http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 17 March 2012
17:00
BY CAIPHAS CHIMHETE
AILING and ageing President Robert Mugabe is
desperate to force an early
election under the old Lancaster House
Constitution which favours himself
and Zanu PF against his political rivals,
political analysts have said.
They said attempts by Mugabe and Zanu
PF hardliners to discredit South
Africa’s mediation efforts in the Zimbabwe
crisis and the
constitution-making process were clear signs the octogenarian
leader does
not want elections under a new and reformed
law.
So desperate is Mugabe, said the analysts, that he is
even deliberately
misleading the nation about the contents of the Global
Political Agreement
(GPA), the goings-on in the coalition government and the
crafting of the new
supreme law in his bid to justify the holding of
elections this year under
the old constitution.
His spin-doctors,
including his spokesperson, George Charamba and former
Information minister
Jonathan Moyo have also upped the tempo to discredit
anything to do with
mediation and the crafting of the new constitution,
further exposing Zanu
PF’s grand plan to force early polls.
“Time is not on Mugabe’s side,”
said one political analyst.
“He is so desperate to force an early
elections under the old constitution
while he is still able to campaign
because age and deteriorating health is
catching up with
him.”
Addressing traditional chiefs in Bulawayo recently, Mugabe
claimed that the
GPA, signed in 2008, was never about writing a new
constitution but about
holding fresh elections without violence before
2011.
“The main issue was about violence and fresh elections without
that
violence,” Mugabe was quoted as saying.
But his comments
were in sharp contrast with Article VI of the GPA which
clearly states there
is need to create conditions for Zimbabweans to write a
new constitution for
themselves.
The GPA, which Mugabe signed for, says parties agreed to
set up a Select
Committee of Parliament whose terms of reference would be as
follows: “to
hold such public hearings and such consultations as it may deem
necessary in
the process of public consultation over the making of a new
constitution for
Zimbabwe.”
University of Zimbabwe political
scientist, Shakespeare Hamauswa, said Zanu
PF was using propaganda through
the State media to influence people to
reject the new constitution and
psyche them for elections.
“They want this draft constitution to be
rejected so that we can go back to
the Lancaster House Constitution,” said
Hamauswa.
“It (Lancaster) entrenches Mugabe back into power because
he will retain his
excessive executive powers.”
The 88-year-old
leader has also threatened to reject South African President
Jacob Zuma, a
Sadc-appointed mediator, because he views him as supporting
Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai by insisting on political reforms before
elections.
“Facilitators do not carry the name of their home
country to the countries
they would be facilitating,” he
said.
But analysts question why former South African President, Thabo
Mbeki,
passed on the mediation role to Zuma if facilitators did not carry
the name
of their home country to the country they would be
facilitating.
But another political analyst, Ernest Mudzengi,
believes the attack on Zuma’s
mediation team and the constitution-making
process was designed to frustrate
the smooth operations of the unity
government.
Mudzengi said Zanu PF’s strategy would not work unless it
tricked the MDC-T
formations into agreeing to an election without a new
constitution, which is
unlikely to happen.
“Zanu PF has vested
interest in early elections,” said Mudzengi.
“But I don’t think they
will succeed because Sadc and the African Union (AU)
will not recognise the
results unless the agreed reforms are implemented.”
Moyo, a Zanu PF
politburo member, has been a fiery critic of Zuma’s
mediation efforts and
particularly of Lindiwe Zulu for standing her ground
against Zanu PF’s
efforts to derail the facilitation process.
Last week, Moyo also
attacked Hassen Ebrahim, who was seconded to Copac as a
consultant by Zuma
urging that the new constitution was not necessary before
the next
elections.
But MDC-T spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora said it was
surprising that Zanu PF
was putting spanners in the constitution-making
process when a lot of time
and resources have already been spent on the
project.
“The question that arises is, given all this progress, why
are some people
now calling for the same process to be delayed?” said
Mwonzora.
“The inescapable conclusion is that these people are
comfortable under the
current constitution and do not want the changes the
people of Zimbabwe so
clearly demanded.”
Mugabe wants to maintain
executive powers: Makumbe
University of Zimbabwe political
scientist, John Makumbe, believes Mugabe
and Zanu hardliners are desperate
to go for elections under the old
constitution, as it leaves him with
executive powers “which will enable him
to repeat what he did in
2008”.
“If elections are held under the old constitution and Mugabe
loses, he will
refuse to get out of power and before you know it we will
have another GPA,”
said Makumbe, who has declared intention to contest the
next elections under
an MDC-T ticket.
He said securocrats were
determined to push for elections this year because
they were worried about
Mugabe’s deteriorating health and advanced age.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 17 March 2012
16:58
BY JENIFFER DUBE
TRADITIONAL chiefs are diverting from
their constitutional mandate by
dabbling into politics.
That was apparent
when the chiefs opened their annual conference in Bulawayo
with the
endorsement of President Robert Mugabe as the Zanu PF Presidential
candidate
for elections scheduled for this year or 2013.
Under normal
circumstances, chiefs are supposed to be apolitical in the
execution of
their duties.
Chief Negomo of Chiweshe in Mashonaland Central
province, who came into the
spotlight last year when he fined Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai for
breaching customary law, said they endorsed Mugabe
because he has always
rescued people in times of
need.
“Tsvangirai promised people many things when he was campaigning
but he has
not fulfilled any of his promises,” said Negomo, who could not
elaborate on
the alleged promises.
“But President Mugabe has
always led the people well and always comes to
their rescue in their times
of need, for example during drought. He does all
this in consultation with
the chiefs.”
He said Mugabe “was given that seat by the
ancestors”.
Section 5 of the Traditional Leaders’ Act states that a
chief shall be
responsible for promoting and upholding cultural values among
communities
under his jurisdiction, particularly the preservation of the
extended family
and the promotion of traditional family life.
The
Act says chiefs are also responsible for preserving the environment,
regulating settlement on land under their jurisdiction, playing the
middlemen between a community and its rural district council.
It
also says they are responsible for supervising headmen and village heads
in
the performance of their duties and ensuring that all public property is
not
destroyed by people or animals.
Constitutional expert and University
of Zimbabwe law lecturer, Lovemore
Madhuku, said chiefs breached their
constitutional mandate by endorsing
Mugabe.
“Endorsing political
leaders as candidates for elections is outside their
constitutional
responsibilities,” said Madhuku, who is also National
Constitutional
Assembly (NCA) chairman.
“Constitutionally, they are supposed to
preside over people, ensuring
preservation of customary
values.
He said chiefs are supposed to be of service “to all people
regardless of
political affiliation but they are getting involved in
politics probably
because of the benefits that come with
that”.
