http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tichaona Sibanda
20 March
2012
University of Zimbabwe Lecturer and former MDC-T MP Munyaradzi
Gwisai faces
up to 10 years in prison after state prosecutors asked for the
maximum jail
term.
Gwisai was on Monday found guilty of ‘conspiracy
to incite public violence
with a view to overthrowing the unity government.’
He was convicted together
with Antoinette Choto, Tatenda Mombeyarara, Edson
Chakuma, Hopewell Gumbo
and Welcome Zimuto. They now all face the prescribed
maximum jail term.
The group was arrested in February last year, together
with 39 other social
and human rights activists. Police claimed then that
the group was plotting
to destabilise the government because they watched
video footage of the
Egypt uprising. When they were initially arrested
police accused the group
of treason, but downgraded the charges to inciting
public violence.
Defence lawyer Alec Muchadehama strongly opposed any
custodial sentence or
community service. He however conceded to a fine,
which would be about
US$500 per person. He told the court he will appeal
against conviction for
all six, once sentence is passed.
The lawyer
told the magistrate his clients did not commit any crime and had
been
severely tortured by police after their arrest on 19th February 2011.
The
police officers who tortured the six activists have not been brought to
account.
The activists spent 27 days in prison before being granted
bail, on
stringent conditions.
Dewa Mavhinga, acting director of the
Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, said the
case is a direct message from a
politicized and partisan justice system to
civil society about their
intolerance for democracy, justice and freedom.
‘We reject that message
of fear. It was encouraging that over 100 civil
society leaders and
activists turned up at court in support and solidarity.
‘This political
persecution of the six activists through prosecution is
testimony to how
compromised our judicial system has become. Contrast this
persecution with
the murders of over 200 MDC supporters during the 2008
elections whose
murderers are still at large, seemingly beyond the reach of
the law,’
Mavhinga said.
http://www.socialist-alliance.org
[Munyaradzi Gwisai]
Dear
comrades and friends,
Last night (March 19) Zimbabwe ISO leader Munyaradzi
Gwisai and his five
comrades were found guilty by the Zimbabwean state of
“inciting public
disorder”, after they organised a film showing and
discussion at the Labour
Centre in Harare about the Egyptian uprising last
year.The conviction gives
the brutal security apparatus in Zimbabwe a green
light to persecute and
prosecute ordinary people for watching a film or
daring to discuss events
unfolding in another country.
The ISO
activists will be sentenced in the next 24 hours and face up to 10
years'
imprisonment (in Zimbabwe's jails, this can be a death sentence).
We urge you
to help prevent these courageous comrades from being jailed by
immediately
texting a message demanding that the six activists be freed
without penalty
to the following numbers:
Zimbabwe Security Minister Didymus Mutasa
+263 0712 200 532
Zimbabwe Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri +263 712
808 290
Zimbabwe Police Minister Kembo Mohadi +263 712 605
424
Protests actions will also be held on Tuesday 20 March as
follows:
SOUTH AFRICA - 12 noon Zimbabwe consulate, 13 Boeing Street
West,
Bedfordview, Johannesburg
BRITAIN - Embassy of Zimbabwe,
Zimbabwe House, 429 Strand, London, WC2R 0QE.
Phone 020 7379 1167, email zimlondon@yahoo.co.uk
AUSTRALIA -
Melbourne solidarity action with Zimbabwe activists facing years
in jail,
Tuesday March 20, 5.15pm, GPO, City, Corner Bourke and Elizabeth St
USA –
Details at:
http://socialistworker.org/2012/03/19/mugabes-iron-fist-aimed-at-activists
AUSTRIA:
protest in front of the embassy of Zimbabwe in Vienna on Tuesday,
March 20th
at 11:00. https://www.facebook.com/events/409210405771652
The
convicted comrades are: Munya Gwisai, Antoneta Choto (36), Tatenda
Mombeyarara (29), Edson Chakuma (38), Hopewell Gumbo (32) and Welcome Zimuto
(25).
In solidarity,
Lisa Macdonald
Socialist Alliance
(Australia)
international@socialist-alliance.org
MORE
INFO: http://links.org.au/node/2785
http://www.radiovop.com
Johannesburg, March 20, 2012- A
conglomeration of civic organisations
operating under the banner of
Democratic Left Front (DLF), called on
President Robert Mugabe led
government to acquit Munyaradzi Gwisai and five
other activists convicted of
conspiring to commit violence.
The DLF urged Mugabe to step down and also
throw away malicious charges
against the team of six who face a possible ten
year jail sentence. The
South African umbrella body said the conviction is
meant to intimidate
citizens into submission at a time when another round of
polls is impending.
Trevor Ngwane, leading human rights activists said
South Africa and
President Jacob Zuma to intensify pressure on Zimbabwe’s
frail leader to
allow the smooth implementation of democratic
reforms.
“Mugabe should leave the six to walk free as they have not
committed any
crime. Watching a video accessible to everyone can not be a
criminal
offense. Mugabe must go, what he is doing are last kicks of a dying
horse”,
said Ngwane speaking to Radio VOP.
The Zimbabwe consulate now
housed along the N12 highway was coloured with
banners and placards calling
for dropping of the ruling and an immediate
Mugabe exit.
The Zimbabwe
consulate tried to get assistance from the South African Police
Service
(SAPS) as the demonstration was not sanctioned but the police could
not
expel the protesters as the march was well organised and did not disrupt
business.
Reached for comment, the Zimbabwe consulate official who
cannot be named
said, although they respected freedom of expression
demonstrations should be
conducted under the confines of the law.
http://www.kubatanablogs.net/kubatana/?p=8211
Zimbabwe ISO leader Munyaradzi Gwisai and
five other activists have been
found guilty by the Zimbabwean government of
“inciting public disorder”,
after they organised a film showing and
discussion at the Labour Centre in
Harare about the Egyptian uprising in
February last year. The conviction
gives the Zimbabwe government a green
light to persecute and prosecute
ordinary people for watching a film,
conversing about current affairs, or
discussing events as they unfold in
another country.
The ISO activists will be sentenced today and face up to
10 years’
imprisonment.
You may well ask what any of us can do in the
face of this authoritarianism.
Whilst it may be difficult to show your
outrage publicly for fear of
reprisal – which is very real – we urge you to
continue to inform yourselves
about the human rights situation in Zimbabwe
and other countries, like Egypt
and Syria.
The fact is thousands of
Zimbabweans were watching footage of the Egyptian
uprising last year. And
thousands of Zimbabweans were discussing those
events at the office, in
their homes and over cold ones in pubs. The
majority of people discussing
the Arab uprising probably all agreed on one
thing: that similar events were
unlikely to happen in Zimbabwe. But still we
all carried on discussing and
arguing. Debate and discourse is a central
part of all our lives.
We
have a fundamental right to freedom of expression.
Kubatana urges you to
use exercise it whenever and wherever you can.
We are all Munyaradzi
Gwisai.
This entry was posted on March 20th, 2012 at 2:21 pm by Bev
Clark
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Alex Bell
20
March 2012
The Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) has warned that Zimbabwe is
facing a
“major crisis,” after a third of the country’s maize crops were
declared a
write off.
The state media has quoted Agriculture Minister
Joseph Made as stating that
the country faces a serious grain deficit,
blaming a ‘prolonged dry spell’.
He told the Herald newspaper that the
government had halted sales from its
‘strategic grain reserves’ following
the bleak results of a state assessment
of the country’s maize
crops.
The CFU’s President, Charles Taffs, told SW Radio Africa on
Tuesday that he
agreed with Made that Zimbabwe is in trouble agriculturally,
with the
country once again unable to feed itself. But he disagreed with the
weather
being blamed for the situation.
“We can’t continue to blame
drought. It’s quite absurd that this is still
used as an excuse,” Taffs
said, adding that the reason behind the deficits
is that “agriculture
continues to be undermined.”
The country has been struggling to feed
itself for more than a decade after
productive farms were seized from
commercial farmers and handed to top ZANU
PF officials, as part of the land
grab campaign. In 2008 this campaign was
declared unlawful by the regional
human rights court, but nothing has been
done to correct the
situation.
The result has been a country facing hunger, which ZANU PF has
been quick to
blame either on Western imposed targeted sanctions or the
weather.
But as Taffs said, the treatment of the agricultural sector is
the main
problem.
“There is first of all no funding for agriculture
and no security of
tenure,” Taffs explained.
