Zim Online
Thursday 28 June 2007
By Regerai Marwezu and Patricia
Mpofu
HARARE - Zimbabwe opposition parties on Wednesday accused the
government of
attempting to rig next year's elections even before a single
ballot was cast
by instructing officials to turn away thousands of
opposition supporters
wishing to register for the polls.
The two factions
of the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
party said
thousands of potential voters in the party's strongholds and
youths, known
for their dislike of the government, had been denied
permission to register
in an ongoing exercise to register voters for the
joint presidential and
parliamentary elections.
The Registrar General's department had also opened
few voter registration
centres in urban areas that are hotbeds of opposition
support in what the
MDC and the smaller United People's Party (UPP) charged
was a ploy by the
government to gain an unfair advantage by ensuring fewer
opposition
supporters were able to register to vote.
"We have encountered
a plethora of obstacles. People suspected of being
sympathetic to the MDC
are being denied the chance to register . . . this is
a nationwide problem,"
said Nelson Chamisa, spokesman of the main faction of
the MDC led by Morgan
Tsvangirai.
Chamisa said in rural areas chiefs and other traditional leaders,
who are
well known for their loyalty to President Robert Mugabe and his
ruling ZANU
PF party had been tasked to screen and vet people wishing to
register and
opposition supporters were being blocked by the
chiefs.
Registrar General Tobaiwa Mudede dismissed as false and the "usual
game of
complaining by the opposition" charges that his officials were
denying the
opposition supporters the chance to register to
vote.
However, opposition leaders were adamant that the voter registration
exercise was skewed in order to ensure fewer of their supporters were
eligible to vote next year.
For example, Abednico Bhebhe, who is a
legislator and deputy spokesman for
the smaller faction of the MDC led by
Arthur Mutambara, said in his
constituency of Nkayi in Matabeleland North
province, some registration
officials were telling villagers that the
current exercise was to register
people wanting national identity documents
and not voters.
"We feel this is an anomaly when people should be getting
registered to vote
next year," said Bhebhe.
The UPP's director of
elections, Anthony Kundishora, told ZimOnline: "Scores
of our supporters
particularly youths who have just turned 18 have
approached our offices
complaining that they have been denied the chance to
register."
The voter
registration exercise began on the 18th of this month and will end
on August
17 this year.
Political analysts say Mugabe's government could lose next
year's poll
because of a deep economic recession that has spawned
hyperinflation,
poverty and severe shortages of food, fuel, hard cash and
just about every
basic survival commodity.
Mugabe and ZANU PF, in power
since Zimbabwe's 1980 independence from
Britain, have lost support in urban
areas where the economic crisis has hit
hardest. However, the veteran
President and his party still enjoy residual
support in rural areas.
The
MDC, which insists the political field is heavily tilted in favour of
Mugabe
and ZANU PF, has said it will wait for the outcome of South African
President Thabo Mbeki-led talks before deciding whether to contest next
year's
polls.
Mbeki was last March appointed by Southern African
Development Community
(SADC) leaders to head efforts to seek a solution to
Zimbabwe's seven-year
old political impasse between Mugabe's ZANU PF and the
MDC.
The SADC brokered dialogue is among other issues expected to tackle the
question of levelling of the political field and elimination of political
violence to ensure next year's polls are credible and truly democratic. -
ZimOnline
Zim Online
Thursday 28
June 2007
By Farisai Gonye
HARARE - Soldiers patrolled
parts of Harare's volatile working class suburbs
on Wednesday forcing
retailers to reduce prices as President Robert Mugabe's
government moved to
enforce a general freeze on prices announced earlier
this week.
Members
of the government's youth militia - known for committing violence
against
Mugabe's opponents - assisted the soldiers as they entered shops at
random
to check on prices of mostly basic commodities.
The raids on shops by
soldiers and youths came as a tough-talking Mugabe
later on in the day
warned company owners and executives who are resisting
last Tuesday's order
to roll back prices to June 18 levels that his
government would jail them as
well as seize their businesses.
A ZimOnline correspondent witnessed a unit of
seven soldiers threatening
some retailers in the low-income suburb of
Highfield with violence if they
did not mark down prices.
The frightened
shop owners complied as members of the public immediately
formed queues to
buy the commodities that were now going for about half the
original
price.
"This is pure, officialised looting," said an angry shop owner, who
declined
to have his name published.
There were similar raids in parts of
Kuwadzana and Budiriro suburbs but it
was not clear if the soldiers extended
their patrols to all suburbs.
"I closed the shop and left the scene after
they forced a colleague who has
a shop next to mine to reduce prices . . .
what kind of country would allow
soldiers to take over private businesses
that we toiled to start?" he fumed,
but was also very careful to insist his
name not be published.
Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) president
Callisto Jokonya tried
to put up a brave face, insisting business would not
reduce prices of
commodities unless there was corresponding reduction in
production costs.
"The reports that some uniformed people are forcing
businesses to sell goods
at a loss are unfortunate. But we cannot comply
with the directive until
there are corresponding reduction in production
costs," he said.
The government insists an unprecedented spate of price
increases that has
seen prices of basic goods rising fourfold within the
past week was
unjustified and that some in the business community were
working with its
western enemies to sabotage the economy and incite popular
revolt.
Economists say price increases reflect a sharp depreciation in the
value of
the Zimbabwe dollar, which has lost more than 125 percent of its
value over
the past three weeks and continues sliding faster than any other
currency on
earth.
They only say comprehensive political and economic
reforms could stop the
economy from bleeding, stem runaway inflation and
bring price stability on
the market.
Inflation - pegged at more than 4
500 percent and the highest in the
world -- is the most visible sign of
Zimbabwe's deep recession that has left
more than 80 percent of workers
without jobs and spawned severe shortages of
food, fuel, hard cash and just
about every basic survival commodity. -
ZimOnline
Zim Online
Thursday 28 June
2007
By Farisai Gonye
HARARE - Zimbabwean police on Wednesday
lifted a ban on political meetings
and demonstrations that was imposed in
Harare last March.
Police spokesperson Oliver Mandipaka told ZimOnline
yesterday that the ban,
which was renewed last week, had been lifted saying
that political parties
and civic groups were now free to hold rallies and
demonstrations in Harare.
Mandipaka said political parties must however first
seek police permission
before holding any meetings in line with the
country's security laws.
"We have dispatched letters to all political parties
informing them of the
new development. Several recent developments have
necessitated this," said
Mandipaka, refusing to elaborate.
The main
opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party last week
accused
President Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU PF party of negotiating in bad
faith
after the police renewed the ban on political meetings in Harare.
The MDC is
involved in talks with ZANU PF in a bid to break Zimbabwe's
seven-year
political stalemate.
MDC spokesperson Nelson Chamisa confirmed last night
that the ban on rallies
had been lifted.
"Yes we received a letter from
the police (notifying us that the ban had
been lifted). But we don't regard
it as a gift from ZANU PF. There are
elections next year and it is our right
to mobilize and organize our
supporters.
"We are still skeptical though
because this might just be a window dressing
exercise to please Mbeki and
other observers," said Chamisa.
Insiders within the government said pressure
from South Africa's President
Thabo Mbeki who is leading the regional
efforts to search for a solution on
the crisis in Zimbabwe had forced Harare
to lift the ban.
"There has been a lot of pressure on ZANU PF to level the
playing field. On
the other hand, Mugabe, more than ever is desperate to
keep the MDC in the
talks.
"Mugabe is cornered and sees the talks as a
way to buy time. He also knows
SADC (Southern African Development Community)
would withdraw promises of a
financial rescue package if the talks collapse
this early and he is seen as
the reason for the collapse," said the source
last night.
Zimbabwe is in the grip of a severe economic crisis that has
manifested
itself in rampant inflation of 4 500 percent, massive joblessness
and
poverty.
Political analysts say Zimbabwe's economic collapse could
sweep away Mugabe
from power with United States ambassador Christopher Dell
predicting last
week that the Zimbabwean government could collapse within
the next six
months. - ZimOnline
Zim Online
Thursday 28 June 2007
By Sebastian
Nyamhangambiri in Wiesbaden, Germany
WIESBADEN - The African Caribbean and
Pacific-European Union (ACP-EU) joint
assembly on Wednesday resolved to ask
the Zimbabwe government to accept a
fact finding mission to probe human
rights abuses in the country after
Harare turned down a similar request last
March.
"We are going to write to the speaker of the Zimbabwe Parliament (John
Nkomo) requesting to send a mission there," ACP-EU joint assembly
co-president Radembino-Conquest told reporters. "We hope his attitude will
have changed this time."
The ACP-EU said the mission would seek to check
on the political and
economic crisis as well as alleged violation of human
rights abuses in
Zimbabwe.
The Zimbabwean government last March blocked
an attempt by the ACP-EU
assembly to send a fact-finding mission to Harare
following the brutal
assault of main opposition Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) party
spokesperson Nelson Chamisa.
Chamisa was brutally
assaulted by suspected state security agents at Harare
International airport
while on his way to Brussels to attend an ACP-EU
meeting.
Chamisa assault
came hardly a few weeks after state agents also brutally
tortured MDC leader
Morgan Tsvangirai and several other opposition leaders
after they attempted
to attend a prayer rally the police had ordered
cancelled.
