Zim Online
Sat 25 March 2006
HARARE - Zimbabwe has imported more
than 800 000 tonnes of maize from
neighbouring South Africa over 10-months
but the country has seen a shortage
of the staple food worsen over the same
period, the United States-based
Famine Early Warning Network Systems Network
(FEWSNET) said this week.
FEWSNET monitors food security across the
globe and has regularly
issued reports on Zimbabwe, once a regional bread
basket that has faced
severe food shortages since President Robert Mugabe
destabilised the
mainstay agricultural sector with his controversial farm
seizure programme.
In its latest report released this week, FEWSNET
said information
obtained from the South African Grain Information Services
(SAGIS) indicated
that Zimbabwe had from April 1, 2005 to February 10, 2006
imported on
average 19 670 tonnes of maize every month from its
neighbour.
"Total cumulative maize imports during this period were
about 868 980
tonnes," the FEWSNET report
states.
FEWSNET said as of February 10, 2006 the
maize deficit gap for the
2005/06 consumption year was about 197 000 tonnes
and said if imports were
maintained at the same rate, Zimbabwe - which
requires 1.8 million tonnes
per year - would face a maize shortfall of 40
000 tonnes for the 2005/06
consumption year.
But the food
monitoring group said despite the impressive import
figures, Zimbabwe
remained in the grip of a severe food crisis adding that
in fact maize was
scarcer than ever before with more households without
maize in February 2006
than they were in December 2005.
FEWSNET said far more households
had ran out of stocks stored from the
last harvest and were now dependent on
buying maize from the market to
survive, this when the purchasing power of
many families has been severely
whittled down by inflation, hovering above
700 percent.
The government's Grain Marketing Board - in charge of
maize
procurement and distribution - had also slashed distributions to
hungry
people or deliveries to private millers, with households in
Zimbabwe's
southern provinces worst affected by reduced supplies from the
GMB, FEWSNET
said.
It said: "In January and February, Grain
Marketing Board (GMB) maize
distributions were significantly reduced and
maize meal supplies from
private millers were more erratic.
"The households in the southern districts of Matabeleland South
province
were among the populations that experienced the most severe
maize-meal
shortages in the country during the month of January."
At least
four million Zimbabweans out of a 12 million population are
in need of food
aid, according to United Nations agencies.
Zimbabwe used to sell
food to neighbours but has grappled hunger since
Mugabe chased away
large-producing white farmers and parcelled out their
farms to landless
black villagers, in what he said was a restoration of the
land to its
rightful owners from whom it was stolen by white colonial
governments.
But the 82-year old President failed to support
the resettled black
villagers with inputs, skills training and finance to
maintain production
and as a result food output has fallen by about 60
percent since the farm
seizures began in 2000.
Local
agricultural experts expect food production this year to be way
below
national requirements again, blaming high cost of inputs during the
planting
season, and a critical shortage of fertilizer and crop seeds. -
ZimOnline
Zim Online
Sat 25 March 2006
HARARE - A consignment of sanitary
pads donated to Zimbabwean women
will finally be allowed into the country
after the Zimbabwe Congress of
Trade Unions (ZCTU) agreed to pay US$7 000
duty to the country's revenue
authority.
The sanitary pads,
which were sourced by the ZCTU, have been stuck in
Johannesburg, South
Africa, over the past few weeks after the Zimbabwe
Revenue Authority (Zimra)
refused to waive duty on the consignment insisting
the labour union could
not be considered for an exemption of duty because it
was not a welfare
organisation.
But yesterday, ZCTU spokesman, Mlamleli Sibanda, said
the union had
raised the needed cash to pay duty for the badly needed 12
million pads.
"This consignment was part of the ZCTU's efforts to
ease the crisis
most women are facing in this country. We did not want to
make it a
political issue hence the decision to pay duty and have the pads
distributed
as a matter of urgency," he said.
Sanitary towels,
like most basic commodities, are in short supply in
Zimbabwe which is in its
sixth year of a bitter economic recession.
The Harare authorities
have often refused to allow donated goods into
the country. Last year, for
several weeks, the Zimbabwe government blocked
tonnes of food donated by
South African churches for victims of a
controversial clean-up
exercise.
The food was only allowed into the country after the
South African
authorities issued certificates confirming that the food was
not genetically
modified. - ZimOnline
Zim Online
Sat 25 March 2006
HARARE - The publisher of
Zimbabwe's banned Daily News newspaper on
Friday postponed asking the High
Court to declare the paper licenced to
publish and is instead understood to
be seeking to meet Information Minister
Tichaona Jokonya over the
matter.
Sam Sipepa Nkomo, head of Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe
(ANZ) that
published the Daily News and its also banned stable mate, Daily
News on
Sunday, had earlier in the week said the newspaper firm was going to
appeal
to the High Court yesterday seeking the court to declare its titles
duly
licenced.
Nkomo said ANZ was alternatively going to
request the court to compel
Jokonya to appoint an ad hoc board to decide on
its application for a
publishing licence after the court said the state's
Media and Information
Commission (MIC) - that registers newspapers - was
biased against the firm.
Jokonya was to be cited as respondent in
ANZ's court application.
But sources at ANZ told ZimOnline that the
company was temporarily
withholding litigation and that instead Nkomo was
"seeking audience" with
Jokonya who the sources said was keen to meet the
publishing executive.
"After Nkomo had written to the minister
there were follow ups and
they have given an indication that Jokonya might
consider granting them a
licence," said a senior ANZ executive, who spoke on
condition he was not
named.
ANZ lawyer Mordecai Mahlangu
confirmed that he had not filed the
papers at court as previously
announced.
"I will comment on Monday as regards the ANZ matter, at
the moment the
interests of my client (ANZ) are better served by not saying
anything," said
Mahlangu, referring further questions to Nkomo.
Nkomo in turn refused to discuss the matter but said his company was
not yet
ready to go to court because "we are still preparing the court
papers".
Armed police forcibly shut down the Daily News and its
stable mate
more than two years ago after the Supreme Court declared that
the two papers
were operating outside the law because they were not licenced
by the MIC.
The paper had refused to register with the commission
pending the
outcome of a court challenge of the constitutionality of the law
requiring
newspapers to register in order to publish.
But the
Supreme Court refused to hear the application and instead
ruled that the
papers were operating illegally because they were not
licenced.
In a later ruling last year, the Supreme Court upheld as
constitutional the
requirement that newspapers register with the MIC but the
court also said
the ANZ could submit to the commission a fresh application
for a publishing
licence.
The commission last July turned down the ANZ's new
applications for a
licence, forcing the company to go back to the courts
again. Earlier this
year Justice Rita Makarau quashed the MIC's decision
to refuse to licence
the ANZ papers and also further declared that the state
board had shown bias
and should no longer handle the matter.
Makarau's ruling means Jokonya has to appoint a board to determine
ANZ's
licence application. - ZimOnline
IOL
March 24 2006 at 04:59PM
Harare - Twenty ruling party supporters in
eastern Zimbabwe have been
sentenced to more than two years in jail for
beating up people ahead of last
year's parliamentary elections, a newspaper
reported on Friday.
Albert Nyakuedzwa, an official in President
Robert Mugabe's ruling
Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front
(ZANU-PF) party and a
manager with the state-run Grain Marketing Board
masterminded the violence,
the Manica Post reports.
