads the report.
The
government has failed to come up with a comprehensive, transparent and
non-partisan land audit. It is understood there are fears within the Zanu-PF
side of government that a non-partisan land audit would expose Mugabe's
controversial land reform, which largely saw his inner cabal and party
supporters grabbing the choicest farms from white farmers.
It would
also expose multiple farm ownership by his loyalists and party
supporters.
The report also reveals that the inclusive government has failed
to set up a
land commission.
While some semblance of macro-economic stability has
been achieved, with
food and basic commodities readily available in
supermarkets, major
challenges remain, mainly arising from the country's
sovereign debt, lack of
foreign investment inflows, obsolete equipment,
non-performance of enablers
(electricity, water, etc), high unemployment
levels and high poverty levels.
"Internal debate and discourse on
sanctions and the way forward remain
extremely polarised," reads the
report.
It noted that International Monetary Fund voting rights have been
restored;
travel bans on some Zanu-PF officials have been lifted and
sanctions over
some companies have been lifted. "But the overall objective
(to lift
sanctions) has not been achieved," it says.
The European
Union and the United States slammed Mugabe and about 200
members of his
inner circle, citing electoral fraud and human rights abuses
between 2000
and 2002.
Both the EU and the US have refused to unconditionally remove
the targeted
measures, citing the failure by Mugabe to fully implement the
GPA. He has
refused to appoint governors as agreed under the GPA, among
other
outstanding issues.
The Organ for National Healing,
Reconciliation and Integration has failed in
its mandate despite being run
by three co-ministers drawn from Zanu-PF and
the two MDC
formations.
It is revealed that there is no consensus among political
parties on which
organ should determine national hero status on deceased
persons.
It further shows that the two MDC formations complain of closure
of
democratic space, in particular from the beginning of this year. However,
the report notes this is being disputed by Zanu-PF, adding that Zanu-PF is
still denied access to electorate in the Diaspora due to continuing
sanctions and travel restrictions. The report further shows that the two MDC
formations have raised complaints over alleged arbitrary arrests of members
of parliament and activists, alleged unwarranted invocation of section 121
of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act, alleged selective prosecution of
offenders and selective application of the law, and the constitutionality of
the failure to swear in Roy Bennett as Deputy Minister of Agriculture and
Professor Welshman Ncube as Deputy Prime Minister.
"Zanu-PF is
disputing the truthfulness and validity of the above allegations
or
complaints and considers these allegations or complaints to be mere
propaganda. The two MDC formations complain that some state organs and
institutions do not respect the constitutional hierarchy. This is being
disputed by Zanu-PF," it reads.
http://www.timeslive.co.za/
René Vollgraaff | 19 June, 2011
04:23
South Africa presidency spokesperson Zizi Kodwa denied reports in
Zimbabwe's
The Herald newspaper on Friday that SA will assist struggling
firms in
Bulawayo with a $50-million rescue package.
The
government-controlled newspaper quoted George Charamba, Zimbabwe's
presidential spokesperson, as saying President Robert Mugabe had raised the
issue of a rescue package when he met SA President Jacob Zuma last Friday.
According to The Herald, Charamba said Zuma had agreed to look into ways to
assist Zimbabwean companies. -
http://www.timeslive.co.za
ZOLI MANGENA | 19 June, 2011 03:37
IMF slams
Mugabe's promise to civil servants on pay rises
The political battle over
the proposed increase of salaries for Zimbabwe's
impoverished civil servants
has intensified, sucking in a visiting
International Monetary Fund (IMF)
team, which is dismayed that government
wants to take measures, which would
completely bankrupt it and fuel
inflation pressures.
Documents seen
by the Sunday Times show that President Robert Mugabe and
Finance Minister
Tendai Biti are now on the verge of an open conflict over
the issue of
salaries, which has polarised government, including cabinet.
Mugabe
recently said civil servants would get salary increases this month
after the
sale of diamonds, raising the expectations of the workers who are
wallowing
in poverty, but Biti quickly moved to say there is no money. The
minister
says the revenue inflows were still very low due to a narrow tax
base of the
economy.
Biti has accused Mugabe of politicising the issue and playing to
the gallery
to the detriment of the economy. ''The problem is that this
issue has been
politicised, but the truth is that I don't have the money to
increase the
salaries - where do you expect me to get the money?'' asked
Minister Biti.
''The economy is not performing well. I presented a
$2.7-billion budget with
$900-million being set aside for civil servants but
our revenue collections
are very low."
Documents show that the
visiting IMF team is against salary increases. In
fact, the IMF has actually
urged government to reduce the wage bill,
creating an explosive situation
among public workers.
The IMF team says Zimbabwe cannot afford increased
salaries and such a move
would destabilise nascent economic recovery.
Government is literally broke
and is saddled with a foreign debt of at least
$7-billion.
On June 1, the executive board of the IMF concluded its
Article IV
consultation with Zimbabwe, warning economic "recovery remains
fragile and
enormous challenges persist". It said under the current
"unchanged policies
scenario, growth will most likely decelerate in
2011".
The IMF team strongly advised against salary increases, angering
Mugabe but
pleasing Biti. This escalated the war on salaries. "Stronger
policies and a
favourable external environment supported a nascent economic
recovery during
2009 and 2010.
''Real GDP growth accelerated from 6%
in 2009 to 9% in 2010, and officially
reported 12-month consumer price index
(CPI) in US dollar terms remained
contained at 3% in December 2010," the IMF
board said.
"However, economic growth started from a low base and was
concentrated on
primary commodity sectors in mining and agriculture, both of
which are
sensitive to exogenous shocks.
"Structural impediments
weighed heavily on manufacturing and utilities,
which used to be the
locomotives of growth and employment creation."
Instead of recommending
salary increases, the IMF board "encouraged the
authorities to continue
timely data reporting and to take concrete steps
towards elimination of
ghost workers". An audit has shown that government
has at least 75 000 ghost
workers, who are being paid from taxpayers' money,
thus draining the
fiscus.
"In the short term, it is important to return to cash budgeting
and
implement strong expenditure measures, including elimination of ghost
workers, aimed at closing the likely financing gap," the IMF
said.
''To meet these challenges, (IMF) directors highlighted the need to
reduce
the wage bill relative to revenues, tighten the budget constraint on
state-owned enterprises, and implement public finance management
reforms."
The fund further warned that Zimbabwe's economic recovery was
still
"fragile" and should not be jeopardised by reckless policies which
drove the
country into hyperinflation in 2008.
"Despite a favourable
external environment, the external position remained
precarious in 2010.
Historically high commodity prices, the resumption in
official diamond
trade, a significant appreciation of the rand, and capital
inflows eased
balance of payments pressures in 2010 somewhat," it said.
"However, the
current account deficit (23% of GDP in 2010) was large and
financed in part
by short-term capital flows. The country's usable
international reserves
amounted to 0.4 months of imports at end-2010.
''Zimbabwe is in debt
distress, with a large and unsustainable external debt
stock (118% of GDP at
end-2010), the bulk of which is in arrears (80% of GDP
at end-2010)."
June 19, 2011
The Sunday Independent
Peta Thornycroft
Four South African truck
drivers due in court in Harare tomorrow are
effectively being held hostage
in Zimbabwe because Grace Mugabe is allegedly
using them as ransom to try to
recover ownership of a R40 million Hong Kong
residence she bought in
2008.
That’s what lawyers say in a dossier handed to South Africa’s justice
minister Jeff Radebe to appeal for his intervention in the case.
The
drivers were arrested in Harare after they had delivered trucks to a
close
aide of Grace Mugabe from her former South African business partner
Ping
Sung Hsieh, with whom she has had a falling-out.
Zimbabwe’s attorney general
Johannes Tomana, notorious for his pro-Zanu-PF
stance, came to South Africa
last week to try to get Ping extradited to
Harare to face theft charges with
the truck drivers, but the case was
postponed.
The Hong Kong residence,
No 3, JC Castle, 18 Shan Tong Road, Tai Po, was
originally bought by a shelf
company, Cross Global, organised by Robert
Mugabe’s former occasional
business partner, Ping, a Taiwanese-born South
African. It has nearly
doubled in value since then.
Ping – widely known as Jack – has since
transferred the property into his
name, purportedly for tax reasons.
The
Mugabes’ daughter, Bona, lived in the Hong Kong residence until a couple
of
months ago when there was an attempted burglary and she hurriedly moved
out,
leaving the place in a mess.
After the UK Sunday Times exposed the Mugabe’s
Hong Kong property, Mugabe
denied he had bought it and said it was rented
for Bona.
The row over the Hong Kong residence erupted after a dispute
allegedly arose
between Ping and Grace Mugabe over earnings from a gold mine
they were
developing at Ping’s expense, near Chinhoyi, 100km north of
Harare. Mugabe
allegedly demanded half its gross earnings, before the
considerable amount
of the original investment and running costs had been
deducted.
One of the other partners in the mine First Kopje is allegedly
Zimbabwe’s
Reserve Bank governor, Gideon Gono, the Mugabes’ private banker,
who is
particularly close to his distant relative, Grace Mugabe.
Ping had
been exceptionally generous to Zimbabwe’s first family, and his
associates
say he likes Mugabe, 87. He hosted them and other family members
in Hong
Kong and Singapore, and introduced Robert Mugabe to a urologist in
Singapore, where the old man has been treated for problems with his
prostate.
Ping also funded the development of an orphanage in Mazowe,
about 30km west
of Harare, on land Grace Mugabe took from a white couple in
2003.
But Ping, insiders say, was finally angered by Grace Mugabe’s alleged
greed
over the gold mine profits, which soured their business relationship.
A row
over the ownership of the Hong Kong property ensued.
