MDC-T launches ‘promising’ transformation plan

MDC policy conference seeks renewal

http://www.dailynews.co.zw/

Friday, 17 May 2013 15:07

HARARE - A billboard of a smiling Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai reminds
Milton Park residents his MDC party will hold an important meeting down the
road today to shape the future of Zimbabwe.

But behind the giant poster, people see little to smile about: potholed,
dirty roads and rampant unemployment speak volumes about the party’s
failings since it entered a coalition government in 2009.

The MDC eighth annual policy conference will run from today to May 19, at
Jubilee Christian Centre in Milton Park under the theme “Towards Real
Transformation”.

This is “a critical and defining conference” as it comes shortly before
Zimbabwe holds its watershed election says the MDC.

Tsvangirai won a fresh term as leader of the MDC at the 3rd congress in
Zimbabwe’s second biggest city of Bulawayo, putting him on a path to stand
as presidential candidate for the forthcoming watershed polls.
The conference comes at a time when some traditional MDC high profile
supporters are breaking ranks with the party.

“I think that most of the leaders of the MDC-T no longer look at the
interests of the people,” said Lovemore Madhuku, who heads the National
Constitutional Assembly, which is agitating for people-driven constitutional
reform.

“They are more interested in entrenching their own positions.”

In some ways, the MDC has made great strides, restoring vital services like
water, sanitation, health care and education — which had virtually collapsed
after years of economic meltdown blamed on Mugabe.

The party has admitted that members running local governments are often not
up to the task, sacked some for corruption and set up an integrity committee
to hold them accountable.

MDC spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora says the party will unveil its policy
documents and agenda for action that it has been working on for the past
four years.

The policy conference will officially launch the Jobs Upliftment Investment
Capital Environment (Juice) economic blueprint — an ambitious $100-billion
economic stimulus package that aims to make Zimbabwe’s economy robust once
the MDC takes power by creating one million jobs by 2018, increasing
economic growth rates exponentially, further reducing inflation, delivering
a $100-billion economy by 2040, improving electricity generation and
building a social contract.

“Topics that will be discussed during the conference include job creation,
infrastructure development and social service delivery,” he said. “The
agenda for action has been prepared internally in the party following
various intense deliberations under the leadership of president Tsvangirai.”

The party’s youth and women wings hope the policy conference will restore
the party’s battered image and that the pledges for renewal and action would
lead to concrete change.

Promise Mkwananzi, secretary-general of the MDC youth assembly said youths
expect robust deliberations to fine-tune policies before the elections.

“In particular, we are very confident that the final policy will be youth
friendly,” Mkwananzi told the Daily News.

“We must come up with an answer to Zimbabwe`s economic challenges,
particularly the problems of liquidity, unemployment, re-industrialisation
and capital growth.”

The main hall was decked out in the MDC’s red colours and the party’s flag
and will accommodate thousands of delegates and hundreds of reporters.

The delegates will consist of branch representatives, national council and
executive committee members, the MDC’s youth and women wings, its alliance
partners in civil society, diplomats, foreign political organisations,
deployees and business representatives.

Mwonzora said today’s session would start with an address by Tsvangirai and
inputs would be received party’s policy secretaries who are expected to give
their overview on their respective policies and how they dovetail and
complement each other into the main party policy. - Gift Phiri, Political
Editor

Zim PM confident of unseating Mugabe

http://www.iol.co.za/

May 17 2013 at 08:20pm
By Gillian Gotora

Associated Press

Harare, Zimbabwe - Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said Friday he
is poised to sweep to victory in upcoming presidential elections and return
the nation to the world community after years of isolation.

“We are going to be new brooms” for change, he told about 500 party leaders
and activists at a party conference to finalize a platform. He will be
pitted against long-time ruler President Robert Mugabe, 89, in elections. No
date has been set but it is expected to be held around September.

Tsvangirai described his Movement for Democratic Change party as the main
champion of a new, reformed constitution accepted by 95

per cent of the vote in a March referendum.

“We have a new constitution, we must definitely have a new government” to
open Zimbabwe for business and restore human rights and the rule of law, he
said.

The conference, which went into closed session after Tsvangirai's speech,
ends on Sunday with the release of an election manifesto. Leaks to local
media organizations of its proposals suggest the MDC intends to cut spending
on the military, traditionally dominated by Mugabe's ZANU-PF party
loyalists, and offer retirement to long-standing military and police
commanders. The proposal is fraught with peril since commanders of the
security forces are Mugabe loyalists and some have been disrespectful toward
Tsvangirai.

It also calls for a full overhaul of chaotic voters' lists and electoral
laws the party says have led to vote rigging in the past.

Tsvangirai said a return to stability will create jobs in the battered
economy that faces record unemployment since a meltdown triggered by the
often-violent seizures of thousands of white-owned commercial farms which
began in 2000, collapsing the agriculture-based economy.

Reforms within the police and military are demanded in the coalition
agreement between Tsvangirai and Mugabe forged by regional leaders after
violent and disputed elections in 2008 but Mugabe has dismissed calls for
such reforms. Senior generals have repeatedly vowed their allegiance to
Mugabe and have refused to salute Tsvangirai since he became prime minister
in 2009, arguing he did not take part in the guerrilla war that ended
colonial rule in 1980 and brought Mugabe to power.

The independent legal and constitutional research group Veritas said in a
report Friday that among reforms that have not been tackled as called for by
the coalition agreement are ones on freeing up the media, including the sole
broadcaster controlled by Mugabe, and the repeal of security laws stifling
free expression and freedom of association.

Regional mediators are insisting that more progress be made on these reforms
before elections are held. The chief mediator on Zimbabwe, President Jacob
Zuma of South Africa, is expected to make a state visit to Zimbabwe sometime
in the next few weeks. - Sapa-AP

Monitoring group in Zimbabwe irks Zanu-PF

http://mg.co.za/

17 MAY 2013 00:00 - FARAI SHOKO

The Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee's proposal to oversee
polls has Zanu-PF insisting its role in the government must end.

Zanu-PF is unhappy with the Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee
(Jomic) and wants its wings clipped because of a proposal it has made to
donors, the Mail & Guardian can reveal.

Jomic was established under the unity government and comprises officials
from Zanu-PF and the two formations of the Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC) to monitor the implementation of the unity agreement.

Jomic insiders said that senior Zanu-PF officials, who are involved in
Jomic, came across a proposal to donors that detailed plans by Jomic to be
represented in all 9 400 polling stations by three members at each polling
centre.

In the proposal, Jomic sought funding and suggested that six vehicles be
allocated per province to ensure the elections are monitored effectively.
Sources at Jomic said the committee has been chronicling incidents of
political disturbances, and this has upset Zanu-PF. The party fears Jomic
might expose irregularities related to the poll.

MDC officials who spoke to the M&G said Jomic's capacity to monitor the
whole country and its request for further assistance is also rattling
Zanu-PF.

Wanting to end Jomic's role
Jomic has in its employ provincial liaison officers, 10 provincial
administrators, 10 assistant provincial administrators and six youth
provincial liaison officers, as well as more than 100 4x4 vehicles that
could enable it to monitor the polls.

"Zanu-PF says Jomic's role must come to an end when elections are announced
so it should not give reports after the results," said a Jomic insider who
asked not be identified.

"What is scaring Zanu-PF further is that Jomic is one of the few bodies set
up under the global political agreement that is highly respected by the
Southern African Development Community (SADC)secretariat. Zanu-PF fears
Jomic might expose its shenanigans ahead of elections and during elections."

Qhubani Moyo of the MDC, who sits on Jomic, said he was aware of efforts to
frustrate Jomic's work, but referred questions to party secretary general
Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga, the chair of Jomic. She was unavailable for
comment.

Thabitha Khumalo of the MDC, who also sits on Jomic, said her party was
aware of machinations to collapse the body, but also referred this reporter
to Misihairabwi-Mushonga.

While Zanu-PF representatives in Jomic were not immediately available to
comment on the issue, the party's deputy information director, Psychology
Maziwisa, said: "We believe the claims are nonsensical and coming from the
MDC. But it should be noted that everything that came into life when the
coalition government was formed must naturally die with the coalition
government."

SADC team
He said the MDC is just politicking by claiming Zanu-PF wants to ­collapse
Jomic.

"We [Zanu-PF] believe we have done all that is necessary to hold a free and
fair credible election," Maziwisa said.

The Jomic board is co-chaired by Nicholas Goche (Zanu-PF), Elton Mangoma
(MDC-T) and Misihairabwi-Mushonga of the smaller MDC. Other board members
include Jonathan Moyo, Oppah Muchinguri and Patrick Chinamasa, all from
Zanu-PF. It also includes Thabitha Khumalo, Elias Mudzuri and Innocent
Changonda of the MDC-T, and from the smaller MDC faction it has Frank
Chamunorwa and Paul Themba Nyathi.

On two occasions last month, Zanu-PF refused to allow the SADC mediating
team to sit in on Jomic meetings, arguing that it would be interfering in
national issues.

It has also come to light that Jomic has written to the SADC team, insisting
that the team seconded to the body by the SADC's 2011 Maputo summit be
allowed to sit in on Jomic meetings.

Last week the state-controlled daily, the Herald, accused the body of
changing its mandate from being a monitor of the unity agreement to wanting
to become a national monitor, as well as seeking to illegally extend its
life beyond that of the ­coalition government.

Election date will only be decided after voter registration

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Tichaona Sibanda
17 May 2013

The date for an election will only be decided when the Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission completes its voter registration and inspection exercise, Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has said.

The MDC-T leader said when the new constitution comes into effect, ZEC will
have to roll out a 30 day voter registration exercise followed by another
month of voter inspection.

‘Once these are done, there shall be consultations around the date for
elections,’ said Tsvangirai, adding that certain laws will have to be
aligned with the new constitution when it is enacted.

‘When President Mugabe assents to the new constitution, there shall be
alignment of all the laws that impinge on the elections…laws such as AIPPA
and POSA,’ he said in an interview with South Africa’s News24.

Bill Watch, the Parliamentary watchdog, has highlighted the number of
reforms agreed to by parties to the GPA, that have not been implemented.

There has been no electoral reform, such as the preparation of a new voters
roll or looking at the staff at the electoral commission. Senior ZEC staff
are the same as during the violent and discredited 2008 elections.

Political analyst Willis Manunure said that most of the issues to do with
elections will be dealt with by parliament during the ‘realignment’ of the
new constitution.