Some chiefs have also been accused of encouraging over
political violence by
allegedly participating in the harassment of MDC-T
supporters, especially
during election periods.
Others have also
been accused of denying non-Zanu PF supporters farming
inputs and food aid
sourced from government or non-governmental
organisations
(NGOs).
During the violent 2008 elections, some chiefs and other
traditional leaders
forced their subjects to vote for Mugabe by ordering
them to line behind
them during voting.
The president of the
Zimbabwe Chiefs Council, Chief Fortune Charumbira,
refused to comment only
insisting a chiefs’ caucus would on Wednesday
clarify “all misconceptions
about the institution”.
The Minister of Local Government, Urban and
Rural Development, Ignatious
Chombo, whose ministry controls traditional
leaders, could not be reached
for comment last week.
The MDC-T
and civic organisations last week called for the replacement of
traditional
chiefs by qualified officials that administer customary law
accusing them of
abusing their offices by openly supporting Zanu PF.
MDC expects
chiefs to be non-partisan: Mwonzora
MDC-T spokesperson Douglas
Mwo-nzora said his party expected chiefs to act
in a non-partisan manner to
gain people’s respect and confidence.
“MDC has always expected chiefs to act
in a constitutional manner,” Mwonzora
said.
“The Global Political
Agreement and amendment number 19 of the constitution
clearly state that
chiefs are supposed to be apolitical and they are not
supposed to show
favour or disfavour towards any political party.
He added: “But what
we have seen is continued abuse of the chiefs’
institution, for example they
have been coerced to endorse Mugabe as a
presidential candidate
twice.”
Mwonzora said his party believed the chiefs were acting out
of fear of
losing their positions and benefits that go with the
posts.
Government pays chiefs at least US$300 per month and were each given a
vehicle, among other benefits.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 17 March 2012 16:05
BY
PATRICE MAKOVA
THE Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission, touted as the
panacea to worsening
human rights violations in the country, appears to have
suffered a
stillbirth.
Two years after the swearing in of
commissioners, the body is still not
operational as political parties in the
coalition government haggle over its
mandate and scope of
work.
The commission was established by Section 100R of the
Constitution after
Amendment number 19 in 2009.
Over three years
after Amendment 19, which was brought by the signing of the
Global Political
Agreement (GPA), human rights violators remain scot-free
with very few, if
any, of them being investigated or prosecuted as
Parliament has not yet
passed an enabling act to allow ZHRC to do its work.
As the country
prepares to hold elections later this year or in 2013, human
rights
activists believe giving teeth to the commission would be helpful in
stemming violence which has become synonymous with polls in Zimbabwe’s
highly polarised political environment.
Crisis in Zimbabwe
Coalition acting director Dewa Mavhinga said Zimbabwe,
particularly Zanu PF,
has never been serious about ensuring the respect,
promotion and protection
of human rights, hence operationalising ZHRC has
been put on ice for two
years now.
He said the ZHRC has a narrow mandate of examining human
rights cases only
from February 2009 when the most flagrant human rights
violations were
committed much earlier during the Gukurahundi period in the
1980s and
successive elections, particularly the June 2008 presidential
run-off
election and during the 2005 operation Murambatsvina.
“We
want to see a fully functional ZHRC whose independence is
constitutionally
enshrined, and with full investigative powers to examine
any human rights
matter brought before it,” said Mavhinga.
He said the commission must
be accountable to Parliament, with its own
resources, and not to the
Minister of Justice who is a political appointee.
National Association of
Non-Governmental Organisations (Nango) Chief
Executive Officer, Cephas
Zinhumwe said the ZHRC was an important organ
which lacks support from
government.
He said the commission was there in name only as it does
not have a
secretariat and budget in addition to the absence of the
requisite enabling
act.
“The government is mentally killing the
commissioners because they came in
with a lot of zeal and enthusiasm to do
their work, but they are now gloomy
with absolutely nothing to do,” said
Zinhumwe.
He said Justice minister Patrick Chinamasa was currently in
Geneva,
Switzerland attending the United Nations Human Rights Council where
he was
speaking glowingly about the ZHRC.
“It is surprising
Chinamasa is giving too much credit to Zimbabwe for
establishing a
commission which is dysfunctional,” said Zinhumwe. “The
commissioners do not
know their powers and if we go for elections like this,
then human rights
violations will again go unchecked.”
The mandate of the human
rights commission and the members
The functions of the Zimbabwe
Human Rights Commision include the promotion
of human rights awareness and
development, monitoring and assessing human
rights observance and
investigating alleged violations of human rights.
ZHRC members
include Professor Austin, Dr Ellen Sithole, Dr Joseph Kurebwa,
Jacob
Mudenda, Japhet-Ndabeni Ncube, Sheila Matindike, Elasto Mugwadi, Ona
Jirira
and Norma Niseni.
Parties can’t agree on how much dirt to
expose—Gutu
Deputy Minister of Justice, Senator Obert Gutu
attributed the delay in the
enactment of the ZHRC bill to the wrangles
between Zanu PF and the MDC-T
over how far back the body should investigate
human rights abuses.
He said while MDC-T wants the commission to
investigate abuses committed
since Independence in 1980, Zanu PF was adamant
that it should only deal
with cases which happened after the formation of
the inclusive government in
2009.
“I will not be surprised if
Zanu PF plays a delaying tactic and stops
Minister Chinamasa from presenting
the bill in Parliament as scheduled. The
party has indicated that it does
not want the issue to be debated because it
is a GPA issue,” said
Gutu.
ZHRC Chairperson Professor Reginald Austin could not be reached
for comment.
According to the Constitution, the ZHRC also assists the
Minister of Justice
to prepare reports on Zimbabwe’s compliance with
international human rights
agreements to which Zimbabwe is a party. A ZHRC
member told The Standard
last week that until the necessary legislation has
been put in place, the
body would remain as good as dead as its legal
status, conditions of service
of commissioners and the issue of the
secretariat were sticking points which
need to be ironed out.
He
however said commissioners were currently holding informal meetings with
relevant stakeholders who include civil society organisations, the media and
government. They were also preparing for the eventual “resurrection” of the
body by studying how other countries were running their own
commissions.
Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights) executive
director Okay
Machisa said the issue of the dysfunctional commission proves
that
government was not interested in coming up with a holistic and sincere
approach to implementing reforms as spelt out in the GPA.
He said
the GPA came about after a disputed poll in 2008 which was marred by
violence, intimidation and other gross human rights violations.
“For the
country to go for another election in the absence of a human rights
commission is worrying,” said Machisa.
“This is a deliberate ploy
by certain people in the inclusive government who
want to maintain the
status quo and continue to violate the rights of
citizens with
impunity.”
