White land grab policy has failed, Mugabe confesses By
David Blair in Johannesburg (Filed: 03/03/2005)
President Robert
Mugabe confessed yesterday that millions of acres of prime land seized from
Zimbabwe's white farmers are now lying empty and idle.
After years spent
trumpeting the "success" of the land grab, Mr Mugabe, 81, admitted that most
of the farms transferred to black owners have never been used.
All
but a handful of Zimbabwe's 4,000 white farmers lost their homes and
livelihoods when armed gangs of Mugabe supporters began invading their
property in 2000.
In the first 18 months of the campaign, eight white
landowners and 39 of their black workers were murdered, court orders defied
and Zimbabwe's economy plunged into crisis.
Mr Mugabe said this was
the price that Zimbabwe would have to pay to redress the wrongs of the
British colonial era, which left much of the best land in white hands. He
claimed that the seizures would boost production and benefit millions of
blacks.
Yet in his home province yesterday, Mr Mugabe chided the new
landowners for growing crops on less than half of their
land.
"President Mugabe expressed disappointment with the land use,
saying only 44 per cent of the land distributed is being fully utilised,"
state television reported. "He warned the farmers that the government will
not hesitate to redistribute land that is not being utilised."
Some
10.4 million acres were seized under a scheme designed to create a new class
of black commercial farmer. By Mr Mugabe's figures, 5.8 million acres are
lying fallow.
Last year, Mr Mugabe boasted of a bumper harvest and said
that Zimbabwe no longer needed help "foisted" on it from the United Nations
World Food Programme.
His land grab had made Zimbabwe "self
sufficient", Mr Mugabe repeatedly claimed, and the national maize crop was a
record 2.4 million tonnes.
The Commercial Farmers' Union said that
Zimbabwe grew only 850,000 tonnes of maize last year, not enough to meet
domestic demand. In 1999, the last year before the land grab began, Zimbabwe
grew 1.5 million tonnes. Then, Zimbabwe also earned about £263 million from
tobacco exports. Last year, production had fallen by more than 70 per cent
and earnings were down to £77 million.
Critics said Mr Mugabe's admission
exposed the land grab's "failure".
"It has been a phenomenal and absolute
failure on every level," said Tendai Biti, secretary for economic affairs of
the opposition Movement for Democratic Change. "It has failed both in terms
of production of crops and in terms of the occupation of the
land."
The new farmers are unable to raise bank loans because their
properties are formally owned by the government and they have no individual
title deeds. Without loans, they cannot buy seed, fertiliser or farming
equipment and the regime has broken a pledge to supply them with
tools.
Some farmers have resorted to using horse-drawn ploughs. Many have
given up trying to produce anything at all.
Zimbabwe will hold
parliamentary elections on March 31 and, for the first time in 10 years, Mr
Mugabe is no longer holding out the offer of white-owned land as a
vote-winner. Instead, his speeches are dominated by attacks on Tony Blair,
who he claims is plotting to recolonise Zimbabwe.
About 400 white farmers
remain in Zimbabwe, with about one third of this year's tobacco crop of
89,000 tonnes coming from only 250 white landowners.
Revealed: Straw's secret bid to stop Zimbabwe cricket
tour By Guy Adams 03 March 2005
* Jack Straw copped plenty of
stick last year, when he was filmed shaking hands with Robert Mugabe in the
run-up to England's controversial cricket tour of Zimbabwe.
The
Foreign Secretary is no useful idiot, though. For Pandora can reveal that -
contrary to previous reports - he made an extraordinary attempt to prevent
England's cricketers visiting the country.
Documents released under the
Freedom of Information Act show Straw wrote to the England and Wales Cricket
Board in January last year, urging them to cancel the trip.
In an
emotive letter, he described the "appalling human rights situation" under
Mugabe's regime.
"The situation in Zimbabwe is bleak and deteriorating,"
he wrote. "It is the Government's view that the overall situation is worse
today than it was during the Cricket World Cup.
"Zimbabwe is
increasingly isolated from the international community ... You may wish to
consider whether a high-profile England cricket tour at this time is
consistent with that."
