http://www.washingtonpost.com
By Associated Press, Updated: Sunday, June 26, 12:33
AM
HARARE, Zimbabwe — Lawyers for a minister in the Zimbabwe prime
minister’s
party arrested after he called President Robert Mugabe a liar say
he has
gone “missing” in custody.
Jameson Timba, a minister of state
in Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s
office, was arrested Friday. Attorney
Selby Hwacha said on Saturday he
sought a court order forcing police to
disclose Timba’s whereabouts and
allow attorneys to see him.
Mugabe’s
party has accused Timba of insulting Mugabe, an offense under
sweeping
security laws, when he said Mugabe lied over the outcome of a
recent
regional summit on Zimbabwe.
Douglas Mwonzora, chief spokesman for
Tsvangirai’s party, said there were
fears for Timba’s safety after party
“sympathizers in the police” reported
he had been assaulted in jail.
http://bulawayo24.com/
by MDC-T Information
2011
June 25 05:04:07
A Zimbabwean minister arrested allegedly for accusing
President Robert
Mugabe of lying has not been heard from since, a lawyer
from his party said
Saturday.
"By midnight Friday, I had gone to more
than five police stations," said
Selby Hwacha, of Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC), but there was no
information about him.
An official at Harare central police station on
Friday confirmed to the
German Press Agency dpa that Jameson Timba, the
secretary for international
relations and minister in the premier's office,
was being held there.
"We have been holding Jameson Timba since Friday
afternoon. He might appear
in court on Monday," the official
said.
Timba's arrest Friday has been linked to the publication of an
article last
week in which he was quoted as saying that Mugabe and his
Zanu-PF party had
lied about the outcome of a summit held by the Southern
African Development
Community (SADC).
The weekly Sunday Times
reported clashes at the meeting between Mugabe and
South African President
Jacob Zuma, the SADC mediator on Zimbabwe.
Timba was facing charges of
"undermining the president by calling Mugabe a
liar" and the party now
feared for his life, MDC spokesman Douglas Mwonzora
said.
The arrest
of Timba is likely to further strain relations in the fragile
coalition
government formed more than two years ago and led by Mugabe and
Tsvangirai.
The two have already clashed on a number of issues,
including the
appointment of senior officials and democratic reforms. Mugabe
is calling
for elections to end the coalition government, while Tsvangirai
wants a new
constitution first.
Source: MDC-T Information
http://www.bloomberg.com
By Brian
Latham - Jun 25, 2011 8:42 PM GMT+1000
Zimbabwe President Robert
Mugabe’s Zanu-PF is using the state-controlled
Herald newspaper to
“legitimize an attack on Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai,” according to the
premier’s Movement for Democratic Change
party.
Zanu-PF, whose full
name is the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic
Front, is attempting
to “eliminate” Tsvangirai or “remove him as a threat to
their party,” MDC
Organizing Secretary Nelson Chamisa said in a phone
interview from Harare.
The two parties are in government together under a
power-sharing agreement
brokered in 2009.
Defense Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa was quoted in
today’s Herald as
“warning” Tsvangirai to “leave Zimbabwe’s generals
alone.” His comments
came after Tsvangirai said June 21 that military and
police leaders should
quit their posts and enter politics as
civilians.
“What these statements from Zanu loyalists” show “is that an
element within
Zanu-PF is trying to legitimize an attack on the prime
minister, whether to
eliminate him or remove him as a threat,” the MDC’s
Chamisa said in the
interview.
Calls to Zanu-PF’s headquarters and
the defense ministry went unanswered.
Chamisa made his remarks two days
after Brigadier-General Douglas
Nyikayaramba said in the Herald that the
army would do all it could to keep
Mugabe, 87, in power. The president will
only leave office if he “sees fit,
or dies”, according to the report, the
military’s most direct signal yet
that it would refuse to accept any other
leader.
‘Internal Threats’
Today’s paper quotes the Zanu-PF defence
minister as saying the army has a
constitutional mandate to protect
Zimbabweans from both external and
“internal threats.”
Mugabe’s party
“is incorrect to refer to internal threats,” Chamisa said
today. “The MDC is
not a threat, it is the government and the biggest party
in government,” he
said.
The MDC has been criticizing Mugabe for using the military, police
and
intelligence services to brutalize and intimidate its supporters since
2000.
Its claims have been backed by Amnesty International, Human Rights
Watch and
civil-liberties groups in Harare.