He and 17
other ZANU-PF supporters were each sentenced to 36 months in
jail. Two other
ruling party supporters were given 30-month jail sentences.
The 20
were loyal to Didymus Mutasa, now the member of parliament for
Makoni North
and the national security minister.
The group was accused
of beating up supporters loyal to James Kaunye,
a ZANU-PF parliamentary
hopeful who wanted to contest Mutasa's candidature
in the constituency ahead
of the parliamentary polls last March. Kaunye
later withdrew his
candidacy.
The 20 denied the charges, but a magistrate in
Manicaland, Hosea
Mujaya said there was "overwhelming evidence" against
them.
"The convicts acted in common purpose and were moving from
place to
place attacking their rivals without being provoked," Mujaya was
reported as
saying.
"The acts were barbaric, violating the
rights of individuals you ought
to protect," he added.
The
court heard that the group assaulted Kaunye, vandalised his
vehicle and
attacked his supporters and family members in an orgy of
violence that
"transformed Makoni North constituency into a terror zone",
said the Manica
Post.
Last year a High Court judge said ruling party supporters in
Makoni
North had also intimidated those from the opposition Movement for
Democratic
Change (MDC) ahead of the elections by threatening to withold
food and
agricultural inputs from them.
The MDC claims to have
borne the brunt of politically-motivated
violence and intimidation over the
past six years. - Sapa-dpa
Mail and Guardian
Harare, Zimbabwe
24 March 2006
01:31
A white security expert arrested more than two weeks
ago over a
stash of weapons found at his home in eastern Zimbabwe has been
denied bail,
local reports said on Friday.
"The High
Court yesterday [Thursday] denied a bail application
by ex-Rhodesian soldier
Peter Michael Hitschmann," the radio said.
Hitschmann was
arrested in the city of Mutare in early March
along with four members of the
opposition Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC) and four
policemen.
Police found weapons at Hitschmann's house and
said he was part
of a plot to unseat President Robert Mugabe and his
government. But the case
appeared to fall apart when it emerged that
Hitschmann was a registered arms
dealer.
State
prosecutors went on to drop terrorism charges against the
policemen and the
four members of the opposition.
But Hitschmann is still in
custody and faces charges of
conspiracy to possess weapons for
insurgency.
Harare High Court Judge Alfas Chitakunye on
Thursday turned down
Hitschmann's bail application, saying that the chances
of his absconding
before trial was high, the state-controlled Herald
reported.
He faces face life imprisonment if
convicted.
State prosecutors said he had a licence to deal
only in
non-automatic weapons, but some of those found at his home were
automatic
"military" weapons.
"The quantity is such that
it cannot be accounted for by reason
of personal use alone. It is presumed
that the weapons were intended for
acts of insurgency," state lawyer
Florence Ziyambi said.
Hitschmann's bail application this
week was first due to be held
on Wednesday but was postponed when judge
Charles Hungwe unexpectedly
recused himself.
Meanwhile,
Mutare residents say Hitschmann never fought for the
minority white regime
in what was then Rhodesia, as state media claims. They
say he was taken out
of the country during the bush war in the 1970s by his
parents, who opposed
the war on religious grounds. -- Sapa-dpa
The Herald (Harare)
March 24,
2006
Posted to the web March 24, 2006
Harare
THE Zimbabwe
School Examinations Council (Zimsec) has announced new
examination fees for
Ordinary and Advanced level candidates.
Under the new fee structure,
students sitting for O-Level will be required
to pay $500 000 per subject,
up from $35 000, and those writing A-Level will
pay $1,2 million per
subject, up from $95 000. This means that parents or
guardians would need to
raise $4 million for a child sitting for eight
subjects at O-Level and $3,6
million for a child to write three subjects at
A-Level. The A-Level
Subsidiary English Language and Communication
examination will now cost $700
000. In a statement yesterday, Zimsec said
the closing date for registration
for the May-June 2006 examinations would
be March 31 while May 12 would be
the closing date for the November-December
examinations.
The
examination board also said it would not entertain any late entries and
that
not all subjects would be written in June. "Lists of subjects on offer
in
June are available at examination centres," the council said. While some
parents were of the opinion that the new fees made good economic sense
considering that the cost of running the examinations had gone up, others
said they would find it difficult to raise the required
amounts.
Zimsec uses the money it collects in fees for preparing
examinations and
printing question papers. Mr Remigio Mulota of Cranborne
said it would be
unfair to expect exam fees to remain that low when the cost
of everything
else was rising rapidly. "After all, these people (Zimsec)
also need to make
money in order to run the examinations. If we get into
this culture of
expecting everything to be cheap, then we should not
complain when standards
continue to deteriorate.
"Yes, money is
difficult to come by, but for one's children's education
surely $4 million
is not that much," he said. However, another parent, Ms
Yeukai Matsika of
Kambuzuma, said it was unfortunate that the exam fee hike
had come at a time
when many parents were struggling to even raise school
fees. She said the
least the Government could have done was to ensure that
exam fees remained
affordable. The difference, she said, was that in the
case of school fees,
parents have a choice of looking for cheaper and
affordable schools while
exam fee levels applied to all pupils across the
board.
"By virtue of
it being the right of every child to sit for these public
examinations,
every parent, employed or unemployed, should be able to afford
examination
fees. "What we have now is a situation where education continues
to become
more and more expensive. We shall soon be reliving the
pre-independence era
where education was a preserve for an elite group,
mostly the whites," she
said.
The Herald
(Harare)
March 24, 2006
Posted to the web March 24,
2006
Harare
THERE is need to lay a foundation to clear
misunderstandings between the
Britain and Zimbabwe, British Ambassador Dr
Andrew Pocock said yesterday.
Dr Pocock said such a foundation should
serve as the first step in building
bridges between the two feuding nations
as noted by President Mugabe when
the diplomat presented his credentials at
State House last month. The envoy
was speaking to journalists yesterday soon
after paying a courtesy call on
Vice President Cde Joseph Msika at his
Munhumutapa Offices in Harare.
"Before we build bridges, we need to do a lot
of work to lay the foundation
and the commitment of the British government
to the people of Zimbabwe is
profound.
"I met the Vice President to
brief him on what I have been saying to many
people since I came because I
want to meet as many people as possible to
tell them about Britain's
position on Zimbabwe.
"The reception I have had since I came has been
plain and frank and that is
very important because that will reduce areas of
misunderstanding," said Dr
Pocock. He said in few days' time, he would fly
to London to attend a
meeting of ministers and other senior government
officials and return after
the Easter holidays. "I am not giving any
statement now until after I have
attended that meeting," said Dr Pocock, who
had initially shown reluctance
to discuss much about the state of the
Harare-London relationship. He
described the meetings he has held with
various people and organisations in
Zimbabwe as cordial and helpful, saying
this would assist him in his
discussions in London.
Last month,
President Mugabe told the British diplomat that he was free to
consult and
familiarise with the situation in Zimbabwe and report the
reality on the
ground and not what his government wishes to see and hear.
Relations between
Zimbabwe and Britain have been sour since the year 2000
when Harare embarked
on the land redistribution programme to address
colonial imbalances. The
agrarian reforms saw the black majority reclaiming
vast tracts of land,
formerly the preserve of the white minority, a
situation which did not go
down well with the former colonial master who
ganged up with her allies and
imposed illegal sanctions against Harare.