The letter's existence contradicts Tory claims
that Straw's "soft" on Mugabe, and will further tarnish the ECB, which went
ahead with the tour anyway.
Sadly, the ECB has blocked the release of
several other letters because - according to the Foreign Office - "they
would view disclosure of these communications as a breach of
confidence."
There's more on this murky business and I'll return to it
tomorrow.
* TONY BLAIR will face one truly formidable opponent, should he
set foot in his Sedgefield constituency during the general election
campaign.
Clarissa Dickson Wright, pictured, has volunteered to canvass
on behalf of the local Tory candidate, Danny Kruger, whose mother, Prue
Leith, is a fellow celebrity chef.
"I'll be handing out leaflets and
that sort of thing," she tells me. "I'd love to bump into Blair, but of
course he's hardly ever there.
"But I'll certainly visit the pub he took
George Bush to. All that stuff about those two having fish and chips was
nonsense: Bush brought his own chef."
The Fat Lady - whose opposition
to Labour stems largely from its recent ban on hunting - is adamant that the
PM (majority: 17,000) can be unseated.
"The last Tory knocked 5,000 off
his majority, so it's not impossible," she adds.
* WHATEVER HAPPENS
to Martin Bashir during the freakshow that is Michael Jackson's trial, TV
viewers are unlikely to get another chance to see the film that put him
there in the first place.
Although Living With Michael Jackson achieved
soaraway ratings, ITV has rejected plans to bring it back to our screens
once the child abuse trial is over.
"As a broadcaster, we wouldn't
want to be seen to be stirring things up," explains a spokesman. "To be
honest, it's extremely unlikely ever to be shown again. Things have moved on
in the life of Michael Jackson; things move on."
Elsewhere, Granada
retains (potentially lucrative) DVD rights for the film. They'll have to
wrestle with their conscience over the rights and wrongs of exercising
them.
* THE RECENT cold snap is playing havoc with BBC news bulletins.
Anna Ford was struck down with flu at the weekend, leaving junior colleagues
to step into the breech.
It's a double blow, since Ford was also due
to host Tuesday's Index on Censorship awards in London (the journalist
Jonathan Freedland deputised). But friends insist that she's wise to stay at
home.
"A couple of years ago, when Anna had a sore throat, she lost her
voice half way through the Six O'Clock News ," says a chum. "Sophie Raworth
was forced to take over midway through. It went down in the annals of TV
cock-ups."
* There is further evidence of Alastair Campbell's inexorable
drift towards middle age. On Tuesday, Pandora reported that he'd bought his
first pet dog; now I gather that he's started wearing reading
glasses.
It's a hot topic in Westminster. "Spectacles are the new
moustaches for New Labour," says one pundit. "They're a 'must have'
accessory for people in authority.
"Tony Blair wears his
increasingly, but as soon as Jack Straw switched from Mr Magoo specs to
contact lenses, people began saying his career's on the slide."
In
the absence of anything important to do, Pandora e-mailed Campbell yesterday
to discuss the matter. But his Blackberry must be playing up: at the time of
going to print, no response had come my way.
Malnutrition claims 10 more lives in Bulawayo Thur 3 March
2005 BULAWAYO - Ten people, most of them children under the age of five,
died in Zimbabwe's second largest city of Bulawayo because of
malnutrition-related illnesses, ZimOnline has learnt.
The
latest deaths bring to 214 the number of people who have died in the last
year because of hunger-related illnesses as a severe food shortage inflicts
a heavy toll on the city of one million people.
In January alone,
14 malnutrition-related deaths were recorded in Bulawayo. Bulawayo Executive
Mayor Japhet Ndabeni-Ncube, in the past barred by the government from
disclosing hunger-related deaths in the city, said more people among the
marginalised groups such as children, orphans and the elderly could die in
the coming months because of illnesses induced by lack of adequate
food.
"There is a lot of suffering in this city. Many children and
some elderly people are dying as a result of malnutrition and we are very
much concerned about the death toll," Ndabeni-Ncube said.
