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Update on the aductees from ZLHR

http://www.sokwanele.com/thisiszimbabwe/archives/3494
 

ZLHR LogoOn Friday 27 February 2009 at around 15:00 PM Kisimusi Dhlamini is taken to Avenues Clinic for examination by a doctor of his own choice, he has been suffering from a ruptured eardrum since the time he was tortured during the enforced disappearance. The recommendation prescribed by the doctor for his admission at Avenues Clinic and to receive specialist treatment is respected by the prison officers.

At 14: 15 PM, defence lawyers receive telephone calls from Rodrick Tokwe, the Chief Law Officer in the Attorney General (AG)’s Office indicating the State’s willingness to grant bail to eight of the accused persons in the matter between Concillia Chinazvavana&Others vs. the State. Lawyers Beatrice Mtetwa, Roselyn Hanzi, Alec Muchadehama, Andrew Makoni and Otto Saki attend the meeting at 1600hrs.

At around 17:15 PM on Friday 27 February 2009 bail application proceedings in the matter between Concillia Chinazvavana &Others vs. the State commence before Harare Magistrate Mishrod Guvamombe in chambers.

Magistrate Guvamombe grants bail to the eight accused persons namely Concillia Chinanzvavana, Emmanuel Chinanzvavana, Broderick Takawira, Violet Mupfuranhewe, Fidelis Chiramba, Collen Mutemagau, Pieta Kaseke and Audrey Zimbudzana and sets out stringent bail conditions including depositing US$600 with the Clerk of the Magistrate Court, surrendering all travel documents and depositing US$20 000 or title deeds as security for surety and to report Monday and Friday, between 6AM and 6PM at the nearest police stations mainly Banket, Chinhoyi and Marimba depending on their addresses of residence.

On Saturday 28 February 2009 only two accused persons namely Broderick Takawira and Fidelis Chiramba out of the eight accused persons manage to satisfy the tough bail conditions and get released from detention.

On Monday 02 March 2009 defence lawyer Harrison Nkomo makes a bail application for Jestina Mukoko before Magistrate Guvamombe. Magistrate Guvamombe grants bail to Mukoko and sets out the same bail conditions as those set out for the eight accused persons who were granted bail on Friday 27 February 2009. By late Monday Mukoko satisfies all her bail conditions and just remains in hospital pending advice on her discharge by her doctor.

On Tuesday 03 March 2009 six of the accused persons namely Concillia Chinanzvavana, Emmanuel Chinanzvavana, Violet Mupfuranhewe, Collen Mutemagau, Pieta Kaseke and Audrey Zimbudzana who were granted bail on Friday 27 February 2009 by Magistrate Guvamombe were still in custody as the state is still to establish whether they held passports or not. Defence lawyers are told that verification of whether they hold passports or not will be carried on Tuesday 03 March 2009 at the Registrar General (RG)’s Office.

The six detainees still need to raise US$20 000 or to surrender title deeds to surrender to the courts as surety. On Monday lawyers failed to meet the Director of Public Prosecutions in the Attorney General’s Office Florence Ziyambi to seek a review of the amount of surety which the State is demanding before the release of the detainees.

Detainees will have to deposit US$20 000 or put up the deeds to property worth US$20 000, part of the terms of their release. Defence lawyers are still to meet officials at the AG’s Office to ask for the scrapping of a bail condition requiring the accused persons to pay US$20 000 or surrender title deeds to property worth US$20 000 as surety, which the State is demanding before the release of the detainees.

On Monday 02 March 2009 four other detainees namely Mapfumo Garutsa, Regis Mujeyi, Chinoto Zulu and Zacharia Nkomo are released following a bail order by High Court Justice Yunus Omerjee. Their release came after defence lawyers wrote a letter on Friday 27 February 2009 to Justice Omerjee who granted them bail on 19 February 2009 but suspended bail after the State invoked section 121 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act (CPEA). The lawyers in their letter alerted the Judge that the State had not sought leave to appeal against the granting of bail to the four accused persons in the Supreme Court. On Friday 27 February 2009 Justice Omerjee then informed the defence lawyers that his order of 19 February 2009 granting bail to the four stands.

In his bail order of 19 February 2009 Justice Omerjee ordered the four accused persons to deposit Z$1 000 (revalued) with the Clerk of the Harare Magistrates’ Court and to report twice daily between 6:00 AM to 13:00 PM and between 14:30 PM to 18:00 PM at police stations located near their given residential addresses. He also ordered some of the detainees to surrender their travel documents, not to apply for a passport or a travel document until their case is finalized and not interfere with State witnesses. Justice Omerjee also ordered the detainees not to leave their given residential addresses except for purposes of court appearances or with the leave of the Court.

Three other accused persons namely Kisimusi Dhlamini, Gandhi Mudzingwa and Andrison Manyere who were denied bail by Justice Omerjee are still in custody. Three other accused persons namely Pascal Gonzo, Tawanda Bvumo and Nigel Mutemagau, the two year old minor had already been released some time ago.

Three other persons, who are being detained under Police Protective Custody as state witness and who were abducted in October 2008 namely Fannie Tembo, Lloyd Tarumbwa and Terry Musona are still held in detention.

On Tuesday 03 March 2009 police summon lawyer Chris Mhike representing Fannie Tembo, Lloyd Tarumbwa and Terry Musona to the Police General Headquarters (PGHQ). He is in the company of Fanny Tembo’s oldest son, Innocent Tembo. Fanny Tembo manages to speak with his son for the first time since he was abducted in October 2008.

Defence lawyers negotiate with Florence Ziyambi to have the bail conditions for Concillia Chinanzvavana, Emmanuel Chinanzvavana, Violet Mupfuranhewe, Collen Mutemagau, Pieta Kaseke and Audrey Zimbudzana relaxed, and exclude the requirement of security in the form of title deeds to the value of US$20 000. The state agrees to increase the bail amount from US$600 to US$1500. Magistrate Guvamombe, refuses to increase the bail amount but scraps the security requirement.

At around 14: 30 PM the application for leave to appeal against bail granted to Roy Bennett on 24 February 2009 by Justice Karwi is heard in chambers before Justice Karwi. The application for leave to appeal is dismissed as it has no merit.

On Wednesday 04 March 2009 High Court Judge Justice Ben Hlatshwayo will hear an urgent chamber application filed last Thursday by Chris Mhike seeking the release of Musona, Tembo and Tarumbwa.

On 04 March 2009 all the detainees who have so far been granted bail will appear in the Magistrates Court for remand hearing.

ZLHR Press Release


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IMF Holds Talks With South Africa on Helping Zimbabwe



By Nasreen Seria

March 3 (Bloomberg) -- International Monetary Fund Managing Director
Dominique Strauss-Kahn spoke by telephone with South African Finance
Minister Trevor Manuel today to discuss "how to resume relations" with
Zimbabwe and help revive the economy after a decade of recession.

The IMF will continue talks with Manuel next week at an IMF conference in
Tanzania, Strauss-Kahn told reporters in Johannesburg via a video link from
Washington. The fund is also preparing to send a team to Zimbabwe,
Antoinette Sayeh, head of the lender's Africa department, said at the press
conference.

Zimbabwean Finance Minister Tendai Biti met with his regional counterparts
in Cape Town last month, where he requested $2 billion in aid over the next
10 months to address a humanitarian crisis and revive the economy. Zimbabwe
has the world's highest inflation rate, estimated at 231 million percent,
while more than half the population is in need of food aid, according to the
United Nations.

