Zim secret police arrests top human rights lawyer

http://www.mg.co.za/

HARARE, ZIMBABWE May 14 2009 12:27

Zimbabwe's secret police on Thursday arrested top human rights lawyer Alec
Muchadehama on as yet unspecified allegations, colleagues said.

Muchadehama was apprehended by three officers of the notorious "law and
order" section of the police at the Harare magistrates' court while
processing release orders for three high-profile political prisoners granted
bail on Wednesday.

The arrest is the latest in a series of arrests of court officials, lawyers,
journalists and members of Parliament of the former opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC), now in coalition with Mugabe's former ruling
Zanu-PF party.

"They have taken him to Harare central [police station]," said Charles
Kwaramba, a partner in Muchadehama's law firm. "They have been looking for
him for the last three days at court."

No reasons for his arrest were yet available, but Kwaramba said he was
"pretty certain" it was related to what law and order police have called the
"improper release" last week of senior MDC officials Gandhi Mudzingwa and
Chris Dhlamini, and journalist Andrison Manyere.

Mudzingwa, Dhlamini and Manyere were formally granted bail by a high court
judge on Wednesday.

Police have already arrested a junior court official for passing on to the
court registrar a judge's instruction for their release.

Muchadehama is repeatedly harassed, threatened and followed by secret police
because of his undaunted defence of the victims of political persecution and
violence carried out under Mugabe's watch.

Observers say that police, who are under the control of senior officers
fiercely loyal to Mugabe, appear to be deliberately flaunting the rule of
law to try to undermine the new power-sharing government.

The agreement that spawned the unity government, in which MDC leader Morgan
Tsvangirai is prime minister under Mugabe as president, calls for an end to
political repression and for human rights reforms.

Western governments have balked at unlocking much-needed development aid to
Zimbabwe until the crackdown on activists and MDC members and the invasion
of white-owned farms is halted.

The MDC is also protesting Mugabe's unilateral appointment of his cronies to
run the central bank and as attorney-general. -- Sapa-dpa

Lawyers Challenge Muchadehama's Arrest

http://www.radiovop.com


HARARE - May 14, 2009 - Lawyers representing arrested top human rights
defender Alec Muchadehama have filed an urgent High Court application
calling for his immediate release.

The lawyers say his arrest is unlawful and therefore he should be
released from the police custody as a matter of urgency.
Harrison Nkomo of Mtetwa and Nyambirai told journalists outside the
High Court that they have filed an urgent chamber application calling for
Muchadehama to be released. "As the legal fraternity we feel the arrest is
unlawful and we have filed an urgent chamber application calling for his
release," said
Nkomo adding that he would have wanted the matter to be heard on
Thursday.
"It is now up to the court to decide when the matter will be heard. We
can't dictate the pace for the Court but under normal circumstances the
matter could be set down even for tonight," he said. Muchadehama was
apprehended by three officers from the notorious "law and order" section of
the police at the Harare magistrates' court
while processing release orders for three high-profile political
prisoners granted bail Wednesday.
The arrest is the latest in a series of arrests of court officials,
lawyers, journalists and members of parliament (MPs) of the former
opposition Movement for Democratic Change.
It is suspected that Muchadehama was picked up for the "improper
release" last month of senior MDC officials Gandhi Mudzingwa and Chris
Dhlamini, and journalist Andrison Manyere.
Mudzingwa, Dhlamini and Manyere were formally granted bail by a high
court judge on Wednesday.
Police have already arrested a junior court official for passing on to
the court registrar a judge's instruction for their release.
Observers say that police, who are under the control of senior
officers fiercely loyal to Mugabe, appear to be deliberately flaunting the
rule of law to try to undermine the new power-sharing government.
Western governments have balked at unlocking much-needed development
aid to Zimbabwe until the crackdown on activists and MDC members and the
invasion of white-owned farms is halted. The MDC is also protesting
President Robert Mugabe's unilateral appointment of Gideon Gono to run the
central bank as well as Johannes Tomana to head the Attorney General's
office.

John Nkomo's bodyguard faces attempted murder charge

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Lance Guma
14 may 2009

A retired army colonel who works for ZANU PF national chairman John Nkomo,
is being charged with attempted murder after he shot and injured the brother
of a black farmer his boss is trying to evict. Eddie Sigoge was due to
appear before a magistrate in Bulawayo on Thursday charged with illegal
possession of a firearm and attempted murder, according to the New
Zimbabwe.com website. Nkomo is locked in a five year land dispute with
Langton Masunda over the Jijima Lodge in the Gwayi Conservancy area.

Allegations are that Sigoge, who works as Nkomo's chief security officer,
tried to kill Masunda but missed and instead shot his brother Patrick five
times in an ambush at the lodge last Saturday. He was shot in the buttocks
when he stepped out of a car and fell to the ground, according to the news
website. A further 4 shots were fired at him while he lay on the ground. The
victim was admitted to Bulawayo's Mater Dei hospital. The suspicion is that
Nkomo might have tried to assassinate the farmer he is locked in dispute
with.

The matter has been equally messy in the courts. It's reported the High
Court, in a default judgment, recently gave Nkomo the right to occupy part
of the farm where the lodges are situated, while Masunda was allocated the
area containg the farm house. Despite the serious nature of the allegations
against Sigoge who shot Masunda, police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena is quoted
as saying the brothers might have 'provoked the situation'. The brothers
meanwhile insist the attack happened on their side of the farm and they have
information Nkomo hired 14 ex-combatants to kill Langton Masunda.

The matter however has highlighted the chaos that has marred the land reform
exercise. The farm taken over by Masunda was originally grabbed from its
former white owner, only for Nkomo, a senior government official, to now
come and seek to grab it away. Nkomo has been battling to take the farm
despite losing several court challenges over the years. He claims the farm
is within his Lugo Ranch which he allocated to himself in 2003 when he was
Lands Minister.