Mugabe is pushing for
fresh elections this year in an attempt to end the
power-sharing accord,
which was brokered by the Southern African Development
Community and left
Zanu-PF in control of the security services while giving
most of the
economic ministries to the MDC.
The MDC has said that Zimbabwe shouldn’t
hold elections until the security
services have been reformed and a new
constitution is in place.
http://www.radiovop.com/
10 hours 13 minutes
ago
CHIVI – June 24, 2011- Three powerful chiefs are facing death
threats from
Masvingo province’s Zanu (PF) bigwigs ,Senator for
Chivi-Mwenezi and
politburo member Josiah Hungwe and Chivi North legislator
Tranos Huruva.
Chiefs Masunda, Madyangove and Madamombe said they have
received life
threatening messages from Hungwe and Huruva who want to ‘deal
with them’ for
openly denouncing them.
“We are not sure of what they
are planning about our lives. Their youths are
threatening to deal with us
so we are not sure of the exact action which
they are going to take against
us. These men (Hungwe and |Huruva) are known
for their violence and
ruthless behavior,” said Owen Mudzivo, Madyangove
spokesperson.
The
chiefs are accusing Hungwe and Huruva for meddling in their
chieftainship.
The two are also accused for firing village heads and headmen
who do not
give them ‘enough’ political support.
After a meeting at Chief Madyangove
homestead last week, the three chiefs
agreed to summon Hungwe and Huruva to
answer their charges.
|In an interview with Radio VOP, Hungwe laughed and
said that he will never
be intimidated by ‘weak chiefs who try to employ
cheap political tactics’ on
him.
“They have no powers to call me to
such meetings; I owe no tribute to
chiefs. I am a politician who won by
popular votes and no chief will have
the capacity to kick me out of office,”
said Hungwe.
Hungwe denied having intimidated anyone. “I never
intimidated them, maybe
they are afraid of their shadows,” added
Hungwe.
However, the chiefs said despite the threats, their resolution that
they
will campaign against Mugabe if the two are nominated to represent Zanu
(
PF) in Chivi still stands.
“Of course we are afraid of our lives
but that does not change our
resolutions on these two errant politicians,”
said chief Mudzivo.
http://www.zimbabwejournalists.com
25th
Jun 2011 20:23 GMT
By a Correspondent
CANADA has rejected a statement by
the Democratic Republic of Congo chairman
of the Kimberley Process Mathieu
Yamba on Thursday that Zimbabwe's diamonds
are no longer banned from the
international markets.
Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said the
administrative notice, issued
at the end of Kimberley's Inter-Sessional
meeting in Kinshasa, the DRC,
incorrectly states that a compromise was
reached regarding exports from the
disputed Marange diamond fields in
Zimbabwe.
“Contrary to the Chair’s Notice, key concerns were not
addressed and Canada,
and like-minded states, did not endorse the proposal
submitted by the
Chair,” said Minister Baird.
“The notice was issued
in contravention of rules and procedures of the
Kimberley Process. We are
advising the Canadian diamond industry against
trade in Marange
diamonds.
“In light of the Zimbabwean military’s brutal crackdown on
miners in
December 2008, Canada continues to call for supervised exports
from two
Marange mines and a credible monitoring arrangement. Without
these
systems in place, Canada refuses to go along with the plan to certify
Zimbabwe’s diamonds.
“All diamond-producing countries stand to lose
if the Kimberley Process is
rendered ineffective. Canada will continue to
work to address the
fundamental weaknesses of the Kimberley Process and find
a
credible solution that is satisfactory to all stakeholders."
Baird
said Marange diamonds should benefit the people of Zimbabwe.
"One
important step toward this goal is to ensure that the diamonds are
properly
and credibly certified through a strong Kimberley Process,” he
said.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/
The legal validity of
the indigenisation legislation plan that aims to
transfer the majority
control of foreign mining firms to locals is open to
legal challenge on many
fronts.
23.06.1103:09pm
Chief Reporter
The relevant act could
be unconstitutional in several ways, says a report
released last week by the
Research and Advocacy Unit.
"They (regulations) violate the freedom of
association and (if implementing
provisions are put into place, as has
purportedly been done in the case of
mining companies) violate protections
against the compulsory deprivation of
property, as well as equality
clauses," says the report, entitled
Racketeering by regulation.