The southern African nation still has outstanding debt to some donor
countries and financial institutions that will have to be repaid before new
aid can be released, Sayeh said.

"We have a mission going out to Zimbabwe to take stock of the situation, to
discuss with the new authorities their policy ambitions and reform agenda,
to be able to assess whether the international community can then come in
and support," she said.

The African Development Bank said on Feb. 26 that Zimbabwe owes it $460
million, which must be repaid before it can resume lending. The IMF
estimates Zimbabwe's arrears to the fund are $130 million.

To contact the reporter on this story: Nasreen Seria in Johannesburg at
nseria@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: March 3, 2009 13:51 EST


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Zimbabwe's Tsvangirai Takes Ex Officio Seat In Lower House of Parliament

http://www.voanews.com

     

      By Blessing Zulu
      Washington
      03 March 2009

Having been sworn in as Zimbabwean prime minister last month, Movement for
Democratic Change founder Morgan Tsvangirai on Tuesday took another oath as
an appointive member of the House of Assembly in a non-constituent,
nonvoting seat, a step that allows him to formally lead the government in
parliament though not elected to a constituency.

Tsvangirai was to deliver his maiden speech in parliament on Wednesday.

Also sworn in as parliamentarians were Deputy Prime Minister Arthur
Mutambara, head of the smaller of the two MDC formations, and Attorney
General Johannes Tomana.

Clerk of Parliament Austin Zvoma called the event the "culmination" of the
formation of a government uniting the MDC and the ZANU-PF party of President
Robert Mugabe.

Tomana's swearing-in raised eyebrows, however, as it suggested that Mr.
Mugabe may not be willing to replace Tomana as Mr. Tsvangirai has demanded.
The MDC wants Tomana, seen as too much of a ZANU-PF partisan and compromised
on the rule of law, and Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono, to be removed and
replaced with consensus appointees.

Mr. Tsvangirai said Mr. Mugabe's unilateral appointments of Tomana and Gono
as well as 31 ministerial permanent secretaries would be revisited in the
next two weeks.

But ZANU-PF hardliners told VOA that there is no going back on the
appointments, saying the consider Tomana and Gono to be "buffers against
regime change."

Tsvangirai spokesman James Maridadi told reporter Blessing Zulu of VOA's
Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that Mr. Tsvangirai's swearing-in was more than a mere
formality.

But National Constitutional Assembly chairman Lovemore Madhuku dismissed the
ceremony as a pro-forma exercise with little larger political significance.


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High Court nullifies Sadc Tribunal ruling

The Herald

Wednesday, March 04, 2009



Court Reporter

THE High Court has nullified the Sadc Tribunal ruling which said white
farmers, whose farms were acquired by Government for resettlement purposes,
could remain on the farms because they had legal title to the farms.

Last year Justice Luis Mondlane, the president of the Sadc Tribunal, ruled
that the white farmers had a clear legal title to their farms and should
receive fair compensation from the Government for the properties lost during
the land reform programme.

However, in a judgment handed down by High Court judge Justice Anne-Mary
Gowora and made available yesterday, the court said the Sadc Tribunal's
decisions do not apply and cannot be enforced in Zimbabwe unless Parliament
ratifies the protocol that sets up the tribunal.

The ruling comes after Chegutu white farmer Richard Thomas Etheredge took
President of the Senate Edna Madzongwe to court seeking to evict her from
Stockdale Farm allocated to her by the Government under the land reform
programme.

Justice Gowora dismissed the order sought by Etheredge with costs. Her
ruling, among other issues, dealt with the applicability of the decisions of
the Sadc Tribunal to Zimbabwe.

She noted in her judgment that the Sadc Treaty makes provisions for the
establishment of a tribunal. The protocol, she said, is a document that sets
up the tribunal and provides for the powers of the tribunal.

Justice Gowora said after examining the protocol very carefully she did not
find in it any reference to the courts of any countries within Sadc.

She further noted that if indeed the intention was to create a tribunal that
would be superior to the courts in the subscribing countries that intent is
not manifest in the document presented to her.

"The supreme law in this jurisdiction is our Constitution and it has not
made provisions for these courts to be subject to the tribunal," she said.

"This court is a court of superior jurisdiction and has an inherent
jurisdiction over all people and all matters in the country, and its
jurisdiction can only be ousted by a statutory provision to that effect.

"I do not have placed before me any statute to that effect and the protocol
certainly does not do that."

In terms of the Sadc Tribunal's own rules as well as Zimbabwe's common law,
the tribunal's decisions need to be registered in Zimbabwe, in the High
Court for recognition and enforcement.

As it is, the tribunal judgment does not form part of the law of Zimbabwe
until it has been registered and/or recognised in the country's High Court.

However, another Chegutu white farmer, Collin Cloete, has filed a court
application citing Government and the Attorney-General's Office as
respondents seeking to have the tribunal judgment registered and enforced in
Zimbabwe.

But a resettled farmer who was allocated the farm that previously belonged
to Cloete has also applied to the High Court to be joined in the action as
an interested party.

The matter is going on with full arguments still to be heard by the High
Court.


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Fugitive legislator arrested at airport

http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=12741

March 3, 2009

By Raymond Maingire

HARARE - Former Guruve North legislator, David Butau is said to have been
arrested Monday evening as he arrived from Britain where he had sought
refuge for over a year.

Sources revealed Tuesday the fugitive businessman was seized by police from
the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) as he arrived from London and
is being detained at Harare Central police station.

Butau, who was chief executive officer of Dande Holdings, which has
significant interests in agriculture, faces charges connected to alleged
violations of the Exchange Control Regulations.

Police sources revealed the former legislator had bargained for his freedom
while he was still in the United Kingdom and was arrested by police who
already had the full knowledge he was on the Monday flight.

"He had written to the Attorney General's office seeking to know the nature
of his offence," said a source on condition of anonymity.

"He was then informed of his charges whilst he was still in the United
Kingdom. So he had to weigh the pros and cons of coming back to face the
charges against his business interests in Zimbabwe."

Butau fled to the United Kingdom on December 27, 2007 after police had
issued a public statement he was wanted for questioning on the matter.

Although the police had, during the time, not specified the nature of his
crime, it later emerged after the former Zanu-PF official had fled the
country that he was being sought over a payment of about 537 000 pounds for
tractors, made from an offshore account in the Channel Islands.

The payments were allegedly made by two cheques on November 11, 2007 to
Michigan Tractors.

The money was allegedly withdrawn from Butau's personal account with HSBC
Bank Channel Islands Branch.

While in the UK, Butau, who pleaded innocent, wrote to a government
controlled weekly saying he had fled as he believed he would not get a fair
treatment from what he saw as government's vindictive stance.

He had however promised to return to Zimbabwe as soon as documents and
details absolving him of any wrongdoing were forwarded to the relevant
authorities.

At the time, the first signs of Butau's imminent arrest emerged when central
bank governor, Gideon Gono had publicly accused some Zanu-PF and government
officials of creating artificial shortages of the local currency through
hoarding cash for speculative purposes.

Gono, who was announcing the introduction of a new set of higher
denomination bearer cheques, said he was ready to appear before the
parliamentary committee on budget and finance to name and shame corrupt
officials.

It later emerged Gono had been trying to pique Butau, who was in fact
chairing the parliamentary committee.