He said: “You know we
actually have no problem with who owns the land. We
have a problem with how
the land is used,” adding that the there is no
reason anymore why Zimbabwe
should be relying on food aid or imports to
survive.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tichaona
Sibanda
20 March 2012
A press conference organized by the youth
empowerment pressure group Upfumi
Kuvadiki, descended into chaos as rival
factions created a ruckus at the
Harare Club in the capital.
The
heated exchange of words in front of journalists soon gave way to
scuffles
between the supporters of rival factions led by Alson Darikayi, its
former
spokesman and now president, and Tatenda Maroodza the
secretary-general. The
commotion abruptly ended the press briefing, which
was being addressed by
Darikayi.
The youth group has been rocked by internal squabbles since
January this
year. The divisions were sparked by reports that Darikayi was
claiming to be
the group’s leader.
Other members of the group accuse
him of causing despondency in Upfumi
Kuvadiki while Maroodza claimed that
Darikayi was booted out from the
organization for flouting its
rules.
Our correspondent Simon Muchemwa said it was rare for two factions
with
strong links to ZANU PF to be seen ‘washing their dirty linen in
public.’
One group is believed to be sponsored by ZANU PF secretary for
administration Didymus Mutasa, while Youth Minister Saviour Kasukuwere is
behind the other faction.
‘There were ugly scenes and this happened
in full view of journalists and
police who just stood by and did nothing.
There were scuffles between rival
members and those from Maroodza’s camp
were more vocal and threatening,’
Muchemwa said.
He continued:
‘Maroodza’s group came in and climbed on chairs and tables.
They tore down
posters that had Mugabe’s picture from the walls and
disrupted the press
conference. But surprisingly no-one was arrested despite
the police being
stationed less than 20 metres away.’
The youth empowerment group came to
prominence last year when it temporarily
disrupted parking business run by
EasiPark, that led to a demonstration that
resulted in looting and
destruction of property at the Gulf complex in the
capital.
The group
still harbors plans to take over the lucrative parking bays owned
by Harare
City Council after the local authority threatened to cancel the
controversial joint venture with South African firm
Easihold.
Easihold and Harare formed Easipark to control city parking,
but the deal
hangs in the balance after the city fathers made known their
intention to
terminate the two-year partnership.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
By Editor
Tuesday, 20 March 2012 12:28
HARARE
- Police in Shamva on Saturday evening ran amok, brutally assaulted a
man to
death and left several critically injured after a senior police
officer
reportedly commandeered nine juniors to revenge on hapless mine
workers
after his wife lost a purse with $1.
Shamva yesterday resembled a war
zone after angry residents, thronged and
barricaded the police station
demanding justice following the death of
Luxmore Chiwamba who succumbed to
injuries he sustained after police
officers assaulted him with baton sticks,
clenched fists, and booted feet.
Residents said three people had died but
police spokesperson, Wayne
Bvudzijena maintained yesterday evening that only
one person had died during
the bloody siege on Ashley Mine
compound.
Residents camped at Shamva police station said trouble began
after a wife to
a senior police officer only identified as Shumba was robbed
and lost a bag
containing a phone and $1 on Saturday.
Shumba is said
to have enlisted the help of nine officers to try and
retrieve his wife’s
stolen bag whereupon he conducted a deadly door to door
raid on residents of
Ashley Mine in which people were forced out of their
homes, some naked and
were savagely assaulted.
In the dead of the night and under the cover of
darkness, the officers
launched a vicious attack on Ashley Mine compound
demanding cash and cell
phones from helpless residents to compensate the $1
loss.
Over a dozen people are said to have been injured during the brutal
attack.
Ten people were severely injured and are now receiving treatment and
recovering at a private clinic in Bindura.
A relative of the
deceased, Yvonne Mushita told the Daily News that 10
police officers led by
Shumba descended on their family home and beat them
up
mercilessly.
“They came at around 11pm knocking on the door, they broke
down the door and
started hitting us with clenched fists and booted feet,”
Mushita said.
The informal trader who was overcome with grief and anger
said some members
of her family managed to escape but Chiwamba was
overpowered by the police
as they had taken him by surprise.
“He was
actually sleeping and they came in while he was naked and when he
tried to
reach for his clothes they stepped on his chest with their boots
and
starting kicking him all over the body. He was beaten up until he
started
crying out to them saying ko muri kundiurairei(why are you killing
me)?”
Mushita said.
The heartbroken woman said the heartless police officers
did not even heed
the plea of the dying man when he asked to be taken to
hospital.
“They said to him we want blood, someone must die here. They
even refused to
give him medical assistance even when he started vomiting
blood. Even his
urine was bloody,” she said.
Mushita who held on to a
stick which she used during the demonstration said
Chiwamba who is survived
by a wife and three children was later on taken to
the police station where
he was further assaulted.
When the Daily News crew arrived at Shamwa
police station at 1pm yesterday,
angry residents where demonstrating singing
and dancing to war songs
wielding placards with various messages denouncing
the brutal police action.
They demanded that Shumba should come out to
face the “music.” Their songs
sent messages that they were tired of being
ill-treated by the police who
have a constitutional mandate to protect
them.
The super charged crowd which consisted of men and women of
different ages
as well as school pupils, held placards denouncing the
police.
One placard read; “Shumba we have reduced you to a rat,” while
another read;
“We will not have thieves policing us.”
One of the
residents taking part in the demonstration, Adam said he was not
shocked by
the police action as police details in the politically explosive
city had
been holding residents hostage since October last year.
“It was
inevitable, this Shumba guy who is the member in charge here is very
cruel,
he has been terrorising us for a long time.
“In October he introduced a
curfew where if you are seen walking about after
7pm, you will be arrested,”
Adam said.
Sarah, who runs a flea market stall in the Zanu PF stronghold
concurred with
Adam.
She said she was sick and tired at the manner in
which the police got away
with heinous crimes on a daily basis.
“We
want to know who will police the police since they are the ones who are
going about beating up innocent people in their homes.
“I was not
beaten up on Saturday because my money saved me, if I had not
paid them the
$100 they demanded, then my family and I would probably be in
hospital,”
Sarah said.
Women and children were not even spared in the attack.
Several grandmothers
are said to have suffered broken limbs after the police
descended on them.
Angry residents vowed not to leave the police station
until Shumba and his
men were safely behind bars.
Bvudzijena
dismissed the incident as an attack on Shamwa residents by the
police.
“One person died but it wasn’t an attack on the public by the
police. We are
still carrying out investigations and we will not leave any
stone unturned,”
Bvudzijena said.
This however, is not the first time
that police details have been fingered
in brutal attacks against members of
the public.
Last week, 24 year old Ernst Marandure was severely assaulted
by a police
officer in Kuwadzana. He is recovering at Parirenyatwa
Hospital.
The latest attack on innocent citizens by police comes at a
time when the
two MDC formations which are in government together with Zanu
PF have been
pushing for reforms in the security sector.
http://www.radiovop.com
Bulawayo,March 20, 2012 –The trial of three Mthwakazi
Liberation Front (MLF)
leaders who are facing treason charges opened at the
Bulawayo High Court
yesterday (Monday) with one of the key state witnesses
dismissing police
claims.
The three MLF senior executive members
Charles Thomas, John Gazi and Paul
Siwela are facing treason charges after
being arrested in March last year
in different locations of Bulawayo for
distributing MLF flyers calling for
the separation of Matebeleland region
from the whole of Zimbabwe.
However their trial opened before Judge
Justice Nicholas Ndou in Bulawayo on
Monday with one of the key state
witnesses, Headman Sibanda shocking police
by dismissing their claims in
court that he had seen Thomas and Gazi
distributing flyers in the city. The
three MLF leaders also pleaded not
guilty to the treason charges.
“I
never saw any of the three accused persons distributing flyers of MLF,”
Sibanda told the court.
There are more than 11 state witnesses
who have been lined up to testify
against the MLF leaders. Another state
witness Sibangani Ndlovu also
testified before Judge Ndou yesterday. Their
trial continues today
(Tuesday).
The MLF executive members are being
represented by Sindiso Mazibisa,
Advocate Lucas Nkomo, Robert Ndlovu and
Sabelo Sibanda.
The militant and radical MLF was launched in January last
year and is
advocating for the independence of the Matabeleland region
located in the
southern part of Zimbabwe saying the Ndebele speaking people
of this country
have been marginalised by the government for too long and
also face
discrimination every day at work places and tertiary
institutions.
The call for Matabeleland secession from Zimbabwe appeared
to have been
encouraged by events in South Sudan where people there voted
overwhelmingly
recently to break away from mainland Sudan in a
referendum.
