INTERNAL fights within Zanu PF in Manicaland, which recently reached a boiling point, have severely weakened the most senior politician in the province, threatening his potential to further rise within the party, analyst have said.
REPORT BY PATRICE MAKOVA
For decades, Zanu PF Secretary for Administration, Didymus Mutasa has been the godfather in Manicaland and his word was unquestioned. Anyone in the province who wanted to climb the ladders of power had to get Mutasa’s blessing, ever since his predecessor, Maurice Nyagumbo died in 1989.
But a recent petition written to President Robert Mugabe to rein in Mutasa has left him exposed, weakened and on the defensive.
According to the petitioners, allegedly led by women’s league boss Oppah Muchinguri and Justice minister Patrick Chinamasa, Mutasa has divided the party in Manicaland due to the imposition of candidates and dictatorial tendencies, allegations he has flatly denied.
The petitioners accused Mutasa of causing the suspension and subsequent arrest of provincial chairman, Mike Madiro and his deputy, Dorothy Mabika on allegations of theft of calves donated to Mugabe for his birthday celebrations. Mutasa is now a state witness in the case against the two party officials, who are linked to the faction loyal to Defence minister Emmerson Mnangagwa.
But Mabika has used the court case to make sensational allegations that Mutasa was “fixing” her for spurning his sexual advances and her refusal to join a faction loyal to Vice-President Joice Mujuru. Mutasa denied both allegations.
Although Mutasa appeared to have registered a small victory after a probe team led by national chairman, Simon Khaya Moyo led to the dissolution of the provincial executive; analysts said the days when his power went unchallenged were over.
The new provincial leaders, Ambassador John Mvundura and his deputy former governor, retired lieutenant general Mike Nyambuya, appear to be both acceptable to the two warring factions as they are largely viewed as neutral.
University of Zimbabwe political science lecturer, Shakespear Hamauswa said, although Mutasa has been winning elections consistently against MDC opponents unlike other bigwigs, the 2013 polls outcome will determine his fate.
“If his party goes down from the six seats it won in Manicaland in the 2008 elections, then all the blame will be heaped on him,” he said.
Hamauswa said a leader is normally judged by his or her capacity to resolve problems.
“Mutasa’s capability is being tested, but unfortunately for him, he seems to be unaware of this scrutiny.
“It will now depend on how quick and calm he will deal with the issues as a leader,” he said. “The best he can do is to do the opposite of what his alleged enemies are expecting. He was even supposed to conceal his actions without attacking anyone himself.”
Mutasa recently castigated Mu-chinguri and Chinamasa accusing them of authoring the petition against him, while at the same time openly criticising Mnangagwa for harbouring presidential ambitions. Both Mujuru and Mnangagwa have persistently denied leading factions in Zanu PF or harbouring presidential ambitions.
Political analyst, Clever Bere said events in Manicaland showed that Mutasa and other top party brass no longer held the clout they once wielded.
“Indeed, the generation 40 as it was put across once by Jonathan Moyo is slowly but surely taking the reins in the party,” he said.
Bere said it had never been a Zanu PF culture until recently that issues reach such a boiling point and spread to the public domain without having been effectively dealt within the party.
He said this further showed the waning levels of discipline in the party.
Bere said Mutasa has now lost grip in Zanu PF not only in Manicaland, but nationwide.
“Remember he is not a provincial leader, but national secretary for admin, which means his influence and power ordinarily, is huge. But if the leader finds himself in day-to-day conflicts and being petitioned by his juniors, he has lost it,” he said.
Mutasa, he said, would emerge bruised if Zanu PF loses again in Manicaland, adding that there was need for leadership renewal in the party starting from Mugabe.
“This old guard, though it has contributed to the dominance of Zanu PF, is now a liability. If Zanu PF performs badly in Manicaland in particular, the blame will be placed on Mutasa,” said Bere.
But another political analyst, Alois Masepe said the events in Manicaland were a manifestation of the problems in Zanu PF in the battle to succeed 89-year- old Mugabe.
He said although Manicaland might have taken centre stage, divisions were replicated in other provinces such as Bulawayo, Masvingo and Mashonaland West where the Mujuru and Mnangagwa factions were battling to succeed Mugabe.
“It’s a fact that Mugabe will go after the elections. The two factions are going for broke and taking no prisoners. But it appears that the Mnangagwa faction is on the retreat, as the Mujuru faction seems to be reversing the gains it made over the years, by restructuring provinces aligned to it,” said Masepe.
He said although problems in Manicaland had tarnished Mutasa’s image, he was likely to be elevated in the event that Mujuru takes over from Mugabe.
Mutasa could not be reached for comment yesterday, but was recently quoted as saying no one should dare challenge Mujuru and insisting that he would remain the most powerful politician in Manicaland.
MUTASA IS TARNISHING ZANU PF IMAGE
Hamauswa said Mutasa as a senior leader, should have been shrewd enough to use other people to fight his personal wars rather than openly confront his perceived enemies.
“With Mutasa appearing in the court to nail his subordinates, not only exposes him but also incites anger from other party members,” he said.
Hamauswa said by testifying against other senior party officials in court, Mutasa was exposing dirty games within the party and this was tarnishing Zanu PF and harming its chances against MDC in the forthcoming election.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
May 19, 2013 in Politics
THE MDC-T government plans to
have legislation that would govern the
operations of the Central
Intelligence Organisation (CIO), among a raft of
reforms designed to create
a professional security outfit.
Report by Our Staff
MDC-T has been
insisting on security sector reforms saying some of the CIO
operatives were
dabbling into politics and operating like an arm of Zanu PF.
Reforming
the security forces is one of the conditions agreed to by
principals in the
inclusive government but nothing is moving along that
front.
In the
policy document, Agenda for Real Transformation (ART) launched
yesterday,
the legislation would ensure that the organisation is
non-partisan, national
in character, patriotic, professional and subordinate
to the civilian
authority.