Pressured to respond, the Zanu-PF official, who is said to be linked to a
Zanu-PF faction led by former army commander, General Solomon Mujuru, ran
into Gono's hands by saying his committee was not going to be hurried into
summoning the central bank chief.

Police later issued a press statement that Butau's name was on the "Wanted
list" in connection with exchange control violations.

A Harare man linked to companies involving Butau later pleaded guilty to
charges of illegally dealing in foreign currency involving more than Z$2, 1
trillion.

According to court documents, Joseph Manjoro, a finance and administration
executive with Clarion Insurance, was contracted by Flatwater Investments to
source foreign currency from individuals in the Diaspora to procure tractors
for the Reserve Bank for the government's Agricultural Mechanisation
Programme.

Manjoro allegedly transferred some of the money to companies linked to
Butau.  Squareaxe received Z$575 billion through its ZB Bank account while
Nyamasoka Farm received Z$262, 5 billion through CBZ Bank.


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Herald newspaper censors CSO's communique

http://www.nehandaradio.com/blog/?p=458

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) is extremely disturbed by the
actions of the Herald newspaper after its Editor refused to publish a
communiqué drafted by civil society organizations announcing the
establishment of a Civil Society Monitoring Mechanism (CSMM) on the
implementation of the Interparty Political Agreement (IPA) between ZANU PF
and the two Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) formations in its Friday 27
February 2009 edition.

ZLHR including the following 23 civic bodies had crafted the communiqué,
Bulawayo Agenda (BA), Christian Alliance (CA), Counseling Services Unit
(CSU), Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition (CZC), General Agriculture and
Plantation Workers Union( GAPWUZ), Legal Resources Foundation (LRF), Media
Institute of Southern Africa - Zimbabwe Chapter (MISA-Zimbabwe), Media
Monitoring Project Zimbabwe (MMPZ), National Association of Non-Governmental
Organizations (NANGO), Oxfam, Progressive Teachers Association of Zimbabwe
(PTUZ), Research and Advocacy Unit (RAU), Save Zimbabwe Campaign (SZC),
Veritas, Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe (VMCZ), Zimbabwe Association of
Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR), Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development
(Zimcodd), Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN), Zimbabwe Human Rights
Association (ZimRights), Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum (ZHRF), Zimbabwe
National Students Union (Zinasu), Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP), Zimbabwe
Young Women's Network for Peace Building (ZYWNP).

ZLHR on Thursday 26 February 2009 visited the Herald House to book space for
the communiqué and was told by one of the advertising representatives that
the communiqué would be taken to the newspaper's Editor for vetting before
placement in the newspaper. The advertising representative informed ZLHR
that the Editor was not in office and would inform ZLHR once the Editor
endorses the advertisement. At around 15:30 PM, the advertising
representative informed ZLHR that the Editor had vetted the communiqué and
had recommended the dropping of two paragraphs from the communiqué for it to
be carried in the newspaper.

The censored paragraphs contained in the communiqué read as follows;
"Deeply concerned at the continued assault on the fundamental rights and
freedoms of the people of Zimbabwe, in particular human rights defenders and
legitimate political activists, In solidarity with our colleagues and others
who remain unjustly incarcerated at various prisons, remand facilities and
hospitals around Zimbabwe."

After being informed of the censored paragraphs ZLHR then refused to
advertise the amended communiqué as it omitted some vital information. ZLHR
condemns the amendment of the CSMM communiqué by the Herald, which is
supposed to be a public newspaper. The amendment of the communiqué by the
Herald Editor amounts to bowdlerization and has the effect of subjecting the
media to the dictates of the "powerful". Such pre-publication censorship may
force the media to expunge large amounts of their news coverage from their
pages. The expurgation of the CSMM communiqué highlights and emphasizes the
urgent need for the coalition government particularly the new Minister of
Media and Information Publicity Mr Webster Shamu and his deputy Mr Jameson
Timba to restore the credibility and independence of the state-run print
media and broadcaster so that they truly function in the public interest.

ZLHR calls upon the Editors and staff at The Herald to change tack and
operate freely and without interference or pre-publication censorship. As a
public media the Herald must provide balanced and fair coverage to all
Zimbabweans, parties and organizations for their legitimate activities.

March 3rd, 2009


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Mahoso's MIC is now a ghost - MDC

http://www.zimeye.org/?p=2591

By Naledi Mpofu

Published: March 4, 2009

Gweru - An official of the Movement for Democratic Change formation led by
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai says the Media and Information Commission
is now a legal nullity and journalists should not continue to legitimize it
by seeking to be registered through it.

Addressing journalists at a workshop on media self-regulation in Gweru
recently, the MDC's director of information, Luke Tamborenyoka, said
journalists must not see their quest for press freedom as isolated but
should unite with other progressive forces to bring about full-fledged
democracy in the country.

Tamborenyoka told participants that the MDC -along with the generality of
Zimbabweans- has been a victim of government's stranglehold on the media, as
it has been denied access to state-controlled media.

He said the MDC believes that journalists, like other professionals such as
lawyers and doctors, should be allowed to regulate their own profession,
adding that the party also believes statutory regulation inhibits freedom of
expression and is open to abuse by politicians.

"We are very clear that as MDC we believe in self-regulation; we believe in
a voluntary media council. We believe that government is a demon which must
be exorcised out of the media; that journalists must be left to protect and
regulate themselves. But we are not saying that they must do that
recklessly; they must do it within the confines of the law. But we believe
that government has nothing; must have nothing to do with media regulation,"
he stated

Tamborenyoka said the coming into force of Constitutional Amendment number
19, which provides for the formation of the Zimbabwe Media Commission, means
that the MIC is now a legal nullity.

He said he is surprised that journalists continue to legitimize the
existence of the MIC by paying registration fees, adding that although the
proposed Zimbabwe Media Commission is another statutory body, journalists
have a chance to be well represented if they lobby members of the house of
assembly to ensure that people who best serve their interests are chosen on
the Commission.

"The correct legal position is that the Media and Information Commission is
now a legal nullity. It has since been overtaken by a board which was set up
under Constitutional Amendment number 19, and that was the Zimbabwe Media
Commission. The Zimbabwe Media Commission is a body that is supposed to be
set up through Parliament. In other words, the Committee on Standing Orders
and Regulations, which is chaired by the Speaker of the house of assembly,
brings up names and seconds them to the President whose job is only to
choose a chairperson.

"That is the correct legal position and the Zimbabwe media Commission has
since not been constituted, so, unless that happens and before that happens
it means that the Media and Information Commission has since been outlawed,
and it has no reason and no legal status or legal moral high ground to
continue to demand registration fees from journalists because it is a legal
nullity. So what it means is that as of now there is no legal body.the only
legal body is the Zimbabwe Media Commission which has not yet been
constituted, but right now the Media and Information Commission has no locus
standi to continue to extort money from journalists under the guise of
registration," Tamborenyoka said.

Since its inception in 2002, the MIC has largely been seen as heavy-handed,
shrinking the media industry and curtailing the operations of journalists
through victimization and closure of private-owned media houses seen as
hostile to the Zanu PF government.

This has made Zimbabwean journalists fight for self-regulation, culminating
in the launch of the Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe in 2008.

However, journalists and other stakeholders have decried the Council's lack
of visibility and initiative. Some of the workshop participants blamed this
on the fact that people who constitute the Council do not have the interests
of journalists at heart.

The workshop was organized by the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists.