Last year MLF announced that it was dragging President Robert
Mugabe and
Zimbabwe government to the African Commission on Human and
Peoples' Rights
(ACHPR) over arrests and harassments of its
members.
http://www.voanews.com
19 March
2012
Chief
Negomo, who has threatened to attach and auction the Prime Minister’s
property this week, had initially fined Mr. Tsvangirai two head of cattle,
two sheep, 10 meters of white cloth and a bowl of snuff to appease the
spirits.
Violet Gonda | Washington
A Zimbabwean magistrate
has set aside a judgment by a traditional leader
charging Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai should pay a fine for allegedly
violating tradition by
paying bride price for one Locadia Karimatsenga-Tembo
last
November.
Mr. Tsvangirai has denied marrying Tembo, maintaining that he
had only paid
damages for getting the 30-year-old divorcee
pregnant.
Chief Negomo, who has threatened to attach and auction the
Prime Minister’s
property this week, had initially fined Mr. Tsvangirai two
head of cattle,
two sheep, 10 meters of white cloth and a bowl of snuff to
appease the
spirits.
Mr. Tsvangirai’s lawyer Selby Hwacha told the
VOA’s Violet Gonda that Chief
Negomo risks arrest if he attempts to attach
Mr. Tsvangirai’s property since
the magistrate ruled he had no jurisdiction
over the area where the
traditional ceremony allegedly took
place.
“In fact what the magistrate has ruled and directed is that the
chief’s
decision is void, it is invalid.” Hwacha said: “(Including the fact
that the
chief has no powers to be issuing decisions of any kind over and
concerning
the Prime Minister.”
“The court has said if the chief
should, and I hope he doesn’t, make the
mistake of attempting to attach
anything he risks being arrested because
simply put – you don’t run around
with fake orders or fake powers trying to
attach people’s
property.”
Early this year the Bindura court reportedly ordered the Prime
Minister to
pay the traditional penalty, but Hwacha said he only heard about
it in the
newspapers and could not confirm that the magistrate had initially
ordered
that the chief’s judgment was valid.
“The only formal
communication we have ever received is this communication
from the
magistrates’ court in Bindura advising us that the chief’s decision
is not
valid,” said Hwacha.
Meanwhile, speaking on condition of anonymity, a
source close to the
Chiweshe chief said plans were still underway to attach
the Prime Minister’s
property.
The chief’s aide Retired Major Cairo
Mhandu declined to comment.
However, youths from Mr. Tsvangirai’s MDC
formation have threatened to
‘prevent’ Chief Negomo from attaching their
leader’s property in an ‘illegal
manner’.
Youth Assembly
secretary-general Promise Mkwananzi accuses the chief of
undermining the
office of the Prime Minister.
“We expect the respect that is given to the
President of the country to be
given as well to the Prime Minister of this
country,” said Mkwananzi.
“The Youth Assembly will not sit by idly and
cowardly and watch while this
idiotic chief goes on to disdainfully
disrespect the office of the Prime
Minister.”
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Alex
Bell
20 March 2012
Zimbabwe’s ties with Iran, and reports that ZANU PF
is seeking assistance
from that country, are being questioned as South
Africa launches a probe
into alleged Iranian ‘sanctions busting’ deals
there.
The ZANU PF regime has been accused of seeking support from rogue
states
like Iran, ahead of elections that the party insists will be held
this year.
ZANU PF’s Defence Minister, Emmerson Mnangagwa, earlier this
month travelled
to Iran for a four day visit in which he signed a
cooperation agreement with
his Iranian counterpart. Details of the exact
nature of the ‘bilateral’ deal
have not been disclosed but Iran’s Defence
Minister gave a hint when he
said: “We are ready to reinvigorate Zimbabwe’s
defence power.”
Zimbabwe has also since been implicated in a ‘sanctions
busting’ scandal in
South Africa, with Zimbabwe believed to be the possible
conduit for illegal
transfers of military equipment to Iran. Dubbed the
‘Irangate’ scandal, the
story centres around an investigation by South
Africa’s Sunday Times
newspaper, which this month reported that South
African front companies had
been used to ship US helicopters and spare parts
to Iran. Because some of
these parts could be used for military purposes,
they violated international
sanctions.
Last Thursday, South Africa’s
National Conventional Arms Control Committee
(NCACC) told Parliament that it
had started investigations against the
companies and individuals mentioned
in the Sunday Times report. Included in
the list of individuals is the
partner of South Africa’s deputy President
Kgalema Mothlanthe, Gugu Mthsali.
The Sunday Times has alleged that
associates of Mtshali’s and former De
Beers executive Raisaka Masebelanga
met delegates from a group called
Aviation 360 to discuss “buying”
government support for the Iran
deal.
The newspaper reported that Aviation 360 had set up a network of
front
companies to supply Iran with, among other things, a Bell 212
helicopter,
which was exported to Iran in 2009 through Gemini Moon 477, a
South African
front company. A Canadian company, Eagle Copters, would
allegedly buy
helicopters from a company in the US. Eagle Copters would then
sell them to
Gemini Moon 477.
Once the helicopters were in South
Africa, they would be deregistered and
then reregistered with Iran as the
end-user. They would then be shipped
abroad on a Russian cargo aircraft,
possibly through Zimbabwe.
The Sunday Times has also reported that
Aviation 360 was involved in setting
up deals involving three Airbus A300
aircraft, which were exported to Iran
in 2009 through Tigris International,
another South African front company. A
deal worth R2 million involving Bell
212 helicopter parts was also allegedly
set up, but this was reportedly
aborted in the wake of the Sunday Times
report.
South Africa’s Shadow
Minister for Defence and Military Veterans, David
Maynier from the
opposition Democratic Alliance (DA), told SW Radio Africa
on Tuesday that
the allegations are very serious. He explained this it is
not the first time
South Africa has been implicated in similar Iranian
‘sanctions busting’
reports, including claims in 2009 that South Africa had
attempted to export
a ‘fast boat’ to Iran.
Zimbabwe’s involvement meanwhile remains
unconfirmed. But political analyst
Professor John Makumbe told SW Radio
Africa on Tuesday that the country’s
links with Iran should be probed. He
said Zimbabwe “could easily be involved
in such a deal,” saying Iran sees
Zimbabwe as an ally.
Makumbe also said that if South African government
officials are found to
have known about the ‘sanctions busting’, and are
aware of Zimbabwe’s role
as a possible conduit, “South Africa’s role as
facilitator in the Zimbabwe
crisis becomes highly questionable.” Makumbe
agreed that this could be why
South Africa is slow to criticise the
unfolding crisis in Zimbabwe, despite
reports that ZANU PF is preparing for
elections with the possible support of
states like Iran.
“There is a
love-hate relationship between Zimbabwe and South Africa,”
Makumbe said,
adding: “As it is, South Africa is not entirely unhappy about
the situation
in Zimbabwe and its continued pariah status, because it
economically suits
them.”
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
By Court Writer
Tuesday, 20 March 2012
11:05
HARARE - The High Court has ordered Mines minister Obert Mpofu
to testify
today in a case in which businessman Lovemore Kurotwi is facing
fraud
charges involving $2 billion.
Justice Chinembiri Bhunu said
Mpofu could be summoned to testify in the
matter since the Core Mining boss
and his co accused, former Zimbabwe Mining
Development Corporation (ZMDC)
chief executive Dominic Mubaiwa implicated
the minister.
Kurotwi and
Mubaiwa’s defence outlines mentioned the minister and the judge
said it was
prudent that the minister appears in court to testify.
The state claims
that Kurotwi and Mubaiwa misrepresented information to the
mines ministry
that Core Mining (owned by Kurotwi) was a special vehicle for
an
international South African based company, Benn Steinmeitz Group
Resources
(BSGR).
The State alleges that the misrepresentations by the two
prejudiced the
country of investment worth $2 billion dollars from BSGR but
did not state
to whom exactly were the misrepresentations made in the
ministry.
The deal died in pregnancy after BSGR demanded human rights
issues to be
addressed before they injected the money, a condition that was
not met and
resulted in the arrest of the two on fraud charges.
This,
according to the state, prejudiced the country of $2 billion worth of
investments.
However, Kurotwi says the fraud charges only came when
he told President
Robert Mugabe that Mpofu had demanded a $10 million bribe
to facilitate
licencing of a joint venture between the state and Kurotwi’s
outfit into
Canadile Miners.
In his defence outline yesterday,
Kurotwi insisted that he was being
punished after refusing to give the
minister a bribe.
