The Star
'Genuine' war veterans hope to influence Zim
election
Former freedom fighters feel that their ideals have been
betrayed by
Robert Mugabe's government
March 2, 2005
By Jonathan Ancer
The looting of farms by Zimbabwean war veterans
took centre stage
during the last elections.
But two ex-freedom
fighters, who describe themselves as "genuine" war
veterans, hope to play a
more constructive role in this month's election.
Wilfred Mhanda
(54) and Freedom Nyamubaya (45) want to remind
President Robert Mugabe of
the ideals they fought for 25 years ago -
democracy, human dignity, social
justice and peace.
Mhanda and Nyamubaya have distanced themselves
from members of the
Zimbabwean National Liberation War Veterans Association
(ZNLWVA) - many of
whom they accuse of being too young to have actually been
involved in the
chimurenga (struggle).
ZNLWVA members were seen
invading farms and accused of sjambokking
opposition members during the 2000
election.
Mhanda and Nyamubaya are in South Africa to share their
experiences
with former MK and Apla members, after having been to Mozambique
to speak to
Frelimo and Renamo veterans. Their mission is to encourage them
to make a
positive contribution to the governance of the region - a
contribution
starkly different to the role the ZNLWVA played.
The association has not been as visible as before the last election,
but
some sources believe Zanu-PF could still persuade the veterans, who are
dependent on the party, to work behind the scenes to coerce citizens to
support the government.
"We fought for freedom," says Mhanda, a
member of the Zimbabwe African
National Liberation Army (Zanla) high command
in the 1970s, "but the
government has betrayed our ideals. We think this
time the war veterans -
the genuine ones - can help remind Mugabe what the
struggle was about in the
first place."
Mhanda says the country
didn't transform when Zimbabwe achieved
independence; instead, one elite was
substituted by another.
After independence, some veterans tried to
form an association. "The
government did not want our voices to be heard -
until it suited its
agenda."
"The war veterans, many of whom
are destitute, were used by Zanu-PF to
invade farms in the last election to
deflect attention from the collapse of
the economy. It worked. People were
caught up with the land issue and forget
everything else."
The
two found in Mozambique that former freedom fighters were
grappling with
their relationship with the government.
"The war veterans there are
not partisan. Some are aligned to
particular parties, but as organisations
they are independent. The War
Veterans Association in our country has been
hijacked by Zanu-PF," Mhanda
says.
Nyamubaya was involved in
setting up the ZNLWVA in the early 1990s,
but dropped out because she saw it
as merely an appendage of the government.
"It was useless. The
association had no desire to make a meaningful
contribution to
society."
A poet and singer who owns a game farm, Nyamubaya
points out that
she's not a former freedom fighter - she's still fighting
for freedom.
She used to fight with a gun, but now, she says, she
fights with
poetry.
"I joined the war when I was 15. When I
came back. nobody wanted to
know us, the women. We had been vandalised
sexually. There were stories
about women from the war, that we would beat up
men who refused to have sex
with us."
"I met comrades in the
street who pretended not to know me because
they didn't want their husbands
to know we were comrades."
Nyamubaya joined the struggle in 1975
after her family told her there
wasn't money for her to continue to go to
school.
"I knew there was something wrong with the society and I
grew unhappy
with the injustice, so I decided to join a group of 10 men and
go into
Mozambique to join the war."
When she arrived in a
training camp she was detained and accused of
being a spy because she
refused to sleep with one of the commanders.
"I was told that I had
been sent by Ian Smith. I was raped by the
camp's security
commander."
When she was released she smuggled weapons, ammunition
and explosives
into Zimbabwe. She spent 11 months fighting on the front,
before becoming a
political commissar at various training
camps.
"I grew disillusioned with the leadership early on because
of the
imprisonment and the abuse, but I still believe we freedom fighters
can play
a meaningful role in our country by helping the government refocus
on the
ideals of freedom."
Mhanda took up arms in 1971,
becoming a commander in Zanla's highest
military body. He also was involved
in guerrilla warfare.
"We weren't fighting against whites; we were
fighting for ideals. Part
of my job was to inspire young people to sacrifice
themselves for the cause
of freedom, that is why I am most hurt - because I
motivated people to die
for their country and we have been
betrayed."
In 1981, disillusioned with what he saw as the
government's lack of
accountability, Mhanda left for Germany, where he
studied industrial
biotechnology. He returned eight years later to work for
manufacturing
companies. In 2000 he was one of the founding members of the
Zimbabwean
Liberators' Platform.
"A few of us realised we had
to form an organisation in response to
the anarchy and violence that gripped
the country before the last elections.
We have 12 000 members."
"The veterans form the nucleus of our group but it was not only the
people
with guns who were liberators - workers, youths, teachers and
churches
played a role and are part of us."
The Zimbabwean government could
not be reached for comment.
MBABWE-MUTUME Mar-1-2005
Church leaders say rules hamper work of
Zimbabwean election observers
By Bronwen Dachs
Catholic News
Service
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (CNS) -- The Zimbabwean government's
control over
accreditation of election observers severely hampers the
country's chances
of holding fair elections, said church leaders in Zimbabwe
and South Africa.
Auxiliary Bishop Patrick Mumbure Mutume of Mutare,
Zimbabwe, who hopes to
observe the March 31 general elections along with
other representatives of
churches and nongovernmental organizations, said
the state-controlled
last-minute accreditation process diminishes observers'
chances of doing a
good job.
"If we get permission the afternoon
before the election there is not enough
time for us to get to the far ends
of the country," he said in a Feb. 25
telephone interview from
Mutare.
The opposition Movement for Democratic Change said the rules are
skewed in
favor of President Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe African National
Union-Patriotic
Front, or ZANU-PF, and that there is continued violence and
intimidation.
The opposition accused the courts of purposely delaying its
legal challenges
to the government's victories in the 2000 general election
and the
presidential poll in 2002 that gave Mugabe another six years in
power.
Last year, the Southern African Development Community agreed on
basic
conditions for free elections; the Movement for Democratic Change said
those
conditions had not been met.
"One of our worries is that there
are two commissions running this election,
which is very problematic," said
Kabelo Selema, organizing secretary of the
Southern African Catholic
Bishops' Conference justice and peace department
in Pretoria.
Under
guidelines from the Southern African Development Community, the new
commission has been set up as an independent body, but it cannot operate
without consulting the old government-controlled commission, which has all
the resources, including the database of voters, Selema said in a Feb. 28
telephone interview from Pretoria.
Selema has been an observer in
previous Zimbabwean elections and said he
plans to be there again in
March.
