Zim Online
Fri 10 March
2006
HARARE - Zimbabwe's year-on-year inflation shot up to 782
percent in
February, a 168.8 percentage points gain on the 612.3 percent
recorded the
previous month, according to the latest figures released on
Friday by the
government's Central Statistical Office.
"The
year on year rate of inflation as measured by the all items
consumer price
index stood at 782.0%, gaining 168.8 percentage points on the
January rate
of 613.2%," the CSO said.
Inflation, described by President Robert
Mugabe as the country's
"enemy number one", has been on the increase despite
bold attempts by
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono to bring it
down.
Last year, Gono predicted that inflation would soon hit the
800
percent mark, pushed up by the government's efforts to import food and
fuel
which are in critical short supply, before coming down later in the
year.
Zimbabwe is in its sixth year of a bitter
economic crisis after the
International Monetary Fund withdrew
balance-of-payments support after
disagreeing with Mugabe over fiscal policy
and other governance issues.
On Wednesday, the IMF board resolved
to maintain a freeze on loans to
Zimbabwe arguing that the economy was
still in a severe crisis that
required urgent and wide-ranging reforms
before the IMF could allow
assistance to the crisis-hit country. -
ZimOnline
Zim Online
Sat 11 March 2006
HARARE - Zimbabwe's annual inflation
accelerated into record territory
in February as the effects of high
rentals, tertiary education fees and
transport costs bit harder, but
analysts warned worse was yet to come for
the majority already wallowing in
grinding poverty and near destitution.
A battered economy is the
biggest challenge to President Robert
Mugabe's 26-year rule as anger rises
over a crisis dramatised by shortages
of foreign exchange, fuel and food and
which has left over 70 percent of
workers unemployed and
impoverished.
The Central Statistical Office (CSO) said yesterday
annual inflation
rose to 782 percent in February from 613.2 percent in
January, sailing past
the previous all-time high of 622.8 percent hit in
January 2004.
The figure is at the end of the 700-800 percent
bracket forecast by
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono by the end
of the first
quarter of this year. Now analysts are talking of four-digit
inflation
figures.
"They have no chance as they continue to
print money. We are going to
hit a thousand," Anthony Hawkins, University of
Zimbabwe Business Studies
professor said. "It's a critical situation and
there have to be tough
measures before the situation spirals out of control.
Sadly things can only
get worse for the ordinary person, and they
will."
Zimbabweans have borne the brunt of a six-year recession
which
Mugabe's critics blame on the veteran 82-year-old leader but who
himself
denies the charges.
With a confirmed highest inflation
rate in the world, life has been
particularly tough for the ordinary folk,
most of whom have to live on below
US$1 a day.
Analysts said
only bold measures, such as an immediate end to farm
seizures and return to
production, liberalisation of the economy and removal
of price controls
could eventually resurrect the once prosperous economy.
But the
exercise would no less be painful in the interim and Mugabe's
government is
acutely aware of this.
"The problem is the government is not
committed to bold reforms
knowing fully well the immediate shock may lead
people to take matters into
their own hands," Harare-based economist James
Jowa said. "But it is a
matter of time because eventually everything will
collapse," he added.
The CSO said on a monthly basis, the consumer
price index rose a hefty
27.5 percent from 18.6 percent in
January.
Hawkins said: "Normally the hyperinflation bubble bursts
quickly
either because people will say enough is enough and remove the
government in
popular anger but that does not seem to be the case
here."
Political analysts say Zimbabweans have been cowed into
silence by
tough security laws that have also crippled the opposition in the
country
and fear of a violent backlash by state security agents and ruling
ZANU PF
militia.
Despite a deep sense of frustration, most
Zimbabweans continue with
their daily grind as if everything was
normal.
Scarce fuel supplies have pushed up transport costs while
house
rentals have surged following the government's controversial
demolition of
shantytowns last year, which put hundreds of thousands on the
streets.
A family of five now requires Z$25 million, the CSO said,
far higher
than the average Z$8 million which most families survive
on.
Unbridled inflation is playing havoc with the finances of
ordinary
Zimbabweans, who must often go shopping with huge wads of either 50
000 or
20 000 notes for simple purchases that end up in millions of
dollars.
The IMF executive board this week decided not to restore
Zimbabwe's
voting and related rights and said it would not release more
funds to the
country despite Harare paying off part of its debt last
February.
The board said on Wednesday Zimbabwe's economic crisis
required a
"comprehensive policy package comprising several mutually
reinforcing
actions in the area of macroeconomic stabilisation and
structural reforms",
urging the country to clear outstanding
arrears.
Mugabe's government printed $21 trillion to clear the IMF
debt and has
vowed to keep the printers running as a way of shoring the
tattered economy
but economic experts say this will feed into money supply
and
hyperinflation. - ZimOnline
Zim Online
Sat 11 March 2006
HARARE - Harare lawyer Tendai Biti,
legislator Thokozani Khupe and
former parliamentarian Roy Bennett are
favourites to clinch the top posts at
next week's congress of the faction of
the main opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) party loyal to
Morgan Tsvangirai.
Insiders on Friday told ZimOnline that
nominations submitted this week
at the MDC's Harvest House headquarters
showed the three politicians were
leading the race to land the top jobs left
vacant following last year's
fall-out between Tsvangirai and other senior
officials of the opposition
party over whether to contest last November's
controversial senate election.
The other faction of the MDC,
initially led by secretary-general
Welshman Ncube and Tsvangirai's then
deputy Gibson Sibanda, held its own
congress last month at which popular
former student leader Arthur Mutambara
was elected president.
Biti, presently secretary for economic affairs and Member of
Parliament (MP)
for Harare East constituency, is tipped to become the new
secretary-general,
fending off stiff challenge from businessman Ian Makone
and Hatfield MP,
Tapiwa Mashakada.
Forty-four year old Makokoba MP
Khupe, who is battling with MDC
national executive member Getrude Mthombeni
and former Matabeleland North
governor Welshman Mabhena, is tipped to land
the vice president's job,
replacing Gibson Sibanda who is vice president of
the Mutambara-led wing of
the MDC.
"Competition is still on but
Biti has the support of six provinces of
Harare, Bulawayo, Matabeleland
South, Midlands South, Midlands North,
Manicaland and Mashohonaland Central,
giving him an edge over his rivals,"
said a senior MDC official, who did not
want to be named because he is not
authorised to disclose such details to
the Press.
Kuphe is also said to enjoy the support of almost all
the provinces
except Manicaland, which nominated former ZANU PF official and
governor,
Mabhena. Midlands North province reportedly nominated
Mthombeni.
All the nominated candidates will now contest at the
congress in a
secret ballot where all the expected 13 000 delegates will be
required to
vote.
Tsvangirai and national chairman Isaac
Matongo will not face any
competition after all the party's 12 provinces
nominated them.