He said other contentious issues such as security sector reform will be
dealt with at regional level by a forthcoming extraordinary SADC summit on
Zimbabwe which will look at the election roadmap.

‘If you have listened to the MDC recently, they no longer talk of security
sector reforms. They are calling for the security of the vote, the security
of the voter and the security of the outcome of the vote.

‘Recently Tsvangirai went on record to say Zimbabweans must vote in peace
without intimidation, victimisation, violence or being forced to attend a
political meeting of this or that party,’ said Manunure.

Recently, members of civil society organisations said the first step to a
lasting solution to the political crisis in Zimbabwe will be a credible
fresh election that is supervised by SADC and monitored by the AU and
broader international community.

‘Such an election must be free of violence and acceptable to all. SADC
should ensure that Zimbabwe elections are held in full compliance with SADC
Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections.

‘SADC should deploy observers to Zimbabwe to closely assess the electoral
environment before, during and after the elections. The invitation and
accreditation of all observers should fall exclusively under the management
and control of an independent ZEC and should be done timeously to allow
other administrative processes to take effect,’ the CSO’s said in a
statement.

Poll nightmare: Zec boss seeks prayers

http://www.dailynews.co.zw/

By Fungai Kwaramba, Staff Writer
Friday, 17 May 2013 14:58
HARARE - Zimbabwe’s electoral body is sweating over potential trouble ahead
of the upcoming general election.

Rita Makarau, Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) chairperson, is now asking
church leaders to pray hard as a watershed general election beckons.

After helplessly watching a chaotic mobile voter registration exercise
characterised by chaos, Zec — the body in charge of the country’s electoral
processes — has asked for prayers from the church as the country faces the
spectre of the 2008 election violence.

Speaking during a meeting with church leaders on Wednesday, Makarau said
although Zimbabwe held a peaceful referendum in May, tempers are likely to
flare during the road to the crunch election.

The upcoming election, whose actual timing is still a subject of haggling by
coalition government partners is widely billed as the most important since
the country attained its independence from Britain in 1980.

“We ask you to pray for us as we prepare for elections. We have had a
peaceful referendum and it was because of your prayers. Now as we go to
elections we need you to pray for our leaders and continue preaching peace,”
said Makarau, a respected Supreme Court judge before taking over the Zec
role.

“We are going to be referees and tempers are going to be paper thin. We need
wisdom to monitor this process,” said Makarau.

Past elections in Zimbabwe have been characterised by bloodshed and in 2008
the process was marred by an orgy of violence which the MDC and civil
society groups blamed on Zanu PF and the military.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, then an opposition leader, claimed that
the violence had left 200 of his supporters dead and thousands brutalised
and evicted from their homes.

President Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF party admitted violence rocked the
2008 election, but say both the MDC and Zanu PF were to blame.

Although Mugabe and uneasy coalition partner Tsvangirai have been preaching
peace, there are already some cases of violence and intimidation being
reported.

Civil society groups such as Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition say communities
are still living in fear of a repeat of the 2008 violence and this is
fuelled by the fact that many of the perpetrators are roaming free and even
threatening more violence.

Recent statements by service chiefs such as police commissioner-general
Augustine Chihuri, prisons boss Paradzai Zimondi and army chief Constantine
Chiwenga have, however, rendered Mugabe’s peace message hallow, as they
continue with statements viewed as “coup plots”.

With Mugabe and his supporters already spoiling for elections and some
sections of the media going into overdrive fanning up emotions, the Zec boss
said there is need for the “grace of God” since elections are a very
sensitive process.

Joyce Kazembe, Zec deputy chairperson, said there is need for the country to
move from hoping for a credible election to the fulfilment of that hope.

“We want to move away from the spirit of hope to trust that we would have
free and fair elections. Don’t ask us the date for the polls because we are
as ignorant as you are,” she said.

Mugabe says elections would be held soon after the expiry of the current
Parliament on June 29, but Zec, which should preside over the process, is
for now broke.

“Taking into account financial constraints it would be foolhardy for anyone
to announce dates for polls without providing the prerequisite envelope,”
Makarau said.

Although the ongoing mobile voter registration programme ends on Sunday,
Zec, which is playing a peripheral role in the process, says a 30-day
extension as provided in the new constitution would enable people to
register to vote.

Voter registration nightmare for women

http://www.dailynews.co.zw/

Friday, 17 May 2013 11:07
HARARE - Requirements demanded by the Registrar General (RG)’s office for
voter registration are leading to massive disenfranchisement of potential
women voters, Women’s Affairs, Gender and Community Development deputy
minister Jessie Majome has said.

She was speaking at a round table discussion hosted by the Media Centre on
women participation in politics.

“Proof of residence disenfranchises women because of the nature of the
society we live in. There are very few women who can claim to own a house,
let alone a lease agreement in their name. “Very few women are known by the
city treasurer,” said Majome.

“There are people amongst us who still have the belief that women are not
humans. We need to start thinking of democracy from a women perspective.

“The claim that women are the majority of voters is an illusion because it
is a fact that few women were on the voters’ roll prior to the 2008
elections,” Majome said.

Majome decried the unwillingness by Zimbabweans to register marriages.

“Zimbabweans are notorious for not registering marriages and now that there
is need for someone to prove where they live it makes it even more
difficult.

“The man has to be in a very good mood for them to vouch that this woman
lives with them.

“The new draft constitution provides for universal adult suffrage but women
have to be on the voters’ roll in order for them to be able to claim the 60
seats reserved for them as well as take up their place among the other 210
legislators,” said Majome.

The issue of voter registration has become a hot issue.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai on Monday came face-to-face with the
reality that ordinary Zimbabweans are facing at the hands of RG Tobaiwa
Mudede’s officials while trying to register his twin children as first time
voters.

Tsvangirai has demanded that there be a 30-day mobile voter registration
exercise after President Robert Mugabe assents to the new constitution. -
Staff Writer

Nkayi woman told she is dead and cannot register

http://www.thezimbabwean.co/

17.05.13

by Ashly Sibanda

A Nkayi woman, Hleleni Ncube, has failed to register as a voter after
officials from the Registrar’s office told her their records indicated that
she was dead, according to civic rights group based here, Bulawayo Agenda.

BA said Ncube approached the RG Nkayi office on Tuesday where she was given
the news.

Mmeli Dube, a Research Officer with the NGO, said the Nkayi incident is just
but a tip of the problems faced by Zimbabweans trying to register as voters
and urged a clean-up of the voters’ roll ahead of elections set for later
this year.

“She (Ncube) was told to come back later to verify the issue with the view
to rectify the error. There has to be a cleanup of the voters’

roll before the next election to avoid such anomalies and also to get rid of
ghost voters.

“This is one of the many unaddressed challenges faced by citizens as their
rights to vote one way or the other are taken away from them by disorderly
electoral systems, ” Dube said.

Bulawayo Agenda is monitoring the ongoing mobile voter registration exercise
that has been condemned as chaotic.

There is a loud call to overhaul the voters’ roll that observers say is
riddled with inaccuracies and fraudulently registered entrants.

Cowdray Park residents battle ongoing water problems in the ‘Dry City’

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Alex Bell
17 May 2013

Residents in the still growing Cowdray Park suburb of Bulawayo are battling
with ongoing water shortages that have plagued the area for more than seven
years.

Thousands of people, allocated stands in the area, have been forced to add
hours of queuing for water into their every day plans. They say the water
problems have been caused by bad planning, with only five communal taps
servicing eight thousands stands.

Resident Johnson Mdlongwa, who is also part of the Cowdray Park Development
Committee, told SW Radio Africa that the queues last for hours, and
sometimes people spent the whole night waiting their turn to fill their
buckets. He said the pressure is still building on the community, which
continues to grow.

“We have been appealing to the city fathers to do something about it. But
they’ve told us we have to pay $3,000 dollars up front or $50 a month for
the next few years. And that is a challenge. We can’t pay that,” Mdlongwa
said.

He also expressed frustration that City Council has not been more
forthcoming with answers, despite promising a year ago to meet with the
residents. Mdlongwa said this still hasn’t happened.

Dubbed the ‘Dry City’, Cowdray Park is also sometimes called the ‘Dark City’
because of ongoing power problems there. Another resident, from the newer
(but still dry) phase two of the development told SW Radio Africa that
living there is a serious challenge.

“People have to rely on bowsers for water, but that is still not enough to
service everyone here. People are queuing from the morning till late at
night, just for water,” resident Allen Dube said.

Harare City Council needs $2.5 billion to address city’s water woes

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Nomalanga Moyo
17 May 2013

The Harare City Council on Thursday revealed that it requires a staggering
$2.5 billion to roll out a programme to address the city’s water problems.

Speaking to journalists, Harare Mayor Muchadeyi Masunda said the programme
would ensure that residents have uninterrupted supplies, during a week when
most residents had no water.

The dormitory town of Chitungwiza, which gets its water from Harare, has
been without supplies for two weeks, while suburbs like Tafara and Mabvuku
last had running water seven years ago.

Current water supply is estimated at 600 mega litres of water per day
against a daily demand of 1,400 mega litres, according to the Herald
newspaper.

The state-run daily also quoted Masunda as saying the authority would like
to construct three additional water works to produce at least 1,920 mega
litres.

Masunda reportedly told journalists: “We would like to construct water works
at Kunzvi Dam, as has been proposed 30 years ago, and this will cost $539
million and we expect to get 250 mega litres of water.”

The mayor also revealed plans for Musami Dam, at a cost of $886 million, as
well as Mazowe Dam, a “mega long-term project which needs $1.5 billion”.

But Masunda did not reveal where the money will come from, except to say
that the authority would adopt a business model of running the city to
generate the funds.

A frustrated Tynwald resident, who has been buying her water for $60 per
tank for the past two years, dismissed the mayor’s long-term plans as
‘pie-in-the-sky’. She said what residents wanted was an immediate,
achievable solution and not proposals based on unavailable funds.

“Where is that money going to come from? Before the city fathers discuss
projects to increase water output, they should first restore supplies to all
suburbs,” said the resident who asked not to be named.

“I am in my 50s, diabetic, live on my own and cannot get up in the middle of
the night to fetch water from communal boreholes in the area, which is what
most residents do,” she added.

She also took a swipe at the residents’ associations in Harare, saying they
don’t appear to have a clear strategy for confronting the Harare authority
about problems bedeviling the city.

She attributed the lack of decisive action by residents against the local
authority to what she termed a pervasive spirit of individualism.

