http://www.iol.co.za/
May 17 2012 at 04:56pm
By
SAPA
Chinese diamond firm Anjin failed to remit revenue from its
operations in
Zimbabwe's controversial Marange fields in the first quarter
of this year,
Finance Minister Tendai Biti said on Thursday.
“We have
not received a single cent from Anjin, yet Anjin is seven times
bigger than
some of the other (diamond) companies,” Biti told reporters
giving his
monthly fiscal statement.
Anjin is in a joint venture with the Zimbabwe
government, as are three other
firms.
Biti said there were suspicions
the funds were funnelled elsewhere, outside
the government central
coffers.
“Clearly, we fear as the ministry of finance that there might be
a parallel
government somewhere in respect of where these revenues are
going, and are
not coming to us.
“There is opaqueness and
unaccountability surrounding our diamonds.”
Anjin along with Diamond
Mining Corporation, Mbada and Marange Resources are
mining the gemstones in
Zimbabwe's eastern Marange area, where activists
have reported gross rights
abuses.
Zimbabwe government owns a 50 percent stake in all the four
companies.
Biti said Anjin's failure to pay in proceeds from its diamond
sales could
impact negatively on Zimbabwe's $4-billion budget for 2012 where
at least
$600 million was projected to come from diamond sales.
Total
revenue collections for the first quarter of 2012 stood at $287.9
million
against a target of $320.2 million, with the shortfall blamed on
“underperformance of diamond revenue.”
“Diamond revenues have been
underperfoming since January to 2012, with only
$30.4 million remittances
received for the period January to March 21,
2012,” he said. The target was
$122.5 million.
Biti said he has complained to leaders in the
power-sharing government over
the diamond revenue shortfall.
He said
Zimbabwe's economy, which went into a tailspin amid a political
crisis
before the creation of unity government three years ago, continued to
recover with gains in the mining, manufacturing and energy
sectors.
Inflation will remain in single digits but might be higher than
anticipated
if revenue shortfalls continue, said Biti. - Sapa-AFP
http://www.voanews.com
17 May
2012
Studio 7 Reporters | Washington
Zimbabwe Finance Minister
Tendai Biti said Thursday the country was failing
to meet its budget revenue
targets owing to lack of transparency in the
marketing of Marange diamonds –
a key component of the 2012 national budget.
Presenting his state of the
economy address in Harare, Biti said lack of
funds may force the government
to suspend some of its capital projects and
fail to pay civil
servants.
He said the drying up of diamond revenues, subdued crop
harvests, a rise in
fuel prices and rentals will have an adverse effect on
this year’s Gross
Domestic Product projections.
Biti, who projected
economic growth of 9.4 percent this year, said “… it’s
foreseeable that
major projections will be revised downwards”.
Revenues in the first three
moths of this year were $771 million compared to
a target of $870
million.
The finance minister said he suspected there was a parallel
government
clandestinely overseeing the marketing of Marange diamonds as
treasury is
not receiving revenues from diamond mining companies operating
in the
Chiadzwa area.
Biti accused one of the biggest mining
companies operating in the Manicaland
region, Anjin Investments, of not
submitting any returns to treasury this
year.
Reacting to Biti’s
address, Masimba Kuchera of the Zimbabwe Coalition on
Debt and Development
said lack of accountability and transparency in the
mining of diamonds in
Marange will impact negatively on critical capital
projects.
Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency
(Zimstat), announced this
week that the rise in the prices of alcoholic
beverages, tobacco, utilities
and rentals drove year-on-year inflation from
3.98 percent in March to 4.03
percent in April.
Zimstat said the
month-on-month food and non-alcoholic beverages inflation
fell from 0.80
percent in the same period to 0.14 percent while non-food
inflation for the
month of April fell to 0.21 from 0.26 percent in March.
Economist Prosper
Chitambara of the Labor and Economic Development Research
Institute of
Zimbabwe said Zimstat figures did not take into account a lot
of
inflationary pressures.
http://www.radiovop.com/
Harare, May 17, 2012 - A special
session of the Zanu (PF) politburo has
tasked its national commissar,
Webster Shamu, to probe allegations of
vote-buying and imposition of
candidates in several provinces where the
outcome of District Coordinating
Committees (DCC) have been disputed.
President Robert Mugabe re-election
bid is said to be in tatters due to
factionalism in Zanu (PF) resulting in
the revolutionary party on Wednesday
convening an extraordinary politburo in
attempts to deal with divisions
within the party.
Party insiders told
VOP that the special session of the politburo was a
no-holds-barred affair
as members sought to deal with the fissures in Zanu
(PF) seen threatening
President Mugabe’s re-election in polls he wants held
this year, with or
without a new constitution.
"Shamu has been tasked to go back to the
provinces to assess the discord
around the recent district coordinating
committees’ elections. He has been
asked to nullify results where they were
irregularities province by
province," said a politburo member after the
meeting.
The same member added that the stalled constitution-making
process was
discussed at length and it was resolved that the Parliamentary
Constitution
Select Committee (COPAC) be pushed hard to produce an
acceptable draft
within 10 days.
Another politburo source said it was
reiterated at the meeting that
President Mugabe was the sole candidate for
Zanu (PF) in the polls the
politburo stated should be held this year without
fail.
Zanu (PF) spokesman Rugare Gumbo confirmed Shamu's
task.
Gumbo said Mugabe was very unhappy with the divisions of the
party.
“The national commissariat team has been asked to visit all areas
were
disputes arose. Where there are irregularities they will organise
re-runs,”
said Gumbo. “We have decided to give him (Shamu) another chance.
He has
another mandate to nullify results or have re-runs,” he
added.
“Fireworks, it is a creation of the media. It was an open and
frank meeting.
One of the best so far this year,” said Gumbo.
On the
constitution-making process, Gumbo said the politburo demanded that
COPAC
complete the constitution by the end of May.
A report presented at the
last politburo meeting revealed that the party was
ravaged by a myriad of
problems, top among them factionalism, an indication
that problems
bedevilling Zanu (PF) were deep than what was initially
thought.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com/
17/05/2012 00:00:00
by Gilbert
Nyambabvu
THE Zanu PF politburo met for seven hours Wednesday in a
“no holds barred”
meeting aimed at tackling deepening divisions ahead of
crucial elections the
party insists must be held this year.