Noting that previous polls in Zimbabwe "were not free and fair,"
Selema said
the situation in South Africa's neighboring country is "not
looking good"
this time.
Neither the opposition nor outside observers
have been allowed to check
conditions, such as the registration of voters,
before the election, Selema
said.
"We don't know what has happened
about the 'ghost voters' that were on the
voters' roll in the last
election," he said, noting that there were between
800,000 and 1 million
names of nonexistent people on the list.
Zimbabwean church leaders are
concerned about "intimidation and violence, as
well as apprehension and
apathy among voters" in the March elections, Bishop
Mutume said.
"We
need to be prepared for whatever happens," he said.
There is "an
environment of fear" in Zimbabwe, where "caution is always the
rule," Bishop
Mutume said. Rumors are spreading in rural Zimbabwe that
officials will know
who each person voted for because the new ballot boxes
are transparent, he
said.
The transparent boxes were made in response to accusations that the
boxes
used in past elections already contained votes for the ruling party
before
polling started, he said.
At a mid-February national prayer
meeting in the capital, Harare, Bishop
Mutume said Zimbabweans are living in
fear because they are threatened and
intimidated into submission.
"If
we had the chance to ask our fallen heroes whether this is the Zimbabwe
they
fought for, they will say no, because they fought for peace, freedom
and
justice" in the 1970s' war of liberation, he said, according to a report
by
the news agency Zim Online.
Mugabe has led Zimbabwe since it gained
independence from Britain in 1980.
Bishop Mutume said he used the prayer
meeting to call for tolerance and
urged law enforcement agents to take
action against victimization.
"Everyone has the right to choose which
party to vote for, and that choice
must be respected by all," he
said.
END
News24
Fair Zim polls 'impossible'
01/03/2005 21:43 -
(SA)
JOhannesburg - There is no chance of the upcoming Zimbabwean
election being
free and fair, experts said at a meeting in Johannesburg on
Tuesday.
"An atmosphere of fear pervades the whole country," said Andrew
Moyse,
co-ordinator of the media monitoring project of
Zimbabwe.
"There is no chance that a free and fair election can be held
in Zimbabwe."
Arnold Tsunga of Zimbabwe's lawyers for human rights added:
"All the
legislation being pushed through now pertaining to the election is
an
exercise in deception."
He said it seemed the Zimbabwean
government was trying to follow Southern
African Development Community
(SADC) guidelines on elections, but in reality
this was a
deception.
"They are deceiving the Zimbabwean public, it is
self-deception and they're
deceiving the SADC members."
Tsunga said
the guidelines for free and fair elections adopted by SADC
members had no
legal standing.
"They are only aspirational, there are no sanctions if a
member state fails
to adhere to them."
Member countries were also
under no obligation to invite SADC election
monitors to observe the
election.
The pieces of legislation prohibiting a democratic election
process were
"endless", Tsunga said.
"There are Acts that stifle
freedom of expression and access to information.
"We are not allowed to
hold a public meeting without permission. There are
endless
prohibitions."
Journalists 'terrorised'
Moyse said media
organisations and journalists were terrorised in Zimbabwe
in an attempt to
stifle any criticism of the ruling party.
"In the past two weeks a
newspaper was banned and three journalists, all of
them Zimbabweans, were
chased out of the country."
But this, he added, was nothing to what had
been happening to the media in
the past five years.
Five papers, all
of them independent, were closed down.
Moyse said the government
"hijacked" the public broadcaster to "run a
propaganda campaign" in favour
of the government and vilify the opposition
Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC).
"When Zanu-PF launched its election campaign, it was broadcast for
four
hours and it was the main news for two days afterwards.
"When
the MDC launched its election campaign, they got exactly one minute,
25
seconds airtime."
He said the newly promulgated legislation on access to
public media "looked
good", but all would depend on how it was
applied.
Referring to the SADC guidelines for a free and fair election,
Moyse said
there was no mention of fair and unbiased reporting.
"It
seems that SADC accepted biased reporting in favour of ruling parties
and
relied on privately owned media to create a balance.
"We all know what
happened to the privately owned media in Zimbabwe."
Catholic News
Zimbabwe Archbishop says priests bribed to keep silent
human rights
Many clergy in Zimbabwe have been bribed into silence
about human rights
violations in Zimbabwe by the government of President
Robert Mugabe,
according to the Archbishop of Bulawayo Pius
Ncube.
Ecumenical News International reports that the archbishop, who is
visiting
South Africa, said the church is divided by Mugabe "who used a
strategy to
buy certain churches and individual ministers and
bishops".
Meanwhile, a separate report on the ZWNews.com website says
criticises South
Africa's President Thabo Mbeki for his refusal to be seen
to act against the
Mugabe regime.
Archbishop Ncube said President
Mbeki "would be booed" in the streets of
Zimbabwe if he were to join the
ordinary people and ask them what they feel
about his silent diplomacy
towards that country.
He said: "Mandela was straightforward and
principled. He (Mandela) would not
have backed this ... Mugabe's land grab
because it did not empower the
people, but he used it just to keep in power.
This has caused a lot of
untold suffering. Three to four million Zimbabweans
have been displaced as a
result of this. The people don't know why Mbeki is
supporting Mugabe. They
don't understand it."
2 Mar 2005
The Herald
RBZ starts printing new notes
Business Reporters
THE
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has started printing new currency notes as it
prepares to phase out the bearer cheques currently in circulation.
A
Reserve Bank official yesterday said the production of the new currency
was
already at an advanced stage.
"Production is currently at full throttle
as we speak.
"Bearer cheques and the other denominations will be phased
out at the end of
this year while the new currency will be introduced in
January next year,"
said the official who could not be drawn into disclosing
the denominations
of the new notes.
He said the inflation trend would
have a large bearing on the new
denominations that will be
introduced.
The latest development ties in with a section in the RBZ
governor Dr Gideon
Gono's fourth quarter monetary policy review statement
delivered in January.
In his monetary policy statement, the governor
indicated that the
progressive reduction in inflation, which was targeted at
seeing the annual
rate of inflation coming down to single-digit levels by
mid-2006, would
necessitate the implementation of currency
reforms.
The currency reforms would seek to strengthen and lock in low
inflation
expectations as well as build general public confidence in the
local
currency.
"I am pleased to report that considerable progress
has been made towards
preparatory work for the design and production of new
currency that would
replace the existing denominations, including bearer
cheques in 2006.
"The public will be kept abreast of developments on this
matter as
implementation of the plan progresses," he said.