EU Hosts Environment Conference in Zimbabwe

http://www.voanews.com

By Peta Thornycroft
Harare
14 May 2009

This week in Harare the European Union hosted an environmental conference in
Zimbabwe which organizers hope would start a multi-party conversation about
land ownership and use. The issue continues to be at the center of the
country's political conflict.

EU ambassador Xavier Marchel, who has been the lead in the West's uneasy
relationship with Zimbabwe's shaky government of national unity, was
instrumental in organizing the conference.

The plan was to get Zimbabwe government officials to engage with western
diplomats and each other about the sustainable use of land and natural
resources.

Marchel even managed to persuade President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF to take
part in discussions on how to rescue Zimbabwe's devastated natural
resources.

And while the language of government officials is usually muted, at the
conference they uniformly made it plain that in the past few decades,
Zimbabwe's natural resources have been devastated.

Education Minister David Coltart did not mince his words, saying these
resources have, in effect, been raped.

"Massive deforestation, unrestrained poaching that has seen the decimation
of much of our wildlife; unrestrained gold panning which has all but
destroyed many of our river systems; the regular and deliberate veld fires
that have set every winter and every spring," said Coltart.

Coltart told the conference the impact of all of this was recently
graphically demonstrated to him on a visit to the Matopos, one of the
country's top national parks.

"I took my family and guests for a drive through the Matopos National Park
and we spent the entire day driving through the game reserve and the rest of
the national park, and the entire national park had been burnt," said
Coltart.

Zimbabwe's liberation war, which ended in 1980, was mainly about land
ownership and the franchise for black Zimbabweans. After President Robert
Mugabe came to power, his many critics argued that he was using land
ownership reform as a means of patronage.

This criticism greatly intensified when he launched his chaotic land reform
program following the emergence of the Movement for Democratic Change in
2000. The program saw more than 4,000 commercial farmers removed from their
farms, and food production plummet.

Mandivamba Rukuni, a well known agricultural economist and advisor to the
World Bank, told conference attendees that 15 years ago he tried to advise
Mr. Mugabe about progressive land reform when he was chairman of Mr.
Mugabe's Land Reform Commission. He said his advice was ignored.

Rukuni added that securing property rights so that the majority of the
people were the custodians of the environment was what he called
"deceptively simple." Property rights should be secured by the constitution.

Minister of State Gordon Moyo represented Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai
at the conference and said the inclusive government knows that Zimbabwe's
current lack of agricultural production affected the whole economy including
the communal areas, and that he knew the inclusive government was moving
slowly to resolve the land conflict.

"The pace is slow, I know people are frustrated," he said. "The people
themselves out there in the rural areas are also frustrated by the slow,
snail pace, of us attending to issues of productivity in the farms, both in
the ex-commercial farms, commercial farms, in the communal land."

Moyo, from the MDC, noted the current unity government is transitional, and
consequently it is more complicated to get things done. Apparently alluding
to officials in Mr. Mugabe's ZANU-PF party, he said hazards and obstacles
are often put in the way of progress. But he said, he and his party are
determined to make it work.

"We shall not be frustrated out of the inclusive government," said Moyo. "We
are really determined to be part of it, to change it, to make it right, to
make things work so that we can attend to poverty in the communal areas,
re-capitalization of our industries, recovery of our economy, recovery of
our agricultural sector and to make sure our country is back on its feet
again."

Moyo said that Zimbabwe's agricultural production, its environment and
natural areas are central to his country's recovery. But he said Zimbabwe
cannot begin the task of rehabilitation without the assistance and financial
support from western governments.

"The new philosophy, the new world view of the inclusive government is to
engage the world," said Moyo. "We can talk about good ideas, but if you
don't get resources, if you don't get support, it will be just good ideas
that will be shelved somewhere and they will develop cobwebs without being
implemented."

Following the formation of the inclusive government 100 days ago, harassment
of the few remaining white farmers escalated dramatically. Few will grow
wheat this winter and by year's end it is likely that millions of
Zimbabweans will again need food aid. Communal farmers, who grow most of the
staple food maize, say they are unable to farm nowadays as they do not get
seeds and other inputs they need.

MDC Meeting To Chart Way Forward

http://www.radiovop.com

Harare - The supreme decision making body of the Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) party led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai will
this weekend meet in Masvingo to decide on the party's further participation
in the all inclusive government.

The meeting comes amid reports that the three leaders of the three
parties, Zanu PF and the two MDC formations,  making up the unity government
have failed to agree on the fate of Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor
Gedion Gono. Gono was appointed by Mugabe late last year in contravention of
the Global Political Agreement signed by the three parties last September.

However a source told Radio VOP that President Robert Mugabe,
Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara were expected to
announce a final resolution to the outstanding issues either on Friday or
Saturday.

"The party has given time to the principals to resolve the matter this
week and the national council will take a position guided by the nature of
the progress on these crucial issues," said the MDC T in a statement.

"The MDC national council will meet in Masvingo on Sunday, 17 May
2009, to deliberate and review the party's role in the inclusive government
and the challenges the same government continues to face since its formation
in February," it said.

The MDC national council is also expected to discuss other sticking
points of the unity government such as the stripping of powers of Nelson
Chamisa's Information Technology ministry by President Robert Mugabe.

The MDC Secretary General Tendai Biti issued an ultimatum last week
giving the unity government a time-frame by which it expected it to have
resolved all the outsanding issues. However Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai
dismissed the ultimatum, saying although there were disagreements there was
no going back on the unity deal.

Among some of the more prominent issues still being negotiated were
the abitrary appointment of permanent secretaries by President Mugabe,

appointment of ambassadors, provincial governors, the swearing in of
Deputy Agriculture designate- Roy Bennet and Attorney General Johannes

Tomana.