Speaking
at the end of the meeting, party spokesman Rugare Gumbo said:
“People are
not happy. The President is also not happy with what is
happening, but we
(Zanu-PF) have survived a lot of crises.
“We have had a number of crises,
but we always resolve them. We are happy we
have been open and frank to each
other. This is the best Politburo meeting
we have had for some
time.”
And in apparent refference to speculation President Robert
Mugabe's would be
successors were teeing up for the top job and worsening
divisions, Gumbo
said the party had reaffirmed its current leadership
structure, headed by
the veteran leader and his two deputies, Joice Mujuru
and John Nkomo.
“There is no split. There is one President, two
Vice-Presidents, National
Chairman (Simon Khaya Moyo) and a Secretary for
Administration (Didymus
Mutasa). If you are organising somewhere, then you
are a destabilising
force. The party recognises the structure that is
there,” Gumbo said.
Factionalism appears to have worsened in the party as
the succession
front-runners position themselves to take-over power amid
speculation over
Mugabe’s health and, at 88, his ability to see through
another punishing
election showdown MDC-T leader and Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai.
A privately-owned weekly last week quoted Defence Minister,
Emmerson
Mnangagwa – who is said to lead one of the main Zanu PF factions
against
another backing Mujuru – as saying he was “ready to
rule”.
But Gumbo insisted that should the need to choose another leader
arise the
party would respect its hierarchy according to which Mnangagwa
does not have
a prayer since he is behind Mujuru, Nkomo, Moyo and
Mutasa.
He also said Wednesdays meeting agreed that Mugabe remained the
party’s
candidate for the new elections.
“We re-affirmed that
elections will be held this year and our candidate will
be President Mugabe
… the politburo also wants the issue (of the
constitution) completely
resolved by the end of this month (so that
elections can go ahead),” he
said.
Meanwhile, the politburo also ordered its national commissar,
Webster Shamu
to deal with problems in party structures across the country
where a
restructuring exercise has degenerated into chaos with allegations
of vote
buying and the imposition of candidates.
“We had an extensive
discussion and there were a lot of areas of concern. We
talked about the
imposition of candidates and elections not having been run
in a democratic
manner,” Gumbo said.
“People spoke their mind. Where there have been
errors, we need to look into
that. There are areas where there is need to
re- look and ensure that things
are done properly.
“We will give the
political commissar another chance to go into areas where
there is concern
and, if he needs to nullify the results, he will nullify
and we will have
re-runs.”
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com
By Staff Reporter 16/05/2012
21:41:00
HARARE - The embattled President Mugabe's party Zanu
PF's Extraordinary
Politburo Meeting has assigned the national political
commissariat team to
go and conduct re-runs in all areas with disputed DCC
elections.
Speaking to journalists soon after the Zanu-PF’s supreme
decision making
body meeting, Zanu PF Secretary for Information and
Publicity, Rugare Gumbo
said it was a no-holds barred discussion which
lasted for over seven hours.
Gumbo said the presidium is not happy with
what has been going on during the
DCC elections held in some
areas.
"We had a comprehensive report from the National Political
Commissar on the
restructuring exercise, in particular on the DCC elections.
There was an
extensive discussion on that and obviously there were areas of
concern, and
as a result we gave the Political Commissar another opportunity
to go back
and address those areas of concern; where there is need for
re-runs, those
should be conducted," said Gumbo.
He said the party is
behind the candidature of President of the party,
Robert Mugabe for the
upcoming elections expected this year.
"We discussed a number of issues,
for instance, we re-affirmed that
elections are going to be held this year
and our candidate is our President.
Gumbo said anybody else in the
so-called factions is not following the party’s
constitution and dictates,
and is rather referred to as a destabiliser.
Where irregularities are
revealed, Webster Shamu has been asked nullify the
results and conduct fresh
polls.
There have been reports of imposition of candidates during the
Zanu-PF DCC
elections, especially in Manicaland and Masvingo
provinces.
“We had a report from the Zanu-PF national political
commissar, Shamu, on
what transpired in the restructuring exercise, in
particular the DCC. We had
an extensive discussion and there were a lot of
areas of concern.
“We talked about the imposition of candidates and
elections not having been
run in a democratic manner.
“People spoke
their mind. Where there have been errors, we need to look into
that.
There are areas where there is need to re-look and ensure that
things are
done properly,” said Zanu-PF spokesperson Gumbo.
He added:
“We will give the political commissar another chance to go into
areas where
there is concern and, if he needs to nullify the results, he
will nullify
and we will have re-runs.”
Gumbo said yesterday’s Politburo meeting was
“very open and frank”.
He said nothing was left untouched during
discussions, including debate on
succession, but did not give details on the
subject.
He said no one, including the President, was happy with what
transpired
during DCC elections in some provinces.
“People are not
happy. The President is also not happy with what is
happening, but we
(Zanu-PF) have survived a lot of crises.
“We have had a number of crises,
but we always resolve them. We are happy we
have been open and frank to each
other. This is the best Politburo meeting
we have had for some time,” he
said.
The Politburo reiterated that national elections would be held this
year
without fail.
“We re-affirmed that elections will be held this
year and our candidate will
be President Mugabe,” Gumbo said.
He said
Copac had been given up to the end of this month to complete the
constitution-making process to pave way for a referendum and
elections.
“Politburo wants the issue (constitution) completely resolved
by the end of
this month,” Gumbo said.
He dismissed reports of
fissures in Zanu-PF as mere speculation.
“There is no split. There is one
President, two Vice-Presidents, National
Chairman and a Secretary for
Administration.
“If you are organising somewhere, then you are a
destabilising force. The
party recognises the structure that is there,”
Gumbo said.
The Politburo also discussed the food situation, preparations for
the winter
wheat and the state of industries.
The meeting started
after midday and ended late last night.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com/
17/05/2012 00:00:00
by Lebo
Nkatazo
THE coalition government cannot remain in office beyond March
2013, but at
least seven key political reforms must be implemented before
elections for a
new administration can be held, deputy premier Arthur
Mutambara has said.
Speaking during a Parliamentary Question and Answer
session Wednesday,
Mutambara said the coalition government cannot legally
remain in office
beyond March next year.
“In March 2013 this
Parliament expires; in March 2013 Mugabe’s presidency
expires. Consequently,
this current Cabinet expires in March 2013,” he said.
“So, if you ask me
about the ultimate deadline, the ultimate deadline is
March 2013. However,
in-between the timing of our elections is a function of
processes.