“There will be an intelligence legislation which emphasises
the themes of an
ethical code of conduct, the rule of law and parliamentary
oversight,” the
policy document said.
It said the spy agency has been
abused by successive governments to subvert
democracy and the rights of the
people of Zimbabwe.
However, the regulation of the CIO would ensure that
a fair and acceptable
balance is reached between the need to protect
sensitive information and the
demands of freedom of
information.
Currently the spy agency reports directly to the
President.
MDC plans to have a defence force that ensures that peace and
security
prevails and is subordinated to elected civilian
authority.
Service chiefs such as Defence Forces commander Constantine
Chiwenga, Major
Generals Douglas Nyikayaramba and Martin Chedondo, among
others, have said
they would not salute MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai in
the event that he is
elected President of Zimbabwe.
The document said
the challenge facing the country was that the goal of the
security under
Zanu PF government was to perpetuate their rule against
domestic
resistance.
“Zanu PF pursued this goal through extensive use of military
and police
force and in many situations regarding ill-trained and
ill-disciplined
members of the force by promoting them for making political
statements that
seek to undermine the freedom of political choice,” it
said.
“Society is highly militarised as the defence force has been drawn
into all
spheres of life.”
On the civil military relations, MDC-T
said an Act of Parliament “shall
provide for the establishment,
organisation, training, conditions of service
and other matters concerning
the permanent force and part time reserve”.
POLICE TO BE PROMOTED ON
MERIT — MDC T
Police promotions, the document said, would be based on
merit “because it is
critical for the restoration of the Zimbabwe Police
Services as an
apolitical and professional organisation”.
A
commissioner general of the police would report to the Police Service
Commission and the minister of Home Affairs, MDC-T said.
Currently
the commissioner general reports to President Robert Mugabe. The
Police
Service Commission, according to the MDC-T policy document, would be
appointed by the President with approval from Parliament and would report to
Parliament on its activities at least once a year.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
May 19, 2013 in News, Politics
The MDC president
Morgan Tsvangirai has laid out his vision for a new
Zimbabwe under his rule,
promising citizens justice, freedom and happiness.
Report by Jennifer
Dube
Launching the MDC’s Agenda for Real Transformation at the party’s
policy
conference in Harare yesterday, Tsvangirai, who is also Zimbabwe’s
Prime
Minister, said his party would ensure that Zimbabweans enjoyed their
country.
“We definitely have to ensure that the society which we are
going to build
has justice, freedom and happiness,” he said. “This society
has endured a
lot of trauma and it is time we enjoyed our
country.
“The society of a centralised one man rule, impunity and
inequality has gone
and gone forever.”
Tsvangirai said
constitutionalism will be one of the guiding principles of
his rule, adding
that his party counted on being loved by the people.
“The State has been
very oppressive and that has to stop,” he said. “A good
leader must be loved
by his people. The greatest security you can have as a
leader are your
people and not all these entourages we see around,” he said.
Tsvangirai
said contrary to some people’s beliefs, he had no personal
differences with
service chiefs. He believed that the country’s securocrats
should be
answerable to the civilian authority.
Tsvangirai said his rule will be
guided by broad-based people policies which
will ensure that citizens are
empowered with necessary skills to perform
jobs.
He said his party
would also tap into the country’s skills currently being
utilised in the
diaspora to develop and modernise Zimbabwe.
“Devolution is our solution
to the national question,” he said. “There will
be no tribal enclaves. No
region and no people will be left behind in
development.
“No tribe is
more Zimbabwean than the other and we believe that tribalism is
as archaic
as unbridled nationalism.”
He added that his government would promote a
productive economy, which is
anchored by the fundamental principle of
respecting property rights.
Summing up the conference deliberations, MDC
secretary general Tendai Biti
said for the first time in the country’s
history, there will be an Act of
Parliament to regulate the activities of
the central intelligence
organisation.
“There will also be rebranding
of the force [army],” Biti said. “There will
be no more jambanja. Security
forces will be de-commodified. They will keep
to their business and not be
found in diamonds and all these other
businesses they are currently delving
into.”
On national healing, Biti said the State, notwithstanding the fact
that
Tsvangirai would be the leader, should apologise, compensate and pay
reparations to victims of the gukurahundi massacres of the 1980’s,
Murambatsvina in 2005 and the 2008 electoral violence.
Biti said his
party’s government will restore the glory of the education
sector, building
well- equipped learning institutions and supporting
students with loans and
grants.
“Zanu PF has made all our cities dirty capitals of the world and
cleanliness
will be one of the epicentres of the MDC government policy,”
Biti said. “We
will ensure that we keep our cities clean.”
ARMY TO BE
RATIONALISED — BITI
Biti said the size of the army would be rationalised
to reflect a peaceful
society which is not preparing to go into war with
anyone.
He said army officers will undergo compulsory lessons on the Bill
of Rights,
adding that the same lessons will be made compulsory at
schools.
“We also need demilitarisation of the health services sector
where we will
have civilian doctors in charge and not army personnel,” he
said.
“We will pay special attention to communicable diseases, which
continue to
affect many in our society.
“We will create awareness of
these diseases while also promoting prevention
as it is always better than
cure.”
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
May 19, 2013 in Local,
News
MUTARE – Tempers flared at a mines and mineral policy workshop held
in
Mutare last week when participants expressed anger at the alleged looting
of
diamonds in Chiadzwa.
REPORT BY CLAYTON
MASEKESA
Participants at the workshop who included Zanu PF youth groups
and war
veterans said the former ruling party would lose elections unless
President
Robert Mugabe intervened to stop the looting.
Small-scale
miners and traditional leaders urged the people in Manicaland to
be vocal
and claim the diamonds as they were supposed to be the bona fide
beneficiaries of the resources.
Manicaland governor Chris Mushowe
warned people were getting impatient over
the diamond revenue
issue.