The MDC will also celebrate a milestone since its formation this
Sunday at the same venue.

"All roads lead to Masvingo this weekend where the MDC will hold its
10th Anniversary provincial celebratory rally at Mucheke Stadium,"party
spokesperson Nelson Chamisa said.

Tsvangirai will address a rally at Mucheke stadium.

MDC powerless to deal with ZANU PF hardliners

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Tichaona Sibanda
14 May 2009

The MDC is fully aware that some of the top civil servants and cabinet
ministers from ZANU PF are working against the inclusive government, but are
powerless to deal with them.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai on Wednesday said that hard-liners left
over from the old regime were endangering the country's future. The MDC
leader blamed what he termed 'residual elements from the old government' for
violating the rule of law and the agreement that created the inclusive
government.
The service chiefs have lived up to their public vow, made just before last
year's harmonized elections that they were not going to salute Tsvangirai.
One of the other chief culprits working against the unity government is the
attorney-general, Johannes Tomana.
The powerful service chiefs, who include Defence Forces Commander General
Constantine Chiwenga, Army Commander Lieutenant General Phillip Sibanda,
Prisons Commissioner Paradzai Zimondi, Police Commissioner General Augustine
Chihuri, and Air Marshall Perence Shiri, are seen as a major stumbling block
towards full implementation of the terms set by the unity agreement.
Solomon Chikohwero, the militant chairman of the MDC Veterans Activists
Association, told us on Thursday that in many discussions between the MDC
leadership the names of Mariyawanda Nzuwa, Misheck Sibanda, George Charamba
and Gideon Gono always crop up, as being part of the group leading the
resistance. This group is also heavily protected by Robert Mugabe.

Nzuwa is the chairman of the Public Service Commission and reports directly
to Mugabe. Sibanda is Mugabe's chief secretary, while Charamba is his
spokesman. Gono is the governor of the central bank and his former personal
banker. All have direct access to Mugabe at short notice.

'Tsvangirai cannot come out in the open and disclose their names because he
is constrained from doing because of his job as Prime Minister. Things are
still delicate, so he will not want to rock the boat so soon after the
formation of the inclusive government,' Chikohwero said.

'But as MDC activists we will do so on his behalf and say these are the
people who are giving him nightmares in the government. All those people get
their power from the service chiefs to act with impunity. They know they
have the backing of the military, because if they were soldiers they would
also not be saluting Tsvangirai,' Chikohwero said.

'They are die hard Mugabe loyalists who are more powerful than ministers and
their deputies, except a few like (Emmerson) Mnangagwa and (Patrick)
Chinamasa. Nzuwa is an institution in the civil service because of his power
to recommend the hiring and firing of all civil servants, from permanent
secretaries coming down,' he added.

A source in Harare told us this is the same group that drew up the list of
permanent secretaries, appointed by Mugabe in February. The group is
reportedly resisting the sharing of ambassadors, claiming that their
appointments were not political but were done on a professional basis
through the Public Service Commission.
Prime Minister Tsvangirai, and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara,
however rejected the unilateral appointment of ministerial Permanent
Secretaries by Mugabe. The two said the appointments were 'in contravention
of both the Global Political Agreement and the Constitution of Zimbabwe,
which is very clear with regard to senior government appointments.'
Under the GPA only the leadership of the President, his two deputies and the
Prime Minister with his two deputies, will consult and agree on such
appointments. Tsvangirai said Mugabe's announcement therefore had no force
in law as they were done by Sibanda. A new list of permanent secretaries,
comprising names from the MDC, is expected to be announced soon.
The principals are expected to issue a statement in Harare on Friday on the
progress of their talks to conclude remaining issues surrounding the GPA.
Although Zimbabweans remain hopeful that finally the principals have reached
agreement on these issues, real concern remains that Mugabe has no intention
of letting go of the reins of power. It is unlikely that tomorrows
announcement will finally put to rest all contentious issues.

Police in Manicaland ban Sikhala's rallies

http://www.swradioafrica.com

14 May 2009

POLICE BANS SIKHALA'S RALLIES

Police in Manicaland have banned hot-shot Job Sikhala's rallies with
immediate effect, saying that they have been instructed to ban all
gatherings which are not sanctioned by the inclusive government. Officer
Commanding Makoni District in Rusape Chief Superintendent Majongwe told
Sikhala that his rallies are no-longer sanctioned cancelling Sikhala's
Mutungagore rally scheduled for tomorrow the 15th of May 2009.

The reason given were that, they were instructed not to sanction Sikhala's
rallies anymore. Chief Superintendent Majongwe said that players in the
government were disturbed by Sikhala's activities because he is brewing
chaos in the country. She said the only activities to be sanctioned were
those of the inclusive government.

Sikhala's advance organising team are being trailed wherever they are in
Manicaland by a green Toyota Hilux single-cab belonging to the Central
Intelligence organisation (CIO) in Rusape. Inquiries about the advance team's
vehicle is being asked everywhere by the green hilux truck.

Sikhala has vowed to challenge the ban of his rallies in the courts of law.
He is defiant of the ban and will continue with the meeting. Sikhala said
that this clearly demonstrate that Zimbabwe is still under the grip of a
dictatorship. Those proceeding to be actors in the so called inclusive
government are Mugabe's window dressers and Trojan horses. They have joined
the grave train and have forgotten overnight that we were equally suffering
together. The time for a full revolution is drawing and people should be
prepared to die for our freedom. "I will fight this, will fight this", he vowed

Free visa results in influx of Zimbabweans to SA

http://www.sabcnews.com

May 14 2009 , 6:05:00

The Department of Home Affairs has confirmed that between 6 000 and 7
000 Zimbabweans are entering the country through the Beitbridge border post
in Limpopo every day.

