Army put on alert as fears of civil unrest mount Tue 24 May
2005
HARARE - Zimbabwe has put the army and police on high alert as
deepening economic and social hardships push public anger to dangerous
levels, ZimOnline has learnt.
Intelligence sources said an
ongoing police crackdown against informal traders - the majority of
Zimbabweans now depend on petty and informal trade for survival - had raised
fears in government security departments of a possible spontaneous backlash
by irate citizens.
To preempt the possible protests, the government
last week increased the number of armed police officers on patrol in the
capital, Harare, where the campaign against informal traders has been
severest.
Roadblocks manned by heavily armed
soldiers and police have been set up on all major roads leading into Harare
city centre. Passengers and motorists are first thoroughly searched for
dangerous weapons that could be used to commit public violence, before they
can be allowed to proceed into the city centre.
Police have
also set up makeshift camps in the city's low income suburbs such as
Highfield, Glen View and Dzivarasekwa known to be strongholds of the main
opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party.
State
Security Minister Didymus Mutasa, whose ministry advised the government of
the increasing risk of spontaneous mass protests, refused to take questions
on the matter saying he could not discuss security matters with the Press.
"I cannot comment on security issues," said Mutasa, before switching off his
mobile phone.
But the sources said the operation to ensure
"containment" of any mass uprising, which has so far focused mainly on
Harare, will spread in the coming weeks to other cities such as Bulawayo,
Mutare and Gweru to ensure the government is not caught unawares should
rising public anger boil over.
They said the ongoing "clean-up"
operation in Harare that has seen the police forcing thousands of people and
informal traders out of the city's central business district while public
commuter buses were banned from dropping passengers in the city centre, was
all part of a plan to reduce congestion in the city and ensure any violence
can be easily dealt with.
"The operation is meant to reduce the
number of people in the central business district so that if violence
erupts, it would be easy to contain," said a senior state intelligence
officer, who is part of the team co-ordinating the clean-up
operation.
President Robert Mugabe and his ruling ZANU PF party
have become increasingly paranoid fearing civil unrest in the wake of biting
shortages of fuel, electricity, food and other basic survival commodities
that escalated days after their controversial victory in a general election
last March.
MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai accused Mugabe at the
weekend of trying to provoke conditions for declaring a State of Emergency,
which would give him unlimited powers of detention, seizure and censorship.
- ZimOnline
Central bank chief threatens to shut down hotels over forex
remittances Tue 24 May 2005 HARARE - Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor
Gideon Gono has threatened to close down some of the country's biggest
hotels for allegedly failing to remit to the central bank hard cash earned
from foreign guests.
Addressing business leaders at the weekend,
Gono vowed to force the closure of some hotel and tourism ventures the same
way he shut down several banks and other financial institutions since 2003
for illegally dealing in foreign currency and other unethical
practices.
"We did it with the financial sector and we will not
hesitate to do it with the tourism industry," the all powerful central bank
chief said. He added: "We will not hesitate to close down two or three five
star hotels, up until the sector complies with regulations."
Gono, who used to be President Robert Mugabe's personal banker when he was
still chief executive officer of the partly state-owned Commercial Bank of
Zimbabwe, now Jewel Bank, is one of the Zimbabwean president's closest and
most powerful advisers.
He is tasked to raise hard cash for fuel
and other key imports and to also lead government efforts to revive
Zimbabwe's comatose economy. Gono's word is often regarded as Mugabe's
command.
Zimbabwe Council of Tourism president, Paul Matamisa,
clearly unsettled by Gono's threats attempted to plead with the central bank
chief saying a number of the foreign visitors that come into the country opt
to stay with friends or at unregistered hotels and lodges and the industry
could not account for whatever hard cash earned from these.
Matamisa said: "Some of the visitors would be in transit, and either stay
with friends or relatives whilst others would be booked at unregistered
places. This is (the) problem."
But a stern Gono would have
none of it insisting that according to government statistics, 400 000
foreigners visited the country in the first quarter of the year and the
hotel and tourism industry should have remitted close to US$200
million.
"Statistics show us that there were about 400 000 visitors
who came into the country during the first quarter, but instead of the
hoteliers remitting close to US$200 million they declared less than $50
million," he said.