The four South
African drivers, Cassimjee Bilal, 28, Henry Radebe, 57,
Samuel Risimati
Baloyi and Sydney Masilo, 40, are self-employed drivers who
were hired by
Ping on contract to deliver the trucks. They say they know
nothing about his
business dealings with Grace Mugabe – according to a
dossier which Ping’s
lawyers lodged with Radebe before his extradition
hearing in the
Vanderbijlpark Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.
Tomana had hoped to return to
Zimbabwe with Ping but, the hearing was
postponed until July 19.
The
dossier includes allegations that Ping was arrested by the Hawks,
without a
warrant at the Emerald Casino, Vanderbijlpark, in the presence of
Zimbabwe
policein July last year.
He was taken to Pretoria for questioning by the
Zimbabwean police, among
them Grace Mugabe’s aide from the Zimbabwe Republic
Police VIP protection
squad, Olga Bungu and with no South African police
present.
Among the questions put to Ping by the Zimbabwe security contingent
in
police cells in Pretoria, were ones about the paperwork relating to the
Hong
Kong residence. The Zimbabweans wanted the title deeds to the Hong Kong
property – which are available anyway from the Hong Kong deeds
office.
Ping was returned to his cell in Vanderbijlpark and released a day
later.
The separate business deal which, the dossier claims, Mugabe has used
to
pressure Ping to give up the Hong Kong house, began when R7 million was
transferred via the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to one of his companies,
Chantrea Trading, in South Africa in 2008. Grace Mugabe allegedly told Jack
she wanted six haulage trucks for her son Russell for the R7m.
She also
wanted milking equipment for her Gushungo Dairy, in Mazowe and
machinery for
the gold mine.
Though angered by the gold mine profits row, Ping claims he
eventually
delivered the balance of the R7m-worth of goods, including dairy
equipment
and three Inveco trucks and trailers on February 19. The drivers
delivered
them to the Grace Mugabe Orphanage, Mazowe, and got a signature
acknowledging receipt. But they were arrested the next day.
After they
were arrested, Bunga claimed in state papers to the Harare
Magistrate’s
Court, where the drivers were being remanded, that the R7m sent
to Ping was
her money, and that she had been defrauded of it by the drivers
and
Ping.
The driver’s Harare lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa, believes her clients’ date
in
the dock tomorrow will be a non-event because of the postponement of
Ping’s
extradition trial.
With Zimbabwe so desperately short of hard
currency at that time, Reserve
Bank of Zimbabwe experts say Gono must have
been consulted about transfer of
such a large sum as the R1m.
Six months
after Grace Mugabe’s US$1m was transferred from the central bank
to South
Africa, there was only about US$1m in the national treasury.
Meanwhile Bunga
has in the last month been promoted to a police
commissioner.
Weekend
Argus delivered questions to Gono via aides at the central bank on
Friday
and tried to get hold of Mugabe’s spokesman, George Charamba.
The four
drivers were released on bail and are staying at a safe house in
Harare.
They are reportedly “desperately” worried about their families in
South
Africa as all were self-employed. – Independent Foreign Service
http://www.straitstimes.com
By Romen Bose (AFP) – 14
hours ago
PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia — Malaysian premier Najib Razak on Sunday
told a
gathering of African leaders including Zimbabwe's controversial
President
Robert Mugabe that good governance was vital to economic
growth.
At a forum on promoting economic ties between Malaysia and
Africa, Najib
said the growth of social media was setting higher standards
of
accountability for governments around the world and leaders had to be
ready
to embrace change.
He made the call in front of 16 African
leaders including the 87-year-old
Mugabe, who has ruled Zimbabwe since 1980
and is banned from travelling to
the European Union over his regime's human
rights record.
"Good governance and best practices are essential
prerequisites for economic
growth and a precursor for transformation," Najib
said at opening of the
three-day event in Putrajaya, south of Kuala
Lumpur.
"Some people are fearful of the uncertainty that change brings;
others are
threatened by having to do things differently. A true leader must
be able to
address these concerns and obstacles and to overcome this
resistance to
change," he added.
Several African countries fill some
of the lowest slots in the World Bank's
global good governance
indicators.
Najib said social media were raising people's awareness and
setting a
"higher standard of accountability about actions and inactions on
the part
of global governments."
Malaysia's invitations to
controversial African leaders with dubious rights
records such as Mugabe --
who attended the meeting surrounded by
bodyguards -- have caused concern
among activists.
Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted by the
International
Criminal Court on genocide and war crimes charges, was also
invited but
pulled out after opposition to his presence from rights
groups.
Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Karti, who was supposed to attend
in his place
of his president, did not turn up Sunday.
Former
president of the Malaysian Bar Council Ragunath Kesavan said the
invitations
could be seen as condoning the leaders' abuses.
"We should not engage
with Mugabe. We should not add legitimacy to this
international pariah," he
said. "It will be seen as condoning and
sympathetic to what Mugabe is doing
in his country."
Activists also say Malaysia has a poor rights record of
its own, with
authorities at present holding 29 individuals under tough
security laws that
allow for unlimited detention without
trial.
Officials said in March that nearly 30,000 foreign workers have
been caned
in Malaysia since 2005 over various immigration offences, a
punishment which
rights groups have condemned as a "barbaric"
practice.
Najib defended the two leaders' invitations, saying that the
forum was "an
opportunity for us to try and play a kind of informal role to
help influence
certain policies and actions that may result in a positive
development in
that part of the world".
"We have very positive
relations with President Bashir himself... We are not
yet a member of the
statute of Rome (the treaty setting up the ICC) and
therefore we are not
obliged to comply by its decision.
"It is not illegal for us to invite
president Bashir to attend," he said.
Malaysia's national oil company
Petronas has major exploration investments
in Sudan producing billions of
dollars worth of oil for the firm every year.
Najib said that Mugabe had
been "the most active participant" in past
dialogues and it was "still
useful" to invite him, "although we are acutely
aware of his position vis a
vis the Commonwealth and many other countries".
Malaysian companies have
invested heavily in Zimbabwe, owning several
agricultural projects in the
central provinces which are home to some of the
country's best agricultural
land.
Officials say investors will meet potential partners and
identify
opportunities during the forum, while leaders will map ways to
promote trade
and economic ties.
Malaysia's heavily trade-dependent
economy needs to find new markets for the
manufactured products, oil and palm
oil that it exports.
Deputy Foreign Minister Kohilan Pillay has said
total trade between Malaysia
and Africa in 2010 stood at 25 billion ringgit
($8.2 billion), a 39 percent
surge from the previous year.
"There are
tremendous opportunities for Malaysia. We need to explore the
various
opportunities," he added.
http://www.theage.com.au
Ben Doherty
June 20,
2011
DELHI: The Kimberley Process - the international body charged with
stemming
world trade in conflict diamonds - is facing open revolt as
Zimbabwe's
president, Robert Mugabe, threatens to sell his stones,
''sanctions or no
sanctions''.
Zimbabwe's controversial Marange
diamond mine will dominate this week's
agenda at the Kimberley Process
meeting in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of
Congo, as Indian traders
pressure the Indian government to allow them to buy
diamonds outside the
international framework. India is the world's biggest
processor of rough
diamonds.
Zimbabwe diamonds are under embargo and cannot be sold. But
there is growing
pressure to allow them on to the market. In April, the
chairman of the
Kimberley Process, Mathieu Yamba, unilaterally declared the
stones could be
traded, saying ''there is absolutely no reason why they
shouldn't be sold on
an open market''. But without the approval of the
entire process, his
decision carries no weight.
Advertisement: Story
continues below
Conflict, or blood diamonds, are stones whose mining and
sale is used to
fund violent conflict and human rights abuses.
At
Marange mine, in eastern Zimbabwe, scores of miners have reportedly been
shot by government troops from helicopters. Villagers have been forced into
mining and it is widely believed troops are involved in
smuggling.
''Sanctions or no sanctions, Zimbabwe will sell its
diamonds,'' Mr Mugabe
reportedly said in Bulawayo last week. South Africa
has already agreed to
buy rough Zimbabwe diamonds ''outside'' of the
Kimberley Process.
In India, from where 95 per cent of the world's cut
and polished diamonds
are exported, the industry is lobbying for similar
access.
''Instead of South Africa, the initiative of accepting import of
Zimbabwe
diamonds should have been taken by India as Surat [in India] is the
end-user
of Zim stones,'' said Ashit Mehta, chairman of Surat Rough Diamond
Sourcing
India, the body representing diamond importers.
''It is very
crucial to clear Zimbabwe's rough diamond export.''
The Herald revealed
last month that India's gem market is being infiltrated
with illegally mined
conflict diamonds. Diamonds mined in Africa are
smuggled in by plane or by
boat, where they are cut and polished, and
essentially turned into clean
diamonds for sale on the world market.
Traders in India's diamond capital
Surat said up to 10 per cent of India's
$26 billion diamond market could be
conflict stones. And Australia is a
significant customer.
In
Kinshasa, Australia will push for independent monitors to supervise
mining
at Marange, saying it holds serious concerns for the future of the
Kimberley
Process, and a failure to resolve the issue of the Marange mine
could see
the framework fail.
''Australia's objective is to uphold and maintain the
integrity of the
Kimberley Process, which is designed to ensure consumer
confidence in the
global diamond trade,'' a Department of Foreign Affairs
spokesman said.
Elly Harrowell, a campaigner for Global Witness, said
this week's meeting
was critical. ''The KP can't go on like this, we can't
just crash from
crisis to crisis. The Zimbabwe impasse has highlighted
significant
structural issues with the Kimberley Process and if we can't
sort those
problems out, then perhaps the KP won't have a
future.''
The process was established in 2003 to curb the trade in
conflict diamonds
by requiring all rough diamond exports to be stored in a
tamper-proof box
and to carry a certificate guaranteeing they were mined
legitimately. But
the process applies only to rough diamonds; once stones
are cut and
polished, they are no longer bound by the protocol, and are
almost
impossible to trace.