Earlier on, Palestinian
Ambassador Mr Amro Abdulla Alhourani paid a courtesy
call on Cde Msika.
Briefing journalists after the meeting, Mr Abdulla
Alhourani said he got
assurance of Zimbabwe's support from Cde Msika against
his country's
onslaught from the United States and its Western allies. This
comes after
the election triumph of the militant Islamic Resistance Movement
(Hamas)
that defeated the moderate Fatah party of Mr Mahmoud Abbas. The
result was a
bitter pill to swallow for the Western powers who said they
would review all
assistance programmes to Palestine. "The Vice President
assured me that
Zimbabwe will support the Palestinian people and maintain
their internal
unity as well as my stay here," he said. "The
Zimbabwe-Palestine
relationship is cordial as we are partners in the
struggle and will stay as
partners in building our two nations."
The diplomat noted that some
Western coun tries were not happy with outcome
of the election held in
January. "The change here is only that we have a new
government, but there
is no much difference and I don't think that there can
be any crisis. The
Palestinians will not allow the West to delete what has
been achieved to
date and we are still committed to all the agreements and
we hope that all
members of the coalition will play their role as well."
Western countries,
together with Israel, have indicated that they will keep
diplomatic channels
open with the defeated Mr Abbas in so doing putting
themselves above the
wishes of the Palestinians who freely chose their
preferred leaders. The
Hamas scenario is strikingly similar to Zimbabwe
where Western nations have
always refused to accept the ruling Zanu-PF's
triumphs at the polls
preferring the opposition MDC, which they sponsor.
Mail and Guardian
Percy Zvomuya
24 March
2006 09:29
Sometimes our fate is written in our names.
Never has this
been truer for Morgan Tsvangirai, whose name means "sea
dweller" and "the
edge of sea". Tsvangirai talked up a storm at the congress
of his faction of
the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) as he tried to
paddle his divided
party to shore, warning the government of a "cold season
of democratic
resistance".
"I promise . to use all
available resources and will-power
to see off the tyranny in Zimbabwe today;
to assist in putting together the
building blocks for a new Zimbabwe," he
exclaimed.
The obstacles are formidable, as evidenced
by the
government Security Minister Didymus Mutasa's swift rebuke: "If they
want a
fight then we are more than ready to hit back harder." Tsvangirai's
new
secretary general, Tendai Biti, retorted that "armed conflict or violent
means to take on the regime" are not being
contemplated.
"We will form a united and popular front
with other
democratic forces in Zimbabwe, civil society, the churches, the
unions, the
student bodies and social movements. We have to create our own
Nelson
Mandelas. We are ready to be shot at, to be beaten up, and to be
arrested.
We will lead demon-strations from the front," he
said.
In a perceived swipe at the pro-Senate MDC camp,
Biti
said: "We will strive to work with all democratic forces that share our
ideals. These ideals don't mean working with the Zanu-PF government in a
government of national unity."
But Bhekinkosi Moyo,
a researcher at the Africa Institute,
believes that the opposition is at its
"weakest now" and that its challenges
have never been greater. "Given the
strength of Zanu-PF now it is not likely
they [MDC] will embark on street
protests. Street protests could have
happened in 2000. No one would follow
them now."
This view is shared by Heneri Dzinotyiwei,
an analyst at
the University of Zimbabwe. "The congress took place when
enthusiasm is
wearing thin. People no longer have confidence in the
political process." He
said the "people of Zimbabwe" want leaders with
"courage and conviction. Do
they have it?" As if to respond, churches in
Zimbabwe have initiated a new
platform for unity- the Christian Alliance -
an interdenominational grouping
being convened by Reverend Levy Kadenge of
the Methodist church.
"The people believe that the
prophetic actions of the
church have not been visible enough . We will get
more pro-active, we will
issue public statements and organise meetings ...
We will not be afraid to
name names of those frustrating initiatives for
change," said Jonah Gokova,
a member of the secretariat. Roman Catholic
Archbishop Pius Ncube, a
prominent government critic, has been their
inspiration. "We are not
creating a new agenda but working on what is
already there. This confirms
that what Ncube is doing [is not] in
isolation."
The alliance, which draws support from the
National
Pastors Conference, has already linked with the National
Constitutional
Assembly to press for a new constitution.
We have had the Commonwealth games on TV all this past
week. It would
appear that Australia has again shown itself to be capable of
hosting
these large events and the athletes have put on a great show for the
rest
of us. Just this time Zimbabwe is not there - another example of
our
growing political and diplomatic isolation. Botswana and all our
other
neighbors were there and added to the color and ceremony of the
occasion.
South Africa made quite an impact.
It is sad when we see
global events like this where our own sportsmen and
women could compete and
show the world what we are made of and we are
denied the privilege because
our government is an international polecat.
Kirsty Coventry was in Harare
this weekend at a national swimming gala -
signing autographs for the kids
participating - she almost certainly would
have made gold in
Australia.
It does not stop there - only two sectors of the Zimbabwe
economy seem to
have survived Zanu PF - the mining and financial services
sectors. In the
mining industry once you have made an investment in a hole in
the ground,
you are locked in - nothing much you can do about it except keep
on
digging or close it down to come back later at huge expense or simply
walk
away.
An Australian firm saw the massive potential of the
platinum reserves in
Zimbabwe (we have a very large proportion of global
reserves along the
Great Dyke) and sunk US$600 million into a hole near
Chegutu. They built a
complete town of houses for staff and a huge processing
complex, roads
were opened up and hundreds of staff recruited. Three years
later - they
walked away and a small group of local investors bought the
whole bang
shoot for a small payment - taking over what debts
remained.
Anglo American - one of the largest mining companies in the
world and at
one stage holding nearly half of all the counters on the stock
market, has
quietly disinvested over the past 15 years. At one stage they
were into
everything - chrome, steel, coal, nickel and a wide swathe of
industry and
agro industrial firms. Now they operate out of a house in Harare
and have
a handful of investments and retain only their platinum mining
assets -
still in their embryonic state. They sold everything else - to
whoever
would buy the assets for a reasonable price.
The South
African mining giant Implats eventually bought the Chegutu
operation from our
local investors (who made a fortune on the deal) and
announced a massive
investment programme. Another South African mining
company (a company with
black empowerment links) bought into the gold
industry. Now they are all
wondering why they did such a dumb thing - Zanu
PF has moved to do what they
have done to all other sectors, get involved
and destroy what is
there.
After years of deliberation the Ministry of Mines made it known
they were
going to take a 25 per cent stake in all major mining companies -
without
compensation. In addition the same companies had to sell another 26
per
cent on the never never to either the State or a local black
empowerment
group (read Zanu PF company in effect). Thus at one stroke they
take over
a controlling interest in all major mining companies. This goes
well
beyond anything being done in South Africa and it violates clear,
solid
legal agreements entered into with companies prior to their entry to
the
industry - especially in the platinum sector.
The industry has
reacted with fury. At a meeting this week with the
Minister they spelled out
what would happen - they would freeze all new
investment and all major
maintenance. Output would start to decline in a
short while and thereafter
would decline rapidly with mine closures being
inevitable. They also pointed
out that as the principle stakeholder - the
State or its local partners would
have to find the resources for any major
investment and if these involved
hard currency, they would find it very
difficult to do so.