Zimbabwe is in
the grip of an deep economic recession that has spawned
hyperinflation, food
shortages and worsened poverty while fuelling political
tensions in the once
prosperous country.
On Wednesday, Mugabe threatened to nationalise mines and
businesses he
accused of externalising funds and hiking prices of basic
commodities to aid
Western attempts to sabotage the economy and bring down
his government.
Prices of basic commodities have been on an upward spiral for
the past three
weeks, rising by more than 500 percent during the
period.
Economists say price increases reflect a sharp depreciation in the
value of
the Zimbabwe dollar, which has lost more than 125 percent of its
value over
the past three weeks and continues sliding faster than any other
currency on
earth.
The resolution by the ACP-EU to probe Zimbabwe's
turmoil came after heated
debate as delegates from Sudan, Botswana and South
African vociferously
objected, saying there was no need for the assembly to
even debate Zimbabwe
because President Thabo Mbeki was already leading
regional efforts to secure
a political settlement in Zimbabwe.
Mbeki has
promised to report progress when SADC next meets in the Zambian
capital,
Lusaka this weekend.
The ACP-EU assembly - which is expected to also discuss
the crisis in Sudan's
Darfur region at its on-going meeting in Wiesbaden,
Germany - had earlier
agreed not to pass any formal resolution on Zimbabwe
because the African
country is not represented at the meeting.
The
Zimbabwe government withdrew its delegation to the meeting claiming the
move
was in protest against Germany's refusal to grant visas to two ruling
legislators of Mugabe's ruling ZANU PF party who were to be part of the
delegation. - ZimOnline
Zim Online
Thursday 28 June 2007
By Wilfred
Mhanda
HARARE - Statutory Instrument 64 of 2007, the Defence (War Veterans
Reserve)
Regulations, established a reserve force of the army to be known as
the 'war
veterans reserve'.
The motive or rationale for the establishment
of the force was never made
clear nor were the generality of the former
liberation war fighters
themselves and the public at large ever consulted on
the establishment of
the force.
This is typical of President Robert
Mugabe regime's arrogant and
authoritarian rule. Everything is
decreed.
In the circumstances, it is only fair to speculate on Mugabe's need
for a
force composed of war veterans at this point in time.
Zimbabwe is
neither at war with any neighbouring or foreign country nor does
it face any
potential military threat from anywhere let alone from within
the
region.
Even when the country was involved in wars in Mozambique and the
Democratic
Republic of the Congo, the need for such a force was never
mooted.
The interrogation of the need for a war veterans reserve force now is
therefore pertinent.
The only potent threat that the Mugabe regime could
possibly face today is
the threat of revolt by its disgruntled populace that
has exhausted its
forbearance.
The regime has presided over the demise of
the country's economy that has in
turn precipitated a humanitarian
catastrophe of untold proportions and
wrought untold misery and suffering;
unprecedented in the country's history.
The majority of the country's people
have been reduced to paupers who
struggle on the lifeline of survival and
extinction year in and year out
prompting a mass exodus to neighbouring
countries and further a field.
For many, basic existence has lost its meaning
and significance.
In other words, if the Mugabe regime is facing any threat
at all, that
threat can only be the threat of revolt by its severely
repressed populace
and the former fighters are being enlisted as foot
soldiers against the same
people that they took up arms to liberate.
To
all intents and purposes, it would be the ultimate undoing of liberation
by
the supposed 'liberators'. Nothing could be more diabolical and
irresponsible for the former 'liberators' to do.
This would in essence
put the last nail on the coffin of the already
battered and soiled image and
reputation of the former gallant fighters for
liberation.
This would not
be the first time that the former fighters have been set
against the
suffering masses by Mugabe, in pursuit of 'political cleansing'.
The
destructive, violent and chaotic farm invasions of the early 2000s and
the
violence and anarchy that characterised the 2000 and 2002 general and
presidential elections respectively (if one has the audacity to term them as
such!) were conducted in their name.
All the evil, violence, murders,
deaths, torture, rape, intimidation,
forcible displacements, expropriation
and destruction of homes and property
were ascribed to them, leaving the
puppet master and his hangers on with
'clean hands'.
The former fighters
were made to spearhead the fight against the very same
ideals that they had
taken up arms and sacrificed life, limb and depravation
for viz. freedom,
democracy, social justice, human dignity and peace.
All this was part of
Mugabe's evil design to besmirch the honour and
reputation of the former
fighters so as to alienate them from the populace
whilst at the same time
being the beneficiary of their misdeeds.
Mugabe and his cronies got
everything from the mayhem of the early 2000s
whereas the former fighters
themselves had nothing to show after the loot.
That is called killing two
birds with one stone.
For the record, no former freedom fighter ever got a
farm from the invasions
before the year 2002 despite being 'touted' as the
flag bearers of the
invasions.
Chenjerai Hunzvi himself died a pauper
without even a single farm and his
sidekicks, Joseph Chinotimba and others
only got them after 2002.
However, what the former fighters as a category got
from the reprehensible
and counter-productive process was alienation from
the populace,
denigration, loss of respect and public standing in the eyes
of the nation,
notwithstanding the fact that the atrocities were perpetrated
by a minority
of rogue war veterans and notorious non-former fighters like
Hunzvi,
Chinotimba & Co.
Clearly, the former fighters were
short-changed by the wily and evil minded
despot, Mugabe. Mugabe's dirty
tricks earned the former fighters as a whole
public scorn for the misdeeds
of a few.
No wonder why many respectable former fighters, in an agonising
display of
withdrawal symptoms, are averse to publicly identifying
themselves with the
liberation war.
Mugabe has never had a heart for the
former fighters since his ascendancy to
the leadership of ZANU in January
1977 in a coup from the top. He has always
viewed them as expendable objects
in the service of his diabolical and
insatiable quest for total
power.
Mugabe's desire to denigrate the former fighters stems from his desire
to
tarnish them out of the ZANU PF power equation, which now extends to
cover
the issue of his succession.
Mugabe made up his mind to succeed
himself a long time ago, and to him, the
former fighters should not
entertain any thoughts of power or
decision-making within ZANU PF.
This
does not however stop him from abusing them to perpetrate repressive
acts
and in running the state machinery. But any pretences to power have to
stop
there!
Be that as it may, it is tragic that both opposition forces and civil
society have swallowed hook, line and sinker Mugabe's evil stratagem to blot
the image of the former liberation war fighters to suit his power
designs.
What did Mugabe ever do for the former fighters before they rose in
demand
for justifiable compensation for their role in the liberation
struggle?
Rather than sympathise with their demands, the former fighters were
blamed
for crashing the economy; forgetting the role of Mugabe's looting of
parastatals since independence and his wasteful war in the Congo.
In
fact, the former fighters were expected to get nothing whilst the former
Rhodesian soldiers they fought against were, courtesy of Mugabe, enjoying
their pensions in foreign currency including Ian Smith himself.
What an
affront to the former fighters!
Rather than stopping to think and reason that
it was only a minority of the
former fighters, a sprinkling of rogue war
veterans among pseudo war
veterans, who committed atrocities against the
people, they subliminally
blanket every former fighter as being inherently
pro-Mugabe.
If the truth be told, both the opposition and civil society
harbour greater
hatred for the war veterans than for Mugabe
himself.
Rather than engage the former fighters to soul search on what they
fought
for, they counter-pose their abhorrence for them. Rather than view
them as
co-victims of Mugabe's repressive rule, they consider them to be
Mugabe's
hardcore supporters.
Rather than courting them as potential
allies in the struggle for democracy,
they consider them to be anti freedom
and anti-democracy forces to be
overcome.
Rather than honouring and
acknowledging their sacrifices for the liberation
of the country, they pour
derision on them condescendingly.
If the sad truth be told, the former
liberation war fighters are an
endangered species viewed with disdain by
ZANU PF politicians on the one
hand and the opposition and civil society on
the other.
It is however high time for a paradigm shift and a reality check;
it is time
to build bridges between the former fighters and the opposition
and civil
society, as they are both victims of Mugabe's tyranny.
The
unremitting suffering to which we are all subject should help forge
indelible bonds of liberation.
The fact that there are a few misguided
former fighters, a few rotten and
bad apples among them should not override
the common denominator of shared
brutal oppression, suffering and abuse by
the dictatorial Mugabe regime.
To the former fighters themselves, the message
is: it high time they
abandoned the sinking 'titanic'.
Their heroic
sacrifices and honour for the liberation of their country
should not be
sacrificed on the alter of expediency for short term gains.
The gratuities
they got and the monthly pensions they receive are neither
out of ZANU PF's
benevolence nor its grace but justifiably deserved
recognition for their
sacrifices for their country.
There is need to put this in context.
All
countries that fought liberation, resistance or patriotic wars have a
special place for their heroes in both their institutional memory and their
national history just as we hold Mbuya Nehanda, Lobengula, Sekuru Kaguvi and
others in eternal esteem.
This is generally expressed in material and
other forms of genuine
appreciation. The material acknowledgement in the
form of pensions, farms,
residential stands etc that former Rhodesian
soldiers, black and white,
received from the British Empire for fighting its
wars, is living testimony
for this.