“Harare residents, like all Zimbabweans, are not docile as such. But people
only seek individual solutions even to communal problems, and once someone
has sunk a borehole for example, they think that is it, problem solved. They
won’t think about the next person who is experiencing challenges. Yet even
those with private water sources still receive huge bills from the council,”
she said.

Combined Harare Residents Association chairman Simbarashe Moyo said a big
part of the problem lies with the incompetence and lack of accountability at
the authority, that Mayor Masunda should be addressing.

“What the people of Tafara and Mabvuku want to know is when the water supply
will be restored, not his rhetoric about what is planned for the distant
future. Where are the short and medium-term solutions?

“Residents are paying their rates but the council is failing to provide us
with an essential service. We will be meeting again with council over this
issue.

“It is not about maintenance works, as the council keeps telling us but it
is incompetence and a lack of prioritisation. We have reservoirs that are
full, but council is failing to deliver the water to the people.”

Moyo said foreign funded non governmental organisations had sunk most of the
communal boreholes in the city, as part of efforts to combat waterborne
diseases, and this had masked the scale of the decay and incompetence within
Harare City Council.

“That is one of the reasons why residents have not risen up against the
council. They think it is council trying to help them, when it is the NGOs,”
Moyo revealed.

25 percent of Zimbabwean children die from malnutrition: Mugabe

http://www.thezimbabwean.co/

17.05.13

by Nelson Sibanda

The Zimbabwean government is worried by the high malnutrition-related death
rate which currently accounts for 25 percent of deaths among children under
the age of five, said President Robert Mugabe at the launch of The Zimbabwe
Food and Nutrition Security Policy in Harare yesterday.

“The launch of the Food and Nutrition Security Policy shows government shift
in strategic plan to address an issue which is not only of concern to
Zimbabwe alone, but to the region and the world at large,” Mugabe told
hundreds of stakeholders who witnessed the launch at the Harare
International Conference Centre.

Food insecurity was blamed for the vicious circle of malnutrition.

Though food insecurity is a global threat, Africa carries the heaviest
burden due to unpredictable climate and poverty.

Spiralling food prices and climatic changes were blamed for the food
insecurity faced by Zimbabwe.

FAO estimates that 890 million people worldwide are food insecure with one
in every three children chronically malnourished.

Mugabe said to mitigate effects of food insecurity government will take
measures aimed at subsidising agriculture inputs and support the land reform
programme since it was the cornerstone of agriculture.

Measures would be taken to assist small scale and women farmers access
agriculture inputs, said Mugabe.

The Food and Nutrition Security Policy was motivated by recurrent hunger in
Zimbabwe.

The policy is hoped to provide a framework and coordinated multi-sectoral
food security intervention strategy.

It will also help ensure food security to the nation at all times especially
for the vulnerable members among communities.

As a result, a task force recommended the formation of a food security
council funded by government. The task force is headed by Vice President
Joyce Mujuru as the Chairperson.

Institutions such as SIRDC, Food and Nutrition Council Zimbabwe, government
ministries, UNDP, WFP, WHO, UNICEF, various NGOs, the private sector and
various other stakeholders were commended for their contributions towards
the realisation of the policy.

Zambia has not charged for maize: Mugabe

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/

16/05/2013 00:00:00
     by Staff Reporter

ZAMBIA has told Zimbabwe that it is in no hurry to be paid for 150,000
tonnes of maize it is sending to its southern neighbour, President Robert
Mugabe said on Thursday.
Zambia’s Vice President Guy Scott was in Harare last week to finalise the
maize deal, but Mugabe says the two neighbours are as yet to put a value on
the rescue cargo.

Mugabe said following his meeting with Scott, he spoke to Zambian President
Michael Sata on the phone who took pity on his neighbour’s poor bank
balance.

“When I was talking to him about what we had in mind about paying, he said
‘no, no, no’. He is a humorous man as you know,” Mugabe told a conference in
Harare on Thursday to launch the Food and Nutrition Security Policy and
Implementation Plan.

“He said ‘let’s have the food in the stomachs of our people first, and when
we have the food in the stomachs, then we will talk about the price’ and I
said ‘that is a great man, he shares our affliction’.”

At today’s prices, 150,000 tonnes of maize is valued at about US$25 million.
Mugabe’s partners in the coalition government have expressed fears that the
maize – which is set to be distributed free in drought-prone provinces like
Matabeleland South and North, Masvingo as well as parts of Manicaland and
the Midlands – could be used as a campaign tool through selective
distribution.

The conference was largely boycotted by the MDC parties in the ruling
coalition with Zanu PF – with just two MDC-T ministers in attendance.
Parliamentary and Constitutional Affairs Minister Eric Matinenga and Obert
Gutu, the Deputy Minister of Justice, were the only ones other than Zanu PF
ministers in attendance.

Mugabe told the gathering: “The official launch of the Food and Nutrition
Security and its implementation plan, indicates the government’s strategic
shift in addressing an issue which is not only of national, but global
concern as well.

“It is a well-established fact that food and nutrition insecurity lead to a
vicious cycle of malnutrition, increased susceptibility to disease, impaired
mental and physical development, reduced productivity and poverty.

“In Zimbabwe, the nutrition situation is of concern to the government as one
out of every three children is chronically malnourished. Twenty-five percent
of all deaths of children under the age of five are attributed to
nutritional deficiencies and 47 percent of women are anaemic.

“Given the recent challenges of spiralling food prices and climate change,
the food situation in our country has worsened as the number of people
unable to meet their daily food requirements has increased by 21 percent
since 1995.”

Mugabe said apart from food handovers, some remedies lay in supporting new
black farmers who benefitted from his government’s land reforms over the
last 13 years.

“The government will continue to take measures that empower farmers,
especially small-holder farmers and women so that they access cheap finance,
knowledge on climate and the environment, smart farming systems,
infrastructure and farm machinery,” Mugabe said.

Vice President Joice Mujuru, who chairs a National Food and Nutrition task
force which was first introduced to respond to the 1993 drought, will lead
the government programme to "co-ordinate and implement multi-sectoral
interventions to address the challenges of food and nutrition insecurity",
she said.

Zim 'richest in sub-Saharan Africa'

http://www.news24.com/

2013-05-17 14:14

Cape Town - Zimbabwe is probably the richest and most heavily resourced
country of all within sub-Saharan Africa, British Member of Parliament James
Duddridge has said.

Writing on the Conservative party’s website blog, Duddridge said it was
unfortunate that the country's resources were not being used for the benefit
of the poor but for the rich elite.

"The irony however, is that probably the richest and most heavily resourced
country of all within the region has benefited so few of its people and
savaged so many," he wrote.

Duddridge's sentiments come at a time when Zimbabwe is gearing up for
elections that are expected later this year.

Resources such as diamonds are seen as key to turning around Zimbabwe's
shattered economy.

Reports have, however, indicated that mining officials loyal to
authoritarian President Robert Mugabe are stashing profits from the country’s
diamond fields, and fears are that the money could be used for political
violence ahead of elections.

Global Witness, a group monitoring blood diamonds, said recently that its
investigations showed unspecified amounts of diamond earnings were being
hidden in the tax-free havens of Mauritius, Hong Kong and the British Virgin
Islands.

"If the next election is accompanied by violence there is a real risk that
any bloodshed will be funded by diamond revenue," said Nick Donovan, a
senior researcher for Global Witness.

Mugabe's party Zanu-PF has, however, denied hoarding diamond earnings.

- News24

Zanu PF Threatens Review Of South Africa’s Mediation Role

http://www.thezimbabwemail.com/

Staff Reporter 22 hours 30 minutes ago

HARARE - President Robert Mugabe's party loyalist have called on the SADC
bloc to revisit President Jacob Zuma’s facilitation role South Africa
following what they said were breaches on diplomatic protocol by attempting
to dictate constitutional issues to a fellow sovereign state.

The calls come after that country’s Deputy Minister of International
Relations Ebrahim Ebrahim was on the 14 of this month quoted by News 24
saying Zanu PF should implement security sector reforms as per calls by the
MDC-T.

A Zanu PF loyalist, Dr Charity Manyeruke says such utterances by South
Africa’s minister should not be taken lightly, adding that it is high time
government summons the South African ambassador to Zimbabwe to explain the
logic as it is clear interference in the affairs of a fellow sovereign
state.

Dr Manyeruke who is also a special advisor to President Mugabe's party Zanu
PF suggested what she said extreme diplomatic actions with the South African
government.

Senior Zanu PF official and former governor for Mashonaland Central,
Advocate Martin Dinha had no kind words for both South Africa and MDC-T whom
he accused of plotting an unnecessary diplomatic tension ahead of elections.

Some Senior Zanu PF officials who spoke to The Zimbabwe Mail said the latest
revelations by the South African deputy minister should be condemned and the
whole SADC bloc should be taken to task to revisit the role of South Africa’s
facilitation role in Zimbabwe.

A source last night said some hardliners are demanding a complete
disingegement with President Jacob Zuma's team.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s Africa regional diplomatic offensive
which he undertook two weeks ago where he called for the implementation of
all outstanding issues has paid off after the SADC Troika met last week and
reiterated President’s Tsvangirai’s demands.

Tsvangirai, believes he would garner 65% of the poll in a free vote and
plans to offer Cabinet posts to Zanu-PF politicians should he win the
elections.

The Summit of the SADC Troika of the Organ on Politic, Defence and Security
Cooperation met in Cape Town, South Africa last Friday to discuss Zimbabwe’s
situation in which Zanu PF is not eager on the implementation of key reforms
before free and fair elections are held.

The SADC meeting was attended by; the Organ Troika Summit of the Heads of
State and Government of SADC, President Jacob Zuma of South Africa,
President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania and Namibia’s Foreign Affairs minister,
Netumbo Nandi.

President Kikwete who is the chairperson of the Organ on Politics, Defence
and Security Cooperation chaired the summit which was also attended by SADC
Executive Secretary, Dr. Tomaz Salamao.

“Summit urged the parties to finalise the outstanding issues in the
implementation of the GPA (Global Political Agreement) and preparations for
holding free and fair elections in Zimbabwe,” a communiqué released after
the meeting read.

The summit commended President Zuma who is the SADC facilitator on the
Zimbabwe Political Dialogue for his efforts towards the full implementation
of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) in Zimbabwe. “Summit also commended
the people of Zimbabwe for holding a credible, free and fair constitutional
referendum on 16 March 2013,” the communiqué reads.

Meanwhile the party strategist and politburo member Jonathan Moyo has
dismissed as “outrageous and offensive” remarks by South Africa’s deputy
foreign minister Ebrahim Ebrahim which appeared to back the MDC-T’s demands
for further reforms before new elections can be held.