Zimbabwe's tourism sector, one of the
country's fastest growing sectors a few years ago, is in the doldrums as
foreign tourists shun the country because of lawlessness, human rights
violations and political violence.
Unlike the banking sector
that was able to survive the closure of more than nine commercial banks and
other financial services firms by Gono, the closure of any major hotel could
trigger the total collapse of the hospitality and tourism industry. -
ZimOnline
Firm continues building ex-minister's mansion in Cape
Town Tue 24 May 2005 HARARE - A South African property firm says it has
continued developing a mansion in Cape Town for former Zimbabwe finance
minister, Chris Kuruneri, now standing trial for illegally purchasing
properties abroad.
An official of the firm, Venture Projects and
Associates, yesterday told the Harare High Court that the company's dealings
with Kuruneri were above board and that the firm would continue building the
seaside mansion until it was shown evidence to prove it was illegal to build
the house.
The official, Brian John Gelling, said when news of
Kuruneri's property dealings first surfaced in the South African Press his
partner, Christopher Haeyman, carried out investigations to establish
whether the property development contract with the former Zimbabwe
government official was within the law.
"He (Haeyman) was
satisfied that there was nothing wrong with what we were doing therefore did
not terminate the contract . . . as a result he has continued to honour his
mandate until evidence to the contrary emerges," said Gelling under
cross-examination by defence lawyer, Jonathan Samkange. Gelling, who
was in Harare as a state witness also told the court that under South
African Reserve Bank regulations, his firm was permitted to hold large sums
of client's money in hard cash but for a limited period.
Earlier on
Saturday, the court heard that Kuruneri pitched up in Cape Town with a
briefcase stashed with close to US$500 000 which he used to buy the property
and a car.
Kuruneri is on trial for allegedly externalising
millions of dollars in hard cash in breach of Zimbabwe's foreign exchange
regulations.
The former finance minister, who has pleaded guilty to
another charge of illegally possessing a Canadian passport in violation of
Zimbabwe's Citizenship Act, is denying he siphoned money outside the country
saying the funds he took to South Africa were free funds earned from
consultancy work he did outside Zimbabwe.
The case has also
sucked in Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono with Kuruneri
arguing it was Gono who personally approved the transfer of some of the
money to South Africa, when he was still chief executive officer of the
Commercial Bank of Zimbabwe.
Gono is expected to testify as a state
witness in the case against Kuruneri, in jail since being arrested in April
2004 under a drive by President Robert Mugabe to stamp out corruption. -
ZimOnline
THE history-making Air Zimbabwe maiden flight to Dubai two
weeks ago could have sucked between $430 and $650 million out of the
troubled airline's drying coffers in airspace charges, handling fees, staff
allowances and other overheads, The Daily Mirror can reveal. In a
development that has sent shock waves in international aviation records, Air
Zimbabwe reportedly cruised more than 6 000 km between Dubai and Harare with
one passenger, courting the ire of the government. Transport and
Communications Permanent Secretary Karikoga Kaseke declared in an interview
yesterday that government would institute thorough investigations into the
issue of the futile flight and disciplinary measures would be taken if
required. "To me that is criminal; we will set up an investigating team to
get the facts on what exactly transpired. As a ministry we will not sit down
and watch such a strategic company running down," said Kaseke whose ministry
recently handed over to Air Zimbabwe two MA60 planes from China in an effort
to revive the airliner. "We have a situation where the Reserve Bank
governor has gone out of his way to help the parastatals. Air Zimbabwe was
the biggest beneficiary of the Productive Sector Funds (PSF), with $1.1
trillion, and we were just starting the turnaround. "So he (Gideon Gono)
should not be taken as Father Christmas who dishes out presents generously.
Any turnaround programme, no matter how good, will not be successful if it
is poorly implemented. We will surely take steps to correct the situation at
Air Zimbabwe and make sure it is a viable business." A former chief
executive officer (CEO) with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), Kaseke
added that he estimated the cost of the Boeing 737 flight at between US$60
000 and US$70 000. This translates to about Z$434 million using the
benchmark of US$1 to Z$6 200 at the official exchange rate, and Z$650
million at the $9 000: Diaspora rate. Last week, impeccable sources
at the beleaguered Air Zimbabwe said to break even, the 205-seater Boeing
737 airliner requires 60 percent of passenger capacity.