This makes India, with thousands of
cutting operations, a haven for
smugglers. In April, two Indian men were
caught in Surat carrying 9.72
kilograms of rough diamonds, worth $2.24
million, smuggled out of Zimbabwe.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
19/06/2011 00:00:00
by
THE
Kimberley Process (KP) - the international body charged with stemming
world
trade in so-called conflict diamonds - is facing open revolt as key
members
push for the removal of an international ban against trade in stones
from
Zimbabwe’s controversial Marange area.
The issue is set to dominate this
week's deliberations at the Kimberley
Process meeting in the Democratic
Republic of Congo, as Indian traders
pressure their government to allow them
to buy diamonds outside the
international framework.
India is the world's
biggest processor of rough diamonds.
Diamonds from Marange are under
embargo and cannot be sold over KP
compliance issues. The ban was imposed
following allegations of rights
abuses in the area as well as claims that
troops were involved in diamond
smuggling.
But there is growing pressure
to allow the Marange gems back on to the
market.
In April, the
chairman of the Kimberley Process, Mathieu Yamba declared the
stones could
be traded, saying ''there is absolutely no reason why they
shouldn't be sold
on an open market''. But without the approval of the
entire KP process, his
decision carries no weight.
Zimbabwe dismisses the allegations of rights
abuses and smuggling insisting
measures have since been put in place to
ensure compliance with the KP’s
requirements.
President Robert Mugabe
recently declared that ''sanctions or no sanctions,
Zimbabwe (would) sell
its diamonds.
Already, South Africa has agreed to buy rough Zimbabwe diamonds
''outside''
of the Kimberley Process.
Again, in India, from where 95
per cent of the world's cut and polished
diamonds are exported, the industry
is lobbying for similar access.
''Instead of South Africa, the initiative
of accepting import of Zimbabwe
diamonds should have been taken by India as
Surat [in India] is the end-user
of Zim stones,'' said Ashit Mehta, chairman
of Surat Rough Diamond Sourcing
India, the body representing diamond
importers.
''It is very crucial to clear Zimbabwe's rough diamond
export.''
Still, Australia has indicated it will push for independent
monitors to
supervise mining at Marange at the DRC meeting, saying it holds
serious
concerns for the future of the Kimberley Process. The country warned
that a
failure to resolve the issue of the Marange mine could see the
framework
fail.
''Australia's objective is to uphold and maintain the
integrity of the
Kimberley Process, which is designed to ensure consumer
confidence in the
global diamond trade,'' a Department of Foreign Affairs
spokesman said.
The United States, Britain and Western human rights
organisations are
leading efforts to keep the Marange ban in place with Elly
Harrowell, a
campaigner for Global Witness, saying this week's DRC meeting
was critical.
''The KP can't go on like this, we can't just crash from
crisis to crisis.
The Zimbabwe impasse has highlighted significant
structural issues with the
Kimberley Process and if we can't sort those
problems out, then perhaps the
KP won't have a future.''
Zimbabwe
insists it needs revenues from the Marange fields – said to be one
of the
world’s richest diamond finds – to help improve the country’s economy
which
is recovering from a decade-long recession.
President Mugabe insists the KP
ban is part of a wider strategy by the West
aimed at forcing him out of
office.
The Kimberly Process was established in 2003 to curb the trade in
conflict
diamonds by requiring all rough diamond exports to carry a
certificate
guaranteeing they were mined legitimately.
But the
process applies only to rough diamonds; once stones are cut and
polished,
they are no longer bound by the protocol, and are almost
impossible to
trace.
http://www.news24.com
2011-06-19 15:15
Gcina Ntsaluba,
City Press
Polokwane - Thousands of Zimbabweans living in a township
outside
Polokwane, Limpopo, fled last week following the most serious wave
of
xenophobic violence to hit South Africa in recent months.
The
purge included the killing of Zimbabwean Godfrey Sibanda, who
was cornered
by a mob and stoned to death on Monday night in Extension 75
of Seshoga
township, northwest of Polokwane, while walking home from work.
Six RDP
houses in Extension 71 which had been rented to Zimbabweans
were also
torched by large mobs.
More than 3 000 other Zimbabweans fled to hide in
nearby bushes.
Sibanda was accused of raping a five-year-old girl and for
being behind
other criminal acts in the area, which included the murder of a
couple last
week and robbing a security guard.
The police said they
had heard of the incidents, but had no record of
these alleged crimes being
reported to them.
The day after Sibanda was killed, more Zimbabweans were
attacked and evicted
from their homes by locals who dumped their blankets,
bags and other
belongings on the street.
3 000 displaced
Those
who escaped unharmed were being sheltered at the Seshego police
station
with their families. They said that more than 3 000 of their fellow
countrymen were displaced.
They were scared to go to the police
because they thought the police were
working with the community, said
Christopher Manyanhaire, 27.
He was evicted from his home with his
sister, three-year-old nephew and
brother-in-law.
He said that the
mob caught his sister, Locadia, after she tried to escape
through the
window.
"They were at the door trying to kick it down but I was holding
it while my
sister tried to escape, but they caught her and beat her until
the police
arrived,” he said.
Manyanhaire, whose family was among
those at Seshego police station,
said locals had complained about
Zimbabweans getting state houses cheaply
from owners who rented them
out.
“They have no right to be living in an RDP house because it’s for us
South
Africans,” said Paulina Makokwane, a South African whose house is
surrounded
by three Zimbabwean-occupied houses that were torched on
Tuesday.
House-to-house search
On Tuesday evening, City Press
witnessed a group of close to 200
people going from house-to-house looking
for Zimbabweans.
Provincial police spokesperson Brigadier Hangwani
Mulaudzi said one person
was arrested for arson and they were still
investigating the murder case.
Fungai Chingorivo, who was part of the
evicted group at the police station,
said she and her husband had lost
everything they had worked for since
coming to South Africa in
2008.
“We don’t know what to do now. We have no money and going back home
to
Zimbabwe empty-handed is pointless because our children and families are
suffering,” she said.
By Thursday morning, there were 20 displaced
families at the police station
with some of their belongings which they had
managed to save.
More were expected to arrive and the police have called
in local
disaster-management officials to help with shelter.
ANC
Limpopo spokesperson David Masondo said the party was “disappointed” at
what
had happened and that it was symptomatic of economic stress in both
Limpopo
and Zimbabwe.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com/
19/06/2011 00:00:00
by Staff
Reporter
THE Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) is reportedly
refusing to repay
a US$5 million Iranian loan which was used to refurbish
the broadcaster’s
studios claiming some of the equipment supplied under the
deal was
defective.
The loan was part of a US$15 million deal reached
in 2004 between the
Zimbabwe government and Tehran with about US$10 million
going to the
Agricultural Rural Development Agency (Arda).
A report
by parliament’s portfolio committee on Media, Information and
Communication
Technology presented last week stated that the ZBC only paid
back
US$300000.00 adding managers were refusing to stump-up the balance.
"To date
ZBC still owes the Iranian company à5-million as it is accruing
interest,"
the parliamentary report says.
The money was used to refurbish and
modernise television studios at the
corporation’s Pockets Hill broadcasting
centre in Harare’s leafy Highlands
suburb.
However, managers told the
parliamentary committee that “the deal was a bit
unfair as the Iranian
company (which supplied the equipment) factored in a
huge mark-up if one
compares the cost of such equipment in the world
market".
They claimed
the Iranians slapped a 50 percent mark-up on the equipment,
making the deal
too costly.
Most of the equipment has since broken down with only one of
the three
studios that were re-equipped under the deal understood to be
still
operational.
Management also claimed that the Iranians did not
train ZBC staff to operate
the equipment adding there was also no provision
for spares and other
consumables.
However ex-ZBC employees insisted that
the Iranians did train staff to use
the equipment.
“The problem is
that most of those trained to use the equipment have since
left the
corporation largely because of poor conditions of service,” said
one former
employee.
An attempt was also made to venture into tobacco production at
Pockets Hill
in a bid to raise foreign currency to repay the
loan.
Zimbabwe was then experiencing serious foreign currency
shortages.
Still, the project – spearheaded by the then ZBC chief executive,
Dr Rino
Zhuwarara -- failed to take off the ground.
http://www.straitstimes.com
Jun
19, 2011
KUALA LUMPUR -
MALAYSIA'S biennial convention to promote economic
collaboration with Africa
will begin on Sunday with the attendance of
controversial Zimbabwean
president Robert Mugabe.
Dubbed the Langkawi International Dialogue and a
brainchild of ex-premier
Mahathir Mohamad, the forum aims to stimulate
economic collaboration between
Malaysia and a continent beset by conflicts,
coups and political turmoil.
The 87-year-old Mr Mugabe, who is banned
from travelling to the European
Union over his regime's human rights record,
arrived in Malaysia on Saturday
and will be among leaders from 20 countries
expected to attend the four-day
event in Putrajaya, south of the capital
Kuala Lumpur.
Around 500 delegates from countries including Lesotho,
Gambia, South Africa,
Uganda, Kenya and Namibia will be welcomed by Prime
Minister Najib Razak
when he kicks off proceedings at the 14th forum, the
ninth to be held in
Malaysia.
Africa is a good bet for growth, say
analysts, with the International
Monetary Fund expecting it to expand faster
than the global average in the
coming years, with six of the world's 10
fastest-growing economies coming
from the continent last year. Malaysia's
heavily trade-dependent economy
needs to find new markets for the
manufactured products, oil and palm oil
that it exports.
Deputy
foreign minister Kohilan Pillay said total trade between Malaysia and
Africa
in 2010 stood at 25 billion ringgit (S$10.1 billion), a 39 per cent
surge
from the previous year. 'There are tremendous opportunities for
Malaysia. We
need to explore the various opportunities,' he added. -- AFP
http://www.telegraph.co.uk
China has sent a special
delegation to Zimbabwe to encourage better
relations between its countrymen
and the locals after reports of inhumane
treatment and underpayment by the
"new colonial master".