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Wife says Bennett let down by MDC

http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=12732
 

March 3, 2009

roy-and-heather-bennett

Roy and Heather Bennett

By Ntandoyenkosi Ncube

JOHANNESBURG – Heather Bennett, the wife of Movement for Democratic Change treasurer, Roy Leslie Bennett, says the party has let her husband down.

“I still appeal to them to re-look at their conscience,” she said in an interview in Johannesburg Monday.

Roy Bennett was arrested last month days before he was due to be sworn in as Deputy Minister of Agriculture in the new government of national unity. MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai had been sworn in as Prime Minister before Bennett’s dramatic arrest.

Bennett, a commercial farmer before he was forced to flee from Zimbabwe in 2006 would have presided over a ministry in charge of a racially and politically charged farming sector.

He was arrested on Friday, February 13, moments before the private plane he was flying on was before to take off for Johannesburg, South Africa. As newly appointed cabinet ministers were sworn in at State House in Harare Bennett was driven away, reports say in a vehicle belonging to the commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, General Constantine Chiwenga.

Driving at high speed the 4×4 vehicle headed east, away from the capital city. By sundown Bennett was in police cells in the city of Mutare, 270 km away from Harare. He has remained in remand prison there. Original charges of treason were dropped and he now faces charges of attempting to commit terrorism, banditry and sabotage.

The High Court granted him bail 11 days later. The Attorney General’s office opposed the bail and Bennett remains in jail after the State appealed against the High Court order.

Back in 2004 he pushed the Minister of Justice, Patrick Chinamasa, to the floor during an altercation in Parliament. A parliamentary committee found him guilty and sentenced him to 15 months in prison. He served eight months in Chikurubi Maximum Prison.

In 2006 the State implicated Bennett in a treason case. Bennett fled to Johannesburg with his family. They remained there after the South African government granted them political asylum.

I caught up with Heather Bennett in Johannesburg on Monday and the following are excerpts from the interview conducted with the wife of Zimbabwe’s most high-profile prisoner:

QUESTION: What do you think is the reason behind Roy’s arrest?

ANSWER: Roy’s arrest is completely political. Firstly, I think they see Roy as a threat. I think they (being Zanu-PF) are afraid when Roy takes office as Deputy Minister of Agriculture he will be able to prove to the world how this whole land grab was just a political move by Zanu-PF to stay in power. Most of the farms were given to army or military heads, to Zanu-PF MP’s and to judges loyal to Zanu-PF as patronage tools to keep them loyal to Robert Mugabe.

If an audit of farms is done, which the MDC policy states, which speaks of rationalisation of farm ownership through an independent committee constituted and legalised by an Act of Parliament, it is going to show how many farms that were productive a few years ago are now lying in ruins, because the people that were given the farms sold all the assets and then moved on to another farm. It is alleged Patrick Chinamasa has gone through nine farms like this, selling all the assets then having access to Government subsidized fuel, fertilizer, seed etc and selling them. The whole land issue has had nothing to do with addressing historical injustices as Mugabe would have the world believe through his propaganda. It was a political tool of survival on the eve of an election he was sure he would lose.

Secondly, I think the Zanu-PF old guard cannot stand the fact that Roy is loved and respected openly by the people of Zimbabwe. He is one white person whose image they have dismally failed to tarnish in the eyes of the people of Zimbabwe, despite and in spite of their propaganda. Zanu-PF knows but they are refusing to accept that the tide of change has gripped Zimbabwe and is irreversible.

QUESTION: Do you think he will be released soon?

ANSWER: This is completely dependent on the inclusive government. They have to respect the Rule of Law. Bail has been granted and Roy should be released immediately. The judgment of the High Court must be respected and the inclusive government and the Prime Minister must insure that the judgment calling for the release of my husband is adhered to. There must be evidence of some change in how the government of Zimbabwe treats people. All political prisoners must be released.

QUESTION: Do you feel that Roy was let down by the MDC party?

ANSWER: Yes, I feel he is being let down by all parties in Zimbabwe because I have heard very few statements from individuals condemning his detention and that of the other political detainees too.  I think everybody that has taken posts within this inclusive government should be ashamed of themselves that they have done this while Roy Bennett and others who were fighting to bring democracy to Zimbabwe are still locked up in prison under the most horrendous conditions.  I wonder if they can sleep well at night. I know that if any of them were in prison, Roy would be doing everything possible to get them out. He would spend sleepless nights to get them out. I know what he did when Morgan Tsvangirai and some of the leaders of civic society were brutalised on March 11, (2007). I feel they have let my husband down. I still appeal to them to re-look at their conscience.

QUESTION: Do you advise Roy to pursue his ministerial appointment if released?

ANSWER: Roy has always been committed to the democratic process in Zimbabwe and I know that whatever decision he takes I will stand by him and that his decision will be for the betterment of the Zimbabwe people and not for himself.

QUESTION: Was Roy nervous about going back to Zimbabwe?

ANSWER: Yes, obviously like anybody else, he was nervous. He is brave but not stupid. Anybody that knows the evil of Zanu-PF knows that they can not be trusted. So, yes, he was nervous

QUESTION: Who do you think is behind Roy’s arrest?

ANSWER: Robert Mugabe, Patrick Chinamasa, and Constantine Chiwenga.

QUESTION: Do you communicate with Roy while in police custody, if so what is he saying?

ANSWER: I don’t communicate with Roy. He is only allowed a visitor once a week.  I am still in South Africa so I have not spoken to him at all since his arrest.  I spoke to his lawyer who conveyed to me the living conditions in the prisons and it is disgusting, one can just imagine. Four prisoners have died in the period Roy has been there. Basically they have starved to death.  In one incident a dead body was in Roy’s cell for the greater part of the day. Its torture!

QUESTION: How is Roy’s health at the moment?

ANSWER: Roy was abducted from Charles Prince Airport, driven at speeds over 150km/h to Mutare endangering his life. He was then put into police cells then into Prison. The prisons are in a disgusting state in fact I think Amnesty International got into the prisons in Zimbabwe and the report from them said they were not fit for human life, cholera is rife so I am very worried about his health.

One just has to look at the other political detainees, Jestina Mukoko, Chris Dhlamini and Gandhi Mudzingwa, their health has been badly affected since being incarcerated.

QUESTION: What made him return to Zimbabwe, was he convinced by Tsvangirai or anyone else?

ANSWER: Roy returned in good faith after the signing of the Global Political Agreement, and after South Africa, SADC and the AU leadership guaranteed this agreement and the inclusive government. He returned as he is committed to Zimbabwe and was eager to start the rebuilding process. He was assured by the South African government that nothing would happen to him.

QUESTION: Did Roy mention to you that President Motlanthe had assured him he would be safe on return to Harare?

ANSWER: Roy certainly mentioned that he had been given guarantees by South Africa. I do not know who?

QUESTION: Can you say something about Bennett’s three years in exile? What did it mean to you, him, and the family?

ANSWER: Roy spent his three years in exile fighting to bring change to Zimbabwe so he could return home. He was desperate to go home and rebuild his life and help rebuild Zimbabwe.

QUESTION: What is your family doing for a living? Do you have farms somewhere within the continent?

ANSWER: Roy was working fulltime for the MDC here in South Africa when he was arrested. We have no farms, not in Zimbabwe or anywhere else on the continent, we only owned one farm, Charleswood, in Chimanimani that was taken by the government in 2003.