“The people from Manicaland have been so patient and please don’t
take that
patience for granted. We cannot continue watching things going on
like this.
Let the Minister of Mines be warned,” he said.
War
veterans said they wanted a 20% stake in the diamond mining noting there
hasn’t been an equitable distribution of wealth in the country since
1980.
Mutare district war veterans’ development secretary, John Bushu
said
although Manicaland had plenty of mineral resources, former freedom
fighters
in the province were paupers.
“We are not happy at all with
what is happening in Chiadzwa. We are still
living in abject poverty yet
only a few are benefitting from the diamonds,”
he said.
Bushu said
war veterans did not have decent accommodation or land, while
some of the
big- wigs used their muscle to loot the diamonds.
He questioned where
funds generated from the mining of diamonds from
Chiadzwa were being
channelled to.
“These are some of the issues that will affect the party
in the forthcoming
election because many people have a perception that Zanu
PF is linked to the
Chiadzwa diamonds,” said Bushu.
Vocal Zanu PF
youth member, Sheila Mutsenhu, from Vadiki Tavekupfuma Youth
Empowerment
group said: “It is sad that we people from Manicaland are
failing to have
access to the diamond fields to do business. There is
serious favouritism
and nepotism going on there. Many people who are outside
Manicaland are
employed here. Many companies outside Mutare are winning
tenders. We need to
be vocal about this.”
Other participants said they were also not happy
with the dominance of
Chinese companies in Chiadzwa.
“The Chinese are
doing nothing in terms of employing the locals. They are
bringing their
personnel from China while we have equally qualified people
here. This is
something that should be looked at,” said Joseph Mukahanana
from Manicaland
Small Scale Miners Development Trust.
Responding to some of the concerns,
the director of finance and
administration in the Mines and Mining
Development ministry Olivia Mwamlowe
said she would take up the complaints
with Minister Obert Mpofu.
“We can see that people are concerned very
much. It’s very clear people want
to be empowered,” she said. “I think we
will have another meeting in Harare
and we will consolidate these views and
they will be made available to
anyone. We are happy that people are saying
[out] things that affect them.”
Zanu PF National Secretary for
Administration, Didymus Mutasa recently
confirmed to journalists that big
names in the party have been implicated in
serious illegal diamond dealing,
prejudicing the country of millions of
dollars.
He said President
Mugabe was aware of the illegal deals which were now under
investigation.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
May 19, 2013 in Local,
News
AFTER 34 years of service in the construction industry, Vincent
Muzivorwenyu
retired to his rural home in Bikita, hoping that his pension
contributions
would take care of his needs.
REPORT BY OUR
STAFF
In February hope turned into despair for Muzivorwenyu: the
Construction
Industry Pension Fund told him that his money was ready. His
bank account
was credited with a “lump sum” of US$647.
In addition,
the fund said, Muzivorwenyu would get a monthly payment of
US$10.
“You can also have your pension paid to you every quarterly,
half yearly or
yearly…through your bank and we would be pleased to receive
your
instructions in this regard,” pensions manager E Lunga
wrote.
Notwithstanding the low pay-outs Lunga further wrote: “May we
[Construction
Industry Pension Fund] take this opportunity to wish you a
long and happy
retirement.”
Zimbabwe Pensions and Insurance Rights
(Zimpirt) general manager, Martin
Tarusenga said his organisation was in the
process of assessing the amounts
being paid to
pensioners.
Muzivorwenyu told The Standard yesterday that the pay-out was
not
commensurate to the contributions he had made.
“I don’t know how
I can plan to withdraw the money monthly. From my home to
Nyika Growth
Point, the fare is US$5 and this means my monthly pay-out would
be eroded in
transports costs alone,” he said.
Muzivorwenyu’s plight is shared by the
majority of the country’s pensioners
who are struggling to make a living
after retirement.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
May 19, 2013 in Local, News
BULAWAYO residents
have resorted to hoarding water to deal with the many
days they go without
supplies as the water situation in the city remains
critical.
REPORT
BY BY MUSA DUBE
The Bulawayo City Council (BCC) introduced water shedding
last year,
resulting in water supplies being cut off for 72 hours a week.
The move
however, is doing little to save water since residents are filling
up many
containers, whenever supplies are resumed.
A survey by this
paper revealed that many residents were keeping large
quantities of water in
big containers such as drums, tanks and buckets. The
situation has
left
the authorities in a quandary as the residents are now using more water
than
before.
“I bought these containers to store water so that it can sustain
me for the
next three days until supplies resume,” said a Tshabalala
resident, who
identified herself as MaNcube.
Another resident,
Richard Phiri, said he had to buy four drums to store
water due to the
worsening water crisis.
“We are about 20 people who stay at our house, so
imagine if we are to stay
with no water for three days, it would be a
disaster,” said Phiri.
Water Resources Development and Management
minister, Samuel Sipepa Nkomo
said efforts to save the little available
water were proving fruitless due
to the hoarding of the precious liquid
whenever it was available.
He said the city could only supply about 95
megalitres a day but residents
were still consuming an average of 110
megalitres.
“Some residents now hoard water whenever it is available.
They are filling
every possible container, including bath-tubs. When the
water comes back,
they empty those containers by watering their gardens and
refill them, which
goes on to affect the daily consumption figures because
instead of reducing,
we are clearly wasting a lot of water,” said Nkomo
recently.
The City of Bulawayo adopted the water shedding programme last
year after
some of its supply dams ran out of water.
The city has
five supply dams and of these only, Insiza, Lower Ncema and
Inyankuni are
currently servicing the city.
The other two dams, Umzingwane and Upper
Ncema were decommissioned last
year.
The city council adopted water
shedding after noting that consumption of
water was beyond the levels that
could be extracted daily from the dams.
Mtshabezi dam has long been
touted as a short-term solution to Bulawayo’s
perennial water problems.
Accessing Mtshabezi water was expected to reduce
retaining to two days a
week.