The other
sector that has survived (battered and bruised, but still
operating) is the
financial services industry. We have a good national
network of banks and
other financial institutions that are basically well
run and sound. Now the
state has imposed huge statutory reserve
requirements on the remaining
commercial banks - six have gone to the wall
in the past 4 years. But to
compound the problem, the new reserves have to
be paid to the Reserve Bank in
US dollars!
In addition the overnight accommodation rates have been
raised to the
inflation rate (nearly 800 per cent), so that if a bank needs
some help to
cover its obligations (a normal money market operation) it has
to pay a
punitive rate to the Reserve Bank for the facility. The smaller
banks -
all owned and operated by local investors, will all struggle with
these
new requirements. Already money is moving out of these institutions
into
those that are perceived as being "safe". Money is also moving back
into
the stock market where returns are still good and the funds secure (for
a
while - but stay out of mining counters for a bit).
With agriculture
and tourism down to 20 or 30 per cent of what they were 5
years ago, industry
down to about 40 per cent, the action taken this past
two weeks will
undermine what is left of the economy. As it is, most
informed observers are
predicting a further decline in national economic
output this year - the 7th
consecutive year of negative growth.
A local colleague of mine now
estimates inflation at 3000 per cent per
annum - and rising. Certainly this
week the increase in prices has been
scary. In this environment, if you do
not watch what you are doing very
carefully, you simply go bust. One thing
that we do know is that Zanu PF
and the collection of clowns that run the
country, simply do not know what
to do - from the evidence of their action in
the past week, they are now
committed to a process of self-destruction. Well,
as far as I am
concerned, it cannot come soon enough.
Thank you to all
of you who sent funds to us in time for the Congress - we
were able to help
quite significantly. Now we are into the next phase -
action on the streets
to bring about change and we will need lots of
support - if you are outside
the country there is only one way you can
help - send some money. Every
dollar helps. If you want a receipt or to
direct your funds to a particular
activity or group - just let us know by
these means.
Eddie
Cross
Bulawayo, 24th March 2006.
The Herald
(Harare)
March 24, 2006
Posted to the web March 24,
2006
Harare
GOVERNMENT is making frantic efforts to ensure that
10,8 million litres of
diesel for winter cropping and harvesting of the
summer crop is available on
time.
At least 15,5 million litres of
diesel was issued to farmers for the 2005
summer cropping season against
demand of 20 million litres. During the 2005
winter wheat season, the
National Oil Company of Zimbabwe (Noczim) managed
to supply 5,7 million
litres instead of the required 10,7 million litres.
Noczim yesterday said
supplies would be allocated to farmers who sold their
wheat through the
Grain Marketing Board, as a measure to guard against abuse
of the cheap fuel
facility. "We will only give the fuel to farmers who
supplied wheat to the
GMB last season. We are working on the list of the
farmers together with GMB
and other stakeholders," said Noczim director of
marketing and distribution
Mr Krispen Mashange.
He said farmers with proof that they are ready to
start winter wheat growing
would also benefit. "These farmers have to
produce documents that give them
water rights and also prove they have
irrigation equipment," he said.
Mr Mashange said because of the scarcity
of dies el, Noczim would release
the fuel to farmers in tranches of 2 000
litres until they took delivery of
their total entitlements. "We give the
fuel in smaller quantities in order
to spread farming operations. We want
all the farmers to get fuel and embark
on farming activities at the same
time," he said.
At least 150 litres of diesel are required to grow a
hectare of maize, wheat
or soya beans. For land preparation, 30 litres of
diesel are needed for
ploughing, 20 litres for disking, 20 litres for
planting, another 20 litres
for spraying and 60 litres for harvesting. A
total of 107 litres are
required to farm a hectare of tobacco of which 15
litres are required for
harrowing, nine litres for the application of lime,
30 litres for ploughing,
20 litres for ridging, five litres for contour
ridges, eight litres for
re-ridging and another 20 litres for
harvesting.
Secretary for Energy and Power Development Mr Justin
Mupamhanga yesterday
said Government was working hard to ensure the
availability of fuel
requested by the Department of Agricultural Research
and Extension Services
(Arex). "We are going to ensure fuel is available
with the support of the
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe," he said.
Mr
Mupamhanga said chances of farmers abusing fuel allocations were small as
in
most cases the allocations they get are inadequate. In the majority of
cases, he said, farmers had to buy extra fuel at the pump price or from the
illegal parallel market. He said the ministry was tightening the
distribution and monitoring systems. "Three months ago we amended the
application form used by farmers to include verification by the Zimbabwe
Republic Police," he said.
The Herald (Harare)
March
24, 2006
Posted to the web March 24, 2006
Harare
BORDER Timbers
Limited has said it will continue to face shortages of mature
timber for the
next five years due to numerous fires that have disrupted
harvesting
operations.
"Harvesting operations were disrupted by numerous fires in
Chimanimani
estate while the shortages of mature timber in the company's
plantations
also adversely affected the harvesting operations," the company
said in a
statement accompanying its results for the 12 months to December
31 2005.
"At Chimanimani estates 3 000 hectares were damaged by arson fires,
which
were started by illegal squatters in the estate and this will have a
disastrous effect on the availability of timber in the country as a whole,"
the firm said.
Timber shortages were expected to continue for the
next five years. This was
likely to force the firm to source timber from
other players in the
industry. The inability of the forest operations to
supply adequate volumes
of logs and sawmills has lead to a decline in
production. Erratic and
unscheduled power outages also contributed to the
reduction of production at
sawmills. Border Timbers Limited posted a profit
after tax of $59,6 billion
from $27,6 billion t he prior
year.
Turnover for the group increased by 425 percent to $92,1 billion
from $15,3
billion the prior year and operational costs, which include $62
billion
losses in respect of fire-damaged trees, increased by 493 percent.
Paulington factory performed well despite challenges in log deliveries from
the estates and was expected to perform better if deliveries improve. Export
demand for the company looked strong while the local market remained
weak.
By Lance
Guma
24 March 2006
Raymond Majongwe the Secretary General
of the Progressive Teachers
Union (PTUZ) was arrested last week Friday on
allegations of 'driving' a
group of dutch trade unionists and teachers
visiting the country. Police in
the Mabvuku suburb of Harare said
'Majongwe's visitors' were taking pictures
of police activities at a
roadblock and that Majongwe aided them in
'destabilization activities' by
driving the car in use. The incident
highlights once again the regime's
paranoia with any visitors from outside
the country.
The police
say Majongwe and his 4 visitors failed to stop at a
roadblock near the
Mabvuku roundabout in the capital. Security on the day
was tight as the main
opposition was beginning its three-day congress at the
City Sports Centre.
The PTUZ boss says he missed the MDC congress, which
re-elected Morgan
Tsvangirai that weekend as the harassment rumbled on for
two days without
any resolution. They were interrogated for several hours
while also being
asked to produce their passports. Although they were not
detained overnight
on Friday, the group had to report to Mabvuku police
station the following
morning on Saturday.
