Washington Times
TODAY'S EDITORIAL
June 3,
2006
North Korea's government is often regarded as the worst example
of
autocratic misrule on earth, but Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe is not far
behind.
The once-prosperous southern African nation now has a 1,040 percent
annualized inflation rate and this week announced a new $100,000 banknote
"to ensure convenience to the public." It also declared potatoes a
"strategic crop" for fear of shortages and prohibited their sale by anyone
but the government.
As if all this weren't evidence enough of
staggering misrule, there was
last year's underreported "Operation Restore
Order," a tragic slum-clearing
campaign which turned hundreds of thousands
of poor Zimbabweans into
refugees. The first tragic satellite imagery of
that campaign, now public
thanks to Amnesty International, shows terrible
devastation at the hands of
government thugs.
As a scathing July 2005
U.N. report documented, in May the government
announced a campaign to
bulldoze "illegal" dwellings and unauthorized
vending sites in urban areas.
By July police had wrecked the livelihoods and
homes of a nearly
unbelievable 700,000 poor Zimbabweans. As the report
noted, many of the
bulldozed towns were hotbeds of political opposition.
Amnesty
International's review of the satellite imagery this week
demonstrates the
complete destruction of one shantytown. The 16-year-old
town "had schools, a
children's centre and a mosque" before it was
flattened. Residents were
given less than 24 hours to clear out. A heavily
armed police convoy arrived
and bulldozed the homes of helpless onlookers
who were then "forcibly
remove• " on the backs of trucks.
South African President Thabo Mbeki,
ever the optimist, told reporters
that U.N. officials have been working on a
deal for strongman Mr. Mugabe to
step down in exchange for immunity from
prosecution for his atrocities and
an economic aid package for his
beleaguered country. Immunity might seem
generous, but clearly any
settlement to remove Mr. Mugabe should be examined
carefully. If U.N.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan ends up going to Zimbabwe
after all -- he was
invited, then recently disinvited by a Mugabe spokesman
this week, now
apparently invited again -- any opportunity to end Mr.
Mugabe's rule should
be top priority.
Dear Family and Friends, It was cause for great sadness this week to watch
a
delegation of church leaders being filmed by state television at the
start of
a much publicised meeting with President Mugabe. They sat in a
gleaming white
tent, at tables covered with spotless white cloths and
laughed almost
uncontrollably at the words of the President. For a few
moments the address
actually had to stop because the clerics were giggling
and chortling so much.
The cause for their hilarity was President Mugabe's
reference to Archbishop
Pius Ncube's public statement that he was praying
for the President's death.
I sat in shock, overwhelmed with despair. This
public display of hilarity
represented the moral leadership of our
country. These are the men who are
supposed to be taking the pain and
suffering of ordinary people to the
President and appealing for an end to
the horrific deprivations. Their
laughter went beyond the bounds of
diplomacy and even if it was just for show
or for the camera, it sent a
chill through the air.
I cannot express
my feelings nearly as well as Bornwell Chakaodza did in
this week's Financial
Gazette but I am still haunted by an image given to
me by a church man in
2002. Perhaps repeating that image now may help our
giggling
clerics.
It was just before the March 2002 elections and a small
Evangelical Church
in Marondera town was taken over by militant youths. The
Pastor was
barricaded into the Church building and subjected to taunts,
threats,
harassment and intimidation. He was accused of being a supporter of
the
opposition MDC. Some hours later the Pastor was freed but the
youths
stayed behind and used the Church as a re-education centre. In
the
following weeks there were reports of numerous people being taken to
the
Church and beaten, accused of supporting the opposition. The Pastor
was
refused entry to his Church and so he held Sunday services in the
garden
of his home. It was some weeks later when the youths who had seized
the
Church building finally moved out and the Pastor returned to find
horror.