However, due to sporadic power cuts, mainly at the dam’s pumping
station,
only a fraction of the required water was being drawn
daily.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
May 19, 2013 in Local,
News
THE Ministry of Mines and Mining Development says it is in a dilemma
over
how to deal with some Chinese nationals who are carrying out mining
activities without licences and destroying the environment.
REPORT BY
MUSA DUBE
Deputy mines minister, Gift Chimanikire said some Chinese
nationals were
illegally carrying out mining activities. He said the Chinese
claimed they
had been given the green light to do so by the people “from the
top”.
“There are some untoward things going on at the mines run by the
Chinese
nationals, who are operating without proper documents. If you ask
them where
their licence is, they say ‘No, I don’t have, [it’s] in Harare.’
If you go
to Harare you will see only a letter from a local council which
says you can
start operating,” said Chimanikire.
“I also came across
another Chinese mining company and asked to see their
licence, and the
company official said ‘No, I was instructed from the top
that I should start
mining without a licence.”
Chimanikire added that the Chinese were
causing a lot of environmental
damage by pegging themselves pieces of land
without government approval.
He said when he tried to seek further
clarification; they quickly claimed
that they did not understand
English.
“If I ask them why they put up a mine in a river where people
drink water
downstream, they will say they don’t understand English. These
are things
that we don’t want because they want to exploit our minerals
while causing a
lot of environmental damage,” said the deputy
minister.
Meanwhile, Chimanikire said the government was considering
repossessing
special grants that were awarded to new coal-mining companies
in Hwange.
He said only four out of the 24 companies that were granted
the concessions
were operational.
Government awarded 20 companies
licences to explore and extract both coal
and coal-bed methane in the
Hwange-Gwayi area. Some of the companies are
reportedly holding on to their
claims for speculative purposes.
HWANGE SPECIAL GRANTS TO BE
REPOSSESSED
Chimanikire said his ministry would descend on Hwange soon to
verify why
companies awarded licences to explore and mine for coal and coal
bed methane
years ago were still to engage in any activity.
“Out of
the 24 special grants that we gave to companies in Hwange, only four
are
operational. We are going there and considering repossessing those
special
grants that we gave to some people in Hwange,” said Chimanikire.
He said
it was surprising that some of the companies claimed they were still
looking
for the money three years after being granted the concessions.
“We hear
them in the media saying we are still looking for US$100 million to
start
operating, so why did they take that special grant when they did not
have
the money?”
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
May 19, 2013 in Local,
News
Augur Investments (Pvt) Limited, the company constructing the Harare
Airport
Road hopes to complete the dualisation of the road this year, the
company’s
managing director has said.
REPORT BY BY JENNIFER
DUBE
In an interview with The Standard, Michael van Blerk said a lot of
unfair
criticism had been lumped upon his company which was doing its best
to
complete the “complex project”.
“I want to complete the
dualisation this year but this is dependent on the
service providers,” van
Blerk said. “When we are done with the project,
people will be very proud,
as they will now spend six minutes only on what
used to be a 30-minute
journey to the airport.”
Augur has been working on the project for more
than four years now, much to
the chagrin of Harare residents, especially
following significant progress
on other projects which started recently,
like the Plumtree-Mutare road.
“That is like comparing apples and
oranges,” van Blerk said. “It is an
unfair comparison in terms of the
product because that project
[Plumteree-Mutare] involves resurfacing of an
existing road and we are
building a new road.”
Van Blerk said surface
structure was only 15% of a road project.
He added that 70% of the
corridor of the airport road has water mains, sewer
lines and power cables
which have to be moved before they can proceed with
construction.
In
some cases, construction is behind by 20 months following failure by
service
providers to move the cables and pipes, mainly due to lack of
capital and
the fact that some of the infrastructure is aged.
“We are working in
100-metre segments because of the various services and
this is very
difficult for any construction company,” van Blerk said.
He said his
company was almost half-way through the dualisation of the 12km
road,
excluding bridge works which are more than 50% of the project and
have a
much longer construction period.
He said it was also unfair for people to
compare the cost of the airport
road project with that of other projects, as
the former was of a much higher
degree and required a lot of
expertise.
The total cost of the project currently stands at US$80
million. This
includes the cost of other side roads which will bring the
total project to
38km of road.
Van Blerk also clarified that contrary
to media reports which have said the
company received 10% payment in cash,
the company actually received only 1%
cash payment, which he said was far
much lower than the 35% cash prepayments
that are usually required by
construction companies.
He said 99% was paid for in land, on which the
company was building Africa’s
second largest mall which will benefit
Zimbabweans.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
May 19, 2013 in Local,
News
Adolescent girls aged between 15 and 19 constitute a quarter of the
960
women that die as a result of pregnancy-related complications in
Zimbabwe,
the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has said.
REPORT
BY BY MOSES CHIBAYA
UNFPA country representative, Basile Tambashe said
there is need to place a
special focus on young people’s sexual and
reproductive health and rights.
She was speaking during the handover of
63 ambulances worth US$2,8 million
to the Ministry of Health and Child
Welfare, which were donated by the
European Union, as part of efforts to
improve maternal health services.
“I would like to take this opportunity
to highlight the need to also place a
special focus on young people’s sexual
and reproductive health and rights,”
she said.
“According to the results
of an analysis carried out by the Ministry of
Health and Child Welfare,
about a quarter of maternal deaths were adolescent
girls aged between 15 and
19.”
Tambashe added that addressing the adolescent girl’s sexual
reproductive
health needs could greatly contribute to reducing maternal
mortality ratio
in Zimbabwe.
According to the recently published
2010-11 Zimbabwe Demographic and Health
Survey (ZDHS), Maternal Mortality
Ratio (MMR) in Zimbabwe has more than
doubled since 1990. In 1994, according
to the Zimbabwe Demographic Health
Survey maternal mortality ratio was 283
per 100 000 live births and in
2005/6 it was estimated at 555 deaths per 100
000 live births and in 2010/11
it was estimated at 960 deaths per live
births.
