http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Sunday, 11 March 2012 11:00
BY PATRICE
MAKOVA
THE MDC-T says it will go it alone if Zanu PF decides to pull
out of the
coalition government in the hope of forcing early elections
before the
implementation of reforms as required under the Global Political
Agreement
(GPA).
But Zanu PF, which has on several
occasions threatened to pull out of the
government of national unity (GNU)
and call for early polls under the old
constitution, said the former
opposition party had no capacity to rule the
country.
MDC-T
secretary-general Tendai Biti said even if Zanu PF carried out threats
to
pull out of the GNU to force early elections, the two MDC factions would
continue going to cabinet and make policy decisions.
He said Zanu
PF could indeed pull out of the GNU, but Constitution Amendment
number 19
which created the GPA and the unity government would remain in
force.
“Mugabe has to go back to Parliament to change Amendment
19 which now
supersedes all the other sections of the constitution,” he
said.
“Mugabe can no longer call for elections or dissolve Parliament without
the
consent of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.”
Biti, who is
also the Minister of Finance did not explain how his party
would rule
without consent of the army and police, as service chiefs have
said they
will not salute Tsvangirai because he does not have liberation
credentials.
Zanu PF spokesperson Rugare Gumbo said MDC-T had no
capacity to rule on its
own or stop Mugabe from calling for elections
anytime he wanted.
“They (MDC-T) are jokers who are fooling themselves,” he
said. “They are
powerless. They are walking around like naked people. As far
as Zanu PF is
concerned there is no going back on holding elections this
year.”
MDC-T last week reiterated minimum conditions that the party
says should
prevail for a free and fair poll at the launch of its election
roadmap
document dubbed Conditions for a sustainable election in
Zimbabwe.
Officially launching the document, Tsvangirai said he was
aware of the Zanu
PF plot to frustrate and destroy his party to force it out
of the
transitional arrangement.
He accused Zanu PF of stalling
the elections as most of the outstanding 24
reforms reside in their
ministries. Tsvangirai said his party would brave on
and ensure that the
country holds free and fair polls, only after the
implementation of agreed
conditions such as a new constitution, political,
electoral, media and other
key reforms necessary to “vaccinate the next
election against the virus of
2008”.
He said instead of the security sector realigning itself to
the dictates of
the new inclusive dispensation, a few securocrats were
boasting that anyone
other than Mugabe would not rule, even if they won an
election.
“A circus or a bloodbath masquerading as an election would
be a mockery and
an insult to South Africa, Sadc and African Union who have
all been
painstakingly working for the past four years to ensure that we
hold a
credible poll and set the foundation for a prosperous Zimbabwe,” said
Tsvangirai.
He said MDC-T was not afraid of an election but would not
participate in a
“war” and be “stampeded” into a sham election that was not
predicated on the
necessary reforms.
Pulling out of GNU is
not quitting Govt: Madhuku
Constitutional law lecturer, Professor
Lovemore Madhuku said if Zanu PF
decides to pull out of the GNU, this would
not necessarily imply the party
would be quitting government.
“If
they decide to pull out of the GNU, this will mean that Mugabe is
effectively firing the MDC from government,” said Madhuku.
“He is the one
who took the oath of office as President of Zimbabwe and can
therefore fire
Tsvangirai as Prime Minister and the entire government for
that matter,” he
said.
Madhuku said once the inclusive government collapsed, some
aspects of
Amendment 19 would automatically fall away as the inter-party
agreement
would no longer be in place, leaving Mugabe to call for snap
elections on
his own.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Sunday, 11 March 2012 10:49
BY
PATRICE MAKOVA
THE US$600 million Chisumbanje ethanol project is
threatened with collapse
as Zanu PF chefs, including Cabinet ministers,
demand free shares in the
lucrative venture under the guise of
indigenisation.
Sources close to the project told The Standard last
week that powerful
people who include MPs, Cabinet ministers and other top
government officials
(names supplied) were demanding free shares for
themselves so as to
facilitate the smooth flow of the
project.
“The sharks have realised the potential of the project and
their mouths are
wide open, ready to pounce,” said one of the sources. The
ethanol project is
a partnership between the Agricultural and Rural
Development Authority
(Arda) and Billy Rautenbach’s Green Fuels, Rating and
Macdom Investments in
a 20-year Build-Operate-and-Transfer (BOT) arrangement
signed in 2009.
The source said some politicians were claiming
Rautenbach, who was born in
Zimbabwe and is linked to Zanu PF, was not
indigenous, hence he has to cede
51% shareholding to them in accordance with
the indigenisation and economic
empowerment act. “He is Zimbabwean, but of
the wrong colour,” said the
source.
Youth, Indigenisation and
Economic Empowerment minister Saviour Kasukuwere
yesterday professed
ignorance that there were sharks waiting to grab free
shares in the
project.
He however, added that a ministerial committee had been set
up to look at
the issue of the indigenisation of the multi-million
project.
“Discussions are still taking place but I am not yet aware of people
interested in the project,” he said.
State Enterprises and Restructuring
Agency executive director, Edgar Nyoni,
recently told a Parliamentary
Portfolio Committee on State Enterprises and
Parastatals that the government
was considering transforming the deal from a
BOT into a joint venture
project.
Company officials fear over 5 000 jobs are under threat after
production
stopped almost two months ago after the plant reached its 10
million litres
storing capacity.
Last week, 20-worker representatives
travelled to Harare, where they sought
audience with Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai, Energy and Power Development
minister Elton Mangoma and
Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation
Development minister, Joseph Made,
who is chairing a ministerial committee
on Chisumbanje.
The workers fear
the project could collapse like the still-born Reserve Bank
of Zimbabwe
bio-diesel project in Mount Hampden or Kondozi farm which
crumbled after
government ejected its white owners.
Officials on the other hand, are worried
that the parent ministry has not
shown visible support for the project
despite its magnitude.
Although Tsvangirai has visited Chisumbanje, minister
Mangoma has reportedly
not set foot at the ethanol project which is one of
the biggest investments
in the country since 1980.
Mangoma could not be
reached for comment as his mobile phone was not
available since
Friday.
But it has since emerged that a council of ministers will tomorrow
discuss
the contentious issue of the introduction of mandatory fuel blending
in
Zimbabwe. The issue will also go before full Cabinet on Tuesday, sources
said.