"The
first two constitutional provisions do not provide for any derogation
from
the rights protected on the grounds of an 'affirmative action
programme',
and while the last does, it is doubtful that the scheme
envisioned by the
Minister could be held to be such a programme."
Zimbabwe's mining
companies have complained that the new government plan was
silent on the
commitment of designated entities to pay for the shares by
September 25,
raising fears the government wanted to expropriate the mines
for
free.
Disregarded
The minister of Indigenisation, Saviour Kasukuwere,
who has been Zanu (PF)’s
point-man on the legislation, disregarded
recommendations of the Mining
Sector Committee on Indigenization, which
recommended 26 percent direct
equity, 10 percent to communities in the form
of a tax on gross profit and
15 percent through social credits.
RAU
said the regulations vest massive discretionary powers in the hands of
the
minister, which are open to challenge.
"The appointment of the maker of
the regulations (the minister of Youth
Development, Indigenisation and
Economic Empowerment, Saviour Kasukuwere) is
itself questionable," RAU
says.
"Zimbabwe’s Constitution provides for the appointment of 31
Ministers only.
Kasukuwere is one of the 10 ministers appointed beyond
this quota. If his
appointment is held to be invalid then so too may be any
regulations made by
him."
Dubious decision
Principals in the
GNU expanded the size of Cabinet after the GPA limiting
the number of
ministers to 31 to accommodate cronies such as Kasukuwere. The
appointment
of the 10 extra ministers was challenged in the High Court, and
is currently
being appealed after a dubious decision by the Judge President,
Justice
George Chiweshe.
The RAU said the Act only empowers the minister to make
regulations
governing indigenisation in respect of businesses which are
merging,
de-merging, restructuring, relinquishing a majority shareholding or
similar
transactions.
"It does not grant the minister the power to
make wide ranging regulations
governing indigenisation for all
non-indigenous business enterprises in the
manner in which the Minister has
arrogated to himself. Specific sections of
the regulations are either ultra
vires the Act, internally contradictory or
unintelligible, and thus legally
unenforceable, or any combination of these
factors.
No
control
"Many of these problems arise from the fact that the regulations
seek to
compel companies to do that over which they have no control; i.e. to
dispose
of shares which they do not own. Shareholders, and not companies,
own
shares. The legislative difficulties which arise are particularly acute
in
the case of publicly listed companies.
This problem is itself
symptomatic of the fact that the minister has
arrogated to himself the right
to make regulations for all non-indigenous
businesses, and not merely those
undertaking specific transactions as
provided by the act."
Irene
Petras, the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights executive director
concurs
that the regulations are open to legal challenge.
"The regulations are,
in a number of instances, ultra vires the Act, and
there are strong and
persuasive legal arguments to indicate that there has
been unlawful
delegation of the legislative function to the minister,"
Petras
says.
“The minister is empowered through the regulations to apply these
criminal
sanctions at his whim, even for the most simple and unintentional
breaches
of certain procedural provisions, and clearly this can only lead to
an abuse
of powers with impunity. Indeed, one is left with a vague
discomfort about
what appears to be an abuse of broad principle to achieve
something other
than social justice through the promulgation of the
Regulations."
Indigenous?
Petras says the manner in which the
definition is laid out has not, however,
been correctly drafted, and is open
to an interpretation wherein even a
non-Zimbabwean who suffered disadvantage
prior to 18th April 1980 may claim
that they can benefit in terms of the
regulations.
"This flows from the definition of an 'indigenous
Zimbabwean' being 'any
person' who was disadvantaged prior to 18th April
1980, rather than 'any
Zimbabwean'," Petras said.
The mixed race and
coloured community has already lodged its objection with
Vice President
Joice Mujuru protesting their characterisation in the
regulations as
"aliens."
RAU's observations also dovetail with the Chamber of Mines
president Victor
Gapare that the regulations grant the minister wide powers
that are subject
to challenge.
Like many other economic observers,
Gapare said the move was likely to
discourage foreign investment. "The
minister has decided to fast track
indigenization without taking into
consideration the negative consequences
on investment and growth.
If
a mining company cannot lay claim on the reserves or other inferred
resource, it is not possible to raise capital," he said.
Analysts
said impoverished Zimbabwe does not have the money to buy
controlling stakes
through the investment vehicles. -
What the Act says
According to a
government gazette extraordinary dated March 25 announcing
the requirements
for the mining sector to comply with the indigenization
law, all foreign
owned mining firms with a net asset value of more than US$1
shall dispose of
51 percent of the shares to indigenous Zimbabweans.