According to minutes of council meetings held last month, of the 10 people
who died of food shortage-related illnesses, seven were children aged five
and below all from the low-income suburbs of Cowdray Park, Entumbane,
Emganwini, Eminyela, Nkulumane and Braeside.
The three
deceased people were all adults from Emganwini suburb.
Ndabeni-Ncube said his council was planning a campaign to mobilise resources
from non-governmental organisations, churches, business community and
individuals for a feeding scheme to target mostly children and the elderly
residents. He did not say when exactly the scheme was scheduled to
begin.
Bulawayo lies in the Matabeleland region, the epicentre
of a food crisis gripping Zimbabwe although denied by President Robert
Mugabe and his government.
The Famine Early Warning System
Network warned in a report released three weeks ago that 4.8 million
Zimbabweans mostly in Matabeleland and Masvingo provinces require urgent
food aid or they could starve.
Mugabe last year told international
donor groups to take their help elsewhere saying Zimbabwe had harvested
enough to feed itself.
But a subsequent inquiry by Parliament
revealed that claims by Mugabe and his Agriculture Minister, Joseph Made,
that the country harvested 2.4 million tonnes of maize last year were
incorrect and that huge quantities needed to be imported to augment the
paltry stocks harvested in the 2003/2004 season. - ZimOnline
Moyo hits back at Mugabe Thur 3 March 2005 HARARE -
Former government information minister and propaganda chief, Jonathan Moyo,
hit back at President Robert Mugabe and his ruling ZANU PF party saying they
had resorted to attacking him because they had no message to take to the
people ahead of a key election at the end of the month.
"This is
craziness," Moyo told ZimOnline in an interview yesterday. "They now use me
to campaign for the elections. They have nothing to campaign about hence the
use of my name," he added.
The former government t spinner spoke
after Mugabe launched yet another tirade against him during the burial of
late top ZANU PF official Witness Mangwende in Harare
yesterday.
Mugabe, who has a strange liking for turning funerals
into political meetings, appeared to regret ever appointing Moyo to the
information job telling mourners that he did not know the former propaganda
tsar well when he brought him into his government.
The
President accused Moyo of being an opportunist and vowed that his ZANU PF
party would defeat Moyo in Tsholotsho constituency where the former
information minister is standing as an independent.
"Tsholotsho
does not know this man (Moyo). Even the chiefs have said to us they don't
know this man. They said we brought him from Harare to represent them in
Tsholotsho. People say I brought him, yes I brought him to government but I
did not know him well," said Mugabe.
Moyo was dismissed by Mugabe
from the government after he chose to contest the March 31 election on an
independent ticket.
Relations between the two first soured after
Moyo attempted to block the appointment of Joyce Mujuru as ZANU PF and state
second vice-president late last year. - ZimOnline
NCA to resist Mugabe's attempt to rewrite constitution Thur
3 March 2005 HARARE - Zimbabwe's National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) has
vowed to resist attempts by President Robert Mugabe and his ruling ZANU PF
party to rewrite Zimbabwe's constitution if they win this month's election
by a two thirds majority.
The NCA, which in 2000 successfully
campaigned against a government-drawn draft constitution that further
entrenched Mugabe's power, is an alliance of Zimbabwe's major human rights
and pro-democracy groups, opposition parties, churches, the student and
labour movements.
In a statement yesterday, NCA chairman, Lovemore
Madhuku warned Mugabe and his party to brace up for stiff resistance by his
group against any attempts to re-write the country's Constitution without
consulting Zimbabweans.
"The NCA wishes to make it clear to
President Mugabe and his ruling ZANU PF that: his wishes on the constitution
are unacceptable and will be resisted with all the vigour and determination
at our disposal," Madhuku's statement reads in part.
"It is not
acceptable and will be rejected, for ZANU PF to write a constitution to
preserve its interests and claim to be doing so in the name of the people.
The so-called 'two-thirds majority' is irrelevant to the issue of a new
constitution in Zimbabwe."
Mugabe last weekend told ZANU PF
officials in Manicaland province that his government will single-handedly
rewrite Zimbabwe's Constitution to bring back a bi-cameral Parliament among
other changes, if it won a general election at the end of this
month.