Deputy Minister of Health and Child Welfare, Douglas Mombeshora
said at
least 10 women are dying every day from pregnancy-related
complications.
Mombeshora said with at least 960 deaths per 100 000 live
births, Zimbabwe’s
maternal mortality was much higher than the sub-Saharan
and global averages.
He said lack of skilled attendance at delivery declined
from 73% in 1999 to
69% in 2006 and further declined to 66% in
2011.
“Institutional delivery remained constant at around 68% for the
past decade,
but declined to 65% in 2011.According to the 2007 Zimbabwe
Maternal and
Perinatal Mortality Study, home deliveries constitute 28% of
births. Home
deliveries are three times more common in rural areas at 42%
than in urban
areas at 14%,” Mombeshora said.
He said the risk of
maternal death increased significantly when women
delivered outside
institutions, when the delivery requires surgical
intervention, or is
carried out by non-skilled persons.
EU ambassador to Zimbabwe Aldo Dell
Ariccia pledged the bloc’s commitment to
continue supporting the health
sector in Zimbabwe.
No user fees for mothers and children
Minister
of Health and Child Welfare, Henry Madzorera, said maternal and
child
service provision was being affected by a number of challenges which
include
shortage of transport for emergency obstetric and neonatal care
services and
reduced budget allocations.
The government of Zimbabwe last month
scrapped user fees in rural clinics
for pregnant and lactating women and
children under five years, as efforts
to reduce high maternal mortality
ratio scale up.
The United Nations’ Millennium development goal number
five seeks to reduce
by three quarters, maternal health in countries by
2015, a target Zimbabwe
is unlikely to meet.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
May 19, 2013 in Local,
News
CHIPINGE — Two notorious oil dealers, who have been wreaking havoc
in and
around Chipinge draining electricity transformer oil, finally met
their fate
last week when they were jailed for an effective 10
years.
REPORT BY OUR CORRESPONDENT
The duo, Michael Mudzamiri and
Phillip Mandizvidza appeared before Chipinge
magistrate Makamera Waini
facing charges of contravening Section 6 of the
Electricity Act.
The
State led by prosecutor Thembalami Dhliwayo heard that on April 2, the
two
drained 110 litres of oil from a Zesa 33kv transformer near Gaza in
Chipinge. This act resulted in a major power blackout in the area on the day
in question.
Testifying in court, police detective constable Fanuel
Nyamutsa, told the
court that the accused persons voluntarily led them to
the transformer and
even demonstrated how they drained the oil.
He
further revealed that the accused showed them the other five
transformers,
which they successfully drained without being apprehended by
the police.
However, in their defence both the accused persons denied the
charges and
told the court that they admitted to the offence after police
officers
assaulted them.
But magistrate, Waini, threw away their defence saying no
medical report was
ever produced as evidence to buttress their allegations
and convicted the
two due to overwhelming evidence.
Vandalism of Zesa
equipment is on the surge in Manicaland province.
This has been
attributed to the high unemployment rate in the country and
high demand of
copper cables in neighbouring countries such as Mozambique
and South Africa
where prices are reported to be lucrative.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
May 19, 2013 in Local, News
Villagers
from Goromonzi’s Yafele area have said their livelihoods are under
threat
following the encroachment of urban developments into their area.
Report
by Jennifer Dube
The residents have formed Simukai Rural Residents Trust,
a platform through
which they were fighting for land allocation and
utilisation programmes
which do not disturb communal farmers’
lives.
“Simukai was registered at a time when residents of communal
villages within
the vicinity of Goromonzi district offices woke up to the
realisation that
their farming land was being seized for the development of
a new residential
peri-urban suburb,” the Trust’s coordinator Masimba
Manyanya said. “Up to
now it is not apparent as to who signed away the
communal farming lands in
Yafele and also other surrounding
villages.”
Manyanya said communal farmers in Yafele lost important
grazing lands and an
annual production of over 4 000 kilogrammes of
maize.
“The loss of farming land spar-ked a cumulative downward cycle
spiral,”
Manyanya said. “There was the intensive utilisation and degradation
of small
homestead based farming plots, household incomes plummeted and food
insecurity and poverty worsened.
“Soon households were scrounging for
income for basic household needs such
as food, health and school
fees.”
Facing numerous problems including expanding population needs,
massive
unemployment, dwindling incomes, HIV and Aids, Simukai at some point
mobilised for non-farm business projects such as, mushroom growing but these
collapsed at conception or midstream due to lack of
training.
“Despite a succession of consultations since the issue of land
seizures
exploded in Yafele village 13 years ago nothing really positive or
substantial has materialised,” Manyanya said.
“Communal residents are
in a perpetual state of anguish and anxiety as new
suburban stands are being
pegged on a daily basis, encroaching on the little
land we still have as the
sprawling greater Harare encircles and overtakes
us.”
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
May 19, 2013 in Community
News
Zimbabwe could save up to US$3 billion in treatment of HIV and Aids
and
downstream costs if the country can scale up its Voluntary Medical Male
Circumcision (VMMC), a health official has said.
Report by
Christopher Mahove
Ministry of Health and Child Welfare, HIV and Aids and
TB Specialist, Owen
Mugurungi, said if the VMMC was to make an impact in the
country, there was
need for a rapid scaling up of the programme among the 15
to 49 age groups
to above the 80% mark, which translated to 1,9 million
men.
“If we do that, we will be able to reduce the rate of HIV infection
from the
current 130 000 new infections to less than 50 000 per year by
2020,” said
Mugurungi.
“What it means is we would have also prevented
close to 750 000 new HIV
infections throughout the country and we would have
invested around between
US$100-US$120 million, but in terms of treatment and
downstream costs, we
will probably save US$2,9 billion.