The gazette says the
disposal of the shares to indigenous Zimbabweans must
be completed within a
period of six months or by September 25 2011.
Previously, a compliance
period of five years had been given in Statutory
Instrument 21 of 2010.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/
For the second
time, Zimbabweans face a harmonised Election where they will
vote for their
local councillor, parliamentary representative, senator, and
president all
in one go.
24.06.1104:05pm
Chief Reporter
But there is
absolutely no voter education taking place. The campaign for
nationwide
elections has got off to a subdued start, shadowed by security
fears and
marked by the chronic disorganization that characterizes most
large-scale
endeavours.
So far only the MDC led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai
has launched its
election manifesto. Out in Zimbabwe's vast hinterlands,
many candidates for
provincial assemblies are staying home, saying
traditional campaign
activities such as rallies would be far too
dangerous.
Tatenda Mazarura, the spokesperson for the Election Resource
Centre, an
election watchdog advocating for the return of democracy, told
The
Zimbabwean that the organisation is building structures throughout the
country, including rural areas, and reported that there was no voter
education to indicate that the country could be a few months from a crucial
vote.
Voters’ clubs set up
"The ERC intends to create 9 111
voters’ clubs based on the 2008 polling
stations," Mazarura said. "So far,
the project is running in Umzingwane,
Sanyati, Mutasa, Gokwe, Masvingo,
Marondera, Hurungwe, Harare and
Chitungwiza.
For the Umzingwane,
Mutasa and Sanyati districts, there are currently 66
Ward Voters’ Clubs out
of a total of 71 wards in the three districts. The
Voters’ Clubs comprise of
30 people each thus we have at least 1, 980
members in Umzingwane, Sanyati
and Mutasa Districts."
She said the function of the Voters Club was to
mobilize communities to
register and inspect the voter`s register in their
area, monitor the voting
and counting processes during elections,
disseminate voter information,
mobilise communities to go out and vote, and
mobilise communities to defend
the people`s vote.
Mazarura said the
Voters Club community-based structures were composed of
civil society
activists residing in the vicinity of a given electoral site
who are
empowered to drive electoral processes within their communities.
They
would act as a platform for crowd sourcing and citizen reporting
initiatives, providing election resource persons, and also as a platform for
peace-building initiatives.
More importantly, said Mazarura, it was a
violence deterrence mechanism that
would also promote the participation of
marginalized groups like women and
youth in the electoral
processes.
Demolish bases – ZESN
Meanwhile, another election
watchdog, the Zimbabwe Election Support Network
observers reported that
'bases' have been set up in Mudzi, Kotwa, Muzarabani
South at Chiwashira,
Mazowe at Fox Farm, Mazowe at Negomo, Mazowe at Nzvimbo
Council Hall,
Rushinga at Kasanga Primary School and Chakari Hall.
"We strongly
reiterate our call for the demolition of these structures of
violence which
continue to perpetuate an atmosphere of fear in communities,"
ZESN said in a
statement signed by chairman Tinoziva Bere and the director
Rindai
Chipfunde-Vava.
The impoverished Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, led by
Justice Simpson
Mutambanengwe, has not yet initiated any voter education
campaign.
Zanu (PF)'s administration secretary, said last week a meeting
of the
Politburo called to discuss Zanu (PF) primary elections, the ruling
party's
manifesto and its launch date had been called off at the last minute
as the
majority of members were out of the country on business..
The
ruling party has also not finalized its list of official candidates, as
many
constituencies now have more than one candidate angling to represent
Zanu
(PF).
11 to vie for Presidency
The next ballot is likely to be
laden with up to a dozen presidential
candidates, most of whom are
considered to have little chance of victory.
The only qualifications for
running for president are holding Zimbabwean
citizenship and being at least
40 years old.
Among parties eager to field candidates are
Mavambo/Kusile/Dawn, Zapu led by
Dumiso Dabengwa, Zanu Ndonga, Zapu FP, Mass
Christians Democrats, PUMA, Zapu
led by Madlela, Zidele, United People’s
Party, Voice of the People, MDC-99,
MDC-N, ANC and the three parties in the
ruling coalition, Zanu (PF), MDC-T
and MDC.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/
Well-funded SADC monitors to be deployed in
July, but there is still
discussion about numbers. Analysts say this could
be the beginning of the
end for Africa's most brutal dictator, writes BY
JOHN CHIMUNHU.