All the photographic equipment in their
possession was seized and
police processed the photos, which clearly showed
that these were people on
a sight seeing tour. It was only then that the
matter was finally allowed to
rest. Majongwe says even after the incident,
state security operatives were
trailing him the whole weekend and hence he
took the decision to spend the
rest of the weekend at home. This he says was
to avoid giving them further
excuses to harass him.
Two
officials from the same FNV union were deported last week after
trying to
visit the country to evaluate a Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Union
(ZCTU)
Labour school programme, which they are sponsoring. ZCTU information
officer
Mlamleli Sibanda says the government wants all ZCTU visitors from
outside
the country to be cleared by the Ministry of Labour before they are
allowed
in the country. This the union say is unacceptable and they will
continue to
defy the directive.
SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news
By
Violet Gonda
24 March 2006
"We have killed and torn
down enough; it now must be a time to heal
and rebuild."
One of
the quotes from a hard-hitting Pastoral Letter to the Nation,
on the crisis
in the country, by the Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC). The
letter, the
strongest statement so far from the ZCC, calls for the regime of
Robert
Mugabe to be accountable and urges all Zimbabweans to take
responsibility
for their situation.
Analysts have welcomed this latest stance by
the churches who have
generally been less vocal about the crisis. With the
exception of some
church leaders like Pius Ncube, the Catholic Archbishop of
Bulawayo,
Zimbabwean churches have in the past been criticised for being
silent and
not speaking out against the atrocities perpetrated by the
regime.
We were not able to get a comment from the ZCC
leadership.
Reverend Graham Shaw of the Methodist Church said
although he hasn't
seen the pastoral letter, he is "pleasantly surprised if
the ZCC is now
beginning to fulfil its divine mandate to speak prophetically
about the
situation. Because in recent months and years they have been
remarkably
quiet in the face of massive humanitarian disaster and the most
gross human
rights abuses."
Observers say pressure is now
seriously mounting on the ruling party
as more groups are speaking out with
a united voice. On Wednesday in Mutare
an all stakeholders conference
organised by Zimbabwe's largest civic groups
resolved to take action as a
united front and push for a new constitution.
The gathering included the
labour movement, student and civic groups and the
churches.
Reverend Shaw said such Pastoral Letters are significant as they are
an
indication of the seriousness which church leaders are taking the
deteriorating situation in the country. He said, "They indicate to the
Church and the nation that the church leadership is feeling the pain, is
hearing the cries of the people and is wanting to respond and give moral
spiritual leadership."
The Pastoral Letter from the Churches
read in part;
"The majority of our people now live in abject
poverty, are unemployed
and are severely threatened with hunger and
diseases. In instances where
investigations have been done to establish the
cause of our situation the
results have pointed to bad governance, unjust
laws, corruption, lack of
integrity and the unfair distribution of resources
as some of the root
causes."
It said on the issue of
corruption; "As Churches in Zimbabwe we note
with concern that even where
the machinery exists to curb corruption, little
is being done or has been
done. We, therefore, feel obliged to speak out on
this evil that is
continuously bleeding an already crumbling economy and if
this continues
unchecked, recovery will be impossible."
The churches described the
shambolic land reform program as an
"unfinished business that has threatened
the food security of Zimbabwe and
led to massive unemployment."
The ZCC also noted with concern the bungling and interference by the
Chombo
led ministry of local Government which has exacerbated the
dilapidation of
infrastructures in local government. Cities, including the
capital Harare,
have no functioning streetlights, potholes are everywhere,
uncollected
garbage continues to pile up and burst sewage is flowing in the
residential
areas.
Several groups have also echoed calls from the National
Constitutional
Assembly for a democratic and people driven constitution. The
churches have
also joined this call noting that, "the Constitution
centralizes power in
the Executive and takes away too much from the
people.We feel that there is
urgent need for appropriate amendments to be
made to our constitution so as
to level the playing field and create an
environment which will enable the
citizens to play and feel a part in the
running of the country's affairs."
The Zimbabwe Council of Churches
consist of the mainstream churches,
like the Methodist, Anglican, Dutch
Reformed and Presbyterian churches.
.............................
Zimbabwe Council of Churches'
Pastoral Letter to the nation
Title: Zimbabwe Council of
Churches' Pastoral Letter to the
nation
Author: ZCC,
Mutale
Category: Zimbabwe
Date:
3/23/2006
Source: Zimbabwe Council of Churches
Source Website:
Summary & Comment: This just released
Pastoral Letter to the
Nation from the Zimbabwe Council of Churches will be
distributed to all ZCC
member churches and to all within those churches. It
is the strongest
statement so far from the ZCC on the troubled state of
affairs in Zimbabwe
and the need for the government and all Zimbabweans to
take responsibility
and be accountable. The churches have recently been
major players along with
other civil society groups in organizing structures
and meetings that
mobilize public opinion around mass action.
DN
--------------------------------------------------------------------
A Pastoral Letter to the nation
Preamble
Having thoroughly and critically observed the
unfolding events
in Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Council of Churches notes with
great sadness the
rapid decline in the quality of life for ordinary
Zimbabweans. Our Lord
Jesus Christ said "I have come in order that you might
have life - life in
its fullness." John 10:10b. This is now a far cry from
the situation which
we find ourselves in; Zimbabweans are now being forced
to live on selected
basics.
The majority of our people
now lives in abject poverty, are
unemployed and are severely threatened with
hunger and diseases. God
bestowed enough wealth in Zimbabwe to enable His
people to live life in its
fullness; hence we call on Zimbabweans who are
the stewards of God's wealth
to avail it for all Zimbabweans. In instances
where investigations have been
done to establish the cause of our situation
the results have pointed to bad
governance, unjust laws, corruption, lack of
integrity and the unfair
distribution of resources as some of the root
causes.
Our mission is "To meet the needs of our communities
through the
proclamation of the gospel to develop our capacity to be
self-sustaining and
to speak with one voice on issues of national interest."
We are set to
continuously work as stated in our mission statement so that
our nation will
prosper. We call upon Zimbabweans to listen to the advice of
the wise,
"Wealth that you get by dishonesty will do you no good, but
honesty can save
your life." Proverbs 10:2.
1.
CORRUPTION
The economic costs of corruption are enormous.
Corruption
thrives in an environment where religious, ethical teaching and
moral
standards are weak, punishment is lenient, large number of people are
competing for insufficient services and where there is great inequality of
wealth. The government has expressed willingness to deal with corruption.
Most recently concern from various quarters has been expressed strongly
against corrupt practices in high offices. This has seen the creation of the
Ministry of Special Affairs in the President's office and cabinet
responsible for anti-corruption and anti-monopolies, and the setting up of
the anti-corruption commission. These are positive signs in the fight
against corruption. However, efforts should not just be cosmetic but be put
into full and effective use in order to rid society of this
monster.
Corruption does not only have impact on
economics but impacts
negatively on the whole social fabric, in particular a
society that thrives
to build democracy and promote good governance in
Zimbabwe. The Reserve Bank
of Zimbabwe Governor, Dr. Gideon Gono, also
bemoaned the rise of corruption
in all sectors of the economy in which he
named it as the economy's major
enemy.
As Churches in
Zimbabwe, we note with concern that even where
the machinery exists to curb
corruption, little is being done or has been
done. We, therefore, feel
obliged to speak out on this evil that is
continuously bleeding an already
crumbling economy and if this continues
unchecked, recovery will be
impossible.