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Sunday, 18 March 2012 10:10
BY
PATRICE MAKOVA
ZANU PF is moving a gear up in its bid to unilaterally
call for polls this
year amid revelations the party will hold primary
elections in June and
shortly thereafter, launch President Robert Mugabe’s
re-election campaign.
Party sources said rules to guide the primary
elections have now been
approved by the Politburo and these were now
awaiting endorsement by the
party’s Central Committee which is expected to
sit for a special session
later this month or in April.
A
politburo source said initially, the party wanted to hold the primaries
after the completion of the current constitution-making process, but has now
opted to conduct them in June because of the uncertainty surrounding the
crafting of a new charter for the country.
“Mugabe and a few
hardliners in the party are adamant elections should be
held this year under
the old constitution because they feel the proposed
draft is taking too long
to complete and not in their interest,” said the
insider.
“No one
in the politburo has the guts to oppose Mugabe. We had no option but
to
agree to his plans, but on the ground we know it’s going to be an uphill
struggle.”
Zanu PF secretary for administration Didymus Mutasa
confirmed his party was
ready to hold its primary elections, but declined to
divulge the dates.
“Our primary elections are a Zanu PF internal
issue, which I am not going to
discuss in public,” he said. “What the nation
should however know, is that
there is no turning back on holding elections
this year.”
Mutasa described a statement last week by Finance
minister, Tendai Biti,
suggesting that the treasury had no money to fund
elections this year as
“nonsensical”.
“Biti must stop making
noise and quietly look for money to hold elections.
It’s not his money and
whether he likes it or not, elections will be held
this year,” said
Mutasa.
Zanu PF spokesperson, Rugare Gumbo said dates for the primary
elections
would be announced in due course and was confident funding for
national
elections would be found.
“Biti knew elections would be
held this year, but did not budget for this.
The money will be found from
the right sources once the time arrives,” he
said.
Zanu PF has
tasked the party’s department of Commissariat, headed by Webster
Shamu, with
ensuring the completion of the restructuring of district and
provincial
coordinating committees in time for the primaries, said another
senior party
official.
He said, although party officials have been instructed to
start campaigning
only when Shamu announces the selection criteria, jostling
for seats has
already begun, with interested candidates positioning
themselves and
smearing mud at opponents.
The source said party
big wigs were for the first time going to face stiff
competition from
juniors in the party, as Mugabe has this time ruled out
imposition of
candidates as a way to hit back at officials who betrayed him
to American
diplomats.
“Mugabe says he believes imposition of candidates cost the
party elections
in 2008 and wants all the officials to pass the test if they
are to
represent the party. However, we all know that this is payback time
for
officials who betrayed him,” said the source.
The whistle
blowing site, WikiLeaks, last year exposed that Mugabe was now
isolated with
his top lieutenants, including cabinet ministers, confiding to
American
diplomats that he should go.
The Zanu PF official also said the abuse
of the Constituency Development
Fund (CDF) was providing ammunition to a
faction in the party which was
eager to eliminate the old
guard.
A number of MPs have been arrested in connection with the
abuse of the
funds. Attorney General, Johannes Tomana has however tried to
stop the
arrests until June this year.
Interestingly, the dates
of the primaries coincide with Tomana’s June
deadline by which all 210 MPs
would have been investigated.
Tomana, who could not be reached for
comment yesterday, recently demanded
that the Ministry of Constitutional and
Parliamentary Affairs do a thorough
audit of all the constituencies and
present a report to him by mid-June,
with the view to arrest more corrupt
MP’s who could have escaped the
Anti-Corruption Commission
net.
“The AG’s actions have unsettled many Zanu PF MP’s, including
cabinet
ministers who abused the CDF,” a source within Zanu PF
said.
They now fear getting arrested at a time when primary elections
are expected
to be held. They are also convinced that it is not by
coincidence that a new
CDF audit report is expected to be completed just
before the party holds its
primary elections.
So far, four MPs
have been arrested after they were accused of looting the
US$8 million CDF
which saw each of the 210 MP’s in the country getting US$50
000 to develop
their areas.
Three senior Zanu PF ministers were also facing arrest
for allegedly abusing
their CDF. Ministers are normally arrested with the
approval of Mugabe.
MDC to resist call for early elections
Threats
to unilaterally call for elections will face resistance from MDC-T
which
recently reiterated minimum conditions that the party says should
prevail
for a free and fair poll.
Prime Minister, Morgan Tsvangirai, said his
party would 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 avoid the
violence which characterised the 2008
elections.
Sadc facilitator
and South African President, Jacob Zuma, has also insisted
that elections
should not be held until the GPA and the agreed election road
have been
fully implemented.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Sunday, 18 March 2012 09:56
BY NDAMU
SANDU
FINANCE minister, Tendai Biti, and Mines and Mining minister, Obert
Mpofu,
are expected to meet soon to strategise on ways of making sure that
revenue
from the sale of diamonds flows into the national treasury to
benefit all
Zimbabweans. The meeting comes amid accusations that the bulk of
the revenue
from diamond sales was being used to fund Zanu PF-related
projects to
bolster the party’s chances of winning the forthcoming elections
scheduled
for this year or 2013.
There is also a veil of secrecy
surrounding the mining operations, marketing
and sale of the diamonds from
Marange district in Manicaland province.
Biti raised the red flag on
Wednesday, saying out of the projected US$77,5
million from diamonds,
Treasury had received only US$19,5 million in January
and February. This has
raised concern that the US$600 million target won’t
be met, throwing the
2012 budget in disarray.
The Finance minister said the matter was
debated in cabinet on Tuesday and
was given the assurance inflows would
improve during the course of the year
and is now expecting a “fat cheque”
from diamonds.
Government has said the revenue from diamonds would be
deployed towards
infrastructural development.
Mpofu told The
Standard that Biti was worried as diamond revenue was not
coming in as
expected. “The Minister of Finance has asked for a meeting so
that we can
re-strategise. We had wanted to surpass the target but with
sanctions it is
difficult to achieve that,” Mpofu said.
Mpofu also said one could not
talk of transparency if sanctions on the
diamond producers remained in
place.
“How do you become transparent when you know there is a lion
waiting for you
to just walk in front of it and maul you? That is the effect
of sanctions.
If they know how you are trading, they will interfere with
that,” Mpofu
said.
“They just want to know who is buying what and
when and how he is paying so
they pounce on that transaction through their
international networks.”
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Sunday, 18 March 2012
09:49
Our Staff
A church service will be held on Tuesday in
Bulawayo for Paul Chizuze, a
human rights activist, who has been missing for
almost six weeks. Chizuze
was last seen on February 8 this year and close
friends and colleagues say
it was highly unlikely for him to disappear,
raising fears that he may have
been abducted.