“It is only after the cabinet meeting on Tuesday that we will know
our fate.
We are prepared to make presentations and argue our case before
cabinet,”
said another source.
Most of the over 400 fuel service stations
in the country have not yet
embraced ethanol blending, dubbed E10. Some of
them have no capacity to hold
three product lines, while others are
reluctant to introduce the product
because they were smuggling or
clandestinely importing fuel already blended,
revealed an oil industry
insider.
The insider also blamed poor marketing for the current low
acceptance of E10
which is now a hit in countries such as Brazil and Europe.
South Africa is
proposing the mandatory blending of bio-fuels with petrol
and diesel which
is expected to boost sorghum output sixfold.
Rautenbach
and Green Fuels spokesperson, Lillian Muungani, could not be
reached for
comment.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Sunday, 11 March 2012 11:27
BY OUR
STAFF
BULAWAYO — Traditional chiefs must be replaced by qualified officials
that
administer customary law in chiefs’ areas of jurisdictions because they
are
abusing their offices by openly supporting Zanu PF, civic organisations
and
MDC-T have said.
The suggestion came after last week’s
chiefs’ annual conference in Bulawayo
where the traditional leaders were
falling over each other in declaring
their support for President Robert
Mugabe and Zanu-PF.
Some of the chiefs declared Mugabe as a “King who
will die in office.” MDC-T
deputy organising secretary, Abednico Bhebhe,
said the position of chief
should be abolished because the occupants were
abusing their offices.
He said there were many ways of administering
the customary law than having
“Zanu-PF extensions” masquerading as
traditional leaders.
“As far as we are concerned, they are not supposed to be
aligned to any
political power; they should not use the office to support
politics because
that post is apolitical. It shows a sign of naivety,” said
Bhebhe.
“What needs to happen is to just abolish the system as a
whole and replace
it with other systems of administering the customary law.”
He added: “People
can be trained to administer the customary law in line
with modern trends.”
This is not the first time that MDC-T has called
for the abolition of the
chief’s position. Deputy Minister of Local
Government, Urban and Rural
Development, Sesel Zvidzai, late last year
torched off a storm when he said
traditional chiefs’ posts should be
abolished as Zanu PF was now using them
to gain political
mileage.
Matabeleland Constitutional Reform Agenda (Macra) director,
Effie Ncube,
shared the same sentiments. “There is no way we can continue
having chiefs
as their behaviour is inconsistent with modern norms of
democracy based on
political diversity,” said Ncube.
“They are
not consistent with the modern norms and values of democracy that
are
enshrined in the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights. We should
abolish entirely traditional leaders. We don’t need chiefs that are an
extension of Zanu-PF.”
Ncube said they must be replaced by
trained officials to administer the
customary law. Traditional leaders hold
largely ceremonial powers but wield
immense influence in rural areas where
Zanu PF draws most of its support.
Chiefs won’t stop supporting
Zanu Pf: Charumbira
President of the Chiefs’ Council, Fortune
Charumbira, declared that chiefs
would continue supporting Zanu PF and
Mugabe because he has always stood
beside them.
“Mugabe has
supported us always,” said Charumbira. “At 88 years, we say we
need him, we
need this man, we will walk with him forever and ever.”
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Sunday, 11 March 2012
11:09
BY EDGAR GWESHE
ZANU PF politburo member Tendai Savanhu, accused
of sponsoring a group of
his party’s youths to stall the construction of a
service station and food
court in Mbare, is seeking police protection
claiming he received threats of
violence over the issue.
Savanhu
has denied sponsoring the Chipangano youth militia who have been
trying to
block the construction of the US$1,2 million service station and
food court
by Harare businessman Alex Mashamhanda in Mbare.
The Zanu PF
politburo member recently made a report at Matapi Police station
in Mbare
claiming to have received an anonymous call threatening him on
February
9.
In his report, Savanhu alleged that the anonymous caller, whom he
suspected
to be Mashamhanda, asked him if he was going to die in Zanu PF. He
also
alleged that the anonymous caller cut off his phone when he asked to
know
who he was.
Savanhu said the caller phoned again after about
five minutes asking the
same question but the voice matched that of
Mashamhanda. He claimed that he
now feared for his life following the
threats.
Zanu PF youth militia vowed to block the project claiming
Mashamhanda, who
owns Mashwede Diesel Services (Pvt) Ltd, was an MDC-T
supporter and
therefore construction of the service station would be of no
benefit to
them.
Mashamhanda dismisses
accusation
Mashamhanda last week dismissed Savanhu’s claims as
utter rubbish. He said
he did not even have Savanhu’s mobile phone number.
“I was informed by one
Chief Superintendent Mahachi about the issue on the
10th of February. I did
not make a statement, but it’s clearly a strategy
meant to harass victims of
his machinations,” said
Mashamhanda.
“It seems he is frustrated because I did not capitulate
in my quest to
pursue my business venture hence this false report.” High
Court Judge Samuel
Kudya last month issued a provisional order against
Savanhu, Zanu PF Harare
provincial youth chairman, Jim Kunaka and Alfonso
Gobvu, a member of the
youth wing, restraining them from interfering with
operations at Mashamhanda’s
project.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Sunday, 11 March 2012 11:45
BY CAIPHAS
CHIMHETE
TRAFFIC police officers have become more aggressive in issuing out
tickets
to motorists because they have to meet targets set by their
superiors,
sources in the police force have said.
The sources noted
this has resulted in the proliferation of roadblocks, some
just a few
kilometres apart, as officers raced to meet the targets which are
raking in
millions of dollars a month for the force.
They said the issuance of
spot fines has become a lucrative fund-raising
project for the police force.
“This is the money that the police use for the
day-to-day operations of the
force,” said one source. “If it were not for
such projects, the police force
would have been virtually grounded a long
time ago.”
Several
police officers interviewed last week confirmed that stations were
sometimes
given targets, with the amounts depending on the size and location
of the
station.
Some stations in urban areas are given targets of up to US$1 500 per
day
while those at busy growth points are supposed to generate between
US$300 to
US$500.
“For example, Gutu has a target of US$300 per
day while a station is Harare
can have a target of up to US$1 500 per day,”
said one of the sources.
Another officer said the targets were not given on
daily basis but specific
days when police wanted to raise money for certain
projects.