To this end, the former fighters need
neither be ashamed of nor be derided
for what others elsewhere would
ordinarily deserve or enjoy.
Mugabe is criminally abusing the justifiably
deserved payouts to the former
fighters as patronage to buy support for his
repressive and unpopular rule.
All the former fighters should be above
partisan political interests and
subscribe to the higher and lasting ideals
of nation building and
unflinching defence of the people's fundamental
interests for freedom and
peace.
The former fighters can ill-afford tying
their fate and legacy to that of
the tyrannical and repressive Mugabe regime
that has done everything to
negate what they stood and fought for.
The
country is bleeding, the nation is suffering and the time for solidarity
is
now. That is the hallmark of true patriotism.
* Wilfred Mhanda (aka Dzinashe
Machingura) is a distinguished veteran of
Zimbabwe's 1970s liberation war.
He is a founder member of the Zimbabwe
Liberators Platform (ZLP), an
association of war veterans.
news.com.au
June 28, 2007
07:31am
Article from: Reuters
SOUTH African Nobel peace prize laureate
Desmond Tutu said Zimbabwean
President Robert Mugabe needed face-saving
options for there to be a chance
of him stepping aside.
Mr Tutu said the
replacement of Tony Blair by Gordon Brown as prime minister
of Britain,
Zimbabwe's former colonial ruler, could help the situation but
much depended
on negotiations to resolve the crisis being mediated by South
Africa.
"A change of cast might have an important bearing on how
things develop," Mr
Tutu said.
"I would hope that there might just be
a way of providing face savers that
would enable people to exit without
feeling that they had lost a great deal
of personal stature," he
said.
"We need to provide that for the sake of the people and it may be
that
(Britain's) new prime minister just might have a way of saying things
that
would be slightly more acceptable."
Mugabe, 83 and in power
since independence in 1980, has accused Britain of
trying to overthrow him
and he threatened on Wednesday to seize foreign
companies.
Britain
has criticised Mugabe for his crackdown on the opposition Movement
for
Democratic Change and accused him of driving the southern African state
to
economic ruin.
Mr Tutu, who has been an outspoken critic of human rights
violations by
Mugabe's government, was not specific about the kind of 'face
savers' that
might work.
"I think they have to go and speak with the
actors but it is finding a way
of letting him maybe step down in a way that
still leaves him with some
dignity and self respect," he said.
While
Western nations have called for a tough African response to end the
crisis,
the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has plotted its
own
diplomatic course, calling for more dialogue and an end to Western
sanctions.
"(South African) President (Thabo) Mbeki is the
facilitator, the mediator,
appointed by SADC and he's had some of (the
Zimbabweans) come to Pretoria
and they've had exchanges," said Mr
Tutu.
"I have been told on very good authority that I think the two sides
set
themselves June 30 as the deadline for something significant," he
said.
"It's a delicate thing and you are constantly having to determine
whether it
is better to keep quiet for a while so that you don't muddy the
waters.
"And so much hinges on how President Mugabe reacts and then you
know that
the fate of many, many, many hangs on how he operates. So I
wouldn't want to
jeopardise the whole thing. Let's wait."
SW Radio
Africa (London)
27 June 2007
Posted to the web 27 June 2007
Violet
Gonda
For the first time since independence courts failed to function
normally on
Wednesday due to a boycott by lawyers. Members of the Law
Society of
Zimbabwe decided to take this drastic measure to boycott court
proceeding
and hold countrywide demonstrations, to highlight the violation
of their
rights by the state.
In Harare more than 100 lawyers also
marched to the High Court and managed
to leave a petition protesting the ill
treatment of lawyers in Zimbabwe at
the Justice Minister's office. Lawyer
Jesse Majome said the demonstration
was a victory against the dictatorship
because the last attempt to present a
petition to the Minister of Justice
was brutally thwarted by the police.
There has been a systematic campaign
to harass and beat members of the legal
fraternity, especially those working
on human rights issues. At least 19
lawyers were arrested during the month
of May alone.
On May 4th human rights lawyers Alec Muchadehama and Andrew
Makoni were
arrested on allegations of obstructing the course of justice,
arising from a
bail application filed by them in the High Court. The two are
representing
the political detainees accused of what are believed to be
trumped up
terrorism charges.
The day after Muchadehama and Makoni were
arrested the Legal Resources
Foundation reported that a representative of
the Attorney General, state
prosecutor Richard Chikosha, was beaten and
detained overnight for
consenting to a court order relating to the political
detainees.
A few days later on the 8th several lawyers were beaten, while
five were
briefly detained and thoroughly assaulted, when police violently
broke up a
solidarity protest march by the legal fraternity in Harare. The
lawyers,
including Beatrice Mtetwa (the president of the Law Society of
Zimbabwe),
were briefly detained and taken to an area near the suburb of
Eastlea where
they were made to lie on the ground and beaten before being
released.
Those that were beaten during that march, were assaulted because
police said
they were 'walking too slowly," resulting in another prominent
lawyer
Mordecai Mahlangu sustaining serious injuries.
On May 15th, ten
lawyers were briefly detained in Mutare for demonstrating
against the
continued harassment and arrest of their colleagues. A day
earlier prominent
lawyer Jonathan Samkange was arrested for allegedly
misrepresenting facts in
a case involving his client, the alleged British
mercenary Simon
Mann.
Jesse Majome said Wednesday's industrial action was to communicate the
message that it is not business as usual in the Zimbabwe legal system.
"There is great danger of annihilation not only of the practice of the law
but even just the dispensation of justice if lawyers and court officials
continue to pretend that everything is alright," she said.
Zim Online
Wednesday 27 June 2007
By Edith
Kaseke
HARARE - A government directive to businesses to slash prices by more
than
half is the clearest signal yet that President Robert Mugabe's
administration has failed to tame rampant inflation and is likely to
backfire as basic commodities are diverted to the black market, analysts
said on Tuesday.
Prices have been rising on a daily basis in Zimbabwe, a
sign of the effects
of the world's highest inflation rate that has wrecked
havoc on consumers'
pockets and left workers hardly able to cope with the
price increases from
transport fares to bread.
Industry and International
Trade Minister Obert Mpofu on Monday ordered all
manufacturers, retailers
and wholesalers to roll back prices to June 18
levels in a bid to cushion
hard-pressed consumers and accused businesses of
profiteering.
But
economic analysts said the measure would only see commodities like the
main
staple maize-meal, sugar, cooking oil and flour, whose prices have gone
up
by 300 percent in the last week alone, being sold on the black market at
even higher prices.
"The natural thing for a manufacturer is to cut back
production rather than
to produce at a loss," John Robertson, a leading
economic commentator said.
"This has not worked in the past and I am sure it
will not work this time
around," he added.
Critics say Mugabe has ruined
the economy through controversial populist
policies such as the seizure of
white-owned commercial farms to give to
blacks and lately plans to localise
all businesses, scaring away potential
foreign investors, analysts
said.
Industry executives say the continued weakening of the Zimbabwe dollar
on
the black market, where the bulk of forex trade is conducted, has
necessitated the price increases.
Zimbabwe's industrial output has
continued to fall in the past five years,
hobbled by shortages of foreign
currency, which has impacted on the
availability of raw materials while the
central bank is unable to satisfy
foreign currency demand for raw material
imports.
Businesses have reacted by passing costs to consumers, creating a
vicious
inflation cycle.
"We are continuing to talk to the government on
the issue and to our members
as well and urging them to exercise restraint
when it comes to increasing
prices as we are party to the social contract,"
Mara Hativagone, the
president of the Zimbabwe Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC)
said.
Under the social contract framework, industry is supposed to justify
price
increases but companies argue that with the Zimbabwe dollar in
free-fall,
they have no choice but to increase prices if they are to produce
new
stocks.
Analysts said the government directive had set a potentially
explosive stage
for the ZNCC annual three-day meeting which starts today in
Nyanga and,
which is expected to be attended by senior government officials
and Vice
President Joseph Msika who should give a keynote address.
Mugabe
has in the past accused local industrialists of participating in
former
colonial power Britain's scheme of sabotage and regime change agenda
by
increasing prices to sow discontent among workers to rise against his
government.
Zimbabwe's economic crisis, which is highlighted by inflation
above 4 500
percent, the highest in the world and has left eight in ten
people out of
formal employment, has fanned political tensions in the
southern African
country, leading to job boycotts by government workers,
including doctors
and nurses.
Analysts said the government's latest
effort to keep a lid on prices was
meant to pacify angry workers ahead of
general presidential and
parliamentary elections next year but would come at
a heavy cost as this
could force some companies to shut down and force more
workers to join the
growing jobless list.
"The government knows what it
must do, that is to respect property rights,
including land, free the
exchange rate and reach out to the international
community. We cannot go it
alone," Robertson said. "What they are doing is
tinkering with the symptoms
of the bigger problem," he added.
But Mpofu said businesses must revert to
the prices quoted on Monday last
week while a commission investigates
whether the recent rise was justified,
warning that non-compliance would
result in heavy penalties for offenders.