"Ebrahim's intrusive comments are outrageous and offensive in the extreme
and they risk undermining President Jacob Zuma's personal role as the
facilitator of SADC's engagement in Zimbabwe," the Tsholotsho North MP
blasted.

“It is clear that Ebrahim's premeditated recklessness is calculated to
incite a crisis through the media and that kind of megaphone behaviour is
totally unacceptable.

“What is worse is that Ebrahim's despicable comments have a sickening
semblance of representing the position of the South African government given
that they are coming from the loud mouth of that country's deputy minister
of foreign affairs."

About US$132 million is needed to finance the key vote but Finance Minister
Tendai Biti has conceded that the government was struggling to raise the
cash.

Ebrahim told reporters on Tuesday that South Africa was prepared, if
requested, to help fund the polls which are due this year although the
precise timing remains unclear with Zanu PF and the MDC formations still
bickering over the issue.

But it was Ebrahim’s suggestion that the MDC parties had a “legitimate
argument” as they demand further reforms before the elections can be held
which infuriated the Zanu PF lawmaker.

Said Ebrahim: “I think the opposition has a legitimate argument to say there
should be proper progression for the election.

"There have to be certain reforms that need to be speeded up. If Zanu PF
says they [polls] should be held in June or July, that is probably playing
politics. All parties should agree that the time is ripe for an election."

Moyo shot back: “What the hell is he talking about? What opposition? What
legitimate argument? And what proper progression? Why does Ebrahim not know
that the MDC formations are part of the government of Zimbabwe and not part
of the opposition?

“And why does it appear natural to him to be associated with what he clearly
sees as an opposition view? Would Ebrahim take kindly to public comments in
the media by Zimbabwean government officials which are in sympathy with the
opposition in South Africa?

During his SADC tour, the leaders pledged to Tsvangirai that they will stand
by the people of Zimbabwe and will not accept a repeat of what happened in
Zimbabwe in 2008.

Tsvangirai reiterated his concerns over Zanu PF’s lack of political will to
ensure that true reforms agreed to four years ago are implemented and
allowed to take root before the election.

He said he was aware of a plot by Zanu PF using the Registrar General’s
Office (RG) and the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) to tamper with the
voters’ roll by disenfranchising some Zimbabweans and ensuring that first
time voters are frustrated from registering in their large numbers.

During his weeklong tour, he met President Zuma, President Kikwete,
President Ian Khama of Botswana and Angolan Foreign Minister, Mr Georges
Chicoti.

He also met key leaders of three regional blocks; Economic Community of West
Africa (ECOWAS), EAC, the Central African regional block led by Gabon and
Prime Minister Daniel Kablan Duncan of Cote d’Ivoire,

After meeting Tsvangirai, Prime Minister Duncan said; “Africa cannot afford
another Cote d‘Ivoire experience,” in reference to the violence that erupted
after former President Laurent Gbabgo refused to vacate the seat of
Presidency after losing elections to the current President Alassane
Quattara.

Prime Minister Duncan said his country, within the context of both ECOWAS
and the AU will stand by the people of Zimbabwe and will not accept a repeat
of what happened in Zimbabwe in 2008 or in their own country.

President Khama, in his meeting with President Tsvangirai reiterated his
position that SADC will have to meet to adopt the roadmap for a free, fair
and credible poll and agree on how the elections are going to be monitored.

Meanwhile, the prime minister Morgan Tsvangira has put forward
three ­possible scenarios for the outcome of the poll.

"His first and favoured scenario, and the one on which he placed the
greatest probability, was an MDC victory, which was accepted by all
stakeholders.

"Based on the latest opinion polls, Tsvangirai suggested that the MDC would
win about 65% of votes in a free and fair election," the report said.

Tsvangirai is quoted as saying he would "be willing to run a coalition
government, giving Cabinet places to Zanu-PF politicians".

Growth, rather than redistribution

A Tsvangirai government would change the slant of economic policy "towards
growth, rather than redistribution", a reference to President Robert
Mugabe's central policies of land reform and indigenisation.

Reiterating his party's position, Tsvangirai told Bailey-Smith that his
policy would be based on creating jobs instead. "Participation via
employment creation was seen as the best mechanism for redistribution. He
agreed to disagree with Zanu-PF on the present policy of indigenisation."

Tsvangirai would also embrace an International Monetary Fund-backed reform
package, although the former trade unionist was "wary of adopting a
one-structural-adjustment-package-fits-all approach". "He confirmed that the
Washington institutions had already actively re-engaged with the government
and were working on medium-term policy goals," the report said.

There was little chance that any new government would reverse the currency
regime any time soon by reintroducing the Zimbabwe dollar, Tsvangirai was
quoted as saying.

A second and "far less favoured" scenario was possible, in which Zimbabwe
once again would have to establish a coalition government similar to the one
that had led the country for the past four years.

Zimbabwe's new Constitution abolishes the post of prime minister, which
meant "the present lack of clear executive authority" would be less likely
in such a new coalition, according to Tsvangirai.

Disputed election

"In this scenario policy direction is less clear, economic recovery slower
and political stability harder won. Re-engagement with the international
community takes longer than in the first and favoured scenario.

"A third scenario, in which a disputed election would lead to violence and
instability, was unlikely for a number of reasons.

"First, such an alternative would foster an immediate government financing
crisis. Second, there was broad cross-party and wider popular support for
the idea of moving the country forward and away from the political paralysis
that has fostered so much economic hardship in recent years.

"Third, the cross-party agreement on appropriate political process is now
laid out in the Constitution, which is widely accepted by all sides and
brings considerably more structure to proceedings."

ZCTU secretary general lays into MDC-T ministers

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/

17/05/2013 00:00:00
     by Nkosana Dlamini

ZIMBABWE Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) secretary general Japhet Moyo on
Thursday stunned MDC-T politicians when he launched an astonishing attack on
the party’s ministers in government for alleged arrogance and abandoning
workers’ aspirations.
Moyo had stood up to give a solidarity speech during a high profile MDC-T
policy conference currently underway in Harare’s Milton Park suburb.

But after beginning his address with a strong affirmation that the workers
were still behind the party, Moyo took hundreds of MDC-T delegates by
surprise when he launched a diatribe at the party, much to the embarrassment
of the MDC-T leadership and some delegates who started booing him off the
stage.

Moyo lashed at Energy Minister and MDC-T deputy treasurer Elton Mangoma for
allegedly refusing to sign an agreement entered between energy workers and
their employers.

He then turned his guns on Finance Minister Tendai Biti.
“Let me be very clear Cde Tendai Biti, mind your language when you are in
government because hausati wavakutonga. Ndizvo ka? Be very careful of what
you say. You are destroying the party uchiti urikupliza ma investors,” Moyo
thundered.

“Vanhu vanovhota are the poor, not the investor. Mind your language Mr Biti.
How do we defend an MDC minister? At least you (Biti) dialogue with
 workers.”

Moyo was not yet done. He turned to Public Service Minister Lucia Matibenga.
“Mai Matibenga, kuma civil servants uko. Talk to those people (civil
servants). Please, please, please! You put us in a difficult and awkward
situation to justify the close links that we have colleagues. Ndizvo ka?

“As we move towards the elections, l must hasten to tell you that what will
come out of this policy conference will either build or destroy you.

“This is not merely a policy conference. You are somehow also crafting a
manifesto for the elections. People will judge you on what comes out of this
conference. If you call yourselves social democrats, let that be shown in
the policies.”

Moyo said the MDC-T has deviated from its pro-poor foundations, adding: “We
have noted with concern that some policy pronouncements from party officials
do not reflect that.

“It’s important to come out in the open. Either you come from the left or
from the right. There is no need to sit on the fence. If you are not clear,
people will find it difficult to vote for you because they don’t know what
will become of you once you are in government. Pronounce yourselves very
clearly.”

Moyo, who as ZCTU secretary general is occupying a position that was once
held by MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai, said the party had “unfinished
business”.

“Workers are still waiting for the change that you promised them in 1999,
and you are their only hope. Please don’t let them down.”

After his diatribe, a visibly angry Biti turned away a handshake by Moyo who
on finishing turned over to give handshakes to the MDC-T top leadership that
sat near the podium.

But in his keynote address to the conference, MDC-T leader and Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai all but admitted his party has failed the
workers.

“Sometimes we are more preoccupied by what is wrong but we don’t spend time
emphasising what is right,” he said in comments directed at Moyo.

“So, l thank you for those candid comments from our trade union colleagues.
I could see that honourable Moyo was speaking from the deepest of his
 heart.”

Tsvangirai urged the workers not to panic saying in forming the MDC, they
have invested in a bright future.
The former trade unionist threw the challenge back at the workers, urging
them to play their part in transforming the country’s fortunes.

“VaMoyo from the trade union movement,” he continued, “it’s not just right
to ask what is right for the workers. It’s actually important to educate the
workers that they have responsibilities. You can’t ask for rights without
responsibility. The two go hand in hand.

“So we want more workers because with more workers, with more
responsibilities we are all going to increase productivity. We’re all going
to increase wealth in the country. So don’t look at us and say imi murikuita
anti-labour policies. No. And after all, this is a coalition government. A
coalition government always is a shared compromise.”

The MDC-T policy conference which opened on Friday will run through to
Sunday.
The conference is also being attended by civic groups and a handful
diplomats accredited to Zimbabwe.

Zim security sector defies hiring edict

http://mg.co.za/

17 MAY 2013 00:00 - HARARE CORRESPONDENT

Zimbabwe's unity government agreed to stop hiring public servants, but some
departments are adding staff.

Despite an official freeze on the hiring of public servants, Zimbabwe's
police, army and intelligence services have commenced a secret recruitment
exercise that is raising eyebrows as the country prepares for elections.

Early on in the life of the unity government, the three-party Cabinet agreed
to freeze recruitments in the public service because of a lack of finances.
That decree was only lifted to allow the hiring of staff in the health
sector.

But in a development that is drawing opposition from President Robert
Mugabe's coalition partners, Zanu-PF officials who control the country's
security sector have seemingly gone on a recruitment exercise, breaching the
freeze.

Speaking to the Mail & Guardian, Giles Mutsekwa, the secretary for defence
and security in Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC), said his party is aware of the recruitments.

"We even discussed this at Cabinet because there is a freeze on recruitment.
There is recruitment by the Central Intelligence Organisation and other
security departments." Mutsekwa is also the country's minister of housing
and social amenities. He declined to divulge more on the Cabinet
deliberations, saying he was gagged by the Official Secrets Act.