To this
end, the RBZ was expected to roll out a comprehensive media campaign
in June
to publicise the new currency, after the RBZ governor's mid-year
monetary
policy review.
The campaign, according to the official, would seek to
reveal the salient
features of the new currency.
The central bank was
expected to draw lessons from Turkey which introduced a
new currency last
month.
Initially, the Zimbabwean currency was mostly in cents with the
coins
ranging from a one-cent coin to a dollar coin while the notes were
available
in the following denominations: $2, $5, $10 and $20, which was
highest
denomination.
However, due to changes in the economic
situation brought about by the
Economic Structural Adjustment Programme
(Esap), the country subsequently
introduced new notes in four denominations
namely the $50, $100, $500 and $1
000 notes between 2001 and
2003.
The introduction of the notes gradually saw the informal phasing
out of the
coins as the value of the dollar continued to depreciate against
the major
currencies.
A crippling note shortage between May and
September 2003 resulted in the
introduction of bearer's cheques in three
denominations - $5 000, $10 000
and $20 000 in September of the same
year.
The bearer cheques proved an effective remedy to the cash
shortages,
prompting the central bank to extend their lifespan.
The
bearer cheques were initially designed to be in circulation for six
months,
but their lifespan was extended in December 2003 to December 2004
due to the
persistent high demand for cash.
The RBZ further extended bearer cheques'
lifespan of the by another year in
December last year.
The extension
was expected to give the RBZ ample time to work on a roll-over
programme
that would see the eventual phasing out of the bearer cheques.
Sokwanele -
Enough is Enough - Zimbabwe
PROMOTING NON-VIOLENT PRINCIPLES TO ACHIEVE
DEMOCRACY
"Mauritius
Watch" : Issue 18, 28 February 2005
The
Zimbabwean Elections: (Monitoring Violations of SADC Standards)
On 17 August 2004, the Southern African Development Community
(SADC) leaders meeting in Mauritius adopted the SADC Principles and Guidelines
Governing Democratic Elections. Zimbabwe, as a member of SADC, also signed the
Agreement and committed itself to implementing the standards. Furthermore the
Mugabe regime claims that it is compliant with these standards and thereby
invites a comparison between its own electoral and security legislation and
performance on the one hand, and the SADC Principles and Guidelines on the
other.
"Mauritius Watch" provides a regular, objective and non-partisan
assessment of Zimbabwe's compliance with these Principles and Guidelines. In the
run-up to the 2005 Parliamentary Elections we note any significant failures to
adhere to the SADC standards. This special weekly feature assumes even greater
significance as the date of the Parliamentary Elections (March 31) approaches.
Less than 5 weeks remain before the crucial poll.
This week we note the comment of Zwelinzima Vavi, Secretary
General of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) that under the
current repressive environment in Zimbabwe it would take "a miracle" for
Zimbabwe's election to be free and fair. Vavi said that Mugabe had reversed the
gains of Zimbabwe's bitter 1970s liberation struggle with "massive human rights
abuses" now routine in the country. Announcing the picketing/blockade of Beit
Bridge and other Zimbabwean lifelines on March 16, and a series of other protest
marches and pickets in the run-up to the elections, Vavi said: "Civic society in
South Africa must unashamedly act in solidarity with their counterparts in
Zimbabwe. If we close our eyes to the realities of repression, there is a danger
we would ignore other future abuses."
23.02.05: CONFIRMATION : NO INDEPENDENT ELECTORAL
COMMISSION
ZANU-PF appointees and officials from
the Electoral Supervisory Commission (ESC) have themselves confirmed that it is
this electoral body, rather than the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC)
established last year by an Act of Parliament, which is supreme and will have
the last word on any contentious issue arising in the forthcoming general
election.
The significance of the distinction is that while the chairman
and members of the ESC are all appointed directly by Robert Mugabe, for the ZEC
there is, at least on paper, some scope for the opposition to have a say in the
appointment of the members. (The chairman however, is appointed under Mugabe's
absolute discretion).
In practice it did not make any difference this time around
since all that the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) was presented
with was a shortlist of candidates for members of the ZEC, none of whom were
acceptable to them. As one MDC leader put it, "all we could do was to choose the
least bad." To cap it all Mugabe appointed as chairman of the ZEC a judge with
known ZANU-PF sympathies.
Until this time ZANU-PF have made the most of the confusion
between the roles of the ESC and ZEC. Their propaganda machine has promoted the
latter as an "independent electoral commission" in control of the election - in
line with SADC requirements. Now however the ZANU-PF appointees to the ESC have
laid that lie to rest.
As quoted in The Daily Mirror, Joice Kazembe, ESC Commissioner,
said: "The ESC is the overall authority of supervision of elections by virtue of
constitutional provisions. We have the final say on whether they had been run
properly. The ESC is the overall constitutional authority and takes precedence
over the bodies that run elections."
The point was underlined by Dominic Chidakuza, the legal advisor
and secretary to the ESC, who said: "The ESC was established by the constitution
of Zimbabwe. It's made from the supreme law of the country. It therefore tells
you who is to supervise who (between ESC and ZEC). The (one) commission is
created by the supreme law and the other by an act of parliament."
So much for the pretence, actively promoted by ZANU-PF, that the
ZEC was to run the election and that this body was independent. The ESC on the
other hand, being totally the creation of Robert Mugabe, not even his most
blindly-loyal supporters would surely dare to claim to be
independent.
(Quotations taken from The Daily Mirror: www.africaonline.co.zw/mirror/index.html 23.02.05)
SADC standards
breached:
- 2.1.7 Independence of
the Judiciary and impartiality of the electoral institutions
- 7.3 (Government to)
establish impartial, all-inclusive, competent and accountable national electoral
bodies
20.02.05: VOTER REGISTRATION CONTINUES - FOR
SOME
Voter registration for the March 31 election was still going on
around the country three weeks after the official closure of the exercise,
validating opposition MDC claims that ZANU-PF is systematically rigging the
polls - with the active connivance of the blatantly partisan Registrar-General,
Tobaiwa Mudede.
A report in The Standard (February 20) confirmed that people
continued to visit the stations registering for the general election as of
February 18. This was most pronounced in areas such as Hatcliffe, Mount Pleasant
in Harare, Dema Growth Point in Seke and Lupane in Matabeleland province.
It was reported that ZANU-PF was still instructing its
supporters to register long after the expiry of the February 4 cut-off date for
registration given in the presidential proclamation.
Trudy Stevenson MP for Harare North (MDC) said voter
registration was still going on in her constituency. "They are registering
people to vote in the general election, clearly showing that they are prepared
to win these elections through whatever means. The whole process is not being
made public."