“If you are to ask my own view, I would say we need to
spend time carrying
out these reforms and not bickering, so that come
election time, we are able
to say the people have spoken.
“All of us
can then embrace and endorse the outcome of those elections.
However, all
this must be done with an understanding that success or
failure, we cannot
possibly go beyond March 2013. March 2013 is the end of
the
road.”
Mutambara insisted though that several key political reforms need
to be
completed to ensure the election outcome is not disputed and the
country
ends up with another negotiated settlement as happened after the
inconclusive 2008 ballot.
“The discourse in the country should be
about the processes and those
processes must be done well. Musakanganwe
chezuro ngehope. The reason why we
are in an Inclusive Government is because
our elections were problematic,
they were inconclusive,” Mutambara
said.
“For us to do that we must go through these reforms very carefully;
the
Constitution, media reforms, political reforms, electoral reforms,
national
healing, and security sector alignment, economic
reforms.
“This means seven types of reforms. These reforms require time
and that
time will determine when our elections will take
place.”
Mutambara’s time frame is in line with a recent suggestion by
Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangira that a viable election was only feasible at
the beginning
of next year.
The MDC formations are pushing for the
implementation of reforms they claim
were agreed as part of their coalition
deal with President Robert Mugabe and
his Zanu PF party.
But they
face stiff opposition from Mugabe who insists new elections must be
held
this year and has threatened to name date for the ballot even before
ongoing
constitutional reforms are completed.
Following a meeting of its
politburo Wednesday, Zanu PF again declared:
“Elections will be held this
year and our candidate will be President
Mugabe … the politburo also wants
the issue (of the constitution) completely
resolved by the end of this month
(so that elections can go ahead).”
http://www.radiovop.com
Harare, May 17, 2012 - South
African President Jacob Zuma, the Southern
African Development Community
(SADC) appointed mediator in the Zimbabwe
crisis, insists on the adoption of
an elections roadmap before Harare calls
for fresh
polls.
President Robert Mugabe and Zanu (PF) have been on an
over-drive demanding
that fresh polls, to bring closure to the coalition
government, be staged
this year with or without a new
constitution.
But information emerging from Zuma's office in Pretoria
indicates the South
African leader is sticking to his guns that apart from
an agreed elections
roadmap between Zanu (PF) and the two formations of the
Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC), Zimbabwe should go to the next polls
under a new
constitution crafted by the three political parties signatory to
the Global
Political Agreement (GPA).
Zuma international affairs
advisor, Lindiwe Zulu, said in an telephone
interview, Zuma and SADC, the
guarantor of the GPA together with the African
Union, were insisting that
the election roadmap be followed despite the
noise from Zanu (PF)
quarters.
“The facilitator has said that there is a roadmap that was
signed off by the
principals and this should be followed. Conditions for
free and fair
elections must be met first before any election,” Zulu told
Radio VOP.
“We cannot be the ones to determine when Zimbabwe goes for
elections but
there is a roadmap. SADC has taken a position that a conducive
environment
must be attained first for elections to take place,” said
Zulu.
The elections roadmap defines milestones and signposts that must be
executed
and implemented before the next election.
These milestones
and signposts include the lifting of sanctions, the
constitutional process,
media reform, electoral reform, rule of law, freedom
of association and
assembly, legislative agenda and the actual election.
Asked about Zuma
failure to visit Zimbabwe to deal with the political
impasse in the
coalition government, Zulu blamed delays on undertaking a
tour of duty to
Harare to “a busy schedule.”
She denied speculation that Zuma’s mediation
was in limbo.
“There is no way it is in limbo. Mediation efforts are
continuing. The
facilitation team will come to Zimbabwe soon. We have all
been travelling.
We will come after their visit to the EU,” said Zulu
referring to the recent
European Union visit by a team from Zimbabwe
appointed to lobby for the
lifting of sanctions.
“Secondly, mediation
cannot be in limbo because the principals are talking.
What the facilitator
is expecting is that the principals must be working on
a day to day basis.
We are in constant touch with the principals,” added
Zulu.
http://www.iol.co.za
May 17 2012 at 03:59pm
By Reuters
Zimbabwe may
cut its economic growth projections for this year, while
inflation forecasts
could be higher than previously expected, Finance
Minister Tendai Biti said
on Thursday.
Since 2009, the southern African country has been recovering
from a decade
of decline, but the economy remains fragile with coalition
government
partners President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai
bickering over policy.
Last year Biti projected the
economy was expected to grow by 9.4 percent in
2012, driven by strong
performances in mining and agriculture.
“The first quarter of the year
has been an extremely difficult period. We
have not been able to meet our
revenue targets. The key cause is
non-performance of diamonds,” Biti told
reporters during a quarterly
economic update.
“It's
foreseeable...that major projections will be revised downwards.”
The
government generated $30.5 million from diamond sales from Marange
fields in
the first quarter of this year, far below the target of $123
million.
Biti decried what he called “opaqueness” in the sale of
Marange diamonds,
which have in the past grabbed global attention over
charges of human rights
violations by the army. Harare denies the
charges.
Revenues in the first three months of this year were $771
million compared
to a target of $870 million.
Biti said economic
growth could also be affected by falling global demand
for minerals, which
accounted for nearly three quarters of Zimbabwe export
revenue.
The
maize output for this year was 968,000 tonnes, Biti said, far below last
year's 1.35 million tonnes.
“The resultant general decline in maize
production will have an adverse
impact on the overall agriculture output and
this year's GDP projection,”
Biti said.
A rise in the price of pump
fuel and rentals and planned food imports would
continue to stoke
inflationary pressure.
Zimbabwe headline consumer inflation rate
quickened to 4.03 percent in
April. The government has put a target of below
five percent by the end of
this year.
Biti said, however, gold output
reached 3.1 tonnes during the January-March
period and that the country was
on course to produce 15 tonnes this year. -
Reuters
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
17/05/2012 00:00:00
by Lebo Nkatazo
ZIMBABWE may
have given away a US$30 billion asset for just over US$700
million when it
sold Ziscosteel, Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara has
told
parliament.
The Ziscosteel deal – signed amid much fanfare with President
Robert Mugabe,
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Industry Minister
Welshman Ncube in
attendance – was one of many “bad deals” which must to be
restructured,
Mutambara said.