QUESTION: What are your plans? Are you going back to Zimbabwe if Roy is released and starts pursuing his national duties?

ANSWER: Yes we will all go back home, we are in South Africa as refugees and would want to go back to Zimbabwe as soon as possible. I think I speak for Millions of Zimbabweans here, who would all go home as soon as they thought it safe and could see that the Rule of Law and Human Rights were being respected and that we could all start rebuilding our lives again. But arresting Roy I am sure causes a lot of hesitation for us and am sure a number of other activists that have been all over the world as refugees. But no doubt we want to go back home.

QUESTION: Does Roy still have his refugee status or did he renounce it?

ANSWER: I am not sure how that works but he certainly has not renounced it.

QUESTION: Are you happy that Roy was appointment Deputy Minister of Agriculture?

ANSWER: I think that portfolio will obviously be a difficult one but whatever position Roy is given he will do it with utmost honesty and make it work, so I would be comfortable with whatever position he was given and for that matter if he does not have a position, as long as he can do what he loves best, working with the people of Zimbabwe.

QUESTION: How many children do you have and where are they?

ANSWER: Two and they are with me here in South Africa.

QUESTION: Are you optimistic about the unity government?

ANSWER: The inclusive government can only work if they respect the rule of law and human rights and at this stage they are clearly not doing that.

QUESTION: What’s your message to SADC and the AU leadership who are guarantors of the inclusive government that is currently detaining Roy?

ANSWER: I would ask them to stand by the agreement they guaranteed and not let Robert Mugabe and Zanu-PF to continue to be bullish and insincere. Zanu-PF must take the agreement seriously. I am sure that if the leadership of SADC and the AU commit themselves; we can make this continent a wonderful place for everyone.

I would plead with SADC and the AU leadership to ensure the safe and immediate release of my husband, Jestina Mukoko and all political prisoners. I think they need to pressurize the Zimbabwe government to release Roy and the other political detainees as their continued incarceration is completely illegal and is obviously political.  The Zimbabwe government should be forced to respect the rule of law and human rights.  I do not think that the Zimbabwe Government should be supported in any way until such times as they respect the rule of law. I understand that Jestina is chained to her hospital bed. That is clearly inhuman and degrading. The inclusive government must really respect human rights and show that things have changed.

QUESTION: There are allegations that some of your properties, assets and cattle were taken by senior ZANU-PF officials, how far true is that?

ANSWER: That is 100 percent true. When the government took Charleswood we were not allowed to take anything with us. We had to leave with nothing I do not think a lot of people understand this. Imagine walking out of your house now and never going back, never being allowed one single thing. Imagine leaving our vehicles, our furniture, our clothes, and things you have collected over a life time, things that were passed down from generation to generation. Also with taking the farm from us the way they did it meant Roy no longer had a job. We no longer have a roof over our heads. We have to start from scratch.

Apart from us the Government also evicted all the workers from Charleswood, they too lost their homes, their Jobs, their friends, the school their children were going to, the farm clinic where they could get free medication, a lot of our workers were on long term medication that they now had no access to.

They lost everything too.

Ntando: Thank you, Mrs Bennett, for your time and answers. I wish Roy luck.

Heather: Thanks Ntando


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Changes to UK student visa applications

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/blog/?p=459

Posted By Rumbidzai Bvunzawabaya on
3 Mar, 2009 at 11:47 pm

I HAVE been in Zimbabwe for the past few weeks. After an absence of four
years, I was shocked by the state of general decay - from the
infrastructure, the roads to the complete collapse of the education system.

Our education system in Zimbabwe was our pride, one of the best in Africa.
It now faces immense challenges. Public financing of the sector continues to
dwindle in real terms, school fees is soaring beyond the reach of many,
depletion of educators and low morale owing to poor salaries for the
remaining teachers have unravelled past successes in the sector.

The crisis has not spared tertiary education which saw all major State
Universities failing to open for the first semester of the 2008/2009
academic year which was supposed to resume last August. The medical school
remains closed. University students that I had the opportunity to speak to
were demoralised and uncertain about their future.

Many parents have resorted to sending their children abroad to study. Some
students are even resorting to study in countries like Malawi to complete
their degrees - such is the state of our education.

The United Kingdom has always been a favourite destination for many
Zimbabwean students. The immigration rules have historically been very
difficult to meet. The rules required that students should show an intention
to return to their home country.

How does one show that they intend to return? This was subjective and often
abused by entry clearance officers. Applications for Student Visas will now
be dealt with under Tier 4 of the new points-based system.

All universities and colleges that wish to recruit foreign students will
require a sponsor licence and all students will require a licensed sponsor.
These new stricter rules are designed to protect the UK's labour market and
ensure that students and their educational establishments are legitimate and
adhere to these new legal requirements.

For example, under these new rules, before students can apply to study in
the UK, they will need to:

* provide their fingerprints;
* prove a track record in their studies;
* meet a minimum level of qualification;
* demonstrate that they can support themselves (and any dependants)
financially.

The Home Office also expects to tighten the rules even further later this
year by introducing a "sponsor management system" which will enable the
licensed educational establishments to inform the UK Border Agency if
students do not enrol in their course or skip more than ten sessions. More
information can be found HERE.

The requirement to have the educational institutions licensed will protect
many foreign students who have been victims to bogus colleges. As an
immigration lawyer, I have witnessed many Zimbabweans whose lives have been
ruined by these "bogus colleges". Many people arrived in the UK with the
intention to pursue a course of study but fell into the hands of these bogus
colleges and in addition to losing thousands of pounds, their hope of
staying lawfully in this country was destroyed.

Under the current system, entry clearance refusals can be challenged on
appeal and the case heard before an independent Immigration Judge at the
Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (AIT).

Under Tier 4, students will no longer have a right of appeal against an
entry clearance refusal. The right of appeal is being replaced by an
'administrative review' by an Entry Clearance Manager.

The UKBA argue that because decisions under Tier 4 will be more transparent,
clear-cut and based only on factual information, there is no need for an
appeal system. Entry Clearance Officers (ECO's) will not, for instance, be
able to refuse on 'intention' to study or return home after completion of
the course.

Should this prove to be the case, students applying for a visa under Tier 4
could be more assured of a visa than under the current 'hit and miss'
system. It is, however, very important to ensure that the initial
application is submitted correctly and meets the required points under the
Points Based System.

It will, hopefully, be easier for foreign students to undertake a course of
study in this country. With many Zimbabweans having settled in this country,
this remains a top destination for students. Hopefully, there will be a time
when individuals who have gained an education in this country and have been
exposed to the first world may be able to return and rebuild our nation.

Disclaimer: This article only provides general information and guidance on
immigration law.. The specific facts that apply to your matter may make the
outcome different than would be anticipated by you. The writer will not
accept any liability for any claims or inconvenience as a result of the use
of this information.
Rumbidzai Bvunzawabaya is a Solicitor at RBM Solicitors based in Coventry.
She can be contacted at info@rbmsolicitors.co.uk or telephone: 02476243685


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Cholera in a time of health system collapse


 Full_Report (pdf* format - 1.2 Mbytes)


Executive Summary

Although Zimbabwe has experienced cholera outbreaks since 1992, the outbreak which began in August 2008 is the worst ever in this country and is set to become the worst outbreak on the African continent. Violations of the rights to safe and potable water, adequate sanitation and a collapsed health system were the cause of the outbreak. The course of the outbreak has been difficult to predict and to control.