Effectively, about 120 passengers are needed to break even. However, the
highly placed sources claimed that it was Air Zimbabwe's CEO Tendai Mahachi
who gave the green light for the plane to take off with only 49 passengers
on board. The plane then returned from Dubai with only one passenger. The
sources said the flight was hurriedly organised without proper
marketing. "We never recovered even 10 percent of the costs of flying the
aircraft. What is happening at this airline is a clear example of mediocre
planning while at the same time claiming to be turning the airline's
fortunes around," the sources said. "The world over, the procedure is
that before a flight is launched, it is preceded by extensive marketing to
appraise the market.
THE Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA)
says there will no backing down on demands that two major hotels in Harare
improve their standards or face an imminent chop of their
rating. Diversified industrial concern, TA Holding runs the four star Jameson
Hotel while Zimsun Leisure Group runs the Crown Plaza Monomotapa. The two
are among several hotels that have been given strong warnings to revamp or
face the docking of one star each in the next 30 days, if they fail. In
an exclusive interview with The Business Mirror on Friday last week, ZTA
chairman, Emmanuel Fundira said local hotels had been abusing clients for
too long and the government felt it was time to act and save the tourism
sector. "We have given them up to the end of June. We did not want to
instantly chop down the stars because that would send a wrong signal to the
market that the situation in Zimbabwe's hotels has deteriorated". "We
understood that under the current economic situation it is difficult for
hotels to carry out extensive refurbishment programmes due to depleted
arrivals. But if we leave them in that state, we will compromise
international ratings and destroy the industry," Fundira said. He added
that a client from a five star hotel anywhere should enjoy similar
hospitality at five star hotels in Zimbabwe. Investigations by The
Business Mirror revealed that some hotels rent properties from other
companies and the companies are refusing to comply with the industry's
demands to refurbish after every five years. Sources close to TA say the
Local Authority Pension Fund (LAPF) owns the building but the hospitality
group has encountered stiff resistance from the owners to refurbish the
property. Two years ago, Zimsun weaned off property arm, Dawn Properties to
separately run all buildings while Zimsun concentrates on core
business. Early this year, the company's chief executive officer Shingi
Munyeza told a media briefing that the group had been forced to close some
wings in hotels to cut down on costs due to ballooning overheads. This
newspaper also understands that a team from the ZTA has been inspecting
hotels in recent weeks. Although some hotels have been upgrading their
facilities, officials said there is no guarantee that ratings will remain at
the current levels. The situation in most hotels has severely deteriorated
with dirty carpets, peeling walls, poor heating and cooling systems and torn
linen in use. The situation is however different for facilities in the major
tourist attractions.
Business
Reporter COMMERCIAL banks have begun to increase minimum lending rates in
response to last week's announcement of a new interest rate regime by the
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.
This is the first time in more than 15
months that minimum lending rates have been increased as they have been on a
tumble since the announcement of the 2004 monetary policy
statement.
A continued fall since last year saw minimum lending rates
dropping from more than 300 percent to between 115 percent and 130
percent.
RBZ last week unveiled a new rate regime where accommodation
rates were hiked to 160 percent for secured lending and 170 percent for
unsecured lending.
It had been foreseen that with the new rate
regime, financial institutions would respond and increase their minimum
lending rates.
Barclays Bank of Zimbabwe has so far been the only one
that has announced that it has increased the minimum lending rates to 180
percent.
"Following the recent monetary policy review, we will be
increasing our minimum lending rate to 180 percent per annum with effect
from Monday, May 23, 2005. Deposit rates will also be reviewed in line with
market conditions," said Barclays Bank of Zimbabwe in a
statement.
Other commercial banks said they would soon review the minimum
lending rates as the new rate regime has made it inevitable not to do
so.
An increase means borrowing will become more expensive especially for
the manufacturing industry that does not export.
However, the central
bank has also cushioned the exporters as the export-oriented manufacturing
firms will benefit from the new productive sector support measures unlike
those who produce for domestic consumption.