Essar Africa acquired a majority
interest in the steel manufacturer - now
renamed NewZim Steel - for about
US$750 million late last year but
production is yet to begin with the deal
appearing stalled over the transfer
of ore reserves owned by the
Redcliff-based company’s mining subsidiary,
Bimco.
Ncube blamed his
Mines counterpart, Obert Mpofu, for the problems after
Essar warned it would
stop paying workers’ salaries until the mineral
transfers were completed.
But Mpofu said the problems had nothing to do with
him.
In stunning
revelations in Parliament on Wednesday, Mutambara said the
government
realised that it had sold a key asset on the cheap and was now
scrambling to
salvage the situation.
Asked by MPs how a deal which was commissioned by
President Robert Mugabe
with much pomp and circumstance had suddenly hit the
skids, Mutambara said:
“The answer is very simple: guilty as charged! We
were blind, deaf and
dumb – that is the confession from Cabinet. We did not
know better or we
were just clumsy ... total dereliction of duty.”
He
said there was no discussion of the quantity of iron ore involved when
the
deal was agreed, adding that the government was now trying to
restructure
the deal.
“It was as if the value is zero and yet back in India, Essar
listed their
acquired asset in Zimbabwe as valued at over US$20 billion… In
terms of
Essar, the story is that the iron ore involved is to the tune of
US$30
billion of asset and the investment from Essar is a maximum of US$700
million.
“How do you give an asset worth US$30 billion in exchange for
US$700
million?”
But Mutambara says the government must move ahead
and sign all necessary
documents to allow production to resume.
“We
cannot make Essar the victim of our ignorance or incompetence. Neither
should we fail to protect our people and the national interest,” he
said.
“What we are trying to do is to find a way to salvage the jobs and
the
investment but learn our lessons so that in future we do not commit the
same
blunders. So yes, I think we must take responsibility that we did not
do a
good job.”
Mutambara said the Essar deal was just but one of
many “bad deals” concluded
by the government which were ultimately
prejudicial to the country.
“It is not the first time we have done this. We
have done this with
Zimplats, Mimosa, Anglo and in Chiadzwa,” he
said.
“[So] this story is not [only] about Essar. It is about Zimplats,
Chiadzwa,
Mimosa, Unki and Anglo because in all these arrangements, when we
negotiated, we never spoke about the value of the mineral
involved.
“We have to change our ways and become smarter. We must always
insist on the
value of the un-mined asset. So ‘guilty as charged’ is the
response.”
He called for the establishment of a Mineral Exploration
Company to
establish the quantity and value of all minerals, insisting the
government
cannot afford to run the country without knowledge or
understanding of its
geology and mineralisation.
http://www.voanews.com/
17 May
2012
Obert Pepukai & Tatenda Gumbo |
Washington/Masvingo
Officials in Masvingo Province, south-eastern
Zimbabwe, have confirmed a
fresh cholera outbreak in the sugar-producing
town of Chiredzi, which has
killed two people since Monday.
About a
100 cases have been recorded, and authorities are blaming the
recurrence on
serious water shortages.
The outbreak is particularly bad news for the
town, which lost more than a
dozen lives to the epidemic last year. Health
officials have since deployed
teams to administer treatment and assess the
situation.
Most people in Chiredzi rely on boreholes for drinking water,
but many
others use canal water meant to irrigate sugar cane plantations.
Such water
is highly susceptible to contamination.
Head of
Epidemilogy and Disease Control in the Health Ministry, Dr. Portia
Manangazira told VOA people should seek medical care immediately if they
suspect they have been infected.
"We urge people to prevent early if
they are not feeling well, and go to the
clinic so they can get help," said
Manangazira. "With cholera, people die
within a few hours of feeling the
signs and symptoms due to dehydration."
The water borne disease is
characterized by vomiting, dizziness and diarrhea
which cause severe fluid
loss, leading to dehydration. It can cause death in
24 hours if not
treated.
Health officials said the fight to contain the disease is being
hampered by
serious food shortages in the area.
Chiredzi Central
lawmaker Moses Mare said the situation was tense as the
population fears for
the worst.
He said the lack of properly working water purification pumps
has heavily
affect people in the area, as two pumps aren't functional and
the remaining
pump has been stagnant.
"We are going to have a number
of meetings advising the community to boil
water before drinking because we
are having a serious problem in town with
the purification plant," said
Mare.
Zimbabwe experienced a severe cholera outbreak in 2008 that left at
least
4,293 dead by 2010. A deepening political and economic meltdown made
it
difficult for authorities to respond effectively.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tichaona
Sibanda
17 May 2012
All 29 MDC-T members accused of killing police
inspector Petros Mutedza last
year will plead not guilty to charges of
murder, their lawyer said on
Thursday.
Defence lawyer Charles
Kwaramba said indications from the High Court are
that the trial for the
‘Glen View 29’ will probably start early next month.
Police in Harare accuse
the group of fatally assaulting Mutedza at Glen View
3 Shopping Centre on
May 28 last year.
Kwaramba told SW Radio Africa that all his clients will
deny any involvement
in the murder with the MDC-T insisting all its members
have a strong alibi.
Since the murder and arrests police have been
tight-lipped about the
progress of the investigation.
A source told
us an examination of the police’s handling of the case shows a
series of
missteps, including sloppy work, and interference by politicians
from ZANU
PF that impeded the investigation and may make it harder to secure
a
conviction.
With doubts shadowing the quality and scope of the police and
prosecution
work, what happened on the afternoon 28 May 2011 may come to
rest on the
testimony of unreliable eyewitnesses.
The MDC members are
still in remand prison since February when they were
indicted for trial.
Others have been in remand prison for nearly a year
since their arrest in
May last year. The group in custody includes Solomon
Madzore, the chairman
of the Youth Assembly and Last Maengahama, a national
executive member of
the party.
High Court Judge, Justice Chinembiri Bhunu last month
postponed indefinitely
the bail ruling of the group after the state
submitted its opposition to
bail claiming the accused are a flight
risk.
The MDC released a statement on Wednesday raising serious concerns
about the
living conditions of the group. Rebecca Masvikeni and Yvonne
Musarurwa are
staying in solitary confinement in the male section at
Chikurubi Maximum
Prison.
‘It is also worrying that the 29 are being
denied bail while seven police
officers who were involved in the murder of
Luxmore Chivambo in Shamva
earlier this year have already been granted bail
by the same courts upon
first reading.