MDC secretary general Welshman Ncube expressed concern about the
continued registration of voters. He said the revelations weakened the
accountability and transparency of the Registrar-General's Office. According to
Ncube this is exactly how ZANU-PF rigged the 2002 (presidential)
election.
(Reported in The Standard:
www.thestandard.co.zw 20.02.05)
SADC standards
breached:
- 2.1.6 Equal
opportunity to exercise the right to vote and be voted for
- 2.1.7 Independence of
the Judiciary and impartiality of the electoral institutions
- 4.1.3
Non-discrimination in voters' registration
- 7.5 (Government to)
take all necessary measures and precautions to prevent the perpetration of
fraud, rigging or other illegal practices throughout the whole electoral
process
22.02.05: SOLDIERS ATTACK MDC
OFFICIALS
The official opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) has complained in the strongest terms that a group of
soldiers attacked their officials, who were travelling from Masvingo where the
MDC had launched its election campaign for the 2005 general elections, a week
ago.
Spokesman Paul Themba Nyathi said: "The MDC officials were at
Wengezi business centre in Manicaland when a group of about 50 soldiers
disembarked from two army trucks and about 20 of the soldiers started assaulting
the MDC members. Among the MDC officials were three candidates for the 2005
general election, namely Pishai Muchauraya the candidate for Makoni East, Edwin
Maupa candidate for Mutasa South and Gabriel Chiwara the candidate for Makoni
West."
"The soldiers assaulted Chiwara and his election agent Josephat
Munhumumwe, accusing the two of selling the country to the British," added
Nyathi. "Chiwara and Munhumumwe sustained injuries all over their bodies as they
were kicked and beaten with booted feet and fists by the furious members of the
army. Chiwara also sustained a deep cut above the eye," he said. The two were
taken to Mutare General Hospital where they received treatment and were later
released. The matter was reported to the Mutare rural police station and a
docket was opened (number given) but to date no arrests have been
made.
This attack comes barely a week after another group of MDC
members was viciously attacked by members of the army
in Nyanga.
(See the report given by I-Net Bridge (SA):22.02.05, and
published in ZWNEWS: www.zwnews.com 23.02.05)
SADC standards
breached:
- 2.1.3 Political
tolerance
- 4.1.1 Constitutional
and legal guarantees of freedom and rights of the citizens
- 4.1.2 Conducive
environment for free, fair and peaceful elections
- 7.4 (Government to)
safeguard the human and civil liberties of all citizens including the freedom of
movement, assembly, association, expression and campaigning
- 7.7 (Government to)
ensure that adequate security is provided to all parties participating in the
elections
25.02.05: MORE
VIOLENT ATTACKS ON MDC
Suspected ruling ZANU-PF party
militants waylaid and severely beat up an opposition Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) party campaign team in the small town of Norton, 40 km west of
Harare on February 24 - evidence of increasing violence across the country ahead
of the crucial parliamentary election on March 31.
The 11 MDC activists were putting up campaign posters in the
town when the ZANU-PF militants pounced on them. The militants also confiscated
the posters and party regalia the MDC activists were wearing and burnt the
material.
Norton falls under the Manyame constituency in which Robert
Mugabe's nephew, Patrick Zhuwawo, is standing against the MDC's Hilda Mafudze in
the March poll.
The police spokesman could not be contacted to comment on the
attack, but Mafudze said she had reported the incident to the local police in
Norton. "This cannot be a free and fair election," she said. "How can the whole
process be fair when one's campaign team is beaten up and their regalia burnt by
these thugs who belong to a party which claims it supports a free and fair
poll?"
(See the report in Zim Online (SA): www.zimonline.co.za 25.02.05, also published in ZWNEWS
www.zwnews.com
25.02.05)
Note: Robert Mugabe's oldest sister, Sabina Mugabe, has a
section of Gowrie farm in Norton. She visited the farm prior to the violent
death of farmer Terry Ford in March 2001, demanding the house and furniture
which belonged to his recently deceased aunt, who lived on his farm. Sabina
Mugabe's constituency, Zvimba South, falls within Norton. Retired Zimbabwe
Defence Force general Vitalis Zvinavashe, also took over a farm in the area.
SADC standards
breached:
- 2.1.1 Full
participation of citizens in the political process
- 2.1.3 Political
tolerance
- 7.4 (Government to)
safeguard the human and civil liberties of all citizens including the freedom of
movement, assembly, association, expression and campaigning
- 7.7 Ensure that
adequate security is provided to all parties participating in the elections
24.02.05: THE RIGHT TO CAMPAIGN DENIED : MDC CANDIDATE
AND SUPPORTERS ARRESTED
MDC candidate for Shamva
in next month's parliamentary elections, Godfrey Chimombe, and five supporters
were arrested on February 22 while putting up campaign posters at Madziva Market
in Shamva, in Mashonaland Central province. Provincial police spokesperson,
Assistant Michael Munyikwa, confirmed the arrests, saying the suspects would be
charged for contravening provisions of the Public Order and Security Act (POSA).
He said the six people putting up campaign posters at Madziva Market, a
council-owned property, should have notified the police and would accordingly be
charged under POSA.
Contacted for comment the MDC's Mashonaland Central chairman,
Tapera Macheka, said: "The police have arrested our candidate for putting up his
campaign posters. The candidate and five other youths are still being held in
police custody where I understand they are being denied access to food. We are
going to consult our lawyer to intervene because our followers are now afraid of
intimidation."
This is not the first time the opposition has complained about
the harassment and intimidation of their supporters who are being denied the
right to campaign freely in the province.
(See the Report in The Daily Mirror: www.africaonline.co.zw/mirror/index.html 24.02.05 and
also published in ZWNEWS: www.zwnews.com 24.02.05)
SADC standards
breached:
- 2.1.1 Full
participation of the citizens in the political process
- 2.1.3 Political
tolerance
- 4.1.2 Conducive
environment for free, fair and peaceful elections
- 7.3 (Government to)
establish impartial, all-inclusive, competent and accountable national electoral
bodies ... as well as competent legal entities including effective
constitutional courts to arbitrate in the event of disputes arising from the
conduct of elections
- 7.4 (Government to)
safeguard the human and civil liberties of all citizens including the freedom of
... campaigning ...
25.02.05:
STATE AGENTS BANKROLL MDC REBELS
Zimbabwe's main opposition Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC) party has accused the government's spying agency,
the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO), of bribing some of its disgruntled
members to destabilize and weaken the party ahead of the parliamentary election
on March 31.