Loud speaker equipment had been stolen. Electrical wiring had been
ripped
off the walls. Carpets, chairs, a tape recorder, tea urn, cups and
saucers
had been looted. Even a box of children's toys had gone. Worst of
all was
what had been left behind. Witnessed only by God, the walls and
floors of
the Church were stained with blood. The blood of the ordinary men
and
women who live in Marondera town
Many people from all over the
world, desperate to help Zimbabwe, offer
their prayers for us in church every
week. May they pray now for courage,
dignity and strength for our church
leaders. This is not the time for
giggling and chortling it is the time for
determination, sacrifice and
strong moral leadership. Until next week, love
cathy Copyright cathy
buckle 3 June 2006 http://africantears.netfirms.com My
books "African
Tears" and "Beyond Tears" are available from: orders@africabookcentre.com
IOL
June 03 2006 at 09:29AM
Harare (Zimbabwe) - President Robert Mugabe will press ahead with plans
to take control of the nation's mining industry from Western-dominated
companies, but contributions to Zimbabwean communities would be taken into
account, state radio reported on Friday.
Firms that undertake road,
housing, education, medical and other community and social programmes in areas
where they were working had "nothing to fear" because such steps would be taken
into account in takeover negotiations, the radio quoted Mugabe
saying.
But the need to give Zimbabweans greater benefit from the
nation's natural resources meant the state and what he called
"Zimbabwean-approved entrepreneurial groupings or enterprises" were to have a
controlling stake in the mining industry.
It said Mugabe
acknowledged to executives at the foreign-controlled Zimbabwe Platinum Mines
west of Harare that his call for taking 51 percent control of the mining
industry might be unsettling.
'Zimbabwe has deposits of platinum among
the largest in the world'
"Don't dread us. We are not there to frighten away
investments. We are not there to take which is not ours," he said. "You are
talking to us to ensure our national and your company's goals are addressed in a
manner that promotes a win-win situation."
Zimbabwe has deposits of
platinum among the largest in the world, but it is an expensive mineral to
extract.
Zimplats, the Zimbabwe subsidiary of a South African mining
conglomerate, has insisted it needs to retain a 70 percent stake if
capital-intensive production of platinum is to be expanded.
Government
takeover plans have sent shock waves throughout the nation's already ailing
mining industry in the wake of the nationalisation of thousands of white-owned
commercial farms since 2000 that mainly led to the worst crisis in the
agriculture-based economy since independence in 1980.
Acute shortages of
hard currency, gasoline, food and imports for equipment and spare parts this
year caused regular power and water outages and crippled mining and export
industries.
As well as platinum, Zimbabwe traditionally mined gold,
asbestos, chrome, nickel, diamonds, other precious stones and coal.
The
independent Chamber of Mines reported last week production of gold, one of the
main hard currency earners, declined 33 percent in the first four months of this
year to 2,8 tons, compared to the same period last year.
It said record
inflation - officially 1 043 percent, the highest in the world - and shortages
of imported equipment and mining supplies forced small gold mines to cut back
operations or close down.
Mining at Zimbabwe's western Hwange coal
deposits, the largest in southern Africa, has been hard hit by equipment
breakdowns and collapsing railroad services, forcing several manufacturing
companies to import coal from Botswana and South Africa to keep production
going.
Mine executives said a delegation of Russian mining experts have
inspected mine facilities across the country and suggested they and Chinese
interests might be the "Zimbabwean-approved entrepreneurial groupings" Mugabe
referred to, replacing Western shareholders. - Sapa-AP
This article
was originally published on page 5 of Pretoria News on June 03, 2006
The Herald (Harare)
June 2,
2006
Posted to the web June 2, 2006
Itai Musengeyi And Alfred
Chagonda
Harare
PRESIDENT Mugabe yesterday allayed fears in the mining
industry over the proposed indigenisation of the sector as Zimbabwe Platinum
Mines announced a major US$258 million investment to expand its Ngezi
Mine.
Cde Mugabe said the proposed indigenisation policy was not meant to
scare away investors, but for Zimbabweans to benefit from minerals in their land
in partnership with investors who have the capital and expertise to exploit
natural resources. He was speaking after touring Zimplats' Metallurgical Complex
in Selous and Ngezi Mine.
He said mining companies such as Zimplats and Rio
Tinto -- which have commendable social investment and infrastructure development
programmes -- had nothing to fear over indigenisation because their
contributions would be taken into account. "It is Government's policy that
Zimbabweans should derive greater benefit from the resources of their land.