The influx comes after the department removed visa restrictions on
Zimbabweans following an agreement with the government of Zimbabwe. Under
the agreement, Zimbabweans are allowed to be in South Africa for 90 days
without a visa.

Zimbabweans have welcomed the lifting of visa restrictions saying the
move makes entry into South Africa more accessible. Earlier this month, the
Department of Home Affairs withdrew the visa requirement for Zimbabweans for
a period of a year. Zimbabweans say previously, they could not afford the R2
000 required for a visa.

The South African government had previously set conditions for the
special 90 day visitor permit. Zimbabweans had to meet several requirements
which included entering the country via an official port of entry, having
travel documents, financial sustainability for the 90 days and returning to
Zimbabwe when the 90 days expire.

Between two and three million Zimbabweans are estimated to have fled
that country's hunger and political instability for South Africa. Many of
those who entered South Africa did so illegally.

'SA Govt erred by allowing Zimbabweans to enter SA without a visa'

http://www.sabcnews.com

May
14 2009 , 3:16:00

Political analyst Prince Mashele, has criticised government's decision
to allow Zimbabweans to enter South Africa without visas. Mashele says the
move will worsen the socio-economic challenges that unemployed South
Africans are facing in an effort to provide for their families.

The influx comes after the department removed visa restrictions on
Zimbabweans following an agreement with the government of Zimbabwe. Under
the agreement, Zimbabweans are allowed to be in South Africa for 90 days
without a visa. Thousands of Zimbabweans are now flocking to South Africa
through the Beit Bridge border post.

Mashele says: "If you assist the government of Zimbabwe by opening
your borders, by the time you close the flood gates, you will have a large
number of Zimbabweans who may not be prepared to go back to their country.
You will be sitting with a huge socio-economic situation, which might
complicate your capacity to cope with the demand ,especially considering the
fact that already South Africa's economy is under serious pressure."

Mashele says government should rather pump money into Zimbabwe to
enable it to revive its economy. Some towns in Limpopo have already started
experiencing high volumes of people from Zimbabwe who are seen begging for
food and money and seeking temporary work.

ZINASU: UZ fees revision a nullity

http://www.swradioafrica.com

ZINASU Media Release 14 May 2009

University of Zimbabwe fees revision a nullity

The Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) outrightly dismisses the
purportedly revised fees regime at the University of Zimbabwe as a nullity.
The University of Zimbabwe through the Acting Director of Information and
Public Relations, Mrs Magosvongwe released a statement with the new fee
structure.
Resident students in the science faculty will pay US$1 074 per semester,
while those in the humanities faculty will pay US$804. Fees for non-resident
students studying sciences have been pegged at US$674 while those in the
humanities will pay US$404.

We reiterate our position that the fees are too high and out of reach to the
majority of students whose parents are civil servants and earning a meager
allowance of US$100 a month. It should also be on record that the USD1074
they are demanding from science students is only US$126 less the Presidents
and Prime Minister's annual package. Where do the authorities expect the
students to get this money from?

ZINASU is also disappointed by this government's failure to priority the
welfare of students. The Ministry of Higher Education's Key result areas and
targets as outlined in the 100 day plan which was launched yesterday by
Prime Minster Tsvangirai and Vice President Mujuru mentioned nothing with
regards to students' welfare.

We strongly remind the three Principals namely ZANU PF geriatric leader
Robert Mugabe, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, Deputy Prime Minister
Arthur Mutambara of MDC, University Vice Chancellors and college Principals
that tertiary institutions are not private enterprises. Tertiary
institutions are public institutions and therefore they should be funded by
the government NOT students.

We further dismiss the narrow and parochial claims by the ailing Minister of
Higher and Tertiary Education Dr Mudenge that the greatest challenge facing
the UZ is the shortage of water, typical of ivory tower analysis- ZANU PF
way of thinking.The university is faced by multi faceted problems ranging
from inadequate and out dated study and research material, outdated
curriculum, dilapidated infrastructure, ranging from toilets, libraries,
halls of residence, laboratories not forgetting the most contentious issue
of tuition fees.
Further, we remind the government of the day that education is not a
commodity. Education is not for sale. No to privatization of Education. We
will continue with our peaceful protests until sanity retains in our
institutions.

STATEMENT RELEASED BY Blessing Vava
Zimbabwe National Students Union

Private sector set for massive boost as billion dollar credit lines secured

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Alex Bell
14 May 2009

The country's private sector, which will play a critical role in rebuilding
Zimbabwe, is set for a massive boost, with more than US$1 billion in credit
lines being secured.

The cash strapped Finance Ministry has been fighting to secure cash
investment in the country, to meet the estimated US$10 billion needed to put
Zimbabwe on the right track to recovery in the next few years. But
international donor governments, waiting to see real change on the ground in
Zimbabwe, have understandably held back on direct cash investment. The
ongoing violations of the Global Political Agreement that formed the unity
government between the MDC and ZANU PF have done little to restore faith in
the country. Leading rights groups have even warned against direct
investment that could further prop up the murderous regime of Robert Mugabe.

Even fellow African nations, who pledged to support Zimbabwe's economic
recovery, have only offered credit line facilities instead of cash for the
unity government. Economic Planning Minister Elton Mangoma, who is also
chairing the economic cluster of the 100-day action plan launched by the
government this week, announced Wednesday that over US$1 billion in credit
lines have been secured. The pledges have come from African financial
institutions such as the African Development Bank, the African Export-Import
Bank, while neighbouring South Africa and Botswana together have chipped in
with US$150 million in credit lines.

Economist John Robertson explained on Thursday that the boost for the
private sector is necessary, as their potential exports will bring Zimbabwe
back to a competitive economic level. When asked about potential debt fears,
Robertson explained that the investment in the private sector was different
to direct spending by the government; direct spending that has left the
government in enormous debt. He said private sector production is a critical
step on the country's road to recovery, but warned that the credit line
pledges will not mean overnight success for the industries.