Although the government has a majority in Parliament, at the
moment it is unable to amend the Constitution because it has less than the
two-thirds majority required for such amendments. - ZimOnline
Lawyers' challenge of money laundering law put on hold Thur
3 March 2005 HARARE - A constitutional application by lawyers challenging
requirements under new legislation that they report clients suspected of
money laundering has been put on hold while the Law Society of Zimbabwe
(LSZ), the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe(RBZ) and the Attorney General (AG)'s
office jointly review the new law.
Court documents availed to
ZimOnline show that the case was suspended with agreement of the three
parties to allow them to work out a compromise arrangement that would ensure
trust accounts held by lawyers are not used for money laundering while also
upholding legal ethics and confidentiality between lawyers and their
clients.
The LSZ earlier this year appealed to the Supreme Court
challenging provisions of the new Bank Use Promotion and Suppression of
Money Laundering Act requiring lawyers to act as whistleblowers on their
clients by recording, disclosing and reporting information about clients
suspected of money laundering.
The LSZ argued in its
application that it was not "necessary to turn lawyers into whistleblowers
in order to prevent them from engaging in or assisting in money
laundering.
"Lawyer loyalty to clients and independence of the
legal profession, two fundamental principles supportive of the rights to
privacy, the right to a fair trial and the right to freedom of expression as
between lawyers and their clients, are at the root of the success
of the adversarial type of litigation that takes place in the
country."
The LSZ cited the RBZ and AG as second and third
respondents respectively with Zimbabwe's Minister of Finance cited as first
respondent. - ZimOnline.
Supreme Court blocks bank merger Thur 3 March 2005
HARARE - The Supreme Court yesterday ordered the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
not to merge Royal Bank into its Zimbabwe Allied Banking Group (ZABG) until
a court appeal by the commercial bank against the forced merger was
determined.
In a ruling throwing into further confusion moves
by RBZ governor Gideon Gono to bring order to Zimbabwe's unstable financial
sector by merging all troubled banks into the ZABG, Supreme Court Justice
Wilson Sandura ordered the RBZ, ZABG and curator Robert McIndoe not to
dispose or alienate Royal Bank's assets.
Royal Bank and two
other troubled banks, Trust Bank and Barbican Bank, closed by RBZ last year
were this year ordered to merge into the ZABG in a move the central bank
said was aimed at bringing back stability in the financial sector following
the collapse of several banks due to mismanagement.
The
government is the majority shareholder in the ZAGB after converting money
owed to the state by the three banks into equity.
The ZABG opened
its doors last month and is currently working on transferring assets and
clients of the three banks onto its register, a move that must now be
suspended in the case of Royal Bank's assets and clients after Sandura's
ruling.
Royal Bank appealed to the Supreme Court after High Court
Judge Yunus Omerjee last month upheld the forced acquisition of the
commercial bank.
The appeal will be heard next Monday.
Meanwhile, ZANU PF security director Kenny Karidza who is facing charges of
selling state secrets to South African agents appeared in court yesterday.
There were no immediate details of what transpired in court as the
proceedings were held in camera. - ZimOnline
Pretoria: The Zimbabwean High
Court ruled yesterday that 64 suspected South African mercenaries be
immediately released.
In the wake of an appeal by South African
lawyers against the sentences imposed on the men by a Zimbabwean
magistrate's court last year, the high court ruled that the alleged
mercenaries be released into the custody of Zimbabwe's Immigration
Department, pending their deportation back to South Africa.
Suspected of planning a coup in Equatorial Guinea, the men, all former
members of the apartheid security forces, were arrested in Harare in early
March last year when their Boeing 727 landed in Zimbabwe to collect a
weapons consignment, allegedly bought from Zimbabwe Defence
Industries.
At the time of their arrest, the men claimed they
were en route to guard mining installations in the Democratic Republic of
the Congo.
The Zimbabwean arrests, alleged to have come after a
tip-off from the South African government, preceded the arrests of former
apartheid soldiers in Equatorial Guinea.
They were also accused
of plotting to overthrow the government of President Obiang
Nguema.