Hence the principle of 50:50 or 49:51 percentage shareholding in favour of the
State or Zimbabwean-approved entrepreneurial groupings and enterprises and this
is what has frightened some of you.
"I don't see why you should be
frightened. All it says is that our mining operations should be able to plough
bac k (into the communities they operate in), which you have already done. There
are very few companies like you. Rio Tinto have done their part. "So don't dread
us, we are not there to frighten away investments. We are not there to take that
which is not ours," President Mugabe said.
Cde Mugabe said the Government was
willing to listen to suggestions over indigenisation put across in a
constructive manner that takes into account the interests of Zimbabweans.
"I
am pleased to note that while Zimbabwe Platinum Mines are raising some concerns
with regard to the proposed changes, you are talking to us to ensure that our
national and your company's goals are addressed in a manner that promotes a
win-win situation. "A week ago, I had a meeting with officials from Rio Tinto
Diamonds, in the same way I met with representatives of Impala Platinum (a
shareholder of Zimplats) in order to see how best we could proceed with
proposals on greater indigenous shareholding in the mining sector," the
President said. He said the Government was working to ensure the full potential
of the mining industry in contributing to the national economy was realised and
that Zimbabwe benefits from the forecast increased global demand for the basket
of metals produced by Zimplats and other mining companies.
Cde Mugabe said
the Government was committed to ensuring Zimbabwe remained an attractive
investment destination. In that regard, consultations with stakeholders on
amendment of mining laws were aimed at coming up with an enabling legal
framework, which will foster a strong partnership between the Government and
mining houses. He assured Zimplats that the Government would always be ready to
assist and support it but not shield it from competitors. Cde Mugabe noted
current negotiations with Zimplats provided for the entry of new platinum
miners.
Impala Platinum Holdings (majority shareholders in Zimplats) chief
executive Mr Keith Rumble commended Government for the support Zimpl ats was
receiving. He said Zimplats supported indigenisation and had offered a 15
percent stake, which has been on the table since 2001. "While this figure falls
short of national targets as outlined in the proposed amendments to the Mines
and Minerals Act, Zimbabwe Platinum Mines, together with other players in the
mining industry, are currently engaged in discussions with Government through
the Ministry of Mines to chart the way forward. "I am confident the outcome of
these consultations is not meant to benefit individual players but to ensure
that the mining industry remains a key driver of the Zimbabwean economy both in
terms of generating foreign currency and attracting investment," said Mr
Rumble.
Under the US$258 million expansion, two new underground mines will be
opened at Ngezi and a new concentrator constructed to increase production from
the current 85 000 ounces of platinum per year to 150 000. At least 1 235 new
permanent jobs will be created. Presently, the co mpany employs 1 900 workers,
including contractors. Export earnings are envisaged to increase by about US$110
million per year. Zimplats also announced a massive US$2,5 billion investment
programme over the next 10 years, which will see it establish an integrated
production chain in Zimbabwe with new mines, concentrators, smelters, base metal
refining and precious metal refining plants. After the expansion, the firm will
employ 8 000 people while 80 000 will be indirectly employed in related
activities and service industries. Platinum production will increase to one
million ounces per year. Since its takeover of platinum mining in Ngezi five
years ago following the pullout of BHP, Zimplats has constructed the
Selous-Ngezi Highway at a cost of US$19 million.
The road is used by
rural bus operators, chrome miners, schools and the general public. It also put
up a 132-kilovolt power line at a cost of US$13 million, which it has handed
over to Zesa Holdings, while it provided a f ibre optic line and switching
equipment to TelOne for US$1 million. Zimplats constructed a weir and water
reticulation for the mine operations and domestic use by workers. There is also
a water purification plant and a reservoir. The company has built 181 houses for
workers and an additional 715 will be built under the expansion programme. It is
refurbishing and expanding a school in the area, supporting a local clinic and
has built Chingondo Police Station, which it has handed over to the Zimbabwe
Republic Police. Plans are also underway to establish a US$1 million
agro-industrial project under which local farmers will be contracted to grow for
the mine and the town. These investments are expected to spur development in and
around Ngezi and transform it into a major commercial and industrial hub.
