Sokwanele Article : 18 May 2007
Today is the
second anniversary of the occasion when, the grubby little
dictator, Robert
Mugabe, openly declared his contempt for the man in the
street, placed there
and suffering because of his economic policies. In an
ensuing "moment of
madness" Bob, spurred by his secret service, declared
that these people were
filth and had to be fumigated, removed like
cockroaches from the simple
homes they had lived in for years.
In the dead of winter, just like
Stalin, one his heroes, Bob set the armed
forces on defenceless families and
brought in the bulldozers to throw them
into the street. Within a matter of
weeks, 700 000 people were living in the
open, exposed to the harsh winter
by night and loss of dignity and property
by day. It was a hopeless
situation as working men and women were tormented
by the choice between
going to work and leaving their property and helpless
children in the open,
or not going to work and getting fired. The expression
between a rock and a
hard place has never been so real.
Two years later, neither the rock nor
the hard place has made way for
comfort. Instead, the people continue to eke
out a miserable life, their
eyes clearly displaying their hopelessness while
Bob gleefully speeds past
in his motorcade. An evil man indeed.
How
did the world react to this? South Africa, who blame their own
frightening
crime levels on apartheid's legacy of stripping people of their
dignity and
on poverty, saw no evil at all and continued its quiet diplomacy
with
Brother Bob. Does this country, the so-called hope of Africa, deserve
to
host the world cup?
The UN, it must be admitted, sent in Anna to confront
King Bob. She wrote a
good report and was called all sorts of names by Zanu
PF, a fate which
befalls everyone who dares criticise Bob and his policies.
The UN
bureaucrats did their work but Kofi Annan was focussed on something
else -
his impending retirement. So more 'quiet diplomacy' ensued and won
the day
as Annan's schedule did not allow him to visit this country while he
jet-setted the world making farewell speeches. It was a question of
priorities.
Zimbabweans helped where they could but, in their
majority, whispered
comments in the privacy of their offices. Nearly all
expressed sympathy;
however, no public display of outrage ever occurred.
Some companies bought a
few tents for some of their staff and, with
conscience clear, went back to
the business of seeing to the bottom line.
The opposition stayed ominously
silent, with no attempt to mobilise the
people.
The rest of Africa either supported Bob or kept their heads
averted in
passive solidarity. There is a tremendous shame in Africa when to
spite your
face you cut off your nose. Just for the sake of thumbing their
noses at the
EU, African leaders did not condemn Bob.
Instead, two
years later, they have rewarded this evil regime by nominating
and electing
it to head the UN body on Sustainable Development. Sustainable
Development!?
The irony could not be more bitter for those people still
living in plastic
tents with absolutely no facilities at all. Their fate was
sealed simply
because a grubby little dictator was afraid the people would
rise up against
him. So, he set out to destroy them and send them back to
the bleak
backwaters of the rural areas.
The pain of last week's endorsement of
Zimbabwe at the UN could not be more
poignant. How dare the world vote him
in to lead the way in sustainable
development, for a country no longer able
to feed itself, not because of
drought or non existent sanctions, but
because Bob in a great sulk after
being defeated in a referendum, set about
punishing the people by
dismantling the agricultural sector. It is a
deep-seated evil that knows no
bounds.
The praise singers in his
party all have relatives who were affected by this
operation and still they
have no shame in actively applauding the oppression
of a humble people. It
was not the first time, nor will it be the last the
Bob has insulted all who
dare oppose him: in the language typical of a
cunning and manipulative thug,
he called on peasants to "strike fear in the
hearts of our enemy the
whites," he then turned on the same peasants and
called them "totemless
people" and "filth" and now he is restoring their
citizenship rights because
he needs them for 2008.
The man is truly evil and yet he gets away with
it every time. He has
demonstrated that no one is above a bashing from him;
his own party members,
business executives, the man in the street, lawyers,
judges, women marching
with children, church leaders, members of the
opposition - in short anyone
who dares oppose him is the enemy.
This
man stands alone, evil and surrounded by fear and misery. Yet he
continues
to gloat publicly like Bokassa, Mobutu and Amin did before him.
Africa
should be hanging its head in shame.
Zim Online
Friday 18
May 2007
By Regerai Marwezu
MASVINGO - President
Robert Mugabe's government has begun recruiting 10 000
war veterans into the
army's structures as a "reserve force" in preparation
for next year's
presidential and parliamentary elections.
In public notices placed in
newspapers on Thursday, the Ministry of Defence
under which the war veterans
fall, invited all former combatants to meetings
around the country where
details of the conscription were set to be
discussed.
The war
veterans have since the 2000 parliamentary election served as Mugabe's
foot
soldiers unleashing violence and terror against the main opposition
Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC) supporters around the country.
The government
in April announced plans to conscript veterans of Zimbabwe's
1970s
liberation war into a reserve force of the army in a move analysts
said was
a bid to bolster its hold on power and to clamp down on a resurgent
opposition ahead of next year's election.
Political violence and
human rights abuses, mostly blamed on pro-government
militia and war
veterans, traditionally pick up in the run-up to major
elections.
Sources within the Ministry of Defence told ZimOnline
yesterday that the
government wanted to retrain and arm all surviving war
veterans ahead of the
elections that analysts have said Mugabe could heavily
lose.
The sources added that the war veterans would be trained in weapons
handling
and other war drills.
Isaiah Muzenda, the provincial
chairperson for war veterans in the southern
Masvingo province, confirmed
that the war veterans will undergo some form of
military training this
year.
"The meetings which are going to be held this month around the
country will
focus on the retraining of our members. As you know, we are
approaching
elections and it is time that we find out if we are still fit
and strong.
"We will campaign for our patron President Mugabe and as a
reserve force,
fitness is of great importance," said Muzenda.
But
Defence Minister Sydney Sekeramayi sought to downplay the matter when
contacted by ZimOnline yesterday insisting that the training was part of
refresher courses that his ministry conducts regularly for both serving and
retired members of the army.
"The retraining of war veterans and
retired members of the army has been an
ongoing exercise. It's only that the
programme is gathering momentum this
year because funds have be made
available," said Sekeramayi.
Last month, ZimOnline reported that Mugabe
was setting up a 15 000-member
youth militia to spearhead his election
campaign next year. The youth
militia, like the war veterans, are a vital
cog in Mugabe's electioneering
machine.
Churches and human rights
groups accuse the war veterans and youth militia
of hunting down opposition
supporters, beating, raping and torturing and
sometimes murdering them for
not backing the government, a charge the
government denies.
Mugabe,
who will again stand for re-election next year, has ruled Zimbabwe
since its
1980 independence from Britain. But critics say his controversial
policies
are responsible for an economic meltdown, which has left the
majority of
Zimbabweans mired in poverty as unemployment rockets and
inflation surges to
over 3 700 percent.
The crisis has escalated political tensions, which
have sparked a violent
crackdown on the opposition that saw MDC leader
Morgan Tsvangirai and scores
of party activists brutally assaulted and
tortured by the police last
March. -ZimOnline
Zim Online
Friday 18 May 2007
By Edith
Kaseke
HARARE - President Robert Mugabe has signed a law to freeze prices
and wages
but analysts saw little chances of the communist-style legislation
succeeding to rein in hyperinflation without buy-in from haggling tripartite
parties and predicted severe shortages of basic commodities in the long
term.
The Price and Incomes Stabilisation Protocol, which will
establish a price
and incomes commission is the first step in a process
aimed at creating a
social partnership, which the central bank governor
Gideon Gono says is
necessary to tame inflation.