“So you can
see from an investment perspective, of saying where should we
put our money,
this is one of the high return areas in which we should be
able to put our
money.”
He said at community level, there were also even more benefits
for partners
of circumcised men and others, as it contributed to more than
75% prevention
of HIV and Aids transmission to spouses.
Circumcision,
Mugurungi said was also crucial in the elimination of the
human papiloma
virus, which affected the male organ and was the major cause
of cervical
cancer in women.
“This is because we know that if we circumcise all men,
60% of them are more
likely to have reduced risk and if they have reduced
risk, they are also
less likely to transmit the disease, so that cascades to
situations where
even at community level, there is higher or better
prevention,” he said.
Mugurungi said although the male circumcision
programme had started on a
slow note in 2009 in terms of uptake, the trend
was slowly improving, with
high hopes that the country would be able to
reach its target.
“….but we are happy that in 2010, we circumcised the
whole year, about 15
000, and already this year, 2013, during this previous
campaign, which just
happened during the holiday, we have circumcised more
than 15 000.
“We are happy that we have achieved in less than six weeks
what we achieved
in 12 months. If that is anything to go by, we are happy to
say that at
least people are beginning to take it up and we will be able to
circumcise
more,” Mugurungi noted.
He said there was need for
extensive educational campaigns to take the
correct message to the
people.
There are also other benefits that have for a long time been
associated with
circumcision, among them the prevention of genital
ulcerations and general
personal hygiene.
Mugurungi said studies done
in South Africa, Kenya and Uganda had shown
evidence that HIV infection rate
among circumcised males was 60% lower than
in those who were
not.
Before the introduction of the male circumcision programme only a
handful of
private health institutions were offering the service and mostly
for reasons
other than as an HIV intervention measure.
In Africa, the
vulnerability of women and girls to HIV remains high, with
women
constituting 59% of people living with HIV.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
May 19, 2013 in Community
News
PROMOTERS of the male circumcision programme need to go back to the
drawing
board after only 8% of the targeted people responded positively to
their
campaign.
REPORT BY MOSES CHIBAYA
The government set an
ambitious target to circumcise three million men by
the end of 2015, in its
bid to reduce HIV infections in the country.
But to date, only 8% of the
target population has been reached, less than
two years before the
deadline.
United Nations Joint Programme on HIV and Aids (UNAids) country
director,
Tatiana Shomiliana, said there was need to re-strategise so that
more young
people can be mobilised for the circumcision
programme.
She said while resources had been availed to circumcise over
100 000 males
in 2012 alone, far less than half the target was
achieved.
“An analysis is going on. We are trying to understand why. Do
we target
wrong people? Do we message wrongly?” Shomiliana said.
She
said wrong packaging of messages was contributing to the poor response
to
the programme. Shomiliana cited the message “Be a winner, get
circumcised”
which she said does not clearly bring out what it is that one
would be
winning by getting circumcised.
She however commended young people for
being more responsive to the
programme than older people.
National
Coordinator of the HIV and Aids and Tuberculosis Response in the
Health and
Child Welfare ministry, Owen Mugurungi said although they were
not happy
with the response, they hoped more men would get circumcised.
“We still
feel that we can do better. We have only circumcised close to 8%
of our
target population,” he said.
Mugurungi encouraged young people to get
circumcised noting there were
benefits not only for combating HIV, but for
personal hygiene and prevention
of cervical cancer to young
women.
Male circumcision is part of the HIV prevention package that also
covers men’s
sexual reproductive health.
Experts say male
circumcision reduces the risk of heterosexually acquired
HIV infection in
men by approximately 60%.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
May 19, 2013 in
Business
GOVERNMENT is mooting a policy that forces telecommunication
firms to share
infrastructure in far reaching reforms set to remove the
duplication in
investments by operators.
REPORT BY BY MUSA
DUBE
The move comes at a time when government’s calls for infrastructure
sharing
had been ignored by the operators.
Speaking in Bulawayo last
week, permanent secretary in the Ministry of
Transport and Infrastructure
Development, Munesu Munodawafa said the
proposed legislation would help
reduce costs and ultimately lead to low
tariffs.
Munodawafa said the
current licensing regime did not make it mandatory for
infrastructure
sharing and the new policy would give government the leeway
to influence the
direction of the investments and the development of that
sector.
“What is happening now is a result of the current licences
that the various
operators have. The licences that were issued some 15 or so
years ago did
not anticipate certain developments in the telecoms industry
that are taking
place now,” Munodawafa said.
“In future, we should
have a policy which encourages sharing of networks and
we believe that it
would be cheaper in the long run for us to have shared
services and base
stations.”
He said there must be “synergies in terms of having a national
telecommunication backbone.”
The transport permanent secretary said
discussions were underway between the
ministry and the industry that would
encourage players to share certain
basic backbone and infrastructure while
at the same time allow them to
compete on the last mile and actual services
provision.
Last mile refers to the technologies and processes used to
connect the end
customer to a communication network in the telecoms and
technologies
industries.
Telecoms operators are currently competing
in setting up infrastructure
across the country.
As a result, there
is an over investment in some areas while others have
remained
neglected.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
May 19, 2013 in Opinion
Transparency
International Zimbabwe (TI-Z), a leading global organisation in
the fight
against corruption is deeply concerned by recent events
surrounding the
voter registration process.
Sunday View by Transparency International-
Zimbabwe
Recent media reports show that ordinary citizens are facing
challenges to
register to vote. In some cases Zimbabweans are not aware of
the actual
dates for nearby mobile voter registration centres. There is lack
of
publicity to encourage ordinary citizens to participate in the
registration
process.
Evidence emanating from various centres across
the country has also shown
that there is lack of preparedness on the part of
the Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission (ZEC) and Registrar General’s Office to
carry-out voter
registration throughout the country.