MDC officials are "lost"
But presidential spokesperson George Charamba said MDC officials are "lost"
on the recruitments as they were failing to realise that recruitments in the
security sector are not dictated by any other considerations except
security.

"The conditions that govern Charamba, who is a civil servant, are not the
ones that govern the security services. They [security] don't recruit or
downsize on circulars from the public service. What does MDC know about
security? They can't even secure themselves, that's why we are looking after
their bodies," said Charamba, who is also the party's information secretary.

Protection for MDC officials in the government is provided by state security
agents who fall mainly under ministries run by Zanu-PF.

However, as further testimony of the breach of the agreement, the issue will
dominate Parliament's question-and-answer session next week as lawmakers
seek answers from their unity government ­colleagues. Various MPs have given
notice that they will quiz the responsible ministers on the alleged
recruitments.

In one such notice before Parliament, MDC's Kwekwe MP Blessing Chebundo will
ask the co-ministers of home affairs, Zanu-PF's Kembo Mohadi and
MDC's ­Theresa Makone, to explain and justify why the Zimbabwe Republic
Police is integrating its "general-hand" employees as regular police
officers and issuing them with police identity cards with different ranks
and listing them on the ­Salaries Service Bureau.

In the questions, seen by the M&G, Chebundo names 10 individuals as examples
of those who have been enrolled in such a manner that he said was the tip of
the iceberg.

"Ellen Gosvore ID [identity document] 58-200625Y18 born on 01/04/82 and
employed as a general hand by Kwekwe police on 16/10/06 and still performs
general hand duties, but now enlisted as an attested regular woman on EC
[employment code] number 5906324R; Muvengiwa Mpofu ID 58-090380R26 born
02/10/64 and employed as general hand on 01/09/88 at Kwekwe District police
HQ, EC number 157393T now constable," reads part of the pending
parliamentary question.

Questions deferred
The questions, which should have been attended to last week, were deferred
as Parliament was busy with the debate and passing of the Constitutional
Bill that will usher in the new Constitution.

Another question that will be asked has been tabled by Shepherd Mushonga,
the chair of the Parliamentary Legal Committee, who wants clarification from
State Security Minister Sydney Sekeramayi on his ministry's policy on
intelligence officers who are openly partisan and hold provincial and
central committee positions in Zanu-PF.

Another pending question tabled by MDC MP Stewart Garadhi requests Defence
Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa to explain and justify why the Zimbabwe National
Army keeps on recruiting and training soldiers when the fiscus is
underperforming.

Sekeramayi declined to comment and police spokesperson Assistant
Commissioner Charity Charamba said the police force is not aware of a freeze
on recruitment.

"We have always told you that the police would continue to recruit. We are
not aware of any policy to stop us," said Charamba.

Security sector
Charamba refused to comment on the allegations that Chebundo will raise in
Parliament, saying the commissioner general should be the respondent in that
matter.

The M&G could not establish by the time of going to print the number of new
recruits.

Prominent labour unionist Raymond Majongwe of the Progressive Teachers Union
of Zimbabwe said that though recruitments and promotions have been frozen in
the civil service, the security sector is busy recruiting and promoting its
members.

"They [police and soldiers] are recruiting. Their members are being promoted
and we have looked into it, but there is no one to ask.

"If soldiers go on study leave, they are paid study allowances, but when our
members go on study leave their salaries are cut to discourage them and save
money. It's is an unfair labour practice," said Majongwe.

Finance Minister Tendai Biti could not be reached for comment about where
the salaries for the new recruits and promotions are being channelled from.

In the 2008 election, the police and army were accused of using violence to
intimidate members of the opposition.

Zimbabwe has not announced a date for elections. Mugabe insists voting
should be held by June 29, when Parliament dissolves.

Mugabe wants to ‘liberate’ Zim from US dollar

http://nehandaradio.com/

on May 17, 2013 at 1:38 pm

By Itai Mushekwe

HARARE – President Robert Mugabe’s regime is planning on a launching a new
currency backed by a gold standard in 2015, as part of the Zanu PF leader’s
final wish to “liberate” Zimbabwe from Western monetary imperialism.

Gono seen here with Mugabe
High level government sources told Nehanda Radio that Mugabe, who is
standing for his last election as a presidential candidate before the end of
September, wants to seal his egregious land reform and indigenisation
program agendas with a powerful local currency backed by gold reserves.

Harare has been using a basket of foreign currencies, since the formation of
a coalition government, with the US Dollar and South African Rand being
dominant. Now plans are at an advanced stage to eliminate the US dollar,
which Zanu PF ‘think tanks’ see as losing its power as a world reserve
currency.

Under the veteran leader’s often chaotic agrarian reform, scores of white
farmers were forced to leave their farms without compensation, a
responsibility which Harare argues, the British government must shoulder.

Likewise the indigenisation drive, has resulted in seizures of foreign owned
companies, resulting in massive capital flight and a decimation of the local
industries. Indigenisation is Zanu PF’s manifesto for this year’s election.

The new money, whose design and security features are said to be complete,
shall retain its name as the Zimbabwean dollar.

Under the plans the currency will be put in circulation during the
presidency, of either defence minister, Emmerson Mnangagwa or current Vice
President Joice Mujuru, seen as a moderate and reformer by the international
community.

Mujuru looks as a hot favourite, on paper to succeed Mugabe, if Zanu PF is
to follow its constitution and organogram in resolving who becomes the next
party leader.

She however seems to have lost the military muscle, which is needed by any
leader to run an administration with reports that Mnangagwa’s chances at
power have been growing following endorsements by senior security chiefs.

According to Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) insiders, the planned new
Zimbabwean dollar will come in six denomination notes of $1; $10; $25; $30;
$50 and $100.

The central bank plans to emblazon, the notes with portraits of the country’s
leading liberation figures such as the late vice presidents, Joshua Nkomo
and Simon Muzenda.

Mugabe’s own portrait is ear-marked for the $100 bill, while that of his
successor may be featured on the $10 note, according to senior staffers at
the RBZ. A coin regime of 1cent; 5cents; 10c; 20c; and 50c reportedly
accompanies the new notes.

Zimbabwe last saw a new currency – the Rhodesian dollar – in 1970 following
the decimalisation and replacement of the local pound. The exchange rate
then was $0,71:US$1.

At the time of Independence in 1980 the local currency remained stronger
than the greenback. The rate was $0,68: US$1. The currency gradually
declined after 1980 until its dramatic crash on November 17 1997 after an
unbudgeted $4 billion outlay to pay war veterans.

The country experienced an unprecedented shortage of currency in 2003. The
RBZ failed to print enough banknotes due to a foreign currency crisis,
leading to the introduction of travellers’ cheques and later bearer’s
cheques.

Zimbabwe has in the past printed its money in Britain, Germany and Canada.
Indications are that: “China this time around will print the new money for
security reasons,” said an official with the ministry of finance.

“We are waiting for a new finance minister from Zanu PF to get things
moving. Biti (MDC minister), has been a stumbling block.”

The idea for the gold-backed currency was first discussed in private,
between Mugabe and fallen Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, on the side-lines
of the inauguration of South African leader Jacob Zuma, in Pretoria in 2009,
according to senior government officials.

Gaddafi wanted a common gold currency for the whole African continent, while
Mugabe had proposed that it was better for the African Union (AU) member
states to introduce the gold standard money individually, before announcing
one common currency at a later stage so as to throw international financial
players into confusion.

A second meeting to finalise discussion on the matter, took place in Harare
on 23 August 2010 between Mugabe and Gaddafi’s son, Saadi Muammar Gaddafi,
who claimed to have come to discuss investment opportunities with Zimbabwe,
sources said.

RBZ governor, Gideon Gono, has already lifted the lid on the secret currency
recently in the local media.

“There is a need for us to begin thinking seriously and urgently about
introducing a gold-backed Zimbabwe currency that will not only be stable but
internationally acceptable.

“We need to rethink our gold-mining strategy, our gold-liberalisation and
marketing strategies as a country. The world needs to and will most
certainly move to a gold standard and Zimbabwe must lead the way,” Gono has
said.

“The events of the 2008 global financial crisis demand a new approach to
self-reliance and a stable mineral-backed currency, and to me gold has
proven over the years that it is a stable and most desired precious metal.

“Zimbabwe is sitting on trillions worth of gold reserves and it is time we
start thinking outside the box, for our survival and prosperity,” Gono said.

China has been proposing for the replacement of the US dollar as the
international reserve currency in the past years. Beijing wants a new global
system controlled by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

China holds Foreign-exchange reserves amounting to US$ 3 billion as of March
2011. To bring about a new regime to the current system, Beijing had
previously suggested expanding the role of Special Drawing Rights (SDR),
introduced by the IMF in 1969 to support the Bretton Woods fixed exchange
rate order, but things collapsed in the 1970s rendering the overtures
irrelevant.

At present, the value of SDRs is based on a basket of four currencies, which
include the US dollar, pound sterling, euro, and yen.

The US Dollar Index comprises of just 6 currencies. The euro has a weighting
of some 58,6%, followed by the Japanese yen with 12,6%, others are the pound
sterling (11,9%) the Canadian dollar, Swiss franc and Swedish krona account
for the remaining 16,9%.

Zimbabwe wants SA to keep its citizens

http://mg.co.za/

17 MAY 2013 00:00 - MMANALEDI MATABOGE

The cost of deporting illegal Zimbabwean immigrants is huge and has prompted
calls for South Africa to legitimise their stay.

The South African government spends at least R90-million a year on sending
illegal immigrants back to their countries, most to Zimbabwe.
Many ­Zimbabweans, however, make it back into South Africa within days.

The Zimbabwean government has now complained about the high number of
nationals deported by South Africa. This comes against the background of an
apparent hardening of attitudes towards refugees from the South African
government.

The story of Johannesburg-based illegal immigrant Ndadzoka Pamberi, which is
not her real name, is a familiar one.

After spending a week at the Lindela repatriation camp awaiting deportation,
Pamberi was taken by train to Musina, then across the border into Zimbabwe
in a police truck.

While in custody at Lindela, she operated a makeshift hair salon, plaiting
female immigration officers' hair for a fee. That money would later pay for
her transportation back to Johannesburg from Beit Bridge.

"When you get to the Zimbabwean side, they don't arrest you because you
didn't commit any crime in that country," she said. "They let you free and
you go wherever you want."

Pamberi planned her return to Johannesburg as soon as the South African
police handed her back to her country's officials.