The commission
immediately had its work cut out after official data showed
that inflation,
which Gono has likened to the deadly HIV pandemic, galloped
past 3 700
percent in April as prices continued to soar on a daily basis.
Zimbabwe
is now officially facing hyperinflation.
"This will be difficult to
effect and it might work for a little while but
then in the long-term we
will have empty shelves," Tony Hawkins, a business
studies lecturer at the
University of Zimbabwe said, suggesting this would
lead to shortages of
commodities.
"But importantly this shows the government has run out of
options," he
added, echoing other economists who say Mugabe's government has
hit a policy
dead-end.
Economic commentators said the government
should abandon its populist
policies and restore the rule of law. It should
also ease controls on the
foreign exchange market, crack the whip on people
who are underutilising
farms and increase timely support to the farmers and
ease a crackdown on
political opponents, which continues to tarnish the
country's image among
foreign investors.
Zimbabweans are grappling
with daily price increases and inflation, which is
also the world's highest,
and is the clearest indicator of a debilitating
economic crisis and has left
eight in every ten Zimbabweans without
employment.
The government
charges that businesses have continued to unjustifiably
increase prices
while Mugabe says some companies are working with his
Western foes to raise
prices of commodities to fuel anger and turn
Zimbabweans against his
embattled government.
The new law will set parameters and models which
industry has to follow when
pricing goods and services and for employers and
workers when negotiating
salaries.
Business leaders cautiously
welcomed the new legislation and said its
success depended on whether there
were adequate foreign currency supplies,
increased agriculture production
and constant fuel and power supplies.
The agriculture sector, which is
the backbone of the economy, has all but
collapsed and critics say Mugabe's
seizures of land from white farmers to
give to landless blacks has knocked
commercial farming, which used to be the
biggest foreign currency earner and
top employer.
"We should understand that freezing prices and salaries is
not an end to
itself, it is only part of a bigger process that we have to go
through in
order to stabilise the economy," Callisto Jokonya, the president
of the
Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries said.
"Right now industry
is heavily constrained and productivity is very low,
around 30 percent. One
of the critical areas we as industry want addressed
is the pricing and
availability of foreign currency which companies require
for survival," he
added.
Industrialists argue that they are sourcing foreign currency on
the black
market, where the United States dollar was trading at $35 000 to
the
Zimbabwe dollar and are forced to index their prices using the black
market
rates.
Zimbabwe is experiencing its worst ever economic crisis
that is marked by
unemployment above 80 percent, severe shortages of foreign
currency, food
and fuel and frequent electricity cuts.
This has left
workers unable to feed their families and resorting to
subsisting for
survival but political analysts war that anger among the
workers could spill
onto the streets and turn violent.
The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions
[ZCTU] and consumer groups welcomed
the establishment of the commission but
the labour group maintained that it
would only be part of it if employers,
including the government, raised
wages to the poverty datum line
first.
"Our position is clear, that we will only agree to a wage freeze
if the
salary of the least paid worker is adjusted to the PDL, that is the
position
of workers," ZCTU secretary general Wellington Chibebe
said.
Mugabe denies that he has presided over the collapse of the economy
and
instead points a finger at former colonial master Britain for mobilising
its
Western allies to punish his government for seizing land from the white
farmers. -ZimOnline
Zim Online
Friday 18 May 2007
By Sebastian
Nyamhangambiri
HARARE - The Zimbabwean government has dispatched 16
police officers to
South Africa to search and locate places where opposition
party youths were
allegedly trained to carry out terrorist activities, the
High Court heard
yesterday.
Tawanda Zvakare and a Mr Makwikwi from
the Attorney General's office told
High Court Judge Yunus Omerjee during a
bail hearing for 18 Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) activists that the
state could not proceed with the
case as its officers were still in South
Africa investigating the case.
The state says the MDC activists received
terrorist training in South Africa
and were behind a spate of petrol bomb
attacks on state institutions last
March.
The MDC activists have been
languishing in remand prison since March. They
are denying the
charge.
"One has to understand that the case is extra-territorial and we
have to
engage the South African government at times - hence the delay in
finishing
investigations by the state," said Makwikwi.
"The team that
has gone to South Africa will complete their investigations
in a week after
which we can set the trial date," he added.
Omerjee gave the state until
1 June to present its case against the MDC
activists.
Charles
Kwaramba, for the defence, however complained to the judge that the
state
was dragging its feet in wrapping up its investigations in the case.
The
case has been postponed three times with the state saying it was still
to
finish its investigations.
"The state has not been able to bring its
witnesses or at least substantiate
its claims so we can't have these people
in custody forever. The case has to
come to some finality," said
Kwaramba.
The MDC activists who include journalist Luke Tamborinyoka,
former First
Mutual Life Assurance chairman Ian Makone and Glen View
legislator Paul
Madzore have been in custody for close to two
months.
The South African government last month rejected charges that
there were any
military bases for the training of MDC insurgents in the
country. -
ZimOnline
Zim Online
Friday 18 May 2007
By Wayne
Mafaro
HARARE - Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor Gideon Gono on
Thursday
told parliamentarians to grant greater autonomy to the central bank
and
accused unnamed figures "benefiting from the current crisis" of
attempting
to interfere with monetary policy management.
Gono told
the legislators that countries with independent central banks had
a better
record on inflation management, appearing to suggest the RBZ had
failed to
tame inflation - now more than 3 700 and the highest in the
world - due to
interference by outside forces.
"It is recommended that the Constitution
and the Reserve Bank Act expressly
provide for the operational independence
of the Central Bank in the pursuit
of its primary objectives," said Gono, in
what should come as a surprise to
most Zimbabweans who consider the RBZ
chief closest to President Robert
Mugabe and therefore able to push through
whatever policies he wanted.
Gono, who is a former personal banker of
Mugabe, was appointed head of the
RBZ in 2003 and tasked to bring down
inflation and lead efforts to revive
Zimbabwe's comatose economy.
But
the economy has continued shrinking while inflation surges to new
heights
almost on a daily basis and the International Monetary Fund has
blamed
Gono's habit of printing worthless money to dole out to perennially
loss-making and mismanaged state firms as one of the chief drivers of
inflation.
Several top government officials have meanwhile accused
Gono of behaving
like a prime minister and interfering in other departments
while ignoring
his chief responsibility to ensure sound monetary
policy.
The RBZ governor however accused powerful figures he did not name
of wanting
to influence the central bank in the discharge of its duties and
said top
officials corruptly benefiting from Zimbabwe's economic crisis were
the ones
complaining that he was interfering in their work.
"Those
benefiting from the current crisis find reasons to accuse the
governor of
interfering in certain sectors. We have no apologies to make for
the
intervention we have done even when we do the unorthodox," he
said.
Zimbabwe is in the grip of its worst ever economic recession and
which in
addition to hyperinflation has also resulted in unemployment
soaring to over
80 percent and sparked crunch shortages of food, fuel and
foreign currency.
Economic experts say it is almost impossible to
resuscitate the southern
African country's economy without substantial
financial aid from the
international community. - ZimOnline
The Times
May 18, 2007
Jan Raath in
Harare
The cost of living doubled in Zimbabwe last month, lifting the annual
rate
of inflation above 3,700 per cent, a stark sign of the economic turmoil
blamed on government policies. Prices of food - which make up one third of
the consumer basket used to calculate inflation - domestic power, fuel and
public transport fares contributed to the steep rise, according to
Zimbabwe's
Central Statistical Office.