ZEC is
constitutionally mandated to adequately conduct all electoral
processes,
including voter education in the country. While there is merit in
initiating
the mobile voter registration exercise, ZEC should do more in
publicising
the exercise to ensure eligible voters are accorded their
democratic right
to participate in processes. Proof of residence has been
the major hindrance
for people to register to vote. Voter registration
officials have also been
accused of turning away those without proof of
residence.
According
to ZEC chairperson, Justice Rita Makarau, people can fill in
special
affidavits as proof of residence, however the situation on the
ground is
different as people are reportedly turned away without registering
as
voters. This is also an unfair practice because our government knows that
many urban dwellers are not home-owners and may not have utility accounts
for them to process documents of proof of residence.
Media reports
also point out that at times voters travel long distances to
access voter
registration centres. If this is not corrected soon, it may
lead to the
exclusion of a multitude of voters. Moreover, the unclear manner
in which
voter registration is being conducted compromises the credibility
of free
and fair elections. A compromised electoral process opens itself up
to
allegations of electoral fraud then election results may become disputed
leading to violence and the government in power may be considered
illegitimate.
As such, TI-Z calls upon relevant ministries, the
legislature and the
Executive to look into the electoral process and ensure
transparency in the
conduct of all electoral processes. Relevant
stakeholders should put in
place meaningful measures that will ensure
citizen participation in
democratic processes, if a free and fair
environment is to be achieved.
According to section 100C of the current
constitution, the functions of ZEC
are to prepare for; the conduct and
supervise elections and referendums and
ensure they are conducted
efficiently, freely, fairly, transparently in
accordance with the
law.
ZEC and the Registrar General Office are therefore implored to
embrace new
technologies in the electoral processes that enhance
accountability and
transparency since they have the potential of easing the
current challenges
being faced in registering potential voters. The
advantage of using new
technologies such as biometric technology is that it
eliminates multiple
voter registration and is not labour intensive. Also,
biometric technology
has the potential to flush out “ghost voters” which
have haunted previous
electoral processes.
TI-Z calls on the state to
broaden participation in voter education in order
to beef up ZEC’s capacity
in this area. With the participation of civil
society organisations (CSOs),
in collaboration with ZEC, much more ground
can be covered in the limited
time available.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
May 19, 2013 in Opinion
When
analysing the post 90s struggles for democratisation in Zimbabwe and
where
the country finds itself now, Bob Marley’s song, No Woman No Cry, has
lyrics
that may aptly relate to our contemporary circumstances.
Sunday Discourse
with Takura Zhangazha
There are three particular lines in the song that
capture the status of this
same said struggle today.
These are where
Marley sings, “good friends we had, good friends we lost . .
. along the
way.” This especially as we approach our second harmonised
elections this
year.
In relation to the aforementioned struggle, it would be true that
those that
were once on the same side, shaking hands and getting arrested
together, no
longer talk informally and can only meet under the aegis of
some state power
or function. Those that were allies no longer sit at the
same table to
discuss the noble and strategic objectives of continuing with
the struggle.
The newer participants to the struggle have also taken
sides by aligning
themselves to those that have proximity to struggle
resources (both in
political power and monetary terms). And this is how good
friends have been
lost.
It is also how the duration of the struggle
has eventually led to
simplistic, but devastating opportunism that has left
it being inorganic and
elitist under the shroud of haphazard
populism.
The departure points for this state of affairs have been many
over the last
15 years. Some of these departure points include the refusal
of initial
independent candidates to be part of the National Working Peoples
Convention
in 1999 and the split of MDC and civil society in 2006. More
recently there
was the departure point of the 2007 Save Zimbabwe Campaign
which on March 11
2007 organised a prayer rally in Highfields that was
brutally suppressed
when leaders were severely tortured at Highfield police
station and
elsewhere.
It is the Sadc intervention in the aftermath
of March 11 2007 that set the
loss of friends on a firm path to
reality.
The secrecy that surrounded it regardless of the protestations
of former
allies was to culminate in varied “papering over the cracks”
legislative
amendments including the 18th one to the Constitution of
Zimbabwe.
Before long, there were the harmonised elections of March 2008,
and again
the friends that had been lost came back to seek solidarity. Quick
alliances
were revisited and dusted for use in the elections which saw the
first ever
“hung” parliament through a slim victory for the
opposition.
The presidential vote count was to be disputed (and many
lives lost) and
once again bring in Sadc and its facilitator, former South
African President
Thabo Mbeki.
Again friends went through the
populist motions of the struggle but as with
2007, other friends got lost in
the secrecy of the negotiations.
By the time the Global Political
Agreement (GPA) was signed, alliances and
friendships were not only strained
but in some cases had broken down. The
swearing in of the inclusive
government in February 2009 brought in the new
era of contestations between
former allies and those that now sat in
cabinet.
The debates and
arguments over roles and responsibilities vis a vis the
struggle no longer
related to values and principles. They were couched in
the language
of
“incrementalism” (which very few of those in government
understood).
Again, there was a reconfiguration of civil society to suit
the whims of
those who were now part of the inclusive government but had
been in the
various campaigns with founding organisations of their political
movements.
It became a proximity to resources and personality cults that was
to define
the new alliances of the struggle.
Limited support given to
the Copac constitutional reform process by civil
society had to do with
principle and continued commitment to the struggle.
And this remains the
case as we come to the close of the inclusive
government as established by
Constitutional Amendment number 19.
As the 2013 harmonised elections
approach, after an undemocratic
constitutional reform process, there will be
rallying cries for alliances to
be forged. These calls will, as of old, be
geared to return to the alliances
of the past, if only for the
elections.
They will be ahistorical in nature and seek to give the
impression of an its
“better the devil you know” scenario. Even if such a
devil has been
unprincipled, undemocratic and inorganic in his/her
interactions with former
allies.
The reality of the matter is that
the struggle as we know it has come full
circle. For those in proximity to
power and resources it may well be over.
For those who remain conscious
of its founding principles, its
people-centred pedagogy, the struggle is,
unfortunately not over.