Kurotwi and Mubaiwa say the minister should face
similar charges because the
he sanctioned everything that happened involving
the ill-fated $2 billion
investment.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Alex Bell
20 March
2012
Zimbabweans across the Diaspora are once again preparing for the
monthly
‘Free Zimbabwe Global Protests’ set to get underway outside South
African
embassies and consulates on Wednesday.
The protests, dubbed
the ‘21st Movement’, kicked off in January and are part
of efforts to put
pressure on South Africa as the mediator in Zimbabwe, to
solve the ongoing
political crisis.
Organised by MDC-T structures in the Diaspora, the
protests have been taking
place outside South African consulates and
embassies across the globe,
including in South Africa, America and the
UK.
Protesters from around the world have been calling on the South
African
government to help solve the ongoing crisis as well as force ZANU PF
and
Robert Mugabe to honour the Global Political Agreement.
Petitions
with these and other demands have been handed over to embassy and
consular
staff during the demonstrations.
Wednesday is round three of the
demonstrations, and the Diaspora is being
urged to get involved.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
By Bridget Mananavire, Staff Writer
Tuesday, 20 March
2012 12:01
HARARE - Zesa Holdings’ bid to protect senior government
officials
defaulting on paying their power bills has failed as some of the
VIPs have
personally confirmed to the Daily News that they are in
arrears.
Residents also turned the heat on Zesa and urged the poorly-run
parastatal
to push the politicians some of whom it has been giving special
treatment as
“sensitive customers” to pay for their power usage and stop
punishing poor
Zimbabweans only.
The power utility has made a futile
and amateurish attempt to cover up the
embarrassment that came with the
exposure of the defaulters by placing
statements in newspapers dismissing
the Daily News story.
Zesa bizarrely went an extra mile apologising to
its defaulters and urging
members of the public to dismiss our
story.
But government officials who spoke to the Daily News yesterday
confessed
that they indeed owe Zesa huge sums of money in unpaid electricity
bills.
Patrick Zhuwao, Zanu PF MP for Zvimba East who is also Mugabe’s
nephew, said
he owes Zesa and is yet to settle his bills. According to
Zesa’s list of
defaulters he owes the power utility $54 407,31.
“I am
a tobacco farmer, I use lots of electricity. But I have since made
payment
arrangements with Zesa. I harvest once a year and that is when I can
make my
payments,” Zhuwao said.
Minister of State in the President’s Office
Didymus Mutasa who owes $179
590,31, said he was still discussing his bill
with Zesa officials.
“There is absolutely nothing wrong I have done. I am
meeting with Zesa
officials because there is more to it than meets the eye,”
he said.
Thamsanqa Mahlangu, a former deputy minister and MDC legislator
had some
explanation to make in confirming his bill.
“I was put there
as the guarantor for my constituency, because I was paying
for some of the
underprivileged,” he said of his $2 248, 34 bill.
Oppah Muchinguri, Zanu
PF’s Secretary for Women Affairs and a Cabinet
minister said she like Zhuwao
is a tobacco farmer and feels the Zesa bills
are too high for her. She owes
Zesa $53 699,69.
“I sell once a year but Zesa is on the high. There are
ulterior motives
because the publishing now makes it seem like we are
criminals.
“Zesa knows we pay our bills, last year we paid around $40 000
in Zesa
bills,” she said.
Indigenisation minister, Saviour Kasukuwere
confirmed he owes Zesa while
speaking to The Telegraph.
He said:
“It’s no story here. I will pay my bill, but I am querying it
because I am
not sure the figures are right. Remember there was
dollarisation in
2009.
“Also I am a farmer, I employ people, I have not yet been paid by
the GMB
and I am waiting for money for the last three or four months, and I
am sure
many of us are in the same situation. We will pay our
bills.”
Harare Residents Trust (HRT), residents’ rights lobby group said
the
politicians’ bills are shocking.
“Zesa must halt the
disconnections of suffering Zimbabweans and deal with
government officials
who owe hundreds of thousands. These are the same
people bleeding the
economy.”
“Residents are concerned over why Zesa is shielding the
powerful and
penalising the weak. They have failed to claim what is theirs.
We call on
Zimbabweans to do their own metre readings and flock to Zesa
offices if they
differ from what is on their bill sheets,” said Precious
Shumba the HRT
Coordinator.
Zesa spokesperson Fullard Gwasira said
his organisation is not trying to
shield anyone by denying the Daily News
expose but was simply trying to
protect client
information.
“Suggestions that Zesa is trying to protect any particular
customer, or
group of customers, is not correct. It is essentially
protecting client
information privilege, similarly to what other businesses
do in pursuance of
professional business practice.”
“Zesa is dealing
with all defaulters across the various customer categories
in an even handed
manner, with fairness and transparency,” said Gwasira.
“Zesa is very
aware of the central role it plays in the economy and its
recovery, and is
very sensitive to the liquidity situation currently
prevailing in the
economy. This explains why the utility then afforded all
customers
categories the option of entering into payment plans to amortise
the debts
which had accrued.
“Some customers entered into these payment plans and
are abiding to them,
which is why some figures currently being highlighted
in the media require
qualification and should not be taken at face
value.
“Power Disconnections are in both high and low density areas to
all
customers in a fair and transparent manner, and thus members of the
public
should not doubt our resolve to collect the debt and our even
handedness,”
added Gwasira in his response to the Daily News.
But he
did not mention why Zesa only defended Mugabe yet there are dozens of
defaulters among the country’s top officials. Gwasira could not be drawn
into revealing details about payments on the First Family’s
farms.
Among the top government officials owing Zesa hefty amounts of
money, at a
time the country is struggling to pay off an $80 million debt to
Mozambique’s
Hydro Cahora Bassa, are Mugabe’s closest aides such as Defence
minister
Emmerson Mnangagwa, minister of State in the President’s Office
Didymus
Mutasa, State Security minister Sydney Sekeramayi, Information and
Publicity
minister Webster Shamu, Indigenisation minister Kasukuwere, Higher
Education
minister Stan Mudenge, John Nkomo, Deputy Prime Minister Arthur
Mutambara,
Members of Parliament and provincial governors among others.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
By Xolisani Ncube, Staff Writer
Tuesday, 20
March 2012 12:08
HARARE - Business came to halt in Harare’s city
centre yesterday afternoon
including at President Robert Mugabe’s
Munhumutapa offices due to
intermittent power cuts by the country’s rot-
ridden, Zesa Holdings.
Munhumutapa offices which houses several core
government offices was forced
to switch on to a standby generator to
continue government business.
The rolling power cuts which are increasing
everyday as a result of an
outstanding $80 million electricity debt to
Mozambique are coming amid an
expose by the Daily News that several senior
government officials owe Zesa
millions of dollars in unpaid
bills.
The power cuts brought business to a halt at government offices,
the courts,
private offices and hospitals.
High Court Judge Justice
Chinembiri Bhunu had to postpone a bail application
hearing for MDC
activists currently in custody on charges of murdering a
police officer
because the courtrooms had no lighting.
Court proceedings could also not
continue because recording equipment could
not function without electrical
power.
Zesa has recently announced a punishing load shedding schedule for
most
parts of the country due to reduced power generation from Hydro Cahora
Bassa
(HCB) of Mozambique.
But Zesa keeps punishing the poor, by
switching off electricity among the
suffering people yet the VIPs, are left
untouched although they owe
millions.
Over the weekend, the power
utility made a passionate plea to defaulters who
include politicians to
settle their bills so that it could use the money to
increase its capacity
to generate more power.
http://www.voanews.com
19 March
2012
For
years now many people in Zimbabwe have remained without a constant
supply of
clean tap water, creating serious health risks for residents as
they resort
to unclean sources of water for survival
Studio 7 Reporters |
Washington/Harare
The Zimbabwe National Water Authority says it is
concerned that as
Zimbabweans join the rest of the world this week in
marking water day, the
country is lagging behind with only 25 percent of the
water in the country’s
dams being used to improve people's
lives.
ZINWA board chairman, Never Mhlanga, told parliament’s public
accounts
portfolio committee that most of the country’s dams are full but
are not
being utilized.
"We have built dams which are full of water,"
he said. "It's a sorry sight
when we travel to these dams and you find them
full of water and there are
no users, no takers."
Mhlanga said most
farmers are not paying their water bills, collectively
owing the water
authority $88 million. He adds last year alone, ZINWA was
only able to
collect $27 million from the $42 million it should have made
through water
charges countrywide.
For years now many people in Zimbabwe have remained
without a constant
supply of clean tap water, creating serious health risks
for residents as
they resort to unclean sources of water for
survival.
From big cities such as Harare and Bulawayo to small towns such
as Bindura
and Kadoma - getting clean water for household consumption is a
daily
struggle.