Robertson explained that many private industries, such as agriculture and
dairy, are still being directly affected by the ongoing political tensions
in the government. He said the restoration of productive farming in
particular would be held back, no matter what credit lines were available,
because of the ongoing land invasions in the name of land reform.

Meanwhile, a delegation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), will
visit Zimbabwe next week, two weeks after announcing it was resuming
technical assistance for targeted areas in the crisis-ravaged country. The
Washington based IMF said in a statement it would help Zimbabwe with tax
policy and administration, payments systems, banking supervision and central
banking governance. Technical assistance from the Fund was suspended as a
remedial measure because of the country's multi million-dollar debt, and the
move to lift the ban is being lauded as a key step toward ending Zimbabwe's
isolation from the international community. The IMF decision is also being
hailed as a positive step towards encouraging investment in the country.

Cotton Growers With-hold Crop

http://www.radiovop.com


CHIVI - Cotton growers have have defied the call by Government to sell
their produce at USd 0,25 per kilogram, saying the price is too low.

"We are not doing community service. The price is too low. How can I
sell at that ...amount when I put so much labour into the crop," said
Murwisi Muringi, a cotton grower from Chivi. "It is better to keep my
product or sell it to individual buyers..." he added.
Cottco, a government company that markets the crop, confirmed farmers
were with-holding their crop as they were unhappy with the current price.
"We have recorded little deliveries so far as compared to last year
during the same period. The farmers are complaining with the selling prices,
and many of them are speculating," said an official at the Chivi Depot. "But
we are saying while waiting for a review of the price, farmers can bring
their produce and claim their cash anytime they want at the current rates,
even if it means that they want to wait up until next year."
A consortium of farmers in the southern region, South East Cotton
Growers Association (SECGA), represented by Zanu PF Senator Dzikamai
Mavhaire said: "Growers have rejected the 25cents per kg price. If they sell
at such a price, then nobody would venture into cotton farming next year.
The government should lobby other stakeholders and buyers to see to it that
the price is upped to motivational levels."
"These are prices that prohibit cotton growing at a time when we need
to boost our economy, which is agro-based. We had wanted to encourage
farmers to grow the crop at a local level as their farming regions are
suitable for that."
The former Masvingo senator said he would forward the farmers'
concerns to SECGA national patron, Vice president Joice Mujuru.

Zim lawyers demand more action

http://www.swradioafrica.com

PRESS STATEMENT
13 MAY 2009

HIGH COURT DECISION ON BAIL COMMENDED, MORE ACTION DEMANDED

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) welcomes the eventual granting of
bail to the three political detainees, Kisimusi Dhlamini, Gandi Mudzingwa
and Andrison Manyere, by High Court judge, Justice November Mtshiya, on 13
May 2009.

The judgment is articulate, well-reasoned and provides us with hope that
there remain individuals on the bench in Zimbabwe today who consider cases
professionally on their facts, merits and legal argument and provide
decisions which, not only are in accordance with just law, but also
seriously take into account the fundamental rights and freedoms of accused
persons.

ZLHR however maintains that these three political detainees, together with
the other 12 who face similar charges, should not be before the courts at
all.

It remains our considered position that charges against them were
manufactured and bolstered by false evidence which was extracted as a result
of the international crimes of enforced disappearance, as well as torture
and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment. It is a
principle of our own domestic law, as well as best regional and
international practice, that evidence so extracted cannot and should not be
admitted in a court of law, and thus the charges are and remain
unsustainable.

All and any attempts by any person or authority - in relation to these
cases - to call for compliance with the Rule of Law, respect for the
judicial process and restraint from interfering with the independence of the
judiciary are entirely misplaced and function as a smokescreen to avoid
confronting this reality, as well as the serious human rights violations to
which these political detainees have been, and continue to be, subjected, at
the same time as none of the perpetrators of the violations have been called
to account for their actions.

ZLHR therefore continues to call for the immediate and unconditional release
of all 15 political detainees currently before the courts, as well as the 7
abductees whose whereabouts, safety and security remain unknown to date.

.

Zimbabwean girls seek opportunity in South Africa

From Associated Press, 13 May

By Donna Bryson

Musina - It's easy to miss the two girls. They are so small they seem to
disappear amid the dozen Zimbabwean boys crowded around them along the
trash-choked drain. Sofia Chimhangwa, a 14-year-old in a denim skirt, lies
on the concrete under a filthy blanket. Her 15-year-old friend sits next to
her, braiding a legless Barbie's hair. Sofia says she survives because the
other girl's 19-year-old boyfriend helps feed them both when the coins they
beg don't stretch far enough. "We shouldn't be here on our own. I know
that," Sofia said. Her big sister helped her get to the border from
Zimbabwe's capital Harare. After eight months in this border town, Sofia is
not ready to go home because she cannot yet take money back to her widowed
father. She is among an increasing number of young Zimbabweans setting out
on their own to escape their homeland's economic ruin, bringing both a
child's naive sense of invincibility and a grown-up desire to help their
families.

International aid group Save the Children says some 500 Zimbabwean
youngsters are in Musina today, compared to about 50 five years ago. But
those committed to helping these children are increasingly anguished over
one question: Where are the girls? Aid workers say they don't see enough
Sofias - teenage girls - to account for the number that men, women and boys
say they accompanied across the border. Some disappear as maids or "wives"
into homes around this dusty mining town split by railroad tracks. On one
side of the tracks are the crowded "locations" where Blacks were forced to
live under apartheid; on the other are the neighborhoods of broad roads and
large houses still predominantly inhabited by whites. Other girls hang back
in the shadows at Musina's truck stops at night along with older
prostitutes. There are fears that traffickers are recruiting girls into the
sex trade in Johannesburg, some 500 kilometers south, and other South
African cities.