Exporting companies, in
principle, will enjoy privileges even better than those they were getting
under PSF as the governor announced that he had earmarked several billions
of dollars under which export oriented firms would borrow at a special
interest rate of 5 percent per annum.
The rise in interest rates means
inflation will follow up in the long-term but demand for money will fall in
the long term, and the development would certainly result in less borrowing
for non-productive purposes and accrue back to inflation reduction
objectives.
Notice is hereby given, in terms of
subsection 1 of section 5 of the land Acquisition act chapter 20;10 that the
President intends to acquire compulsorily the land described in the schedule
for resettlement purposes.
A plan of the land is available for inspection
at the following offices of the ministry of state responsible for lands,land
reform and resettlement between 8am and 4pm from Monday to Friday other than
on a public holiday on or before the 20th of June 2005
a)Block 2
Makombe Complex crn Harare Street and Herbert Chitepo,Harare b) Ministry of
Lands, Land Reform and Resettlement,,Cf 119, Government composite
block,Robert Mugabe Way,Muture. c) Ministry of lands,Land Reform and
Resettlement,4th Floor ,Block h,office 146,Mhlahlandlela Government
Complex,Bulawayo. d)Ministry of Lands, Lland Reform and Resettlement, M W
Building,corner park,Link street,Chinhovi. e)Ministry of lLands, Land and
Reform and Resettlement.1st floor, Founders House ,The Green
Marondera; f)Ministry of Lands.Land reforms and Resettlement,19
Hellet Street,Masvingo; g) Ministery of lands,land reform and
resettlement,Exchange Building,Main Street.Gweru. h)ministry of lands,land
reform and resettlement,Mtshabezi Building,First Floor,office f20
Gwanda; i)Ministry of Lands,Land reform and
resettlement,Ndodahondo Building,Bindura
any owners of occupier of any
other person who has an interest and right in the said land.and who wishes to
object to the proposed compulsort acquisition , may lodge the same in
writing,with the minister of state Responsible for lands,land reform and
resettlement,private bag 7779, Causeway, Harare,on or before the 20th of June
2005.
1 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 1709/63 Allen Vernon Schaller chillmanzi Sable
Flat Rhodesdale 1 058,2548ha 2 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 8106/87
W.N.B.Private Ltd chillmanzi Subdivision H Rhodesdale 325,5900ha 3
20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 4148/83 A V SCHALLER chillmanzi Subdivision k
Rhodesdale 370,4019ha 4 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 4245/67 H A Smith
chillmanzi Subdivison m Rhodesdale 1 351,5300ha 5 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT
168 4148/83 A V SCHALLER chillmanzi Subdivison L Rhodesdale 380,3875HA 6
20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 5942/95 G V Purcell Golpin chillmanzi Busgy Park
Subd A Rhodesdale 2 4981,6247ha 7 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 5721/88 David
Bruce Clark chillmanzi Sweet Water 2 602,1689ha 8 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT
168 3844/87 Agicor Farming chillmanzi Rose 3 000,20000morgen 9 20-05-2005
SECTION 5 LOT 168 2239/98 Morvale Estate(prv) ltd chillmanzi Hillview 1
251,1000ha 10 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 2311/57 J W Meurs chillmanzi Lot 1
of Lalapanzi 175,0835morgen 11 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 7195/19
Willoughbts Consolidated co pr chillmanzi Subdivison A Iron Mine Hill
9,4260morgen 12 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 2411/50 Willoughbts Consolidated
co pr chillmanzi Ortons Drift 250,0000morgen 13 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT
168 4847/83 Binga Estates Private Ltd chillmanzi Palgrave 1 600,8600ha 14
20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 4847/83 Binga Estates Private Ltd chillmanzi
Uamvar Estate 1 742,5600ha 15 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 1660/65 B Hallam