Residents who spoke to Studio 7 about the poor water
supply in the suburbs
say in the absence of clean water supplies, the
council and the government
are wasting their time in trying to fight
waterborne diseases like cholera
and typhoid.
One resident Thomas
Mwedziwendira from Kuwadzana extension says with clean
water supplies
readily available, council wouldn’t have to worry about
illegal vendors
helping spread diseases.
"Water supply is very erratic so even if you buy
something you might find
that there is no water to wash it, it is the Harare
city council which is to
blame," said Mwedziwendira.
Another
resident, Moses Chiremba, agreed, adding local authorities and the
government should unite to solve the water crisis in the whole
country.
Meanwhile, speaking at the Voice of America's headquarters in
Washington to
mark world water day, Dr. Aaron Salzberg, the special
coordinator for water
resources at the U.S. State Department, stressed the
importance of water in
the growth and development of
countries.
Citing Zimbabwe in particular, Salzberg said key areas like
education,
poverty reduction, democracy building and health have been
affected by lack
of access to clean water by many in the country.
He
said Zimbabwe, like many other countries, has failed to properly empower
its
ministries so they can adequately provide clean water and in the process
prevent outbreaks of diseases such as cholera and typhoid.
"I think
we have a water minister [in Zimbabwe] who is committed to
addressing some
of these issues, committed to working with neighbors, but
like many
countries the water minister is very marginalized in the political
process
and they must be empowered," said Salzberg.
http://www.radiovop.com
Harare, March 20, 2012 -While
President Robert Mugabe publicly denigrates
Finance Minister Tendai Biti
accusing him of throwing spanners into the
works it has now emerged the
88-year old former guerrilla leader secretly
extols the robust MDC-T
secretary general, as his best finance minister
ever.
Former United
States ambassador to Botswana Stephen Nalon said Mugabe
recently disclosed
that he rated Biti as the best ever finance minister he
has worked with
since he took over the country in 1980.
Mugabe reportedly said he was
overly impressed by Biti despite having worked
with Biti for a short
period.
The late Bernard Chidzero, the late Ariston Chambati, Herbert
Mrerwa,
Christopher Kuruneri and Simba Makoni, have all held that portfolio
but
Mugabe rates Biti higher.
In a leaked US diplomatic cable, Nolan
said; “President Mugabe praised the
work of Tendai Biti in only a few weeks
and called him his best Finance
Minister ever.”
The diplomatic cable
was dispatched in April 2009 but leaked late last year
by whistle blowing
website Wikileaks. The cable was made available this
week.
In the
cable, Nolan said he was told about Mugabe’s appreciation of Biti’s
work by
the Botswana Foreign Minister Phandu Skelemani.
Skelemani had just met
Mugabe during a Sadc Summit held in Swaziland soon
after the formation of
the inclusive government in Harare.
But Mugabe has repeatedly accused
Biti of throwing spanners into the works
by allegedly allocating himself
presidential powers; cutting support to
black farmers and failing to help
struggling businesses, particularly in
Bulawayo.
“This man we gave
the job of managing the country’s finances does not think
along the same
lines as us,” Mugabe said recently, while in Manicaland where
he was meeting
traditional leaders.
“To him and some of his colleagues, agriculture is
not an important area
because they think that if they finance this sector,
they will be
strengthening Zanu PF. They don’t want to see the economy
prospering.”
But contrary to this, it has now emerged Mugabe rates Biti
very high esteem.
The Botswana Foreign Minister Skelemani told the former US
ambassador to
Gaborone, that he was surprised that Mugabe was so impressed
by Biti and
that he was grateful about Botswana’s attitude towards
Zimbabwe.
According to Skelemani, the Sadc leaders told Mugabe and the
Zimbabwean
delegation, at the summit, that "you need to help us to
you."
Minister Skelemani says that President Mugabe approached him to
"thank him
for his attitude" during the summit.
Mugabe told Skelemani
that "we are glad you (Botswana) are even thinking
about helping us."
Skelemani says that he told Mugabe "we have been trying
to help you all
along, even if you didn't see it."
http://www.voanews.com
19 March
2012
The
probe by the MDC comes at a time when Local Government Minister Ignatius
Chombo has launched his own corruption investigations into Bulawayo and
Chitungwiza local authorities
Jonga Kandemiiri |
Washington
Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC formation
on Monday rolled
out probe teams to investigate graft allegations in rural
and urban councils
under its councillors, expelling Marondera mayor Farai
Nyandoro in the
process.
Nyandoro confirmed he had been suspended
from the party. The MDC says
Nyandoro is corrupt and has received kickbacks
from a number of companies
and individuals in return for favorable tenders
and related things.
The probe by the MDC comes at a time when Local
Government Minister Ignatius
Chombo has launched his own corruption
investigations into Bulawayo and
Chitungwiza local authorities.
On
the other hand, MDC sources say the probe may play into Chombo's hands
while
others say the probe is a witch-hunt by lawmakers trying to block
councillors from challenging them in the next elections.
In Bulawayo
Chombo recently appointed a four-member team led by former local
government
secretary Finnie Munyira to investigate the City council over
corruption
allegations.
Residents in the City of Kings, however, question Chombo's
sincerity,
charging he too must be investigated for corruption.
Party
spokesman Douglas Mwonzora confirmed the probe teams have been
dispatched,
telling VOA's Jonga Kandemiiri the investigators will go beyond
investigating corruption in the councils to look at service delivery and
related issues.
http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v6/newsworld.php?id=653469
HARARE, March 20
(BERNAMA-NNN-NEW ZIANA) -- The Zimbabwe National Road
Authority (ZINARA),
which collects toll at the 22 toll gates on the
country's tolled highways,
plans to review the list of people exempted from
paying the fees, says its
chief executive officer, Frank Chitukutuku.
He told the Parliamentary
Committee on Transport and Infrastructure
Development here Monday: "We are
going to re-look at the exemption list.
There are going to be very few
exemptions. A very long list of exemptions
will not do us any
good.
"We are going to ask government vehicles to pay as well because if
government can afford to give the travelling party allowances I am sure they
can afford to give them money to pay at toll gates."
Chitukutuku said
ambulances would also be required to pay at tollgates.
Only government
motorcades and police officers on highway patrol would be
exempted.
Committee member and the member of Parliament for Pumula,
Albert Mhlanga,
had asked the reason for exempting government officials from
paying toll
fees. "You are exempting Parliamentarians, Ministers and those
who are
better off financially while making a poor farmer pay toll fees," he
said.
Chitukutuku also said nine new tollgates would be constructed on
the
Plumtree-Harare Highway by October. Each of the new toll gates would
cost at
least 1 million USD to construct, he said, adding that the first
batch of
equipment was already in the country.
The new structures
would be modeled along the ones found in South Africa to
help curb revenue
leakages, he said.
"We hope that this will give us a lot more revenue
because we believe that
the revenue that we are receiving is far less than
what we should be
receiving," he added.
"For the other roads those
temporary structures are going to remain until we
eventually replace
them."
Chitukutuku said ZINARA was preparing to take over revenue
collection from
the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority at all tollgates by July. It
would be
recruiting critical staff for the takeover next
month.
According to ZINARA statistics, the parastatal is collecting close
to 80
million USD annually -- from toll gates which rake in between 17
million and
18 million USD per year, the fuel levy which brings in about 23
million USD,
vehicle licensing fees which bring in 24 million USD, and other
revenues
from transit fees, abnormal loading and overloading penalties.
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Tichaona
Sibanda
20 March 2012
A memorial service for rights activist Paul
Chizuze, who has been missing
since 8th February, was to be held at the
Christ the King church in
Hillside, Bulawayo on Tuesday
evening.
People were asked to bring candles to the church service,
beginning at 6pm.
Despite civil society organizations extensive efforts to
determine his fate
his whereabouts are still unknown since his disappearance
41 days ago. Many
of his friends and family now fear the worst. Friends and
colleagues
launched a campaign on social media networking sites, Facebook
and Twitter,
to try and find out where he is.
Our Bulawayo
correspondent Lionel Saungweme told us Chizuze was a very
prominent rights
activist who actively investigated and publicized human
rights abuses,
dating back to the Gukurahundi era.
‘The news of Chizuze’s disappearance
has shocked many beyond belief. He was
a dedicated and hardworking
individual who gave his life for the promotion
of human rights,’ Saungweme
said.
Chizuze was last seen around 8pm on 8th February when he left his
home, but
what happened after this remains a mystery. Friends and family
fear he may
have been murdered, hijacked or abducted by parties
unknown.