MDC secretary general, Professor Welshman Ncube, said: "The CIO
has been fully operational in trying to infiltrate and weaken the MDC by buying
and sponsoring losing candidates (from the party's primary elections) to
discredit the party.
For example, we know of people who could not afford to print a
single T-shirt and had to appeal for party resources when they were sitting MDC
MPs. Now that they are standing as independents, they are awash with money and
are using it to weaken our structures before the elections."
State security minister Nicholas Goche, who is in charge of the
CIO, denied the allegation. However intelligence sources have confirmed to Zim
Online that the CIO is running a "national project" to infiltrate the MDC and
destabilize it ahead of the March 31 elections.
A senior CIO operative speaking on condition of anonymity, said:
"Infiltration of the MDC is not a new thing but with the elections approaching a
slush fund has been set up to buy and sponsor discontent within the MDC. This
will split the vote and benefit ZANU-PF."
(Reported by Zim Online: www.zimonline.co.za 25.02.05)
SADC standards
breached:
- 7.5 (Government to)
take all necessary measures and precautions to prevent the perpetration of
fraud, rigging or any other illegal practices throughout the whole electoral
process...
27.02.05: ANOTHER INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER
CLOSED
The most recently established independent
paper in Zimbabwe, the Weekly Times, has been shut down for allegedly violating
the country's tough media laws, its owner, Godfrey Ncube, said on February 26.
This brings to four the number of independent papers closed down by the Mugabe
regime under the draconian legislation crafted by the now disgraced former
minister of information, Jonathan Moyo. The paper was shut down after publishing
just eight editions and just a month ahead of the crucial national
elections.
Chairperson of the ZANU-PF-controlled Media and Information
Commission (MIC), Tafataona Mahoso, tried to justify the forced closure on the
grounds that the Weekly Times had misrepresented its intentions when applying
for a publishing licence. Ncube however, who intendes to challenge the closure
in court, was in no doubt that the move was political. "There is no basis for
closing us down," he said. "We feel it's a political move; it's got nothing to
do with the law." Ncube cited his alleged close ties to the Movement for
Democratic (MDC) party general secretary Welshman Ncube, and to the outspoken
Roman Catholic Archbishop, Pius Ncube, as the real reason for the
closure.
The Daily News which had the biggest daily circulation in the
country and its sister paper, The Daily News on Sunday, were forcibly closed in
September 2003, while the weekly Tribune was shut down in June last year. Scores
of journalists have been arrested under the same draconian media
laws.
(Reported in The Mail and Guardian (SA): www.mg.co.za
27.02.05)
SADC standards
breached:
- 2.1.1 Full
participation of citizens in the political process
- 2.1.3 Political
tolerance
- 4.1.2 Conducive
environment for free, fair and peaceful elections
ZIMBABWE ELECTORAL LEGISLATION : SADC CHECK
LIST
SOKWANELE has produced a detailed analysis
of the Zimbabwean statutes that are in breach of the SADC Principles and
Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections and the policy breaches by the ZANU-PF
government.
Entitled "ZIMBABWE ELECTORAL LEGISLATION : SADC CHECK LIST", the
document can be seen on our website at www.sokwanele.com
Note: The fraudulent and violence-ridden elections of 2000 and
2002 were narrowly "won" by Robert Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party, who have
maintained their iron grip on the country by using strategies designed to
annihilate all forms of opposition.
As many independent commentators have already pointed out, there
is no prospect that the parliamentary elections scheduled for March 31 will be
fair and free. Equally, given the magnitude of the task and the few weeks
remaining before the poll, there is no prospect of the regime's compliance with
the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections. Indeed, in
recent months we have witnessed a steady movement by the regime away from
compliance with any international norms for democratic elections. Behind the
façade of democracy which the regime likes to put on all their activities, we
have seen a deliberate and systematic attempt to subvert every institution of
government in order to secure in the forthcoming poll a pre-determined result
favouring ZANU-PF.
Visit our website at
www.sokwanele.com
Sokwanele does not endorse the editorial policy of any source or
website except its own. It retains full copyright on its own articles, which may
be reproduced or distributed but may not be materially altered in any way.
Reproduced articles must clearly show the source and owner of copyright,
together with any other notices originally contained therein, as well as the
original date of publication. Sokwanele does not accept responsibility for any
loss or damage arising in any way from receipt of this email or use thereof.
This document, or any part thereof, may not be distributed for
profit.
Institute for War and Peace Reporting
Youths Coerced into Regime
Militia
The military press-gangs youths into Green Bomber militias geared
to
enforcing ZANU PF rule.
By Elias Mugwade in Mutare (Africa
Reports: Zimbabwe Elections No 11,
01-Mar-05)
The Zimbabwe army is
carrying out widespread sweeps through the spectacular
mountain region of
eastern Zimbabwe, a stronghold of the opposition Movement
for Democratic
Change, MDC, press-ganging young men and women into the
National Youth
Militia.
More than one hundred youngsters aged 18 to 22 in the Inyanga
Highlands,
Vumba Highlands and Chimanimani Mountains have been caught in the
dragnet
and taken to a camp in the north to begin military and ideological
training.
The shanghaied youngsters were set a test to run ten kilometres
inside 45
minutes. Those who passed were told they would be paid 600,000
Zimbabwean
dollars [less than one US dollar] a day and given the opportunity
in due
course to join the national army.
Similar scenes are being
enacted throughout Zimbabwe as President Robert
Mugabe boosts the ranks of
the National Youth Militia, the president's
personal storm troopers deployed
to enforce ZANU PF rule and to intimidate
anyone viewed as an enemy of the
ruling party. The Green Bombers, as the
militiamen and women have been
dubbed because of their bottle green
uniforms, are widely feared because of
their violent tactics.
ZANU PF officials say the youths are trained in
agriculture, carpentry and
bricklaying. But those who spoke to IWPR
confirmed that military tactics and
political indoctrination into ZANU PF
ideology are central to their training
at the Border Gezi Centre at Mount
Darwin, 160 km northeast of Harare.
Border Gezi - named after a former
hard-line Mugabe minister who created the
youth militia before he died in a
2001 car crash - is one of a number of
Green Bomber tented training camps
throughout the country.
The youths told IWPR they were divided into
groups of about 50 to create
psychological bonds once deployed in the field.
Their days are spent in
fitness training and gun-handling. They attend
courses in patriotism, each
lesson beginning by a raising of fists in the
ZANU PF salute and the
chanting of slogans in praise of Mugabe, ending with
denunciations of
British premier Tony Blair.