Economists forecast that
inflation will continue to spiral out of control.
Tony Hawkins, an
independent economist in Harare, said: "It will be well
above 10,000 per
cent by the end of the year, probably nearer 15,000 per
cent."
The
latest inflation figures were published a week late and hidden away on
the
inside pages of the state-controlled Herald newspaper.
A single brick now
costs what ten years ago would have bought a mansion in
the capital's
upmarket areas. This week the cost of postage stamps went up
600 per cent.
In the confusion over the value of anything, two cans of baked
beans and a
bottle of beer will also provide three months' subscription to
the Harare
Club, the city's elite gentlemen's club that has reciprocity with
most of
London's main clubs.
Last month Nicholas Goche, the Minister of Labour,
admitted that he paid
workers on the farm he seized from white farmers, the
sum of Zim$10,000
(£20) a month, the same as one copy of The
Herald.
President Mugabe, who holds an economics degree from London
University and
maintains that printing money keeps prices down, added a new
weapon to his
quixotic war with inflation this week, and signed laws to
establish an
Incomes and Pricing Commission. It will have sole right to set
charges for
the hundreds of price-controlled items, and establish profit
margins. Anyone
who violates the fixed prices can be jailed for up to five
years.
In the past eight years of accelerating economic chaos, price
controls have
become a main cause of inflation, forcing manufacturers to go
out of
business or stop production because of the unworkable prices imposed,
and
making goods available only on the far dearer black market. "It is going
to
create some kind of price freeze," said Mr Hawkins. "There will be
shortages
all over, and manufacturers will find they cannot
produce."
With the announcement of the new inflation figures, the illegal
"parallel"
rate of exchange - the mark generally used by business in the
country -
soared yesterday to Zim $70,000 to the pound. At the beginning of
the year
it stood at Zim$7,000 to the pound.
Mr Mugabe, Zimbabwe's
sole ruler since independence in 1980, blames Western
sanctions for the
state of the economy. The country faces food shortages
this year after a
deficit of the staple maize crop. This week officials
cautioned of bread
shortages because wheat growers had so far planted only
10 per cent of their
targets.
Freedom House
Washington, D.C.,May 17, 2007
On the eve of
the two-year anniversary of the large-scale razing of Zimbabwe's
residential
neighborhoods, the government continues its brutal crackdown on
opposition
activists and sympathizers in a systematic attempt to eradicate
the
opposition.
Operation Murambatsvina, also known as Operation Restore
Order, was launched
March 18, 2005, by President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF
party as an "urban
renewal" campaign. What actually transpired was a
weeks-long operation of
forced evictions and destruction that left over
700,000 Zimbabweans
homeless. Taking place less than two months after the
disputed 2005
parliamentary elections, Operation Murambatsvina is widely
perceived as
having been an act of retribution against the urban poor who
had voted for
the opposition.
"Two years ago, the international
community was shocked by the lengths to
which President Mugabe would go to
protect his power," said Jennifer
Windsor, Executive Director of Freedom
House. "In hindsight, however, it's
clear that Operation Murambatsvina was
only the prelude to a much more
extensive campaign of brutality and
repression."
Today, the period leading up to Zimbabwe's March 2008
presidential elections
is marked by an escalating violent campaign against
those suspected of
belonging to or sympathizing with the opposition. In a
systematic effort to
destroy the structures of the opposition, the Mugabe
government is targeting
individuals at all levels of the opposition, from
student advocates to
municipal leaders of the Movement for Democratic
Change. In addition,
prominent civil society activists and even ordinary
citizens in Harare are
being abducted and beaten, and police are now
focusing on lawyers in an
attempt to destroy the opposition's last line of
defense.
"This continuing effort to destroy methodically the opposition
proves that
Mugabe is determined to hold on to power at any cost," said Ms.
Windsor.
"Order should be restored in Zimbabwe - but for the purpose of
stopping the
violence and making way for genuine elections."
Zimbabwe
is one of the world's most repressive states, and ranks as Not Free
in the
2007 edition of Freedom in the World. The country received a rating
of 7 (on
a scale of 1 to 7, with 7 as the lowest) for political rights and a
6 for
civil liberties.
Freedom House, an independent nongovernmental
organization that supports the
expansion of freedom in the world, has
monitored political rights and civil
liberties in Zimbabwe since
1980.
New Zimbabwe
By
Obert Chaurura Gutu
Last updated: 05/18/2007 11:29:12
THE Constitution of
Zimbabwe, under Chapter 8, provides for the creation of
the judiciary. The
head of the judiciary in Zimbabwe is the Chief Justice
and the judiciary
forms one of the three organs of the State; the other two
being the
executive and the legislature.
The doctrine of separation of powers
basically ensures that State powers are
not concentrated in any one organ of
the State. It is not uncommon however,
particularly in totalitarian regimes,
to have State powers unduly
concentrated in the executive arm of the State
with the legislature and the
judiciary only being weak and severely
compromised institutions.
An independent judiciary is the cornerstone of
a democratic nation. It
naturally follows that an independent and fearless
judiciary is a necessary
instrument in upholding the rule of law and the
observance of human rights.
On the other hand, a biased, partisan and
corrupt judiciary is the nemesis
of a democratic
dispensation.
History is abound with examples of how dictators normally
ensure the
subjugation and subordination of the judiciary in their quest to
hold onto
power and thus, bastardise the rule of law. The rule of law is
defined as
the respect for a set of legal rules and procedures ultimately
aimed at
conforming to the requirements of the observance of basic
fundamental human
rights. It cannot be over emphasised, therefore, that a
judiciary that is
biased, inefficient, corrupt and lacking in independence
is the very
foundation for the decay of democracy values and the emergence
of
totalitarianism.
By deliberately providing for the establishment
of the three organs of the
State, the Constitution of Zimbabwe sought to
provide a system of checks and
balances where no one organ of the State
should dominate and indeed,
frustrate the other.
The absence of an
independent and fearless judiciary inevitably encourages
the supremacy of
the law of the jungle i.e. where might is right. This is a
primitive and
chaotic state of affairs where the guiding principle is the
survival of the
fittest or put alternatively; the survival and economic
domination of the
politically well-connected. Indeed, it is the antithesis
of the rule of law
when the law of the jungle is left to rule the roost.
It is a fact that
the world's most politically stable and economically
vibrant nations are
invariably those that have a fearless and independent
judiciary. A judiciary
that is emasculated tends to be weak, biased and
corrupt. Such a judiciary
will be a purveyor of injustice, oppression and
general misrule.
In
Zimbabwe, we should never allow our judiciary to be compromised and also
to
be seen to be prone to abuse by politicians and some other such
characters
who are keen to push forward their undemocratic agendas. A
judiciary which
fails to fearlessly articulate, defend and uphold the basic
human rights of
citizens is a betrayal of the people. Such a judiciary
inevitably becomes a
catalyst to the sustenance of a dictatorship.
An independent and fearless
judiciary should go out of its way to prove that
everyone is equal before
the law. Such a judiciary should instil the
people's confidence in the legal
system of Zimbabwe and it should be
uncompromising when it comes to the
upholding and enforcement of the rule of
law.
Recently, the country
witnessed a very sad and unfortunate development in
which all the learned
magistrates in Manicaland province refused to preside
over the criminal
trial of the Minister of Justice mainly because a certain
named top
government official had threatened all the magistrates with
unspecified harm
and had also accused the magistrates of being members of a
certain
opposition party.