By Aislinn Laing, Johannesburg
5:38PM
BST 19 Jun 2011
The Overseas Chinese Affairs Committee of the National
People's Congress of
China will hold seminars encouraging Chinese nations to
respect the local
culture and help build its economy.
The
delegation's leader, Yu Linxiang, told Zimbabwe's parliament it was in
the
interests of the estimated 5,000 Chinese living in the southern African
country to get on better with the locals.
"We would like to meet the
Chinese people in Zimbabwe and particularly learn
how they live and how they
deal with the Zimbabwean people," he said.
"We will also hold seminars
for the Chinese people living in Zimbabwe to
encourage them to play a role
in building the Zimbabwean economy."
China has invested heavily all over
Africa to feed a growing demand at home
for natural resources and unlike the
West imposes few moral conditions on
the governments it deals
with.
Last year, it overtook the United States as the continent's largest
trade
partner. Trade between China and Zimbabwe now stands at $550m (£340
million). China has recently agreed a loan to Zimbabwe of $700m (£432
million), thought to be in return for access to the country's platinum
deposits.
But growing along with the trade has been the number of
complaints about
Chinese nationals undercutting local industries and the
underpayment and
ill-treatment of local workers by Chinese employers in
construction,
catering and mining trades.
Last week, an MP suggested
in parliament that Chinese managers who abused
local workers were "immune"
from prosecution.
Dr Martyn Davies, CEO of Frontier Advisory, a research
body specialising in
China in Africa, said many disputes that arise between
Chinese and Africans
are simply cultural “misunderstandings".
“You
are combining two very traditional cultures, both of which are not
terribly
globalised and there are bound to be frictions from time to time,”
he
said.
Last week, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned of a "new
colonialism" by China in Africa.
17 June 2011
Deborah Bronnert has been appointed Her Majesty's Ambassador to the Republic of Zimbabwe.Deborah Bronnert
has been appointed Her Majesty's Ambassador to the Republic of Zimbabwe in
succession to Mr Mark Canning CMG who will be transferring to another Diplomatic
Service appointment. Mrs Bronnert will take up her appointment during August
2011.
Deborah Bronnert has been Director for Prosperity issues, one of the FCO’s three key priorities under the new government. In this role, she led the FCO’s work on commercial and economic diplomacy, trade policy, development issues and climate change. She has been the G8 Foreign Affairs Sous-Sherpa for the United Kingdom for the G8 Summits in L’Aquila (2009) and Deauville (2011) negotiating on issues including the L’Aquila Food Security Initiative, G8 accountability for past aid commitments and the Partnership for the Arab Spring. In addition to posts in London, she has previously served in Moscow as Economic Counsellor where she led the trade, economic, development and climate/science teams, as a member of the Rt Hon (now Lord) Neil Kinnock’s Cabinet at the European Commission in Brussels with responsibility for a broad range of subjects including EU foreign and development policy issues and at the UK Representation to the European Union. Along with a colleague, she was the first job-share Director in the FCO (from September 2008 to January 2011). She has extensive experience of development issues from a foreign policy perspective. She is a Board member of the medical emergency relief charity Merlin. Deborah Bronnert studied Mathematics at the University of Bristol for her first degree and has an MA in the Political Economy of Russia and Eastern Europe from the School of Slavonic and Eastern European Studies, University College London.
On her appointment as Her Majesty's Ambassador to the Republic of Zimbabwe, Deborah Bronnert said “I am honoured and delighted to be taking up this post at such an important time for Zimbabwe, as the parties in the Inclusive Government work towards greater reform and free and fair elections. The United Kingdom has long been a friend to the Zimbabwean people and I look forward to ensuring that that commitment remains as strong as ever.”
Curriculum VitaeFull name: |
Deborah Jane Bronnert |
Married to: |
Alfonso Torrents |
Children: |
One son |
Sept 2008 - present |
FCO, Director, Prosperity (previously Global
and Economic Issues) |
Oct 2006 - Aug 2008 |
FCO, Head, Future of Europe Dept, then Europe
Delivery |
Sept 2005 - Sept 2006 |
UCL, School of Slavonic and Eastern European
Studies |
Jun 2002 - Sept 2005 |
Moscow, Counsellor
(Economic) |
Oct 2001 - Jun 2002 |
Russian language training |
Oct 1999 - Sept 2001 |
FCO, Deputy Head, Southern European
Department |
Mar 1995 - Oct 1999 |
European Commission, Member, Neil Kinnock's
Cabinet |
Sept 1994 - Mar 1995 |
FCO, Team Leader, European Union Department
(Internal) |
Aug 1993 - Sept 1994 |
Secretariat, Sir Michael Latham's Review of the
Construction Industry |
Sept 1991 - July 1993 |
UK Representation Brussels, Second Secretary
(Environment) |
Oct 1990 - Sept 1991 |
Member of Secretariat, Royal Commission on
Environmental Pollution |
Sept 1989 - Sept 1990 |
Department of the Environment, Fast Stream Trainee |
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Incoming British ambassador to Zimbabwe, Deborah
Bronnert said the United
Kingdom will remain a great friend of Zimbabwe,
pledging this week to
normalise frosty ties between Harare and its erstwhile
colonial master.
19.06.1112:19pm
Vusimusi Bhebhe
Bronnert, who
replaces Mark Canning as London’s point person in Harare, said
in a
statement that she was delighted to be taking up the post of British
ambassador “at such an important time for Zimbabwe, as the parties in the
Inclusive Government work towards greater reform and free and fair
elections”.
“The United Kingdom has long been a friend to the
Zimbabwean people and I
look forward to ensuring that that commitment
remains as strong as ever,”
said the incoming envoy.
Bronnert, who
takes up her new Harare posting in August, has until now been
head of
Prosperity Issues, one of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)’s
three
key priorities under the new UK coalition government.
In this role, she
led the FCO’s work on commercial and economic diplomacy,
trade policy,
development issues and climate change.
In addition to posts in London,
she has previously served in Moscow as
economic counsellor where she led the
trade, economic, development and
climate/science teams and as a member of
Lord Neil Kinnock’s cabinet at the
European Commission in Brussels with
responsibility for European Union
foreign and development policy
issues.
She has extensive experience of development issues from a foreign
policy
perspective.
Canning left Zimbabwe on 3 June 2011 following
the completion of his tour of
duty. His deputy, Tim Cole, is currently
acting as Charge d'Affaires,
pending the arrival of the new ambassador
Zimbabwe’s relations with Britain,
which were cordial soon after
independence, took a nose dive when the Labour
Party under the leadership of
Tony Blair took power in Britain in 1996.
President Robert Mugabe accused
the Labour government of reneging on a
pledge made by their Conservatives
counterparts to fund a programme to
redistribute land.
In retaliation
Mugabe compulsorily grabbed land from more than 4 000 white
farmers in 2000,
telling them to get compensation from the UK government.
He went on to
steal subsequent elections held from 2002, unleashing his
supporters on
members of the opposition. This led to the imposition of visa
restrictions
and an asset freeze by the UK, EU and other Western countries
in 2003.
http://bulawayo24.com/
by Ndou
Paul
2011 June 19 17:03:59
MDC-T has rubbished allegations that
its members are receiving military
training being conducted by some
Europeans in North West Province.
State media in Zimbabwe alleges that
MDC-T youths are being trained to do a
"Benghazi" in Zimbabwe. The three
MDC-T police murder suspects that were
allegedly smuggled to SA are said to
have joined the group thats being
trained by Europeans.
"It is
absolutely not true that the MDC-T is receiving military training
anywhere,"
said Mr Mwonzora.
"We also are at a loss as to why these allegations can
be made against the
party. It is not true that the three are on the run and
it is also not true
that the party is hiding them. Police must just learn to
do their work
professionally. This is a purely criminal matter and is being
spoiled by the
police politicising the case and trying to establish links
where none
exist."
It is understood that the trio, together with
other MDC-T members who are
receiving military training in SA, frequently
visit Johannesburg’s Hillbrow
during weekends where they describe details of
their training and their
uniforms. The members boast that they are being
trained to do a "Benghazi"
in Zimbabwe in reference to the Libyan rebels who
are fighting Colonel
Muammar Gaddafi from the city of Benghazi. Reports say
the MDC-T members are
expected to infiltrate Zimbabwe ahead of the
elections.
"They tell us that they will occupy one province, start
problems from there
and hope that their leader Morgan will have the guts
like Ivory Coast’s
Ouattara and declare himself winner in order to justify
an intervention by
Nato," said one Zimbabwean who has been staying in
Hillbrow for over four
years.
Attempts to get a comment from SA
police were fruitless by the time of going
to press.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Thousands of pupils at farms around
the country have dropped out of school
as their parents are struggling to
raise school fees due to the meagre wages
paid by new
farmers.
19.06.1112:37pm
Fungai Kwaramba Harare
According to
the General Agriculture Plantation Workers Union Zimbabwe, the
low wages
have had an adverse effect not only on the lifestyle of workers,
but have
severely impacted future prospects for the children.
“Living conditions
at the farms have deteriorated very much and the children
have been worst
affected,” said Ndaizivei Kamoto, GAPWUZ spokesperson.
Students who were
supposed to sit examinations this year will not be able to
do so, as their
parents cannot afford the fees.
“It’s really bad because parents do not
have any other source of income.
They work24/7 throughout the year,” said
Kamoto Since last year, GAPWUZ,
which has more than 25 000 members, has been
pushing for a review of
salaries of workers to at least $55, but new farmers
have dug in their
heels, arguing that the agriculture sector is
under-performing.