2. STATE OF THE
ECONOMY
The present Zimbabwean economy is characterized
by acute foreign
currency, fuel and drug shortages, a thriving and fully
fledged parallel
market for basic commodities and services, massive
corruption threatening a
shutdown to the Zimbabwean economy with deeply
destabilizing consequences
for the country itself and the surrounding
region. The economic situation
has deteriorated to the extent that we have
become a burden to the
neighbouring countries as millions of Zimbabweans
have now became economic
refugees in those countries. Brain drain has also
become the order of the
day as the doctors, lawyers, teachers and other
professionals leave for
greener pastures. This is a major concern for the
church.
The following are the major highlights in the
state of the
economy:
a. Inflation
Inflation is regarded as number one enemy but it appears that
the fight
against this known enemy has stopped. With the current level of
inflation
life becomes unmanageable and unpredictable. The future looks
bleak and
investments are threatened.
- b. Debt
Both
domestic and international debt require continuous
servicing and to be
greatly reduced. The propensity to borrow for recurrent
expenditure is
growing when the nation is under this burden of economic
insecurity. The
church also notes with concern the growing uncertainties
concerning the
relations between Zimbabwe and the International Financial
Institutions like
the IMF.
- c. Devaluation
For whose benefit?
Local people are now finding it difficult to
acquire goods and services as
these are now pegged in US dollar terms. It is
difficult to compete with
those people in the diaspora as they always offer
higher prices for things
like houses and stands and even cars. Since the
houses are owned by people
living outside the country rentals are very high
as they match them with
those in the diaspora. This means that devaluation
is targeted at improving
the lives of those living outside Zimbabwe whilst
driving the prices of
goods and services out of reach of the locally based
Zimbabweans. Zimbabwean
industry continues to under perform. Despite the
implementation of the
Operation Murambatsvina, the informal sector is still
flourishing without
contributing to the national revenue.
3. LAND REFORM - AN
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
In Zimbabwe, our economy is
agro-based; and, as such, we note
with concern numerous challenges that are
faced:
a. Continuous land
seizure/grabbing/occupation
b. Multiple land
ownership
c. Underutilization of land
d. Misuse
and abuse of facilities meant for the new farmers such
as the
subsidized
fuel which they divert to the black
market.
e. Loans from Agribank are abused by people who have
advantageous positions
f. Under performance of the
agriculture sector also kills the
upstream and
downstream
industries
All these mentioned challenges lead to
unemployment as those who
have been employed in the agriculture sector are
rendered redundant. In the
same vein this has also threatened the food
security of Zimbabwe which was
once regarded as the regional breadbasket.
Food inflation which accounted
for 32 percent of the inflation basket will
continue to rise if farm
disruptions and other such retrogressive practices
persisted. Down stream
and up stream industry suffer thereby pushing
unemployment up and this
further weakens our economy.
4.
STATE OF OUR TOWNS AND CITIES
After operation Restore
Order/Murambatsvina that was conducted
in all the cities and towns in
Zimbabwe, the general feeling was that order
was going to prevail; but eight
months down the line, the state of the same
is deplorable and in a bad
state. Even with the intervention of the Reserve
Bank Governor to give loans
to the local authorities, our cities are
continuously losing gloss. In
Chitungwiza for example the water and sewerage
reticulation is still not up
to standard. The infrastructure in our towns
and cities is deteriorating
i.e. the streetlights are not functioning,
potholes are all over the roads,
uncollected garbage continues to pile up,
burst sewage is flowing in the
residential areas.
We also note with concern that the
interference by the Ministry
of local Government and Urban Development meant
to turn around the situation
has failed, instead the situation has
deteriorated. Of deep concern is the
quality of water in the cities
especially for Bulawayo, Ruwa, Marondera,
Chitungwiza, Norton and Harare
among others. There have been questions
raised as to whether the water
quality meets the World Health Organisation
Standards. With the outbreak of
cholera people live in fear of an epidemic
if things do not change
soon.
5. THE CONSTITUTION
God is a God of
Justice and He wants the rulers of His people to
administer justice. The
rulers of God's people must be an expression of the
people's wishes. People
elect leaders and the elections are in accordance
with the Constitution of
the land.
A Constitution is the most important law in any
country as
through it the instruments of good governance are established. A
democratic
society can therefore only come from a democratic constitution.
There has
been criticism from various quarters that our present Constitution
centralizes power in the Executive and takes away too much from the people.
We share this criticism of our constitution. We feel that there is urgent
need for appropriate amendments to be made to our constitution so as to
level the playing field and create an environment which will enable the
citizens to play and feel a part in the running of the country's
affairs.
The Churches Prayer/Our
Prayer
"Do not think that I come to abolish the law or
the prophets, I
have come not to abolish but to fulfil" Mt 5:17
(NRSV).
In speaking of the law or the prophets, Christ
was speaking of
the culture and religion in a broad sense, concerning the
Jewish nation. The
church draws inspiration from these words of our Lord to
remind the nation
of Zimbabwe of its cultural identity and call to
salvation. All cultures of
the nation of Zimbabwe have a common foundation
in values, morality and
communal social action that enhance social
relationships, harmonious living
and prosperity of all. These cultural
foundations teach us to celebrate the
central truths of Christianity, how to
distribute the goods of the earth and
live out our daily lives in love,
truth and community spirit. The Church
stand in admiration and awe of these
positive foundations and prays that the
Government, Parliament, Citizenry
and Churches the nation of Zimbabwe
responds to the call to
salvation.
This then is our
exhortation:
1. CORRUPTION
a. All the
three pillars of the state, the Executive (the
government),
Parliament
and the judiciary must act in concert, but each much
retain its
independence
and traditional role over the other.
This evil must be
vigorously and
expeditiously rooted out
without fear or favour. Action must be
a sustained
swift and
decisive display of seriousness.
b. The citizenry, informed by
ethical and professional
journalism, must stand in
the truth;
cooperate fully with the government against
corruption. It
must
show strength of character by desisting from corrupt
practices
itself and
denouncing corruption at all levels.
Citizens should not in one
hand condemn
the government and
then go on to engage in corrupt activities.
2.
ECONOMY
a. Government is urged to adopt fiscal measures
that stimulate
growth with equity in order to close the widening gap between
the rich and
poor. Such a broad gap offends the sense and spirit of
community of the
nation of Zimbabwe. b. Government should engage all
selflessly to seriously
committed stakeholders in the quest for total
economic recovery. We have
tended to put blame on others and failed to focus
on ourselves for the part
we have played in destroying our
economy.
3. LAND
a. It is a
serious indictment on this nation that six years
after embarking on the
policy of land acquisition we still hear of land
invasions. It is time that
a stop is put to this more so as this is now
taking place from those in high
places. We should now be talking about good
land utilization especially this
season when God has blessed us with such
good rains.
Government must take up a deliberate and robust policy of
rectifying
whatever errors were done during the chaotic period of land
acquisition.
a. The newly settled farmers should be
encouraged to seek
training in acquiring
skills for proper
land utilization so that we are restored to
our position of
being
the bread basket of the Southern
Africa.