Mugabe has said his
campaign for Zimbabwe's March 31 parliamentary elections
is an anti-Blair
crusade.
The youth militia recruits are also instructed in how the
military wing of
ZANU PF liberated the country from white rule. Another
module includes
instruction on Britain's intention to recolonise Zimbabwe
and how it is the
duty of every Zimbabwean to defend the nation's
sovereignty.
Surviving white farmers in the mountains told IWPR that army
units have been
arriving on their properties and ordering black foremen to
identify youths
in surrounding villages who are fit enough to be taken to
youth militia
camps.
"They've been rounding up forty or more young
people at a time," said one
leading farmer. "Zimbabwe is becoming like the
Congo and Somalia, where
bandits rule. It's terrifying."
Critics have
compared the Green Bombers to Adolf Hitler's Brownshirts, who
spearheaded
the early Nazi attacks on Germany's Jewish population.
Paul Themba
Nyathi, national spokesman for the MDC, alleged that ZANU PF's
aim is to
recruit some 2000 youths to the militias in each of Zimbabwe's 120
parliamentary constituencies - nearly a quarter million young people. The
current strength of the National Youth Militia is estimated at
50,000.
"ZANU PF has been recruiting core groups from every province,
about ten per
district, to go for military training," Nyathi said. "When
they are through,
they go home and start new training programmes. The
multiplier effect will
be enormous, if it works."
Nyathi said he
believed Green Bombers recently promoted into the army were
responsible for
attacks on February 20 on three MDC parliamentary candidates
as they
returned home to the eastern town of Mutare after the launch of
their
party's national election campaign. The three were hospitalised after
being
punched and kicked by twenty militia graduates newly attached to a
fifty-strong army unit. "Only brainwashed young people would carry out these
attacks with such passion," said Nyathi. "We urge all members of the
professional army to encourage unruly elements among them to desist, because
they tarnish the name of the professional force."
A white Zimbabwean
woman recently described how she was stopped in her car
by a Green Bomber
gang in Mutorashanga, 90 km north of Harare. "They had
crowbars and they
demanded to see a ZANU PF card," said the woman, who
declined to be named
for fear of reprisal. "When I said I hadn't got one,
they made me chant:
'Forward with Osama Bin Laden, forward with Robert
Gabriel Mugabe, down with
whites.' It was terrifying. There was a police
Land Rover there, but the
police just sat and watched."
The youth militias are expected to have
little impact in urban areas, where
the opposition enjoys overwhelming
support. But in rural parts the impact of
the Green Bombers is devastating.
Not only are villagers cowed into support
for ZANU PF, but opposition
candidates are prevented from campaigning.
MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai
urged Mugabe to disband the Green Bombers who,
he said, had no legal basis
for their creation. "They are going from home to
home, erecting illegal
roadblocks, intimidating people and forcing them to
buy ZANU PF cards," he
said. "Youths from Border Gezi and other training
camps have embarked on an
orgy of violence."
Elias Mugwade is the pseudonym of an IWPR contributor
in Zimbabwe.
Rebels play waiting game
Cricinfo staff
March 1,
2005
The decision by Heath Streak to resume
playing for Zimbabwe is likely to be
followed by similar announcements from
most of the remaining rebels. But
some are believed to prefer waiting to see
if the assurances they are
thought to have been given by Zimbabwe Cricket
materialise before making
such a commitment.
Although the conditions
which led to Streak's decision have not been
discussed publicly, it is
generally accepted that ZC must have made
concessions, particularly in the
matter of who is eligible to be a selector.
Neither side wants to lose face,
and it is thought that the ending of the
strike would be followed by a
subtle change of tack by the board in the
coming months.
The key
person is Max Ebrahim, currently head of the selectors and one of
the
individuals most disliked by the rebels. Their main objection was that
he
has no cricketing credentials, either as a player or coach, and the
requirement that any future selectors have a decent degree of experience is
reported to be at the heart of the settlement.
While most will resume
playing, those with contracts to play in England are
expected to honour
their commitments and wait and see what happens in the
coming months - these
include Richard Sims, Travis Friend and Ray Price. A
spokesman for
Interactive, the sports agency representing Sims and Friend,
said that the
players would be "keeping their options open".
New contracts were sent to
the rebels by ZC today. A source said that there
were certain aspects about
which they were unhappy, and these were being run
past their
lawyers.
© Cricinfo
The Herald
Harare introduces water cuts
Municipal
Reporter
HARARE City Council will - with immediate effect - introduce water
cuts in
the capital and surrounding towns owing to persistent mechanical and
electrical faults at the Morton Jaffray Water Works.
The municipality
yesterday urged residents to use available water sparingly
as most of the
city's reservoirs have gone critically low.
In the past three weeks,
Harare had intermittent supplies due to the
problems besieging the water
treatment plant.
Worst affected areas are the southern and eastern
suburbs and outlying and
high-lying Ruwa.
Residents of ZimRe Park in
Ruwa yesterday said they had gone for over two
weeks without water and were
relying on open-dug wells for domestic needs.
Chitungwiza, Norton and
Epworth will also be affected by the water cuts. The
municipality announced
yesterday that "residents of Greater Harare and its
satellite towns will be
experiencing water supply disruptions".
Director of Works Mr Psychology
Chiwanga attributed the disruptions to
electric transformers that were
failing to respond to an overload induced by
low voltage.
Pumping
has, therefore, been restricted to lesser pumps instead of the usual
six big
pumps, two medium ones and one small one.
"As a result, we cannot pump at
maximum capacity to the city, leading to
reduced flow into our
reservoirs.
"Efforts to rectify the problem at the shortest possible time
are currently
underway," said Mr Chiwanga.
The arc of eastern suburbs
is fed from Letombo.
These suburbs are both the highest in terms of
altitude in Harare and also
the furthest from the waterworks.
As a
result, the council has to pump water to these far-away areas in three
stages - first to Warren, then to Letombo and finally to the local
reservoir.
In instances of critical shortages of water like these,
there is very
little, or no water to pump from Warren to Letombo since the
available water
is drained directly to the southwestern and western suburbs
first.
Ruwa, further east and even higher in altitude, normally suffers
the worst.
In most of Harare's eastern suburbs there is water for some
hours a day,
giving residents the chance to fill containers.
The Herald
Gold worth over $300 million confiscated
Business
Reporters
AT LEAST 2,337 kilogrammes of gold valued at more than $303 million
has been
confiscated from illegal dealers and forfeited to the
State.