By the end of business yesterday,
there was no sign that prices were coming
down, with some shops actually
increasing their prices, while some shoppers
jammed supermarkets to buy
groceries before they disappear from the shops.
The Confederation of Zimbabwe
Industries says companies are operating at a
third of their potential due to
foreign currency shortages, unviable
exchange rate, price controls and
inconsistent government policies.
International donors have withdrawn aid to
Zimbabwe to protest against
Mugabe's policies and analysts say this has
worsened the country's economic
crisis.
Mugabe, now 83 and seeking
another five-year term in 2008, which will take
his reign in the southern
African country to more than three decades, denies
that his policies are
responsible for the economic meltdown and instead says
he is being sabotaged
by the West over land seizures. - ZimOnline
Zim Online
Wednesday 27 June 2007
By Thulani
Munda
HARARE - Zimbabwean bakers were on Tuesday left fuming after the
government
ordered them to reduce the price of bread, a day after signing an
agreement
allowing them to hike the price of bread to Z$46 000 a loaf.
In
a clear sign of the confusion rocking President Robert Mugabe's
government,
the National Incomes and Pricing Commission ordered bakers to
slash the
price of a loaf of bread from the agreed Z$46 000 to Z$22 000.
The agreement
between the National Bakers Association and the government to
increase the
price of bread was signed on Monday.
On Tuesday, the state-run Herald
newspaper quoted Industry and International
Trade Minister Obert Mpofu
ordering manufacturers and retailers to reduce
prices of basic commodities
by 50 percent.
The Zimbabwe government said the business sector should revert
to prices
that were there on the market as at 18 June 2007 adding that last
week's
massive price hikes were meant to foment rebellion against the
government.
A copy of the agreement titled, NIPC Compromise Agreement: Bread
Products,
which was seen by ZimOnline showed that wholesalers were to sell a
loaf of
bread for Z$46 000 with retailers selling it for $49 000.
"We are
shocked and wonder where this will lead us. They negotiated with us
in bad
faith it seems," said one baker who refused to be named.
The Zimbabwe
government has warned that it will deploy security forces to
enforce the new
prices adding that last week's hike in prices was a ploy by
Harare's enemies
to effect regime change in the country.
On Tuesday morning, officers from the
price commission were moving around
shops in Harare and Bulawayo ordering
them to reduce prices of basic
commodities in line with the new
directive.
Zimbabwe is in the grip of a severe economic crisis that has
manifested
itself in the world's highest inflation rate of over 4 500
percent, massive
unemployment and shortages of essential commodities.
The
main opposition Movement for Democratic Change party and major western
governments blame the crisis on repression and bad economic policies by
Mugabe, in power since the country's independence from Britain 27 years
ago. - ZimOnline
SW
Radio Africa (London)
27 June 2007
Posted to the web 27 June
2007
Tererai Karimakwenda
Speaking at the burial of the late Army
Brigadier General Armstrong Gunda on
Wednesday, Robert Mugabe threatened to
take over all foreign companies,
which he accused of hiking prices in a
campaign to sabotage the economy and
remove him from government. Mugabe is
quoted saying: "All companies, we will
take them over if they continue with
their dirty game. Take note, we will be
equal to the challenge. We are
capable of playing that game too." The ruling
party leader said mines were
included.
The threats came as shops in the capital ignored a government
directive to
cut prices by 50%. While Mugabe ranted, consumers who rushed to
the shops
Wednesday hoping to find prices reduced by half were disappointed.
In fact
some products had not only gone up in price, but they had doubled.
The
authorities had directed manufacturers, retailers and wholesalers to cut
the
price of basic commodities by up to 50% with immediate effect. But
economic
analysts blame daily price increases on hyperinflation. With
inflation
officially at 3700%, businesses have no choice but to increase
prices to
keep up with rising costs.
Mugabe did not address the
hyperinflation that experts say is the result of
the government's bad policy
decisions, corruption and mismanagement. We
spoke to two women from Harare's
high-density suburb of Epworth to whom his
words mean nothing as they said
shops in their area were almost empty. One
of them had just received her
salary, yet she left the shops with no
groceries. The bar of soap she had
hoped to buy now cost Z$416,000. Bread
had gone up from Z$22,000 a loaf on
Tuesday to Z$49,000 Wednesday. Our
contact said a 500 millilitre container
of milk was selling at Z$32,000.
nasdaq
(RTTNews) - Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe on Wednesday
warned against
constant increasing of prices by mining firms and other
companies in the
wake of rampant inflation. He has threatened to seize them
if the "dirty
tricks" are played on.
Speaking in Harare after the burial
of Paul Armstrong Gunda, a hero of
Zimbabwe's independence movement, the
president gave strong signals to those
engaged in profiteering.
The
83-year-old president warned those who are in construction and supply,
to
take note that the government is following them. Mugabe said the company
men
would be arrested and the mines seized if they go wrong. He went on to
say
that the Zimbabwe government would nationalize the mines if its owners
continue with their "dirty tricks."
In an economy where the inflation
rate is now believed to be about 5000%,
Mugabe's comments represented the
latest threat to foreign companies still
operating in the country. The
Zimbabwe government aims to put 51% of all
foreign-owned companies into the
hands of indigenous Zimbabweans.
The Zimbabwean
(28-06-07)
HARARE
The Zanu (PF) regime has recently imported US$2 million
worth of spying
equipment from China and this paper can reveal that one of
the gadgets has
already been installed in Harare.
Parliament passed the
Interception of Communications Bill recently and it
has emerged that the
regime has all along been spending scarce foreign
currency importing
equipment.
It has been established that a gadget, which experts say is a
satellite
interceptor, has been installed in Harare, about three kilometers
from the
city centre, near the Macro Wholesale Warehouse in
Braeside.
Telecommunications minister, Chris Mushowe, fumed recently when
challenged
to respond to reports about the satellite interceptor by MDC MP,
Nelson
Chamisa, and denied that it was a spying gadget.
"The interceptor
is one of the several that will be put across the whole
country and help in
the spying on telephone and internet communications in
the country," an
intelligence source said.
The interception of communications bill was pushed
through parliament last
week and now awaits Mugabe's signature.
The Zimbabwean
(28-06-07)
HARARE
Saddled with a
new currency that cannot be introduced due to the
hyper-inflationary
environment, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor,
Gideon Gono, is
considering knocking another three zeros off the country's
currency in the
next 45 days.
Central bank sources are even saying that the governor is
contemplating the
removal of five zeros instead.
So bad is the situation
that the RBZ printing press is reportedly running
overtime printing a new
set of bearer cheques to replace the ones introduced
last August and billed
to expire at the end of July.
Plans by government to introduce a new
currency, printed at a cost of
16,5million euros last year have been put on
hold. The new currency is set
to take a back seat till things stabilize at a
date in the distant future.
Most Zimbabweans now measure their salaries by
the number of 2litre bottles
of cooking oil they can buy. Prices of
commodities go up every three hours.
The price of a 2litre bottle of cooking
oil went up by 812,5percent in two
weeks while prices of soft drinks and
beer shot up by 4000 percent since
January. A 300ml bottle of coke now costs
$50 000, while a pint of beer is a
staggering $75 000.
A shirt costs $15
million, while a pair of shoes is now worth $20 million. A
litre of petrol
topped this week at $200 000.
Last week commercial banks complained that
their systems were compromised
and faced imminent collapse as most
Zimbabweans had been reduced to a
non-banking public. - CAJ News
RBZ
forex plot
HARARE
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has been buying
foreign currency from the
black market to purchase food and other basic
requirements ahead of next
year's elections in order to reduce the severity
of economic problems on
party supporters.
Highly-placed sources told The
Zimbabwean the plot was aimed at reducing
pressure on the economy ahead of
the elections, which the ruling party will
campaign on the slogan, "Reviving
the Economy and Shaming our Detractors".
RBZ Governor Gideon Gono did not
respond to questions sent on this and other
matters last week. However, some
of the agents being used by the RBZ, who
include top government officials,
confirmed to this paper that the central
bank is offering more than the
black market rate for forex, in some cases by
more than double.
"We are
selling huge amounts of money to the RBZ and there is now a well
established
network through which this is being done," one of the agents
said. "We go
through some well-established persons because it is not easy to
just go to
the RBZ without the necessary connections."
Government sources revealed a
plan by the Mugabe regime to flood the market
with cheaper fuel, foodstuffs
as well as other commodities in the run up to
the elections after using the
foreign currency from the RBZ. The ruling
party hopes to exploit this
populist opportunity by pretending to be fixing
the economy, whilst at the
same time projecting the propaganda that the
opposition MDC has been
responsible for the meltdown through calling for
sanctions. - Itai
Dzamara
Dollar must devalue
HARARE
Zimbabwean industrialists have urged
President Robert Mugabe's government to
immediately devalue the local
dollar, saying such a move would ease a
foreign currency shortage that
threatened businesses with collapse.
"The problem of foreign currency
shortage has hit industry hard, resulting
in some businesses collapsing or
being pushed to the verge of collapse,"
Callisto Jokonya told delegates at
the launch of Confederation of Zimbabwe
Industries' 2006 manufacturing
survey last week.