He was last seen driving a white twin cab Nissan Hardbody
(registration ACJ
3446) which is also missing. Organizations led by the
Christian group
Churches in Bulawayo and the Solidarity Peace Trust have
issued several
appeals saying they fear Chizuze may have been
‘murdered.’
Chizuze was well known for his paralegal work with civic
organizations like
the Amani Trust. Over the last three decades, Paul has
been either employed
by, or active with, the Legal Resources Foundation,
Amani Trust
Matabeleland, The Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace,
ZimRights,
Churches in Bulawayo, CivNet, and Masakhaneni Trust. He also
worked closely
with Senator David Coltart, the Education Minister.
http://www.rnw.nl/
Published on : 20 March 2012 -
4:54pm
A Midlands based youth group known as the Zimbabwe Organisation
for Youth in
Politics (ZOYIP) is seeking signatures of at least two million
Zimbabweans
to petition the United Nations to stop the holding of elections
in the
country before democratic reforms.
By our toppartner Radio
VOP
The petition launched in Harare on Monday under a project called the
Democratic Agenda is demanding implementation of key democratic reforms by
partners in the Global Political Agreement (GPA) before the country goes to
the polls.
"The petition will get to the people through, public
meetings programs,
churches, fliers, printed T-shirts among other outreach
programmes,” said
the group's director Nkosilathi Emmanual Moyo.
"What we
are saying under this project is that politicians should stop
dictating for
the electorate, but the reverse should happen. People are the
ones who vote
for the politicians and they should be empowered to choose
when to vote not
what is happening here in the country.”
Key democratic reforms
Key
democratic reforms include a new Constitution, a new voters’ roll,
legislative, electoral and media reforms. Zimbabwe also needs compliance
with SADC electoral guidelines on free and fair elections and put in place
mechanisms to make sure that violence will not be a factor in the next
elections.
These reforms are clearly stated in the Global Political
Agreement which
formed the inclusive government, but parties are failing to
agree on them
despite having signed the pact three years ago.
The
mainstream MDC has since said it will not participate in any election
which
will be held before the implementation of democratic reforms, while
ZANU
(PF) is vowing to hold them even without the democratisation of such
reforms.
Replica of 2008 polls
Moyo said they are going to
approach regional and international groupings
with the petition once it has
been signed.
“We will start by petitioning President Robert Mugabe, Prime
Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai and his deputies, before taking the petition to
south African
President Jacob Zuma who is SADC facilitator to the inclusive
government
.Thereafter we will approach the African Union before forwarding
it to the
United Nations, ”he said.
ZOYIP argues that if elections
are held under the current environment they
will be a replica of the June
2008 bloody polls.
[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]
Radio
Dialogue denied procession clearance
The Bulawayo Central Police District
has denied Radio Dialogue clearance to
hold a free–the-airwaves
procession.
In refusing to grant the clearance, the police cited that
“they had received
a directive from the top, instructing them not to grant
clearance for any
procession or march until further notice”.
ZACRAS
condemns the manner in which the police are undermining community
radio
operations. In denying the clearance, the police should have provided
substantive and specific reasons, as espoused in Section 26 of the Public
Order and Security Act (POSA).
Section 26 of POSA clearly states
that, if a regulatory authority is in
possession of credible information
indicating that holding an event will
result in public disorder, he can
invite a convenor to a consultative
meeting to explore options to prevent
the perceived threat.
The same section goes on to state that, if after
the consultative meeting
,the regulatory authority on reasonable grounds, is
convinced that no
amendment or condition contemplated in the consultative
meeting would
prevent the occurrence of public disorder, he or she can issue
a prohibition
notice, giving the reasons and grounds therefore to the
convener.
In the Radio Dialogue case, no substantive and clear reason has
been given,
with the reasons proffered thus far, being vague and a clear
violation of
citizen’s right to freedom of assembly and association, as
espoused in
Regional and International human rights instruments.
It
is saddening that the provisions of POSA, which give the police power to
either grant or deny clearances, are being used to hamper citizen’s
enjoyment of their right to freedom of expression, assembly and association
.It is against this background that ZACRAS is calling for the repealing of
such legislation which is not permissible within a democratic
society.
Provisions of POSA state that clearances can be denied if the
event will
likely cause public disorder .Community radio serves a
development purpose
seeking to enhance community participation and access to
information. This
in no way is a threat to public order, breach of peace or
public safety
.Noting the developmental purpose of community radios, various
stakeholders,
amongst them the police force, should augment community radio
operations and
not be a stumbling block in the advancement of community
radio interests.
As stated by Uzumba Member of Parliament, Simbaneuta
Mudarikwa (ZANU-PF) in
a Newsday article of 19 March 2012, licencing
community radios will accord
minority groups platforms for engagements,
access to information and its
dissemination.
It is ZACRAS’ view that
the promotion of community participation in local
and national issues
enhances communities’ social inclusiveness. This in turn
leads to citizen
focused policy formulation, as communities actively
participate and
contribute in governance related issues.
The procession was part of the
proceedings of a community radio conference
to be held by Radio Dialogue, in
partnership with ZACRAS and Bulawayo Agenda
on the 21st of March 2012 .The
procession was scheduled to commence from
Bulawayo City Hall to the Zimbabwe
International Trade Fair, which is the
conference venue.
Gift
Mambipiri
ZACRAS Chairperson
http://www.theglobeandmail.com
Geoffrey
York
JOHANNESBURG— Globe and Mail Update
Posted on Tuesday, March 20, 2012
1:19PM EDT
The once-peaceful nation of Malawi, now haunted by political
violence and
crackdowns on dissent, has reached back into the colonial era
to revive an
old law that would imprison anyone who “insults” the
president.
The government has announced that it will not tolerate any
“impudence” by
the media or civil society – and it threatens to jail anyone
who disagrees.
At the same time, Malawi’s police have been breaking up
demonstrations and
arresting human rights activists and opposition
politicians.
Malawi’s slide into authoritarianism is part of a
disturbing trend in
southern Africa. Three countries – Zimbabwe, Malawi and
Zambia – are
suffering a rollback of the democratic gains that they had
achieved in
recent years.
In Zimbabwe, where the long-time opposition
party captured a share of
government after winning a 2008 election, the
rollback is well under way. In
the latest setback for democracy, a court
this week has convicted six
activists for showing a video about the Arab
Spring. They face up to 10
years in prison for “inciting violence” against
the government – simply
because they held a meeting to show a video of the
street protests in Egypt
and Tunisia last year.
The six activists,
arrested more than a year ago on treason charges that
were later reduced,
say they were tortured by police who wanted them to
confess that they were
plotting the violent overthrow of President Robert
Mugabe – a charge they
deny.
In an even more disturbing sign, a Zimbabwean rights activist has
disappeared and may have been abducted or murdered. The activist, Paul
Chizuze, vanished on Feb. 8 in the city of Bulawayo and has not been seen
since. He has worked for decades for many organizations in documenting
human-rights abuses in Zimbabwe, and is a close ally of an opposition
politician who is now the country’s education minister.
In Zambia,
where the opposition won a much-praised election last year and
moved into
government in an impressively democratic handover of power, the
latest signs
have been worrisome. The new government has been harassing and
arresting
members of the former ruling party on corruption charges that
often seem
dubious. One former cabinet minister was arrested on allegations
that he
possessed stolen bicycles. Others have had their property seized.
Last
week, the harassment took an ominous turn. A government agency, the
Registrar of Societies, announced that the former ruling party would be
stripped of its legal status – even though it is still the biggest
opposition party with 53 seats in parliament. The party, the Movement for
Multi-Party Democracy, would be de-registered for failing to pay its annual
fees, the registrar said. The opposition called it a “political witch hunt”
and an “assault on democracy.”
But it is Malawi that seems to be
suffering the most dramatic slide into
autocracy. Until recently, it was
seen as one of the most democratic and
free nations in southern Africa,
having thrown off the 33-year dictatorship
of Hastings Banda in 1994 and
moved into a successful multi-party system.
But the president, Bingu wa
Mutharika, has become increasingly intolerant of
dissent. He has lashed out
at Western donors, civil society groups and the
media. When street protests
erupted last year, police killed at least 18
protestors, shooting some of
them in the back as they fled.
Now the crackdown has intensified.
Malawi’s leading human rights activist,
John Kapito, was arrested on Sunday
on charges of possessing “materials with
seditious words” – apparently
T-shirts. He was also accused of possessing
U.S. dollars without proper
documentation. This followed the arrest of
another rights activist last
month, the prominent lawyer and former attorney
general Ralph
Kasambara.