25.06.1101:41pm
John Chimunhu
It seems President
Jacob Zuma of South Africa, the regional point man in the
Zimbabwe dialogue,
has finally lost patience with his treacherous northern
neighbour, Robert
Mugabe.
After being fooled by Mugabe on several occasions - with the
Zimbabwean
strongman making hollow promises at summits and endless
'emergency meetings'
triggered by his excesses of violence, thuggery and
general abuse of power –
Zuma has decided to take action.
This was
evident at the recent regional SADC summit in Johannesburg where
the endless
dispute sparked by Mugabe's alleged theft of the 2008
presidential vote took
centre stage.
The military cabal led by the ailing dictator has been
causing mayhem and
threatening another blood-filled election to ensure
Mugabe stays in office.
However, the announcement by SADC in its final
communique on June 12 that it
would immediately deploy monitors to Zimbabwe
and raise money to assist the
country's cash-strapped Joint Monitoring and
Implementation Committee,
JOMIC, has unnerved Mugabe.
JOMIC is a
tripartite body created under the 2008 Global Political Agreement
(GPA) to
monitor cases of continuing violence, intimidation and other
violations of
the power-sharing deal brokered by SA on behalf of SADC and
endorsed by
Mugabe, Arthur Mutambara and Morgan Tsvangirai, the perceived
winner of the
disputed poll.
A run-off vote was boycotted by Tsvangirai following
horrific murders of his
backers by Mugabe supporters and renegade members of
the security forces.
Judging by the swift reaction from the despot and
his associates on the Zanu
(PF) side of government to the news of an
imminent deployment of SADC
monitors and funding to ensure compliance with
the GPA, it is clear the
regional body has finally touched a raw
nerve.
The announcement is also seen as ample evidence that the regional
body now
means action after a decade of prevarication as the Zimbabwean
crisis
spiralled out of control.
Suddenly, Mugabe and his errant Zanu
(PF) party have close watchers from the
region, based in the country, to
respond to any reports of violence,
arbitrary arrests of opposition
officials and supporters, threats and
intimidation. The regional observers
will also be witnesses if Mugabe
supporters carry out their threats to
assassinate the premier before the
poll or to topple him if he
wins.
“This is not something that Zanu (PF) wanted or thought would
happen so
quickly,” said a political analyst who requested
anonymity.
“Mugabe had effectively banned all foreigners from monitoring
Zimbabwe's
transition to democracy. Now they have found a way in.” The
analyst added:
“You also have to realise that South Africans in particular
are very angry
about the shameful manner in which President Zuma has been
treated by
Mugabe.
“Now what they are after is to use their own
unlimited resources to gather
hard evidence that Mugabe is in serious breach
of the GPA, especially on
security reforms. They can now easily get that
evidence through JOMIC. This
could be the end for Mugabe because the
presence of SADC makes it very
difficult for him to rig the next election.”
http://www.voanews.com
24 June
2011
An IMF team that just completed a week-long mid-year budget
review said
public sector pay can only be increased in 2012 after a wider
consultative
process including business, government and civil
servants
Gibbs Dube | Washington
The International
Monetary Fund says Zimbabwe does not have the capacity to
increase the
salaries of state workers as President Robert Mugabe has
promised, warning
that a rise in compensation could seriously damage the
country's economic
prospects.
An IMF team that just completed a week-long mid-year budget
review issued a
statement saying public sector pay can only be increased in
2012 after a
wider consultative process including business, government and
civil
servants.
Mission head Vitaliy Kramarenko said salary increases
are not affordable and
could lead to arrears in wages, destabilization of
manufacturing, the
banking system and external accounts, and jeopardize the
country’s recent
gains in growth and living standards.
He said Harare
should focus on establishing a stable, low-inflation
environment allowing
for the timely payment of salaries at current levels.
The IMF projected
that the economy will expand by 7.5 to 8 percent this
year, upgrading an
earlier projection of just 5.5 percent growth in gross
domestic
product.
“The slight upwards revision to growth, compared with
projections at the
time of Article IV staff report, reflects the
faster-than-expected growth in
agriculture, particularly tobacco and maize,”
said Kramarenko. He said the
country should plug a projected financing gap
of US$445 million while
setting aside funds for social programs and
infrastructure.