Education minister,
David Coltart, who worked closely with Chizuze, said
they did not have any
factual evidence regarding what may have happened to
the activist, but their
searches and campaigns have so far drawn a blank.
“It is not in his
character to just disappear,” an audibly shaken Coltart
said. “As a human
rights activist you tend to fear that someone wanted to
prevent him from
speaking about something.”
Those wishing to attend the service have
been asked to bring a candle, a
Catholic church tradition, symbolising the
shining of light where there’s
darkness.
“It’s symbolic that we
want to shed light where there’s darkness and maybe
we can see where he is,”
he said.
An extensive media and social media campaign was launched in
the hope that
this could yield results in the search for the missing
activist, but this
has so far not yielded anything.
Chizuze’s
disappearance has raised concern as it has shades of the
disappearance of
another activist, Patrick Nabanyama 11 years ago.Nabanyama
was Coltart’s
aide during the 2000 elections and he has since been declared
dead.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Sunday, 18 March 2012 09:45
BY EDGAR
GWESHE
MDC-T Senator for Zaka Misheck Marava fears for his life after he
allegedly
received several death threats on his phone from unknown persons.
Marava
claimed that he received the first threat in October 2011 from a
person who
did not reveal his name or the reason for threatening
him.
According to a police report dated March 9, Marava received
another call
threatening him with death on February 15 while at his home in
Chitungwiza
prompting him to make a police report at Harare Central Police
station.
The case was recorded under IR021366.Marava’s vehicle, a
Mazda BT50, was
also hit by a stone from a catapult while he was driving in
his rural home
of Zaka early this month.
In the report, Marava is
said to have indicated that he suspected people
within his party were behind
the threats as there were some members who were
eyeing his senatorial seat
in the forthcoming elections.
The report further claimed that Marava
indicated that there were deep
divisions rocking the MDC-T.Although Marava
confirmed making a police report
over the threat, he denied ever mentioning
that the MDC-T was rocked by
internal squabbles.
“Yes, I received
the death threats on the phone and I reported the case to
the police whom I
understand are still carrying out their investigations,”
said
Marava.
“I never mentioned anyone in my report and the names of the
people behind
the calls can only come out once police complete
investigations.”
MDC-T spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora also refuted
claims of divisions within
the party as highlighted in the police
report.
“That Senator Marava received death threats over the phone
should not be
taken to mean there are divisions in the party,” said
Mwonzora.
Police said investigations were still underway to establish
the identity of
the anonymous callers.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Sunday, 18 March 2012
09:42
BY FORTUNE MOYO
ALPHA Media Holdings chairman Trevor Ncube has
challenged the business
community to embrace various social media available
to improve their
business brands. Speaking at a business networking meeting
organised by the
Marketers Association of Zimbabwe (MAZ) last week in
Bulawayo, Ncube urged
the business community to use social media such as
twitter and facebook to
enhance their brands.
He however warned
the business community to evaluate how ready their brands
were for the
social media and digital revolution because technology has
already disrupted
a lot of brands.
“Business should take advantage of the diverse and
huge impact of social
media,” said Ncube, who was one of the guest speakers
at the meeting.
“However, they should have clear strategies on how to use
the social media
to enhance their brands.”
Ncube also warned
businesses not to take their markets for granted.
Speaking at the
same meeting, MAZ vice-president Ruth Ncube said it was
important for
businesses to challenge themselves to have distinct brands.
“We need
to challenge ourselves to have distinct brands so as to be able to
operate
in a dynamic world,” she said. “The annual Super brand event is one
of the
ways to try and ensure that businesses are constantly working to be
innovative about their brands.”
Edgars brand and marketing
executive Rita Chinyoka emphasised the need to
re-define, re-focus and
protect their brands in light of today’s
sophisticated and demanding
customers.
The Super brand is an annual event held by MAZ that seeks to
recognise and
promote marketing excellence by awarding and recognising top
brands in
Zimbabwe.
The meeting, held under the theme, Leading
brands, distinct brands, brought
together business leaders from various
sectors of the economy to network and
share experiences on how best to
market their brands.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Sunday, 18 March 2012 09:38
BY NUNURAI
JENA
BUSINESS mogul Phillip Chiyangwa was on Friday elected Zanu PF
vice-chairman
of Mashonaland West Province, ending almost a year of fighting
to regain a
senior post in the former ruling party. Chiyangwa, a former
chairman of the
same province, trounced Senator for Hurungwe and Deputy
Minister of Regional
Integration and International Cooperation, Rueben
Marumahoko, by 23 votes to
12.
“I am humbled by the victory and
hope to serve my party in order to retain
all the seats that were lost to
the opposition,” said Chiyangwa soon after
his election. Chiyangwa is
believed to have been the driving force behind
John Mafa’s re-election as
the provincial chairman following his fallout
with a faction allegedly led
by the Local Government minister Ignatius
Chombo and another one led by
Information and Publicity minister, Webster
Shamu who was backing
Marumahoko.
MP for Makonde Risipi Kapesa, who was tipped to be
elected secretary, was
beaten 20-2 by little-known Tapera Table, another
Chiyangwa associate.
Journalist-turned-politician Kindness Paradza
was admitted back into the
party after years in the
wilderness.
Paradza, a former MP for Makonde, is reportedly bent on
taking back his
seat.
Mashonaland West Province has been a
stronghold of President Mugabe but the
election of Mafa to the chairmanship
showed that the power dynamics in the
province had shifted to one of the two
factions loyal to Defence minister
Emmerson Mnangagwa against the Mujuru
faction.
Mafa, who is a Grain Marketing Board (GMB) provincial
manager, was recently
transferred from Mashonaland West to Mashonaland
Central. The transfer,
which may be part of a GMB countrywide exercise to
rotate managers in order
to weed out alleged corruption, has however raised
eyebrows in the province.
“The same people (political rivals) vowed
that he would not last and now his
transfer which we believe is designed to
weaken his faction,” said one
official.
Mafa confirmed receiving
the letter of transfer noting he should start work
in Mashonaland Central on
April 1.
He however dismissed suggestions that his transfer was
linked to politics.
“As a company, maybe they saw it as a way of
improving the operations of
GMB,” said Mafa. “They have the final say on who
is to work where.”
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Sunday, 18 March 2012
09:34
BY JENIFFER DUBE
POLICE in Mashonaland West have imposed a ban
on church activities of rivals
of ex-communicated Anglican bishop Nolbert
Kunonga, a police internal
memorandum has shown. Kunonga, a self-confessed
Zanu PF apologist, has been
fighting for the control of the Anglican Church
in Zimbabwe with a rival
group led by Bishop Chad
Gandiya.
Memorandum number 18/12 to officers commanding districts
written by the
Officer Commanding Mashonaland West Province, Senior
Assistant Commissioner
Rangarirai Mushaurwa, directed all stations not to
allow anyone to assemble
for anything related to the Anglican church without
Kunonga’s approval.