To date, the Government of Zimbabwe has fallen far short of its responsibility to ensure the availability of appropriate health services. Despite the epidemic continuing for more than six months, sanitation remains poor and lack of access to safe drinking water persists against the backdrop of a collapsed health system with degraded infrastructure and very few health workers.

Health is a fundamental human right indispensable for the exercise of other human rights. Despite this, the right to health is becoming an increasingly remote privilege, out of the reach of most Zimbabweans. Health in Zimbabwe is presently largely unavailable, unacceptable, inaccessible and of poor quality. This report concludes that Zimbabwe will require long term commitment of the humanitarian and donor agencies working in the country with large scale, multi-faceted assistance to address the situation. The Government of Zimbabwe must also take responsibility for the restoration of the basic social services that fulfil basic human rights.

ZADHR makes the following recommendations:

On the public health system:

An emergency health response plan to restore function to the public health system must be produced and implemented. This plan should begin by focusing on making primary and secondary care services (clinics and district hospitals) affordable and accessible to all. The Government must also ensure that health workers concerns are addressed to ensure that conditions in which these workers return to work and their skills can be retained are put in place (including adequate remuneration and safe working conditions).

On access to safe water

If the outbreak is to be brought under control, and ultimately to an end, there is an urgent need to restore safe potable water to communities. Where infrastructure for piping water exists this needs to be rehabilitated.

On adequate sanitation

Ensuring that communities make use of sanitary facilities for defecation is vital. Everyone should have access to a toilet connected to a septic tank or working public sewer system or a ventilated improved pit latrine.


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Elephants trample Zimbabwe's precious crops

http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/
 
By Tom Parry on Mar 3, 09 07:13 PM in Zimbabwe

Mbire in Zimbabwe's fertile Zambezi valley is a classic example of how looks can be deceiving.

To visitors it might appear idyllic in its lush emerald setting. Surely the kind of place where anything grows as soon as you put it in the ground?

Not so. Mbire - home to more than 100,000 - is currently contending with not only the twin tragedies of hunger and cholera stalking rural Zimbabwe, but also herds of hungry marauding elephants.

This film sent by Oxfam's Caroline Gluck explains how Africa's magnificent wildlife sometimes adds to the misery of those suffering the most.

Resident Evelyn Chikwamba, 35 (already past average life expectancy for a woman in Zimbabwe), told her. "One of my fields has already been destroyed - eaten by elephants.

"We'd put wire around the village; but one elephant came into the field and we couldn't scare it away from the sorghum. It loved the sweet taste. The greatest part of my field has been destroyed."

Evelyn's not alone. Around 40% of the community, which lies close to Chiwore National Park, have had crops wiped out by the hungry animals.

"The destruction of crops by wild animals like elephants and buffalo is a big problem," said Koni Dhoro, chairman of Mbire district council.

"On average, this ward loses two people a year who are killed by these wild animals, while they're trying to protect their fields."

Villagers have resorted to a number of tactics to try to scare the beasts away - from lighting fires around their fields to beating drums.

It's a huge worry for them as they survey their fields, which are almost ready for harvest.

Across Zimbabwe - once the bread basket of Africa - around seven million people are now relying on food hand outs.


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Matt Damon moved by plight of Zimbabwean refugees

Mar 3, 4:12 PM EST

MUSINA, South Africa (AP) -- An emotional Matt Damon listened to a
Zimbabwean woman describe how she was raped while pregnant on a perilous
journey across the border into South Africa.

The Hollywood actor visited refugee centers in Musina on the South African
border with Zimbabwe as part of his work with the human rights organization
he started with a number of other celebrities.

An estimated 3 million Zimbabweans have fled the economic collapse and dire
humanitarian conditions in their country for South Africa.

Damon said in an exclusive interview with the AP Tuesday that he was
"shocked and saddened" by the plight of the people he had spoken to. He said
conditions were "untenable" and called on international and regional leaders
to take action.


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Why reject US$1 notes?

http://www.herald.co.zw/

EDITOR - Yesterday I went to the Criminal Investigation Department's
headquarters in Harare to get police clearance through finger-print forms.

I was asked to pay US$5 for the process to be initiated, which I thought was
okay since the entire economy is demanding the use of foreign currency for
goods and services.

Admittedly, I felt that it was a bit too steep for such a procedure that,
since the whole system should be computerised, should cost a little less
because there is hardly any work involved in carrying it out.

Regardless, the police have the right to ask for a fee that they feel is
commensurate with their service and so I will not chew any bones about it.

However, my real shock came when I wanted to pay the US$5 that was asked
for.

I handed the officer five US$1 notes but he refused to take them.

Instead I was told that I had to pay using a single US$5 note because they
could not accept single bills.

No reasonable explanation was given for the demand and I certainly do not
see the logic in this requirement.

It makes sense to accept or demand small denomination notes rather than
bills of higher value.

If the police feel that there are too many fake US$1 notes around then it is
their job to bust the rings that are printing them.

Getting police clearance should not be an onerous task that can become
bogged down by such petty demands.

Some of us need to get these clearances urgently for business purposes and
to be told that I cannot be served because I have small notes is simply
ridiculous and kills productivity.

Can the senior administrators in the police force please explain to me why I
cannot pay for police clearance using US$1 notes?

I am starting to suspect that this has nothing to do with any policy
directives, but could be related to some obscure non-official and illegal
activities by the people manning the desk.

Let's Be Serious.

Harare.


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Residents in solidarity with Mukoko and fellow activists.

03 March 2009

The Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) expresses solidarity with Jestina Mukoko and the other 8 activists who were granted bail albeit upon paying exorbitant bail charges over trumped-up charges. Jestina Mukoko, the Zimbabwe Peace Project head who was abducted in December 2008 and the other activists who were also abducted and frivolously charged with crimes ranging from miscellaneous offences, terrorism and treason were granted bail after a long legal battle with state agents. Furthermore, the accused were kept in custody and subjected to torture meant to force out of them, under duress of course, false information to evidence the former ZANU-PF ‘defacto’ government’s claims.

 

 

ZPP Director, Jestina Mukoko

 

The granting of bail to the activists has arguably been viewed as a step in the right direction with advent of the Inclusive Government and the way forward for Zimbabwe. The Association, however, maintains that the activists are frivolously charged with trumped-up charges and the legal processes must be allowed to take course without undue political (partisan) influence. Moreover, the courts and state security agents are hereby advised to stop partisan workmanship and exercise professionalism and reason in handling the cases of the accused.

 

Meanwhile, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture designate, Roy Bennet who is also the National Treasurer of the MDC-T and other remaining activists are being denied bail on frivolous grounds. CHRA reckons that for the sake of confidence building, economic recovery, observance of human rights and laws of Zimbabwe, and as we trudge through the current historic phase to create the Zimbabwe we are yearning for; human rights abuses, impunity and furthering selfish political interests at the expense of a nation must be a thing of the past. Abductions-cum-arrests (abrupt) must stop and the process of freeing the charged activists must be expedited immediately.

 

CHRA remains committed to advocating for transparent, effective, affordable and professional municipal service delivery. The Association will continue to advocate for observance of human rights, democratic and non-partisan governance at local and central government level as this creates a conducive environment civic participation in governance.