Cde
Mugabe commended the social investments, saying they were testimony to what the
private sector could achieve by taking the initiative without having to wait for
Government to p rovide everything. At Ngezi Mine, Cde Mugabe commissioned the
Ngezi Portal 2 Underground Mine before being shown around. At the Metallurgical
Complex, he was shown the different stages that platinum ore goes through in the
refining process. Zimplats plant manager Mr Enock Gwarisa told the President
that during the refining process, there were different types of minerals such as
rhodium, gold, silver, copper and palladium that were also found in platinum
ore.
Zimbabwe has the second largest deposits of platinum in the world after
South Africa, with estimated reserves of 2,8 trillion tonnes lying in the Great
Dyke belt. Mining has been identified as one of the key sectors which could
contribute immensely to the turnaround of the economy.
Reuters South Africa
Fri Jun 2, 2006 11:08 AM GMT
By MacDonald Dzirutwe
HARARE
(Reuters) - Zimbabwe's sole operational diamond mine may be forced to
wind
down operations from 2009 if a planned expansion fails amid uncertainty
over
the government's empowerment plans, an official said on Friday.
President
Robert Mugabe's government in March said it intended to take a 51
percent
stake in mining firms, including 25 percent without payment, shaking
a
sector that has become a top foreign exchange earner after the collapse of
agriculture.
But Mugabe on Thursday appeared to hint that mining firms
might buy their
way out of the new draft law, which has seen foreign miners
shelving major
investments in the country.
Industrialists and analysts
were on Friday still trying to digest what the
statement would mean on the
ground.
Eric Kahari, chairman of RioZim, a shareholder in Murowa diamond mine
alongside major owner Rio Tinto Plc, said without the expansion of the mine,
operations could cease after the next three years.
"Production from the
mine will continue at lower levels than those achieved
last year and without
the expansion, production will wind down from 2009,"
Kahari said in a
statement on Friday.
"Feasibility work has commenced on the expansion project
but with a capital
cost of around $120 million implementation will depend on
the conditions
relating to mining investment," he said.
An official told
Reuters in March that Murowa would have to study the
implications of the
government's empowerment plans before pressing on with
an investment to lift
ore production from 200,000 tonnes per year to the
million mark.
Mugabe
toured Ngezi platinum mine owned by the local Zimplats unit of Impala
Platinum -- which on Thursday announced a plan to invest $2.5 billion over
10 years to expand production in Zimbabwe -- and said the government only
sought to maximise locals' benefits from the rich mineral resources.
"We
are not there to frighten away investors. If you have carried out any
indigenisation programme that is acceptable to us, you do not need to fear
anything," Mugabe said. It is not clear what would constitute an acceptable
empowerment programme.
Rio Tinto controls 78 percent in Murowa while
RioZim, made up of Zimbabwean
institutional and individual investors, owns
the remainder.
"His (Mugabe) tone was very encouraging and it comes at a
crucial time when
Zimbabwe is trying to re-establish ties with the
international community,"
David Mupamhadze, an economist with a Harare bank,
said.
"Foreign investors are worried about the protection of property rights
and
they should be encouraged, but only time will tell," he added.
Mining
accounts for about 4 percent of gross domestic product, but
contributes over
40 percent of all foreign exchange inflows in Zimbabwe.
Anglo Platinum
(Angloplat), the world's biggest platinum producer, number
two Implats and
Aquarius Platinum are some of the foreign miners with
interests in Zimbabwe.
The Herald (Harare)
June 2, 2006
Posted to the web June 2,
2006
Harare
AFRICAN ministers of health have expressed concern at the
steady rise of
non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like diabetes, hypertension,
heart disease,
obesity, gout and cancer, and called for more action in
fighting them.
In an interview, the Minister of Health and Child Welfare, Dr
David
Parirenyatwa, said 46 ministers of health from Africa had met on the
sidelines of the just ended World Health Assembly to discuss the increase in
NCDs in African countries lately. "I am sure you are well aware that
non-communicable diseases, what we also refer to as lifestyle diseases, have
steadily been getting worse over the past few years.