“It is important to note that the courts
recognise the leader of the
Anglican Church in the country as Bishop Nolbert
Kunonga,” part of the memo
reads.
“In the above context, any
other person who claims leadership of the
Anglican Church in Zimbabwe is not
recognised by the courts in Zimbabwe.
“It follows that activities by
those who claim leadership of the Anglican
Church are illegal and police
will not sanction them.”
The memo says no priest, sub-deacon, church
warden, mother union, youth,
Bernard Mizeki Guild is allowed to organise,
perform or call people to
assemble for anything related to the Anglican
Church unless approved by the
ex-communicated Bishop.
“Therefore,
the incumbent Bishop of the Diocese of Harare being Bishop
Norbert Kunonga
should be allowed to lead in peace and to look after the
diocese and
property of the diocese of Harare where it is located without
any
disturbances as he has done since 2001.
“Any interference in his
governance should be treated as an act of violence,
disregard of judiciary
rulings as the said perpetrators should be judged for
contempt of court”,
the memo warns.
A feud between two factions of the Anglican Church in
Zimbabwe has been
raging since Kunonga’s excommunication from the main
Church of the Province
of Central Africa (CPCA) in 2007 after he
unilaterally pulled the Harare
Diocese out of the province accusing his
rivals of supporting homosexuality.
The feud, which is characterised
by violent clashes especially targeted at
CPCA members, has resulted in
numerous court cases and political
interventions to no avail.
Mashonaland
West police spokesperson Clemence Mabwgeazara professed
ignorance of the
memo.
“I haven’t seen the letter,” Mabwgeazara said. “So far I do not
know
anything about it. There is no letter like that.”
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Sunday, 18 March 2012 09:52
BY
SILENCE CHARUMBIRA
ZANU PF officials yesterday approached the family
of the late musician Andy
Brown offering to declare him a provincial hero,
The Standard has been told.
Sandra Tatenda Mashiringo, Brown’s sister,
confirmed that the family had
been approached with the offer but said they
were unlikely to take it.
“Andy had said he wanted to be
buried in Mberengwa next to his mother and as
of now I can say that is what
we are going to do,” said Mashiringo.
“We are grateful for the offer
but we have to fulfill his wish. We are still
to have a final position after
all the family members have gathered.”
It could not be established by
the time of going to print yesterday if the
family had finally accepted the
offer.
If Brown is conferred a hero status, he would become the
second musician
after Simon Chimbetu to be honoured by Zanu PF. Chimbetu is
buried at
Chinhoyi Heroes’ Acre.The offer for provincial hero status is in
recognition
of Brown’s involvement in the land reform campaigns, “Hondo
Yeminda”, he
spearheaded on the musical front.
But this
involvement in politics dealt him a huge blow as he lost his legion
of fans
resulting in his career taking a nose-dive.
Even his latest album,
Chiwoko: The Silent Hand, which music critics rated
as a masterpiece was not
well-received by listeners due to his alignment to
Zanu PF.
Brown
succumbed to pneumonia a day after his 50th birthday.
His wife Madini
said Brown had been unwell for some time and his condition
worsened when he
travelled to Sweden last month, due to the extremely low
temperatures.
At the time of his death, Brown was reportedly
broke and yesterday family
members and friends were making contributions for
food at the funeral.
Tsungi Zvobgo, who was tasked with fundraising,
said she had by yesterday
evening received only US$500 from the Minister of
Media, Information and
Publicity Webster Shamu.
Shamu is the patron of
musicians in the country.
“I am one of the people making the
fundraising especially for food since
mourners are likely to be gathered for
a number of days,” said Zvobgo. “We
also need a tent to accommodate those
who would be outside and transport to
Mberengwa for his
burial.”
Mashiringo, who had just flown in from Kenya, said one of
her brothers in
Germany had sent some money to assist with the funeral.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 17 March 2012 15:50
BY NDAMU
SANDU
GOVERNMENT is working with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank)
to
introduce a financial instrument that can be used as security in
inter-bank
placements.
Information obtained on Friday shows that
the instrument will be backed by
performing trade-related loans of banks
which could then be used as security
in inter-bank
placements.
“In this way, it is expected that banks with
deficit liquidity will be able
to access liquidity from those with surplus.
We believe that the anticipated
velocity and multiplier effect will greatly
ameliorate the short term
liquidity challenges that banks are facing,” Gift
Simwaka, Afreximbank’s
regional manager for southern Africa, said on
Friday.
Simwaka said while the move is not a panacea to the liquidity
problems, “it
will supplement the other measures the authorities are taking
to deal with
the liquidity situation, and the bank (Afreximbank) stands
ready to support
these efforts within the scope of its
mandate.”
Simwaka said the US$80 million trade-backed liquidity
support facility is
being worked out and should be implemented as soon as
all the necessary
formalities are completed.
Once the underlying
processes, including approvals are completed, the debt
instruments will be
issued.
Simwaka said the targeted tenure is up to two years, but the
coupon rate
(interest rate) is yet to be agreed.
He said there
would not be one rate but several “reflecting tenor, as some
instruments may
be of a one-year tenor, as well as the discount associated
with the
underlying trade assets from selected banks that will secure the
bonds on a
bank-to-bank basis”.
The proposed trade-backed liquidity support
facility is set to complement
current efforts to improve the liquidity
situation which has haunted the
banking sector.
Last month,
Treasury and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) introduced a
raft of
measures to ease the problems.
The Ministry of Finance gave RBZ US$20
million to perform its lender of last
resort role. This means that RBZ now
has US$27 million to bail out banks in
the event of liquidity mismatches.
Finance minister Tendai Biti said last
week the fund would rise to US$30
million.
RBZ also instructed banks to keep 25% of their Foreign
Currency Account
balances in nostro accounts and bring the remainder onshore
for on-lending.
As a result of that directive, banks have agreed to
remit US$200 million, a
move that would ease the liquidity
challenges.
RBZ and banks have also reached an agreement over the
US$83,58 million owed
to banks as statutory reserves.
The central
bank scrapped statutory reserves — the amount of money any bank
has to
maintain with the central bank at 0% for every deposit received from
a
customer — in June 2010 as “part of risk containment measures in the
banking
system”.
The deal will result in RBZ boss, Gideon Gono, issuing
instruments against
the amounts owed to banks. The instruments will have
tenors of two, three
and four years with interest rates of 2,5%, 3% and 3,5%
respectively.
Tradable paper promotes inter-bank trading:
Biti
Biti said the instruments will promote inter-bank trading and allow
banks to
use tradable paper as security when accessing the lender of last
resort
funds.
This will ensure utilisation of resources which
banks have been failing to
access.