Some police stations dispatch two or three teams to erect
roadblocks in the
same vicinity in a bid to meet the targets, they said.
“This is why you see
a lot of roadblocks these days,” said another source.
“But it is
inconveniencing to motorists, especially those rushing to work in
the
morning. While we will be making money, the country will be losing
precious
production time.”
Each morning motorists from
Chitungwiza to Harare, towns which are only 25
kilometres apart, encounter
at least four to five roadblocks, where they are
made to pay spot fines.
This mostly affects commuter omnibus operators.
The situation is the
same along the country’s highways. The operators are
forced to bribe
officers with money ranging from US$5 to US$10 per roadblock
and then be
able to spend the whole day without being stopped regardless of
the
condition of their vehicle.
Most common traffic offences and fines
are for not presenting an operator’s
licence (US$20), failure to display
certificate of fitness (US$10), no
certificate of fitness (US$15), failure
to affix route authority (US$5),
carry excess passenger (US$5 per head),
touting (US$10), among others.
Police spokesperson Senior Assistant
Police Commissioner, Wayne Bvudzijena,
confirmed officers were given targets
but this was not confined to the
traffic section alone. He said targets were
also given to those in Criminal
Investigations Department (CID), Anti-Stock
Theft Unit and other sections.
“The concept is not new. This is done
for service planning purposes,” said
Bvudzijena. “This is done so that we
manage the commission of crime and
measure officers’ performance on targets
that we would have established.”
Asked if this would not force
officers to just dish out tickets as well as
promote corruption, Bvudzijena
said police officers were supposed to be
disciplined and be people of
integrity.
“We urge members of the public to report corrupt officers
because we do not
condone crime,” he said. “We have dealt with some corrupt
officers through
criminal prosecution and internal disciplinary
process.”
Efforts to get a comment from Home Affairs co-minister
Kembo Mohadi, who was
tasked by Cabinet to investigate the matter with the
aim to reduce the
number of roadblocks, were fruitless last
week.
Not all the money from traffic offences is flowing into the
police fund, as
corrupt officers are taking the opportunity to line their
pockets to
supplement their poor salaries.
Officers from other
departments are now jealous of those in the traffic
section, who now drive
the Japanese cars, wear smart uniforms and can afford
a decent lunch
daily.
Police using agents to collect bribeS from commuter
operators
Investigations by The Standard have established that
some traffic officers
are now using “agents” to collect bribe money from
operators for fear of
being arrested after the force embarked on a project
to weed out bad apples.
The rank marshals are told to collect the
monies from each commuter omnibus
operators which would then be forwarded to
the officers through a trusted
source.
This practice is common in the
city terminuses, where officers virtually
camp at ranks to “protect”
operators without enough papers from other
officers or municipal
police.
“We can’t trap them because if you do that, we will only get
one officer but
our vehicles will not move again on the road because they
will gang up
against us,” said one rank marshal at Warren Park
terminus.
“So we find it better to give them the money and be able to
work the whole
day.”
Roadblocks accused of worsening
corruption
So rampant is corruption and with the proliferation of
roadblocks, that the
matter has since been raised in Parliament and Cabinet.
Deputy Prime
Minister, Arthur Mutambara, condemned the increase of
roadblocks saying it
bred corruption within the force.
There have
been several protests by public transporters about the roadblocks
and the
resultant corruption by traffic police officers. But this has come
to
naught as Police Commissioner-General, Augustine Chihuri, has declared
that
roadblocks would not be reduced.
Police have said they will also
continue retaining the money collected from
spot fines because the law
permits them to do so.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Sunday, 11 March 2012
11:58
BY PATRICE MAKOVA
THE principal drafters of the new constitution
continue to be vilified by
Zanu PF officials who accuse them of “subverting
the will of the people,”
but it has emerged that all of them may have been
nominated by the party
which now criticises them.
Zanu PF hawks
are calling for the sacking of the three drafters, accusing
them of
“sneaking” clauses which, among many other things, seek to bar
President
Robert Mugabe from contesting elections.
But the other two coalition
partners argue the work of the drafters was
above board and highly
professional, dismissing the vitriol against them as
attempts to intimidate
and influence them.
MDC-T Copac co-chairman, Douglas Mwonzora said it
was surprising that Zanu
PF was publicly attacking the drafters, yet it was
the same party which
proposed the three; Justice Moses Chinhengo, Priscilla
Madzonga and Brian
Crozier.
“The drafters have exhibited high
levels of professionalism,” Mwonzora said.
“Maybe Zanu PF thought that since
it had proposed them, then automatically
they should be
partisan.”
He added that MDC-T accepted them because they were
lawyers of integrity and
with vast experience in drafting legislation
including the rejected 2000
draft constitution.
But Zanu PF’s
Copac co-chairperson, Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana said all the
three coalition
parties made an input in the selection of the drafters. “The
names were
proposed by all three parties,” he said. “I am however not going
to discuss
their work, mandate and my association with them because this is
confidential principal (employer) and agent (worker) relationship,” he
said.
Edward Mkhosi, who is the Copac co-chairperson from the
Welshman Ncube-led
MDC formation, said the Copac management committee had
the final say in the
appointment of the drafters following the usual Global
Political Agreement
negotiation processes.
“The drafters are
currently not working, but they will soon be recalled to
complete the
process they started,” he said. “Copac has faith in them and no
new drafters
will be appointed.”
Zanu PF spin doctors including Politburo member
Jonathan Moyo and Goodson
Nguni have called for the appointment of new
drafters, accusing the current
ones of “drifting” from their mandate and
failing to stick to the national
report.
But Mwonzora said such
criticism was premised on false information.
“Criticism is emanating from
their (Zanu PF) political analysts, most of
whom are not legally qualified,”
he said. “They have been unable to legally
interpret key provisions of the
constitution such as appreciating that a
constitution does not operate in
reverse.”
The Standard tried to speak to Crozier about the current
drafting process
and his experience, but he referred questions to Copac. “As
a lawyer I am
not allowed to talk about my work or reveal certain client
information,” he
said.
Other drafters could not be reached for
comment. However, documents from
Copac show that the three drafters have a
wealth of experience and expertise
in
constitution-making.
The Drafters’
profiles
Justice Moses Chinhengo holds qualifications in
legislative drafting and is
a renowned constitutional expert. He is
currently a High Court judge in
Botswana, and has worked in the same
capacity in Zimbabwe. Chinhengo was
admitted to the bar in 1985 and has
worked as a chief law officer in the
Legislative Drafting Department in the
Ministry of Justice. He has also
worked as an
attorney.