"If we do not take
action now, these diseases, also known as silent killers,
will pose to us a
very big problem in the near future," he said. "We realise
that a lot of
attention is being given to HIV and Aids, which is not a bad
thing, but
focusing all our energies on Aids does not mean we should forget
that there
are other dangers out there -- like these non-communicable
diseases." Most
NCDs have to do with lifestyles, like diet and whether one
exercises or not.
In the past, obesity, a condition of having large amounts
of extra body fat
characterised by one being overwe ight, was only common in
the West where it
is considered some form of malnutrition.
In Africa, because of poor
economies, people are not normally in a situation
to eat too much hence it
was relatively rare. The emergence of strong
economies in Africa, like South
Africa, has seen cases of obesity steadily
rising as some people tended to
over-eat. In Zimbabwe, it is mostly
diabetes, heart disease and gout that
are com- mon. African societies have
been slow to catch onto the importance
of a rigorous exercise routine with
only a few, mostly those high up the
social ladder, devoting some time to
exercise.
"Our people do not
exercise. They do not even know the benefits of being
involved in some form
of exercise and it is high time we educated them," Dr
Parirenyatwa said. "We
agreed as African ministers of health to implement
awareness programmes as
soon as possible so that people can know more about
these lifestyle
diseases. "Promoting healthy lifestyles is one sure way of
prevent ing and
controlling NCDs," he said.
Gout, for instance, which causes legs to swell,
is known as the rich man's
disease as it normally affects men of means who
eat a lot of red meat, in
most cases braaied meat. The World Health
Organisation has since predicted
that NCDs would account for over 50 percent
of causes of death in the world
in the next 20 years even though they were
largely preventable.
The Telegraph
By Stephen Bevan in
Johannesburg
(Filed: 04/06/2006)
Zimbabwe's most prominent white
politician, Roy Bennett, who fled the country after being accused of plotting to
overthrow President Robert Mugabe, is likely to ask Britain for political
asylum, his wife revealed last night.
The former opposition MP, who has been
in hiding in Johannesburg since March when he escaped from Zimbabwe with his
wife, Heather, and 18-year-old daughter, Casey, has been refused asylum by the
South African authorities, who said there was "no evidence" that he faced
persecution.
Roy Bennett: Likely to seek asylum in Britain
Mr Bennett
briefly emerged to criticise that decision last week, saying that President
Thabo Mbeki's government seemed not to understand the severity of the crisis in
Zimbabwe.
But although he is appealing against the ruling, his wife - whose
courage in standing for her jailed husband's seat at last year's general
election was widely acclaimed - said they did not expect to succeed. In that
case, she told The Sunday Telegraph, they would seek asylum in
Britain.
Speaking from their temporary sanctuary, on a high-security estate
in Johannesburg, Mrs Bennett, 44, who is half-Scottish, said the South African
decision had been political. "The home affairs department official didn't make
the decision - he had been told to say no," she said. "Britain is where my
family roots are. Definitely we would not be able to go back to
Zimbabwe."
The Bennetts have paid a heavy price for their opposition to Mr
Mugabe. Mr Bennett was first imprisoned for eight months in 2004, over an
incident in which he pushed the justice minister, Patrick Chinamasa, during a
session in parliament. Forced to sleep on a concrete floor, with just thin gruel
to eat, and subjected to regular beatings, he lost four stone by the time he was
released last June.
The family's troubles began soon after Mr Bennett was
elected an MP for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, in 2000. Their
7,000-acre farm in Chimanimani, in the south-east of the country, which included
a school and clinic for the families of their 600 workers, was invaded by thugs
from President Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF Party.
With Mr Bennett away from home,
his wife, who was five months pregnant at the time, was held hostage for seven
hours and threatened with a machete when she tried to stop "war veterans"
beating up two of her farm workers. She eventually escaped, but suffered a
miscarriage shortly afterwards.
Speaking to this newspaper, Mrs Bennett
described how in March the family escaped Zimbabwe, under cover of darkness,
after her husband was publicly named as a ringleader in an alleged coup plot.
They had been watching television news when they saw Didymus Mutasa, the state
security minister, claim that there had been a plot to overthrow Mr Mugabe - and
that those involved could face execution.