Bennett, who this week was being linked by state
agents to an arms
cache discovered in Mutare, is expected to come in as the
new treasurer
after he was nominated by almost all the provinces. The post
was held by
Fletcher Dhulini-Ncube who is now a member of the Mutambara
faction. -
ZimOnline
Zim Online
Sat 11 March
2006
MUTARE - Ruling ZANU PF party central committee member and
transport
mogul Esau Mupfumi yesterday appeared in court facing charges of
defrauding
the National Oil Company of Zimbabwe (NOCZIM) of 15 000 litres of
diesel
worth about ZW$3.3 billion.
Mutare magistrate Hosiah
Mujaya remanded Mupfumi on $300 million bail
to 28 March.
Charges against Mupfumi are that he misrepresented to NOCZIM that he
had
been sent by ZANU PF to obtain 20 000 litres of diesel from the state
company which he was to use to transport delegates from the eastern
Manicaland province to the ruling party's conference that was taking place
at Esigodini in the south of the country.
But Mupfumi should
have received only 5 000 litres which was enough to
fuel the three buses
that he was to use to ferry ZANU PF supporters to the
conference.
The state believes Mupfumi, a public transport
operator in Manicaland,
may have offloaded the 15 000 extra litres of diesel
onto the illegal
black-market where it sells for more than three times the
official price.
Mupfumi and two other ZANU PF politicians Enock
Porusingazi and Fred
Kanzama were arrested this week for allegedly
fraudulently obtaining oil
from NOCZIM and grain from the state-owned Grain
Marketing Board which they
are thought to have later resold on the
black-market.
Porusingazi is ZANU PF legislator for Chipinge South
constituency
while Kanzama represents the ruling party in Mutare South
constituency. The
legislators are out on bail of five and 90 million dollars
respectively.
Maize and fuel are among a long list of basic
survival commodities in
critical short supply in Zimbabwe because there is
no hard cash to pay
foreign suppliers.
But top officials of
ZANU PF and the government are making a killing
using their powerful
positions to access the little food and fuel trickling
into the country and
later resell these to ordinary citizens, virtually at
extortionist
prices.
The powerful politicians are also accused of smuggling some
of the
food for sale in neighbouring countries such as Zambia and
Mozambique. -
ZimOnline
Zim Online
Sat 11 March 2006
HARARE - An ambitious government
programme launched about four years
ago to reduce HIV transmission from
mother to child is facing collapse in
Zimbabwe due to a serious lack of
funds.
The Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV
(PMTCT)
programme was at its launch in 2002 initially running at 265
hospitals and
clinics around the country. But less than half of these
centres are still
operational with the rest closed down either because of a
shortage of drugs
or because there is no fuel to transport the little
medicines available to
the centres.
Sources in the health
ministry told ZimOnline on Friday that most
rural clinics and district
hospitals last had supplies of nevirapine - a key
drug which is administered
to pregnant mothers to reduce HIV infections to
babies - several months
ago.
"The number of centres offering the service has gone down to
just over
100. Some hospitals have just stopped the programme because they
can't
receive the drug and HIV rapid test kits," said a nurse at Chikore
district
hospital in Chipinge.
"Right now we have run out of
nevaripine drugs. We also have problems
getting the drugs here because of
transport shortages and poor road network
due to the rains," added the
nurse.
Benjamin Mazhindu, the chairman of the Zimbabwe National
Network for
People Living with HIV/AIDS (ZNNP+), an organisation that fights
for the
rights of people living with AIDS, confirmed that there was a
serious
shortage of nevarapine across the country, particularly in rural
areas.
"There is a problem of accessibility of the drug which is
coupled with
poor set-up of structures by the Ministry of Health. As a
result our
members are failing to access the drugs at the clinics," said
Mazhindu.
But a senior official in the Health Ministry in charge of
the
prevention of mother to child transmission programme, Agnes Mahomva
denied
that the programme was facing collapse insisting the drugs were
readily
available in rural areas.
"Rural clinics could be
receiving the drugs late because they make
orders when they have exhausted
their stocks but on a national scale, the
programme is running well," said
Mahomva.
Zimbabwe is one of only two African countries that have
recorded a
decrease in HIV infections but the disease continues to wreck
havoc in
southern African nation killing at least 2 000 people every
week.
The only other country to reduce HIV infections is
Uganda.
The HIV/AIDS pandemic is worsened in Zimbabwe because of
food
shortages in the country and a six-year old economic crisis that has
spawned
shortages of key commodities including hard cash to import drugs. -
ZimOnline
[ This report does not
necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]
HARARE, 10 Mar
2006 (IRIN) - As standards of living in Zimbabwe continue to
deteriorate the
use of child labour on farms has risen sharply, with over
10,000 children
estimated to be working in the agricultural sector.
Gertrude Hambira,
secretary-general of the General Agricultural and
Plantation Workers Union
of Zimbabwe (GAPWUZ), told IRIN that her
association would seek the
assistance of the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) to
end child labour on farms.
She said children aged 16 years and under working
on farms were regarded as
child labourers.
"We are finalising our reports, which we want to bring
to the attention of
UNICEF, so that they can intervene and protect the
rights of children.
Children should be in schools and not working on farms,"
said Hambira.
IRIN recently reported that new commercial farmers, the
beneficiaries of the
government's controversial land redistribution
programme, were struggling to
pay labourers.
"According to
statistics, an average family needs Zim $28 million [US $282]
a month to
meet its basic requirements. However, our members are being paid
Zim
$600,000 [$6] a month, which is only enough to buy a bar of soap and
cooking
oil. This has exposed children to abuse by commercial farmers, who
are
making them work on their farms in exchange for a free education on farm
schools," Hambira alleged.
New farmers using child labourers in
exchange for an education have dubbed
the system 'Learn as you
earn'.
Hambira added that because the wages of farm workers could not
sustain their
families, children were also being employed to supplement
family incomes.
"In some instances we have cases of parents and their young
children all
working on the farm so that they can pool their earnings to buy
food and
other basic necessities," she commented.
Hambira said some
of the children working on farms had been displaced by the
government's
Operation Murambatsvina last year - an urban cleanup campaign.
"In addition,
children are now dropping out of school because school fees
are beyond their
reach, as some government schools are charging fees of Zim
$400,000 [$4] a
term," she added.
Wellington Chibebe, secretary-general of the Zimbabwe
Congress of Trade
Unions, warned that if the government did not stop child
labour on farms,
the union would take their case to the International Labour
Organisation, a
move that could result in a boycott of the country's farm
produce.
"There are rampant cases of child labour on the farms - some of
them owned
by very senior government officials - and we have told the
relevant
authorities to intervene. We will not accept the abuse of children
on the
farms," Chibebe stressed.
Davidson Mugabe, president of the
Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union, said
the Learn as you Earn concept was
beneficial to children. "The new farmers
are doing a good job of ensuring
that young children get an education -
there is no sinister
agenda."
However, Gift Muti, another senior union official, told IRIN
that the
concept did more harm than good. "Children under that scheme have
generally
performed poorly in school because they ... [are] too exhausted.
As a
result, most just [end up being] farm labourers like their
parents."