Under the Gold Trade Act Chapter 21:03, gold may be confiscated
from illegal
dealers, as the Act clearly spells out who is entitled to buy
the metal.
A total of 2 337,954 grammes of gold worth $303 934 020 at
$130 000 per
gramme (current producer price) has been confiscated from 237
dealers.
Apart from the refined gold, another 178,2 grammes of gold ore
was also
confiscated from the dealers.
Last week Government gazetted
the names of the illegal dealers and in the
statement said the confiscated
gold was now in the custody of the Ministry
of Mines and Mining
Development.
"The gold may, by prior arrangement, be inspected by a
person claiming a
legal right to the gold at the Ministry of Mines and
Mining Development
during the two months following the publication of this
notice.
"Any person claiming a legal right to any of this gold may apply
in writing
within two months from the date of publication of this notice, to
the
Secretary for Mines and Mining Development for delivery to him of such
gold.
"If no such person establishes a legal right to any of this gold
within the
aforementioned period, it may be disposed of by the Secretary for
Mines and
Mining Development," read a notice published in the Government
Gazette.
In addition to the 2,3 kilogrammes confiscated, 80 buttons of
gold were also
forfeited to the State. Also confiscated were 12 flakes, six
particles,
three coils, two granules, two nuggets, three small buttons of
gold.
Gold marketing and dealing in Zimbabwe is regulated by statutory
instruments, and Fidelity Printers and Refiners, a subsidiary company of the
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, is the sole buyer of the precious
metal.
The amount of gold confiscated does not come as a surprise given
the rampant
informal trade in the precious metal, particularly in the
Midlands and
Eastern Highlands where illegal gold panning is
rife.
According to conservative estimates, at least 10 percent of the
gold
produced in the country finds its way onto the black
market.
This means, for example, of the 21,3 tonnes produced last year as
much as 2
tonnes could be have found its way onto the informal market.
New Zimbabwe
Foreign drug gang busted in Zimbabwe
By Staff
Reporter
Last updated: 03/02/2005 12:38:36
POLICE in Zimbabwean capital
Harare on Tuesday busted a hard-drug
trafficking syndicate and recovered 123
sachets of heroin worth Zim$61.5
million (about US$10,250) from two
foreigners.
Acting on a tip-off, the police drug and narcotics unit
raided an apartment
in the Avenues area and recovered the drug stashed ina
bag.
A Mozambican woman in the apartment, denied knowledge of the
narcotics and
instead implicated her boyfriend, a South African, who was
also arrested.
Police said they are now linking the Mozambican woman to a
drugtrafficking
syndicate believed to be of Nigerian origin.
The
officer commanding the drugs and narcotics unit, Superintendent Andrew
Kadungure confirmed the busting of the drug syndicate.
"I can confirm
that teams are on the ground trying to detect how this
syndicate is
operating because the discovery of one of the hardest drugs is
really a
cause for concern," Kadungure said - Xinhuanet
Zim Online
Mugabe using violence to retain power: US
Wed 2 March
2005
HARARE - President Robert Mugabe and his ruling ZANU PF party continue
to
use violence to maintain power with state security forces and
government-sanctioned militias used to brutalise and suppress the
opposition, the United States has said.
In a report that
appears to cast an early and dark shadow of doubt on
whether Zimbabwe's
upcoming election will be free and fair, the State
Department said that in
addition to the use of violence to retain power the
electoral system
remained heavily skewed in favour of Mugabe and ZANU PF.
Zimbabwe
holds a crucial parliamentary election on March 31.
The US
report, reviewing human rights and democracy in Zimbabwe in the
last 12
months, was released this week.
The report reads in part:
"President Mugabe and his ZANU PF party used
intimidation and violence to
maintain political power. A systematic,
government sanctioned campaign of
violence targeting supporters and
perceived supporters of the opposition
continued during the year.
"Security forces, government-sanctioned
youth militias, and ruling
party supporters tortured, raped, and otherwise
abused persons perceived to
be associated with the opposition."
On paper, Zimbabwe was a multi-party democracy but in practice, Mugabe
and
ZANU PF had manipulated electoral laws and processes, disenfranchising
voters to ensure only they can win elections, according to the State
Department.
It wrote in its report: "The Constitution (of
Zimbabwe) provides
citizens with the right to change their government
peacefully; however this
right was restricted in practice because the
political process continued to
be heavily tilted in favour of ZANU
PF.
"The government manipulated the electoral process to
effectively
disenfranchise voters and skew elections in favour of ruling
party
candidates."
Zimbabwe's Foreign Affairs Minister Stan
Mudenge yesterday scoffed at
the US report as "biased illusion" about
Zimbabwe.
"Do you think one can seriously comment on what the US
says about
Zimbabwe," retorted Mudenge when asked for comment on the
report.
He added: "The report is obviously biased. Washington has
illusions of
what is happening in Zimbabwe. Even their (US) spies in the
country are not
being honest to their bosses. The truth is that we are a
democratic country
and those who are honest can testify."
The
State Department report, which lists a litany of abuses and human
rights
violations allegedly by state security agents or government
supporters, says
that Mugabe and his government have also continued to
restrict freedom of
speech and of the press, academic freedom, freedom of
assembly, and the
right of association for political organisations.
The report cites
three examples of political killings where three
supporters of the main
opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party
were murdered, one by
a government official, the second by a military
official, and the third by a
ZANU PF supporter.
As well as participate in killings of perceived
government opponents,
"army and police units provided logistical support to
perpetrators of
political violence and generally permitted their
activities", according to
the State Department.
US Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice last month listed Zimbabwe
among the last remaining
"outposts of tyranny" together with Burma, North
Korea and
Iran.
But Mugabe and his government have repeatedly rejected
criticism by
the US and other Western powers as unfair and racist saying it
is motivated
by a desire to punish them for seizing white-owned farmland for
redistribution to landless blacks. - ZimOnline
Zim Online
Civic leaders lay bare Mugabe's 'act of deception'
Wed 2
March 2005
JOHANNESBURG - Two civic society leaders yesterday dismissed as
an act of
deception claims by the Harare authorities that Zimbabwe is ready
to hold a
free and fair election later this month in line with a regional
bloc's
guidelines.
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights chairman
Arnold Tsunga and Andrew
Moyse of the Media Monitoring Project of Zimbabwe
(MMPZ), told journalists
in Johannesburg that Zimbabwe had failed to comply
with the Southern African
Development Community (SADC) guidelines for
running elections.
"The whole claim (that Zimbabwe was in full
compliance with the
guidelines) is a total deception. SADC electoral
guidelines call for freedom
of speech, assembly, and the rights of voters to
civic education and equal
access to the media in the case of political
parties. None of these exist in
Zimbabwe," said Tsunga.