Biti said institutions not
willing to participate in the scheme would have
an option of being issued
with 15-year bonds at an interest of 3% per annum.
Since November, banks have
been facing problems resulting in gridlock
especially in Real Time Gross
Settlement platform.
The situation has been compounded by the nature
of deposits where over 50%
of the total deposits are demand and short-term,
reflecting a weak deposit
confidence.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 17 March 2012
15:45
BY NQOBANI NDLOVU
BULAWAYO — New Dawn gold mining company is in
negotiations with authorities
in an effort to comply with the country’s
indigenisation laws.
The indigenisation legislation stipulates that locals
should have
controlling shareholding in all foreign-owned companies
operating in
Zimbabwe.
In a statement to shareholders last week, the firm
said: “New Dawn is
continuing to engage in confidential discussions with the
government of
Zimbabwe regarding its proposed plan of
indigenisation.
“The company is also enga-ging with various
indigenous investor groups and
possible financing sources with respect to an
investment in the company as
part of the implementation of the company’s
proposed plan of
indigenisation.”
New Dawn is a Zimbabwe-focused
junior gold company with five mines that are
operational.
It is
currently expanding production to reach a targeted run rate of
approximately
60 000 ounces of annualised gold production by December.
But the production
targets would depend on access to adequate financing,
which, in turn
requires approval and implementation of the proposed
indigenisation
plan.
The empowerment legislation has created panic among miners and
prospective
investors. Government has also been divided on how the programme
could be
implemented.
Zanu PF says it should go ahead in what
analysts say is an attempt to curry
favour with the electorate ahead of
possible elections next year.
The MDC formations have called for
caution saying it scares away potential
investors needed to help grow the
economy.
Last week, Zimplats agreed to offer 51% to locals after
months of haggling
and there are now fears that other miners would be cowed
into submission.
New dawn pledges to support Zim
recovery
The mining house said it continues to support the
recovery of the country’s
economy.
During the quarter ended
December 31 2011, New Dawn paid over US$2 million
in respect of royalties,
taxes, licence fees and levies.
“In addition, the company sources a
majority of its operational supplies and
services from local Zimbabwean
businesses and employs a total of 2 480
workers at its various operations in
Zimbabwe,” New Dawn said.
In the same period, consolidated gold
production reached a record of 9 095
ounces of gold from 4 808 ounces in the
same period in 2010. Consolidated
gold sales reached a record of US$15
440,766 for the quarter ended December
31 2011, as compared to US$6 458,735
for the quarter ended December 31 2010.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 17 March 2012 15:41
By John
Kachembere
A Japan-based car dealer, Trust Company Limited, involved in
selling
second-hand cars to Zimbabwe, says ex-Japanese cars that are shipped
abroad
are radiation-free.
“We have recently received inquiries
about radiation levels on used cars
from Japan and we can confirm that all
of the vehicles sold by Trust Company
Ltd. through our website are
completely radiation-safe,” said the company.
The dealer’s
call comes in the wake of growing reports suggesting that cars
from Japan
may be contaminated with radioactive material released by the
tsunami-damaged Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant last year.
This
follows a disclosure by Transport, Communication and Infrastructure
Development minister, Nicholas Goche to a Parliamentary portfolio committee
recently, that a Zimbabwean living in Japan had warned about possible
contamination of vehicles coming into the country.
Trust Company
said all official surveys confirm that radiation levels in
Nagoya, where
they are based, were normal and that they are very far from
the Fukushima
nuclear plant.
“All of our vehicles are checked for radiation when
they enter our yard. For
cars in Nagoya, the inspection is performed by
Japan Cargo Tally
Corporation,” said the company in a
statement.
Trust’s response comes after another Japanese car dealer,
Trade Haus
Logistics, echoed similar statements in what analysts say is an
attempt to
hold onto the growing market.
Ex-Japanese vehicles
have become a hit as they are affordable compared to
those assembled
locally.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 17 March 2012 15:38
NQOBILE
BHEBHE
BULAWAYO — Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor, Gideon Gono, has said
the use
of the Chinese yuan alongside other multi-currencies was long
overdue.
Speaking at a Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries breakfast meeting
last
week, Gono said as monetary authorities, they would appreciate its use
“as a
stronger currency that rules the day”.
“We have a
multi-currency regime and any currency that is demanded by
Zimbabweans, be
it the pula, rand, US dollar, pound, euro is welcome as
currency of trade,”
said Gono.
“If there is sufficient demand from traders who do
business with China to
exchange goods and services in yuan as is happening
elsewhere, why not? Yes
the use of Chinese yuan is long overdue. The Chinese
are ruling the world
economically.”
This is the second time that
Gono has advocated for the use of the yuan and
the move is likely to draw a
response from Treasury, which has maintained
the current basket of
currencies in place — US dollar, South African rand
and Botswana pula —
should be used until further notice.
Finance minister, Tendai Biti,
has in the past proposed that Zimbabwe should
be thinking regionally in
terms of its currency and stop dreaming about the
return of the Zimbabwean
dollar that was demonetised in 2009.
Last year, Gono said the yuan
was the safest currency as the US dollar took
a battering following the debt
crisis in Europe.
He said there was need for extraordinary measures,
especially in Zimbabwe
where the value of the US dollar was being eroded, as
the country was
powerless to intervene.
Economists have commended
the use of the multi-currency regime saying the
move tamed hyperinflation
and brought about economic stability.
Local currency needs proper
framework: Gono
On Thursday, Gono said it was imperative for the
country to have its own
currency but said there were prerequisites which
should be in place before
the return of the local currency.
“We
need to be a country with its currency, yes we need it but not tomorrow
as
there are prerequisites that need to be attained before we have our own
currency,” Gono said.
“We should boost productivity, capacity
utilisation in our industries and
have adequate reserves to support the
currency.”
In the past Gono had proposed the return of the local currency
backed by the
country’s minerals.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 17 March 2012 16:21
Mugabe’s
sentiments on devolution are meant to mislead the people of
Zimbabwe into
believing devolution is a Matabeleland issue. Devolution of
power is a
national issue that has been supported by six of the 10 Zimbabwe
provinces,
according to Copac. Calls for the devolution of power are not
something new.
They were actually part of the proposed National
Constitutional Assembly
(NCA) constitution which was produced after wide
consultations with the
people.
NCA chairman Lovemore Madhuku agreed that devolution is a
national issue
recently through the VoA website where he was quoted saying:
“If you were to
come to the NCA, we do not have Matabeleland positions. Our
position is very
clear, that there must be devolution in a people-driven
constitution and
that is not a Matabeleland issue, it’s an issue for the
whole country,”
Therefore, President Mugabe and his allies’ arguments
indicate a deliberate
distortion to mislead the people of Zimbabwe. He
thinks he can overrule the
decisions of the people as shown by his threats
to use his presidential
powers to force an early election.