[ This report does not necessarily
reflect the views of the United Nations]
BULAWAYO, 10 Mar 2006 (IRIN)
- Protests continued at university campuses
across Zimbabwe this week as
soaring inflation hit tuition fees.
According to analyst Chris Maroleng,
of the South African based Institute
for Security Studies, "The overall
environment in Zimbabwe is one of
instability: we have security forces
placed on high alert in case of
uprisings because of the sudden price
increases in basic commodities [such
as bread], the arrest of varsity
students in a bid to stop protest actions
by them, and the alleged coup plot
related to the arms cache found last week
[which the government has linked
to the opposition]."
Students at Zimbabwe's state-run tertiary
institutions started rioting and
boycotting lessons this week, in protest
against a 1,000 percent increase in
tuition fees. Government announced new
fees at all its tertiary
institutions, including universities and
polytechnics, two weeks ago,
sparking a wave of disapproval by both students
and parents, who said they
could not afford the new costs.
Tuition
fees for a four-month term at university jumped from around Zim $3
million
(US $30) to between Zim $30 million ($302) and Zim $90 million
($907), while
the cost of studying at polytechnics surged to Zim $30 million
($302), up
from Zim $2 million ($20) a term.
Residential students have to pay an
extra Zim $24 million ($241) for
accommodation.
Earlier this week
dozens of students from the National University of Science
and Technology
(NUST), the only university in Zimbabwe's second city,
Bulawayo, clashed
with baton-wielding police after marching through the
streets demanding a
reduction in their fees.
Several of them were detained and are being
charged with breaching sections
of the country's security laws. Two weeks
ago more than twenty students from
the same institution were held for
rioting and taking a lecturer hostage on
campus.
Violent
confrontations between students and security personnel have also
occurred at
the University of Zimbabwe in the capital, Harare, where dozens
of students
have been suspended.
The Zimbabwe National Students' Union (ZINASU), an
umbrella body
representing learners at all tertiary institutions in the
country, said the
protests would continue until government reversed the fees
hike.
The increases have come at a time of record inflation in Zimbabwe,
currently
at 782 percent.
With the majority of workers earning an
average of Zim $5 million ($50),
parents said they could not afford the new
costs.
The Herald
(Harare)
March 9, 2006
Posted to the web March 9,
2006
Harare
HARARE City Council is battling to settle a debt of
over $1,1 trillion owed
to several creditors for services
rendered.
The council had paid about $455 million to creditors between
January 1 to
February 28 this year but this, according to the city treasury,
is a far cry
from what council owes.
The astronomical figure of $1,1
trillion rose from $850 billion in December
last year.
The debt
escalation has largely been blamed on the late implementation of
the 2005
budget and the poor performance of the national economy.
However, the
city is also owed over $890 billion by residents and satellite
towns such as
Epworth, Ruwa, Norton and Chitungwiza.
Council has intensified efforts to
collect and recover what it is owed by
its debtors.
In an interview,
city treasurer Mr Cosmos Zvikaramba said the figures
included this month's
bills that were sent out to residents and other
ratepayers.
"That
figure comprises money that ratepayers and other creditors are
supposed to
pay this month.
"So they could be paying soon," said Mr
Zvikaramba.
He said part of the money was for other operating expenses
such as procured
assets and the payment of trade creditors for the supply of
goods to
council.
Council has so far collected over $500 billion as
rates and tariffs and
expects to increase revenue by unbundling its
operations to ensure
viability.
This is expected to extricate the
city from the spiralling debt, which is
being exacerbated by inflation and
interest rate pressures.
Government has approved Harare's budget as
presented so that council can
effectively provide services and meet its
obligations.
As a result of the failure to settle the debt, most
suppliers have been
demanding cash up-front.
IOL
March 10 2006
at 09:43AM
Washington - The International Monetary Fund's executive
board decided
not to restore Zimbabwe's voting rights and not to allow it to
use fund
general resources even though it had settled $120-million (about
R754-million) in arrears it owed this facility.
The board said
on Wednesday that Zimbabwe still owed $119-million to a
poverty reduction
and emergency contingency fund.
It noted that "Zimbabwe's economic
crisis calls for urgent
implementation of a comprehensive policy package
comprising several mutually
reinforcing actions in the area of macroeconomic
stabilisation and
structural reforms".
The board said it would
review its relations with Zimbabwe again in
September. Last September after
Zimbabwe repaid its arrears to the general
resources fund, the IMF decided
not to expel it.
Zimbabwe's economy has been in free-fall
since the government began
seizing white-owned farms in 2000. Annual
inflation rose to 400 percent by
December and was trending
upward.
The IMF is a 184-nation organisation that makes loans to
developing
and emerging market countries. - Sapa-AP
Mail and Guardian
Harare, Zimbabwe
10 March 2006
01:13
At least seven illegal gold panners have died in the
past week
just over Zimbabwe's border with Mozambique after heavy rains
brought chaos
to the area, reports from eastern Zimbabwe said on
Friday.
There are fears the casualty figure could be much
higher.
Hospitals in Zimbabwe's Chimanimani and Chipinge
districts are
preparing themselves for an influx of bodies amid fears that
up to 50 gold
panners may have died, according to one
newspaper.
"People are dying and there were bodies
everywhere," Ananias
Mupondi, an illegal panner, told the official Manica
Post on his return to
Chimanimani.
Heavy rains beginning
last Friday have brought chaos to
Zimbabwe's border with Mozambique,
flooding caves where illegal panners stay
and swelling
rivers.
Some of the dead are believed to have been swept away
by the
rivers while others may have died of malaria and pneumonia, said the
Manica
Post, which is published in the city of Mutare.
"While the actual number of deaths could not be immediately
established,
unconfirmed reports say more than 50 people could have died in
the past
week," the paper said.
It said thousands of "frail" gold
panners have been trickling
back into Zimbabwe this week.
"The situation in Mozambique is serious and panners are dying in
large
numbers," said gold digger Norman Sundiwa from Mutare.
"As we
were coming I witnessed six deaths and we buried one in a
cave," Sundiwa
added.
Despite the dangers, illegal gold panners have been
flooding to
an area in Mozambique just 50km from the Zimbabwe border where a
rich gold
belt is reported to have been discovered. - Sapa-DPA
Business Report
March 10, 2006
Johannesburg - Zimbabwe's inflation reached an
all-time high of 782 percent
on Friday with analysts saying there was no end
in sight for the rise in
prices that will bring more hardship to
Zimbabweans.
The annual inflation rate rose to 782 percent in February,
up from 613.2
percent in January, according to government
statistics.
Independent economist Eric Bloch said the steep rise
in
inflation would "cause a lot more hardship" to Zimbabweans, already
struggling with joblessness and shortages of food and other basic goods like
fuel.
"There are going to be major demands for wage increases and
thus causing
further inflation," Bloch told AFP.
"This means higher
inflation in April and even more hardship for the
majority of Zimbabweans,"
he said.
Economist David Mupamhadzi said the galloping inflation was a
reflection of
a failed economy and blamed the jump on the growth in the
money supply.