As the representative in Musina of Lawyers for Human Rights, Sabelo Sibanda
tries to ensure Zimbabweans aren't illegally detained or deported before
they can apply for refugee status. But he's grown wary of pushing too hard
for the release of young girls from a government deportation center here, at
least until he can be sure into whose hands they will fall. He said he found
a home with Zimbabwean relatives living in South Africa for two girls he met
at the center who had crossed the border to look for jobs as waitresses in
Cape Town. One was 13, Sibanda said, adding "the other said she was about
20, but I don't believe that." He was less successful with another pair, 18-
and 16-year-olds who said they were raped on both sides of the border
crossing into South Africa. Sibanda found them a place at a shelter for
abused women. He said the older girl later told him that while on a walk in
town, they were approached by men offering them food and clothes. The girls
returned to the shelter after an older woman warned them not to listen.

"A few days later, the younger one went to town and just never came back,"
Sibanda said. "The level of vulnerability for girls and young women is very,
very high," he said. "There's so many of them, and they're so desperate.
They'll just jump at anything." In the year or so he has headed the Musina
office of the International Organization for Migration, Mohamed Hassan has
helped scores of Zimbabwean boys return home. But he said only a few girls
came to him for help. Hassan got a sense of how many more girls there were
when the South African government opened an office at a fair ground to
process Zimbabweans seeking asylum. A makeshift refugee camp grew up on a
sandy lot across the street, and unaccompanied girls were suddenly visible,
making up perhaps 25 percent of all the teens on their own. "They would come
for documentation, and that would be the last time anyone would see them,"
he said. Conditions in the refugee camp turned so bad - there were reports
of rape and offers to pay for sex - that the South African government shut
the place down. "It was just some sort of fishing ground for those with ill
intentions," Hassan said.

An International Organization for Migration study last year found
established routes used by human traffickers in South Africa, bringing girls
and young women from the countryside into the cities to work as prostitutes
or maids. But the victims rarely come forward. Some may not even think of
themselves as victims because they were aware the jobs being offered were in
the sex trade. Others may be too ashamed, or too thankful just to have work,
to speak out. Forster Kwangwari, a Zimbabwean preacher who ran a shelter for
street children in his homeland before opening one here last year, says the
refugee girls in Musina are vulnerable. "People can easily take them, to be
domestic workers, to be wives," Kwangwari said. "Men adopt them before we
see them. They see them before we see them." The ragged young Zimbabweans on
Musina's streets know Kwangwari well, judging by the cries of "Pastor!
Pastor!" following him along the main street. He offers steady meals, a
chance to go to school and to play, but he's persuaded only 20 boys to come
to his shelter, a shed-like building furnished with foam mattresses.

Kwangwari said children living on the streets quickly come to value their
independence above everything. He's set aside rooms for girls but does not
get enough donations to afford the separate staff he would need to look
after them. Two other shelters in town cater largely to boys, as few girls
come forward. A girl who gave her name as Tracy said she had thought she was
doing fine on her own. Then, one evening, the 16-year-old was mugged, raped
and shot through the neck. After leaving the hospital - two scars still pink
on either side of her neck - she made her way to a shelter and was looking
for help to go home. Tracy had left her widowed father in the Masvingo
region of Zimbabwe more than a year ago and found a job almost immediately.
"I was just walking around, and someone said: 'Come work for me,'" she said.
She was paid 400 rand a month to clean a house, and spent 150 rand of her
earnings each month to rent a room in a poor neighborhood in the shadow of
two iron-gray hills created by mine tailings.

She wasn't able to save much. So she's looking for more work before she
heads home. "I want to buy groceries to take to my father," she said. Musina
is "not a good place," Tracy said. "There are no jobs. There's no place to
stay. A lot of robbery. Girls are forcing themselves into prostitution to
get money. And others are forcing themselves into temporary marriage, to
stay with boyfriends for security." However, she said she would not
discourage any young Zimbabwean girl from coming here, adding she would
likely return herself one day - a measure of the desperation in her
homeland. With an economic free-fall, collapsed hospital infrastructure and
deadly cholera epidemic, aid agencies are feeding most of the population in
Zimbabwe. For many Zimbabweans, the only road to survival remains the one
leading to South Africa. First, men left in search of work. As times got
worse, women, too, had to leave. And finally children.

In some cases, Zimbabwean parents who have established a foothold send for
their children, paying transporters known as "amalaitsha" to bring them to
South Africa. Children have been abandoned, some with no idea where their
parents are, by amalaitsha fleeing police or border guards. Other children
have told aid workers of hopping a train to the border and then simply
walking across on their own. Sibekiwe Moyo came to Musina from the
Beitbridge area just across the border, blending in with a van load of
neighbors heading to a football match. Her grandmother had sent her to find
work. Sibekiwe, a bright, shy 14-year-old, once wanted to be a teacher. Now
she says that's no longer possible "because I am no longer in school." She
last attended classes in 2006. Money ran out for fees, then the education
system collapsed. Sibekiwe's father is dead and she and her grandmother lost
track of her mother and 19-year-old brother when they crossed into South
Africa several years ago.

Once in South Africa, Sibekiwe wandered into a housing compound for workers
on a farm overlooking the Limpopo River about 40 kilometers from Musina. She
was offered work baby-sitting, seven days a week for 200 rand a month, plus
food and a place to sleep in one of the compounds mud-walled, tin-roofed
shacks. Her wages are probably a fifth of the earnings of the farm worker
who pays her to watch the baby while she tends melons. The 8-month-old whom
Sibekiwe had secured to her back with a pale yellow towel could be her
little brother. Sibekiwe speaks Venda, as do the South Africans in this
area. She points out a few other Zimbabwean girls looking after other
babies. One, 14-year-old Thembi Ndlovu, has been here three months and plans
to work until December, then return to Zimbabwe for the new school year.
"I'll go back to school after I've earned some money here," she said.
Sibekiwe, who had been in South Africa only three days, had more modest
goals. She hoped to one day save enough to send money to her grandmother.
"I'm not big," she said. "But I can work and help."