Bulawayo economist Eric Bloch said the IMF’s fears are
warranted as the
economy is still quite fragile. “I believe that Zimbabwe
can do much better
if it gets rid of 75,000 ghost workers [on state
payrolls], cuts overseas
spending on unnecessary diplomatic missions and
reduces the number of armed
forces,” Bloch said.
But Zimbabwe
Teachers Association Chief Executive Sifiso Ndlovu said the IMF
should stop
prescribing what he called dangerous policies for the country,
citing a
"disastrous" structural adjustment in the 1990s which "destroyed
the
nation’s economic base."
Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe President
Takavafira Zhou said Harare
should tap proceeds from the Marange diamond
field to fund pay increases.
Some teachers represented by the Progressive
Teachers Union are on strike
demanding higher salaries, though the labor
action has not been successful
in either urban or rural areas as most
teachers fear losing incentive
supplements paid by some schools.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/
The embattled Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings has been
sending notices
threatening legal action against all defaulting viewers, who
are refusing to
pay for “half baked services”.
24.06.1104:23pm
Staff
Reporter
ZBH has been distributing Admission of Guilt statements to
listeners
advising them to report to any police station or call their
offices to pay
their license fees in seven days, or face
prosecution.
“All television and radio users who do not possess a valid
radio and
television license will be dealt with. So far we are targeting
defaulters in
the corporate sector before we move on to households,” said
ZBH spokesperson
Sivukile Simango But viewers who spoke to this paper
remained adamant that
they will not pay for poor quality programs currently
beamed by the sole
state broadcaster.
“ZBC-TV is underestimating us
(local viewers) if they think we will continue
forking out large sums of
money for their half backed products. Imagine
paying $50, which is one third
of my salary, for repeated and substandard
programming,” said one furious
civil servant.
Another irate viewer said, “It is pointless for me to pay
for a television
license whilst I last watched ZBC-TV three years ago. The
transmission is
poor here and they (ZBC) never bothered to upgrade their
transmitters
despite endless calls from the community.”
ZBH has
failed to transmit signals in several remote parts of the country
such as
Chavhanga in Mutasa North, Kazozo in Nyanga, Checheche, Mareya,
Tamandaya,
Mount Selinda in Chipinge, Gachekache in Kariba, Mount Darwin and
Beitbridge.
This has been exacerbated by the fact that other viewers
outside Harare do
not have access to TV-2 yet they are expected to pay the
same license fees
as their counterparts in the capital.
“It ‘s very
clear that ZBC suffers from lack of professionalism, how can
they expect us
to pay the same license fees with people in Harare when we do
not have equal
access to the same television access,” asked Andrew
Murombedzi of
Rusape.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Last September, Zimbabwe-born Judith Ndlovu was
among thousands of fellow
nationals that heeded the call from the South
African government to
regularise their stay in that
country.
24.06.1102:40pm
Chris Ncube
She did not have a
passport and had to contend with a stint sleeping outside
the Zimbabwean
Department of Home Affairs makeshift centre in Meadowdale to
acquire the
all-important document.
Two months later, after losing R800 in official
charges and greasing the
palms of corrupst officials, the
29-year-old-mother-of-two received her
travel documents from
Harare.
Heaving a sigh of relief, Ndlovu’s received her passport two
months earlier
than the December 31 2010 deadline to acquire permits to
legalise her stay
here.
Her relief received a further boost after
South Africa’s Department of Home
Affairs texted her to come and collect her
permit.
But, nine months after her passport came through, Ndlovu is back
sleeping
outside Home Affairs, this time the South African one.
The
department is mandated to issue her with a permit to regularise her
stay,
but corruption and a lack of capacity has put paid to her prospects of
attaining the all-important document.
“This is unfair. A few months
ago, I received an SMS hat my application to
practise as a domestic worker
had been approved. To my surprise, I have been
shoved from pillar to post.
Some official even asked for between R1000 and
R1 500 for the permit to be
issues. Where am I supposed to get that kind of
money?” she
asked.
Ndlovu is not the only Zimbabwean national to have suffered. A
tour of the
Department of Home Affairs office in central Johannesburg met
crowds of
Zimbabweans sleeping in queues with the hope of attaining their
permits.
Home affairs spokesperson, Ronnie Mamoepa, meanwhile expressed
confidence
they would meet the July 31 deadline to process permits for the
more than 2
million Zimbabweans that applied for permits.