‘Nearly 12 months after the
Glen View incident, no evidence linking the 29
activists to the murder has
been presented in court,’ the MDC-T said.
Promise Mkwananzi the Youth
Assembly secretary-general told us they’re
demanding the immediate release
of their members saying they condemn the
state and the judiciary’s
manoeuvres in continuing to imprison, persecute
and harass innocent and
peace-loving Zimbabweans.
‘The law says a person must be assumed to be
innocent until proven
otherwise. They are in custody for a crime they did
not commit and there are
witnesses who can provide testimony exonerating our
members.
‘The reason why this case has taken long to go for trial is
because the
police are struggling to build a case against them,’ Mkwananzi
said.
http://www.voanews.com
17 May
2012
Violet Gonda
| Washington
Zimbabwean women organizations and activists are
demanding an apology from
lawmaker Morgan Femai of the MDC formation of
Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai for saying women should make themselves
less attractive to help
reduce the spread of the deadly HIV/Aids
virus.
Activists took to social networking sites, Twitter and Facebook,
attacking
the Chikomo Senator for the comments that were published in the
state-controlled Herald newspaper.
Attending a lawmaker's conference
in Kadoma on how to curb the spread of
HIV, Femai is reported to have said
women should make themselves uglier and
have fewer baths to make them less
attractive to men, adding this way, they
can help cut new
infections.
Women's groups have branded his statements
irresponsible.
But Femai has come out in the open, telling VOA’s Violet
Gonda his
statements were taken out of context.
“It’s not exactly
what I said but as you know these reporters, some of them,
align with other
political parties and cook up stories.”
“How can a man at this age say
that? I have got my mother who is a clean,
modern lady and my wife also is a
modern lady - and I always give my wife
money to go for
hair-dressing.
“I cannot walk with a woman who doesn’t bath! I don’t know
where he
(reporter) got it from. How can I say women must not bath? I like
women, I
like them all, and I have been working with women’s organizations
since
2000, why now should I say women should not bath?” Femai
asked.
Some of his colleagues present at the workshop, however, said that
the
lawmaker did make the comments but in jest.
Femai is now
threatening to sue the newspaper which also quoted him saying
‘women should
always have bald heads, lose weight and dress shabbily as HIV
is spreading
at an alarming rate because men are finding it difficult to
resist
attractive and well-dressed women’.
Women’s rights groups and HIV/Aids
activists are demanding an apology from
the senator for being ‘reckless and
irresponsible’.
But he says he will not apologize for something he did
not say.
“People should wait and see whether I am wrong or right because
I can’t
apologize for something which is still being investigated as I have
told you
I have handed the case to my lawyers to deal with it. So people
will know
the truth in the near future.”
Meanwhile, Tabitha Khumalo,
MDC Tsvangirai formation deputy spokesperson and
legislator for Bulawayo
East, has also come under fire from gender activists
for saying all men
cheat.
She said women should keep their husbands’ mistresses close to
avoid
transferring sexually-transmitted diseases.
The outspoken
legislator was reacting to recent comments by Vice President
Joice Mujuru
that most marriages fail because wives sometimes fail to submit
themselves
and end up confronting other women they think will be seeing
their
husbands.
Monika Mandiki, a health and women's issues consultant, said
Khumalo’s
statements are “extremely irresponsible and reverse the gains that
women
have made towards empowerment and gender equality.”
A defiant
Khumalo says she stands by her comments.
“It’s very sad that is what they
are saying because the problem I have
realized with the people of Zimbabwe
is that the real issues that are
affecting the people of Zimbabwe they don’t
want to debate about them," she
said.
“It is an open secret that this
is happening. Men are having extra marital
affairs. Surely why would I want
women to die of HIV/Aids and perpetuate the
issues of small
houses?"
The outspoken legislator said women need to come up with new
strategies to
deal with the issue of philandering husbands.
“The man
is the perpetrator of this but we have failed to convince him to
protect
himself in order to protect his family,” Khumalo added.
http://www.voanews.com
16 May
2012
Blessing Zulu | Washington
The Zimbabwe National Army
has reversed its decision not to recruit more
soldiers as it intensifies its
operations to prop President Robert Mugabe
and his Zanu PF party ahead of
possible general elections.
Citing budgetary constraints, Defense
Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa last year
announced the army was going to
downsize from 55,000 to 40,000.
He said Zimbabwe did not “harbor any
aggressive intentions and would not
interfere in the internal affairs of
other countries” raising the need for
army to be streamlined.
But
this week in an interview on the sidelines of a training exercise in
Mutoko,
Mashonaland East province on Tuesday, Major General Martin Chedondo
said the
army will lower its standards to accommodate youths from all
villages into
the army in its latest recruitment drive.
Army sources say recruitment
started in January through out the country.
This comes amid reports that
most soldiers were going on forced leave
because of inadequate food supplies
in the barracks.
The security forces, coordinated by the Joint Operations
Command, which
brings together army, police and intelligence chiefs, are
sympathetic to
Zanu PF and are plotting ways to shore up Mr. Mugabe's
campaign.
Morale is said to be very low in the army forcing many to quit.
Unprofessionalism and low salaries are said to be the major contributors to
the massive resignations.
About 50 top army and police officers -
ranking from colonel to
major-general - were reportedly in Mutare two weeks
ago for a meeting on
elections with the Zanu PF's provincial coordinating
committee at Mount St
Mary’ Teachers College in Manicaland
province.
Political analyst Pedzisayi Ruhanya, a PhD candidate at
Westminster
University in London, told VOA that Chedondo's utterances show
the army is
building a militia and not a professional army.
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com/
By Staff Reporter 16/05/2012
22:22:00
LONDON, United Kingdom - A Zimbabwean businessman with
links to Robert
Mugabe's Zanu-(PF) has failed in a US$300 million lawsuit
against a British
bank which reported his request to transfer nearly US$28
million to his
other account in France to authorities.
Jayesh Shah
sued HSBC in 2006 after the bank reported his requested transfer
as
“suspicious” to the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), which had the
effect of temporarily freezing his account.
Shah and his wife argued
at the Court of Appeal in London that as a
consequence of HSBC’s decision,
they had been stigmatised in Zimbabwe and
suspected of criminal
activity.
Shah claimed his assets in Zimbabwe had been seized and frozen by
authorities.