This
is a clear indication that Mugabe is himself actually a threat to the
national constitution-making process which he seeks to tarnish. His
sentiments are also a clear sign of Zanu PF’s contempt of the people’s needs
and interests. They further expose his dictatorial psyche which over the
years has seen his government amending the constitution 19 times so as to
protect itself.
Mugabe’s comments also indicate that he does not
understand the concept of
constitutionalism which is a guiding principle for
any democratic country.
It is no surprise actually that Mugabe’s comments
reflect his ivory-tower
leadership stance that has over the years failed to
invest in legitimacy but
rather coercion.
Mugabe and his Zanu
PF must understand that they are not above the law and
should abide by
constitutionalism, through recognising popular sovereignty,
separation of
powers, checks and balances and division of power as key
governance guiding
tools.
This kind of obduracy by Mugabe further depicts his failure to
appreciate
and embrace the rule of law and the concept of multi-partism
hence his
futile efforts to take Zimbabweans for granted by attempting to
decide the
fate of devolution. In the past, Mugabe and his then government
enacted
oppressive pieces of legislation; the misnamed Public Order and
Security Act
(Posa) and Access to Information Protection of Privacy Act
(Aippa) which
have consolidated their ambition in suppressing democracy
through
subjugating the masses. The fact that Mugabe once said the bullet
should
protect the ballot is testimony to his tyrannical stance to remain in
power.
Reports on violence, intimidation, bussing and coaching of
people by Zanu PF
during the constitution-making process is evidence that
Mugabe and his party
are out of touch with the people. They have and
continue to undermine the
intellect of Zimbabweans on devolution, a sign of
disdain and dictatorship
reflected in his efforts to derail the
constitution-making process.
It is not a mystery, but reality that
the unitary system of government has
failed as shown by media reports of
quandaries in local government which are
ignited and fuelled by the
misinformed of Local Government minister,
Ignatius Chombo. His abuse of
ministerial powers has caused turmoil in the
local government system as he,
retrogressively, interferes with operations
of local authorities by
suspending councillors and not approving budgets on
time as well as delaying
decision-making processes.
All this has frustrated development
efforts as the minister pursues party
and personal interest at the expense
of the people. This justifies and
concretises the people’s belief in the
devolution of power so that they
exercise autonomy and semi-independence in
decision-making for efficiency
and effectiveness.
A recent report
that a pregnant woman had to walk 18 km to access a clinic
where she gave
birth to triplets in Insuza, Matabeleland North, also
reflects the failure
of unitary system; as does cries of the people of
Marange over diamonds
whose income has not benefited them. All this implies
that those against the
devolution of power like President Mugabe are
actually perpetuating these
atrocious living conditions to which people are
subjected while their
resources are looted.
I urge Zimbabweans to be vigilant, defend and
demand their views to be
included in the new constitution. We recognise and
appreciate Copac
statements on the principles of the constitution, noting
that they recognise
decentralisation and devolution, a sign of respect for
the views of the
people.
Dube is a member of Bulawayo Agenda
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 17
March 2012 16:19
BY EDWARD BYRNE
You might or might not know that
many boreholes in Harare have either run
dry completely or will only pump
for short periods at a time. This is
undoubtedly a result of so many
boreholes being drilled over the past few
years as well as the irresponsible
usage of borehole water.
The water table has fallen to disastrous levels and
is still falling.
Ultimately all boreholes will either run dry completely or
only produce
water for short periods of time with a long recovery period
before flow is
resumed.
The water table is replenished only by
rainfall and this replenishment
commences from the level of the water table
at the onset of the rains. If
one assumes continual normal rainy seasons
(and this is a big assumption)
and a continuously falling water table due to
excessive off-take, even the
replenished level will fall from year to year.
If evidence is required that
the water table is falling continuously
consider this:
My borehole ran dry for the first time in November
2008. In 2009 it
happened in October, 2010 in September and August in
2011. Before 2008 it
was a prolific borehole.
In simple terms
demand is ever increasing while supply remains static.
Because of this, we
all need to take a fresh look at how we use borehole
water.
Many
people are still maintaining emerald-green lawns despite this dire
situation; some are even maintaing their vegetable gardens. This is a
luxury that none of us can afford. Watering of lawns and vegetables
accounts for approximately 90% of borehole water usage. For those
fortunate enough to still have sufficient water to keep lawns and gardens
green, and who utilise that capacity, it is only a matter of time before
their boreholes start to deliver water sporadically or not at
all.
Remember, those of us with marginal or dry boreholes are paying
the price
for your profligate use of this precious commodity. None of us
get
municipal water with any regularity (if at all) and all of us rely on
our
boreholes or bought water for our domestic requirements,
If evidence
of the effect that watering of lawns has on the water table is
required,
consider this: At midnight (when nobody is irrigating their lawn)
my
borehole will pump water continuously for 10 minutes. At midday when the
sprays are out in force my borehole will produce water for only three
minutes.
As a community, the time has come to take concerted
action to conserve this
precious resource. With concerted action the water
table can recover.
I am presenting a short list of suggestions which
I hope we can all follow.
Stop watering lawns and vegetable gardens
immediately. Remember watering
lawns and vegetables is 90% of the
problem.
Consider changing your lawn grass from the broad bladed
(Durban, Buffalo,
Kikuyu) water thirsty grasses to a narrow bladed
evergreen.
This will go brown in winter and recover instantly at the
onset of the
rains. This is after all the natural cycle in
Africa.
Water your vegetable garden and flower beds from a watering
can.
Wash your car from a bucket.
I hope everyone will
give thse recommendation serious consideration and act
upon them. For those
who have already made this decision, well done and
thank you. I appeal to
everyone to please help to spread this message.
Once the majority have
accepted the necessity of this course of action the
rest will follow. The
water table can recover but only if everyone plays
their part.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Zesa Holdings has always
maintained a veil of secrecy around the accounts of
politicians who are not
paying their astronomical bills.
Hiding behind client confidentiality, Zesa
is trying to sweep under the
carpet a brewing scandal involving the
politicians.
But it’s now a matter of public record that ministers,
permanent
secretaries, MPs and military strongmen who have vast properties
and
multiple farms have not been paying their power bills which amount to
millions of dollars. This is a scandal of the same magnitude as the War
Victim’s Compensation Fund which the same Zanu PF clique
looted.
In a cynical move, Zesa has descended heavily on poor
people groaning under
the weight of prolonged periods of power rationing;
their bills hardly ever
exceed US$200 per month but have had their homes
disconnected. The same
vigilance apparently doesn’t apply to the ruling
elite, who have accrued
bills of up to US$400 000 for a single
household.