Also on Sunday, violence erupted when the police fired volleys
of tear gas
to break up an opposition rally. The police said the organizers
did not have
permission to hold a rally. After the police attacked, the
protestors
rioted, torching a police station and police vehicle.
Then
today the police arrested a leading opposition figure, Austin Atupele
Muluzi, the son of a former president, in connection with Sunday’s attempted
opposition rally.
The president’s office made clear its views on
dissent in an extraordinary
statement earlier this month. It said it is
monitoring “hostile” comments on
the Internet and on radio shows, and it
threatened to use a colonial-era law
to impose a two-year prison sentence on
anyone who “insults” the president.
Quoting the Bible, the government
statement said “fathers and mothers” must
be honored. And it said it would
not tolerate any “impudence” against the
president.
Tuesday, 20 March 2012
The MDC condemns in the strongest terms the
indiscriminate police brutality
in Shamva on Saturday night.
The
deceased, Luxmore Chivambo was fatally assaulted while scores are
receiving
treatment at a Bindura hospital when police officers in Shamva
went on a
spree and assaulted residents of Ashley Mine randomly on
allegations that
they had stolen US$1.00 and a cellphone from the wife of
Officer-in-Charge
of Shamva Police Station only identified as Shumba.
During the raid at
the mining, property worth thousands of dollars was
looted by the police
officers. It is a shame and very regrettable that a
life should be lost over
property worth less than $20. As the MDC we do not
condone any form of vice
but we believe that no amount of money is worth
more than life.
MDC
views the action of the Shamva police officers as unprofessional and a
clear
abuse of office and for the relevant authorities to come to the bottom
of
this matter.The MDC has been vindicated on its calls for security sector
realignment in the country before the holding of the next elections. Some
police officers including senior officials are no longer upholding the rule
of law and abusing their powers for personal use and political patronage.
Security sector realignment will guarantee among other issues, the security
of the vote, security of the voter and security of the people’s will to
deliver real change.
We find it strange that the police officers in
Sunningdale, Harare recently
in an apparent condonement of the action of
Zanu PF terror’s group
Chipangano, led by Jimu Kunaka, watched the youths
disrupted an MDC rally in
the area.
At the weekend, police details in
Ruwa barred the MDC from holding another
rally in Ruwa claiming they had
inadequate manpower because of a soccer
match in town. The security sector
in any country should prioritise the
protection of its country’s citizens.
In Zimbabwe, however, we have elements
in the security sector who act as
though they are an extension of Zanu PF’s
security department; those who
work and lobby for Zanu PF as though they are
on that party’s
payroll.
The people’s struggle for real change: Let’s finish
it!
–
MDC Information & Publicity Department
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Zimbabwe, the Rt Hon. Dr Morgan
Richard Tsvangirai, is dismayed by the conviction of six human rights
activists on charges of purportedly plotting to unseat the government of
Zimbabwe.
The conviction of the six, which arises from the fact that
they were found
while watching a video of the disturbances in Egypt, serves
to project the
image of a country that perpetrates gross human rights abuses
against
innocent civilians.
While the Prime Minister respects the
independence of the judiciary, the
latest actions make difficult his efforts
to engage nationally and
internationally with a view to promote a positive
image of the country.
The Prime Minister is disturbed that the government
he serves could
criminalize people watching videos as plotting to unseat the
government.
This not only besmirches the government’s image, but serves to
confirm that
Zimbabwe has not moved an inch in its respect for human
rights.
The PM remains deeply disturbed by this and shares with the
nation the shock
at the laughable conviction and the criminalisation of
viewership of
material that is already in the public domain.
The
conviction is a grave assault on human rights and the Prime Minister, a
staunch human rights defender in his own right, shares the grief of the six
activists, their families and their relatives.
Luke
Tamborinyoka
Director of Communications and Spokesperson
Office of the
Prime Minister
Harare
Zimbabwe
BILL WATCH 11/2012
[20th March 2012]
Both Houses of Parliament will sit today, 20th
March
Coming
up in the Senate this week
The
Order Paper has several new motions listed:
Drought
relief in agricultural region 5 Senator Mohadi and
Senator Chief Ngungumbane will present a motion urging
Government to increase
the level of relief assistance beyond the current four months cover, extend loan
facilities to farmers for livestock production and develop irrigation schemes
and rehabilitate existing ones.
Take-note
motions on Thematic Committee reports: Two reports [not yet available] are listed
for presentation by the committee chairpersons and discussion by Senators:
·
Millennium
development goals in education
– a report on the provision of education in resettlement areas by the Thematic
Committee on MDGs
·
A.R.T.
rollout programmes
– a report by the Thematic Committee on HIV/AIDS on Antiretroviral Therapy
rollout programmes
.
Coming
up in the House of Assembly this Week
Bills
Older Persons Bill – First Reading The Bill will be presented
by the Minister of Labour and Social Welfare for its First Reading. This is a complete formality. There is no vote. The Minister hands in the Bill, the Clerk
reads out its title, and that constitutes the First Reading of the Bill. The Bill then stands automatically referred
to the Parliamentary Legal Committee for the PLC ’s report on its compatibility
with the Constitution, in particular the Declaration of Rights. Only after a non-adverse report from the PLC
can the Bill proceed to the Second Reading stage. [The
Bill is designed to provide for the well-being of older persons, who are defined
as Zimbabwean citizens 65 or older who are ordinarily resident in Zimbabwe. There will be a Director for Older Persons
Affairs, an Older Persons Board and an Older Persons Fund to be used primarily
for providing social welfare assistance to destitute or indigent older
persons.]
National
Incomes and Pricing Commission Amendment Bill The
House is waiting for the Minister of Industry and Commerce to start this Bill’s
long-delayed Second Reading stage by presenting his speech justifying the Bill, i.e., explaining its purpose and principles. The Bill
provides for the downgrading of the National Incomes and Pricing Commission to a
board with much reduced powers and functions.
Powers to fix prices and pricing standards and control rentals, incomes
and service charges are to be repealed.
The new board will be an advisory body tasked with research and
monitoring functions. Price control will
be implemented by regulations and orders under the Control of Goods Act, as it
was before 2007.
Motions
Take note motions on Portfolio Committee reports Debate is due to start, or
continue, on three reports:
· Management of Government vehicles by CMED This is a report of the
Public Accounts Committee, not yet discussed in the House.
· National Railways This motion will need to be
reinstated after lapsing for want of a quorum on 15th March.
· Willowvale Flats housing project mismanagement Further debate is expected,
following last week’s contributions.
· Ministry of Local Government budget performance Further debate is
expected.
Restoration of lapsed Bills to the Order Paper The Order Paper for Tuesday
lists motions to restore three lapsed Bills [for background please refer to Bill Watch
9/2012 of 12th March]:
· Electoral Amendment Bill
· Human Rights Commission Bill
· National
Incomes and Pricing Commission Amendment Bill
Proposed
Private Member’s Bill to repeal section 121(3) of Criminal Procedure and
Evidence Act Mr Gonese is expected to seek the leave of
the House to introduce his Bill. ZANU-PF
may oppose the motion [see
above].
Questions
for Ministers New items listed include questions
on:
Chiadzwa
diamond field
– MPs have asked for: details of all entities mining at Chiadzwa including the
Police, the Prison Service and the Prison Service; an explanation of different
production figures given by the Ministry and the Minerals Marketing Corporation;
and monthly remittances to the State in the form of taxes, royalties and
dividends; information on measures being taken to stop diamonds pilfered from
Chiadzwa reaching the black market .
Local
Government issues
– Questions for the Minister cover: what communities can do about traditional
leaders using their positions to compel villagers to take part in ZANU-PF
rallies; district administrators who summon village heads to political meetings
addressed by Jabulani Sibanda; special interest councillors, and whether it is
Government policy that only ZANU-PF members be appointed as such.
Update on Bills
[Copies of
all these Bills available
from
veritas@mango.zw]
Bill
awaiting Second Reading in the House of Assembly
National
Incomes and Pricing Commission Amendment Bill
Bill
awaiting Report from Parliamentary Legal Committee
Urban
Councils Amendment Bill
[referred to PLC 29th February 2011]
New Bill
for Parliament gazetted and awaiting presentation
Older
Persons Bill [gazetted 9th September
2011]
Lapsed
Bills awaiting restoration to Senate Order Paper
Public Order
and Security [POSA] Amendment Bill [Private Member’s Bill]
Lapsed
Bills awaiting restoration to House of Assembly Order Paper
Electoral
Amendment Bill
Zimbabwe
Human Rights Commission Bill.