Surely, such a state of affairs is a very sad
indictment on the level of
fear that is found in some members of the
judiciary. How then can we talk
about the rule of law in Zimbabwe when
magistrates in the whole province of
Manicaland were so afraid of presiding
over the criminal trial of the
Minister of Justice? This is a
shame!
An independent and fearless judiciary is the main champion of
justice and
fairness. It is the ultimate authority for the enforcement and
observance of
human rights and the rule of law. A judiciary that takes ages
to deal with
election petitions inevitably compromises its integrity and its
impartiality
in the minds of all right-thinking people. A judiciary that
slavishly take
sides with the whims and designs of the executive arm of the
State at the
expense of the enforcement of basic human rights is a disgrace
to the
generality of Zimbabweans.
All court cases, be they
politically connected or not; deserve to be handled
with speed, efficiency,
competence and extreme impartiality. A situation
were litigants wait for
unduly long periods of time before their cases are
heard and finalised,
particularly in election petitions, is a negation of
the people's
fundamental human rights. Justice delayed is justice denied.
Because of
the overwhelming importance of the judiciary in a democratic
dispensation,
judicial officers should be persons of unquestionable
integrity, competence
and professionalism. It is my humble view that there
should be a rigorous
screening and selection process before someone is
appointed to the
judiciary; particularly to the High Court and Supreme Court
benches.
We might have to learn from the example of South Africa
where all persons
ear marked for appointment as judges have to appear before
a parliamentary
committee as part of the screening process. The
parliamentary committee
consists of members from all political parties
represented in Parliament.
This committee scrutinises and debates the
suitability of candidates before
they can be appointed to a high judicial
office such as to be a High Court
judge, Supreme Court of Appeal judge or a
judge of the Constitutional Court.
Preferably, therefore, only persons who
have an illustrious and outstanding
record in any relevant legal context,
should be appointed to a high judicial
office.
Judicial officers
should shun corruption. A corrupt judiciary is extremely
dangerous for it
can be abused and manipulated by powerful and influential
people; including
the fabulously rich and the politically well-connected.
The example of the
Kenyan judiciary is apt. Not too long ago, the Chief
Justice and twenty
three other senior judges in Kenya had to resign after
findings from the
Ringera Report were presented to President Kibaki. The
Ringera Report
contained damning details of corruption and abuse of power
within the Kenyan
judiciary.
The majority of the judges implicated in corrupt dealings
opted to resign
rather than to be probed by a tribunal as recommended by the
Honourable
Justice Ringera's report.
Judicial officers in Zimbabwe
should view the Ringera report as a warning
signal. The time shall soon come
when all incompetent, inefficient and
corrupt officers will face the music.
The people are angry. Very, very
angry!
Obert Chaurura Gutu is a Gutu
& Chikowero lawyer. He can be contacted on
e-mail gutulaw@mweb.co.zw
Accra Daily Mail
| Posted:
Friday, May 18, 2007
DearEditor,
It is disturbing to see some
African leaders pampering the Zimbabwean
president Robert Mugabe.
The
ongoing African Commission on Human and People's Rights session in Accra
should not be an opportunity for Mugabe 's men to defend their crackdown on
innocent Zimbabweans and opposition officials.
As a Zimbabwean, my
heart bleeds whenever the situation in our country is
talked about; once the
bread basket of Africa the country has been relegated
into a
beggar.
After independence we had hope that this was the dawn of a new
era that
characterized freedom of expression and other fundamental freedoms,
but alas
we were in for a rude surprise, not only were our freedoms taken
but our
right to live too. Any dissent against the government is met with
the
highest punishment on earth: death.
Robert Mugabe rushed through
land reform purportedly aimed at giving poor
black farmers access to good
quality land. But the reform was poorly managed
the new owners, all of them
Mugabe 's cronies and supporters lacked the
necessary capital,
infrastructure, equipment, seeds and fertilizers, and as
a result were
unable to farm effectively or at all.
Confronted with plummeting
popularity, Mugabe is willing to do anything to
stay in power. Using war
veterans, police, army, and other ZANU-PF
supporters to suppress violently
all opponents, he has institutionalized an
authoritarian system in
Zimbabwe.
The media is being unfair with Zimbabweans, as a lot of human
rights abuses
go on unmentioned, we want political change in our country,
Mugabe cannot
offer us that and whoever is ready to help us weather they are
in the West
or in Africa is welcome.
Zimbabwe's problems cannot be
blamed on so-called sanctions; the economic
meltdown began way before them,
all our problems are Mugabe's fault. Any
amount of distortion and buying
Mugabe 's anti-West propaganda is a great
disservice to the suffering people
of Zimbabwe.
Asher Tarivona Mutsengi
Calgary,Canada
IOL
May 18
2007 at 11:59AM
Harare - A reporter with one of Zimbabwe's official
newspapers got "a
taste of state medicine" last week when police angrily
confiscated his
camera and press card after a cabinet minister accused him
of spreading
falsehoods, it was reported on Friday.
Samuel
Kadungure, a reporter with the state-controlled Manica Post
weekly, was
covering a tour of a diamond mining area in Chiadzwa, eastern
Zimbabwe last
Thursday.
He was in the company of National Security Minister
Didymus Mutasa,
said the Manica Post, which is based in the border city of
Mutare.
"When Mutasa introduced the reporter to Mines and Mining
Development
Minister Amos Midzi all hell broke loose," Kadungure
said.
In an unusual show of discord between senior government
ministers,
Midzi accused the reporter of gate-crashing a protected zone. He
told police
to seize Kadungures state-issued press card and camera, the
reporter
claimed.
Zimbabwe is a notoriously difficult place for
reporters to work in,
unless they are employed by the state-controlled
media. Reporters for
official radio and newspapers are normally able to work
without harassment.
Reporters for the independent press are
frequently arrested under
Zimbabwes tough press law, the Access to
Information and Protection of
Privacy Act (AIPPA), which stipulates that all
media workers must hold a
valid licence.
Licences are rarely
issued to those working for the independent press.
The clampdown on
the private press has steadily worsened in the last
two months, with at
least four reporters beaten, a Time magazine
correspondent from Britain
arrested and forced to leave the country and an
ageing local cameraman
abducted and killed.
Kadungure was rescued by a senior police
officer, according to the
Manica Post. His equipment and press card were
only returned a day later.
The reporter described the altercation as "sad."
- Sapa-dpa
IOL
Boyd
Webb
May 18 2007 at 07:11AM
South Africans will just
have to learn to live with the millions of
illegal immigrants flooding the
country, President Thabo Mbeki told MPs on
Thursday.
"I think
that is something we have to live with," Mbeki told the
national assembly.
He was responding to a question from Democratic Alliance
chief whip Douglas
Gibson on how the government planned to manage the
estimated 3,5 million
illegal immigrants fleeing economic and political
strife and coming into
South Africa.
The president said while South Africa would continue
to arrest illegal
immigrants, the constant inflow was something that had to
be accepted.
It was common knowledge that at around Christmas many
Zimbabweans who
were in the country illegally handed themselves over to
authorities for
deportation back home, he said.
"We pay for
their fares to go back to Zimbabwe and the same person
would reappear a year
later to say, 'I am illegal please deport me to
Zimbabwe'."
Mbeki said it was a difficult situation but that South Africa would
not
build a "Great Wall of China" between South Africa and Zimbabwe to stop
people crossing the borders.
Gibson, acting as DA parliamentary
leader, asked Mbeki if the South
African government would put pressure on
Zimbabwe if that country refused to
allow access to a Pan African
Parliamentary fact-finding mission.