Priscilla Madzonga has worked in the Attorney General’s
Office as chief
legal draftsman in the department responsible for drafting
of all
legislation for Zimbabwe. She was responsible for the training of
new
draftsmen and also provided legal advice to government departments.
Madzonga has also worked as a law officer and is a member of the
Commonwealth Association of Legislative Drafters. She is currently a lawyer
in private practice and has over 20 years experience.
Brian
Crozier is a University of Zimbabwe law lecturer and private legal
consultant. He is a renowned constitutional lawyer and seasoned legislative
drafter and trainer and has served as a director of legal drafting in
government.
Crozier also worked in the Attorney General’s Office
where he gave advice to
government departments. He has also worked as a
prosecutor and attorney of
the High Court.
The bone of
contention
A clause in the draft states that a person is
disqualified for election as
President if he or she has already held office
for one or more periods,
whether continuous or not, amounting to 10 years.
This means that
88-year-old Mugabe would automatically be ineligible.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Sunday, 11 March 2012 11:24
BY CLAYTON
MASEKESA
MUTARE mayor, Brian James, believes his suspension from council was
a
well-orchestrated move by councillors and senior managers to block the
auditing of council finances.
James said he will provide full
details and documentation of underhand
dealings of some councillors and
senior managers once a team set up to
investigate him completed its
work.
James told The Standard that a full council meeting last year
resolved to
hire professional external auditors to look into land sales and
the council’s
finances after reports of massive looting by councillors and
senior
managers.
But attempts to have the books audited were
resisted by some of the managers
and councillors who claimed that the local
authority had no money.
“There were delaying tactics throughout,” said
James.
“All I wanted was to find out possible and suspected illegal
land sales and
who benefited from the illegal transactions.” Although they
claimed council
was broke, the local authority has reportedly been buying
expensive vehicles
for some senior managers.
“What surprises me
is that the finance department said it had no money to
hire external
auditors but it set aside US$150 000 for its top managers to
buy top-of-the
range cars for them,” he said.
Sources said the council recently
awarded US$80 000 to a senior manager to
buy a top-of-the-range vehicle
while the local authority was failing to
audit its books.
The
books have not been audited since dollarisation in 2009. But the
chairperson
of the finance committee, Tatenda Nha-marare, denied the
allegations.“There
is nothing like that,” said Nhamarare.
“This is news to us. We are
going to sit as a full council meeting and
discuss that matter. The issue of
buying the town clerk a vehicle first
comes through council deliberations.
It is up to the council to resolve,”
said Nhamarare.
Residents
have twice demonstrated against the councillors, whom they accuse
of having
engineered James’ suspension to block his bid to have council
finances
audited.
Meanwhile, a five-member investigation committee appointed
by Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai to probe the councillors who are
suspected to have
orchestrated the suspension of James is expected to submit
its findings this
week.
The MDC-T set up an enquiry team last
month, led by its Manicaland
provincial vice-chairperson and Mutare West MDC
legislator, Shuah Mudiwa,
senior party members, Willas Madzimure, James
Makore, Evelyn Masaiti and
Mutare-based lawyer, David
Tandire.
Mudiwa last week said the team was still investigating. “Yes
the
investigations are still ongoing,” said Mudiwa. “At this point I cannot
pre-empt anything. We are hopeful that by next week we would have finished
our inquiries. We will forward our findings to our provincial spokesperson
who will make the announcements.”
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Sunday, 11 March 2012 11:18
BY
OUR STAFF
MDC-T director general Toendepi Shonhe has threatened a US$105 000
lawsuit
against a Harare man for making allegations that he wanted to kill
him.
Shonhe was arrested last month on allegations of plotting to kill Smart
Messah, a former MDC-T activist.
Allegations were that Shonhe had
hired one Moffat Allison to kill Messah and
a number of influential people
in MDC-T. In a letter to Messah, Shonhe’s
lawyer Harrison Nkomo of Mtetwa
and Nyambirai law firm said “the allegations
soiled the good image of our
client who is a senior employee of the Movement
for Democratic
Change”.
According to the letter, Messah has to apologise in writing
to Shonhe and
withdraw “the obvious false charges that you reported to the
police”. “If
you fail to implement the conditions…we advise that we are
under strict
instructions to issue summons for defamation against you and
Moffat Allison
jointly and severally, the one paying the other to be
absolved,” the lawyer
wrote in a March 9 2012 dated letter.
Nkomo
said Messah had connived with Allison to “manufacture unfounded, false
and
malicious allegations” against Shonhe that he wanted to kill a number of
top
MDC-T officials.
The lawyer said the malicious allegations were that
Messah was among the
people to be murdered “notwithstanding the fact that
you are not a member of
the party”.
According to the lawyer, the
conduct amounts to defamation in that the
allegations are false and that it
soiled the good image of Shonhe.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Sunday, 11 March 2012 11:13
BY SOFIA
MAPURANGA
LABOUR and Social Services minister Paurina Mpariwa has said
Masvingo
provincial governor, Titus Maluleke, has no powers to ban
non-governmental
organisations (NGOs) operating in his province describing
his move as
“reckless” and a political blunder for Zanu
PF.
Maluleke recently banned 29 local and international NGOs
operating in
Masvingo citing failure to register with his office. In an
interview with
The Standard last week Mpariwa said her ministry was the only
authority
mandated with registering or deregistering NGOs in the
country.
She said NGOs must continue their operations countrywide.
“His statement was
reckless and a political blunder for his party,” said
Mpariwa. “People are
dying due to lack of adequate food and his statement is
uncalled for.
“My ministry has the mandate to administer the
operations of NGOs and I know
who is operating where, why they are there and
what they are doing in those
areas.”
Mpariwa said since 2009, her
ministry has never issued out a warning
statement to NGOs because government
desperately needs assistance. She said
it was unfortunate that Maluleke’s
statement came at a time when there was a
food crisis not only in Masvingo
but in Manicaland, Matabeleland North and
South where crops are a total
write-off.
“We are relying on assistance from private voluntary
organisations for
sinking boreholes in communities and schools where water
is scarce,” said
Mpariwa. “There are people on medication who need a good
nutrition and there
are children in need of financial assistance for
education and my ministry
is overwhelmed by their
plight.”