chillmanzi Subdivision A of Lovedale 1 587,2900ha 16 20-05-2005 SECTION 5
LOT 168 470/80 Michael Francis Mee chillmanzi Subdivision A of Bultfontein
481,4900ha 17 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 6523/86 Michael Francis Mee
chillmanzi Subdivision B of Bultfontein 467,7900ha 18 20-05-2005 SECTION 5
LOT 168 1054/80 T G Harrison chillmanzi Nooitgedacht 488,0800ha 19
20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 3756/87 Binga Estates Private Ltd chillmanzi Lot
1A Moolplaats Estate 647,4800ha 20 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 3372/90
Shinghai Holdings(prv) Ltd chillmanzi Walden 1 205,4100ha 21 20-05-2005
SECTION 5 LOT 168 7519 David Johannes Du plooy chillmanzi Palmeifontein 1
100,0000morgen 22 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 1711/62 David Johannes Du
plooy chillmanzi Lot 1 of Palmeifontein 904,0173acres 23 20-05-2005
SECTION 5 LOT 168 5965/94 F J Nel (pvt) ltd chillmanzi Orangia 1
755,8600ha 24 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 3794/77 O.W Nielsen chillmanzi Lot
B of Fairfueld 813,0900ha 25 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 1566/84 David
Alan Coventry chillmanzi Grootfontein 1 048,6422ha 26 20-05-2005 SECTION 5
LOT 168 3972/84 J E Erasmus chillmanzi Finale 244,5500ha 27 20-05-2005
SECTION 5 LOT 168 3029/74 Lbergesen chillmanzi Primrose 58,5601ha 28
20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 27/31 W R Selmon chillmanzi A of
Manzi 43,43ha 29 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 6585/99 Landprep Pvt Ltd
Chipinga The Morgenson of Avontuur 340,6416ha 30 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT
168 4627/89 Jonty Prv Ltd Chipinga Homefield 50,0659ha 31 20-05-2005
SECTION 5 LOT 168 591/68 E H Wilkinson Gwelo Springvale 1 573,8153 32
20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 2049/58 Backaschuta Pvt Ltd Gwelo Deanfield 2
999,3930morgen 33 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 1022/86 Finchey Farms Pvt Ltd
Gwelo Redlands of Northfield 809,3582ha 34 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168
1022/86 Finchey Farms Pvt Ltd Gwelo Highgate of Long Valley 449,5100ha 35
20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 794/84 Aco Williams Gwelo Subdivision F of
Strathfillan Estate 663,2594morgen 36 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 794/84 Aco
Williams Gwelo Subdivision D of Strathfillan Estate 221,5311 morgrn 37
20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 613/63 G L Van De Merwe Gwelo Broomacres of
Broomrigg 499,9517morgen 38 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 1987/86 Capstan
Farming Pvt Ltd Gwelo Clifton Down 745,7000ha 39 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT
168 2316/04 R Hapsody Venture (Pvt) Ltd Gwelo Subdivision B of Bendhu
62,5800ha 40 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 40 1908/81 V R Bowers Gwelo
Subdivision K of mnyami 130,2474ha 41 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 41
380/83 V R Bowers Gwelo Subdivision J of Mnyami 276,1078acres 42
20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 42 232/87 B W Scheeres Gwelo Subdivision G of
Mnyami 278,8076morgen 43 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 43 2031/86 Bay Tany
(PVT)td Gwelo Subdivision F of Mnyami 123,3882morgen 44 20-05-2005 SECTION
5 LOT 168 44 2491/69 Z S R K T M G AND S Naideo Gwelo Subdivision 2 of
Travellers Rest 261,5553acres 45 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 45 1303/84 P J
Cochran Gwelo Subdivision 3 of Travellers Rest 105,9163ha 46 20-05-2005
SECTION 5 LOT 168 46 1772/82 J Hicks Gwelo Subdivision 5 of Travellers Rest
104,4907ha 47 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 47 4327/82 B Salis Gwelo
Subdivision 6 of Travellers Rest 104,5973ha 48 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT
168 48 1061/78 A B & D J Pillay Gwelo Subdivision 8 of Travellers Rest
101,2411ha 49 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 49 2538/01 M Meyer Gwelo