The case was closely watched by other banks who were
concerned that they
could be exposed to legal action by customers for simply
complying with
their obligations under the Proceeds of Crime
Act.
Jayesh Shah and his wife Shaleetha Mahabeer sued HSBC in 2007 for
more than
$300 million, claiming that delays in executing four transfers
from their
account for over $38 million caused the losses. They said they
were
stigmatized in Zimbabwe and suspected of money launderingbecause of
HSBC,
causing authorities there to freeze and seize their assets.
The
Zimbabwean police were alerted by a former employee of the couple who
didn’t
receive a payment, the court said today. The ex-employee told police
that
Shah was suspected of money laundering in the U.K., leading them to
seize
his investments.
The banking sector files thousands of suspicious
activity transactions or
SARs to SOCA each year.
Ruling in favour of
HSBC, Mr Justice Supperstone found that it was not the
bank’s delay in
executing the payment instructions and its failure to
provide information
but the Zimbabwean authorities’ own pre-existing or
independent concerns
that led to the losses by Shah and his wife.
The judge also said in his
ruling that “in my judgment Mr Shah was able to,
but did not, take
reasonable steps to mitigate or avoid his loss”.
Shah, a customer with
HSBC Private Bank for eight years, first transferred
$28 million to his HSBC
account in London from an account at Crédit
Agricole, the French
bank.
When he tried to transfer most of the money back to Crédit Agricole
in 2006,
he was told by HSBC that “it could not effect the transaction
because it was
complying with its UK statutory obligations” as the bank had
made a
Suspicious Activity Report to a regulatory authority.
HSBC
told Shah that it was complying with its statutory obligations but
declined
to provide any further information to them or their solicitors.
Shah, who
has business interest across Southern and Central Africa, had
filed the huge
claim for losses and reputational damage which he said
resulted from HSBC’s
actions.
Daren Allen, partner at Berwin Leighton Paisner, who acted for
HSBC in the
case, said there had been considerable debate about the
obligations owed to
the customer of a bank when it had made a suspicious
activity report to the
SOCA.
He said the court decision would “be
welcomed by firms who feared they may
be liable for damages for simply
complying with their legal obligations
under the Proceeds of Crime Act”.
http://www.voanews.com/
17 May
2012
Blessing Zulu | Washington
The Zimbabwe Republic Police
has been given 72 hours to furnish the family
of a suspected armed robber,
Tendai Batsirai Dzigarwi, with circumstances
surrounding his death after he
was allegedly shot dead while in custody on
March 19.
Police claim
Dzigarwi and his alleged accomplice Emson Ngundu were shot dead
in a foiled
escape attempt.
But the family alleges the two were murdered, prompting
them to refuse to
bury him until a post-mortem report detailing the
circumstances of his death
was provided.
According to High Court
papers, police had told the family they would give
Dzigarwi a pauper’s
burial if they refused to bury him within 21 days.
A state pathologist,
Dr Ageuro-Gonzalez, conducted the first autopsy March
23, but the family
claimed they were not shown the results. They then
approached the High Court
seeking an order for a second post-mortem.
Dzingarwi family lawyer,
Tawanda Zhuwarara of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human
Rights told VOA that
results of the second postmortem conducted by a South
African pathologist
have shown otherwise, prompting the court to give the
police an ultimatum.
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Lance Guma
17 May
2012
A ZANU PF plot to block a visit to Zimbabwe by popular Nigerian
preacher
Temitope Balogun (TB) Joshua gathered steam on Wednesday when a
senior
police officer labelled him a ‘false prophet’ that people needed to
be aware
of.
At the centre of the story is the fact that Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai
reportedly invited TB Joshua to be the guest
speaker at the National Day of
Prayer set for May 25, on Africa Day. Many in
ZANU PF believe Tsvangirai
will benefit politically from the visit and
appear determined to block it at
all costs.
Over a week ago pro-ZANU
PF church leaders were wheeled out by the state
media to make claims that TB
Joshua was not welcome in the country and that
his teachings were allegedly
“judgmental, partisan and unorthodox.” This
week senior police officers most
of whom are pro-ZANU PF joined in the
attacks.
It’s reported “senior
police officers were shown a video that allegedly
exposes TB Joshua as a
womaniser and sorcerer.” The video entitled “TB
Joshua’s evil doings finally
revealed” was screened at the Police General
Headquarters in Harare after
being downloaded from video sharing website You
Tube.
The involvement
of the police coincides with reports this week that an
investigation had
been launched into a Harare church which was run by
fraudsters who claimed
to be affiliated to TB Joshua’s church. Dozens of
people were made to pay
money in return for trips to see the prophet in
Nigeria.
Next to
attack TB Joshua was the excommunicated Anglican Bishop Nolbert
Kunonga. The
man who forcibly grabbed Anglican Church property and used
police and ZANU
PF militia to violently target parishioners not loyal to him
claimed TB
Joshua’s prophecies were driven by Satanism and were
“diabolic.”
Referring to TB Joshua’s prediction of the death of Malawian
president Bingu
wa Mutharika, Kunonga claimed, “TB Joshua uses evil powers
which are satanic
and satanic powers can also work. TB Joshua’s visit does
not scare me
because he is not God. What are people scared of? What is he
coming for?
Does he have power to take life?”
In February this year
TB Joshua set tongues wagging in Zimbabwe after his
prophecy that an African
leader would die within 60 days. Although he did
not specify the location,
Zimbabwe was abuzz with speculation given Mugabe’s
ailing health and
frequent trips to Singapore for treatment.
It eventually came to pass
that the Malawian president died of a heart
attack, not long after the
prophecy. But TB Joshua has since made another
prophecy that another old
African president will fall critically ill and be
hospitalised. These
prophecies are not going down well with ZANU PF given
Mugabe’s health and
surrounding speculation.
Last year, leaked US diplomatic cables quoted
central bank Governor Gideon
Gono telling the American Ambassador that
doctors had told Mugabe he had
prostrate cancer and could die in 2013. It’s
easy to see why ZANU PF is
uncomfortable with a visit from TB Joshua,
especially at Tsvangirai’s
invitation.
http://mg.co.za
17 May 2012 11:57 -
Zanu-PF is rallying against Nigerian
prophet Temitope Balogun Joshua's visit
in fear of his tendency to anoint
new leaders, writes Ray Ndlovu.