Apart from failing to raise money for fees, students at
the new farms also
have to travel long distances in order to get to school
as the government
has failed to provide new schools at the farms. In most
cases, the
dispossessed commercial farmers had farm schools where the kids
received
free tuition.
GAPWUZ also noted that most of the children do
not have birth certificates
and this has also affected their chances of
registering for the critical
ordinary level examinations.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Marondera Municipality has cut
management allowances by half and plans to
purchase refuse trucks to provide
quality service delivery to residents.
19.06.1112:35pm
Jane
Makoni
The Mayor, Farai Nyandoro, said MDC-T councillors had to take
non-cooperating members of management head-on in order to turn around the
fortunes of the Mashonaland East Provincial Capital.
“We realised
there was no way council could deliver with management staff
pocketing
thousands of dollars in monthly allowances on top of hefty
salaries.
Starting July 1, allowances will be reduced by 50 percent. Some of
the
allowances even covered expenses such as entertainment and transport –
despite officials benefitting from company vehicles and houses. We finally
got our way despite stiff resistance from some senior members of staff,”
said Nyandoro.
He indicated that the local authority would purchase
refuse trucks soon.
“Our main objective is to turn around the fortunes of
Marondera for the
better. Our previous efforts in this regard were
frustrated by members of
management who had their own agenda. We have now
engaged a substantive Chief
Security Officer, a land surveyor and four
health technicians,” Nyandoro
said.
Sources within the council told
The Zimbabwean that the five new members of
staff were engaged after a
fierce battle between MDC-T councillors and
council chamber secretary,
Ruramayi Nyamuzihwa, who allegedly wanted to
protect the interests of
under-qualified Zanu (PF) officials holding the
posts in acting
capacity.
Although Nyamuzihwa recently received direct instructions from
Minister
Chombo to engage the services of the specialists, he remained
adamant that
“there is no way I would implement verbal Ministerial
directives”.
“We were shocked to learn that a mere chamber secretary was
defying
recommendations made by the with the blessing of the minister.
Anyone could
see that MDC-T councillors were talking sense when they
proposed that
essential departments should be headed by qualified personnel.
Their
endeavours were not driven by political interests, but were clearly
aimed at
delivering services to rate payers,” said a council insider on
condition of
anonymity.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
Emmerson Mnangagwa
is Zimbabwe's defence minister and a senior figure in
President Robert
Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party. A former chief of the intelligence
services, he is
often accused of being a secret power behind Mr Mugabe’s
throne - but in
this Sunday Telegraph interview with Colin Freeman he
insists he is keen to
heal the divisions of the past.
By Colin Freeman, in Harare
7:30AM
BST 19 Jun 2011
CF: How has Zanu-PF found the experience of sharing power
with Morgan
Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change?
EM: It is
more than two and a half years since we established the inclusive
government, and a lot of things have happened that are positive. Among them
is that we discovered that our differences with our opponents are not that
serious, and that we can work together without too many problems in cabinet
as well as in government generally.
Since then there has been peace
in the country, and the economy, which had
really gone down very seriously,
has recovered. Industry and agriculture are
also in the process of
recovering, and there is a vibrant mining sector.
Tourism went down
drastically because of sanctions brought by your people
(Britain, Europe and
the US) and the bad publicity that the country has
received internationally,
but is also showing signs of growth.
CF: Are you hopeful of sanctions
being lifted against your party?
EM: All three political parties in
Zimbabwe have agreed to campaign for
their removal, but so far we have drawn
blanks on this matter from Brussels
and London. It seems they are still
inclined to impose sanctions on us.
There are also still foreign broadcasts
into Zimbabwe in our local languages
that are spreading hate speech, which
agitate for regime change.
CF: Are you referring to the BBC?
EM:
No, I mean the likes of Voice of America. The BBC has its own crimes,
but
not that one.
CF: When do you think there will be elections in
Zimbabwe?
EM: This is not set in stone, but assuming that a referendum on
a new
constitution is held and accepted, then the time frame for elections
after
that is a period of four months. If we were to have a referendum in
October,
then we would be looking at February for an election.
CF: Do
you think they will be free and fair?
EM: I can assure you that the
people of Zimbabwe are more concerned that the
elections are free and fair
than anyone in London or elsewhere, and we want
to do everything to achieve
that. The perception that Zanu-PF is violent is
wrong. It is more and more
apparent that it is not us, but the MDC-T (the
party of Morgan Tsvangirai)
who is like that - recently some of their
representatives were arrested in
Harare for a killing a policeman.
CF: How do you view Mr Tsvangirai
personally?
EM: We have seen in the past that his organisation has had
foreign funding,
which does not go down well here, and also received reports
that he has
consulted in the past with US and British diplomats, which again
works
against him. But while I have been Minister of Defence, I have found
him a
very sound, sober person, and have had no problem with him.
CF:
You have profited personally from the land confiscations against white
farmers. Is this justified?
EM: I have 400 hectares, that is correct,
but it is a just entitlement,
absolutely. My parents were removed by (former
white Zimbabwean leader) Ian
Smith and pushed into the mountains. Other
reclaimed land includes which was
taken from my grandparents 60 or 70 years
ago. I would say, though, that the
single quarrel between us and Britain, on
land reform, is now behind us.
Yes, six people died in the process, but the
issue of land reform is a
question of justice.
CF: Do you think that
Britain still secretly controls things here in
Zimbabwe, as Mr Mugabe
sometimes seems to claim?
EM: The British do not command things here, no,
and I personally do not
think they have any inimical intentions towards
Zimbabwe. I should point out
that when we took over here in Zimbabwe, I
actually offered promotions to
three of the white officers who tortured me
during our struggle for
independence.
The point was to make it clear
to them that I realised that they were simply
doing their jobs, serving
their governments, and that we wanted to build a
new country, this time
based on love and respect.
CF: What do you say to claims that you were
involved in organising campaigns
of intimidation against opposition
supporters in the 2008 polls?
EM: I was minister of rural housing. Unless
they say that people were being
intimidated during the construction of rural
homes, then this never
happened.
CF: Why is it that so many
Zimbabweans say bad things about you? That you
are a secret power, more
feared than Mr Mugabe himself?
EM: You are the first person to ask me
these kind of questions, but I don’t
really know where any of this kind of
stuff comes from at all. I am number
12 in the party, not number two, and am
just a very humble person.
CF: Do you have any ambition to be
president?
EM: I have no ambitions to be president. People speculate left
right and
centre but we have a structure in our party with a president and
two
vice-presidents. The leadership has to come out of that group, and I am
not
part of it. I just wish a legacy of peace, prosperity and growth for the
younger generation.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk
Power-sharing brought Zimbabwe back from the brink of anarchy, but
now fears
are growing for what follows when Robert Mugabe finally
departs
By Colin Freeman, Harare
7:30AM BST 19 Jun 2011
His
enemies call him "The Crocodile", but even that does scant justice to
the
long list of charges levelled against Emmerson Mnangagwa, the one person
in
Zimbabwe more feared than Robert Mugabe.
The former head of Zimbabwe's
ruthless central intelligence organisation,
his name gets a dishonourable
mention in many of the most sinister episodes
of Mr Mugabe's rule, from the
massacre of thousands of political opponents
during the 1980s, through to
the violence of the disputed 2008 election, in
which Mr Mugabe is widely
accused of stealing victory from Morgan
Tsvangirai.
Also known as the
"Son of God" (Mr Mugabe being "God"), he is even feared by
fellow members of
the president's Zanu-PF party, who suspect that he too
would like the top
job one day.
All of which makes it all the stranger when, in a rare
interview with The
Sunday Telegraph on Friday - his first with a British
journalist in 10
years - he gives a smile that is not particularly
reptilian, a handshake
that oozes no blood, and a manner largely devoid of
"Comrade Bob's"
anti-British histrionics. What is equally surprising,
though, is the
thumbs-up he gives to Zimbabwe's coalition government,
brokered in 2009
after outside pressure forced Zanu-PF to share power - or
at least some of
it - with their sworn enemies in Mr Tsvangirai's Movement
for Democratic
Change.
"It is more than two-and-a-half years since we
established the inclusive
government, and a lot of things have happened that
are positive," said Mr
Mnangagwa, 64, whose cronies are accused of murdering
at least 200 MDC
supporters during the 2008 polls, and of three separate
attempts to kill Mr
Tsvangirai himself over the years. "Among them is that
we discovered that
our differences with our opponents are not that serious,
and that we can
work together without too many problems."
The words
of a man genuinely seeking to bury Zimbabwe's many hatchets? Or a
cynical
charm offensive from someone with his own eye on the throne? As
Western
diplomats in Harare wearily point out to their governments in Europe
and
America, working out what is really going on in within the secretive,
eccentric world of Zanu-PF's ruling elite is impossible. What they are less
in doubt of, though, is that despite the relative calm since the
power-sharing government took over - steering the country from the brink of
anarchy - Zimbabwe remains as much a tinder box as ever.
With
Britain, Europe and the US currently pre-occupied with the "Arab
Springs" in
the likes of Egypt and Libya, Colonel Gaddafi's fellow "African
freedom
fighter" in the southern half of the continent has all but slipped
off the
radar this year in Downing Street and Washington. Yet in the last
couple of
months, there have been claims that Mr Mugabe is re-activating his
Zanu-PF
street militias, in order to intimidate his way to victory in yet
another
set of elections, mooted possibly for next year. This time around,
though,
the prospect of the 86-year-old strong-arming his way to office once
more is
just one of the worst-case scenarios. Of equal concern is that he
may drop
dead at any minute, paving the way for a bloody confrontation as
"The
Crocodile" and other factions seek to fill the power vacuum left by his
autocratic rule. A post-Mugabe Zimbabwe, diplomats warn, could end up even
more unstable, polarised between the hardline vision of the likes of Mr
Mnangagwa and the reformist world view of Mr Tsvangirai.