Mpariwa said donations from NGOs have significantly improved
people’s
livelihoods in the country. Recent reports indicate that an
unspecified
number of NGOs were withdrawing their assistance and presence
from the
drought stricken Masvingo province at a time when the communities
are in
dire need of food aid.
The government is facing serious
financial constraints and cannot cater for
the needs of the populace in
various areas such as health, food security,
water and sanitation among
others.
It is estimated that more than 1,4 million people are
receiving food aid
from charitable organisations countrywide.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Sunday, 11 March 2012 11:11
PRIME Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai yesterday denied ever saying that President
Robert Mugabe
was a God-given leader. Addressing thousands of people at
Mucheke stadium in
Masvingo during a peace and prayer meeting yesterday,
Tsvangirai said
journalists were wrong in reporting that he had said Mugabe
had been chosen
by God to lead Zimbabwe.
He said the way some journalists reported
fanned violence in Zimbabwe. “Some
newspapers quoted me saying that Mugabe
is God-given but I never said that.
I only said that people should pray for
their leaders so that we have
wisdom,” said Tsvangirai, who was reported to
have made the remarks at a
prayer meeting in Chitungwiza held on February
11.
Tsvangirai also addressed the issue of starvation that is
stalking thousands
of people in Masvingo province. He noted it was the
government’s role to
ensure that people did not starve.
“No one
should die of hunger. We should ensure peace and there can never be
peace
when there is no food,” said Tsvangirai. His remarks come amid reports
that
most villagers are facing massive food shortages as a result of erratic
rains which saw most crops wilting last month.
Their predicament
has been worsened by a ban on 29 non-governmental
organisations (NGOs)
imposed by Masvingo provincial governor Titus Maluleke.
Maluleke banned the
organisations from operating in the province saying they
had failed to
register with his office.
It is estimated that more than 1,4 million
people are receiving food aid
from charitable organisations countrywide.
Masvingo, Manicaland,
Matabeleland South and North are the most affected
provinces.
— By Tatenda Chitagu
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Sunday, 11 March 2012 11:55
BY SILAS
NKALA
BINGA — A man who had just been released from prison allegedly broke
into a
prison warden’s residence and stole groceries worth US$50 and P200 in
cash.
Jim Jeke, who appeared before Binga magistrate Stephen Ndlovu last
week, is
facing a charge of stealing from the prison warden.
He
pleaded not guilty to the theft charge and was remanded to March 20 for
trial. The court heard that on November 23 2009, Jeke who was serving a jail
term for another theft was released from prison after completing his
term.
He met the complainant, Ester Mu-samirepamwe, a prison warden
at the prison
where he was serving. Musamirepamwe was coming from Bulawayo
carrying her
groceries when Jeke told her he had been
released.
It is the state’s case that since Jeke had knowledge of the
warden’s
movements and residence, he managed to establish that Musamirepamwe
was on
night duty. At night, Jeke allegedly went to her residence and stole
groceries worth US$50 and P200 cash.
Musamirepamwe discovered the
theft when she came back from work in the
morning and made a report to the
police. Jeke had been on the run since that
day until he was arrested last
month.
Bruce Maphosa prosecuted.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Sunday, 11 March 2012 11:51
BY
JENNIFER DUBE
AT least seven companies have so far applied to run radio and
television
stations in the country, as the race to occupy the restricted
broadcasting
media space continues.
Submissions for applications closed
on February 29 2012, but applicants are
expected to continue flighting
adverts until Wednesday.
Two companies — Carryslot Investments (Pvt)
Ltd and Vox Media Productions —
have applied for the free-to-air commercial
radio licence to cover Harare
while the Seventh Day Adventist Church and
Masego Multimedia (Pvt) Ltd want
the same licence for
Bulawayo.
Three other companies have so far advertised for television
licences. These
are Red Tomato Promotions (Pvt) Ltd, Wemico Investments
(Pvt) Ltd and Dr
Dish’s My Zimbabwe TV.
Red Tomato is led by
former ZTV reporter, John Arufandika. Broadcasting
Authority of Zimbabwe
(BAZ) Chairman, Tafataona Mahoso, refused to comment
on the application
process saying his organisation was only accountable to
the
applicants.
BAZ in November called for applications for 14 commercial
radio licences for
urban areas and a content distribution service licence.
The 14 local radio
licences would be in addition to the two national
commercial broadcasting
licences that attracted controversy when they were
granted to ZiFM,
controlled by broadcaster-cum-businessman, Supa
Mandiwanzira’s AB
Communications and Zimpapers’ Talk
Radio.
Misa-Zimbabwe national director, Nhlanhla Ngwenya, said the
adverts were not
giving sufficient information for the public to make
informed objections.
Other media analysts complained about the non refundable
application fee of
US$2 500 saying it is too exorbitant.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Sunday, 11 March 2012 10:22
BY KUDZAI
CHIMHANGWA
THE Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) and the Bankers Association of
Zimbabwe
(BAZ) are working on improving the country’s productive sector
capacity by
stimulating investment inflows leveraging on the real estate
sector as
collateral. The arrangement entails private enterprise mobilising
funds and
resources against the value of existing structures. They will also
engage
the government to act as a guarantor to mortgage transactions that
are
financed by foreign investors.
CFU president, Charles Taffs,
said that should the arrangement be taken up
at policy level, then this
would ultimately lead to less dependence by the
country’s productive sectors
on the state.
“We want to mobilise funding for the productive base,
this effectively
reduces high dependence on imports as is currently the case
and also
increases the tax base translating into more revenue inflows for
the
fiscus,” said Taffs.
“Under this arrangement, the Ministry
of Finance would need to ring fence
investment into the mortgage market,
thereby providing a guarantee for the
ability to remit while payments will
not change for the duration of the
loan.”
Before the inception of
the inclusive government in 2009, Zimbabwe endured a
protracted period of
economic decline, characterised by world record
hyperinflation, a massive
flight of foreign capital and reduced foreign
direct investment
inflows.
Perceived country risk and outstanding arrears to
multilateral financiers,
among other issues, only served to accentuate the
country’s isolation from
the international community.
However,
the economic stability brought about by the inclusive government
left
investors with real estate as the only asset class salvaged as savings
in
banks were eroded overnight with the adoption of the multicurrency
regime.