Subdivision 10 of Travellers Rest 255,9569acres 50 20-05-2005 SECTION 5
LOT 168 50 689/97 L A Gasse(pvt)Ltd Gwelo Warwickshire of Fife Scott Block
481,6100ha 51 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 51 1879/85 Lybon(pvt) LTD Gwelo
shropshire of Fife Scott Block 592,9700ha 52 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168
52 3088/73 M S M Leibenberg Gwelo Surrey of Fife Scott Block 502,2100ha 53
20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 53 507/48 Government of Southern Rhodesia Gwelo
Berdfordshire 840,4150morgen 54 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 54 1642/57
Fremington (Pvt) Ltd Gwelo The Grange 128,1810morgen 55 20-05-2005 SECTION
5 LOT 168 55 2644/90 C I Venables Gwelo Subdivision 5 of Gwelo Small Holdings
3 000,0000acres 56 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 56 996/79 Leopold Ludwing
Hein Gwelo Subdivision 25 of Gwelo Small Holdings 176,6026ha 57 20-05-2005
SECTION 5 LOT 168 57 1587/57 O & R Trust Finance Co (Pvt)Ltd Gwelo
Subdivision 21 of Gwelo Small holding 246,3180morgen 58 20-05-2005 SECTION 5
LOT 168 58 1014/71 Walter James Avery Gwelo Subdivision 28 of Gwelo Small
Holding 239,6509ha 59 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 59 1271/92 Zim Beef
Marketing Gwelo Cowfod 416,8400ha 60 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 60
1236/72 Lional Arthur Carslisle Gwelo Subdivision B of Bonnyvale
40,8995ha 61 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 61 1429/51 C Macglip Gwelo
Subdivision 11 of Gwelo small Holding 284,5619morgen 62 20-05-2005 SECTION
5 LOT 168 62 3506/72 J C Schonken Gwelo Lot 3 of Lot 80a umsungwe Block
118,6337morgen 63 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 63 1752/81 I Burgoyne Gwelo
Lot 7 of Lot 80s Umsungwe Block 104,1160morgen 64 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT
168 64 1753/81 I Burgoyne Gwelo Lot 8 of Lot 80a umsungwe Block
101,5887ha 65 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 65 1755/81 I Burgoyne Gwelo Lot 10
of Lot 80a Umsungwe Block 101,5012ha 66 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 66
3753/91 S Schonken & Sons(Pvt)Ltd Gwelo Subdivision 81 of Umsungwe Block
631,5540morgan 67 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 67 3081/99 Malthar Enterprises
(pvt)Ltd Gwelo Subdivision 76 of umsungwe Block 7663124ha 68 20-05-2005
SECTION 5 LOT 168 68 3883/99 Pentatron Service (Pvt)LTD Gwelo Subdivision 78
of Umsungwe Block 667,3880morgen 69 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 69 1635/88 S
T Modesto Gwelo Subdivision 77 of Umsungwe Block 87,4890morgen 70
20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 70 2644/88 Bar "V" Ranching (Pvt) Ltd
Gwelo Subdivision 66 of Umsungwe Block 85,2890morgen 71 20-05-2005 SECTION
5 LOT 168 71 2644/88 Bar "V" Ranching (Pvt) Ltd Gwelo Subdivision 57 of
Umsungwe Block 829,5800morgen 72 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 72 3873/99
Pentatron Services (pvt) Ltd Gwelo Happy Valley of Umsungwe Block
491,2160ha 73 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 73 2504/91 G & T Enterprises
(pvt) Ltd Gwelo Subdivision 69 of Ussungwe Block 50,2980morgen 74
20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 74 1102/47 bietchingley (Pvt Ltd )
Gwelo Ridgemont Township 7 of Unsungwe Block 271,6725morgen 75 20-05-2005
SECTION 5 LOT 168 75 250/91 G & T Enterprises (pvt) Ltd Gwelo Subdivision
2 of Umsungwe Block 41,1500morgen 76 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 76 3722/99
F J Vermaak Gwelo lot 3 of Lot 61 of Umsungwe Block 147,8854 Acres 77
20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 77 459/45 Bletchingley Farm (Pvt) Ltd
Gwelo Subdivision A of Umsungwe Block 94,2960morgen 78 20-05-2005 SECTION
5 LOT 168 78 3083/96 Nursells Farming (PVT) Ltd Gwelo Mount Pleasant of
Umsungwe Block 170,1172morgen 79 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 79 2007/75 C C
C Verems,R M Coventry Gwelo Greenvale of Bickford of Umsungwe Block