"They actually said Roy was in
custody, but he was sitting there watching with me," said Mrs Bennett. "That's
when we got really worried. Treason carries a death sentence in Zimbabwe. They
obviously wanted to pin something on Roy.
"We decided that we would have to
get out, so we drove to the border. The whole time I kept thinking maybe Roy
could go and we could stay, but Roy was convinced that if I or Casey stayed they
would grab us to get to him."
The family fled in their car with no time to
pack their belongings, terrified that they would be followed to the border. Even
when they made it to South Africa they did not feel out of danger. Police
contacts told them that Zimbabwe's Central Intelligence Organisation had sent
more than a dozen agents into South Africa to look for Mr Bennett.
"We were
worried they would throw Roy into the back of a vehicle and drive him back to
Harare," said Mrs Bennett. She was also concerned for the family she had left
behind in Zimbabwe, particularly her elderly mother who is in hospital.
In
fleeing Zimbabwe, the couple were forced to abandon their businesses - Mr
Bennett was running a panel beating shop and his wife a small pottery-making
enterprise - and are now living on handouts from family and friends. However,
the couple have no regrets about taking a stand and have vowed to continue
fighting Mr Mugabe's regime - if necessary, from Britain.
"There are millions
of Zimbabweans who have no voice," Mrs Bennett said. "We've been refused asylum
in South Africa for just wanting to help the Zimbabwean people. It's not a
white-black issue, it's not a case of wanting to look after our farm. We've been
persecuted just for doing what's right."
The Herald (Harare)
June 2,
2006
Posted to the web June 2, 2006
Harare
VARIOUS business units at
the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings should be disbanded and consolidated into a
leaner structure with a few viable units, the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee
on Transport and Communication has recommended.
This was said yesterday by
committee member Mr Forbes Magadu when he was tabling before Senate, a report on
the state of the public media in Zimbabwe. "The committee recommended that
restructuring at ZBH should be done in terms of the old Zimbabwe Broadcasting
Corporation structures and have top structures with four tears," Mr Magadu
said.
He said the committee made the recommendations after noting that ZBH
had been unbundled into 11 non-viable companies by the former Minister of
Information and Publicity Professor Jonathan Moyo. "This organisation was
unbundled into 11 companies and nine of them are making losses and they want the
taxpayer to fund their operations?" he asked. He said the committee recommended
that there be four units at the top of the structure headed by a chief executive
officer, a directorate, human resources administration and finance, broadcasting
services and business development. Mr Magadu said the committee was concerned
with the poor transmission and wanted the country's sole broadcaster to improve
and reach areas such as Beitbridge, Binga and Victoria Falls, where there is no
service.
"Some areas in Zimbabwe are still not getting services. It is
not necessary to continue with things created as little empires. As a result
people are prone to listen (and watch) foreign stations that indoctrinate them
with negative information," he said. He said Zimbabwe required at least 24
transmitters to cover remote parts of the country. The country has only 21
transmitters, which are currently operational. The committee also blasted New
Ziana management for being inefficient and incompetent. Mr Magadu said
management at the news agency presented a one-page turn around strategy to
revive the loss-making agency. Turning to the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe
(BAZ), the country's television and radio station licencing body, Mr Magadu said
it should regularise the requirements to operate a radio or TV station to allow
other players to participate.
"The committee recommends that BAZ should focus
on issuing out licences in 2006 especially the community radios in every
district. Other players should enter the market," he said. He said the stringent
rules such as the requirement of United States dollars and inspection of the
board of directors of any company wishing to open a radio or TV station should
be scraped as they were prohibiting new players in the industry.
"We cannot
continue to live in isolation. We have only one licensed television station," he
said noting that if more players were incorporated BAZ would become
self-sustaining. He also said BAZ should come up with a strategy to combat the
pirate radio stations.
The
Herald (Harare)
June 2, 2006
Posted to the web June 2,
2006
Harare
ZIMBABWE is seeking the "most favoured nation status" from
Russia to allow its citrus exports to enter the country duty-free.