Denying the charges, the men were sentenced last year to
between 12-month and seven-year prison terms for contravening Zimbabwe's
aviation, immigration and firearms laws.
Streak ends exile in style By Charles Randall (Filed:
03/03/2005)
South Africa (207-5) beat Zimbabwe (206-8) by five
wickets
Heath Streak returned to international cricket with
Zimbabwe yesterday and hit a defiant 68 at Port Elizabeth in the third and
final match of their one-day series against South Africa.
Zimbabwe,
their team in tatters a week ago, were inspired by his presence, recovering
from 35 for five to a respectable 50-over total of 206 for eight. South
Africa, having won the first two games by a mile, were made to battle this
time against much more competitive opponents before cruising home by five
wickets.
Streak, the former captain, left international cricket 10 months
ago with 15 other white players while a row over the selection process with
the national cricket authorities simmered.
Tatenda Taibu won the toss
yesterday, and the loss of five wickets inside the first 15 overs set the
stage for Streak as he calmly rebuilt the innings at No 7, firstly with
Brendan Taylor in a 67-run stand and then with Gavin Ewing.
The
destructive partnership of 88 with Ewing was the key to the Zimbabwe
revival. Ewing was bowled by Albie Morkel for 46 off 53 balls, and Streak
was run out attempting a risky second with a competitive total already on
the board.
Streak's renewed commitment will affect his county career,
as Warwickshire are likely to lose him for their last six Championship
matches this summer.
A member of a South African delegation in Zimbabwe to observe
that country's land reform programme died in a road accident
today.
South Africa's foreign affairs department says another two South
Africans, who were all members of a delegation of the House of Traditional
Leaders, have been injured in the accident outside Masvingo.
Zimbabwe
police say the delegation was travelling from Bulawayo to Masvingo when the
driver apparently lost control over the vehicle.
-
On JAG, LCD's, and Compensation - Peter Dobson - Mike Clarke - "I'm not the
one - blame it on your neighbour" - Mrefu - ZIMBOZ: - Demand right to Vote -
Simply Simon - RE: MF - Wright's Statement - Diana Clubb - Beware - Con
Men - C
Taylor
LETTER
1: Of JAG, Loss Claim Doc's (LCD's), and Compensation,
received 25.2.2005
by Peter Dobson
Dear JAG
Two years
ago when we left Zimbabwe after all the traumas that dis-posessed farmers go
through - there was one cloud of anxiety hanging over us along with several
other clouds as we approached our new life in SA. That cloud was to fill in
the JAG Loss documents!! I cannot remember ever having met a farmer who
drooled at the thought of any amount of administration and the JAG Loss
documents were and are quite seriously complicated. Or so I thought or
imagined. End result was that the inevitable got put off for at least 12
months (same reason we put off filling our tax returns I guess).
JAG were
extremley helpful - and I started to tackle it and after probably two months
of trying to get the information and collate this into something along the
lines that JAG wanted - I arrived at the day when all I had to do was press
"PRINT". The result was satisfactory and elligible. I proudly took it into
JAG's offices and was issued a receipt. Sadly they didn't look at my months
of work and tell me what a good boy I had been - much like what some school
teachers did when you handed in your project for the year!!
But that
didn't matter. What did matter was that I felt an enormous sense of relief on
the one hand and accomplishment on the other. Relief, that the job was
finally done and accomplishment because I believe it extremely important to
all farm owners to document what they had because once it is done - it is
there for life and can be handed on to the next generation if needs be, for
them to follow up. One thing is definite, and that is, that there must be
just and fair compensation to all owners one day. If there are others out
there yet to tackle this very important but onerous task - take my advice and
get it done. You won't regret it. Remember to keep a copy for yourselves as
well!!
LETTER
2: MIKE CLARKE - "I'm not the one - blame it on your neighbour", received
1.3.2005
by Mrefu
Dear JAG
Thank you for your open letters
forum - possibly one of the last vestiges of free journalism in
Zimbabwe!