"Mugabe is
the glue that holds the whole political firmament together, and
if you take
him away you are into completely uncharted waters," said one
Harare
observer. "There is a definite fear of bloodshed within Zanu PF if he
goes,
as there will be a lot of very tough people with a lot to play for in
terms
of the spoils of office. The MDC is also unlikely to stand on the
sidelines
if Zanu PF implodes, and it could lead to a very chaotic
environment."
Mr Mugabe has always been bullish about his health, and
has insisted that
recent trips to a private hospital in Singapore are merely
for routine
cataract treatment rather than rumoured prostate cancer. As he
told
Zimbabwe's state-controlled Herald newspaper last month: "I want to
live to
over 100."
But at a meeting last week in South Africa with
President Jacob Zuma, who is
tasked with monitoring Zimbabwe's power-sharing
arrangements, the Zimbabwean
leader was rambling and incoherent, at one
point even calling his host "Mr
Mandela".
"He was slurring his speech
and generally all over the place," said the
observer. "He is fine in brief
public engagements in Zimbabwe, but when he's
sitting through a lengthy
diplomatic summit, when he can't control the
timing of when he speaks, it's
clear he's on a downward slope."
True, aside from its ailing president,
Zimbabwe does now look rather less in
terminal decline than before. Thanks
to a decision by Tendai Biti, the MDC
finance minister, to replace the
Zimbabwe dollar with the American one, the
25,000 per cent annual inflation
rate has now been slashed to around 2.5 per
cent; as a result, staples like
bread and cooking oil are back on the
shelves, and can be bought with a few
dollars rather than a brick of
trillion dollar notes. Civil servants are
being paid again, allowing schools
and hospitals to function once more,
famine in rural areas has gone, and the
valuable tourism sector is also
showing signs of renewed. Also welcome again
under the power-sharing
government are foreign journalists: The Sunday
Telegraph's visit last week
was the first in five years in which it was
possible to get an official
press badge - lack of which landed two previous
correspondents for this
newspaper in jail in 2005 and 2008.
"Things are definitely better
compared to 2008," said Tinashe Zihansu, 26, a
market analyst, as he browsed
for a flat-screen television in a newly-opened
mall in a Harare suburb. "Two
years ago you had to queue all day just for
things like bread and sugar. I
would almost rather the power-sharing
government continued without any
elections, to be honest, because at least
it means they are only fighting
each other within the cabinet rather than
out on the streets."
That
such an unlikely partnership has functioned at all is a testimony to
the
patience of Mr Tsvangirai, many of whose own supporters thought the
powersharing arrangement would simply taint the MDC with Zanu-PF's
failings.
Like Mr Mnangagwa, Mr Tsvangirai too is surprisingly polite
about working
with his enemies; ask him how coalition life is, and one gets
a show of
statesmanship that David Cameron and Nick Clegg might struggle to
muster.
Mr Mugabe, who views the MDC leader as simply a pawn of British
neo-colonial
interests, is at least "polite and respectful" during their
meetings every
Monday, Mr Tsvangarai told The Sunday Telegraph in an
interview at his
Harare villa. Power sharing, he added, had drawn the
country back from the
"precipice" of anarchy; indeed, he jokingly offered to
school Mr Cameron on
its merits when they met at a summit in Davos earlier
this year.
"I told him 'Why did you guys take so long to form a
coalition, you should
have asked us, we could have given you some
experience,'" he said, smiling.
"Coalitions are not the best arrangement
in the world, but they are
undertaken by a politician in order to pass
through a certain phase, and I
think to a large extent we have
delivered."
Rather like Mr Clegg, though, Mr Tsvangirai, 59, is very much
the junior
partner in the arrangement. Crucially, Mr Mugabe still retains
control of
the country's police, army and security services, which continue
to harrass
Mr Tsvangirai's own ministers and other political opponents on
blatant
fashion: in the past three months alone, two MDC ministers and a
serving MP
have been chucked into prison on trumped-up charges of
corruption.
Such tactics are understood to have earned Mr Mugabe an
unprecedented
private rebuke last week from President Zuma, who, unlike his
predecessor,
Thabo Mbeki, is far from star-struck by the former liberation
hero. But on
the ground in Zimbabwe, there is little Mr Zuma can practically
do to stop
the harassment - as the likes of MDC activist Raymond Saidi, 53,
knows all
too well. A ward chairman in a Harare suburb, he was badly beaten
two weeks
ago after being ambushed by Zanu-PF youths on his way home from an
MDC
rally.
"They dragged me into their HQ and hit me with iron bars,"
said Mr Saidi,
who still has a scar on his skull and a leg in plaster. "They
were shouting
at me: 'Tsvangirai will never rule, why don't you go with him
to England?'"
In Zimbabwe's rural provinces, meanwhile, reports are
surfacing of more
systematic thuggery. Human rights groups say that
Zimbabwe's notorious Joint
Operations Command, an all-powerful security body
allegedly headed by Mr
Mnangagwa, who is now Defence Minister, has once
again been priming its
militia men. Although no date for elections has been
set - Mr Mugabe wants
them next year, but it may not be until 2013 - the JOC
apparently believes
people need early reminder to "vote the right way", a
task it has entrusted
to the chairman of Zimbabwe's War Veterans
Association, Jabulani Sibanda.
"Sibanda has been going around here,
telling people that he has been sent by
the President of Zimbabwe, and that
anyone who doesn't vote Zanu-PF will be
killed," alleged Wickliff Matindike,
30, an MDC organiser in Gutu, a dusty,
goat-pecked hamlet set amid maize
fields in the province of Masvingo, 150
miles north of Harare.
"He
has been threatening to burn the houses of MDC officials, and has also
told
the local kraalheads (village chiefs) to give Zanu-PF the names of all
our
supporters."
Back in Harare, Mr Mnangagwa laughs off such claims. Just
like the reports
that he heads the JOC itself, he insists it is all just
"talk" - disturbing
for his children to read about on the internet, but
without substance.
"I don't know where all this 'hardman' stuff comes
from at all, and I keep
having to tell my children that it's all nonsense,"
he said. "I can assure
you that the people of Zimbabwe are far more
concerned that the elections
are free and fair than anybody outside our
country is, and we want to do
everything to achieve that."
Diplomats
in Harare, however, are likely to take such reassurances with a
bushel of
salt - as too does Mr Tsvangirai, who, despite his polite comments
about the
coalition, does not think there is yet a "level playing field" for
any
future elections. Likewise, few are likely to accept Mr Mnangagwa's own
claims that he himself has no interest in the leadership.
"I see
myself a humble man, and I tell you I have no ambitions to be
president", he
insists, pointing out that there is a set procedure for any
Zanu-PF
succession, in which the party vice-president would take over. That,
however, would favour Joyce Mujuru, a relative moderate, whom Mr Mnangagwa
is known to be privately opposed to.
What he does say, though, is
that he will continue to serve Mr Mugabe as
long as he remains in office -
which, barring coups and unrigged elections,
seems likely to be until he
dies.
Despite the fate of fellow Cold War hardmen like Colonel Gaddafi,
he shows
no sign of heeding the lessons of Arab Spring and stepping down
gracefully:
indeed, a law lecturer is currently facing a treason charge
after screening
a video of the Egyptian uprising at a public meeting.
Someone in power, it
seems, views the toppling of ageing dictators as a
touchy subject.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
Morgan
Tsvangirai is the leader of Zimbabwe’s Movement for Democratic
Change, which
has been in a power-sharing government with Robert Mugabe’s
Zanu-PF party
since 2009. Here he tells The Sunday Telegraph’s Colin Freeman
about the
challenges of life in a coalition government.
By Colin Freeman, in
Harare
7:30AM BST 19 Jun 2011
CF: Many of your critics say that
you should have never entered the
coalition, given the dire state that
Zimbabwe’s government was in at the
time - they feared it would simply taint
your own party with the perceived
failures of Zanu-PF. How do you respond to
that?
Morgan Tsvangirai: It was a strategic decision based on our reality
and our
situation.
Coalitions are not the best arrangement in the
world, but they are
undertaken by a politician in order to pass through a
certain phase, and I
think to a large extent we have delivered. In our case
we had to face all
the challenges of an entrenched incumbent, and find a way
of unlocking his
grip on state institutions.
CF: But Mugabe still
controls the state security institutions. Isn’t that a
big
problem?
MT: He still retains the overall monopoly of the state security
sector, yes.
It was an omission at the negotiation stages (of forming the
government), it
should have been one of the most important items to be
discussed, but I can
understand the mindset of the negotiators. At the time
they were not talking
about the transfer of power, they were talking about
the sharing of power,
and therefore anything to tamper with certain
institutions might have been
interpreted as an MDC attempt to take over
power. Still, it was a serious
omission and that is now coming to haunt us
as we confront how to create the
level playing field, as to how we make sure
we have a non-partisan state
organ ahead of elections.
CF: Do you
think there can be free and fair elections?
MT: I have no doubt that
given the experience of June 2008, neither the
Southern African Development
Community nor the African Union will
countenance anything other than an
exercise that is credible and legitimate.
People must be forgiven for having
a continuous preoccupation with Mugabe,
saying he will do this or do that.
Things have changed. He no longer has
monopoly over the whole of the state;
he has retained some power, yes, but
his authority is shared, and we are in
a coalition that is hammering away
all the time at all his so-called
tentacles of power. One thing that he won’t
do is make a unilateral decision
on when to hold elections, because the SADC
and AU insist on certain
conditions being fulfilled.
CF: Can you reform the commanders of the
security sector yourself?
MT: We know their history in the liberation
movements, they have a culture
of faith in the one-party philosophy, but we
are moving to a multi-party
situation, and there needs to be a shift in
their professional outlook and
culture to reflect that.