"We are now feeling those effects of the printing of
money," Mupamhadzi
said, adding that the rise would fuel demands for higher
wages from workers
battling to catch up with rising prices of goods and
services.
He projected even higher inflation in the coming months saying
prospects of
a decline before mid-year were nil.
Central bank
governor Gideon Gono has blamed inflation partly on the
printing of money
that he said was necessary to service the debt to the
International Monetary
Fund (IMF).
He revealed last month that the central bank resorted
to
printing 21 trillion Zimbabwean dollars to buy foreign currency to clear
the
country's arrears with the IMF.
Zimbabwe last month made a
payment of nine million US dollars to the IMF to
avert expulsion from the
global lender over long-overdue arrears.
The body had threatened
to expel Zimbabwe from its ranks for failing to pay
back loans since 2001
and given the southern African country until February
to settle its
accounts.
Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) economist Bernard
Mufute urged
monetary restraint and a change in economic policy to rein in
inflation
often referred to as the number one enemy by the central bank
chief.
"The authorities have to appreciate that we are in a crisis and do
something
right now," Mufute said.
"They know what has to be
addressed, such things such as fiscal policy, the
exchange rate has to be
allowed to freely move on its own," he said.
William Nhara, a government
analyst, predicted higher inflation in the
coming months and called for
collaboration between the state, business and
labour to work out measures to
control inflation.
Nhara recommended a price and wage freeze for six
months to stop inflation.
The IMF executive board meeting in Washington
this week decided to deny
financial aid to Zimbabwe and said the economic
crisis in the country "calls
for urgent implementation of a comprehensive
policy package comprising
several mutually reinforcing actions in the area
of macroeconomic
stabilisation and structural reforms."
Once the top
agricultural producer in the region, Zimbabwe has been in the
throes of an
economic recession since 2000 when President Robert Mugabe
launched a land
reform program that led to the seizure of more than 4,000
white-owned
farms.
Other than soaring inflation, Zimbabweans have had to contend with
deepening
poverty levels, an unemployment rate hovering at over 70 percent
and chronic
shortages of fuel and basic goods like cornmeal. - AFP
News24
10/03/2006 15:31 -
(SA)
Harare - Lawyers for a group of people arrested over an arms
cache discovery
in eastern Zimbabwe are preparing an urgent application for
them to be
brought to court, one of the lawyers said on
Friday.
"We're actually drafting an urgent court application, to ensure
our clients
are taken to court," said Lawrence Chibwe.
At least four
officials and activists of the opposition Movement for
Democratic Change,
including the MP for Mutare North, Giles Mutsekwa, were
among at least 16
people arrested this week in connection with the discovery
of weapons at a
house in the border city of Mutare.
Some include serving members of the
Zimbabwean police, state radio has said.
The weapons - including machine
guns, rifles, pistols and ammunition - were
found on Monday when police
raided the home of Mutare resident Michael
Hitschmann.
State radio
has claimed the weapons were to be used by the MDC in acts of
terrorism, but
the party has denied any link to the cache.
|
Sokwanele - Enough is Enough -
Zimbabwe PROMOTING NON-VIOLENT PRINCIPLES TO ACHIEVE DEMOCRACY |
|
Political crises are normally resolved by political processes worked out by politicians and their supporters. But the failure of Zimbabwean political parties to find a way through the maze where we have lost ourselves, induces one to look in other directions. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have become a major force in our society - could they not show us the direction and lead us back to political sanity? NGOs are the direct descendants of charitable and welfare organizations, but they have evolved in different directions so that they now present a wide variety of programmes and structures. For the sake of clarity we can group them into three broad categories. First we have what can still be referred to as welfare organizations, devoted primarily to assisting individuals who have failed to achieve the basics of a decent life on their own - orphanages, old people's homes, soup kitchens, feeding programmes and shelters for the destitute and street kids, and AIDS and counseling organizations. Secondly there are the development organizations, engaged in income generation and capacity building for communities to promote sustained economic growth. Examples of these are Plan International, ORAP, and micro-finance lending organizations such as Zambuko Trust. Third, and generally more recently on the scene, are the civil society organizations. These concern themselves in one way or another with issues of governance and policy formation and implementation. Some focus on specific interest groups. Here we find the human rights groups, civic educators, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), those promoting democracy or specific policies such as the Women and Land Lobby Group or the Community Working Group on Health. Just as the animal kingdom encompasses both insects and elephants, NGOs come in all shapes and sizes; some are home-grown, others are internationally connected. In all three categories we have faith-based or church related organizations as well as others which are purely secular. Many cross over the category boundaries, with objectives in two or even all three broad areas. An environmental NGO may teach water harvesting for rural development but may also be engaged in lobbying for more effective environmental protection legislation. An integrated rural development organization may facilitate leadership training and human rights education while teaching the scientific application of fertilizer and running a school feeding programme. In spite of the differences, all NGOs share certain common features and face a number of common dilemmas. First, they all originate from a vision, ideological or otherwise, of an improved society, social justice if you will, where individuals can satisfy their basic needs and strive to achieve their human potential. They are based on idealism. Second, virtually all depend on foreign donors. Third, all must negotiate a position within the parameters drawn by government policy. Balancing these three conditions can be tricky. While NGOs of the first two categories (welfare organizations and development organizations) share the vision of a just society, their methods of achieving it usually do not involve direct action relating to governance. Their role in the present crisis has often been simply to keep people alive and help them to adapt to the new environment as well as they can. It is the civil society organizations to which we turn to find a direct role in impacting on the crisis. Can they assist? Our response to this question will be influenced by our analysis of what is wrong and how it must be corrected. If it is simply to put a new political party into power, then that is best left to political organisations. But most civil society organizations have recognized that the problem is not just ZANU PF's criminality. The problem lies deep in the society itself which has permitted such an aberration of democratic governance to develop and survive. The solution can not therefore be found simply by replacing the present governing incumbents by others, no matter how genuine or even angelic they may appear. The lessons of Zambia, Malawi and Kenya are not lost on Zimbabweans. And the current rupture in the MDC reinforces them. ZANU-like tendencies toward the corrupt use of power exist everywhere in Zimbabwe. They have almost become part of our culture. If we identify the problem not just as a need for a new governing party, but as a need to create a whole new democratic culture from the grassroots upwards, then civil society organizations do have a key role to play. In most developed societies, state education institutions teach the fundamentals of democratic practice - through both theoretical and practical lessons. But the ZANU-ised government institutions have forfeited the opportunity to play this role as they have become rather tools of oppression, mistrusted by the people. What can civil society organizations do? A variety of possibilities exist, depending on the particular focus of each organization. All are essential to the development of a new democratic dispensation. Here are some suggestions: 1. Civic education organizations can promote a cultural revolution towards democracy through work at the grassroots. The aim would be to bring people to an understanding of participatory democracy, to a knowledge of their rights and a willingness to claim them, while respecting the rights of others. One of the reasons that ZCTU was in the forefront of the push for change in the 1990's was that they had already gone a long way with this educational work. 2. Information and legal organizations can expose the failings in the present governance by:
3. Membership organizations can provide examples of democratic practice in their own structures, giving people the necessary experience of democratic leadership, democratic decision-making, transparency of financial accounting, respect for rights and tolerance for differing opinions, where the emphasis is on argument and persuasion rather than manipulation, intimidation and violence to promote one's views. 4. Special interest organizations can develop model legislation such as constitutions and policies on issues such as land, foreign trade and production modes, challenging people to imagine a better future and think both creatively and critically towards it. The development of models needs to be accompanied not just by campaigning but also by discussion and production of alternatives, so that people fully understand the range of possible policy choices. 5. Membership organizations and coalitions of civil society organizations can mobilize the people to demonstrate and express their dissatisfaction with the present situation and their determination to resolve it in a democratic direction. This builds people's confidence and ensures their participation in the process of change. 6. They can also inform and lobby foreign governments, NGOs and international organizations, bringing formal complaints to human rights bodies and courts, thus building international pressure on the government for change. 7. Peace-building organizations can work at grassroots to help heal the wounds of hatred and intolerance and encourage people to respect each other's humanity and work together to achieve common goals. 8. At a transitional stage, all forms of civil society organizations can participate in interim measures and negotiations to prepare the way for a constitutional conference and internationally supervised elections.