4. STATE OF TOWNS AND
CITIES
a. It is of concern to witness a resurfacing of
structures and
trading practices
which led to the operation
Murambatsvina. Corrective action
needs to be
urgently taken
to nip the bad practices in the bud.
b. Government is urged to
bring about normalcy in the running of
towns and cities
as a
matter of urgency.
c. Parliament must deliberate upon and enact
legislation that
ensures greater
control by the citizenry in
the running of towns and cities and
guarantees that
whilst
there may be differences in political persuasions,
politicking and
partisan
interests and machinations will not prejudice the nation
of
Zimbabwe.
5. THE CONSTITUTION
In the light of the above observations we strongly feel that
Government and
Parliament must attend to all aspects of the constitution and
which have
been complaint of Chief among these are:
(a) Centralization of
the powers on the President.
(b) Holding of Presidential election
separately from
Parliamentary election.
In making any
such amendment wide consultations must be made so
that no sector of our
nation is left out. We need to come up with a
Constitution which will create
an environment conducive for peace and
stability.
CONCLUSION
Let us all take up our call to salvation and
confess our sins
before God for the part each of us has played in bringing
our country to the
sorry state we find ourselves. We must remind ourselves
of the thought
demonstratively expressed in Ecclesiastes
3:1-3.
"There is a time for everything, and a season for every
activity
under heaven;
a time to be born and a time to
die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time
to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to
build.."
We have killed and torn down enough; it now must
be a time to
heal and rebuild.
By the Zimbabwe Council of
Churches:
African Methodist Church
African
Methodist Episcopal
Anglican Diocese of Harare
Anglican Diocese of Central Zimbabwe
Anglican Diocese of
Matabeleland
Anglican Diocese of Masvingo
Anglican
Diocese of Manicaland
Baptist Church Convention
Christian Marching Church
Church of Central Africa
Presbyterian
Church of Christ in Zimbabwe Council
Churches
Dutch Reformed Church
Evangelical
Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe
Independent Church in
Africa
Independent African Church (Mushakata)
Methodist Church in Zimbabwe
Presbyterian Church of
Africa
Salvation Army
Reformed Church in
Zimbabwe
United Church of Christ in Zimbabwe
Uniting Presbyterian Church of Southern Africa
United
Congregational church (SA)
United Methodist Church Ziwezano
Church
SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news
Platinum Today
24th March
2006
Zimbabwe's state-owned press is reporting that mines minister Amos Midzi
is
to be censured for his efforts to indigenise the mining
industry.
Despite a series of comments from government sources indicating
the
ownership grab by the Zimbabwean authorities had met cabinet approval,
the
reports in the Zimbabwe Independent suggest an about-turn could be
forthcoming.
Mr Midzi is said to have championed the plans to acquire
a 51 per cent stake
in the country's mining interests, despite public
opposition from the
industry.
Now the government is reportedly set to
reprimand Mr Midzi for his remarks
with "higher authorities, including
President Robert Mugabe" due to give him
a dressing down.
Earlier
this week Mr Midzi was reported to have vowed the country would "not
be
deviated from that policy", but now sources tell the Independent the
minister has gone too far.
"Midzi misdirected himself in uttering
those misleading statements," a
source told the paper.
"Midzi has
created problems for himself and government over the mines
controversy.
"He will be censured either publicly or in private by
Mugabe or any other
senior minister next week. His remarks have caused
confusion and panic in
the local business and international
communities."
According to the newspaper the cabinet has been divided
over the issue,
although last month it was claimed that approval for the
policy had
effectively been granted.
Implats chief executive Keith
Rumble met the Zimbabwean president last week
to discuss the plans and
register discontent on behalf of the second largest
platinum company in the
world.
If the government does move ahead with its plans, foreign-owned
mines would
have to give up a 25 per cent stake for free and a further 26
per cent of
their stock that would be paid for over time.
Mining Weekly
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
There have been several applications for special grants to explore
Zimbabwe's 24 coalfields, Mining Weekly Online can today
report.
As coal was considered an energy mineral, all extraction
was done
through a special conditional grant, which RioZim deputy
chairperson John
Nixon suggested at the Coaltrans South Africa conference
could hamper
further investment.
He said that investors desired
consistency in the mining regime, which
was again absent with the latest
overture for 51% of mining operations to be
indigenised.
He
said that exploration in Zimbabwe was achieved through an exclusive
prospecting order system, which allowed access to large tracts of ground and
which could be renewed for longer than the initial three-year
period.
The Montam study undertaken in 1982 - about 100 years after
Zimbabwe's
coal fields achieved international interest - indicated that the
24
coalfields were located largely in the north-west and south-east of the
country.
Zimbabwe had an 11-billion ton inferred resource, a
1980 figure that
did not appear to have been updated.
The
Wankie mine, a coalfield named for Chief Zvanki in the 1800s,
provided coal
to the Wankie power station and was the country's only mine
currently
producing.
two seams, one of coking coal and the other of thermal
coal, were
mined and a new shaft was due to be sunk soon.
In
addition, there were underground activities at Wankie.
The company
that controlled Wankie was also aiming to develop, Chaba,
a new noncoking
opencast operation, which should improve Wankie's output
beyond the
anticipated four-million tons a year.
At Sengwa, in the north-west,
work had been done in exploration and
the mine was still in the development
stage, although there was a
small-scale operation taking place at the mine,
which was a joint venture
between Rio Tinto and RioZim, and where there was
a 1,3-billion ton
resource.
Wankie power station operator Zesa,
which had become concerned about
coal supply to the station, decided to mine
its own coal.
Nixon said that it would be some time before a new
mine was
established, as Zesa had not yet proved up the
resource.
Despite this limited activity, Nixon believed that there
were
opportunities for coal mining Zimbabwe, as there were many varieties of
coal
and opportunities for selected mining or to supply niche
markets.
In addition, miners could write off 100% of their capital,
pay 15% tax
and have customs duty exemption and an opportunity to open
foreign currency
accounts through the Zimbabwean Reserve Bank.
Yet, there were infrastructure problems, and he said that the current
electricity problems were just the tip of the iceberg.
In
addition, the railways were deteriorating.
On the legislative
front, Nixon said that there could be changes ahead
that might impede
investment and it had to be borne in mined that all
minerals had to be sold
through Zimbabwe's Minerals Marketing Corporation.
The Herald (Harare)
March 24,
2006
Posted to the web March 24, 2006
Harare
LOVEMORE Mataire,
the editor of the Voice, who had been facing charges of
stealing more that
$6 million from his employer, was acquitted at the Harare
Magistrates'
Courts yesterday.
The State, led by prosecutor Ms Sibambaniso Kundai,
withdrew the charges
before plea after the ruling Zanu-PF unconditionally
dropped the case
against him resulting in magistrate Rebecca Takavadiyi
discharging him. His
lawyer, Mr Chris Mhike, confirmed the withdrawal of the
charges, saying
Zanu-PF forwarded a document to the effect that they were no
longer
interested in the matter being prosecuted. He added that the letter
further
stated that it was in the interest of the party to have the charges
withdrawn with immediate effect.
Charges against Mataire (29), an
employee of The Voice, a Zanu-PF weekly
publication, arose after he
reportedly converted proceeds from newspaper
sales to his personal use. The
State alleged that between August 21, 2004
and October 12 last year, Mataire
instructed newspaper vendors and agents to
deposit proceeds from the paper's
sales into his personal bank account held
with Central Africa Building
Society (CABS) instead of The Voice's Zimbank
account.