"The free market economy is the most efficient way for
millions of people
to have their needs met at the lowest possible cost. The
freer the market,
the more vibrant the economy and the greater the quantity
of wealth and
opportunity that is created for more people," added the CZI
president. -
Chief Reporter
The Zimbabwean
(28-06-07)
BY ITAI
DZAMARA
BINDURA
Two serving ministers and senior officials of the ruling
Zanu (PF) have been
accused of having personally killed as well as
supervised a bloody wipe out
of opposition activists and supporters in
Mashonaland Central during the
turbulent farm invasions of 2000.
A former
senior police officer who was based in Bindura told The Zimbabwean
that
Labour and Social Welfare minister, Nicholas Goche, and minister
without
portfolio Elliot Manyika unleashed a wave of terror in their
constituencies
of Shamva and Bindura respectively.
The former policeman spoke on condition
of anonymity to tell how the police,
army and members of the Central
Intelligence Organization were reduced by
the ministers to mere pawns for
use in the violent wipe out of opposition
members.
Our source has
compiled a document, now in our possession, chronicling
events such as the
murder of MDC activist, Trymore Midzi, and alleging the
ministers'
involvement. The document also exposes how the Zanu (PF) regime
has nurtured
the culture of indemnity from prosecution, not only for top
ministers but
also their agents who were involved in heinous crimes.
"Many people went
missing on the night Trymore Midzi was murdered and it is
believed that
another dead body collected from Nicholas Goche's farm in
Bindura, close to
Chiwaridzo, was one of Trymore's friends kidnapped on that
night," the
source says.
"He (the dead person) had a temporary ID with him, although it
was soaked
in rain there were numbers which were still visible to the extent
that it
was still possible to determine the identity, but nothing was done
to this
day and not even a docket was opened in that regard. Inspector Sande
was the
officer in charge of Bindura Central and the body was collected by
Chiwaridzo police post personnel."
The source said Midzi died a painful
death at the hands of Zanu (PF) militia
who were strongly supported by the
CIO and police.
"His killers are known, even though nothing was done about
it. Sande knows
them," he added. Manyika, the current Zanu (PF) political
commissar, is
described by the source as having fitted well into the shoes
of the late
Boarder Gezi, whom he replaced in Bindura.
"Manyika was a
feared man and was not popular even within the party (Zanu
PF). He used his
official brown defender to kidnap opposition opponents and
many of them went
missing for good. The brown defender was the most feared
vehicle in the
province - even more than police defenders. Many people were
relieved when
the defender broke down but that could not erase the memories
of their loved
ones who perished at the hands of Zanu (PF) militia under the
supervision of
Manyika."
Manyika declined to comment on these allegations saying he was
busy, while
Goche was continuously not answering his mobile phone.
The Zimbabwean
(28-06-07)
On
page one this week we carry a very disturbing story of murder in
Mashonaland Central implicating two government ministers. We believe this
is only the tip of the iceberg. Hundreds of opposition supporters have been
killed before and during the 2000, 2002 and 2005 general and presidential
elections.
The murders of Trymore Midzi and his friend in 2000, as well
as many other
political killings since then, need to be investigated by an
impartial body.
The Zimbabwe Republic Police can obviously not be relied
upon to conduct
investigations, as members of the police force are
themselves implicated.
We are pleased to have concrete evidence of what we
have suspected all
along - that some policemen and CIO officers with a
conscience have kept
records of what actually transpired and would be
willing to testify against
the perpetrators of the many crimes against
humanity that have taken place
in Zimbabwe under the Mugbe regime. We salute
them. Those who are known to
have committed murder must be
prosecuted.
This is not the first time we have received reports of the
murderers of
opposition supporters being known and walking free. Some of the
killers, who
have been positively identified, have actually been promoted
within the
forces - showing that Zanu (PF) does indeed sanction a policy of
indemnity
for politically-motivated violence. Mugabe's message is clear -
those who
support his rule can kill with impunity.
The knowledge that
this message has been clearly communicated to, and
understood by, thousands
of ill-educated, substance-dependent, brain-washed
youths does not bear
thinking about. Yet this is the reality facing millions
of Zimbabweans ahead
of the 2008 elections.
Casting all pragmatism and decorum aside, we
unashamedly beg President Thabo
Mbeki and all those involved in deciding
whether the 2008 elections can
possibly be free and fair, to face this
reality unflinchingly.
Be assured, the Zanu (PF) violence machinery will be
activated in full force
for 2008, never mind all the other crafty rigging
mechanisms exposed in our
columns in recent weeks. The result of a violent
campaign cannot be deemed
to be a reflection of the will of the people.
The Zimbabwean
(28-06-07)
HARARE
A
man held illegally on accusations of taking part in an alleged coup plot
was
severely tortured and left with life threatening injuries, a doctor has
confirmed.
Harare Doctor PG Musuka who examined Edmore Gapare, has
certified the man
was subjected to electric shocks while in custody. His
findings are the
first clearest evidence that men accused of plotting a coup
have been
tortured in custody.
Their lawyers have revealed that their
clients were being ill treated in
custody where they were being tortured and
assaulted.
Musuka noted that Gapare had lacerations on tongue, tender swollen
right ad
left ribs, tender epigastrium, blisters on both feet and black
stripes on
ankles, among other injuries.
"These are severe to life
threatening injuries consistent with assault
torture and electrocution. His
urine was black and stool black consistent
with internal bleeding - blood
loss. Of note was his loss of balance, head
injury and swollen tongue. These
are very serious injuries and will need
continuous monitoring and
treatment," said Musuka.
Gapare who had been illegally detained by police
with two other suspects has
instructed his lawyers to sue the Ministry of
Home Affairs after they were
released without being charged. He is demanding
Z$5 billion as compensation
for assault, torture and illegal detention. -
CAJ News
SW Radio Africa
(London)
27 June 2007
Posted to the web 27 June 2007
Tichaona
Sibanda
The water crisis in Harare has become so desperate that over 500
families
based at the Amalinda plots on the outskirts of Glen View are
knowingly
drinking contaminated water from the Mukuvisi river.
Raw sewage
from a broken water pipe in Msasa has been flowing into the
Mukuvisi which
meanders down the capital's south western suburbs, passing
through the
vicinity of Amalinda plots.
Precious Shumba, the Combined Harare
Residents Association information
officer, said the threat of disease
outbreak in the capital has reached 'red
alert' meaning a cholera outbreak
is imminent. In other areas residents with
transport are buying water from
the city centre or getting it from relatives
that still have water
supplies.
'At Amalinda plots we are talking of people who were displaced by
Operation
Murambatsvina. These are people who are still struggling to fork
out a
living and they have been telling us they have no choice but to use
the
contaminated water because they have no other place to get it,' Shumba
said.
Residents of Glen View, Glen Norah, Msasa Park, Budiriro and Kuwadzana
have
been without water since last Friday after a water pump burst. The
Harare
city council has failed to restore water supplies citing lack of
resources
and foreign currency to repair the damages.
CHRA is worried
about the implications of a potential disease outbreak of
diarrhoea and
dysentery. Two years ago following a similar water problem, an
outbreak of
cholera claimed the lives of 26 residents in the capital.
'The danger with a
similar recurrence is that there would be no nurses and
doctors to treat
victims because of the strike. An outbreak now would be
catastrophic,' said
Shumba.
Of concern to CHRA is that the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare
and the
Ministry of Water and Infrastructural Development have remained
quiet when
they should be taking urgent measures to address the pending
disaster before
lives are lost again.
New Zimbabwe
By Staff Reporter
Last
updated: 06/28/2007 06:49:06
A KEY ally of Zimbabwe's Vice President Joice
Mujuru has said he expects
President Robert Mugabe to retire before the end
of the year, seen as proof
of growing disillusionment within his Zanu PF
party over his plans to run
for office in general elections next
year.
Mugabe, 83, has been power since Zimbabwe gained independence from
Britain
in 1980.
But an unprecedented economic crisis and growing
international pressure has
encouraged rivals within his own party to
pressure him to quit.
Dr Ibbo Mandaza, an influential Zanu PF supporter and
adviser to Mujuru,
said he expects Mugabe to announce his retirement as
early as September this
year, warning that "to do otherwise would be
crazy".
In February this year, Mugabe was furious, accusing Mujuru of
commissioning
a biography of nationalist leader and former Zanu PF secretary
general Edgar
Tekere, written by Mandaza, which was highly critical of
him.
On the eve of his 83rd bithday, Mugabe openly admitted for the first
time
that Mujuru was plotting against him after Tekere published his
biography, A
Lifetime of Struggle, portraying Mugabe as a reluctant leader
who rose to
power through political coups and detention-camp plots. It also
says some of
his leading comrades during the war viewed him as a
"sell-out".
Mugabe blasted: "The Tekere/Mandaza issue, ah they are trying to
campaign
for Mujuru using the book.you can't become a president by using a
biography.
Manje vairasa (they have lost the plot). They don't realise they
have done
her more harm than good."
But speaking in Johannesburg during a
discussion organised by the SA
Institute of International Affairs on
Wednesday, Mandaza said he had advised
Mugabe to retire, as no economic
reform can take place if he is still
around.