Living illegally
"By 4pm I hit the road, walking in the bush for about two hours until it got
dark and we started walking by the side of the road," she said.

She made it back to Johannesburg on the same day.

Malayishas, Zimbabwean nationals who transport fellow citizens' groceries
and other parcels from South Africa to Zimbabwe, provided transport back to
Johannesburg, said Pamberi. "When you see a car that flashes its lights
twice you run to that car because you know that's the one that's safe to
use," she explained.

She went on to spend eight more years in South Africa illegally, paying her
way out of arrest several times.

Hers is the story of many Zimbabweans living illegally in South Africa and
defying efforts to send them back home.

Home Affairs Minister Naledi Pan­dor admitted in January that it was a
challenge to keep deporting illegal immigrants, but said there was no easy
solution to the problem.

The Zimbabwean government says South Africa deported 23150 illegal
Zimbabweans in the four months to April 30 this year, but Pandor told the
Mail & Guardian that 11133 Zimbabweans were deported between January and
March.

Pandor said the cost of deporting Zimbabwean nationals was about R558 a
person and it cost R99 a day to accommodate one illegal foreign national at
the Lindela repatriation camp.

If the 11133 deported Zimbabweans spent one night at Lindela, it means the
government has already spent at least R7.3-million in the first three months
of the year on deportations.

Migrant rights organisations say South Africa's immigration policy of
deportation is inefficient and a waste of money. In a report that focused on
illegal detentions of migrants, the University of the Witwatersrand's
African Centre for Migration and Society (ACMS) found that, in a 23-month
period during 2009 and 2010, home affairs spent R4.7-million defending cases
that challenged the detentions.

Analysis
In the report, released in September last year, the ACMS acknow­ledged that
the "true costs are likely to be higher". The centre's analysis was
restricted to costs it could confirm per case.

Dr Roni Amit, the author of the report, told the M&G the centre believed
deportation did not work. "One of the things we have ­suggested is providing
mechanisms for lower-skilled migrants to legally enter the country so that
they are not forced to enter illegally and/or overwhelm the asylum system."

In addition to this, in 2009, the ACMS found that the South African Police
Service in Gauteng spends more than R362.5-million a year on detecting,
detaining and transferring illegal migrants to Lindela.

In a presentation to Parliament's portfolio committee on home affairs in
February, the ACMS expressed concern that the government appears to be
heading towards what the centre called "securitisation of migration
management", which entailed heightening border controls, restricting entry
and increasing detention and deportation.

Pandor dismissed the fears, saying South Africa had a "very progressive
refugee and immigration law that matches with the best in the world".

Zimbabwe wants South Africa to regularise the stay of illegal immigrants, in
addition to the 275762 documents already granted to legalise stays.

Zimbabwe's Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi said his country would make
another attempt to convince South Africa to reopen the Zimbabwe
documentation process.

Dispensation project
But Pandor said South Africa would not reopen the Zimbabwe dispensation
project.

Asked why the Zimbabwean government was encouraging its citizens to stay in
South Africa, Mohadi said: "We've had a good education system and most
Zimbabweans are literate and skilled. Our economy cannot absorb all of
them."

His home affairs co-minister, Theresa Makone, supports the call for South
Africa to regularise more Zimbabweans. "It's South Africa's right to deport
people who are not documented, but it does not work in the interest of our
people because of the economic hardships they face."

She said many Zimbabweans did not heed the call to legalise their stay
because they suspected the process was a plan to identify them for
deportation. "We have a large pool of people who were on the sidelines," she
said. "We'd really appreciate if the South African government can give us a
small window for another documentation process."

Langton Miriyoga, co-ordinator of refugee rights group People Against
Suffering, Oppression and Poverty, said the fact that deportees found their
way back into South Africa "indicates that [the] government's deportation
programme is going in circles, not resolving the problem".

Miriyoga said promoting voluntary return and repatriation by offering
support to those who wanted to go home and documenting illegal immigrants
would ensure "the costs of deportation are minimised".

Access to HIV treatment for Zimbabwe prisoners challenged

http://mg.co.za/

17 MAY 2013 00:00 - HEALTH CORRESPONDENT

Zimbabwe's Supreme Court will be asked to compel police and prisons to
provide antiretroviral treatment to detainees.

The Supreme Court will face a test case on Monday concerning the rights of
HIV-positive prisoners, when it will be asked to compel police and prisons
to provide antiretroviral treatment to detainees.

Douglas Muzanenhamo, a Harare resident, filed a constitutional application
seeking an order to compel the Zimbabwe Prison Service to provide
antiretovirals (ARVs) to HIV-positive prisoners.

Muzanenhamo was a member of a group arrested and charged with treason for
allegedly plotting a coup against President Robert Mugabe, using the 2011
Arab Spring uprisings in Egypt as a guide. Muzanenhamo and other activists
had attended a meeting organised by socialist movement leader Munyaradzi
Gwisai to discuss lessons Zimbabwe could learn from the revolution that led
to the toppling of Egypt's Hosni Mubarak.

Muzanenhamo alleges that his health deteriorated significantly during the
month he spent prison because police and prison officers denied him his
medication. As a result, he says his CD4 count – an indication of his level
of immunity – fell from 8 000 to 579.

Respondents in the case are commissioner of prisons Paradzai Zimondi,
attorney general Johannes Tomana, the Harare Central Police Station, police
commissioner general Augustine Chihuri, co-ministers of home affairs Kembo
Mohadi and Theresa Makone, and Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa.

In high court
Muzanenhamo's case is not the first in which the prisons service and the
police have been accused of denying those in detention access to treatment,
but is a first for the highest court. In 2008 police denied human rights
activist Jestina Mukoko access to her HIV treatment while she was detained
on allegations of recruiting people to overthrow the government. She was
later acquitted of all charges.

Muzanenhamo, who is represented by Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, said
the police and the prison services contravened his right to life as provided
for in the country's Constitution.

Muzanenhamo's lawyer, Tawanda Zhuwarara, said while there was no statutory
provision concerning HIV treatment for inmates, sections 36-43 of the
Prisons Act mention the provision of medical facilities for prisoners.
"Muzanenhamo's constitutional application is justified because his rights
were violated. He was treated in a cruel and inhuman manner inconsistent
with section 15 of the Constitution."

Muzanenhamo's case also brings conditions in Zimbabwe's prisons into the
spotlight, particularly concerns over nutrition and overcrowding, which
have, in the past, been condemned by nongovernmental organisations. The HIV
prevalence rate in Zimbabwe's prisons is about 27%, double the national rate
of 13.7%.

Tinashe Mundawarara, HIV and Aids project manager of the Zimbabwe Lawyers
for Human Rights, said that while some inmates are able to access ARVs
through the government programme, they cannot be monitored effectively as
prison nurses collect the drugs on their behalf.

Security sector reform: what's at stake?

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/

16/05/2013 00:00:00
     by Bishop Trevor Manhanga

IT MUST be clear by now to the discerning mind that our service chiefs have
gotten a bad rap. The discerning mind will interrogate the long repeated
mantra that Zimbabwe needs “security sector reform” as nothing more than an
attempt to weaken the very essence of our nationhood.

To say that those who gave so much to usher in the nation of Zimbabwe are
stumbling blocks to the progress of this nation is nothing short of
practicing selective amnesia at best and gross self immolation at worst.

No nation worth its salt assaults its security sector with a view to
decimating it and then expects to enjoy peace. It just is not possible. The
United States for all the human rights abuses carried out by its forces in
Iraq and Afghanistan has never called for the reform of these services. The
criminal activities of US service men and women at the infamous Abu Ghraib
prison is a case in point.

What of the pledge made by the then Democratic candidate for the US White
House Sen Barack Obama in 2008, who in his quest for the for the presidency
stated that he was going to close the Guantanamo detention facility as soon
as he became president?

Well he became president and the detention facility is still open even as he
now enters the first year of his second in office. It is common knowledge
that the US is not a signatory to the ICC and therefore no US citizen can be
taken to the Hague to be tried for whatever evil they commit around the
world.

Their mantra is that US courts and systems will try US personnel, regardless
of what they have done. Now why on earth should we Zimbabweans heed the call
by foreign funded NGO’s to “reform” our security sector, when we know very
well that these calls are a smokescreen to decimate one of the most
professional and efficient security service in the region if not the entire
continent of Africa?

Where would the DRC be today if our gallant forces had not intervened to
stop the marauding Banyamulenge rebels who were about to take Kinshasa
before the ZDF landed at Kinshasa Airport, secured it before engaging and
driving the rebels back? What would have happened in Mozambique if once
again the ZDF had not stepped in and prevented the MNR rebels from
establishing a foothold in Gorongosa and effectively splitting Mozambique in
half?

What of the sheer precision and detailed intelligence that nabbed Simon Mann
and his band of mercenaries from creating mayhem and bloodshed in Equatorial
Guinea when they were arrested at Harare International Airport? Fellow
Zimbabweans, all these incidents that I am alluding to are not figments of
my imagination.

These are operations carried out successfully under the command of our much
maligned security chiefs that history will record altered for the good the
destiny of nations on the continent of Africa.

I ask those who would try and trash the history of the ZDF, what of the
recent humiliation of the SANDF in the Central Africa Republic where South
African forces were made to beat a hasty retreat by boy scouts masquerading
as soldiers?

South Africa, the darling of the world and supposedly the poster boy of what
Africa should be, and whose forces we are told have all the sophisticated
weaponry at their disposal.

This is what makes the ZDF’s intervention in DRC and Mozambique all the more
remarkable and something that should engender a great sense of pride. Can we
not see through the smokescreen of the “security sector reform” mantra and
unmask the move by our detractors to weaken and indeed render the ZDF of no
use so that what our detractors have failed to do through measures foul they
would do with military intervention?

Is the strength, professionalism and on the ball intelligence of our
security sector not the reason why our detractors did not attempt military
intervention even though it is quite clear it was contemplated? Not that I
am saying we had the military might to hold them off, no, but clearly they
knew and know that Zimbabwe is not Somalia or the DRC.

In saying all this, I do not hold the view that our security sector have not
made mistakes in the carrying out of their duties, but what I am calling for
is fairness and balance in analysis.

Why is it that the western world with all its so called human rights
organisations have been conspicuous by their silence on the massacre which
occurred in Marikana, South Africa? What if Marikana had been in Mhangura?
We would never have heard the end of it and probably been hauled before the
UN. But the ZRP, even in the face of gross provocation, have used baton
sticks and not bullets.