A tug-of-war has erupted between Zanu-PF
and the Movement for Democratic
Change over a proposed visit to Zimbabwe by
famed Nigerian prophet Temitope
Balogun Joshua for a “national day of
prayer” on May 25.
President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party has found
ready support in mounting
resistance to Joshua’s visit from the country’s
largest and most influential
religious body, the Evangelical Fellowship of
Zimbabwe.
The fellowship brings together more than 100 churches in
Zimbabwe and said
it was wary of Joshua’s intentions.
Its president,
Goodwill Shana, said: “We think it is important to get into
the country
people who can help the country to move forward and not people
who are
judgmental … We don’t want judgmental teachings and that is why we
don’t
subscribe to his [Joshua’s] teachings.”
The MDC, which is understood to
have invited Joshua, now appears isolated
because Zanu-PF has used the
occasion of his visit to drum up support from
local charismatic
churches.
Political observers say the new alliance between Zanu-PF and
the fellowship
will result in the party emerging stronger. It has been on a
concerted drive
to lobby for allies in the charismatic church beyond the
traditional core of
support it enjoys from the Apostolic and Anglican
churches, the latter of
which is led by renegade bishop Nolbert
Kunonga.
Political hegemony
In September last year the Mail &
Guardian broke the story of a Zanu-PF plan
to lean on priests and use the
pulpit’s pulling power to canvass votes for
Mugabe.
Underlying the
animosity over Joshua’s visit is Zanu-PF’s interest in
preserving its
political hegemony. Zanu-PF hawks view the Nigerian preacher
as being
involved in the business of “anointing” new leaders because he
prophesied
the victory of Ghanaian President John Atta Mills in the country’s
2009
run-off election, the rise to power of Joyce Banda as Malawi’s new
president
after the sudden death of Bingu wa Mutharika last month and former
French
president Nicolas Sarkozy’s defeat to François Hollande.
Fearful that
Joshua may use his visit to “anoint” archrival Morgan
Tsvangirai, who
visited the pastor at his Synagogue Church of All Nations in
Lagos, Nigeria,
in September 2010, Zanu-PF hardliners are refusing to take
any
chances.
Joshua recently told his congregation that he was headed to a
“troubled
Southern African nation”, an announcement that sent the rumour
mill into
overdrive as speculation rose that he was coming to
Zimbabwe.
But Zimbabwe immigration officials this week denied that they
had received a
visa application from Joshua’s office. The visit now looks
increasingly in
doubt because it takes immigration officials at least seven
days to process
a visa application.
Joshua’s visit
It will be a
huge blow to ordinary Zimbabweans who have been looking forward
to the
visit.
The MDC-linked home affairs co-minister, Theresa Makone, said she
did not
yet have any details on the status of Joshua’s visit.
Unable
to afford the trip to Lagos, ordinary Zimbabweans have been following
Joshua
on free-to-air satellite broadcaster Emmanuel TV, on which they have
been
captivated by his prophecies, miracle healings and use of anointed
water.
Laurence Sithole (24), a university student, said: “I welcome
the visit by
the man of God, but am deeply grieved by how he has been
vilified by
politicians and the media.”
Anastasia Moyo (49) said: “I
strongly object to efforts to block his coming
to Zimbabwe because many of
those that oppose him are well able to fly to
Nigeria to consult him or be
part of his congregation. I don’t think it’s a
solution to block him in fear
of his prophecies, because he can still make
prophecies about Zimbabwe while
in Nigeria.”
Several top-ranking Zanu-PF officials, such as Kembo Mohadi
and Oppah
Muchinguri, have attended services at Joshua’s church and
Manicaland
governor Christopher Mushowe was spotted in its congregation on
Sunday.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
By Associated Press, Published: May 17
HARARE, Zimbabwe
— An animal welfare group in Zimbabwe says poachers are now
targeting rare
anteaters because of a growing demand for exotic animal parts
for Asian
traditional medicine.
The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty
to Animals said Thursday
that the outer scales of a young male pangolin, a
rare type of anteater that
is legally protected, were recently removed by
poachers in northwestern
Zimbabwe.
The body of the anteater was
recovered from poachers. The scales appeared to
have already been sold, the
group said.
It was one of three incidents reported this year involving
poaching of the
endangered nocturnal creature seen by many Zimbabweans as a
symbol of power
and mystery.
The scales are thought to have value in
Asian medicine as a traditional
remedy for a host of conditions.
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE CIRCULATION
ZNSPCA MAKES THE YEAR'S
SECOND, SUCCESSFUL PANGOLIN RECOVERY
THE ZIMBABWE NATIONAL SOCIETY FOR
THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS
(ZNSPCA)
156 Enterprise Road,
Harare, Zimbabwe
Tel: +263 4 4497574
znspca.org.zw
15th May
2012
Harare, Zimbabwe
ZNSPCA Makes the Year’s Second, Successful
Pangolin Recovery.
The Zimbabwe National Society is pleased to report the
successful
recovery of a female Cape Pangolin (Manis temmincki) on 11th May
2012
from Mudamusasa in North Eastern Zimbabwe.
Initial reports
indicate that individuals had procured the pangolin
with the intention of
re-selling it. The rescued pangolin was examined
by ZNSPCA veterinarians and
assessed as healthy.
Following instruction from The Zimbabwe Parks &
Wildlife Management
Authority the pangolin was handed over to The Tikki
Hywood Trust. This
pangolin has now been fitted with a tracking device and
released into
a safe, wildlife area.
(see image ZNSPCA1)
Earlier
this year the Society made its first recovery of this species,
being a
juvenile confiscated from a Mozambican National along
Zimbabwe’s
north-eastern border. This young pangolin is currently
under rehabilitation
at the Tikki Hywood Trust in Zimbabwe where it is
recovering
well.
ZNSPCA remains gravely concerned at the increasing number of
specially
protected species, such as pangolins, that are being poached
within
the country. By way of illustration and in an incident dating back
to
March of this year, game scouts in Sebungwe, North Western
Zimbabwe,
recovered from poachers the remains of a Cape Pangolin. The scales
of
the young male had been removed, reflecting the growing demand
for
exotic animal parts particularly by practitioners and proponents
of
Chinese Traditional Medicine.
(see image ZNSPCA 2)
The Cape
Pangolin remains a specially protected species since 1975
under Zimbabwean
Law and is also listed under CITES Appendix II.
|
Only after the last tree has been cut down.