Mandaza also dismissed the
current Southern African Development Community
(SADC) peace initiative to
bring Zanu PF and the MDC to a negotiating table
to agree on the ground
rules ahead of general elections next year.
Mandaza said: "I think that the
major determinant is what happens in Zanu-PF
this year, and my expectation
is that as he promised to do last year, Mugabe
will retire... He will make
the announcement by September to give the party
time to campaign that he
will retire.
"In my view, that is the obvious thing to do. To do otherwise
would be
crazy..."
Mandaza's remarks are likely to be met with derision
by Mugabe's supporters
in Harare, already determined to fight off the
veteran leader's rivals --
mainly to preserve their own political
careers.
Zimbabwe, grappling with record inflation, faces its worst economic
crisis
in history. Food shortages, low unemployment and rising poverty have
combined to fuel public anger against Mugabe's government, but he refuses to
take blame as he accuses Western countries of imposing economic sanctions in
a bid to oust him from power.
The Zimbabwean
(28-06-07)
HARARE
Zimbabwe's deepening fuel crisis has become the single
biggest threat to
efforts by the government to save the economy from its
perilous state.
Zimbabwe has been experiencing fuel shortages since 2000, due
to a
combination of foreign currency shortages, corruption at the
state-owned
National Oil Company of Zimbabwe, NOCZIM, ruinous economic
policies and
deteriorating diplomatic relations with key countries and
international
institutions.
Now the situation has dramatically
deteriorated. A 5 litre of gallon of fuel
is now retailing for almost a
million Zimbabwean dollars. The price of fuel
has been trekking the rate of
the US$ against the hapless Zimbabwe dollar,
which crushed last week to a
record $200,000 against the greenback.
Public transport is now unaffordable.
A 5-10 km trip in a kombi now costs
$40,000. The increase in fuel prices has
also caused a domino effect across
all sectors of the economy, fuelling the
hyperinflation spiral.
The shortages have also impacted on production figures
in industry.
In addition, the spectre of increased company closures,
unemployment,
soaring inflation and low production in remaining
manufacturing sectors,
where many companies are operating at less than 20
percent capacity, has put
great pressure on the Zanu (PF) government as it
promises to implement a
turnaround programme.
According to the
Confederation of Zimbabwe Industry, the manufacturing
sector is down 7
percent with hundreds of companies having closed shop since
July 2000. The
unemployment rate is at 80 percent and year-on-year inflation
has topped
6,000 percent - the highest in the world.
27 Jun 2007 21:51:53
GMT
Source: Reuters
ABIDJAN, June 27 (Reuters) - Libyan leader Muammar
Gaddafi said on
Wednesday his plan for a United States of Africa should
include creating a
two million strong army to staunch recurrent conflicts
which have ravaged
many of the continent's nations.
Gaddafi was
addressing hundreds of youths in Ivory Coast's economic capital
Abidjan, the
final leg of a tour of several West African states before he
attends an
African Union summit beginning on July 1 in neighbouring Ghana's
capital
Accra.
"One sole African government, one sole African army to defend Africa
with a
force of two million soldiers. One currency, one passport. Accra must
hear
this message," he told the gathering which included Ivorian President
Laurent Gbagbo.
Flush with cash from an oil boom, the leader of the North
African Arab state
has won backing from Senegal, Zimbabwe and other
countries for a
continent-wide government, but diplomatic heavyweights like
South Africa and
Uganda are opposed.
Africans say integration would give
them a stronger voice on the world stage
as globalisation advances, but many
doubt the continent of about nearly one
billion people with vast economic
disparities and many tribes and religions
can unite.
Gaddafi, who has
long cherished the dream of a United States of Africa first
promoted by
Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana's first president after independence from
Britain, says
unification is vital to stabilise Africa and enable it to
speak with one
voice.
"Africa must forbid all war, civil, tribal or over borders. The youth
of
Africa is drowning in the Mediterranean to cross the channel to Europe,
leaving behind it the paradise which is Africa. No more emigration, no more
emigration," he said.
The Zimbabwean
(28-06-07)
HARARE
The cash-strapped Zimbabwe government last week secured
an order worth
millions of dollars in military hardware from its former
independence war
ally, China, The Zimbabwean heard this week.
The deal
was clinched by Defence Minister Sydney Sekeramayi who returned
from a
one-week official visit to China last week after high-level talks
with
Chinese Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan. The purchase was reportedly
authorised by President Robert Mugabe.
Although it was not possible to
obtain the actual figures of the purchase,
our sources said the transaction
was approved by Cabinet in March, and ran
into several millions of US
dollars.
Zimbabwe plans to amortise part of the debt through a barter deal
involving
tobacco and proceeds from the sale of ivory.
The hardware was
reportedly purchased from arms manufacturer China North
Industries
Corporation in a deal that was negotiated with Cao, who is also
vice
chairman
of China's Central Military Commission.
Zimbabwe has recently had
to "Look East" for its military supplies after an
arms embargo was imposed
by the EU and the US due to human rights abuses.
Its armoury is said to be
depleted due to a critical shortage of spares.
The government, at the helm of
its worst economic crisis since independence
from Britain in 1980, had paid
a deposit on the order and that the shipment
of arms - which include
bullets, military hardware spares, spares for the
armoured personnel
carriers, rocket shells and grenades - was due to take
place within three
months of concluding the deal.
The Zimbabwean heard that payments to the
Chinese arms manufacturer would be
initiated by a US$6million down-payment
and after that, a supply of tobacco
and ivory.
"The payment is in respect
of a five percent down-payment for the purchase
of the military goods by the
ZNA (Zimbabwe National Army)," said our source.
Defence spokesman Simon
Tsatsi was not immediately available for comment.
But an official from the
army public relations office said any military
force had obligations to
bolster its equipment holdings by new acquisitions
in order to fulfill its
designated roles.
The purchase comes at a time army is reported to be broke
with Defence
secretary Trust Maposa telling Parliament last month that there
was no money
to feed soldiers and to continue recruiting troops, although
this was
angrily refuted by government spokesmen.
Government has also
been warned against mortgaging national assets to beef
up its military
armoury.
The Zimbabwean
(28-06-07)
HARARE
The main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) has
dismissed the voter registration process started this week
by the Registrar
General, describing it as a violation of democratic
principles. However,
the ruling party insists all is well and on course for
next year's
elections.
"It is a well-orchestrated ambush on Zimbabweans
in the sense that the
regime wants to waylay the democratic process that we
hope to bring about
with a new constitution," MDC spokesman, Nelson Chamisa
said.
"Zimbabwe does not have an independent electoral body and Mudede has an
impeccable history of manipulating elections. We have established that the
people he is using in the registration process were vetted on the basis of
loyalty to Zanu (PF). Mudede has presided over the past elections and been
accused as the chief architect of a rigging system that has allowed the
ruling party to retain power," he said.
But Zanu (PF)'s secretary for
administration, also minister of State
Security, Didymus Mutasa said the
voter registration process was being done
constitutionally and had nothing
sinister about it.
"It is being done by a constitutional body and we are all
preparing for next
year's elections and there is nothing wrong with that,"
he said. "The
elections will be held next year and we have the bodies that
are
constitutionally mandated to supervise as well as run those elections,
meaning there is nothing we should wait for."
Mudede has allegedly
recruited members of the Zanu (PF) militia to beef up
his depleted staff for
the voter registration process, which also faces a
serious lack of resources
and funding.
The ruling party recently gazetted an 18th amendment to the
constitution
with which it seeks to lay the ground for holding of combined
elections next
year in what the opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai last
week described as
contemptuous and pre-emptive of the SADC initiated
dialogue process.
Murambatsvina victims live in squalor
MBARE
More than
2000 residents of an overcrowded block of flats here face serious
health
risks following the collapse of the sewage system close to a year
ago, which
has not been fixed.
The Zimbabwean visited Matapi Flats in Mbare and
witnessed raw sewage
flowing on the floors, the stairs as well as all over
the ground. Residents
at the overcrowded block of flats told this paper that
the situation has
been with them since last year when the sewage
reticulation system collapsed
and repeated pleas to the Harare City
Commission and lately the Zimbabwe
National Water Authority (ZINWA).
"We
have been having this situation for the past year," one resident, Farai
Jerera, said. "Raw sewage flows all over, in the toilets, at the stairs and
at times into the rooms we stay in. It is an issue that has been ignored for
unknown reasons but there have been several cases of people, especially the
young ones falling sick."
Harare City Commission's chairman, Sekesai
Makwavarara said she was aware of
the situation. "We have been working on
finding measures to solve the
problem. The major worry is the health
hazard," she said.
Situated close to the Mbare agricultural produce market,
Matapi Flats
symbolizes the plight of the poor urbanites with up to 12
people-both male
and female-sleeping in a single room. Residents at the
flats told this paper
recently that the bulk of them were victims of
government's Operation Clean
Up (Murambatsvina) of 2005 when it claimed it
was restoring order whilst
rendering more than 700 000 people homeless.
afrol News, 27 June - Also in
Mozambique, land policies are now put higher
up on the agenda as provincial
authorities in Maputo have started
implementing national land tenure
legislation. Maputo authorities have now
followed up on a longstanding
threat to cancel the land tenure rights of
investors who fail to use the
land allocated to them.