Mbeki replied that he was not
aware that the government of Zimbabwe
had prohibited such a
visit.
"I can't imagine that Zimbabwe, who is a member of the Pan
African
Parliament, would not want to talk to members of the Pan African
Parliament.
I don't see how that would happen," Mbeki said.
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's ruling party last week reacted
angrily
to a resolution passed by African lawmakers to send a delegation to
probe
rights abuses in Zimbabwe.
Joram Gumbo, a Zanu-PF delegate to PAP,
said he and other ruling-party
delegates had failed to block a resolution
passed last Friday to send a
fact-finding mission to Zimbabwe.
Dismissing the PAP as a "noise-making organisation", Gumbo said Harare
had
the power to prevent such a mission from entering the country.
But
Mbeki, who has been mandated by the African Union to help Zimbabwe
out of
its economic and social crises, said he had no information that there
was a
problem.
"So let's wait and see what happens," he
said.
The latest blow for South Africa's beleaguered neighbouring
state came
last week when the Famine Early Warning Systems Network, which
monitors food
security in sub-Saharan Africa, issued an alert that Zimbabwe
had produced
less than half the maize it needs to feed its
people.
Until 2000 when Mugabe began seizing white-owned farms,
which produced
40 percent of Zimbabwe's foreign earnings, Zimbabwe was a net
exporter of
food. But, now with inflation topping 2 200 percent, Zimbabwe's
agricultural
sector is on its knees.
Mbeki said discussions
between Zimbabwe's ruling party and the two
opposition parties were "going
well".
However, he would not divulge any information as he said all
parties
had agreed that the matter would not be discussed through the
media.
This article was originally published on page 4 of
Pretoria News on
May 18, 2007
Daily Mail
By GEOFFREY WANSELL Last updated at 00:44am
on 18th May 2007
Torture and starvation routine. Disease and death
commonplace. And if you
escape all that, there's always cannibalism to
contend with. The fate that
awaits British mercenary Simon Mann in the
cruellest jail on the planet.
Malaria and yellow fever are endemic,
there is an infestation of rats and
the sadistic guards think nothing of
torture and keeping inmates starved of
food for days on end.
Black
Beach prison in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea (off the west coast of
Africa), is
surely worse than the notorious Devil's Island, home to the
fictional
Papillon.
There are no human rights, no proper access for lawyers, no
regular family
visits, no medical supervision; in fact, almost no contact
whatever with the
outside world from behind the barbed wire and the guard
towers.
The jail, situated on the tropical volcanic island of Bioko, is a
black hole
into which prisoners disappear - often in mysterious
circumstances - or die
of chronic disease after being beaten.
Small
wonder that the 53-year-old British former SAS officer and alleged
mercenary
Simon Mann - who last week lost his battle to avoid extradition
from
Zimbabwe to Equatorial Guinea, where he is accused of organising a
"coup" to
overthrow the oil-rich country's despotic government - is
convinced he will
die in the isolated prison.
Mann's lawyer, Jonathan Samkange,
said after the extradition hearing: "I'm
not going to allow Simon to go to
Equatorial Guinea because I know for sure
he'll be killed."
He has
every right to be concerned. According to sources inside Equatorial
Guinea,
the President has promised his henchmen that once Mann, a close
friend of
Sir Mark Thatcher, is extradited to Black Beach, he will be
paraded in
triumph to his palace in the old port of Malabo to be sodomised
personally
by the President before being skinned alive.
Such taunts are typical of a
man who reportedly thinks nothing of torturing
and executing his political
opponents once they have reached the jail.
One political opponent, Pedro
Motu Mamiaga, is said to have had his liver
removed - which the President
then ate.
Like Idi Amin of Uganda, President Teodoro Obiang Nguema likes
to suggest he
is a cannibal, to maintain his power and
mystique.
Friends of Mann (the Old Etonian son of a Fifties England
cricket captain)
fear he will be tortured, not just to extract information
about the alleged
coup but to satisfy the President's demands.
"The
catalogue of murder and torture in his prisons, police stations and
elsewhere is toecurling," explains one expert on the
country.
"Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch frequently report
on
extra-judicial executions, torture and rape by police and
soldiers."
Two years ago, a British judge described the President as "a
despot who
rules without regard to the rule of law or democratic
institutions such as
free elections, and through a regime which uses torture
to procure
confessions".
At the time, on state radio, Nguema declared
himself a "god" who can kill
without "anyone calling him to
account".
Mann, whose wife is living in their Hampshire home, would not
be the first
to suffer in Black Beach, where prisoners have their jaws
broken as a matter
of course, or their forearms snapped.
One French
economist bent on exposing corruption in the country had the
veins in his
neck sliced open.
Indeed, the fate of the foreign prisoners has been of
rapidly increasing
concern since the death of a German who was a member of
Mann's alleged plot
to overthrow the President.
Gerhard Eugen Nershz
died in 2005 from what the authorities officially
described as "cerebral
malaria with complications".
He was taken to hospital just hours before
his death, where witnesses said
he had "severe injuries" to both his hands
and feet apparently caused by
torture.
The United Nations, the
American State Department and Amnesty have all drawn
attention to the
"disappearance" of three members of the Equatorial Guinea
armed forces and a
civilian, also held in Black Beach.
All four were later found guilty, in
their absence, of planning a coup.
The list of horror stories surrounding
the jail goes on.
In September 2002, inmate Juan Asumu Sima died shortly
after his trial for
another coup attempt.
During the trial - in which
he was convicted - he needed help to stand, and
reportedly had scars
on
his legs and arms, consistent with accounts that he was severely
tortured in
detention. He repeatedly requested medical assistance, but was
refused.
Some months later, Felipe Ondo Obiang, head of one of the
opposition parties
to the President and accused of being involved in another
coup attempt, also
vanished. (He had already been sentenced to 20 years in
Black Beach.)
There was speculation that he had been abducted, and he has
not been seen
since.
At least 13 other co-accuseds remain in Black
Beach - most, if not all, were
severely tortured at the time of their
arrest, according to Amnesty, which
added that they were refused medical
attention, against UN rules.
Simon Mann, who is reported to be in poor
health and in need of a hip
replacement and hernia surgery, is unlikely to
receive any medical attention
should he be sent to Black Beach.
Yet
medical treatment would be just one of his problems. Prisoners at Black
Beach face another privation - lack of food.
Their daily ration of
one cup of rice a day was reduced to one or two bread
rolls a day three
years ago, but even that has been cut recently.
Prisoners can go for six
days at a time without receiving food.
Another of Mann's colleagues in
the alleged coup conspiracy was former South
African Army officer Nick du
Toit.
He was allegedly part of an "advance party", waiting for Mann and
about 70
other mercenaries to arrive.
However, the plotters were
arrested in Harare after a large consignment of
weapons was seized at the
city's airport and Zimbabwean prosecutors accused
them of planning a coup in
Equatorial Guinea.
As part of a plea bargain in South Africa, where he
was accused of being
part of the plot, Sir Mark Thatcher admitted leasing a
helicopter for Mann,
knowing it was to be used in the coup bid.
Du
Toit was jailed for 34 years in 2005 after what Amnesty alleges was a
"grotesquely unfair" trial.
At first, he admitted taking part in the
coup attempt, but withdrew his
statement, claiming it was given under
torture.
He has managed to smuggle letters out of Black Beach to his
wife, Belinda,
who says: "He's so thin that he looks like a grain of
rice."