 

Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA)

145 Robert Mugabe Way

Exploration House, Third Floor

Harare

ceo@chra.co.zw

www.chra.co.zw

 Landline: 00263- 4- 705114

Contacts: Mobile: 0912 653 074, 0913 042 981, 011862012 or email info@chra.co.zw, and admin@chra.co.zw

 

 


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Residents get shocking burial fees while council employees earn big!!!

03 March 2009

 

The Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) registers its utter disappointment and disapproval of the recently introduced burial fees structure by the City Council. The City council is charging US$460 burial fees for Warren Hills cemetery, US$350 for Granville and US$260 for Tafara. CHRA categorically declares that such fees are unaffordable and do not at all reflect the current socio-economic realities obtaining in the country where most civil servants are earning an average of US$100 per month. Furthermore, the city council arrived at such fees without prior consultation of the residents.

 

The new burial charges come at a time when the 2009 city budget has not been approved yet the rates have been reviewed to astronomical levels of about US$130 (for low density areas) and US$25 to US$35 (for high density areas).While CHRA appreciates that the review of the service charges is meant to resuscitate service delivery, we are also worried about reports we are receiving to the effect that the council employees have awarded each other hefty salaries following the review of the service charges. CHRA is yet to confirm but has received reports that the least remunerated employee at town house is getting an average of US$300 per month.

 

 

The Association urges the city councilors to review downwards all tariffs and levies against the residents. CHRA has since written to the City Council protesting over the new fees, levies and service charges structure. We have not gotten a response from the council, thus CHRA is currently consulting its membership over the next course of action. CHRA will continue to advocate and lobby for an accountable and transparent local governance system that provides quality and affordable service delivery on a non partisan basis.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Combined Harare Residents Association

145 Robert Mugabe Way

Exploration House, Third Floor

Harare

www.chra.co.zw

 Landline: 00263- 4- 705114

Contacts: Mobile: 0912 653 074, 0913 042 981, 011862012 or email ceo@chra.co.zw

info@chra.co.zw, admin@chra.co.zw

 

 

 

 


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Whither Zimbabwe?

http://www.ngrguardiannews.com  Nigeria

Wednesday, March 04, 2009

EDITORIAL

AMIDST the utter devastation that has overwhelmed the Zimbabwe economy and
pauperised the mass of its people, the international community could only
watch in disbelief as images of President Mugabe popping champagne and
gloating happily over an expensively decorated birthday cake were beamed
around the world. The occasion was the celebration of the President's 85th
birthday. Contrasting the images of President Mugabe's euphoric and
exuberant visage with the images of Zimbabweans eating from garbage dumps or
dying helplessly from cholera provides a metaphor for all that is wrong with
Zimbabwe. It is the poverty of a President whose perception of reality has
been destroyed by his lust for power and the poverty of a people who have
been traumatised by bad economic and social policies.

The fact that Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai refused to participate in the
birthday celebrations demonstrates the extent to which President Mugabe is
disconnected from the reality in his country. Yet, contrary to expectation
and standard procedure, Mr. Tsvangirai could allow President Mugabe rather
than the Chief Justice to swear him into office as prime minister, when his
party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), finally decided to join the
ruling ZANU-PF party in a power-sharing government. These multiple
contradictions demonstrate the complexity of the situation confronting the
people of Zimbabwe, hence the question: whither Zimbabwe?

The situation in Zimbabwe is bad, and short of a state involved in total
war, no condition could be worse than what the mass of Zimbabweans face
currently. Even while President Mugabe and his cohorts are spending $250,000
on his birthday party, his government is asking African countries for $2
billion to resuscitate the country's collapsed economy. The collapse is
deep, wide and all encompassing. The cause, as is often the case in Africa,
is bad government.

At independence in 1980, Zimbabwe was undoubtedly one of the leading
economies on the African continent, with a potential to become the regional,
if not a continental industrial engine and breadbasket. Unfortunately,
President Mugabe has been consumed by a singular ambition to hold on to
power at all cost. One unfortunate effect of this tenacious hold on power
has been the total collapse of the country's economy, infrastructure, social
and municipal institutions. Zimbabwe has become a basket case, perhaps the
worst in Africa. Inflation is at an incomprehensible rate of 231 million per
cent. Serious food shortages have turned many citizens into scavengers;
images of both young and old literally eating directly from garbage dumps or
drinking from heavily contaminated water sources have been beamed across the
world.

Most schools and hospitals are closed. Roads and sewers are in tatters. The
country's health services can no longer offer any succour to the sick or
dying, not even at the most rudimentary level. So far, 3, 894 people have
died from a devastating and preventable cholera epidemic that has ravaged
the country since August 2008. The World Health Organisation has already
recorded more than 84,000 cases across the country. Unemployment is
currently at over 80 per cent, with just about 10 per cent of adults having
regular jobs. Millions of Zimbabweans have escaped to South Africa and other
neighbouring countries as economic refugees. Of those who are left behind
more than half, at least seven million according to Morgan Tsvangirai,
survive on food aid.

Understandably, Prime Minister Tsvangirai has made fixing Zimbabwe's
"basket-case economy" his first priority. He has also stated that it would
cost at least $5 billion to end the economic meltdown and bring some life
back to the country. The obvious question and one that will challenge the
Prime Minister's administrative and financial acumen is: where will the
money come from? Zimbabwe is already in debt peonage, owing as much as $5
billion to foreign creditors. The donor and foreign aid community,
especially Western governments and international monetary institutions, have
adopted a wait-and-see attitude.

Most Western countries have maintained very cold relations with President
Mugabe in the last decade or so and most have in fact imposed some sanctions
on his government. They are waiting to see if President Mugabe would
actually allow the power-sharing government to function effectively and
inclusively before they offer any aid. For instance, the European Union
wants to see "tangible signs of respect for human rights, the rule of law,
and macro-economic stabilisation" before offering any aid. Similarly, the
United States has called for evidence of "good governance and particularly
real, true power-sharing on the part of Robert Mugabe" as a pre-condition
for offering aid.

However, as we have said in previous editorials, the greatest obstacle to
resolving the multifarious economic, social and political problems
confronting Zimbabwe is President Mugabe himself, or rather, his continued
presence in government.

Zimbabwe's condition is urgent and immediate and the least the world expects
of President Mugabe is that after 29 years in power he will give a little
back to his country by doing the right thing and start winding down his long
tour in office. This will give his people the platform they need to
rejuvenate themselves and their country.


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Finding paradise in the lost world of Zim

http://www.pretorianews.co.za

March 04, 2009 Edition 1

Jeremy Laurance

Almost the first thing Bryson said on greeting my 20-year-old daughter
Olivia and me at the border post next to Victoria Falls bridge was: "You are
the first British tourists I have seen in so very long. You are most welcome
to Zimbabwe."

We had travelled that morning from Lusaka, Zambia's capital, and in an
instant Bryson had established one fact about the holiday we had planned in
its benighted neighbour: it was going to be exclusive.

Most of the Zimbabweans we met over the next week agreed with Bryson: 1999
was the year when tourism from the UK dwindled to a trickle.

The Independent Traveller, unwilling to lend support to an odious regime,
has not carried a report on Zimbabwe since September 1998.

But with political change inching closer, despite a series of setbacks
orchestrated by President Mugabe, it seemed the right moment to investigate
what the country has to offer the traveller, whose tourist dollars it so
desperately needs.

Within hours of crossing the century-old British-built bridge that spans the
gorge in which the great Zambezi flows, we had seen the tragedy and the
glory of Zimbabwe.