The international community presently has a voracious
appetite for new and
emerging markets, he said.
BAZ president,
John Mushayavanhu, said the arrangement would entail the
creation of a
cluster that would pool together real estate assets, which
would
consequently be used as collateral to secure five to 10-year financing
from
international investors.
“It would be a consortium in collaboration
with local banks; banks which
have customers who are borrowing on the basis
of providing security in the
form of real estate,” said
Mushayavanhu.
“This will also lead towards a reduction in the cost of
borrowing. We
shouldn’t have problems with this type of
arrangement.”
He added that the country risk needed to be
underwritten.
Zim experiencing more cash
outflow:Taffs
Zimbabwe is presently experiencing a huge liquidity crisis
as the
export/import ratios are out of control while the export bill remains
high.
“Consequently a lot more cash is going out (of the country)
than that coming
in,” said Taffs.
“When the finance ministry
provides this guarantee, the CFU then goes into
the international market to
search for wholesale money, bring it back to the
country and lend it against
the value of existing assets.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Sunday, 11 March 2012
09:56
BY NDAMU SANDU
CIVIL society organisations have demanded
transparency in the allocation of
mining rights and identification of
investors to mine on the Marange diamond
fields amid claims some of the
shareholders are little known companies.
Four companies — Mbada, Marange
Resources, Anjin and Diamond Mining
Corporation (DMC) — are mining in the
resource-rich Marange diamond fields.
Farai Maguwu, director of
Centre for Research and Development, a think-tank
based in Mutare, told
Standardbusiness on Thursday there was need for a
prudent process in
identifying investors for Marange looking at both its
technological and
financial muscles.
“It’s one thing that needs to be very clear as to
who owns these companies,
the shareholding structures, it has to be more
transparent because some of
these companies that are said to be shareholders
are little known,” Maguwu
said.
“There is need for greater
transparency in terms of disclosure of
information.”
In his
update to journalists on Friday, Shamiso Mtisi from the Zimbabwe
Environmental Law Association said there should be transparency in the
allocation of mining rights not only in Marange but across the whole mining
sector in Zimbabwe.
National Association of Non-Governmental
Organisation chief executive
officer, Cephas Zinhumwe said his team was
unhappy with the set up at DMC
where locals are absent in critical areas of
the mining operations.
“From the beginning of the production chain to
the end, there were the Arabs
and the Lebanese. These dictate everything.
Our concern is that we do not
know the level of transparency and even the
end product,” Zinhumwe said.
“To what extent is the Zimbabwe Mining
Development Corporation (ZMDC) going
to say this is the quantity of diamonds
that has come from the partnership
with DMC?”
He said when his team
pointed out the problem, it was told that ZMDC was yet
to appoint its people
in management.
This, Zinhumwe said, shows negligence and a deliberate
attempt to hoodwink
the people of Zimbabwe in terms of what revenue must
come out of
partnerships in DMC.
“How do we know what they (DMC) are
doing is within the laws of the
country?”
The call for
transparency by civil society organisations comes weeks after
an
international pressure group, Global Witness, raised similar concerns and
analysts contend this is the missing link in the exploitation of the Marange
diamonds.
In a report, Diamonds: A good deal for Zimbabwe? Global
Witness said
Zimbabweans have the right to know how the diamonds are being
exploited.
“The country’s citizens have a right to know how these
revenues are managed.
There is a real risk of these revenues being used to
finance violence during
future elections,” the group
said.
Marange diamonds have been dogged by controversy ever since
government moved
in to drive off illegal panners in a manner civil society
say was heavy
handed. There have been allegations by civil society of human
rights
violations, a charge dismissed by the government.
Revenue
from Marange diamonds is billed to inject new life into the economy
in the
absence of lines of credit from bilateral and multilateral financial
institutions.
Last year, the fiscus received US$122 million in
diamond receipts. This
year, diamond revenue will contribute US$600 million
to the total budget,
according to estimates from
treasury.
‘Diamond marketing needs all
stakeholders’
Maguwu said the marketing of diamonds should involve all
stakeholders to
ensure that the country maximises in its revenue collection
from diamonds.
He said all the contracts signed between government and
mining houses should
be made public.
“It must be made mandatory
that all diamond companies declare their
contracts, which will allow the
civil society to check whether they are
fulfilling their side of the
bargain,” Maguwu said.
Maguwu was part of the Kimberly Process Civil
Society Coalition
representatives that visited Marange diamond fields last
week on a
familiarisation tour.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 03 March 2012
19:03
BY NDAMU SANDU
GOVERNMENT edged closer to introducing mandatory
fuel blending last week
after a crucial meeting endorsed the plan in a move
that could rescue the
US$600 million ethanol project in
Chisumbanje.
There has been a slow uptake of ethanol from Chisumbanje
as fuel players are
reluctant to blend the fuel saying it is an extra cost
to them since they
are supposed to have additional handling
facilities.
As a result, production stopped after the plant
reached its 10 million
litres storing capacity in December last
year.
The ethanol project is a partnership between the Agricultural
and Rural
Development Authority (Arda) and Billy Rautenbach’s Rating and
Macdom
Investments in a 20-year Build-Operate-and- Transfer arrangement to
transform estates at Chisumbanje and Middle
Sabi.
Standardbusiness heard on Friday the plan now awaited the
assent of the 11
ministers that form an inter-ministerial
committee.
A piece of legislation via a statutory instrument would be
in place to
ensure the plan takes -off smoothly, sources said on
Friday.
Cabinet has been seized with the matter since last year and
requested Joseph
Made, the minister of Agriculture Mechanisation and
Irrigation Development,
to present a detailed report to cabinet on the
ethanol project.
Cabinet then resolved the setting up of an
inter-ministerial committee
chaired by Made to coordinate the implementation
of the project.
This paper was reliably told there was no way the
industry could take up all
the ethanol as it could only use 10% meaning that
the remainder has to be
taken up elsewhere.
However, financiers
have rolled out an ambitious plan that will see 11 000
hectares under cane
this year in Chisumbanje and Middle Sabi up from 7 000ha
in
2011.
It will rise to 16 000 next year.
At the same time 5
000 ha will be put under cane in Nuanetsi next year. This
year 120 million
litres of ethanol will be produced up from 18 million last
year.
The production is set to more than double to 252 million
litres next year.