Yes there may have been and may be overzealous police officers who bring
disrepute to the ZRP, but let us give the ZRP their due, they have a done a
marvelous job in maintaining law and order and putting criminals behind bars
in this nation.

Last year, we witnessed the attempted resurrection of the MNR once again in
Mozambique with a reported 1,000 armed men gathered at Gorongosa. The
helplessness of the Mozambique armed forces in the face of this potentially
devastating scenario has been alarming.

Then in the same year, we saw another group of armed rebels, the M23,
overrun the key town of Goma in eastern DRC with the helpless UN
peacekeepers in tatters as they fled the oncoming rebels.

What we should be asking ourselves is why Gorongosa cannot be Gandanzara,
and Goma cannot be Gokwe? Our professional and patriotic security sector!

Marikana was not Mhangura, Gorongosa was not Gandanzara and Goma was not
Gokwe because we have security forces that have kept the peace, stability,
integrity and well being of the nation as the core of their raison d’être.
For that, we owe them our support and accolades not brickbats and derision.

We would do well to take in account the recent revelation that the CIA
poured millions of dollars into the Karzai government in Afghanistan to gain
influence and dictate certain outcomes. This is a very worrying revelation
and makes a complete mockery of the calls by these self same nations for
accountability, rule of law, and transparency.

It is the often illegal, covert, and destabilising support of these western
nations to the mannequin recipients of their “aid” masquerading as NGO’s,
that needs urgent reform.

If the US can pump such massive amounts of tax payers money with no
accountability whatsoever (reports indicate money being handed over the
Afghan officials stuffed in plastic carrier bags) to prop up a government
that was imposed on the people of Afghanistan through what has been widely
regarded as the most blatantly fraudulent electoral process ever conducted
under the auspices of the UN, the question must be asked of the authenticity
of many NGOs worldwide including some within our midst.

Take the so called Center for Research and Development whose major claim to
fame has been to make outrageous claims about the diamond mining processes
in Marange. What development has this organisation carried out since its
formation? Does anyone know?

What of the Zimbabwe Peace Project? Where have they been involved in peace
building in the nation? What of another group out of Bulawayo called The
Solidarity Peace Trust? Are they known for any peace initiatives in Mutoko?
Murambinda?

The fact of the matter is that if these NGO’s come under any serious
scrutiny, it will be obvious beyond any shadow of reasonable doubt that
their operations bear no semblance to what they are purportedly supposed to
do. A close examination of their financial support, however, will show that
they are the recipients of an inordinate amount of foreign funding, which
often times like the Afghan scenario is unaccounted for.

This is what needs reform because of the potential destabilising effect this
can have on national.

And so let’s be rational in the manner in which we look at our national
security sector and those that give leadership to it. General Constantine
Chiwenga, Commissioner General Augustine Chihuri, Air Vice Marshall Perence
Shiri, Commissioner General Paradzai Zimondi, Major General (retired)
Happyton Bonyongwe, Lt General Phillip V. Sibanda are not asking for
veneration or adulation but they and others, the likes of Major General
(retired) G. Mashingaidze, Brigadier General (retired) B. Mabenge, Cde
Dumiso Dabengwa, Lt Gen (retired) Mike Nyambuya and indeed a host of others
(whose bravery and exploits in giving leadership during the war of
liberation have never been fully reported and appreciated to the broad
Zimbabwean populace) need our collective recognition and respect not the
vitriol that is often spewed at them.

Bishop Trevor E. C. Manhanga is the Presiding Bishop of the Pentecostal
Assemblies of Zimbabwe. He writes in his personal capacity

MDC's appeal for reform in Zim comes too late

http://mg.co.za/

17 MAY 2013 05:00 - ANALYSIS CONSTANTINE CHIMAKURE

At the eleventh hour before the Zimbabwe poll, the Movement for Democratic
Change is only awakening to issues it may have forgotten.

The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) may have no one but itself to blame
for the situation it finds itself in.

As the sun sets on the unity government ushered in by the Global Political
Agreement (GPA), the party is hard at work trying to hold Zanu-PF to account
for reforms not implemented by the government.

By revisiting the reforms agreed to in the GPA and tracing the work
delivered by the government, it lends credence to the view that, once in
power, the MDC relaxed and forgot to keep the heat on Zanu-PF – and it may
now be too late.

On August 4 2010, a meeting between President Robert Mugabe, Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai and his deputy, Arthur Mutambara, came up with a road map
for addressing problem areas, which has largely not been followed through,
mainly as a result of Zanu-PF's intransigence and the MDC's consistent
failure to hold it to account.

The principals did not agree on issues relating to the appointment of
central bank governor Gideon Gono, attorney general Johannes Tomana and the
appointment and swearing in of the MDC's Roy Bennett as deputy agriculture
minister.

The two MDC formations have since surrendered on the appointments, with
Tsvangirai appointing the late Seiso Moyo to replace Bennett. Gono's and
Tomana's cases appear to have disapperaed from the MDC's radar.

The parties also agreed on the formula for the appointment of provincial
governors – the principals resolved that the matter would be addressed
simultaneously with the strategy for the removal of sanctions. Under the
formula, Tsvangirai was to appoint five provincial governors, Mugabe four
and Mutambara one. Again, the MDC let this slide and Mugabe ended up with a
huge advantage, regaining control of the provinces.

More than three-quarters of the agreed outstanding issues were not
implemented. It is also highly unlikely that putting the heat on Zanu-PF at
the eleventh hour before elections will yield results. Zanu-PF realises
that, with the status quo, it is in a stronger position than before.

But what were the issues to be addressed by the road map?

Media reforms
The principals resolved in August 2010 that, within a month, the
Broad­casting Authority of Zimbabwe board would be regularised, and a new
Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation board and the Zimbabwe Mass Media Trust
would be set up.

Minister of Media, Information and Publicity Webster Shamu and the
parliamentary standing rules and orders committee were tasked to execute the
mandates but, three years down the line, no changes have taken place. Shamu
is now refusing to reconstitute the boards and the trust is nonexistent.

Security institutions
Security ministers Kembo Mohadi, Theresa Makone, Emmerson Mnan­gagwa and
Sydney Sekeremayi, the National Security Council, the principals and the
entire leadership of the political parties were mandated to ensure that
Police Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri, Tomana and other state
security organs complied with articles 11 and 13 of the GPA on a continual
basis.

The articles advocate the respect and upholding of the Constitution and the
adherence to the principles of the rule of law. The articles emphasise that
state institutions do not belong to any political party and should be
impartial.

Zimbabwe's police, army and the Central Intelligence Organisation remain
partisan, with their chiefs openly campaigning for Mugabe. The MDC parties
have been exerting pressure on Mugabe only recently over these reforms, with
no success.

Sanctions
The principals agreed on an immediate campaign to secure the removal of
sanctions. It was to be executed by a committee made up of Justice Minister
Patrick Chinamasa (Zanu-PF), Energy Minister Elton Mangoma (MDC-Tsvangirai)
and International Co-operation Minister Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga (of
the smaller MDC).

Party leaders, executive party organs and lower levels of the three
political parties were also tasked to lobby for the removal of the
embargoes.

The campaign seems to have worked, especially since the March 16 draft
Constitution referendum that saw the European Union and the United States
easing the sanctions on Zimbabwe.

External radio stations
It was resolved that, within one month, the joint monitoring and
implementation committee (Jomic) and another committee should call on
foreign governments hosting and funding pirate radio stations to stop
"interference in the internal affairs of the country". No such call has been
made three years down the line. The three coalition partners are all using
these stations to get their messages to remote areas not serviced by the
national broadcaster.

Hate speech
The principals agreed that the late vice-president John Nkomo, on behalf of
government leadership, Shamu, the media council and Jomic, should direct the
media to support all agreed government programmes and put a stop to attacks
on ministers implementing the projects.

In the past three years, an escalating hate campaign has been waged against
the MDC parties, especially against Tsvangirai, in the state-run media.
Tsvangirai and the MDC parties have complained without success to Mugabe.

Ministerial allocations
The principals agreed that, for the maintenance of cohesion and progress,
the status quo must be maintained but continually monitored, hence the
continued co-ministering of the ministry of home affairs.

Land audit
Minister of Lands Herbert Murerwa, a Cabinet committee on resettlement and
development and the principals were mandated to appoint an inclusive and
balanced land audit commission by the beginning of September 2010. That has
not happened, with Murerwa last week saying government had abandoned the
project due to lack of funds.

Land tenure
Murerwa and a Cabinet committee were tasked with coming up within two months
with land tenure systems that favoured a leasehold system and guaranteed
security of tenure and collateral value of land, without reversing the land
reform programme.

They were also asked to be creative and establish tenure systems that would
take into account the different circumstances of communal land. That
agreement was never executed.

Electoral vacancies
Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Mutambara agreed that, for the duration of the
inclusive government, the three parties would not contest against each
other.

Cabinet and council of ministers
The government leadership endorsed the Cabinet and council of ministers'
rules, guidelines and procedures. This was implemented immediately.

Ministerial mandates
It was agreed that the chief secretary to the president and cabinet, Misheck
Sibanda, and the secretary in the prime minister's office, Ian Makone, would
meet and submit a report on the issue to the principals. Some duties of
Parliament were later reassigned, with the MDC-T crying foul after Mugabe
allocated communications legislation to Transport Minister Nicholas Goche at
the expense of Information Technology Communication Minis­ter Nelson
Chamisa.

Principals transport
The office of the president and Cabinet were tasked with coming up with an
administrative arrangements for Tsvangirai's fleet. The premier was provided
with a "mini-motorcade" immediately.

Tsvangirai, Mutambara aides
Sekeremayi was asked to process the vetting, training and engagement of
security personnel for Tsvangirai and Mutambara quickly. The task was
executed.

Parallel government
The principals agreed that Jomic should continually monitor and investigate
allegations that Tsvan­girai was running a parallel government funded by
donors. No report on the issue was ever made public.

External interference
The coalition partners agreed to condemn jointly any external interference
when it occurred.

National Economic Council
Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Mutambara agreed to expedite the establishment of the
National Economic Council within a month. The council remains a pipe dream.

Constitutional commissions
The government formalised the appointment of the Zimbabwe Human Rights
Commission and the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission.

National heroes
The principals agreed to expedite the adoption of nonpartisan and inclusive
principles and a framework for the designation of national heroes within two
months.

The agreement was never followed through, with Zanu-PF's politburo
continuing to accord hero status on anyone it deems fit.