Zimbabwe's Constitution Making Process - A Woza Perspective

Residents reject budget ‘revision’; vow not to pay!

14 May 2009

The membership of the Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) and the residents of Harare have rejected the recently approved and “revised” 2009 City of Harare budget. CHRA conducted its May 2009 General Council meeting last Saturday; where this position was clarified and reaffirmed. The budget has been rejected on the following basis;

·   Despite the so called revisions, the tariffs remain exorbitant

·   After the so called revisions, the budget continues to prioritize salaries and administration over tangible service delivery issues like the acquisition/repair of water treatment plants, sewer reticulation infrastructure etc. 60, 07 % of the revenue goes to salaries and admin, while 9,58 % is what is earmarked to repairs and maintenance.

Members attending the General Council meeting and other residents who called at CHRA offices expressed their frustration over the failure by the council to improve service delivery despite collection of revenue in foreign currency. They vowed not to pay until they begin to see a meaningful improvement in service delivery. Residents are complaining about the failure by the council to collect refuse and provide clean water. The Combined Harare Residents Association has also received similar reports from sister Residents Associations; of residents rejecting approved budgets in other Local Authorities.

CHRA attributes the non participatory nature of the budget formulation process and general deterioration of service delivery to the following;

·   Lack of capacity on the part of the councilors to conduct participatory budget formulation process.

·    Manipulation and general interference with council business by the Minister of Local Government

·   Rampant corruption at Town house; which continuously prejudice the council of revenue

On another related matter, CHRA membership registered their utter disappointment with the City Public Relations Officer Leslie Gwindi’s failure to show up for a ZBC television debate over the budget last Friday the 8^th of May 2009. CHRA hopes the councilors will reign in on such behavior which is tantamount to refusal to account to the public and the rate payers. Meanwhile, CHRA vows not to pay council rates and rents until the above highlighted issues are resolved. CHRA remains steadfast in its lobby for democratic, transparent local governance and the provision of quality and affordable municipal services on a non partisan basis.  

Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA)

145 Robert Mugabe Way

Exploration House, Third Floor

Harare

Landline: 00263- 4- 705114

Banned singer to attend the Global Forum on Freedom of Expression in Norway

Zimbabwe protest musician Viomak has been invited to participate at the
Global Forum on Freedom of Expression (GFFE) lasting from 1 June through to
6 June 2009 in Oslo. The protest musician cum political activist who is the
only woman protest singer in Zimbabwe and well known for her courage to
confront the Zimbabwean political situation with hard hitting musical lyrics
is a great  advocate for freedom of expression and opinion. This is said to
be the only Forum event of its kind, and it will gather activists from
different regions and sectors, from different professions and cultures,
working with different problems and in different political contexts, but
joined by a common interest in the freedom of expression.

Viomak who courageously uses her music to expose human rights abuses and
promote freedom of expression will definitely find her involvement in this
Forum a very relevant and conducive platform for her to share with others
her unbearable experiences as a censored and banned artist who uses her
music to resist Mugabe's oppressive regime. As one writer said, when human
rights are violated, and people are denied the right to live in a free and
just society, music will always be a peaceful form of resistance.

According to the invitation letter signed by the Chief Administrator for The
Global Forum on Freedom of Expression, Viomak's participation is considered
to be of great importance.

"Mrs Vio Mak's participation in the Forum is considered to be of great
importance and the Forum has decided to sponsor her costs. The forum will
cover all expenses including return flight to Oslo, accommodation and per
diem while in Oslo for Mrs Vio Mak, who will participate in the plenary
sessions of the Global Forum from June 3 to June 5."

Representing a country like Zimbabwe at such a major conference will be a
great platform for Viomak to discuss with a large audience how in Zimbabwe,
the Government passed draconian laws such as POSA and AIPPA to silence
critics. POSA (Public Security Order Act) became law on 22 January 2002.
Even with GNU in place POSA is still being used to ban any form of protest.
It imposes severe restrictions on civil liberties and criminalizes
activities associated with the freedoms of expression, assembly, association
and action. It doesn't allow activists to speak out against the president.
It also requires that police be notified in advance of any public gathering
of more than two  people, and prohibits those which police believe could
cause public disorder.

The Global Forum on Freedom of Expression is a partnership initiative
organized jointly by the Freedom of Expression Foundation, Oslo, Norwegian
PEN and International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX). The Forum's
main supporters are the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the
Freedom of Expression Foundation. Norwegian PEN is the Forum's principal
host.

IFEX is an international network of over 80 member organizations defending
and promoting freedom of expression and opinion worldwide. IFEX develops the
capacity of free expression organizations and is active in more than 55
countries. By raising awareness of the dangers faced by individuals and by
exposing violations, IFEX helps build the foundations of vigorous
democracies. Norwegian PEN is the Norwegian division of International PEN,
the world's largest writers- and freedom of expression-organization, and the
Global Forum's host. The main purpose of Norwegian PEN is to fight for the
right to freedom of expression for writers, journalists, translators,
playwrights and publishers. The Freedom of Expression Foundation, Oslo
(Institusjon Fritt ord) is the Forum's co-host. The institution's main
purpose is to protect and promote freedom of expression by encouraging
debate and the courageous use of free speech. The Freedom of Expression
Foundation helps fund projects related to Media and Democracy, e.g. the
Index on Censorship and Article 19 and the Democratic Voice of Burma. The
Foundation organizes regular seminars and conferences devoted to freedom of
expression and related issues.