By 2020 fuel production would have reached the 1,5 billion
litre mark with
raw materials coming from Chisumbanje, Middle Sabi and
Nuanetsi.
According to the projected rollout, the blending will save
US$120 million
annually in fuel imports. By 2020, the country would have
saved US$400
million from fuel imports.
Currently 10% of the
blended fuel contains ethanol and there are plans to
double that to
20%.
Projected data also show that exports will start in 2015
generating US$60
million assuming that half of the fuel produced is used for
local
operations.
The earnings are set to reach US$1,1 billion in
2020.
Basil Nyabadza, Arda board chairman said last week the project
is the only
route for the parastatal to be self-reliant in line with
government’s
intention for state-owned enterprises to wean themselves off
treasury
coffers.
The project has seen the recruitment of labour
from outside Chipinge and
more work needs to be done, taking into
consideration there is need for more
schools, clinics and accommodation
facilities.
The financiers, Nyabadza said, want to build a US$300
million Kondo dam
because the project needs more water for its expansion
programme.
To get enough cane, villagers in Chipinge have been given a
quarter acre
each to grow cane under contract.
“The raw materials
and the final product are coming from a village
environment thereby creating
jobs in the village. This fits well into Arda’s
vision of rural
development,” he said.
Analysts say a holistic approach has to be
adopted taking cognisance of the
concerns raised by fuel players and
motorists.
There are also calls for legislation governing ethanol
production laying the
parameters for the fuel industry.
More
required before mandatory blending: experts
Experts in the fuel
industry told Standardbusiness on Friday, more needs to
be done before
government introduces mandatory blending.
“For players in the
industry, they need separate tanks for handling and this
is an extra cost to
operators. Government cannot just force oil companies to
blend because it is
an extra cost,” one expert said.
“In addition, the promoters of the
project were telling us that they can
export (ethanol). The question is why
can’t they export?”
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Sunday, 11 March 2012 12:09
Vice-President
John Nkomo on Friday struck the right note when he condemned
the outrageous
demands by Zimbabwe’s luxury-seeking traditional leaders.
Closing the
chiefs’ annual council meeting held in Bulawayo, an unimpressed
Nkomo lashed
out at chiefs who are increasingly behaving like a trade union
movement.
He reminded chiefs not to prioritise self-enrichment at
the expense of
national development and warned corruption was fast creeping
into their
ranks.
Nkomo’s comments are timely and serve to show
there are some in government
who are tired of the kleptocracy that has taken
root in Zimbabwe.
Instead of focusing on traditional matters, such as
issues that involve
their work as custodians of cultural values and
traditions, chiefs turned
their Bulawayo indaba into a forum to agitate for
self-enrichment last week.
The chiefs thought it prudent to demand a
review of their allowances “to
befit their royal status”. They also demanded
new all-terrain vehicles,
farms and a share of the Constituency Development
Fund and, alarmingly,
guns to defend themselves.
The chiefs also
reasoned that a share of proceeds from the 10% community
ownership scheme
raised from companies operating in areas under their
jurisdiction would make
their lives easier.
No doubt the demands by the chiefs betrayed their
desire to enrich
themselves at the expense of the poor communal people they
are supposed to
serve.
The chiefs, who openly support Zanu PF,
see themselves as a privileged class
that has to be pampered by
government.
Already they boast of vehicles provided by the state, in addition
to the
US$300 monthly allowance they receive. Some have paved roads and
electricity
connected to their homes without them paying a
cent.
By demanding more from government, the traditional leaders
showed they are
determined to milk the state as much as they can without
regard to the state
of the fiscus or to the predicament of the subjects they
serve who survive
on food handouts.
It is in light of this that
many will find Nkomo’s condemnation of the
chiefs refreshing. It’s time more
top-ranking officials in government told
the chiefs enough is
enough.
Quote of the week
"You can have the most
perfect constitution on earth but if it’s not adhered
to or carried out it’s
just a piece of paper,” said US ambassador to
Zimbabwe Charles Ray disputing
that a constitution is the panacea to free,
fair and credible elections.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Sunday, 11 March 2012
12:07
President Mugabe’s ongoing cry against violence is a good new-start
for a
nation which has seen needless extra-judicial shedding of blood. But
these
calls come to naught if he personally does not act against the
perpetrators
who seem to enjoy impunity.
Of late the president
has used every opportunity coming his way to denounce
violence. This is the
sensible thing to do for violence is the savage’s
resort, when reason flies
out. No serious nation can allow violence to
circumscribe its
narrative.
Why should there be violence when diversity is an inherent
facet of any
society? That natural diversity dictates citizens have the
right to support
different political persuasions under the protection of the
constitution.
Diversity of opinion is an inalienable right and to try to
suppress it is to
work against the rule of law.
Zimbabwe’s
liberation war was premised on the need to give every citizen the
vote and
the war did not prescribe which political party that vote would go
to.
Combatants did not go to war for a particular political grouping;
patriots
go to war for substantive ideals.
It is not enough to simply talk of
non-violence without walking the talk. A
starting point would be the
immediate arrest and trial of all those who
committed political crimes in
the past; arsonists, murderers and robbers
still roam the streets with
impunity when the right thing would be to bring
them to
justice.
Bringing them to justice is the only way to exorcise the
menacing ghosts
that haunt the nation. Our continued indifference to that
savage epoch
suggests that the powers that be condone or, worse still, take
ownership of
the atrocities that took place; the Joseph Mwale saga is a
clear example.
Mugabe’s continued exhortation of non-violence does
not make sense in the
face of the activities of many Zanu PF-aligned outfits
such as Chipangano
which continues to behave as if its members are above the
law.
The high-density suburb of Mbare lives under some kind of
“Marshal Law”
because of the shadowy Chipangano which seems to enjoy the
tacit approval
and protection of the powers that be?
Recently it
disrupted and halted a number of projects that would have
benefited the poor
people of Mbare. These projects include the US$5 million
Bill and Melinda
Gates housing scheme and the Mashewede Holdings project to
build a food
court near Matapi police station. Ironically, Chipangano was
able to halt
the project right under the nose of the police when it was
patently clear
what they were doing was illegal.
On the basis of what is going on in
the country, it can’t be said that the
violence is spontaneous and isolated;
it is actually violence of the
industrial type; deliberately cultivated as a
tool of coercion.