CF: You have
had three attempts on your own life. Do you still fear
assassination by your
political enemies within Zimbabwe?
MT: One thing I am very certain of is
that if they wanted to get rid of me,
they would have taken me out already.
They have the capacity and the means.
I don’t have any real way to protect
myself if they were determined to take
me out, but because of the transition
and because of the role I have played,
that may have soft-landed the crisis
that existed two years ago.
CF: What is your relationship with Mr Mugabe
like personally?
MT: I see him at the regular prime
ministerial-presidential meeting every
Monday at 3 o clock. We discuss
government business, the challenges we are
facing, diamond mining, civil
service salaries, all kinds of things.
Unfortunately he has his way of then
having a separate meeting with his own
people, so it undermines that
relationship. But there is mutual respect -
where we disagree we disagree,
but it is not as if I go in and start
shouting at him.
http://www.timeslive.co.za
Zoli Mangena
That's Life | 19 June, 2011
05:42
Politicians, like schizophrenics, usually don't notice - or deny it
if they
do - when they lose touch with reality.
They continue in a
delusional and paranoid mode, assuming they are still
fully in charge of
their situation, until their bizarre postures and
purposeless agitation
betrays them.
Without a doubt President Robert Mugabe - despite his
advanced age and
health problems - is still firmly in charge of his
faculties and situation,
just by merely looking at him and listening to him
talk.
He is still sharp and coherent and his thought process very sound,
although
he is obviously slowing down with age - which is probably why last
week he
referred to President Jacob Zuma as "Mandela".
Although
Mugabe delivers long-winded and boring addresses, he doesn't have
disorganised thinking and speech. It would be malicious to claim that Mugabe
talks gibberish in the technical sense of the word. He hasn't descended to
the level of the word salad.
However, events which took place during
the Southern African Development
Community (SADC) summit at the Sandton
Convention Centre in Johannesburg
last weekend have shown that Mugabe has
lost touch with political reality
and is in denial.
In Freudian
psychoanalysis being in denial is a defence mechanism by a
person or people
faced with an unpleasant situation too uncomfortable to
accept or too
ghastly to contemplate. The person therefore rejects reality
and insists it
is not true, despite overwhelming evidence.
The Sandton summit proved
this in many ways. Mugabe attended the summit
mainly with one objective: to
revise or reverse the damning SADC resolutions
contained in the Livingstone
communiqué of March 31.
The communiqué was issued after a critical
meeting between the SADC
chairman, Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba,
and members of the SADC
troika of the organ of politics, defence and
security in Livingstone,
Zambia.
Apart from Pohamba, other SADC
leaders who attended the meeting to discuss
the political and security
situation in Zimbabwe and Madagascar, were troika
chairman, Zambian
President Rupiah Banda, Mozambican President Armando
Guebuza and Zuma, the
SADC facilitator on Zimbabwe.
The summit - whose outcome has angered
Mugabe up to this day - "noted with
grave concern the polarisation of the
political environment as characterised
by, inter alia, resurgence of
violence, arrests and intimidation in
Zimbabwe".
In view of the
above, the summit 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 (Global Political
Agreement) GPA;
All stakeholders to the GPA should create a conducive
environment for
peace, security and free political activity;
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;
SADC should assist
Zimbabwe to formulate guidelines that will assist in
holding an election
that will be peaceful, free and fair; and
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.
After that Mugabe
lambasted Zuma and other SADC leaders, although he later
sent envoys all
over the region to fight the Livingstone communiqué ahead of
the recent
Windhoek meeting. He could not believe he was in deep trouble
with the
SADC.
So for Mugabe the Sandton summit last week was a do or die
situation. The
Livingstone resolutions had to be reversed at all costs.
Mugabe thus fought
tooth and nail at the summit but Zuma and his colleagues
refused to budge.
As SADC leaders usually do, they issued a communiqué
after the Sandton
summit saying they had "noted the decisions of the SADC
troika summit held
in Livingstone, Zambia, in March 2011".
Subsequent
to that Mugabe and his Zanu-PF supporters rushed to the media,
claiming the
Sandton summit had "rejected" the Livingstone decisions. A
fierce propaganda
war thus broke out in the media debating the semantic
meaning of "noted" and
"rejected".
Although it is obvious "noted" does not mean "rejected",
Mugabe and his
incompetent spin doctors tried hard to tell a big lie about
the outcome of
the Sandton summit.
However, their punch line was a
disaster. I mean how do you argue that
"noted" means "rejected", even if you
are desperate to win hearts and minds?
It soon became clear that Mugabe
is refusing to accept reality. To protect
himself from this unpleasant
situation, he withdrew into a laager of denial
but unfortunately he still
doesn't seem to realise his time is up.
Mugabe is behaving like an
ostrich which buries its head deep in the sand in
the midst of a gathering
sandstorm.
http://www.politicsweb.co.za
Eddie Cross
19 June 2011
Eddie Cross on what the
recent SADC summit means for Zimbabwe
The Situation in
Zimbabwe
The SADC summit held in Sandton last weekend delivered more than
was
anticipated. Although the propaganda machine is trying to muddy the
waters,
the basic facts are that the summit endorsed the report of the
President of
South Africa and the findings of the Troika Summit held two
months ago in
Zambia.
In addition, the summit urged the Zimbabwean
leadership to conclude talks on
the road map in the next month and to attach
time lines to all aspects. This
final version will then be considered at the
next summit now scheduled for
Angola in August.
One of the main
issues was the decision to locate a SADC team in Zimbabwe to
support JOMIC
(the Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee) in their
function of
trying to monitor the implementation of agreements and to curb
political
violence. This is being resisted by the Zanu PF elements in
government but
will probably be implemented shortly. The South African
Facilitation Team is
also increasing the frequency of visits to Zimbabwe and
heightening their
profile.
What does this all mean? It means that SADC has now exhibited a
solid front
towards the Zimbabwe crisis and in addition has demanded the
full
implementation of an amended 'Road Map' designed to deliver a free and
fair
election. The solidarity shown is critical as this now precludes action
by
the hard liners in Zimbabwe who favor repudiating the GPA and going it
alone
without the MDC and in defiance of the South Africans. In effect a
thinly
disguised military coup. It would appear that this threat has now
been dealt
with and will not reappear as a real possibility unless the hard
liners
throw caution to the winds and go ahead. In which case the situation
in
Zimbabwe will unravel swiftly.
The second option of the Zanu PF
elements in the Transitional Government -
that of launching a full-scale
democratic war against the MDC has also
suffered a serious setback. Such a
strategy was already well on the way to
being implemented with the
deployment of militia and security elements to
all Districts and the launch
of a renewed campaign of terror and
intimidation using all the considerable
resources at their disposal.
However it must be understood that the SADC
decisions present Zanu PF with a
very serious situation. They are well aware
that they now only command
residual support in all areas of the country and
can no longer rely on the
traditional and conservative voters in the Tribal
areas for some sort of an
electoral victory.
If followed through, the
SADC road map to an election would almost certainly
see both Zanu PF and the
smaller MDC factions eliminated with the MDC under
Morgan Tsvangirai
achieving an overwhelming majority - tantamount to a one
Party
State.
Clearly this is unacceptable to the other players and in fact to
many
external observers and the problem now confronting all of those
involved is
what to do next? There is not going to be any discarding of the
GPA process
and the time table is likely to be confirmed and therefore the
only
alternative for the Parties likely to be affected by an electoral
avalanche
is to initiate talks with the major beneficiary of the SADC
summit, the MDC
(T).
There are signs that this is being actively
considered with the
deteriorating health of the President, Robert Mugabe
being an added concern.
If he was to die in office or become significantly
disabled, then the
procedure would be for the two Houses of Parliament to
sit as an Electoral
College under the Chairmanship of the Speaker and elect
an interim President
who would run Government until a Presidential election
could be held in
three months. In such a situation, while Zanu PF would be
entitled (under
the GPA) to nominate the candidates, they could not control
who won and it
is likely that only one possible candidate has any chance of
a majority and
that would be Vice President Mujuru.
Under these
circumstances it would appear that the options for Zanu PF
decision makers
have narrowed down significantly. If they cannot wage
electoral war against
the MDC and cannot control the succession then the
only realistic course
open to them is to adopt the MDC proposal (made public
in December 2010) to
opt for a Presidential election in 2011/12 rather than
a harmonized
election. This would leave them with a significant number of
seats in both
Houses of Parliament and control of the majority of Rural
District
Councils.
Once this core decision was made they would then negotiate
agreements in the
following areas:
- A new national constitution
which will reduce the powers of the President
(in anticipation of losing the
election) and transfer them to Parliament,
provide for devolution of power
to the Provinces and reduced numbers of
Provinces;
- Agreement to
form a National Government after the Presidential election
which will
include provision for all minority parties with representatives
in the House
of Assembly; and
- Agreement on the retirement of the President Mugabe
and a selected number
of hardliners who would demand protection in return
for 'allowing' a
transfer of power.
If this were to occur, then the
new government would probably be given a
five-year term to allow the new
President to have a full term in office and
to give the minority Parties
time to rebuild themselves before the next
elections in 2016 or 2017. Such
an arrangement would bring much needed
stability and would also maintain a
democratic situation in the country with
a new leadership that could start
to the process to rebuild confidence and
the economy.
One other thing
that has emerged from the summit is that the center of power
in Zimbabwe is
moving steadily away from Zanu PF. This has significant
implications for the
immediate future.
Eddie Cross is MDC MP for Bulawayo South. This article
first appeared on his
website www.eddiecross.africanherd.com
The
feeling of optimism we spoke about in last week’s diary seems to have been
justified by the outcome of the SADC summit in
SADC leaders made it obvious in
Sandton that they have had enough of Mugabe’s prevarications. They are impatient
to move on. As the Botswana Vice President Mompati Merafhe said, the region was
sick and tired of the
A quick opinion survey at the Vigil
– in between short, sharp showers – produced three alternatives. We quickly
ruled out the first: that Mugabe would comply with SADC’s demand that he honour
his obligations under the GPA by the next SADC meeting in
There was more debate about the
so-called nuclear option: would Chiwenga decide to reject SADC? The military is
stupid, yes – but this stupid?