Last
August, SADC leaders agreed on a set of guidelines to foster free
and fair
elections in the region. Among the requirements is respect for
freedom of
the press and the setting up of independent electoral bodies to
run
elections.
None of the above exists in Zimbabwe at present, said
Tsunga.
President Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU PF party will square
off against
the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party
in the crunch
March 31 election.
Tsunga said: "The continued
existence and use of such draconian laws
like the Public Order and Security
Act (POSA), the Access to Information and
Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA),
the Broadcasting Services make a complete
mockery of the SADC
guidelines."
"New electoral laws have been promulgated, giving the
army and
intelligence services strategic roles in the conduct of elections .
. . that
is not how a fair election has to be run," said the human rights
lawyer.
MMPZ boss Andrew Moyse said media freedom has continued to
shrink in
the last three weeks ahead of the poll with the shutting down by
the
government's Media and Information Commission of the private Weekly
Times
newspaper and the harassment by state security agents of foreign media
correspondents.
"Three international journalists were forced to
flee the country in
the face of relentless harassment. Add these to the
hundreds who fled
persecution since 2000, and the picture is that of
despair.
"Despite assurances from the state, the coverage of the
activities of
any political party other than ZANU PF remains thin, and it is
mostly hate
messages and racist invective aimed at individuals and
organisations
perceived to be anti-government," said Moyse. -
ZimOnline
Zim Online
Mugabe locks out ex-ZANU PF boss from rally
Wed 2 March
2005
HARARE - State security agents, allegedly acting on President Robert
Mugabe's orders, last Sunday prevented former ruling ZANU PF party top
official, Philip Chiyangwa, from entering a stadium where Mugabe was
addressing a party gathering.
Insiders told ZimOnline yesterday
that Chiyangwa - a former chairman
of ZANU PF for Mashonaland West province
and a relative of Mugabe - was
locked out of Chinhoyi stadium because Mugabe
had instructed his security
men to ensure the businessman-cum politician and
three other senior ZANU PF
officials accused of spying to never get near him
again.
"The President (Mugabe) has made it abundantly clear he does
not wish
to see Chiyangwa near him again," said a ZANU PF
legislator.
He added: "When Chiyangwa tried to enter the stadium,
the President's
security men refused him entry. The President does not want
him anywhere
near. It is a matter of time before he is expelled from the
party following
the President's declaration against
sell-outs
within the party."
Chiyangwa, who has since been cleared of the spy
charges by the
courts, refused to discuss the lock-out and switched off his
mobile phone
when pressed for comment on the matter.
Those
close to him say the flamboyant Harare businessman blames
journalists for
contributing towards his political downfall.
At the stadium where
ZANU PF supporters were celebrating the
appointment of Joyce Mujuru as party
and state second vice-president, Mugabe
used the occasion to lambast and
heap scorn on spies and sell-outs he
claimed had infiltrated the
party.
Mugabe told the party gathering: "It does not matter whether
you are
my relative or close friend, a sell-out is just a sell-out. Even my
own
mother's child if he or she sells out, I will condemn him."
Chiyangwa, arrested last December together with three others was
released
from prison unconditionally two weeks ago after the High Court
ruled that
there was no basis for him to be kept on remand.
Three other men,
ZANU PF external affairs director Itai Marchi,
Zimbabwe's ambassador
designate to Mozambique Godfrey Dvzairo and ZANU
PF-linked banking executive
Tendai Matambanadzo are serving a total of 16
years in jail after being
convicted of spying.
According to sources, senior ZANU PF
politicians from Mashonaland West
were following Mugabe's Sunday address now
pushing for Chiyangwa to be
expelled from the party. - ZimOnline
Zim Online
4.8 million Zimbabweans need food aid immediately
Wed 2
March 2005
HARARE - Up to 4.8 million Zimbabweans urgently require food aid
or they
could starve, the United States-based Famine Early Warning System
Network
(FEWSNET) has said.
FEWSNET monitors food trends in
Zimbabwe and has regularly published
reports on the food supply situation in
the African country.
In its latest report on the country, the group
said Zimbabwe was
facing a possible major famine in coming months
particularly in the drier
and traditionally food insecure provinces of
Matabeleland, Masvingo,
Manicaland and some parts of lower Zambezi river
valley.
"Special attention should be given to the food insecure
provinces of
Matabeleland South, Manicaland, Masvingo and the Zambezi Valley
because of
the threat of famine in those areas," reads the FEWSNET
report.
The group said the food situation in urban areas was also
worsening as
prices of food continued skyrocketing against falling
incomes.
Erratic rains so far this season were only helping
compound Zimbabwe's
food problems with an even bigger food deficit expected
this year, FEWSNET
said.
FEWSNET, which did not say how much
food was required immediately to
avert famine, called on Harare and
international food aid agencies to resume
negotiations on resumption of food
relief operations in Zimbabwe.
In an earlier report released last
December, FEWSNET said donors
needed to help provide about 250 000 tonnes of
maize to feed about 3.3
million hungry people up until the next harvest this
month.
A limited number of donor groups are distributing food to
targeted
groups such as the elderly and orphans after the government last
year told
the rest of the food aid organisations to take their help
elsewhere saying
Zimbabwe had harvested enough.
A subsequent
inquiry by Parliament however revealed that government
forecasts of a bumper
harvest were misplaced with the country either being
forced to buy food on
its own or seek help from donors to avert hunger.
The government
has since the beginning of the year been importing
about 16 000 tonnes of
food weekly from South Africa although food experts
say this is far below
quantities required to feed the nation.
Zimbabwe consumes 1.8
million tonnes of maize per year.- ZimOnline
Zim Online
High Court judge to rule on Moyo's eviction challenge
Wed 2
March 2005
HARARE - High Court Justice Tedious Karwi is today expected to
rule in an
application by fallen former information minister Jonathan Moyo
seeking the
court to block the government from evicting him from a
state-owned mansion.
Moyo filed an emergency application at the
High Court last Saturday
after he had been given 48 hours to leave the house
in Harare' leafy Gunhill
suburb or be kicked out.
In papers
lodged with the court, Moyo argued that his eviction was
illegal because he
was not given due notice and there was no court order
sanctioning the move.
The former government propaganda chief also pleaded
with the court to stop
his eviction saying he had nowhere to relocate his
family.
Moyo
had offered to vacate the state property at the end of this
month. But the
government says he should leave immediately because he was no
longer
employed by the government. - ZimOnline