Amnesty says that du Toit and ten other foreigners sentenced with
him are at
imminent risk of starvation.
All foreign prisoners are
kept inside their cell for 24 hours a day, with
their hands and legs
shackled at all times.
The prison authorities block all contact with
their lawyers, consular
officials or members of their
families.
Belinda said: "I can't believe there are places that operate
this way."
Sometimes there is no access to water. Even when it is
available, it is
dirty and Belinda is worried about cholera.
Her
husband is reportedly in poor health following a series of beatings and
the
persistent lack of food.
"Many prisoners are extremely weak because of
torture or ill-treatment and
chronic illness," says Kolawole Olaniyan,
director of Amnesty's Africa
programme.
"Unless immediate action is
taken, many of those detained there will die.
"It is a scandalous failure
by the authorities to fulfil their most basic
responsibilities under
international law."
Another Amnesty campaign director, Stephen Bowen,
similarly says: "Such near
starvation, lack of medical attention and
appalling prison conditions are
nothing short of a slow, lingering death
sentence."
But what is it about Equatorial Guinea that inspires these
brutal, mindless
atrocities?
The answer can be traced to the
traditions of the ruling Nguema family.
The country became a republic in
1968 and the first elected president,
Macias Nguema (the current ruler's
uncle), took control.
Within a few months, he killed an opponent by
breaking his legs and letting
him die of malnutrition.
He then
murdered ten members of his Cabinet and, according to Amnesty,
massacred
"tens of thousands of his own people".
The country soon got the nickname
"the Dachau of Africa" and more than
100,000 of its inhabitants
fled.
Nguema next banned medicines - which were deemed
"un-African".
This led to the widespread return of tropical diseases,
including yellow
fever, malaria, leprosy, diphtheria, typhus and
cholera.
He also took Western hostages, expelled missionaries, closed
schools, banned
the word "intellectual" and declared himself President for
life.
But in 1979, his rule was overturned by his nephew, then in charge
of the
National Guard and commandant of Black Beach.
Marcias Nguema
was shot by Obiang's supporters shortly after he tried to
flee with the
country's entire foreign currency reserves -
£100million -stuffed into
suitcases.
But the country's plight did not improve. Now acknowledged as
one of West
Africa's most feared despots, legend has it that President
Obiang Nguema
eats the testicles of his defeated enemies so that he can
absorb their life
force.
However, financially, he was far luckier
than his uncle.
In the early 1990s, Equatorial Guinea was transformed by
the discovery of
two vast oil fields near Bioko Island.
The country
now produces more oil per head of population than Saudi Arabia.
Yet the
fortune doesn't reach the population at large.
Four years ago, the
International Monetary Fund found that the government
had received £65
million in oil royalties, but accounted for only
£17million.
Observers call it "one of the most corrupt, oppressive
and anti-democratic
states in the world".
With water shortages in all
major cities, little running water or
electricity, the population is
malnourished, forced to live on monkey meat,
yams and bananas, and has an
average life expectancy of just 43.
The country has the smallest
proportion of GDP spent on health and education
of all
Africa.
Meanwhile, Forbes magazine estimates the President's personal
wealth at
£300million, and in 2004 he bought his sixth private plane - a
Boeing 737 -
for nearly £30million.
Nowhere are conditions harsher
than in Black Beach prison.
As one senior government official said
recently: "It is doubtful any Western
prisoner could survive for more than
three years because of the health
problems in our jails."
Simon Mann
has every right to fear for his life should he find himself
incarcerated
there.
COMBINED HARARE RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION (CHRA)
P.O Box HR 7870
145
Robert Mugabe, Third Floor,
Exploration House
Harare
Tel/Fax: +263 4
705114
Cell: 011 862 012, 011 443 578
0912 249 430,
0912 924 151
Email: info@chra.co.zw
Website: www.chra.co.zw
16 May
2007 BR>
THE Combined Harare Residents' Association (CHRA) is
extremely concerned by
the errant behaviour of the powers that be at the
Zimbabwe National Water
Authority (ZINWA) including the Ministry of Water
Resources and
Infrastructural Development. The incessant complaints typical
of cry babies
and failures and are intended to camouflage their incapacity
to satisfy the
demand for water.
The Minister of Water and
Infrastructural Development, Engineer Munacho
Mutezo, was quoted in the
Herald 15 May 2007 accusing the City of Harare of
being dishonest in its
dealings with the water authority. The media has
been awash with
misleading comments by ZINWA since they were imposed on
Harare by Ignatius
Chiminya Morgan Chombo, the Minister of Local Government,
Public Works and
Urban Development. Is it by coincidence or design that the
decision to hand
over our assets and lifeline to ZINWA was made at the he
time he
re-appointed the illegal Commission running Harare on 13 December
2006.
These accusations follow hard on the heels of yet another
disastrous action
by Mutezo. The reshuffling of the Zinwa Board on Wednesday
25 October 2006
by Mutezo was clear confirmation that Zinwa has failed to
perform, even to
the low standards expected from parastatals. Minister
Mutezo ordered the
water authority to urgently address the water woes being
experienced in
Harare. The regime constantly demonstrates its centralist
and commandist
attitudes and believes that by issuing orders, the situation
will be
rectified despite the fact that our water woes arise from a
combination of
bad policies, partisan political interference as well as
technical and
financial problems.
The time has come for the whole
nation to reject and denounce this madness
from the Minister and his cronies
at the water authority. They are forever
complaining about almost everything
related to their services, blaming every
bad thing on the City of Harare and
taking credit for all the good things.
Remember, the City has no legitimate
authority save for an illegal
commission appointed by the Minister. CHRA
rejects these irrelevant excuses
and insists that ZINWA must be disbanded
with immediate effect or it becomes
a department in the Ministry of Water
Resources and Infrastructural
Development with clearly terms of reference
which does not include the
responsibility of water distribution, treatment,
supply .
Mutezo must just shut up and realise that he is a Minister
responsible for a
failed parastatal. ZINWA has nothing to show for its
existence except of
course 'jobs for the boys'. It is clearly a political
(if not personal)
project that is driven by malice and incompetence. The
Chairperson of the
Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Local Government
Honourable Margaret
Zinyemba was quoted in the Herald (31 March 2007) saying
Cabinet should
reconsider its decision to transfer water and sewerage
reticulation services
from local authorities to ZINWA because the water
authority lacked capacity
and mandate.
CHRA is opposed to the
commodification of basic services and especially to
the de facto
privatisation of our water resources for the enrichment of a
few
individuals. The water system belongs to Harare and must be returned to
its
rightful owners. Playing games and shifting responsibilities is not the
answer to our water problems. CHRA demands the immediate return of water and
sewer reticulation services to the local authority from ZINWA in line with
Parliament and Senate recommendations. To cap it all, CHRA demands the
immediate restoration of legitimate authority to manage the resources of
Harare in line with court judgments listed below:
High Court, Hungwe
J. HH 210/2001 (CHRA and Another vs. RG),
HH 80/ 2005 Makarau J (Christopher
Magwenzi Zvobgo vs. City of Harare and
Dominic Muzawazi)
Sandura J
(Stevenson vs. Minister of Local Government and Others SC 38/02)
and
HC12862/00,
Justice J. Chinengo-HH24-2002, and
Justice Kamocha ruling -HH
13-2007/ HC5604/06 (Nomutsa Chideya vs. City of
Harare, the eight
commissioners and the probe team that recommended Chideya's
dismissal)
"CHRA for Enhanced Civic Participation in Local
Governance"
Ends
________________________________________________________________________
For
further details please contact us on info@chra.co.zw, and on mobile 0912
924
151, 011 862 012, 011 443 578 and 011 612 860 or visit us at Exploration
House, Third Floor, Corner Robert Mugabe Way and Fifth
Street
Please send any job opportunities for publication in this newsletter to:
JAG
Job Opportunities; jag@mango.zw or justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 26 April 2007)
Contracts in the DRC
Wanted: for six
month renewable contracts in the DRC, three Zimbabwean farm
managers. One
with experience in orchard and plantation crops especially
citrus and
bananas, the second with experience in row cropping: potatoes,
maize/soya,
wheat and barley and the third with experience in dairy
production. Formal
agricultural qualifications an advantage but not a
necessity.