Government Gazette
Statutory Instruments gazetted on 16th March
Collective bargaining agreements: SIs 32/2012 [new wages for
kapenta sector of agricultural industry] and 33/2012
[allowances for all sectors of agricultural industry]
Local authority by-laws: SI 31/2012 [new rents and
service charges for the incorporated area of Redcliff
Municipality].
General Notice of 13th March
Audit Office Commission GN 121A/2012 announces the appointment in terms of the Audit
Office Act of members of the Commission for a 3-year term until 12th March 2015:
retired High Court judge Justice M.A. Adam; Public Service Commissioner Mrs D.
Guti; Comptroller and Auditor-General Mrs M. Chiri and her two deputies, Mr S.T. Mutsau and Ms R. Kujinga.
General Notice of 16th March
Publication of two Acts of Parliament GN 128/2012 records the
gazetting of the Small Enterprises Development Corporation Amendment Act and the
Deposit Protection Corporation Act [see
next Bill Watch for details].
Veritas makes every effort to ensure reliable information, but cannot
take legal responsibility for information
supplied
BILL WATCH 10/2012
[19th March 2012]
Both Houses of Parliament will sit again on Tuesday 20th
March
NGOs
Not Banned: Ministerial Statement
On 14th March Labour
and Social Welfare Minister Hon Mpariwa made a
Ministerial Statement in the House of Assembly on 14th March in her capacity as
Minister responsible for Minister
responsible
for registering, de-registering and setting the conditions of operations of NGOs
[full
text available from veritas@mango.zw]. Without
referring directly to the recent action by the Masvingo Provincial Governor [see Bill Watch 5/2012 of 18th February]
she confirmed that:
·
all registered NGOs
are entitled to carry on their operations in any part of Zimbabwe where their
humanitarian and developmental services are needed. Only de-registered
organisations are prohibited from carrying on any work.
·
no NGOs have been
de-registered since the formation of the Inclusive Government and as such no
NGOs have been lawfully banned from carrying on their operations in
Zimbabwe.
·
NGOs are to be
thanked for their work complementing Government’s efforts to meet citizens’
needs, and it is not Government policy to ban those who help
us.
Minister Mpariwa is the Minister responsible for the Private
Voluntary Organisations Act [PVO Act]. This is the Act under which NGOs are registered.
ZANU-PF
Claims GPA Prohibits Private Members’ Bills
After
a ZANU-PF
parliamentary caucus meeting last week their Chief Whip, Hon Joram Gumbo, announced the caucus had agreed that it is not
lawful for any MP to introduce a Private Member’s Bill. They believe that Article 20 of the GPA, as
enshrined in Schedule 8 to the Constitution by Constitution Amendment No. 19,
takes away the right of private members to introduce Bills. The
matter would be raised with
the Speaker.
The steps in the
party’s argument are as follows:
·
during
the life of the GPA, Schedule 8 to the Constitution prevails “notwithstanding
anything to the contrary” elsewhere in the
Constitution [Comment: This is
correct.]
·
GPA
Article 20.1.2(c), in Schedule 8 to the Constitution, says that “the Cabinet shall
have the responsibility to prepare and present to Parliament, all such
legislation and the instruments as maybe necessary to implement the policies,
and programmes of the National Executive”. [Comment:
This, too, is correct.]
·
Paragraph 1(3) of
Schedule 4 to the Constitution, which entitles individual MPs to introduce
Private Members’ Bills, is overridden by Article 20.1.2(c) and cannot be invoked
as long as the GPA lasts. [Comment:
This proposition is questionable.
Article 20.1.2(c) merely re-states the conventional, traditional position
that Government Bills require Cabinet approval – presumably to make it quite
plain that individual Ministers in the inclusive government cannot take Bills to
Parliament without Cabinet approval.
Provisions for Government Bills and Private Members’ Bills have always
existed side by side. So it is difficult
to see how Article 20.1.2(c), by mere implication, rules out Private Members’
Bills completely.]
Bills that could be
affected by this new stance MDC-T MPs have put up three Private Members’
Bills so far:
·
POSA Amendment
Bill This has already been passed by the House of
Assembly but is presently stalled in the Senate.
·
Urban Councils
Amendment Bill This was introduced with the permission of
the House. The report from the
Parliamentary Legal Committee is awaited.
The Minister of Local Government, Rural and Urban Development has written
to the Speaker informing him that his Ministry is working on its own reforms of
local government laws and objecting to the Bill as contrary to the GPA.
·
Bill to repeal
section 121(3) of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act Hon Gonese has put down a motion, not yet
presented, seeking the leave of the House to introduce this Bill.
New
Deputy Minister Sworn In
On
16th March the President swore in ZANU-PF Senator for Chimanimani, Hon Monica
Mutsvangwa, as Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Welfare. She fills the vacancy left by Hon Tracy
Mutinhiri, who left office in December 2011 after expulsion from ZANU-PF and the
consequential loss of her Parliamentary seat.
In
the Senate Last Week
Senators
chided On Tuesday no-one was ready to speak and the
House sat for only 13 minutes, prompting the Senate President to remind Senators
that they should not merely wait for Ministers to bring work to them, but could
create their own work by introducing motions for debate.
Motion
on the media During Wednesday’s slightly longer sitting
[37 minutes] several contributions were made to the debate on Senator Komichi’s
motion on the partisan nature of the media.
Question
Time On Thursday the Minister of Constitutional
and Parliamentary Affairs became the first Minister to attend the Senate for
Ministers’ Question Time. Most of the
sitting of 1 hour 13 minutes was taken up with an informative question and
answer session about Constituency Development Fund problems.
In
the House of Assembly Last Week
Prime
Minister’s First Monthly Statement to the House Honouring a pledge to keep the House
regularly informed about what is happening in Government, the Prime Minister on
Tuesday made a detailed statement explaining the recently-adopted Government
Work Plan for 2012
[copy
of statement available from veritas@mango.zw]. This
was followed by a question and answer session.
The Prime Minister said that in his next statement he would name
Ministers who were underperforming or failing to implement agreed Government
policies and programmes.
Bills All agenda items concerning Bills were
carried forward untouched, including motions to restore Bills to the Order
Paper.
Motions
·
On
the President’s Speech opening the Session Debate was resumed on Tuesday and several
contributions made.
·
Public
Service audit Hon Mudiwa wound up
the debate on his motion calling for the audit report to be presented to the
House. the motion was then passed.
Three
take-note motions on Portfolio Committee reports came up for
debate:
· Willowvale Flats housing project mismanagement The chairperson of the
Portfolio Committee on Local Government, presented this report, containing
revelations of improprieties in the allocation of flats to beneficiaries. Several MPs contributed to the debate. It will continue next week.
· Ministry of Local Government budget performance Debate continued, with the
presiding officer having to remind members that general complaints about the
Minister’s exercise of statutory powers were not covered by the motion.
· National Railways The chairperson of the
Portfolio Committee on Transport and Infrastructure Development presented the
committee’s report on the sorry state of the NRZ. The report’s 14 recommendations for
Government action include the appointment of a board of directors for the
company – it has had no board since June 2009.
Debate started but was interrupted when the House adjourned for lack of a
quorum.
Questions
for Ministers
Mining
companies Deputy Prime Minister Mutambara waxed
eloquent on the need for Government vigilance in negotiating mining rights, to
ensure mining companies give the country real value for the hugely valuable
assets they are allowed to exploit.
Spot
fines by police at roadblocks Co-Minister of Home Affairs Hon Mohadi, grilled about spot fines, told the House that
Cabinet had condemned spot fines. So a
policy to replace them was being formulated, the aim being that erring motorists
be given tickets and pay admission of guilt fines at police stations or
courts.
Police
breaking commuter bus windscreens Co-Minister of Home Affairs Hon Makoni explained this practice is resorted to if necessary
to immobilise an offending driver disobeying lawful police instructions to
stop.
Housing
co-operatives problems The Minister of National Housing said he had
just presented to Cabinet his proposals for a Land Developers Bill to control
this sector.
New
mining fees The Deputy Minister of Mines denied that the
new fees were designed to deter indigenous miners; the idea was to stop the
holding of mining claims for speculative purposes.
Harbouring
Ruanda genocide suspect The Minister of Foreign Affairs assured the
House Zimbabwe would arrest and extradite the individual named if he was
found. It was bound to do so by
international law.
Maternal
mortality and protection of women from HIV/AIDS Deputy Prime Minister Khupe gave detailed answers on these
topics.
Veritas makes every effort to ensure reliable information, but cannot
take legal responsibility for information
supplied