Bryson, with gentle good humour, led me on a tour of Chinotimba township,
behind the town of Victoria Falls, where oranges were selling in the market
for tens of thousands of Zim dollars each.

There was no beer in the supermarket and there were no shoes in the shoe
shop (except one pair of desert boots, size eight).

Even if you had the savings to buy the footwear, there is a daily limit on
bank withdrawals so it would take a month of such visits to amass the
necessary billions of Zim dollars, and a wheelbarrow to carry them. By then
the price of the boots would have doubled.

At the Wimpy Bar on the corner of the main street I asked for the printed
price list. It had been produced the previous week but each entry was
already scratched out and a new, inflated, amount inserted by hand.

Yards from this economic mayhem, white, mostly well-heeled tourists still
enjoy the spectacle of the "smoke that thunders", though in reduced numbers.
It was the end of the dry season, and the Zambezi was less than half full.

Locals say it is the time when "see the falls" becomes "see the rocks"
because so little water is flowing through. Yet the spectacle was far more
dramatic than on my last visit to the falls, in May three years ago, when
the river was in full spate.

Then the smoke thundered, all right, but all I could see was spray.

On that occasion I was on the Zambian side. To see the falls properly, you
have to be on the Zimbabwean side, where a finger of land juts out into the
gorge, affording extraordinary views, each one more dramatic than the last.

Along the kilometre-long path, we encountered knots of Japanese, Portuguese
and Americans, but no British tourists.

This is one of the world's great sights. When the path closed at 6pm, we
were beside the statue of David Livingstone: stiff-backed and moustached,
still commemorated as the "discoverer" of the falls in 1855. And we were
alone.

We stayed in the Ilala Lodge, where bills must be settled in US dollars
(cash only; no credit cards). It is a classy establishment with a thatched
roof, polished wood, engravings of Victorian explorers, white linen,
deferential staff and an intimate feel.

Here, I ate the freshest bream I have tasted. The chef himself had caught it
that morning, and oven-baked the fish in coconut milk and "eastern spices".

We sat on the terrace, drinks in hand, looking over a forest of acacia and
baobab.

And we wondered how, in a country where power cuts and water shortages are
frequent and cholera is now rampant, it was all possible.

Halfway through dinner, Olivia leaned across the table and whispered
conspiratorially: "Everyone looks so old. Not old like you, really old."

It was true. Most of our fellow guests were American - and not one of them
could have been under 70.

They were on tour, we later learnt, with an enterprising American travel
company that flies groups of pensioners on "adventure" trips all over the
world.

Their presence was reassuring. Before leaving the UK most of our friends had
wondered why on earth we had chosen to take a holiday in a country in a
state of civil unrest.

The Foreign Office advice had not been encouraging. "You are strongly
advised to have your own contingency plan in place for how you would leave
at short notice," it warned.

But if it was OK for so many American octogenarians, it would surely be OK
for us.

A decade ago, Victoria Falls town was thriving, its hotels full, with
tourists queuing for white-water rafting, bungee jumping, helicopter rides
and safaris.

Today, most of the business has moved to Livingstone, on the Zambian side.
The town, though insulated from the worst effects of the economic meltdown
in the rest of the country, is a shadow of its former self.

The Victoria Falls Hotel, once the grandest in the country, still serves
high tea on the terrace but struggles to fill its $450-a-night rooms; staff
have been laid off. The Elephant Hills Hotel has closed, like many others.

The vast casino at the Kingdom Hotel, though still open, is eerily silent.
Only two people were playing any of the 400 slot machines on the day we
called.

Only the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge seems to be bucking the downward trend;
it is a colourful, themed establishment spectacularly situated on a hill
outside the town above a waterhole at which game comes to drink. We had the
pool to ourselves.

Next morning, we took a one-hour flight in a six-seater Cessna to Hwange
National Park.

Zebras eyed us from the end of the runway as we taxied to the terminal,
where we were the only passengers. Noel, our guide, collected our bags, and
we set off on Olivia's first-ever game drive.

Her squeals of delight at the first antelope, the first giraffe, the first
baboon, restored to me for an instant the child I knew a decade ago. Yet it
quickly became clear I had not seen it all before.

In five days in Hwange we saw more animals, in greater numbers and in a
wider variety of situations than I have seen anywhere - and there were
almost no other tourists.

It is difficult to experience the "wilderness" when lenses are zooming and
shutters are clicking all around you.

Not here. In Zimbabwe - this is, I am afraid, becoming a refrain - we were
on our own.

The extraordinary sighting of elephants - two dozen of them emerging
silently, urgently, unexpectedly from the bush - was the first of scores.

The park is home to an estimated 45 000 elephants (last counted three years
ago) and in the dry season all of them have to drink from one of the few
waterholes.

We ate huge meals of chicken casserole and beef hotpot each evening around
an enormous polished teak dining table in the two-storey thatched dining
room. Then we would carry our drinks to the veranda to peer out in the
darkness at the ghostly herds of elephant, giraffe and buffalo moving around
the waterhole.

In the country beyond the park's perimeter fence there are desperate
shortages of almost everything. But there are no shortages within it - other
than of tourists.

Our few fellow guests comprised a middle-aged white Zimbabwean farmer who
lost his land to Mugabe's henchmen five years ago, his wife and a young
Scandanavian couple taking a break from backpacking to splurge on a safari.
Conversation around the table focused on simple survival in Zimbabwe.

Hot topics included how to blag your way across the South African border,
where to go in Botswana with your US dollars for the best shopping, and how
to get it back.

When operating at peak capacity, the Hide provided employment for around 40
staff.

That is a distant dream today. It caters to a "meat and potatoes" crowd:
solid, salt-of-the-earth types who like traditional cooking in the heart of
the bush. Its spectacular location and homely, family-run feel have helped
it survive; half the rival lodges in Hwange park are closed. We took an
evening game drive to a vlei where the waterhole was dominated by
quarrelsome baboons surrounded by palm trees.

Under the huge sky, the pale dry grasses tinged pink by the setting sun, we
watched the animals lounge across the horizon, as if a million years of
history had never happened.

Our second camp was Little Makalolo, run by Wilderness Safaris. It comprises
a group of luxury tents built on stilts and linked by raised wooden walkways
winding among the trees.

They offered an extraordinary standard of comfort: flushing toilets, inside
and outside showers, polished wood floors and linen sheets.

Two American couples, geologists on the trip of a lifetime, were the only
other guests.

On the afternoon we arrived, in the enervating heat, Olivia and I lay by the
plunge pool on the veranda by the central thatched bar. We watched a family
of elephants lazily approach the waterhole in the distance.

Turning up their trunks at the muddy puddle in the pan, they paused, sniffed
and then headed in our direction.

A minute later, half a dozen African elephants, including a huge male and a
couple of babies, had flopped their trunks over the pool's edge at our feet,
and were sucking up great draughts of water and squirting them down their
throats, like so many cisterns emptying. Their raging thirst temporarily
slaked, they gently withdrew, eyeing us warily all the while.

Among many vivid moments, that was the one, for both Olivia and me, that
will remain burned in our memories. Without the plunge pool, the elephants
would have had nothing to drink (it was regularly emptied by passing herds,
the staff told us).

Without the pumps to fill the water holes, maintained by the few lodges and
camps that remain open, many more would die. Without the animals, Zimbabwe's
tourist industry, vital to its future, will wither.

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