But there are problems and dangers along the road which must be overcome. Just as these organizations may share a common idealism so they face many common problems which work to undermine their contribution. 1. Donor dependence. Virtually all civil society organizations are donor funded. Donors have their own goals and expectations and give funds because they want them to be put to a specific use. The process of designing project proposals, budgeting, persuading donors, and then reporting in detail is an important and useful discipline. However, the dependence leads to a deep insecurity and can also distort programmes as organizations tailor their proposals to known donor interests. 2. Bureaucracy/loss of idealism. Many Zimbabwean organizations have been well supported by foreign donors, who have provided funds for comfortable offices, smart vehicles, hi-tech equipment, training courses and even regional and international travel. Through the past inflationary years it is the NGOs with foreign funds which have been best able to raise salaries, while government and even the private sector have lagged behind. Gradually NGOs have become the preferred place of employment for all types of trained personnel. Comfortable employees find difficulty in risking their good fortune by implementing policies which could put them in government's spotlight and might threaten the very existence of the organizations they serve. Hence even civil society organizations become conservative in their outlook, keeping to safe programmes which will not jeopardize their infrastructure and jobs. Some lose the will to spearhead change altogether. 3. Egotism/power complex. All human beings have weaknesses, whether they work for government or for NGOs. There is always a temptation for capable individuals who find prominence within the NGO world to become distracted by their own sense of self-importance. This leads them to ignore democratic interactions in their organizations and in their relations with the people on the ground. Instead of working with the people they begin to use them as a force to push their own agendas, without allowing the people to develop the necessary skills to enable democracy to grow. 4. Infiltration. The strongest civil society organizations are those with membership throughout the country, but they are also perceived as the most threatening by government. These are organizations such as ZCTU, Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (Zimrights), the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA), Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) and the Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU). Membership organizations can easily fall victim to the individual who simply wants a position in order to establish a power base for his or her own aggrandizement, or even to access funds which can be appropriated. But more dangerous is the government agent who is planted within the organization for the purpose of causing havoc and rendering it incapable of carrying forward its programmes. By their very openness membership organizations are vulnerable, but even non-membership organizations can be debilitated by infiltration. 5.
Government restrictions. It has long been the practice for
welfare organizations to register with the Department of Social Welfare to
establish their legitimacy in the eyes of government. But this has never been a
legal requirement and many civil society organizations have simply registered
trust deeds with the High Court under a common law procedure. As the ZANU PF
government has become increasingly totalitarian, it has sought to exert control
over all NGOs by requiring registration. It could then refuse to register any
"undesirable" organization, rendering its operations illegal. The notorious NGO
Bill specifically targets civil society NGOs which are concerned with "issues of
governance". These would be excluded from receiving any foreign funding. Even
before the law is passed, we can observe some organizations adjusting their
programmes in the hope of not being refused registration. Should the current
draft become law, civil society organizations will have to decide individually
whether to cease operations or devise other ways of continuing their work. Few,
considering the elements of donor dependence and bureaucratization, would have
the will or the means to continue, and many would simply close down. Visit our website at
www.sokwanele.com We have a fundamental right to freedom of expression! Sokwanele does not endorse the editorial policy of any source or website except its own. It retains full copyright on its own articles, which may be reproduced or distributed but may not be materially altered in any way. Reproduced articles must clearly show the source and owner of copyright, together with any other notices originally contained therein, as well as the original date of publication. Sokwanele does not accept responsibility for any loss or damage arising in any way from receipt of this email or use thereof. This document, or any part thereof, may not be distributed for profit. |
By Violet
Gonda
10 March 2006
Students at the University of Zimbabwe
were granted some temporary
relief on Thursday when a High Court Judge
ordered a halt on tuition fee
increases. When term opened last month fees
were increased tenfold and
students' strikes and lecture boycotts were being
planned.
Students and their families were shocked at the
increases:
Arts and humanities up from Z$3m to Z$30m a year.
Sciences up from Z$3.7m to Z$37m.
Medical up from Z$4m to
Z$60m.
On top of tuition fees accommodation went up from Z$500 000
to
Z$24million a year.
In delivering his judgement Justice
Alfas Chitakunye ordered the
university to accept the students back without
payments, pending the outcome
of the case before the courts. The students
successfully argued that they
were not consulted and that the hikes were
unprocedural.
A press release by the UZ Student Executive Council
(SEC) said, "this
means all payments are stopped forthwith and the student
will from today be
allowed in classes without payment."
However
SEC Secretary General Mfundo Mlilo told SW Radio Africa that
the authorities
are not honouring the court order saying: "But what we have
done is print
fliers and sent them to the students to say the university has
been ordered
to stop payments."
Authorities said they increased the fees in line
with the cost of
education in the country. But this has been slammed by most
students who are
also suffering from increased travel costs. Many are opting
to stay at home
because they can't raise the transport fares to go to
school.
The High Court provisional order only applies to students
at the UZ
but the Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) have hired
Harare law firm
Kantor and Immerman to prepare a lawsuit to stop the fees
hike nationally.
The fee increases have seen separate protest
marches from students
from Bulawayo's Polytechnic, the National University
of Science and
Technology, Hillside Teachers College, Masvingo Polytechnic
and University
of Zimbabwe.
Authorities have responded to
demonstrations by suspending members of
the UZ student leadership and
arresting the organisers.
The students have also complained about
the intimidatory presence of
armed riot police. SEC member Trevor Murai said
police in Chinese lorries
were also parked at the university's security
control room. "They were ready
for action and they were armed to the teeth
as if we are in a war. At the
moment they have since left but we still have
quite a number of plain
clothes policemen roaming around in corridors of the
university."
SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news
By Lance Guma
10 March 2006
Gordon Moyo, the leader of
Bulawayo based pressure group Bulawayo
Agenda, says the mushrooming of
tribally based political parties can only
help Zanu PF maintain its grip on
power. Commenting on the formation of the
Patriotic Union of Matabeleland
(PUMA) Moyo says the political party would
have been better off as a
pressure group. PUMA says it is concerned about
the marginalisation of
Matabeleland and has been raising issues related to
the Gukurahundi
massacres where thousands of Ndebele's were killed by Robert
Mugabe's
notorious 5th Brigade.
Moyo believes these are pertinent issues to
raise as a pressure group
but not to use them as a route to gain political
office. According to Moyo
there is growing concern the group is trying to
resurrect Zapu 2000, an
outfit whose attempt to lure the original PF ZAPU
members and supporters
failed to materialise. The country has seen the
mushrooming of three
political parties in the space of six months. Daniel
Shumba's United Peoples
Party, Jonathan Moyo's United People's Movement, and
the recently launched
PUMA. Not helping matters is the main opposition
party, the MDC splitting
into two opposing groups while claiming the same
name.
Bulawayo Agenda say the political environment is so fractured
they
have decided to invite nine of the major political parties to a meeting
in
Bulawayo next Thursday. The open forum will involve both factions of the
MDC
and according to Moyo will allow those attending to question the parties
on
what they hope to achieve in such a fractured state.
Meanwhile the majority of civic groups are meeting in Victoria Falls
to map
out a strategic vision for their operations in the country.
Representatives
from groups like Crisis in Zimbabwe, Women of Zimbabwe
Arise, National
Constitutional Assembly and others began the three-day
workshop on Thursday.
They are expected to announce resolutions of the
meetings on
Saturday.
SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news
By
Tererai Karimakwenda
09 March 2006
In a story published
Friday, the state controlled Herald newspaper
blamed the United States and
Britain for this week's decision by the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) to
continue denying loans to Zimbabwe. But
the story did not reveal the reasons
given by the IMF in a statement
released after the vote. The Herald said
Zimbabwe had been granted access to
funds under the General Resources
Account (GRA) after receiving the required
simple majority during the IMF's
executive board meeting held in Washington
Wednesday. But the paper claimed
the IMF board was influenced to disregard
this vote and deny Harare funding.
It said there are now indications that
Zimbabwe will soon write a letter of
complaint to the Fund.
But the IMF statement made it clear that
Zimbabwe's economy was still
in a severe crisis and no loans would be
extended until major changes had
been implemented in fiscal policy and other
governmental issues. Finance
Minister Herbert Murerwa and Reserve Bank
Governor Gideon Gono had travelled
to Washington to present their case and
they came back empty handed.
The Herald went on to say: "It has
become clear that the IMF is
penalising Zimbabwe for rejecting retrogressive
Bretton Woods policies in
favour of people-centred initiatives." There was
no mention of what these
people-centred initiatives and Zimbabweans see no
sign of them. Prices for
food and transport have more than doubled already
this year, and students
have been demonstrating against a ten-fold increase
in tuition fees. In
addition, Zimbabweans are struggling with extremely high
inflation rates.
Shortages of basic commodities like maize meal and fuel, as
well as bank
notes and foreign currency have also crippled the
nation.
Analysts have insisted that the economy will continue to
deteriorate
until there is a change of government which will bring with it
investor
confidence and assistance from international humanitarian
organisations.
These are also the issues the IMF said Zimbabwe needs to
address. By
ignoring this The Herald hopes to convince Zimbabweans, who get
no
independent news, that the United States and Britain are to blame for the
IMF decision. But Zimbabweans know who is to blame for their
predicament.
SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news
New Zimbabwe
By Tendai
Serima
Last updated: 03/11/2006 02:00:14
THEY say history repeats itself.
This means in order to understand the
future of our own country we need to
take a look at the past.
Let's move back a few steps to take a look at a
shadow, the reality of which
is unfolding before our own eyes. Remember
Moses started the struggle that
led Israel out of Egypt, but it is Joshua
who took them to the Promised
land. It is Nkomo who fathered Zapu, but it is
Mugabe who became Prime
Minister. Even more still, it is Sithole who led the
revolt against Nkomo
and formed Zanu, but it is Mugabe who became President.
History is very
stubborn and has this tendency to repeat itself. History
says no founding
President of a party can become President of our country.
To understand this
theory, we need to go back a few thousand
years.
For 40 days King Saul and the whole army of Israel were
intimidated by a
giant called Goliath. Goliath, who stood almost 10 feet
tall, defied the
armies of Israel, making them look cowardly and foolish.
For 40 days they
tried but failed to defeat him. Goliath, who is described
as a "champion" in
the Biblical text, positioned himself between the two
armies and challenged
the Israelites to send out a warrior to challenge him.
If that man won, the
Philistines would become the subjects of Saul's army.
If Goliath won, the
converse would occur. For 40 days, Goliath issued his
challenge, but no man
would dare him.
Meanwhile young David was busy
looking after his father's sheep. He fought
and won many battles in the
wilderness, against lions and bears. Nobody knew
about these victories since
they were not in the battle front and away from
the public eye. Most
importantly, these battles were seemingly unrelated to
the real battle
against Goliath in which King Saul and the army of Israel,
including David's
four brothers were engaged.
One day David decided to go to the battle
front to see how his brothers were
doing, and to bring some "bread and
grain". He saw Goliath and he remembered
how he had fought and won against
the bear and the lion. He knew his time
had come. He asked King Saul for a
chance to have a go at Goliath. What?
After leading Israel through so many
battles and recording so many
victories? After being intimidated by this
giant for 40 days and trying my
best to bring him down, a little boy is now
asking me to stand aside so that
he can take a chance? This was ridiculous
to King Saul. After all Saul was
the tallest and the largest in the army of
Israel, and therefore he was the
only one who could stand a chance against
this champion called Goliath. But
a little boy called David wanted to take
his chance.
Since no other soldier was willing to fight the giant
Goliath, King Saul
reluctantly agreed to allow David to fight the giant.
King Saul took off his
heavy iron coat and gave it to David (his clothing,
the armour). David put
it on, jumped around and realised that it was too
heavy for him. David
rejected the king's offer of armor and a sword and went
out to fight Goliath
with a sling shot and five smooth stones. He knew that
to defeat Goliath he
needed something different, not just an imitation of
what Goliath already
had. With the first stone Goliath was dead.
The
situation in this story is analogous to the current situation in
Zimbabwe.
King Saul (Tsvangirai) has been fighting Goliath for the past six
years.
However this giant called Goliath has managed to survive using
intimidatory
tactics. Suddenly a young boy called Arthur (David) has arrived
on the seen.
He has just been shepherding his father's sheep in the
diaspora, from where
he has been sending "grain and bread" to his brothers
in the battle field.
Whatever he has been doing seems to be unrelated to the
battle against
Goliath in which his brothers have been bruised and battered.
The question
now is: will King Saul stand aside and give David a chance?