According to a report in the Maputo daily 'Noticias',
inspectors from the
Maputo Provincial Directorate of Agriculture have
visited 287 land
concessions in five districts and classified 95 of them as
"abandoned".
The Mozambican Land Law states that investors applying for
land must present
a plan for what they intend to do with it. Mozambican
investors have five
years, and foreign investors two years, to put that plan
into operation.
During that period their land rights are only provisional,
according to the
state news agency 'AIM'.
If, after the end of this
period, there is no sign that the land is being
put to productive use, in
line with the investor's original plan, then it
should revert to the state,
the Land Law foresees. The law allows investors
to apply for an extension to
their provisional land title, if unforeseen
events have occurred, and they
can make a plausible case as to why they were
unable to implement their
initial plans. This had not happened in Maputo.
These provisions of the
Mozambican Land Law barely have been applied so far.
The Maputo government
during the last decade has been very eager to attract
foreign investors and
done its utmost to create investor confidence.
Mozambique has even been an
attractive resettlement place for several white
farmers that lost their
lands in Zimbabwe.
But since mid-2006, authorities in the capital area
have started doubting
whether this very liberal policy was indeed fruitful.
Pressure on land
resources is increasing in the Maputo area and late last
year, provincial
authorities suspended the issuing of land titles for six
months, while
setting about computerising the provincial land
records.
According to 'AIM', the new, comprehensive database for the
first time
empowered inspectors to systematically investigate what investors
had done
with their land. "The picture was not encouraging. Some of the land
concessions had been abandoned for seven or even ten years. The people with
title to this land may have been holding onto it for purely speculative
reasons," authorities found.
Based on that conclusion, authorities
took action. Of the 95 areas regarded
as abandoned, 70 have already been
reverted to the state, with the
agriculture directorate cancelling the land
titles. The legal procedures for
cancelling the titles are currently under
way for the other 25 areas. In a
further 71 concessions, the inspectors
found that the title-holders were not
making full use of the land, thus
reducing their tenure area. In 121 cases,
the title-holders have been given
more time.
Maputo authorities had been under popular pressure to
confiscate lands that
were not used according to allocation agreements. The
Maputo director of
agriculture, Setina Titosse, emphasised on the need to
put productive land
into use. "Cyclical droughts affect Maputo province,
which means that hunger
is constantly present in some areas", she said. "But
we have dormant
potential, because many people hold land that can produce,
but they are not
exploiting it."
By staff writer
© afrol News
The Zimbabwean
(28-06-07)
HARARE
Amid a deepening economic crisis and general
institutional collapse,
Zimbabwe's Minister of Health and Child Welfare, Dr
David Parirenyatwa, has
warned of a looming shortage of drugs.
"We are
faced with the possible shortage of drug supplies for essential
requirements, such as anti-retroviral drugs for the treatment of HIV/Aids,
malaria drugs, blood pressure and insulin, among others," Parirenyatwa said
in Chiredzi weekend.
He blamed the situation on Zimbabwe's lack of
foreign currency and said the
country was being forced to choose between
"having to keep to the basic
drugs or importing the exotic, expensive
drugs".
Most of the country's 1,082 public health centres were reported to be
overstocking malaria and cholera medicines in anticipation of the crisis.
Although the situation has reached worrying levels, Parirenyatwa emphasised
that his ministry "does have funds for the public hospitals and clinics, but
not for private hospitals". A number of foreign Zimbabwean drug suppliers,
particularly South African companies, were unwilling to release further
supplies until outstanding debts were paid.
Parirenyatwa particularly
lamented the lackadaisical approach to fighting
killer diseases such as
Malaria. He said AIDS had overshadowed other killer
diseases such as
malaria.
The Zimbabwean
(28-06-07)
HARARE
Zimbabwe's
opposition political parties, human rights and civic groups have
condemned
last-minute changes made by the government to Constitutional
Amendment No.
18 Bill allowing President Robert Mugabe to remain in office
until
Parliament is dissolved in 2010.
The Bill states that Mugabe, who will be
President in office when the bill
comes into force as an Act, need not
subject himself to re-election until
the next general election is held in
2010.
"His term, in other words, is extended to the next general election,"
said
Rindai Chipfunde-Vava of the Zimbabwe Election Support Network. "So
President Mugabe will not have to face the voters until 2010, unless he
chooses to dissolve Parliament before then in 2008."
Mugabe can
single-handedly make laws in the absence of Parliament, which is
usually
dissolved in preparation for the poll.
Political and civic groups said the
clause that changed the President's term
of office and the method of
electing a new President in the event of a
President's death or resignation
did not specify any particular majority by
which a new President must be
elected, "so one must assume that a simple
majority of the Senators and MPs
present and voting will suffice."
It is widely believed that President Mugabe
wants to contest the next
presidential election and then, if he wins, step
down in favour of a chosen
successor who will be duly elected by a grateful
party using its majority in
Parliament.
"This proposed change is
undemocratic, because if it is accepted that an
executive President must be
elected by popular vote, which the Constitution
does in section 28(2), then
his or her successor should be similarly
elected," said Chipfunde-Vava. "The
fact that elections are expensive cannot
justify a provision that would
allow an executive President to hold office
without a popular mandate. The
only exception might be if the President died
or resigned shortly before his
or her term of office was due to expire
within six months, say. In that
event a successor could be chosen by
Parliament, but even then it would be
better to allow one of the
Vice-Presidents to act until the next
Presidential election."
The Bill also changes the composition of the Senate
and the House of
Assembly.
The new House of Assembly will have 210
members, 200 of which will be
elected in single-member constituencies. Most
of the members of the House of
Assembly will now be directly elected, unlike
under the current arrangement
where the President appoints directly or
indirectly 30 of the 150 members.
The size of the Senate will be increased
from 66 to 84. The voters within
constituencies will continue to elect 50 of
the Senators. The remaining 34
members will consist of persons who are
either directly or indirectly
appointed by the President.
Chipfunde-Vava
said the trumpeted reduction in the number of MPs that Mugabe
appointed into
the Lower House of Parliament from 30 to 10 was a non event
as the numbers
were compensated in the Senate where Mugabe now
single-handedly appointed a
massive 34 senators instead of the 16 he
appointed in the sixth
Parliament.
"The total number of presidential appointees in Parliament will
only be
reduced from 46 to 44," said Chipfunde-Vava. "The fundamental point
is that
the Executive should not be allowed to appoint any members of the
Legislature and governors at all. The only exception to that rule should be
the chiefs, who have a legitimate role to play in the Senate even though
they owe their initial appointment to the President."
The Zimbabwean
(27-06-07)
HARARE
THE Zimbabwean government has set the stage for
serious clashes between
manufacturers and retailers on the one hand as well
as its violent terror
troopers on the other, by unleashing Green Bombers
onto the market to "deal
with and arrest those overcharging
goods".
Minister of Industry and International Trade, Obert Mpofu defended
the
deployment of the products of the Zanu (PF) regime's obnoxious national
youth training service by saying:
"We are trying to help consumers
from unwarranted and destructive price
increases that have affected the
economy. The youths and other security
forces are merely doing a lawful duty
and not
out to beat anyone."
Green Bombers, some clad in blue overalls
whilst others are moving in
civilian clothes, have besieged major towns and
cities and are threatening
manufacturers as well as retailers that they
accuse of charging prices of
goods that are beyond those stipulated by
government.
It is ultra-chaos following the declarations issued by government
earlier
this week that all prices that were above those it stipulated had to
be
slashed immediately.
The market has over the past two months
experienced unprecedented increases
in prices of
virtually all
commodities and most are selling in supermarkets at more than
5000% above
what the
government gazetted.
For example, government says a standard loaf
of bread must sell at Z$900 but
shops and supermarkets have hiked the price
to Z$50 000.
Retailers have said there is no way they can slash the prices on
the
shop-floor when they are buying the goods at increased costs from
manufacturers.
"They can't start with us because we buy the goods
from manufacturers and
what do we do when we get there and they tell us the
prices have gone up," a
manager at an OK Supermarkets branch in Harare's CBD
said.
Manufacturers have also said the Mugabe regime either has to go to hell
or
start manufacturing the goods itself.
"Look, it is a simple matter
here. We do not just wake up and increase
prices but everything
is
necessitated by a host of issues which the government itself not only has
control over, but is also aware of.
"Electricity, water and other
inputs costs have all been rising on a regular
basis and it is unfair
to
then expect us in business to cushion the pressure and sell at reduced
prices," a director of a major manufacturing company, Blue Ribbon Foods
Limited said.
CAJ News can reveal that the latest form of chaos on the
Zimbabwean economic
and social strata has already seen Green Bombers in
Harare violently
attacking a manager at a supermarket in Highfield high
density suburb after
he had closed the shop and they accused him of
"sabotaging government".
The manager was admitted at Harare General
Hospital after sustaining serious
head injuries-CAJ News.
cnw - newswire group
TORONTO, June 27 /CNW/ - Toronto: Imagine having to spend more
than
$75.00 for a loaf of bread. How would you feed your family? A question
not
unlike this is anguished over every day by millions of citizens of
Zimbabwe.