Fluency
in Swahili preferable but not essential.
Contact:
011610073.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 26 April 2007)
JOB OPPURTUNITY
We have a vacancy for a
mature/semi retired man to join our team. The
position would be as workshop
manager to be in charge of maintenance and
repairs of all farm equipment.
Accomodation and competitive package offered
for the right person. Situated
30km from Beit Bridge (Zim)
Please send CV/References to fergs@netconnect.co.zw or
benfer@netconnect.co.zw
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 26 April 2007)
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY AT NO COST
We are
looking for a business partner in Bulawayo or Gweru or Masvingo to go
into a
50/50 venture to offer instant passport and visa photographs. We will
provide
all equipment and training. The equipment comprises 1 compact
digital camera
and 1 printer (the size of a supermarket till). The partner
will need to have
a shop outlet close to the CBD and be able to devote a few
square metres of
floor space to the passport/visa photography. The partner
will operate the
venture and share all costs and profits on a 50/50 basis.
No photographic
experience is required. The net profit to each party should
be in the region
of USD 600 (equivalent) per month. Please reply to
acacia@africaonline.co.zw giving
details of your location and any other
relevant
information.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 26 April 2007)
Management Couple / Professional
Guide
Management couple/professional guide needed to run small,
exclusive, safari
camp in Kariba/Matusadona as soon as possible. Salary and
benefits
negotiable depending on experience and qualifications - please
contact one
of the following:
Steve - steve@saflodge.co.zw Phone 013 43358
011 207 307
Wendy - wendy@saflodge.co.zw 0912 307
875
Belinda - email: belinda@zol.co.zw phone: (04)
301494/301496 or 011
603
613
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 26 April 2007)
Transport Manager
To co-ordinate all
aspects of transport for cane haulers, mechanical
background is a
pre-requisite
Please contact Rob Buchanan, E-Mail - robbuchanan@yebo.co.za
Cell
082-3371290, Tel
033-3431106
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 26 April 2007)
Manager for Sawmill
We are a large
furniture manufacturing company (J.W.Wilson Int (Pvt) Ltd).
Based in Harare.
We are currently looking for a manager for our sawmill in
Matabeleland, which
supplies our Norton factory with teak.
The position entails travel to the
mill in the Thlotsho area spending 2
nights, 3 days, a week at the mill
attending to the management of the mill.
We feel that the job would suit a
person with a farming background.
Should you need any further details
please contact me at dave@wilson.co.zw
of phone on cell
0912231 511 or Harare
620131.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 26 April 2007)
COMPUTER STUDIES TEACHER - PRIMARY
A
leading Independent School in Zambia requires a teacher of Computer
Studies
for September 2007. Experience in a CHISZ school in Zimbabwe or
an
Independent School in South Africa is essential. A good US dollar salary
is
offered along with accommodation and other benefits which include
medical
cover.
There is a possibility of other vacancies at both primary
and secondary
arising in the future and interested teachers with appropriate
experience
should register there interest.
A brief resume should be
emailed to zamvacancies@fsmail.net
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 26 April 2007)
URGENTLY NEEDED
Looking for an honest hard
worker in Harare to work in the house as well as
in the garden. We would
prefer a mature male who has experience.
Please if there is anyone out
there who is leaving or knows of someone
please contact me on 011207583 or
0912308410.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 26 April 2007)
GIRL FRIDAY
Busy office in Avondale
requires a full day lady to take care of
correspondence and general office
duties. Email/computer knowledge an
asset but we can teach
you what you
need to know. Pleasant working environment - to start as
early as
possible.
Please contact - dundawidaho@mango.co.zw
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 26 April 2007)
Employment Offered
I am a South African
farmer who needs employers for the following vacancies:
1: A person with
mechanical knowledge who can do welding and am able to work
with steel as
well. He must be reliable, able to attend to my vehicles and
help with
general work on the farm and with the cattle
2. A reliable chef,
housekeeper. He/she must have experience in western
cooking
I would
like to see references which can be e-mailed to the following
E-mail
Address(as): vermaasboerdery@telkomsa.net
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 3 May 2007)
EMPLOYMENT OFFERED:
Looking for a retired
Christian couple - will suite ex-farming couple - to
be caretakers of a dairy
enterprise. 70kms from Harare. Accommodation on
farm. Package to be
discussed. Please email CV and contact details to
dapayne@zol.co.zw
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 10 May 2007)
Employment Offered
OXFORD IT is looking for
cvs for the below mentioned positions. Please send
your cv as soon as
possible if you wish to be considered for the positions.
Administration -
Temp PA's/Receptionists and Secretaries, Company Secretary
Advertising -
Graphic Designers, Public Relations Executives, Marketing
Officers, Key
Account Executives
Consultants - SAP, Spectrum
Finance - Bookeepers,
Chartered Accoutants, Accountants, Internal Auditors
IT - Developers (esp Web
and Oracle), Network Engineers, Workshop Managers,
Technicians,
Linux/Unix
Management - General Managers, Managing Directors, Chief Executive
Officers,
Finance Director/Manager, Project Managers
Other - Mornings
Only, Part-time, Flexi-time, Contract, Driver/Messenter,
Stores/Warehouse,
Procurement/Purchasing Buyer
Hotel/Catering - Attachments
Human Resources
- Training Officer/Manager
Sales & Marketing - Sales/Marketing Managers,
Regional Sales Managers,
Corporate Sales Personnel, Business Development
Manager
Shipping - Import/Export Controller, Transport/Logistics
Distribution
Tourism - Reservationists, Consultants
Please email you
cv to the below email address or contact the General
Manager for more
information. We have many other jobs that are not
advertised, so call today
to find out more!
Miss Sarah Vale
GENERAL MANAGER
Oxford IT
Recruitment
Agriculture House, c/o CFU Building, Cnr Adylinn Road/Marlborough
Drive,
Marlborough, Harare
Tel: (Direct) 309274
Tel: (Switchboard)
309855-60 (ext 23)
Fax: 309351
Email: sarah@oxfordit.co.zw
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(Ad
inserted 10 May 2007)
Vacancy for Farm Assistant
Samona (Z)
Ltd.,
P.O. Box 630557
Choma
ZAMBIA
Tel: +260 3 225 018
Cell:
+260 97 790 209
E-mail: samona@zamtel.zm
The
above-mentioned company has a vacancy for a Farm Assistant to work
directly
under the Managing Director, to help with the running of a large
tobacco
enterprise situated in the Choma/Kalomo farming area in the Southern
Province
of Zambia.
Qualifications required:
Internationally recognised
Diploma/Degree in Agriculture
The farming programme for the 2007/2008
season is 120 Ha Tobacco (55
Irrigated and 65 Rainfed), 60 Ha Soyabeans
(Supplementary Irrigation), 60 Ha
Winter Wheat. There is currently no
livestock production.