Will King Saul
offer his armour to David? Does David have the shepherd's
armour and a sling
with which to attack Goliath? Saul looked at Goliath as
too big to hit,
hence he was intimidated for 40days, but David looked at the
same Goliath as
too big to miss. The difference between the success and
failure of the two
men was in how they interpreted the sheer size of
Goliath. To one he was too
big to hit, to the other too big to miss.
In my view Tsvangirai was the
only giant in the MDC who could stand a chance
against Goliath (Mugabe).
However a new boy has arrived and he deserves a
chance. He is a "mighty man
of valour" who should not be underestimated by
reason of his age, or the
fact that he has been in the diaspora. Tsvangirai
and company have been
fighting this beast for so long that they have started
to imitate the same
monster that they are trying to remove. Dictatorial
tendencies have begun to
show up, and the "handiende syndrome" or the
"founder member" disease,
synonymous with Zanu(PF) is beginning to unveil
itself. According to the MDC
constitution Tsvangirai has only one more
Presidential term left and it is
now almost certain that he might try to
change the constitution to prolong
his stay at the MDC realm. His plan of
attack is now to boycott certain
elections, while participating in others,
and to pursue an unnamed form of"
democratic resistance", meanwhile causing
a lot of confusion with his
indecision and lack of clarity in the process.
Clearly his bag of ideas is
now running on empty.
Tsvangirai and his lieutenants are breathing fire
about the fact that an
"outsider" is trying to become MDC President when he
is not a founder
member, exactly the same way that Zanu(PF) brags about, and
hero worships
its founder members. Often President Mugabe (Goliath) has
emphasised that
his successor must have a history of the liberation
struggle, exactly the
same way the MDC is going on about those who have been
fighting the
dictatorship in the last six years. What then can you say to
our army
commanders when they say that they can not allow anyone who did not
go to
war to be President in our country? We have no moral ground to oppose
them.
They are simply applying the founder member politics that you are
applying
in your own party. He who digs a pit for others will fall in it.
Sadly this
is a "Zanunification" of the opposition, to quote Brian
Kagoro.
On the other hand we have the boy Arthur with the proverbial
sling shot (a
bag of new ideologies and enthusiasm). David said to King
Saul, the weapons
you have given me are good, but they are not mine; I will
fight in my own
way with a couple of stones and a sling. If we look at
Mutambara's
presidential acceptance speech with an open mind, we will see a
solid
foundation on which a new democratic dispensation can be built. He has
heard
the taunts of Goliath and he is outraged and indignant. It is not the
proud
and boastful indignation of youth or student activism, but righteous
indignation at the insult to democracy and at the reproach on our nation.
His approach is different from the all too familiar opposition rhetoric in
Zimbabwe. His ideologies represent a reformation and reinvention of
opposition politics and ideologies, not only in Zimbabwe but across Africa.
It is a paradigm shift that has put Zanu(PF) at sixes and sevens, and sent
back to the drawing board to try and develop a new propaganda because the
anti-Blair philosophy has suddenly become redundant and outdated.
In
the Biblical story, in consequence of this feat, David is received into
Saul's family, but Saul becomes jealous of the young conqueror's popularity
when the people started singing: "Saul has slain his thousands, and David
his tens of thousands." It is at this stage that the downfall of Saul
begins. He looses focus and begins to see David as an enemy and a threat
instead of a partner and a fellow warrior in the struggle. I hope this does
not happen to our Morgan. I hope he can continue to resist the temptation to
fight young Arthur. I hope they continue to look at each other as comrades
in arms.
It is on record that the fall of King Saul was not because
of David, but his
own making. Saul failed for two reasons: first he became
jealous of David,
and secondly he consulted a witchdoctor (kitchen cabinet)
instead of
consulting the prophets of God (elected officials). Thirdly he
decided to
offer sacrifices to God on his own instead of submitting himself
to the
appointed Priests (Submitting to the party constitution and to the
democratic vote is more important than emotional sacrifices). "Obedience is
better than sacrifice", and hence King Saul (Morgan) was the author of his
own downfall.
On the other hand David succeeded because of three
things: Firstly he had
the courage to face Goliath head-on, and secondly he
used an original weapon
and armour (new party ideologies). Thirdly, and most
importantly, David knew
who the real enemy was and refused to be drawn into
a fight against King
Saul. It was Saul who pursued and tried to kill David.
Even when a chance to
kill Saul presented itself, David said "I will not
touch the anointed one of
God". This is an attribute we have already seen in
King Arthur. In his
acceptance speech he started by praising Tsvangirai as a
"Zimbabwean hero".
This could have been a wonderful opportunity to join his
colleagues in a mud
slinging match against Tsvangirai, but Mutambara decided
not to "touch the
anointed one of God". He knew who the real enemy was, and
could not be
disrupted into fighting a senior comrade. By doing this he was
already
laying the foundation for success.
I write this
prophetically, and as a man under authority, in the hope that
both Arthur
and Morgan can learn something from it, and therefore liberate
Zimbabwe from
its Goliath. I said in the beginning that Moses led Israel out
of bondage in
Egypt, but it is young Joshua who enjoyed the fruits of the
Promised Land.
Sithole was the founding President of Zanu, but it is Mugabe
who enjoyed the
fruits of the liberation struggle. No founding President of
a party can
become President of our country. I think it is about time, we
gave David a
chance. It is about time we gave Joshua a chance, it is time we
gave Arthur
a chance to take us to the Promised Land.
Tendai Serima is an analyst and
he writes from New Zealand. He can be
contacted on: Wicky.Moffat@chh.co.nz
The Herald
(Harare)
March 10, 2006
Posted to the web March 10,
2006
Harare
VICE PRESIDENT Joice Mujuru has called for stiffer
penalties to be imposed
on people who steal or vandalise equipment belonging
to public utilities,
saying it was disheartening that newly acquired
equipment was going towards
replacing vandalised equipment instead of
expansion work.
She called on ministers responsible for such utilities to
submit proposals
to tame vandalism to her office for consideration by
Government within the
first six months of the year.
The Vice
President made the call yesterday during a handover of electrical
equipment
worth US$10 million (about $1 trillion) acquired from China by the
Zimbabwe
Electricity Supply Authority (Zesa) Holdings in Harare. The
ceremony was
attended by several Government ministers and other senior
officials.
The equipment would be used for the electrification of new
suburbs,
improving the reliability of existing networks and replacing
vandalised
equipment. This is part of a US$184 million ($18 trillion)
facility from a
Chinese company CATIC, for a five-year rehabilitation
programme covering all
urban networks.
"Honourable ministers, it is
within our capacity as Government to pass
sentences that are deterrent to
would-be thieves of equipment from our
public utilities such as Zesa, TelOne
and National Railways of Zimbabwe,
among others. May I, therefore, call upon
all ministers with such public
utilities under them to make the relevant
proposals and submit them for
consideration within the first half of the
year,"said Vice President Mujuru.