George Charamba status
The chairperson of the Public Service Commission, Mariyawanda Nzuwah, and
Sibanda were tasked to ensure that the secretary for the media, information
and publicity ministry, and Mugabe's spokesperson, George Charamba, would
remain apolitical. Charamba continues to dabble in partisan politics.

Constitutional amendment
Chinamasa ensured that Constitu­tional Amendment 19, relating to the GPA,
was gazetted and assigned as directed by the principals.

Right of association and assembly
Chihuri, Mohadi and Makone were tasked to reaffirm immediately the right of
political parties to organise freely. The MDC still complains of being
barred by the police from holding rallies.

Role, funding of NGOs
The principals resolved that government, through the Cabinet aid
co-ordination committee, should determine priority areas for donor
assistance. No timeline was put in place. The committee and Cabinet were
also charged with ensuring that government improved aid co-ordination and
achieved budget support.

Amendments to Electoral Act
Chinamasa, the Cabinet and Parliament were mandated by the principals to
ensure that the Electoral Act was amended to allow free and fair polls. The
Act was altered.

Constantine Chimakure is the editor of Zimbabwean daily Newsday

Tsvangirai speech to MDC-T policy conference

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/

17/05/2013 00:00:00
     by Morgan Tsvangirai

MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai’s speech at the official opening of the party’s
policy conference in Harare on May 17, 2013:

Vice President Hon. Thokozani Khupe;
Members of the Standing Committee
Members of the Steering Committee;
Members of the National Executive and National Council;
Members of Parliament
Provincial executive members;
Members of the Diplomatic community;
Members of civil society;
Ladies and gentlemen

I stand before you as a proud President of the MDC, the party of excellence
and the party of the future. It is with great pride that I am here to
officially open this policy conference, running under the theme ‘Towards
Real Transformation’.

Today’s event is testimony to the great advances we have made as a party. It
is not every day that a political party holds a public function to announce
its programme of action once it is elected into office. Others just get into
office in the hope that the country will take care of itself.

We have lived this and we know the effects on the people of having a
government without a bankable plan or programme. For some of us, this is a
moment to cherish because this policy conference shows that we have not just
a vision, but a plan and programme to transform the country, its economic
policies and the government’s relationship with the citizens.

It is therefore with great joy that I open this conference after the country
has just endorsed a new Constitution. As the founding chairperson of the
National Constitutional Assembly, I have great personal satisfaction knowing
that the constitutional movement we began with many others all those years
ago in 1997 has resulted in this new governance charter for our country.

I say this because having a new, democratic Constitution was at the centre
of our founding aspirations and we are laying this policy programme here
today, having endorsed a new set of values under which Zimbabweans have said
they want to be governed.

So the new Constitution, in short, represents the achievement of one of the
MDC’s founding aspirations.

Now that we have a new Constitution, we must definitely have a new
government that will usher in a new and better Zimbabwe.

We are indeed a party of winners!
So today, we lay down our policy programme underpinned by our vision of a
modern, functional, healthy and integrated democratic developmental State
with a vibrant and socially-just economy that takes pride in leaving no one
behind.

Ours is a revolutionary and transformative policy programme that will
certainly lay the basis for a new Zimbabwe and a new beginning. In the
various sectors, from the economic policy to other programmes related to
social services, rights, infrastructure and security, we have a
comprehensive plan on where we want to take Zimbabwe and how we will do it.

We will open Zimbabwe for business, usher in substantive reforms in various
sectors with the sole objective of spurring economic growth, restoring our
collective dignity and creating jobs for the millions of unemployed
Zimbabweans who are struggling to survive in this dollarised economy.

This policy programme is our plan to address the many ills that we have
faced as a people. Our policies that we discuss here are an addition to
JUICE, our jobs and investment plan that we launched a few months ago.

I want to say that the terrain of the upcoming election will be determined
by those that are able to give answers to Zimbabwe’s challenges. The next
election is not necessarily going to be about who can set in motion the most
blazing violence machinery in our land.

It is not going to be about who is able to dominate media space with as much
hate speech, derogatory statements and dishonest claims and self-enrichment
disguised as empowerment of the people. It is about a party and a leader who
has the plan and the ideas that will address the many challenges facing the
people of Zimbabwe.

Certainly, yesterday people cannot provide answers to the challenges we face
today. Today’s problems need today’s people, new people with new ideas and a
new vision.

So we are going to be the new brooms that will poise this country on the
path to recovery, growth and stability.
A stable economy with shared growth and shared responsibilities is the
cornerstone of our policy programme that will ensure that as a country, we
will move towards real transformation.

Among the many sectors that need transformation, we have a new and exciting
programme of rural transformation that will ensure that the majority of the
people in the rural areas live in a new and better environment with assured
food security and adequate basic services.

In this inclusive government, we have had some limited opportunity to
showcase what the MDC can do, but we were largely limited by the policy
discord.

Despite this policy discord, however, we were able to stabilise the economy,
bring down run-away inflation, recapitalise schools and hospitals through
the education and health transition funds as well as bringing food back on
the shelves.

Through the Government Work Programme, we were able to give some respite to
the suffering Zimbabweans.
On the international scene, we had begun to re-engage Africa and the world
but the major challenge we have been burdened with in this coalition
government, as indicated before, is the policy discord arising mainly on
issues to do with empowerment and investment, as well as the stark refusal
by our partners to implement agreed reforms that would have improved the
political, social and economic environment in the country.

As a party, we are anchored in the values of the African struggles for
freedom and democracy. We pay tribute to our forebearers who carried the
torch of liberation. But we also represent a generational shift focusing on
expanding the freedoms and fulfilling the aspirations. This is why an MDC
government will forge strong ties and play a critical role in SADC and the
African Union whose 50th anniversary the whole continent is celebrating this
month.

For this continent to gain true freedom and economic prosperity, we believe
as a party that we must break the barriers to movement and trade which are
represented by the demarcated borders.

Through this policy programme, we are saying we need to be in government
alone to implement our vision, unimpeded by uncooperative and retrogressive
coalition partners.

Our experience has taught us that we need policies that are friendly to the
people and relevant to their circumstances. Policies for posterity that are
pragmatic and people-oriented will go a long way in mitigating the
challenges we face as a nation, challenges we have to overcome to ensure
that we provide for the people and that we rejoin the family of nations once
again.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is my singular honour and pleasure to declare this
policy conference officially open and to thank those who have worked hard to
ensure we are where we are today.

By unveiling this policy programme, we are sending clear and loud message
that Yes, we are ready to govern. And true, we have a vision for a new
better Zimbabwe!

I Thank You

JAG Open Letter Forum - No. 834- Dated 16th May 2013

1. Bally Vaughan

2. Voters Registration

==============================================

1. Bally Vaughan

Dear Jag,

We ask to place an advert/ announcement in JAG to correct rumors that Bally
Vaughan is closing.

Please see the attached statement.

As negative rumors threaten the future of all our operations (and wild
life!) in Bally Vaughan Game Park, we would be very grateful for the
opportunity to correct this misconception.

Thank you.

Yours sincerely,

Kathie McIntosh

Gordon and Debbie Putterill

BALLY VAUGHAN GAME PARK / MWANGA LODGE PUBLIC STATEMENT

Dear Friends of Bally Vaughan,

We make the following statement in response to numerous calls from the
public, who have been concerned to hear rumors that we are closing down, or
moving:

BALLY VAUGHAN BIRD AND GAME SANCTUARY IS NOT MOVING.

The operations of Bally Vaughan Game Park, which include Mwanga Lodge and
the Bally Vaughan Bird and Game Sanctuary, are NOT MOVING, CLOSING DOWN OR
RE-LOCATING.

Bally Vaughan Bird and Game Sanctuary has been a part of our wild life
operations for 20 years, and it will remain where it is with its precious
animals, fully functioning as a service to the public and conservation, for
years to come.

Bally Vaughan Game Park was founded and established by Robin and Kathie
McIntosh in the early 80's. Over the years the McIntosh's stocked a large
assortment of wild life (22 species) into the main Bally Vaughan Game Park,
and then built Mwanga Lodge in the park to cater for guests on safari. In
the early 90's they also built a specialised sanctuary in one corner of
Bally Vaughan Game Park for orphaned and endangered wild animals: this was
named the Bally Vaughan Bird and Game Sanctuary.

This sanctuary is still in the family, and the running of the Bally Vaughan
Sanctuary will ultimately revert to one combined operation for the whole of
Bally Vaughan Game Park, under Kathie McIntosh's daughter and son-in-law,
Debbie and Gordon Putterill.

We have some exciting new refurbishments and developments planned for the
Sanctuary.

Mwanga Lodge and Bally Vaughan Game Park continue to operate as normal, with
Day Safaris, and Overnight accommodation, conferences, special functions,
weddings, birthday parties and school trips on offer.

We are only 45 minutes from central Harare on the excellent Shamva tar road.

We can be contacted at the following numbers:Reservations04-776341 or 0772
300 935, or atthe Lodge direct 0773 061 075, 0773 066 775 and 0772 226854.
Email <gamepark@mango.zw>

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2. Voters Registration

From: Margaret Kriel magskriel@me.com

I got this from Senator Coltart this morning IMPORTANT VOTER INFORMATION

An Important notice for people born in Zimbabwe whose parents were citizens
of any SADC country at the time of their birth, and for all this time been
denied the opportunity to vote on the grounds that they are "Aliens".

This applies to all Zimbabweans whose parents in most cases originated from
neighboring countries such as Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique, Namibia, Botswana
or South Africa, you may now proceed to swap your IDs at the Office of the
Registrar General and obtain one with a "C" instead of an "A".

This means that you may now enjoy all other rights including the right to
vote same as any other citizen. This process of regularizing your ID's is
being done for free during this period of preparing for Elections.

All previously disadvantaged individuals should take this opportunity and
regularize their identity documents. Those who lost their IDs or Birth
certificates can equally go and have them replaced for free during this
period; I equally urge those who have managed to see this information to
share with other colleagues who might not be able to see it in time. In case
of any difficulties at the Office of the Registrar General please consult
your local MP or Ward Councilor who must stand ready to assist you.

This comes about as a result of sections 36 and 43(2) of the new
constitution - the latter says everyone born in Zim prior to the "effective
date" - ie the date of the new constitution one of whose parents was a SADC
citizen and who is resident in Zim at the time of the new Constitution
(important qualification because those who are overseas now will not
qualify) are entitled to citizenship.=

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All letters published on the Open Letter Forum are the views and opinions
of the submitters, and do not represent the official viewpoint of Justice
for Agriculture.