Only after the
last river has been poisoned.
Only after the last fish has been
caught.
Only then will you find that money cannot be eaten.
Cree Indian Prophecy
17th May 2012
CRITICALLY URGENT CRANE
APPEAL
This is a very urgent appeal for help. The ZCTF are in
desperate need of donations to try and raise funds for a Bonfiglioli truck
mounted crane capable of lifting 16 tons. We have located a second hand crane,
which will cost us £20 000 to have fitted to our truck. This is including the
PTO pump, which is needed to operate the crane.
BUSH-BASH (Rocking For
Wildlife!)
We would like to draw your attention to a musical event
called Bush-Bash (Rocking For Wildlife!) on Saturday 26th May 2012. This event
is being held, in aid of the ZCTF, to help towards raising some funds for the
crane. If you are in or around the London or Surrey area and are looking for
something to do, please come along to the event, to support this cause, and help
us raise some funds. You can find out more about Bush-Bash and get tickets
online from:
Johnny Rodrigues
Chairman for Zimbabwe
Conservation Task Force
| Landline: | 263 4 339065 |
| Mobile: | 263 712 603 213 |
| Email: | galorand@mweb.co.zw |
| Website: | www.zctfofficialsite.org |
http://www.voanews.com
16 May
2012
Jonga
Kandemiiri | Washington
The Zimbabwe Election Support Network has
launched a program to empower
electoral administrators in the country ahead
of possible early elections
that President Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF
party want held this year,
though many believe the polls will only be called
next year.
ZESN is working with the Australian Electoral Commission, the
International
Foundation for Electoral Reforms, the International Institute
for Democracy
and Electoral Assistance, UNDP and the United Nations
Electoral Assistance
Division in this capacity-building program.
Last
week ZESN held a five-day training workshop in Bulawayo that drew
participants from over 30 civic society organizations to deal with electoral
issues.
ZESN Director Rindai Chipfunde-Vava told VOA her organization
is trying to
educate the communities to avoid problems that have been
encountered
previously in the country.
Chipfunde-Vava said ZESN wants
to raise awareness within communities about
the electoral process, in
particular encouraging and educating people on why
it is important for them
to vote.
ZESN is a coalition of non-governmental organizations formed to
co-ordinate
activities pertaining to elections in the country. It's main
focus is to
promote democratic processes and free and fair elections.
http://www.mdc.co.zw
Thursday, 17 May
2012
Diamond revenue has been under-performing since January 2012
raising fears
there could be a parallel government in place, a government
official has
said.
Presenting his state of the economy report for
March 2012, Hon Tendai Biti,
the Finance Minister said revenue collection
amounted to US$287.9 million
against a target of US$320.2 million, whose
shortfall emanated from the
under-performance of diamond revenue.
“There
are challenges of opaqueness. As Ministry of Finance, we fear that
there
might be a parallel government in respect of where the revenue is
going and
not coming to Treasury. This economy needs every resource it can
get
including diamond revenue.
Diamond revenue has been under-performing
since January 2012, with only
US$30.4 million received by treasury for the
period January to March 2012.
This is against a target of US$ 122.5
million,” he said.
Hon Biti slammed Anjin for not remitting any revenue
yet it is the biggest
mining company in Marange.
“There are four
major mining companies in Marange. One of these companies,
Anjin, has not
remitted a single cent to Treasury. The Constitution of
Zimbabwe is very
clear: all fees, taxes and other sources of revenue in
Zimbabwe shall be
paid into and form one Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF), so
the constitution
is clearly being breached because not every cent is being
accounted to the
CRF. We bear the brunt because everyone looks at the
Ministry of Finance,
yet people do not look at where the money is coming
from,” he
said.
MDC maintains that, there be transparency in diamond revenue as
this will
turnaround the face of our country’s economy. Every Zimbabwean
should
benefit from the proceeds of the diamonds in jobs, technology,
infrastructure and investment.
Hon Biti said the economy is likely to
suffer a decline in value due to the
failure of Treasury to realise budget
revenue targets, reduced demand for
export commodities which affects the
overall Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ,
the rising imported inflation against
the background of high oil and global
food prices and the general decline in
maize production.
The minister said there was a disaster in the energy
sector with unresolved
challenges at Hwange thermal power station where the
generating units have
outlived their lifespan by 21 years.
“The
plants should have been replaced and new generation plants put in place
in
1990 but nothing was done. There is need to put up two new generators in
Kariba South to increase the generation capacity,” he said.
On
inflation, Hon Biti said for the month of March, there was a downward
reduction of inflation and the month-on-month inflation slowed down with
housing and education continuing to be major inflation drivers.
He,
however, said the wage bill continues to gobble 70% of the total revenue
and
deprives government an opportunity to attend to other obligations like
health, education and recurrent expenditure.
The people’s
struggle for real change – Let’s finish!!!
http://www.mdc.co.zw
Thursday, 17 May 2012
The
labour-based MDC Party continues to fight for a broad based upliftment
of
the people by ensuring that everyone has decent shelter, food, education,
health care facilities and jobs. However, MDC notes with condemnation the
abuse instituted on the people of Zimbabwe by Chinese nationals who own
businesses mainly in retail, construction, mining and
confectionery.
The abuses range from long working hours for Zimbabweans,
paltry wages,
assaulting workers, disrespect of health and safety
regulations,
non-remittal of pension contributions and union dues and
prohibiting workers
from participating in trade union activities.
MDC
demands that such labour law violations be stopped forthwith.
The
government should bring the matter to the attention of the Chinese
government so that it encourages its nationals to abide by the laws of this
country. Should this abuse continue, the MDC calls upon every law abiding
citizen to boycott Chinese products until they learn to treat workers with
the respect and dignity.
Over the last five years, there has been an
influx of Chinese businesses of
all forms in Zimbabwe. Instead of aiding
development and growth of the
economy, the Chinese have brought nothing new
except exploiting the locals
and overshadowing them.
The
understanding of most Zimbabweans was that China is a socialist country
which promotes the well-being of the poor but we see the darkest side of
capitalism being practiced.
As a social democratic Party, the MDC
subscribes to the promotion of a
strong human rights abiding community
seeking to protect Zimbabwe’s socially
marginalised
citizens.
Zimbabweans deserve respect and dignity much as we have shown
hospitality to
the Chinese.
Hon. Paurina Mpariwa
MDC Secretary for
Labour