Viomak said her participation at the Forum is well timed and very relevant
to her work and her country. The singer who has so far produced five protest
music albums all of which are banned in Zimbabwe is thrilled that her
participation at the forum will continue to expose the severe lack of
freedom of expression in Zimbabwe specifically to political activists and
protests musicians like her who are only left with the option of selling
their music from their inside pockets with no state radio airplay to talk
about.

In Zimbabwe the Broadcasting law, Broadcasting Services Act (BSA) is being
used to maintain a state monopoly of the airwaves .Through this Act, the
State  is preferring  a charge of 'distributing, displaying or selling any
recording that is undesirable' under the draconian piece of law called  The
Censorship and Entertainment Control  Act. Music is censored basing on
reasons stipulated by the censorship board with the aid of the Censorship
and Entertainment Control Act of 1967, revised in 1996 and what the public
broadcaster deems unfit for public consumption. Under AIPPA (Access to
Information and Protection of Privacy Act), journalists and media houses are
punished if they write what the Act describes as "falsehoods", on the basis
that they violate freedom of expression.

Such laws silence Viomak's voice as a political and musical activist since
it bars her from criticizing Mugabe and his government. Her music speaks
against these unjust laws too since what she sings is in conflict with what
Mugabe wants to hear.

Available information to date says, the forum consists of organizational
meetings, open conference sessions, keynote lectures, training workshops and
festival events. According to the GFFE's website, the forum is a one time
gathering that will last one week and the programme begins with two days of
organizational meetings for international network organizations and the
opening of exhibitions and continues with the plenary global forum sessions
on the remaining days. The global IFEX network, the International PEN
Writers in Prison Committee, the International Human Rights House Network
and the International Peace Journalism Research Network will all be in Oslo
for their annual meetings during Monday 1 June and Tuesday 2 June, with a
focus on free expression. This will be followed by three days of conference,
training and networking sessions, and concluding with a day of public
engagement in Oslo's city center. The week long conference will see leading
organizations, activists, journalists, academics and thinkers discuss and
network for free expression across different sectors and fields.

Wednesday 3 June to Friday 5 June will bring these groups together with a
host of grass roots activists, media professionals, donors and academics for
open conference, training and networking sessions. Training workshops will
run continuously throughout conference days and will deliver applied skills
training to small groups in various languages. Networking sessions will be
organized throughout the Forum, to facilitate essential alliance building
and coordination for actors across geographic and professional borders.
Throughout the week, free expression issues will be highlighted through
cultural exhibitions and performances, a film festival and various
engagements.

Conference sessions will aim to join free expression's theory and practice
in an exploration of assumptions surrounding this fundamental right, and a
critical engagement with the most pressing challenges posed by today's
global realities. Keynote lectures by leading thinkers in the field will be
delivered at the end of each day, in order to facilitate participation by
the Norwegian public. Throughout the week, the Forum will also highlight the
convergence of free and artistic expression through a series of exhibitions
and performances. Theatre, concerts, photography and literature will bring
art and politics together in a public space of free expression from Oslo's
waterfront, to the city centre to the Castle Park.

The training workshops which will include topics such as Campaign Strategy
Building, Web Activism and Getting Past Censors will be an eye opener for
Viomak who has democratized cyberspace by continuing to perpetuate the
relationship between art and activism, using the internet to propel
socio-political movements and speak to the global community about the
struggle for freedom of expression on her website. Her artwork explores the
transformation of a country painted by years of human rights abuses into a
global community that now proclaims that the way governments treat their
people is a matter of international concern, and sets the goal of human
rights for all people. Viomak who also set up an internet radio station VOTO
(Voices Of The Oppressed) to promote protest singers whilst hiding away from
Mugabe's censorship reiterated that the training workshops are very relevant
to her situation.

"Zimbabwe is in a revolution and my music has always been a great part of
this revolution .Ever since I offered my voice in support of respect for
human rights and freedom of expression my music continues to speak on behalf
of the oppressed masses and such a major conference will help promote my
work and also allow me the opportunity to learn more about the politics of
freedom of expression and opinion," she said.

Throughout the Forum's week of exploration, training and coordination, the
Global Forum also seeks to celebrate free expression through a collection of
exhibitions and performances. Concerts, visual art, film, literary events,
theatre and multimedia story telling are all being planned for this week of
free expression in Oslo .People are going to have the unique opportunity to
connect with the thinkers and activists who are shaping the way censorship
is understood and challenged across the globe.

More information specifies that the GFFE has added a number of exciting and
inspiring people to their list of panelists and speakers to explore free
expression from different perspectives. Through more than 25 different
panels as well as numerous workshops, themes such as free expression in
times of financial crisis, religion and free expression, challenges of
technology to free expression and minorities' right to expression, the
Global Forum will address both prevailing and current issues to the right to
free expression.
The Forum will close with festivities and ceremonies on the Oslo Waterfront
in cooperation with the Nobel Peace Centre's 4th Anniversary. Oslo Music
Festival will cooperate with the Global Forum, to address the role of music
and musicians for free expression. Oslo Music Festival is a public festival
that sets up 30 stages throughout Oslo city centre, with a succession of
free concerts, atracting up to 60,000 spectators on the first Saturday of
June each year.

Comments from Correspondents

Re: Conviction of MDC Legislators Threatens Party's Parliament Majority -
https://www.zimbabwesituation.com/old/may14_2009.html#Z4

 This clause appears in the Global Political Agreement:

"21.1 The Parties hereby agree that for a period of 12 months from
the date of signing of this agreement, should any electoral vacancy
arise in respect of a local authority or parliamentary seat, for
whatever reason, only the party holding that seat prior to the
vacancy occurring shall be entitled to nominate and field a candidate
to fill the seat subject to that party complying with the rules
governing its internal democracy."

------

Independents can stand. /so Zanu PF can stand as an independent, and that
clause
of the GPA ends in four  months!