These unscrupulous politicians should be ashamed of
themselves for
plundering the power utility that is saddled with a huge
power import debt.
The scandal at Zesa is only a tip of the iceberg. Other
parastatals like the
Zimbabwe National Water Authority are also owed
millions of dollars by the
same politicians and their
cronies.
Recently it was reported that the GMB had been looted by the
selfsame
coterie of maniacs who see themselves as divinely ordained to rule
this
country, and therefore have the right to do as they
please.
This systematic looting of parastatals is so deep-rooted in
Zimbabwe that it
is bleeding the economy. It is in this light that denials
by Zesa that no
big people owe the struggling parastatals anything becomes
untrue and
therefore unhelpful.
The denials only show that the
organisation is led by a management that is
keen to ingratiate itself with
the political leadership while not concerned
about the wellbeing of the
power utility itself and the common people who
pay their bills under very
difficult conditions.
Politicians are people’s servants and therefore
must be held accountable to
them. The press has done the right thing by
bringing them to public
scrutiny.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Zimbabweans must be wondering who Alex Duval Smith might be. Who is
this
woman who dislodged Nathaniel Manheru from his customary slot in the
Saturday Herald?
Smith is a British freelance journalist based in
Johannesburg. She is highly
regarded the world over. She last Saturday wrote
an article published in the
Independent (UK) waxing lyrical about how
President Mugabe’s popularity has
surged.
The article has become
a great propaganda coup for President Robert Mugabe
and his Zanu PF party.
Deemed more important than Manheru, an edited version
was published on the
front page and then reproduced verbatim in the space
where Manheru usually
holds sway.
The reason for this overkill is obvious. Smith has done
for Zanu PF what
dozens of Mugabe’s spin doctors have failed to do. She has
come up with some
amazing statements that must have boosted Mugabe’s ego to
no end. Many will
have unkindly surmised that she must have been paid
handsomely for the
propaganda piece. Paying foreign journalists is not
beyond Zanu PF. Remember
how publisher and editor of New African magazine
Baffour Ankomah was paid
millions of dollars to publish a supplement that
exalted Mugabe’s virtues?
In her own article, How Mugabe won over a
nation, again, Smith avers that
Mugabe has “soared back to popularity thanks
to a campaign to turn over
white-owned companies to black Zimbabweans.” At
a first reading one would
be forgiven to think that Smith was saying all
this hogwash tongue-in-cheek.
She makes statements that have no basis
in fact, the most profound of which
is: “ But it (indigenisation) is working
for the 88-year-old president. In
questionable health and in power for 32
years, Mr Mugabe has suddenly, in
the eyes of many Zimbabweans, regained the
revolutionary credentials he
earned fighting white rule in the
1970s.”
How Smith came up with this fiction is impossible to say. She
does not
mention any survey that she conducted or was conducted by
researchers. She
does not even suggest who she talked to besides Saviour
Kasukuwere, an
avowed Mugabe bootlicker. There is no reference to a sample
of people she
interviewed. She only refers to “many Zimbabweans”, itself a
meaningless
phrase. Does “many” here refer to thousands or millions of
people?
She compares the ongoing indigenisation programme with the
chaotic land
reform programme Mugabe launched in Y2K. She says: “...tens of
thousands of
resettled peasants have reaped bumper tobacco crops, civil
servants have
taken possession of thousands of hectares of redistributed
farmland, and
national pride is back, boosted by major diamond
finds.”
If she thinks the land reform programme has boosted Mugabe’s
popularity, she
must be living on another planet. In spite of land reform
Mugabe lost all
elections since 2000 but clung to power through unsavoury
means. In the
March 2008 election he lost to Morgan Tsvangirai who might
have in fact won
that poll outright if the results had not been withheld for
five weeks.
Zimbabweans generally saw through the land reform
programme for what it was.
It benefited only a few closely connected to the
Zanu PF elite. It is true
some farmers indeed got a good tobacco harvest,
but a deeper glance at the
dynamics of tobacco farming and auctioning would
reveal that none of these
new farmers are making money from the crop. It’s
only the foreign merchants
who are making money.
Indeed lots
of new farmers are back in the towns seeking formal employment.
The civil
servants, she says, “have taken possession of thousands of
hectares of
redistributed farmland”; and even where they indeed have taken
the farmland,
they are unable to farm because they simply don’t have the
money to do
so.
Smith also claims that “national pride is back, boosted by major
diamonds
finds”. This is of course untrue. Zimbabweans are aware of the
opacity
shrouding diamond mining in the country. They are aware of how a few
top
members of Zanu PF have enriched themselves at the expense of the
majority.
No one knows how much money is made from the diamonds and what
percentage of
it in fact ever finds its way into the national kitty. The
diamond business
in Zimbabwe is actually a source of anger for the majority
Zimbabweans
living in grinding poverty in a country blessed with so many
resources.
She quotes Indigenisation minister Saviour Kasukuwere
without batting an
eye.
“We want to get our people out of
poverty. Who can be against that? There is
now an appreciation that if the
majority of the population remain a minority
in the economic affairs of the
country then they are beggars. They can now
see which political party has
their interests at heart.”
This was the selfsame argument used to justify the
land reform programme,
but look at what has happened! Zimbabwe, which used
to export food to the
region, is now importing from countries like Zambia
which only a few years
ago could not feed itself.
Smith touts the
Zimplats deal saying the indigenisation programme “netted
its juiciest prey
yet when the world’s second-largest platinum miner,
Impala, agreed to cede
51% of its Zimbabwean arm, Zimplats.” She must have
dismally failed to read
the finer print because the deal is not as
straightforward as she implies.
Zimbabwe will have to fork out a billion
dollars to complete the
deals.
Smith claims that Mugabe has begun to call for elections this
year with or
without a new constitution because he has sensed his new-found
popularity.
Again Smith fails to tell us how she measured this “newfound
popularity”.
Smith also talks about the new Zanu PF popularity as
having impacted on the
MDC parties. “Zanu-PF’s recent popularity surge has
wrong-footed the MDC.”
Again there are no facts to corroborate
this.
In conclusion she writes: “To many Zimbabweans, President
Mugabe once again
looks like the country’s best defender.” Again which
“many Zimbabweans” is
she referring to? It is now known that the majority of
people in his own
party, including those deemed closest to him, want him to
leave office. It
is also a fact that he has managed to cling to power only
because of the
support he gets unreservedly from the securocrats who control
the army, the
intelligence service and the police.
With all her
experience as a journalist Alex Duval Smith has written a long
article based
on just one interview which she had with Kasukuwere. There is
absolutely
nothing to counter-balance what her interviewee had to say. This
is shoddy
journalism coming from such a reputed scribe.