"My office keenly awaits your
proposals, and I expect you to respond
positively to this call. I say enough
is enough! We need to help our
utilities rather than just condemn them even
when we could have assisted
them."
The Vice President urged members
of the public to assist in protecting
public infrastructure as if it was
their own property.
The Chinese, who helped Zimbabwe with arms,
ammunition, training and funding
during the liberation struggle, had once
again come the rescue during a time
of need. Zimbabwe, said the Vice
President, embarked on land redistribution
programme to empower the
marginalised black majority, resulting in a war of
economic attrition
between Harare and the West.
The country was currently suffering from the
so-called "targeted economic
sanctions" which had adversely affected
different facets of the economy
including the generation and distribution of
electricity.
"I am told that the refurbishment of the distribution
network of electricity
was originally meant to be financed by the Bretton
Woods institutions but
they abandoned the project in protest against the
land redistribution
programme that the Government had just embarked on. This
left Zesa with no
option but to seek alternative funding," she
said.
She commended the Chinese government, saying the gesture would go a
long way
in complementing efforts by the Government to turn around the
economy as the
current power cuts and load-shedding made it difficult for
industry,
commerce, mining and agriculture, among others, to operate
efficiently.
"Before co-operation with the Chinese started, the
electrification rate in
Zimbabwe stood at 32 percent and I am pleased to
note that by end of 2005,
it had increased to 47 percent, making us one of
the best on the continent
in this regard," she said.
"The 2003
five-year electrification programme of 5 000 projects has been
surpassed
within two years and a new target of 7 000 projects has been set
for the
same period. I wish to thank the government of China for the support
they
have given us."
A CATIC official, Mr Tu Zhengxing, pledged continued
support for Zesa,
particularly with technical expertise.
Speaking at
the same occasion, Minister of Energy and Power Development,
Retired
Lieutenant-General Mike Nyambuya, said the payment for these
facilities was
being supported with help from foreign currency earned from
the export of
tobacco and cotton by Zesa Enterprises.
"PowerTel Communications has also
been able to secure US$2,64 million worth
of telecommunications equipment
without any down-payment and with one-year
grace period, from China. The
equipment will be deployed to enhance the
Zimbabwe Electricity Distribution
Company's operational communication system
requirements in Harare," he
said.
The equipment would also benefit the police force and various
commercial
clients.
March 10, 2006.
By
Tagu Mkwenyani
Harare (AND) A water crisis has hit several suburbs
in Harare
following a breakdown at the city's treatment works.
Among the worst affected areas are leafy suburbs such as Greendale,
Kambanji, Chisipite and Glen Lorne. High-density suburbs have also not been
spared. The sprawling Epworth is also experiencing acute water shortages,
forcing many of its residents to rely on untreated water from
pools.
The Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) has attributed
the
crisis experienced in Harare metropolitan province to a pumping
breakdown at
Morton Jaffray water treatment works. It said this has
seriously affected
water supplies to a number of areas in Harare. "Morton
Jaffray has been
operating at 80 percent of its normal capacity since Friday
3rd March, 2006,
a situation which has seen water levels dropping in most of
Harare's water
storage reservoirs.
"Zinwa regrets the
inconveniences caused to residents. and would like
to assure residents that
everything is being done to address the problem."
Due to critical shortages
of foreign currency parts need to repair the
broken down equipment has to be
sources. Zinwa said; "We are expecting the
pump spares to be delivered from
abroad soon, in the meantime the authority
has introduced a demand
management system in those areas that are accessing
water to enable the
available water to be equitably distributed to all areas
of
Harare"
"The demand management regime will initially entail
throttling water
supply mains to reduce pressure and this will lead to
temporary water supply
cuts, especially to those areas on high ground. We
will monitor the
situation to ensure that water supplies are not cut off for
more that eight
hours in one area per day."
AND
Zimbabwe
Daily Mirror, Zimbabwe
The
Daily Mirror Reporter
issue date :2006-Mar-11
THE City of Harare
experiences an average 100 water pipe bursts and blocked
sewers a day, a
works update released yesterday reveals.
According to the update for the week
ending yesterday, incessant rains that
have been pounding the country have
also worsened sewer blockages as water
has infiltrated the pipes.
"On
average, outstanding water bursts number about 120 a day whilst sewer
chokes
average 80-100 a day. There were numerous complaints of sewer blocks
in most
low-lying areas of Marlborough, Westgate, Budiriro, Highfield,
Dzivaresekwa,
Monavale and Belvedere due to persistent rains which have
infiltrated the
sewer," the update reads in part. In the past week, 337
cases of blocked
sewers were reported with 263 being attended to and 74
still
outstanding.
Some 167 cases of water bursts were also reported with 114
repaired. The
City also said some Northern suburbs that include Highlands,
Glen Lorne and
Greendale had gone without water since Wednesday due to
repair work being
done at Alexandra Park pump station by the Zimbabwe
National Water Authority
(Zinwa).
The City also said bills for February
were done late with statements
currently being posted. That problem would be
solved by the beginning of
April.
"The City is working towards
computerising all revenue collection points
such that ratepayers have all
queries resolved at local levels. The City is
also entering into
partnerships with the private sector for electronic
payment of bills through
telephones, point of sale, ATMs and the cell
phone," further reads the
statement.
Daily Mirror, Zimbabwe
Farirai Machivenyika
issue date
:2006-Mar-11
PARIRENYATWA Hospital in Harare has been badly hit by
non-collection of
corpses that has resulted in the mortuary carrying more
than twice its
carrying capacity. The country's main referral centre's
chief executive
Thomas Zigora, said some bodies had gone for months in the
mortuary, and
with immediate effect bodies that will not be collected after
three days
would be sent to funeral parlours.
"Currently our mortuary has
a capacity to hold 54 bodies. Of late the
mortuary has had as many as 130
bodies. The hospital's equipment is old and
cannot cope with these numbers.
The heavy load places a strain on the
compressors and causes them to wear
much faster," he said.
Zigora said the congestion had resulted in bad smell
in the hospital's
corridors.
"This has led to bad odours permeating the
hospital corridors nearest to the
mortuary. It is taking up to a month in
some cases for relatives to collect
bodies of their relatives for burial,"
he said.
"In order to ensure that we always have space for patients dying in
the
hospital, it has been resolved that with immediate effect, bodies not
collected after three days will be sent to funeral parlours where relatives
would be expected to collect these bodies at their own expense," he
added.
From hence, Zigora said, the mortuary would only be reserved for
patients
who die at the institution.
"Public support on this social
problem will assist us to manage and utilise
the limited available space
effectively. Plans to build a new mortuary have
had to be put on hold
because no budgetary allocation has been made for this
purpose," said
Zigora.
Most mortuaries at the country's major hospitals have become obsolete
due to
lack of resources to service them and overloading worsened by high
deaths
rate blamed on HIV and Aids and high cost of burials.
The deputy
minister of Health and Child Welfare recently acknowledged the
problem in an
interview with this newspaper adding the government had plans
to construct
new mortuaries at district and provincial hospitals.