But the third option, we decided as
we dodged the showers, was the more likely – if only because it is what Zanu PF
has always done: pretend to go along with the GPA while putting every obstacle
in the way. So what can we expect? No-one can say that Zanu PF is not
outrageous. They could, for instance, arrest Tsvangirai for murdering Police
Inspector Petros Mutedza in Mbare. After all they have arrested loads of other
MDC people for it. Anything to collapse the government so they can hold an
‘emergency election’ and – lo and behold – who will be pulled out of the hat
blinking through his cataract eyes? Yes – that old devil!
For a Zanu PF view of the SADC
developments from one of their many people in the
Other
points
·
As
we mentioned in our diary of 11th June, a member of the Vigil
management team,
·
We
get nutters visiting the Vigil most weeks but they were extraordinarily prolific
this week. For instance we had a very drunk man swigging from a bottle of whisky
dancing with us. We were worried he might fall and break the bottle and injure
himself. Another man was very angry and shouted at Vigil supporters while we
were praying and yet another said he had a panacea for sorting out our problems
(including the human rights abuses and lack of democracy in Zimbabwe) as long as
we listened to him and did what he said – he talked about tolerance but got very
angry when we tried to respond. (We are trying to get the three
together.)
·
The
Secretary-General of SADC, Tomaz Salomão of
·
Thanks to Juliet
Musandirire for providing soft drinks today.
Also to Caroline Witts who came from Exeter and took care of the front
table in the absence of our regulars and to Mercy Muranganwa for looking after
the back table with 4 children in tow
(one a baby on her back).
·
The Zimbabwe
Association has moved into new offices – check Refugee
Information
For latest Vigil pictures check: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zimbabwevigil/.
Please note: Vigil photos can only be downloaded from our Flickr website – they
cannot be downloaded from the slideshow on the front page of the Zimvigil
website. For the latest ZimVigil TV programme check http://www.zimvigiltv.com/.
FOR THE RECORD: 87
signed the register.
EVENTS AND NOTICES:
·
The Restoration of Human Rights in
Zimbabwe (ROHR) is
the Vigil’s partner organisation based in
·
ZBN News. The Vigil management team wishes to
make it clear that the
·
The Zim Vigil band (Farai Marema and Dumi Tutani) has
launched its theme song ‘Vigil Yedu (our Vigil)’ to raise awareness through
music. To download this single, visit: www.imusicafrica.com and to watch the video
check: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QukqctWc3XE.
·
Talk by the Secretary-General of
SADC Tomaz Salomão. Tuesday 21st June from 4
– 5 pm. Venue:
·
ROHR National Fundraising
Event.
Saturday 25th June from
·
Free film screening of 'Hear
Us'. Saturday
25th June from 7 - 9 pm. Venue: The Frontline Club, 13,
·
Service of Solidarity with
·
Stop the violence in
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·
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page: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=8157345519&ref=ts.
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·
‘Through the
Darkness’, Judith
Todd’s acclaimed account of the rise of Mugabe.
To receive a copy by post in the
UK please email confirmation of your order and postal address to
ngwenyasr@yahoo.co.uk and send a
cheque for £10 payable to “Budiriro Trust” to Emily Chadburn, 15 Burners Close,
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·
Workshops aiming to engage African
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Trust (www.tht.org.uk). Please contact the
co-ordinator
Vigil
co-ordinators
The Vigil, outside the Zimbabwe
Embassy, 429
By Clifford Chitupa Mashiri, 19th June 2011
You don’t have to be a rocket
scientist to tell that Jonathan Moyo’s latest
mouthing is a cowardly veiled
threat of a military coup in Zimbabwe albeit
he is neither a soldier nor an
ex-guerrilla. After reading his latest
instalment, “Livingstone report now a
matter for historians’, New Zimbabwe,
19/06/11 it is clear that Jonathan
Moyo has crossed the line by blackmailing
the people against negotiating a
roadmap for free and fair elections.
Jonathan Moyo warns of “the looming
danger which (he does not specify) …will
happen as sure as tomorrow is
coming… that what is currently a political
process will become a national
security matter. If that happens, all hell
will break loose.” What does he
mean by that? Has Jonathan Moyo threatened a
military coup in
Zimbabwe?
Does he mean resorting to “ruling through “GBO”(Government By
Operations)
led by jittery security arms” as he once claimed, saying they
(JOC)
“implemented an undeclared state of emergency and roped in the Reserve
Bank
to pursue an unprecedented law and order approach to monetary policy in
order to criminalise Zimbabweans…to inhuman and barbaric attacks in the name
of restoring order reminiscent of the Gukurahundi days.” (Jonathan Moyo,
“Why Mugabe should go now”, on October 29, 2006).
Unless the military
disowns his scare tactics, they risk being complicit to
what amounts to as a
treasonous act of threatening a constitutional
government. By remaining
silent, the JOC could become Moyo’s puppets by
default by virtue of his two
major assets – a fluent command of English and
a deceitful skill at
spinning.
Jonathan Moyo deliberately misrepresents Zimbabwe’s tragic
electoral history
and curiously apportions blame for the 5-week delay in
announcing election
results to foreign countries. Has he forgotten what he
said in April 2008:
“If there is one sobering thing that can be
unequivocally said about why the
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has
scandalously delayed the
announcement of the March 29 presidential election,
it is simply that
President Robert Mugabe did not win the election and is
now desperately
trying to steal the result through an unjustified recount
because he does
not have any prospect of winning a run-off or a re-run,”
(Jonathan Moyo,
‘Mugabe can’t stomach defeat,’ 13 April 2008). He did not
stop there.
“Against this background, ZEC’s perverse delay in announcing
the result of
the presidential election leaves Zimbabweans and the
international community
with only one gloomy conclusion: the defeated Mugabe
and his shocked
hangers-on are using the delay to scheme up a dirty game
plan whose
nefarious purpose is to reverse Tsvangirai’s electoral victory
with the
collusion of ZEC at all cost and by any means available. This is
being done
under a barrage of confused and confusing Zanu PF talk around a
recount,
runoff or rerun when the result has not been announced,” Moyo said.
Ironically, that time Moyo did not accuse those he called “the UK, US and EU
imperialists” of regime change!
Contrary to Jonathan Moyo’s claim
that “Zimbabwe is capable of holding free,
fair and credible elections
because it has the legal and institutional
bedrock upon which it has done so
in the past,” preliminary findings of an
empirical study which I am
conducting for my DPhil programme, the proposal
of which is at the
University of Zimbabwe, show that the administration of
Zimbabwe’s elections
has been militarized, politicized, flawed, and the
elections were fraught
with electoral malpractices as evidenced by inter
alia, violence, murder,
rape, scores of electoral petitions and the voters’
roll which is grossly
defective.
My DPhil research proposal now with POLAD, UZ is entitled
“Towards a new
theory – a critical analysis of the militarization of
Zimbabwe’s elections
(2000 – 2011) and the implications for good
governance”.
Observations by one scholar revealed the bizarre case of
Bulawayo, where the
number of spoilt ballots at a polling station was higher
than those of the
winning candidate and that it took ZEC only two days to
announce the final
results for the 27 June 2008 run-off, and within a few
hours the winning
candidate had been crowned the President of Zimbabwe
although it took 5
weeks to announce March 2008 results!
Furthermore,
Professor R W Johnson, of the South African Institute of Race
Relations
recently announced that no fair referendum or election can be held
in
Zimbabwe on the basis of the current voters’ roll because it has about
2.5
million fictitious voters on it.
If anything is now history, it is
Jonathan Moyo’s parliamentary seat of
Tsholotsho which he should have
resigned after he crossed the floor to
Zanu-pf because he is now
short-changing the people of Tsholotsho who
deserve a fair representation in
Parliament. In fact the Electoral Law Act
should be amended to clearly state
that you lose your seat on crossing the
floor fullstop.
After all the
people of Tsholotsho did not know Jonathan Moyo before he was
imposed on
them by Robert Mugabe, who, in his own words at the funeral of
the late
Witness Mangwende at the National Heroes Acre in Harare in May
2005, said
the chiefs of Tsholotsho, where Moyo was standing as an
independent
candidate after being barred from representing Zanu PF, told him
(Mugabe)
that they did not know Moyo until he was imposed on them by the
president
(Daily News, 02/05/05).
Of course, Jonathan Moyo knows very well that he
would lose immunity from
prosecution for alleged criminal offences should he
resign as an MP. Moyo is
also aware of the fact that there should have been
a by-election in
Tsholotsho by now, were it not for the GPA despite
lambasting it religiously
whenever he wakes up on the wrong side of the
bed.
Two requests worth making are, first for a National Day of Prayer so
that
Jonathan Moyo’s unspecified threat of “the looming danger ...which if
it
happens..all hell will break loose” (synonymous with a coup?) does not
materialise; secondly, that Zanu-pf should takeaway his internet access so
that he does not cause alarm and despondency in the country through his
articles.
However, it’s unlikely they will succeed because Mugabe
told a rally in
Masvingo in February 2005 that he and vice President Joyce
Mujuru had spent
nearly one and half hours trying to convince Jonathan Moyo
to step down and
allow the Politburo to have its way on the candidate for
Tsholotsho
constituency, but he had refused because " ane musoro wakaoma
sedamba"
(meaning he has a very hard head like that of a wild fruit called
Damba in
Shona).
Clifford Chitupa Mashiri, Political Analyst, London,
zimanalysis2009@gmail.com