Even if it were to be willed to end in such an
undemocratic fashion, there
will be others who will remember its genesis and
fulfill its aspirations.
And to paraphrase Marley from the same song, “in
this great future, you can’t
forget your past, so dry your tears, I
say”.
l Takura Zhangazha writes in his personal capacity
(takura.zhangazha.blogspot.com)
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
May 19, 2013 in Opinion
The Zimbabwe
Election Support Network is calling on the Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission
(ZEC) to accredit local civic society organisations to conduct
voter
education, in view of the impending harmonised elections.
Sunday Opinion
by ZESN
ZESN notes that the country is already in an election mode, hence
the need
for ZEC to expedite the accreditation of civic society
organisations that
have applied to complement the commission’s efforts in
conducting
comprehensive voter education.
This call comes against a
backdrop of challenges that have marred the
ongoing mobile voter
registration exercise where hundreds of people have
been turned away for
various reasons, including lack of proper
identification and proper proof of
residence.
In addition, long queues have been observed at most
registration centres and
this has been attributed to lack of adequate human
and financial resources.
This therefore buttresses the need for ZEC to
accredit forthwith civic
society organisations who are by law prohibited to
conduct voter education
unless authorised by the commission. We also call
upon ZEC to consider
extension of the mobile voter registration
exercise.
Since the enactment of Electoral Amendment Act (2012), Zesn has
observed
many organisations conducting civic education and not voter
education, which
is more specific to elections.
The Building
Resources in Democracy, Governance and Elections (Bridge)
handbook defines
voter education, also known as electoral education, as
programmes aimed at
people of the voting age and over and addresses voters’
motivation and
preparedness to participate fully in elections.
The manual further
explains that voter education is basically concerned with
giving the types
of electoral systems and electoral process and concepts
such as basic human
rights and voting rights, the role, responsibilities and
rights of voters,
the relationship between elections and democracy,
conditions necessary for
democratic elections, secrecy of the ballot, why
each vote is important and
its impact on public accountability and how votes
translate into
seats.
Civic education includes both school and community-based education
and deals
with all aspects of human rights, active citizenship, systems of
governance
and elections. Voter information or awareness (more accurately
referred to
as voter awareness or information programs), happens just before
an
electoral event — usually they are one-off events and dwell on how to,
where
to and when to vote.
They aim to provide basic information
enabling qualified citizens to vote,
including the date, time, and place of
voting; the type of election;
identification necessary to establish
eligibility; registration requirements
and mechanisms for voting.
In
Zimbabwe, the Electoral Amendment Act 2012 defines voter education as,
“any
course or programme of instruction on electoral law and procedure aimed
at
voters generally and not offered as part of a course in a law or civic or
any other subjects for students at an educational institution”.
The
continued arrest and criminalisation of civic society organisations for
allegedly conducting voter education without seeking permission from ZEC is
worrying and testimony to the need for ZEC to accredit CSOs.
Given
the vagueness in the definition provided in the Electoral Act, we
therefore
call upon the ZEC and other policymakers to clarify the
distinction between
voter information, voter education and civic education.
Certainly, each
falls along a continuum of educational activities in support
of elections
and democracy and is mutually reinforcing. We urge the
reviewing of the Act
to mandate CSOs and any interested players and talk
about voter education
and civic education while ZEC focuses on providing
voter
information.
It is therefore imperative that ZEC seriously considers
accreditation of
civic society organisations in order to ensure that the
voter education is
comprehensive.
Zesn also makes reference to the
constitutional referendum which had a total
of 56 627 votes being rejected
given that the ballot paper was very simple
with either “Yes or No”; this
again points to the need to scale up early
voter education programmes.
Furthermore, Zesn believes that a comprehensive
voter education exercise
will also enable the electorate to make informed
decisions and may reduce
voter apathy, thus we consider it as one of the
fundamental conditions for
the conduct of credible elections.
We reiterate our calls for early
accreditation of observers to enable them
to observe all the electoral
processes including voter registration. In
addition, we continue to call for
the adequate resourcing of ZEC to enable
them to effectively carry out their
mandate.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
May 19, 2013 in Editorial
Last week MDC-T
MP Settlement Chikwinya questioned Registrar-General Tobaiwa
Mudede’s
continuing role in the conduct of elections.
The Standard
Editorial
Chikwinya, contributing to a debate on the voter registration
exercise,
revealed that Mudede, who is 67 years old and now past retirement
age, was a
hindrance to the holding of free and fair elections.
The
debate is laudable but unfortunately comes a tad too late, as the
country
draws close to an election.
It is our considered belief that such a move
to challenge Mudede’s continued
mandate should have been raised much earlier
and pursued with vigour
throughout the tenure of the GNU.
Mudede is a
denizen of Zimbabwe’s dark political past. He has been a key,
yet
controversial figure in the conduct of elections in this country for
over
two decades.
Democratic forces and the MDC-T largely regard Mudede as
Zanu PF’s willing
instrument of election rigging.
Successive
legislative changes have sought to subtract Mudede’s role during
elections
but the bureaucrat has held firm and continues to exert undue
influence in
key processes.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec), which is the
constitutional body
entrusted with running elections in this country, has
continually told the
nation that the Registrar General now works under its
direction.
Mudede does not however appear to work under the mandate of the
electoral
body.
The execution of the voter registration exercise is
worrying ZEC chairperson
Justice Rita Makarau who spoke out against the
chaos last week.
She is disheartened, so are thousands of voters who are
disgusted by Mudede’s
insistence that voters should produce affidavits to
register.
Justice Makarau’s concern is ample evidence that Mudede worships a
different
god from his supposed bosses at Zec. He is more than just a civil
servant
tasked with issuing registration and travel documents.
Principals
to the GNU should be warned that failure to deal with Mudede’s
issue is the
surest way to discredit the next election. This country
deserves better.