I refer with disgust to the following passage from The Mail
& Guardian (SA), 28.2.2005 as reported by ZWNEWS in an article titled
"Last-ditch battle for white Zim farmers" dated the same day. In his
interview Mike Clarke, as CFU spokesperson, is also meant to have
said:
"We have done nothing wrong but we are all being punished for the
actions of a few individuals who got involved in politics."
If this
quote can be attributed to Mike Clarke as reported by the M & G (SA),
then my comments are:- 1. What courage this leader displays! 2. What
dedication to the common cause of his farming fraternity whom he claims to
represent! 3. What understanding for justice and democracy on behalf of
all Zimbabweans he portrays! 4. So exercising one's democratic rights in
accordance with our constitution is a crime?...
I hope Mike Clarke may
refute this sentence publically, if he has been misrepresented by the media,
and we can all breathe a sigh of relief that there is another principled
leader amongst us.
LETTER
3: ZIMBOZ: - Demand right to Vote, received 28.2.2005
by Simply
Simon
Dear ZIMBOZ
If you remember, I said in my last
letter
"It also means that you may well find that you have very little
time to prepare for this event and will possibly just give up if the process
is too complicated."
It needs each one of you to please contact the
Embassy asking for the voters role. Each one of you to politely ask the
member of staff on duty when you can inspect the role and what procedure you
need to know to be able to vote from Canberra. Each one of you to persevere
with your demand to vote in your country's general election on 31
March.
Claim your constitutional right. Demand to vote in your country's
election. It is your right as a citisen of Zimbabwe, wherever you reside, to
vote in any general election held in Zimbabwe.
Many people were jailed
in Zimbabwe in 2000 and in 2002 for claiming their right to vote and watch
the election procedures. You are away from the regime that would do this to
you. Claim your right to vote at our embassies throughout the world. Every
vote will count.
LETTER
4: RE: MF - WRIGHT'S STATEMENT, received 26.2.2005
Dear Cameron
I
think your Massey Ferguson dealers need a new Sales director and a
vastly improved PR department. "Damage control" is putting it mildly -
Farmer's Weekly article to be published later this week.
To say that
Nick was quoted out of context is bullshit. Why can't they just be honest and
say that he just made a mistake.
Best
regards
Keith
--------original article -------
MF
drama
Credits: Lloyd Phillips
Heading: Massey Ferguson HQ defends
Zim comments
Body: Respected international agricultural machinery and
implement manufacturers, Massey Ferguson, has defended comments made by its
Regional Director for Africa, Nick Wright, during a meeting held with
Zimbabwe's Agriculture and Rural Development Minister, Dr Joseph Made,
regarding plans to supply the country's new farmers with much needed tractors
and planters.
"We can safely say that Zimbabwe's agriculture is in safe
hands," was the comment made by Wright that has now angered many white
farmers who have been forcefully evicted from their farms under President
Robert Mugabe's land reform programme. The anger has also spread to many
farmers in neighbouring countries who sympathise with the evicted
farmers.
In a letter to Farmer's Weekly, Zambian/South African commercial
farmer, Keith Clubb, responded to Wright's comments saying, "I cannot
describe to you how offensive, insulting and just plain wrong Mr
Wright's description.has been to those of us who have witnessed the creation
of the disaster that is now Zimbabwe."
Clubb added that while he
appreciates that MF produces equipment to feed people, he argued that it
should not "lend moral public support to racist dictators, murderers and
thieves who have created famine in their own country, just because these
people might buy a few tractors."
The South African MF Dealers
Association distanced itself from Wright's comments.
"We as dealers
are in total disagreement with the statement made and we sincerely hope that
it is rectified," said Dealer's Association Chairman, Punch Chapman. "When we
see what's happened to agriculture in Zimbabwe we cannot say that it's in
good hands."
AGCO Limited, UK-based manufacturers of MF equipment, has
responded to anger over Wright's comments by saying that they were
"misinterpreted and placed in an incorrect context".
"Mr Wright's
comments were delivered within the context of Massey Ferguson being proud of
its relationship with its distributor, Farmec, and with the farmers that are
our customers in Zimbabwe, "AGCO's statement read. "When Mr Wright made his
'in safe hands' comment he was referring to Massey Ferguson's relationship
with Farmec, who have over 50 years of experience in Zimbabwean agriculture
on behalf of MF."