About 60
percent of the country's citrus, mostly oranges, grapefruit and lemons, find
their way to the Russian market. This would enable the country to increase
citrus exports to the eastern European country and enable to retain an extra
US$1 per carton of citrus since it would be exempted from paying duty.
Government to government negotiations are already underway, said Horticultural
Promotion Council (HPC) chief executive Mr Basilio Sandamu in an interview this
week. "We have provided all the necessary documentation and (Government) is
currently working on that," Mr Sandamu said. "Its fruition would see us enjoying
some benefits from the market as we would be able to push more fruit to
Russia."
Zimbabwe has enjoyed a similar dispensation from the European Union
since 1980 by virtue of its membership of the African Caribbean Pacific (ACP)
group. Besides Russia, Zimbabwe's citrus products enjoy a lucrative market in
the United Arab Emirates and Europe. Citrus harvesting in Zi mbabwe commenced in
mid-April, about six weeks ahead of other citrus producing countries in the
sub-Saharan region. Farmers in areas such as Mvurwi and Guruve get their produce
to the market four weeks early giving them a head start and price
advantage.
However, sales of citrus fruits are expected to peak in the next
four weeks, as harvesting gathers momentum. Between 30 000 and 35 000 tonnes of
citrus fruits worth US$12 million are expected to be shipped out of the country
this year. On the floriculture side, exports are expected to take a dip until
August. But this was normal, said Mr Sandamu, as farmers would be maintaining
their greenhouses. While he could not give actual figures, Mr Sandamu said
weekly flights to export markets would fall from six to three and before picking
up in August. Each flight carried an average of 60 000 tonnes of flowers.
The Herald (Harare)
June 2,
2006
Posted to the web June 2, 2006
Tawanda
Chigwaza
Harare
STOCKBROKERS yesterday conceded they were liable to pay
Value Added Tax (VAT), and will start doing so with immediate effect.
As a
result, trade resumed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange yesterday pending the
Fiscal Appeals Court ruling on the tax dispute with revenue collector Zimra. But
this time the appeal court is expected to rule on whether the VAT payments
should be backdated to 2004 as opposed to the legality of Zimra's demands. Zimra
wants brokers to bring their VAT accounts to date beginning in 2004 when sales
tax was phased out.
Finance Minister Dr Herbert Murerwa yesterday indicated
brokers had erred in their interpretation of the law, and pending the court's
judgment they would be obliged to pay VAT. The tax would be charged on the 2
percent brokerage commission. This also means equity investors would now be
subject to three taxes -- stamp duty, withholding tax and VAT. "Following
discussions between Zimra and representatives of the ZSE regarding the impasse
that had resulted in the stoppage of trading on the ZSE, an agreement has now
been reached that stockbrokers resume trading with immed iate effect and pay
VAT," said the minister. "The matter concerning the correct interpretation of
the law regarding the payment of VAT by brokers will be referred to the courts."
Minister Murerwa returned from a business trip abroad on Wednesday. ZSE chief
executive Mr Emmanuel Munyukwi described the latest development as "a positive
move" as the stand-off was hurting investors. Brokers confirmed the VAT dispute
had been taken to court, and that trade will continue pending
judgment.
Zimra's demands for stockbrokers to pay VAT going back to 2004 had
stirred a hornets' nest leading brokers to boycott trade since May 22. This was
the second time in six months that trade had come to a grinding halt owing to
differences over tax between Zimra and stockbrokers. Last August, stockbrokers
refused to function as Zimra' tax agents with regard to newly introduced 10
percent capital gains tax. The stand-off lasted for over a week before sense
prevailed. The latest impasse reportedly cos t the stock market at least $500
billion in potential revenue. The state revenue collector was also prejudiced of
an estimated $10 billion in stamp duty fees. Meanwhile, stocks checked in mixed,
as the key industrial index eased 1 381 825 points or 3,05 percent to 43 942
016.53 points dragged by losses in heavyweight counters.
Minings pushed up to
12 925 613.34 points. Hotel group Meikles lost $3 000 to $250 000 while liquor
producer Afdis closed in $6 000 lower at $25 000. Nickel producer Bindura
finished at $20 000, down $2 000 while electric cable manufacturer Cafca fell by
a similar margin. On the upside, however, was insurance giant Old Mutual which
jumped $100 000 to $780 000 as well as Chemco which rose to $300 000, up $35
000. Other significant gains were recorded in gold miner Finhold and clothing
retailer Edgars.