Until gangster-groups such as Chipangano and many
of the bogus so-called war
veterans are disbanded and thrown in jail, it
becomes indisputable that the
violence has the official seal of
approval.
Mugabe’s call for non-violence has become idle talk,
targeted at some
far-off constituencies intended to hoodwink the world into
believing in a
purported return of the rule of law, when the situation on
the ground reads
otherwise.
Not so far back, Mugabe spoke against
violence while addressing parliament,
but outside legislators and newsmen
were being assaulted by mobs loyal to
him. All happened in the full view of
the police who did nothing.
Examples abound of the selective
application of the law, which Mugabe while
speaking against violence never
comments on. We are either a country of
civilised people, guided by the rule
of law, or we have to accept that we
have degenerated into criminal
gangsters, masquerading as a government.
BY BRIAN MANGWENDE
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Sunday, 11 March 2012 12:05
There
was a snake minding its own business near a city hotel the other day.
Someone spotted it and made a noise. Soon hundreds of people were gathered
around it. The snake did what any decent, shy serpent would do. It slithered
under the nearest car and took cover.
Soon the gathering
crowd had their tongues wagging: “What’s a snake doing in
the city?” one
asked. The theories began to fly around. The snake belonged
to a Satanist,
some said. The owner of the car under which it hid is the
Satanist. He uses
the snake to steal money from the bank. One passerby even
went further and
said he saw the snake spewing wads of US dollar notes onto
the lap of the
owner of that particular car only the other day.
The crowd
got very animated and bayed for the blood of the “Satanist”. Dear
me! — When
the Wright brothers took flight for the first time almost a
century ago and
the bloody Americans landed on the moon more than 40 years
ago; when
scientists are delving into nanotechnology, Zimbabweans still
believe a
simple snake can rob a bank!
It has been written innumerable times
that Harare has become a “rat city”.
This is simple to explain; garbage
collection has been inefficient. Leftover
food is strewn everywhere because
there are inadequate waste bins provided.
Rats have proliferated at an
alarming rate. Naturally, this attracts
predators that feed on rats. This is
where snakes come in; nothing to do
with Satanists or any such fanciful use
of animals for self-enrichment.
But why are Zimbabweans so
superstitious?
Only the other day there was, reportedly, an outbreak of mass
hysteria at a
school in the working-class high-density suburb of Highfield.
The hysteria
was quickly linked to Satanism. Supposedly respectable
newspapers hailed
loudly the occurrence reinforcing the Satanism
myth.
Gullible parents immediately withdrew their children from the
school.
The mass-circulating The Herald reported: “There was chaos at the
school
yesterday morning after more than three pupils fell into a trance.
Some of
the affected pupils were reportedly bleeding through their
noses...Since
last Thursday, over 30 pupils have reportedly been affected by
the hysteria,
blamed on suspected Satanic practices. The strange occurrences
were
affecting mostly Grade One and Two pupils who are said to have turned
violent and exhibited extraordinary strength while speaking in unusual
voices and tongues.”
This is an irresponsible interpretation of
the events that took place at
Yemurai Government School. What happened was
not a “strange occurrence”.
There is nothing strange about pupils bleeding
through their noses. Every
year such incidents are reported from across the
country; not only across
the country but across the world. Look at the
tenuous use of figures in The
Herald story, “more than three pupils”. Then
we are told over 30 pupils.
For goodness’ sake how many children were
affected?
There are famous incidents of mass hysteria from around the
world including
the Tanganyika Laughter Epidemic of 1962. It “was an
outbreak of mass
hysteria, believed to have occurred in or near the village
of Kashasha on
the western coast of Lake Victoria in the modern nation of
Tanzania near the
border of Kenya. It is possible that, at the start of the
incident, a joke
was told in a boarding school, and that this joke triggered
a small group of
students to start laughing. The laughter perpetuated
itself, far
transcending its original cause. Six to 18 months after it
started, the
phenomenon died off. (Amazon.com)
Perhaps the most
infamous incident of mass hysteria took place in Salem
Massachusetts between
February 1692 and May 1693. This was after several
people were accused of
witchcraft when an outbreak of mass hysteria among
young girls caused panic
in the whole community. Hundreds of people were
convicted and hanged. Later
it turned out the hysteria was not linked to any
witchcraft.
According to a newspaper called Gothamist, only last
year 12 teenage girls
from LeRoy Junior-Senior High School, located in a
town about an hour’s
drive outside Buffalo, upstate New York, began to show
symptoms including
painful shaking and jerking of their
necks.
After the incident a neurologist who interviewed the girls, a
Dr Laszlo
Mechtler, came forward with an explanation. He said the girls
suffered from
a conversion disorder or commonly mass hysteria.
He
said conversion disorder is a condition in which a person can experience
blindness, paralysis, or other neurologic symptoms that can’t be explained
by another disease. The disorder often occurs because of a “psychological
conflict”.
According to the National Institutes of Health,
symptoms of a conversion
disorder are thought to resolve a conflict a person
feels inside. For
example, a woman who believes it’s not acceptable to have
angry feelings may
experience numbness when they get really
mad.
Mechtler told US Today that when a conversion disorder occurs in
a large
group, it’s known as a “mass psychogenic illness,” because it
affects groups
of people in the same environment, such as in a classroom or
office.
Dr Jonathan Mink, chief of child neurology at the University
of Rochester
Medical Centre had an almost similar explanation for the
hysteria: “It’s
extremely unlikely that anything in the air, in the water or
in the food
they’ve eaten is the cause of tics” and suggested one cause
could be stress,
“A person gets exposed to those symptoms and they take on
those symptoms. It
may be that the stresses of everyday life and how these
girls deal with
stress (that is the cause).”
There was never a link
between all the incidents cited and Satanism.
School-going children
in all high-density suburbs are living in a stressful
environment, what with
the real threat of typhoid and cholera! Most come
from poor households where
they are living way below the poverty datum line;
most do not afford
breakfast meaning the children go to school on empty
stomachs. Add to this
the tyranny of school authority. It would be very
difficult for children not
to be stressed.
Zimbabweans have got to grow up and cast away the
superstitious beliefs that
have kept whole communities entrapped in the
underworld when the rest of the
world has moved so far forward that
witchcraft and the so-called Satanism
have ceased to make any
sense.
BY NEVANJI MADANHIRE