AGCO also claimed that MF has a long heritage of
working closely with farmers and agricultural professionals within Zimbabwe
and that together with its Farmec, would continue to provide support to its
Zimbabwean customers.
A request for comment on the issue from
Zimbabwean agricultural watchdog, Justice for Agriculture, had not received
response at the time of going to print.
-------- end original article
--------
EDITOR'S NOTE:
JAG Certainly have not received any
request for comment. Had we, our response would have been very clear and
forthright.
There is a guy, or a group of people calling themselves the
Anti-Corruption Group going around offering to sort out anomalies and get
your farms back.
The one I met was called Ronald MARUFU, tall, clean
shaven, with a very short haircut and riding a Harley-Davidson style Yamaha
bike. He is extremely plausible, tells you all sorts of amazing stories of
how your whole farm takeover was illegal and how he is getting it vacated for
you.
He also likes to borrow cars, cell phones etc and charges you
expenses for ficticious people he has helping him.
HAVE NOTHING TO DO
WITH HIM, HE IS A LIAR AND A THIEF!
sincerely yours C
Taylor
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE
JAG TEAM
JAG Hotlines: +263 (011) 205 374 If you are in trouble or
need advice, please don't hesitate to
contact us - we're here to help! +263
(04) 799 410 Office Lines
Bridgestone Firestone closes down Zimbabwe
operation March 3, 2005
By Roy Cokayne
Pretoria - Bridgestone Firestone Maxiprest, the listed tyre company, has
closed its Zimbabwean operation, primarily due to the political and economic
instability in that country.
Chief executive Hiroshi Takenaka, who
was reporting yesterday on the group's results for the year to December,
said the operation had been closed on January 21. It held deposits of R5.2
million in CFX Bank, which was placed under curatorship in December last
year.
The closure had resulted in retrenchment costs of R1.7
million, which were funded partially by the use of an overdraft
facility.
"The group is currently in the process of realising the
remaining assets of the Zimbabwean operation to minimise any further
losses," he said.
Takenaka said the investment in the Zimbabwean
operation had been written off at year-end. This had an impact of R3.7
million on the annual results.
He expressed confidence in the
company's ability to return to profitability despite reporting a headline
loss a share of 28.9c compared with a profit of 1.4c in the previous
year.
Although the results "are looking grim at this stage",
management was confident it could turn the group around in the 2005
financial year.
Revenue for the year declined by more than 10
percent to R1.3 billion while operating margins deteriorated to 24.6 percent
from 26.9 percent.
The headline loss of R44.5 million compared with
a profit of R2.1 million in the previous year.
The loss was
attributed to charges amounting to R30 million, of which R14.6 million
related to the impairment of investments in the group's African operations;
R3.4 million to retrenchments in these territories; and R7.4 million for the
payment for loss of office of previous directors.
The stronger rand
also had a negative impact of R4.9 million.
The shares dipped 3c to
77c yesterday, while the automobiles and parts sector fell 1.27
percent.
Section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C.
1622(d)) provides for the automatic termination of a national emergency
unless, prior to the anniversary date of its declaration, the President
publishes in the Federal Register and transmits to the Congress a notice
stating that the emergency is to continue in effect beyond the anniversary
date. In accordance with this provision, I have sent to the Federal Register
for publication the enclosed notice stating that the national emergency
blocking the property of persons undermining democratic processes or
institutions in Zimbabwe is to continue in effect beyond March 6, 2005. The
most recent notice continuing this emergency was published in the Federal
Register on March 5, 2004 (69 FR 10313).
The crisis constituted by
the actions and policies of certain members of the Government of Zimbabwe
and other persons to undermine Zimbabwe's democratic processes or
institutions has not been resolved. These actions and policies pose a
continuing unusual and extraordinary threat to the foreign policy of the
United States. For these reasons, I have determined that it is necessary to
continue the national emergency blocking the property of persons undermining
democratic processes or institutions in Zimbabwe and to maintain in force
the sanctions to respond to this threat.