Sports Illustrated
Posted: Saturday June
3, 2006 1:08PM; Updated: Saturday June 3, 2006 1:19PM
STOCKHOLM, Sweden
(AP) -- Phillip Bandawe of Zimbabwe won the Stockholm Marathon on Saturday,
beating countryman Michael Ngaseke.
Bandawe finished the race in 2 hours, 17
minutes, 1 second, while Ngaseke crossed the line in 2:20:05.
"We went
very fast in the early stages," said Badawe, who placed third at last year's
race. "I gained confidence when Michael, whom I know very well, lost contact
with me. I was hoping for 2:15:00."
Kent Claesson of Sweden finished third in
2:22:23.
Copyright 2006 Associated Press.
The Herald
(Harare)
June 2, 2006
Posted to the web June 2, 2006
Harare
HARARE
residents will have a choice of representation following the formation of a new
association, Progressive Harare Metropolitan Residents and Ratepayers
Association (Phamera).
The new association, headed by Mr Munyaradzi Guzha,
will give an alternative voice to the Combined Harare Residents Association
(CHRA). In an interview yesterday, Mr Guzha said that his organisation would
represent residents on issues that concern them. "Residents of this great city
have the right to be properly represented in matters that concern their day to
day lives," he said.
He also said that over the years, services had
deteriorated and that the organisation's formation was necessitated by these
reasons. "Our organisation, which is a civic group, comprises Harare residents
and was formed on May 20 this year after the realisation that our city needed to
be refurbished into the sunshine city and we stand as a bridge between the
residents and city fathers," he said. Mr Guzha said that the city council has to
improve in their service delivery system.
"The city council has to act
accordingly because we (residents) pay rates yet there is no water, the sewerage
system has bur st and still lying idle without being fixed. "There is also need
to improve and mend the pothole-ridden city roads. We residents have the right
to be furious of such things. "The service delivery system is at a crossroads
and in a state of confounding chaos," he said. He also called on the relevant
authorities to legalise vending and allocate vending and informal trading
sites.
Phamera comprises the executive council that is assisted by ward level
executives dotted in all the 44 municipal wards of Harare.
The Tide Online
• Saturday, Jun 3,
2006
Zimbabwe’s sports minister has launched an astonishing attack on the
Confederation of African Football.
In a TV interview in Harare, Aeneas
Chigwedere accused the Cairo-based body of institutionalised bias.
He
claimed that English-speaking countries in southern and east Africa were being
marginalised by CAF.
Chigwedere said that Zimbabwe needs to “join hands with
other governments to launch a war” against the organisation headed by
Camerounian Issa Hayatou.
Chigwedere’s outburst follows Zimbabwe’s
unsuccessful bid for the 2010 African Nations Cup finals.
Mozambique and
Namibia were also among the bidding countries that failed to make CAF’s
shortlist of four when presentations were made in Cairo last month.
Nigeria,
Libya, Angola and joint bidders Gabon and Equatorial Guinea were shortlisted
after a selection process the Mozambicans later described as a joke.
Speaking at length on national television, Chigwedere said that CAF must
give more countries a chance to host the Nations Cup.
“A whole region of
Africa is being marginalised, and we have to press for a rotation system between
regions,” an incensed Chigwedere said.
He fumed “It’s a war, and we’ll
campaign as governments, and we need to convince Heads of States that we’re
being marginalised.”
Chigwedere, who headed Zimbabwe’s bid delegation in
Cairo, said that the country is in the process of lodging an appeal with world
governing body, FIFA.
Should that fail, Zimbabwe would consider taking its
case to the international Court for Arbitration in sport.
“We’re doing it
for long-term purposes, we’re not fighting a Zimbabwean battle, it’s a war for
southern Africa, for central Africa, for east Africa, these regions are being
discriminated against.
Since the inception of the African Nations Cup in
1957, only one country south of the equator has hosted the tournament, South
Africa in 1996.