With inflation near 4,000 percent, the highest in the world,
most
Zimbabweans can't afford a loaf of bread. Some parents have no choice
but to
watch their children starve.
Tragically, Zimbabwe, which only a
few years ago was known as "Africa's
breadbasket," now receives international
food aid to prevent mass
starvation.
Vital social and physical
infrastructure including health care, education,
and
transportation are
in acute crisis. Unemployment is at 80 percent and
millions
of
Zimbabweans have fled the country.
In a letter sent to Foreign Affairs
Minister Peter MacKay, The United
Church of Canada has registered its deep
concern over the deteriorating
situation in Zimbabwe, a country in the throes
of a devastating and
increasingly violent economic and political
crisis.
"The United Church is Canada's largest Protestant denomination
and we
interpret the gospel of Jesus Christ as a call to participate in the
justice
work of the global church, within which we and the churches in
Zimbabwe work
in partnership," writes Nora Sanders, General Secretary of the
General
Council.
Gary Kenny is The United Church of Canada's Program
Coordinator for
Southern Africa. "We believe the international community,
including Canada,
can and must do more to support a peaceful resolution to
the crisis, because
Canada and other Western countries are part of the
problem," says Kenny.
Kenny explains that Zimbabwe's current woes have
their roots in the
country's debilitating colonial legacy. Ethnic groups were
played off
against
one another by colonial authorities and patterns of
corruption and the abuse
of power were instilled. Even in post-colonial
Zimbabwe the West has
continued
to exploit the country through inequities
in international trade rules, the
unfair pricing of commodities on the
international market, and other
factors.
"The West, Canada included,
is complicit in supporting these systems of
domination that have constrained
Zimbabwe's sovereign political and economic
development," Kenny says.
President Mugabe and his government must be held responsible for
implementing
policies that immediately put at risk the lives of millions of
Zimbabweans,
Kenny adds. But the blame for Zimbabwe's problems, and the
responsibility to
resolve them, must be shared.
Kenny adds that Zimbabweans have
demonstrated a remarkable resilience,
finding ingenious ways to survive from
one day to the next. However, their
ability to cope is increasingly
challenged. Recent months have seen a surge
in
public protests in
defiance of a government ban on public demonstrations.
The
government's
reaction is becoming increasingly severe.
Kenny explains that in order to
prevent popular criticism and dissent,
the Mugabe government has become
increasingly authoritarian. It has enacted
legislation by presidential decree
to limit freedom of expression and
assembly. When street protests do occur,
the government reacts violently,
including with live ammunition. Reports of
abductions, arbitrary arrests,
beatings, and torture of activists and
protestors in police cells are
frequent.
Kenny says the United
Church's partners in Zimbabwe are struggling to
help resolve the crisis by
speaking out against global systemic injustice
and
human rights abuses
while serving the growing social needs of their members.
It is clear,
however, that if further bloodshed is to be avoided much more
needs to be
done in support of peaceful, democratic change in Zimbabwe.
In
particular, Kenny says, The United Church of Canada is calling on
the
Canadian government
<<
- to do more to support
the peaceful resolution of the crisis. In
particular, the Canadian
International Development Agency (CIDA)
should increase its funding
for critical programs offered by
Zimbabwean civil society
organizations. Reports indicate that CIDA
recently reduced its
funding to these groups by 20 percent (from
$5 million to $4 million
annually). If true, these cuts will
severely
limit the capacity
of humanitarian groups to deliver vitally needed
social programs and
will leave some activists, human rights
defenders
especially,
more vulnerable to state persecution.
- to appoint a special
representative to carry out strategic behind-
the-scenes shuttle
diplomacy in the southern African region. We
believe the right
person, someone with impeccable diplomatic
credentials and real and
perceived sensitivity, objectivity, and
integrity, could make a
difference where other methods of diplomacy
have failed.
>>
Kenny says that historically Canada has played a significant
role in the
struggle for social justice in the region of southern Africa, in
particular,
in the struggle to end apartheid.
"It would be most
fitting if Canada could add Zimbabwe to the list of
southern African
countries it has closely and effectively accompanied
through
times of
great crisis," says Kenny.
For further information: or to arrange
media interviews, please contact:
Mary-Frances Denis, Communications Officer,
The United Church of Canada
Zim Online
Wednesday 27 June
2007
By Nigel Hangarume
HARARE - Former
Zimbabwe skipper Tatenda Taibu is on the verge of a surprise
return to the
national cricket team, almost two years after he quit the
international game
in the heat of an off-field row.
The 24-year-old Taibu has been training with
the Zimbabwe team in Harare and
is also believed to be engaged in talks with
the Zimbabwe Cricket board on
his possible return.
"Taibu has been
training with us in the past two weeks and we are all happy
he's talking to
the board on his possible return to the team," said a senior
Zimbabwe
batsman who preferred anonymity.
Taibu retired from international cricket in
November 2005 after a serious
fallout with Zimbabwe Cricket chairman Peter
Chingoka and managing director
Ozias Bvute.
The talented
batsman/wicketkeeper had insisted he would only return to
Zimbabwe duty if
Chingoka and Bvute, who were accused of corruption, quit.
Taibu also claimed
he had quit after being threatened by controversial
sports administrator
Temba Mliswa, a well-known ruling ZANU PF party zealot.
Sources said Taibu
could be handed back the captaincy if he agreed terms
with Zimbabwe
Cricket.
After quitting Zimbabwe, Taibu had stints in Bangladesh, England and
Namibia
and at one time was reported to have set his sights on qualifying to
play
for South Africa.
Bvute and Chingoka, who are attending meetings in
London, as well as
Zimbabwe Cricket spokesman Lovemore Banda could not be
reached for comment
yesterday.
Meanwhile, the West Indies A-team tour of
Zimbabwe has been thrown further
into doubt after Grenada Prime Minister
Keith Mitchell warned it was not
safe to travel to the troubled
country.
Mitchell's warning came as the West Indies Cricket Board struggled
to come
up with the team to make the Harare trip.
The West Indians are
scheduled to leave for Harare on Friday, but already
Sylvester Joseph and
Wavell Hinds have turned down the captaincy of the A
team after the West
Indies Players Association said it would not be safe to
tour
Zimbabwe.
The WICB has insisted it's safe to travel to Zimbabwe, although a
team is
yet to be named.
Mitchell's comments are likely to influence the
Caribbean politicians to
intervene and stop the tour.
"The West Indies A
team has many very young players who need to be developed
in a nurturing
environment. I am not convinced that given the instability
existing in
Zimbabwe that this tour will provide this kind of environment,"
Mitchell
said in a statement yesterday.
"I am sure that the parents and guardians of
these players will be concerned
about them touring Zimbabwe."
Australian
Prime Minister John Howard last month banned his country from
fulfilling a
tour of Zimbabwe scheduled for September to protest against
President Robert
Mugabe's human rights record. - ZimOnline
Cricinfo staff
June 27, 2007
A
report by the BBC's Mihir Bose claims that Malcolm Speed does not believe
Zimbabwe should be allowed to resume playing Test cricket in November, and
that there the board's accounts have been "deliberately falsified".
In
his BBC blog, Bose writes that he has seen a copy of Speed's confidential
report delivered to the ICC board today in which he says: "My personal view,
shared by the cricket committee and ICC senior management, is that the game
in Zimbabwe and, more widely, the rest of the cricket world, will not be
well served by Zimbabwe resuming Test cricket at this stage. It is
respectfully suggested that we must find other ways to assist cricketers in
Zimbabwe".
Speed's most damning comments concern the controversial
forensic audit and
raises serious concerns about the governance and
financial accountability of
Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC). The observations seem to
give a strong endorsement of
claims made for several years by stakeholders
and administrators inside the
country.
The main discrepancy concerns
payments totalling $640,350 to "three unknown
companies" which the board
failed to inform the auditors about. There are
also queries relating to a
deal with a car company worth $972,000. The board
is believed to have
imported the vehicles and then sold them to obtain extra
local currency in
direct contravention of the country's strict
foreign-exchange regulations.
The issue is further clouded because the board
advised the forensic auditors
that no cars had been imported or sold.
Speed's report, co-signed by Faisal
Hasnain, the ICC's chief financial
officer, concludes that: "This is a
complete about-turn by ZC and there is
uncertainty here regarding these
pseudo agreements as referred to by ZC. The
auditors and ICC have been
misled about these transactions.
"It is clear that the accounts of ZC have
been deliberately falsified to
mask various illegal transactions from the
auditors and the government of
Zimbabwe. The accounts were incorrect and at
no stage did ZC draw the
attention of the users of these accounts to the
unusual transactions. It may
not be possible to rely on the authenticity of
its balance sheet."
In conclusion, the report says that there may be serious
breaches of the
ICC's code of ethics and, as a result, the board has only
been paid $2
million of the monies owed from the World Cup.
A former
employee of Price Waterhouse Coopers, who audited the board's
accounts until
2005, told Cricinfo: "When we signed off the 2004 audit we
raised a number
of ethical concerns."
© Cricinfo