It had been
further alleged that Mataire would subsequently withdraw the
money and
convert it to his own use. It was also the State case that as a
result of
Mataire's actions, The Voice was prejudiced of $6 110 000 and
nothing was
recovered. After the court session, Mr Mhike told The Herald
that the
withdrawal was a positive move. "It is heartening for citizens,
particularly
legal practitioners, to witness the prevailing of reason and
justice. We
believe that the exoneration of my client amounts to that," said
Mr
Mhike.
Daily Mirror, Zimbabwe
The
Daily Mirror Reporter
issue date :2006-Mar-25
THE MDC pro-Senate camp
led by Arthur Mutambara has launched a fresh bid to
penetrate Zanu PF's
stronghold in the rural areas, holding two rallies in
Mhondoro and Seke
recently.
St Mary's legislator Job Sikhala and the faction's provincial
leadership
travelled to Seke this week where they held rallies and elected
new ward
structures in the area.
Sikhala, who is the faction's secretary
for defence, had a tough time
explaining to villagers on what had befallen
the MDC in the aftermath of its
split in October last year.
He alleged
the once vibrant opposition party split into two factions because
of Morgan
Tsvangirai's dictatorial tendencies. Tsvangirai now heads the MDC
anti-Senate camp.
"We are gathered here today to tell you that we have
since parted ways with
Tsvangirai who wilfully violated the MDC
constitution. We as a party are
bound and led by our own constitution. He is
a dictator who follows the
wills of our former colonisers and white
commercial farmers," Sikhala
alleged. He was responding to questions by
villagers who wanted to know why
there were now two opposition parties using
the MDC's name
Daily Mirror, Zimbabwe
The Daily Mirror Reporter
issue date
:2006-Mar-25
THE Electoral Commissions Forum (ECF) of Southern Africa
recently held a
four-day workshop in Windhoek, Namibia to explore ways of
improving
independence of electoral bodies in the region.
The meeting was
held between March 12 and 16.
Zimbabwe's delegation comprised commissioner
Sarah Kachingwe from the
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) and chief law
officer, Shamiso
Chahuruva.
In a statement Zec said: "The objectives of
the workshop were to bring
Election Management Bodies (EMBs), together to
deliberate on the legal
framework under which they operate, to identify
critical elements for
further enhancement of the independence of electoral
commissions, to explore
ways of enhancing the independence and impartiality
of EMBs and to develop a
framework of common standards that can be used in
the Sadc region."
The participants also presented papers on the legal
frameworks in their
respective countries and while the workshop tried to
develop and ideal
structure of an independent electoral
commission.
Meanwhile, Zec chairperson, Justice George Chiweshe, chief
elections
officer, Lovemore Sekeramayi and secretary to the Commission,
Dominic
Chidakuza attended a special annual general conference of ECF in
Namibia on
March 17.
The meeting was meant to consider issues of special
interest to the Sadc
electoral commissions.
The Herald (Harare)
March 24,
2006
Posted to the web March 24, 2006
Tsitsi
Matope
Harare
ZIMBABWEAN ambassadors based in various countries should
make a greater
effort to promote tourism, Ambassador Tendai Mutunhu has
said.
He made the remarks during a three-day Fifth Annual Review
Conference
organised by the Centre for Peace Initiatives in Africa last
month. He said
it was regrettable that tourism, a major foreign currency
earner in the
past, was underperforming although there was no evidence of
instability to
warrant such a development. "I know from my experience that
sometimes it is
difficult in some hostile countries to explain Zimbabwe's
position, but
there is need to come up with new mechanisms to market the
country's tourism
sector, which has really suffered from negative publicity,
which in some
instances was never countered," he said.
Ambassador
Mutunhu, who has since retired from the diplomatic service, has
represented
Zimbabwe in several Scandinavian countries and within Africa. In
his view,
the role of ambassadors in various countries cannot be
underestimated, as
they were the country's flag bearers. "The image of the
country needs to be
promoted and the world needs to know that Zimbabwe is
still one of the
safest countries in the region. Our diplomats abroad have
the mandate to
correct the strangling of our tourism sector."
Ambassador Mutunhu said it
was unfortunate that some diplomats could be so
intimidated by negative
reports about Zimbabwe to the extent of failing to
undo the damage caused.
Unlike foreign diplomats based in Zimbabwe who have
been aggressively
marketing their countries by engaging the local media and
interacting with
various communities through developmental initiatives,
there was still not
much coming from the country's flag bearers deployed in
various
countries.
Ambassador Mutunhu said there was also need on the part of the
Ministry of
Foreign Affairs to equip diplomats with the necessary resources
to market
the country. "Is it not shocking that one walks in an embassy of
Zimbabwe
and finds no material about what the country has to offer in the
tourism
sector. "Even during some commemorations, does it not signify lack
of
initiativ e or creativity if our embassies abroad have nothing special to
showcase to hundreds of people they would have invited?"
He said from
his experience in other countries, Zimbabwe had much more to
offer in terms
of infrastructure and natural beauty. It was therefore
unfortunate that the
tourism sector was being neglected by lack of
strategies to overcome
challenges created by a hostile international Press.
"If the negative
reports are not true there is no reason why our tourism
sector should
continue to suffer like this. "With the necessary scheming and
seriousness
we could see an immense difference by the end of the year."
Mr Eben
Makonese of Chemplex Corporation said the hotel industry in Zimbabwe
has
been badly affected by the chorus of negative publicity. He said many
hotels
had gone without business for months while local tourists could not
boost
the industry owing to the exorbitant rates charged by the hospitality
industry. Mr Makonese said an economic downturn that has been fuelled by
lack of foreign currency and high inflation rate had also cast a dark cloud
on the hotel industry. "The equipment that is needed in the bulk of repairs
that are conducted in many hotels is imported from abroad and hotels have
found themselves unable to sustain their standards due to the unavailability
of foreign currency," Mr Makonese said. Some of the participants in the
review conference argued that although diplomats had a role to play, the
hotel industry needed to be more organised and come up with new mechanisms
to lure tourists back. Another participant from Japan said the hotel
industry in Zimbabwe needed to embark on massive promotional campaigns for
people to know about the country's tourism sector.
"I have stayed in
Burundi for so many years and have not heard anybody
marketing Zimbabwe
except for the bad publicity. "When I was invited here I
was surprised what
a marvel the country is and yet nobody has really
bothered to attend some of
our seminars to promote the tourism sector in
Zimbabwe," she
said.
The Parks and Wildlife Management Authority said the wildlife
sector has
been aggressive in its marketing strategies. Public relations
manager
Retired Major Edward Mbewe said hard work had saved the hunting
sector in
Zimbabwe, which is the only sphere in the tourism sector, not
affected by
negative publicity. "We went on a massive marketing strategy
that included
sending teams to America to assure our clients that the
country remained a
safe destination and this has indeed paid off." Rtd Maj
Mbewe said another
team was in America recently where they clinched deals
with scores of
hunters who will soon visit the country. "It takes serious
initiatives and
persistence to convince the world of the true Zimbabwean
picture," he told
participants.