Remuneration package:
Commission (paid in US
Dollars) will be calculated as a percentage of farm
profit, details of which,
together with other benefits, will be made
available to applicants considered
for the position once all CV's have been
received and
processed.
Applicants should apply to Samona Zambia Ltd using the above
e-mail address
attaching their CV for consideration by the
company.
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(Ad
inserted 10 May 2007)
Project Manager in Tanzania
we have a pretty
large Eco-Tourism and residential Beach Plot scheme going
on for which we
are looking for a Project Manager with overall
responsibility for the whole
thing. A farmer background would be ideal.
Please advise whether there are
still farmers willing and able to leave Zim
for a new horizon. If affirmative
we would of course provide you with
further details.
Look forward to
hearing from you.
Best Regards - Georges C. Hess / Amboni Sisal
Properties Ltd - Nairobi
Liaison Office
Email: fidos@kenyaweb.com
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(Ad
inserted 10 May 2007)
Vacancy Available
Vehicle Sales
Administrator :
This position is in the busy front office of our Vehicle
Sales and would
suit a self-motivated, efficient and pro-active lady. The
post combines all
aspects of Administration, client interaction and sales.
Must be able to
work under pressure.
Building Foreman :
Must have
hands-on-experience in all aspects of building including :
- Setting Out
-
Foundation work
- Steel re-enforcing
- Concrete Work
- Brick laying /
Plastering
- Carpentry / Roofing
- Plumbing / Electrics
- Material
Ordering / Quantity Estimating
- Labour Procurement & Supervision
-
Must be able to work on own initiative.
Forward CV or apply in person
with contactable references to ABC Auctions,
Seke Road, Graniteside,
Harare.
Glynis Wiley, 751343 or 751904 or cell 011 630164
ABC
Auctions
Hatfield House
Seke Road
Telephone 263 4
751904/751906/751343/751498
Fax 263 4 751904/751906/751343/751498
Website:
www.abcauctions.co.zw
Email
Address: auctions@yoafrica.com
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(Ad
inserted 10 May 2007)
Job Title: Chief Executive
Officer
Based at: Asamankese, Ghana
Reports
to: Direct reporting to Shareholders
Introduction: Pinora
is the 3rd largest fruit processing plant in sub
Saharan Africa. Completed in
2006, the state of the art facility, and its
dedicated Pineapple orchard,
occupies 610 acres, employs 250 staff and is
capable of processing 320,000mt
of locally procured oranges and pineapples.
Job purpose
summary:
Identify, develop and direct the implementation of business strategy
leading
to growth and profitability
Plan and direct the organisation's
activities to achieve stated and agreed
targets and standards for financial
and trading performance, quality,
culture and legislative
adherence
Evaluate existing staff, and thereafter where necessary, recruit,
select and
develop executive team members
Direct functions and
performance, where necessary, via the executive team
Maintain and develop
organisational culture, values and reputation in its
markets and with all
staff, suppliers, partners and regulatory and official
bodies
Key
responsibilities:
Evaluate existing procurement process and thereafter plan
and implement
procurement strategy, including transportation of fruit to the
plant.
Plan and implement supply(ier) retention, expansion and
development.
Producing an operating budget and thereafter its monitoring,
implementation
and reporting.
Maintain administration and relevant
reporting and planning systems.
Evaluate existing and thereafter select and
manage external agencies, such
as transportation companies, banks, insurance,
quality management standard
bodies and inspection companies etc.
Identify
and manage new business development and further
potential
investments.
Plan, develop and implement strategy for
organisational development
Contact: petermacsporran@iconnect.zm
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(Ad
inserted 10 May 2007)
Housegirl
Maid needed for Avondale West
area. We are looking for a maid to help with
housework, for a "growing"
family. She needs to have her own accommodation.
Please call 091-2-300 059 or
e-mail mbav@zol.co.zw
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(Ad
inserted 17th May 2007)
Employment Offered
Workshop
Manager
Workshop Manager - To run a fleet of Freightliner/Internationals
- Cross
Border. J.W. WILSON, INTERNATIONAL (PVT) LTD
Contact: Jim
Wilson 620131-4
Contact: Rowena Bannister
TEL:
+263-(04)-620131-4
FAX: +263-(04)-620135
EMAIL: rowena@wilson.co.zw
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(Ad
inserted 17th May 2007)
ORIGNATOR/GRAPHIC DESIGNER WANTED
IDEAL
PERSON NEEDS TO BE FULLY COMPUTER LITERATE (CORRELL DRAW
EXPERIENCE
ESSENTIAL) METHODICAL, PATIENT AND TECHNICALLY MINDED. TO RUN A
NEW DIGITAL
PRINTING PROJECT.
PLEASE RESPOND WITH CV AND REFERENCES
TO:
hotelgs@mweb.co.zw or tel: 04
485695/6 attention
Brigit."
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(Ad
inserted 17th May 2007)
Houseworker required
Gardener OR
houseworker required. Someone who is clean, and hardworking.
Preferably
employer recommended or contactable references. Please phone
011-614-233 or
email : dieselandplant@zol.co.zw
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(Ad
inserted 17th May 2007)
Looking for Investors:
Looking for serious
investors that want to get involved in the Floricultural
industry of
Zimbabwe. Need secure land close to Harare and access to
finance. Technical
expertise, markets and highly skilled human resources
ready available. For
serious enquires please contact me on: 011 630 696,
0912 782 782, 480 160,
watin@zol.co.zw
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(Ad
inserted 17th May 2007)
Housekeeping Team
Looking for an
experienced husband and wife team to cook and housekeep.
Excellent staff
accommodation is available on the property. A very
competitive remuneration
package, with benefits, proportionate with
experience and qualifications is
offered by way of negotiation with
successful applicants. Traceable
references are essential.
Apply on 091 2 238
204
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EMPLOYMENT
REQUIRED
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(Ad
inserted 26 April 2007)
Employment Sought
A husband & wife
team looking for employment with accommodation in Harare.
They both come
highly recommended; he in the garden and she with housework,
cooking and
child minding. They have 4 children, 3 of whom are school
going. Current
employer does not allow the family on the property so he
spends his entire
earnings on visiting them every 6 weeks in the Eastern
districts. Please
phone Julie on 011 605 083 or evenings only on 744156;
email: julie@fresh-value.net
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(Ad
inserted 17th May 2007)
Employment Sought - Secretarial
I am a
mature Lady looking for Secretarial / Administration/ Reception with
20 years
of experience. Computer literate , good communication skills with
all
segmentas of Zimbabwe society.
I will consider full or part time engagement
in any field
Please contact me on 331116 ( Home ) 011 732 497 Cell or
e-mail me at :
srakabo@yahoo.co.uk
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(Ad
inserted 17th May 2007)
Seeking Challenging Management Position:
I
am looking for a good management position where by I can grow with
the
business, I have mainly been involved in Rose exports for the past 15
years
on large scale farms in Zimbabwe. Although this is my main line
of
expertise, I interested in any other industry that is looking for
strong
management, an energetic, ambitious, honest and strong willed person
to join
their organization.
Please contact me, Wayne Seiler on the
following details if you are
interested and I will forward you my CV, 011
630 696, 0912 782 782, 480
160, watin@zol.co.zw . Skype name : Wayne
Seiler
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For
the latest listings of accommodation available for farmers, contact
justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
(updated 17 May 2007)