137,8344morgen 80 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 80 1793/90 J F Klooper Gwelo
Bickford of Umsungwe Block 453,6206morgen 81 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168
81 2504/91 G & T Enterprises (pvt) Ltd Gwelo Subdivision 2 of Umsungwe
Block 47,1500morgen 82 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 82 982/90 P J Witmore
Gwelo Subdivision 7 of Umsungwe Block 47,1500morgen 83 20-05-2005 SECTION
5 LOT 168 83 1976/02 I A W Peen Gwelo Subdivision 8 of Umsungwe Block
47,1500morgen 84 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 84 305/89 T G Shaw Gwelo
Subdivision 9 of Umsungwe Block 52,9100morgen 85 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT
168 85 427/51 J H Sellan Gwelo Subdivision 10 of Umsungwe 52,3000morgen 86
20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 86 2027/88 D V G Futter Gwelo Subdivision 11 of
Umsungwe Block 47,1500morgen 87 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 87 2027/88 D V G
Futter Gwelo Subdivision 12 of Umsungwe Block 47,1500morgen 88 20-05-2005
SECTION 5 LOT 168 88 2504/91 G & T Enterprises (pvt) Ltd Gwelo Lot BA of
Umsungwe Block 80,1077ha 89 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 89 419/01 New Stead
Farming (Pvt) Ltd Gwelo Lot 15a of Umsungwe Block 197,9855acres 90
20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 90 1897/58 E A Hill Gwelo Rockland of Woollabra
154,8000ha 91 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 91 32/82 S B Tombs Gwelo White
Water 1 155,2200ha 92 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 92 1943/00 Beefcrop
Farming (pvt) Ltd Gwelo Subdivision 45 of the Wildebeeste Block
384,9378ha 93 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 93 1748/83 B S Hein Gwelo
Subdivision 48 of the Wildebeese Block 236,1360morgen 94 20-05-2005
SECTION 5 LOT 168 94 989/85 De Bryans Motors pvt Ltd Gwelo Subdivision 34 of
the Wildebeeste Block 41,1500morgen 95 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 95 456/90
L Weir Gwelo Subdivision 35 of the Wildebeeste Block 47,1500morgen 96
20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 96 3238/99 Raisin Farming (Pvt)Ltd Gwelo Lot 1
of Grainthope 1 552,5057morgen 97 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 97 1285/91
Brucefree Bain Gwelo Divide 1 461,0297ha 98 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168
98 1254/91 E Stock Gwelo Lot 2 of Brockley of Divide 18,0659morgen 99
20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 99 3553/98 L Baird Gwelo margaretting
of Oaklands 49,6802morgen 100 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 100 4067/99
Spinstal Farming (pvt) Ltd Gwelo Zorora of Oaklands 49,6813morgen 101
20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 101 1255/82 E L Shaw Gwelo Subdivision A of
Oaklands 229,9048acres 102 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 102 2459/90 Bare Hill
Farm(Pvt) Ltd Gwelo Bare Hill 2 110,0400ha 103 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT
168 103 992/01 southern Waye Enterprise Gwelo Bijou 1 284,1700ha 104
20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 104 1084/88 J J R I Schuolltz Gwelo subdivision
A of Subdivision b of Sonambula 472,2840morgen 105 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT
168 105 3047/97 C C Sales Pvt Ltd Gwelo Koede Estate 1 910,0400ha 106
20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 106 1847/83 nevjen Investments Gwelo Subdivision
A of Clydesdale 47,1480morgen 107 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 107 2901/01 W
B Lawry Gwelo Farm 5a West Gwelo Block 52,5179morgen 108 20-05-2005
SECTION 5 LOT 168 108 1726/82 S Petrus Schoultz Gwelo Somabula
832,2044ha 109 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 109 2727/81 G C O Smit Gwelo Lot
1 of Watershed Block 202,5150morgen 110 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 110
1903/91 I E Davies Gwelo Lot 1a Watershed Block 41,9820ha 111 20-05-2005
SECTION 5 LOT 168 111 1393/67 PK Davies Gwelo Wondershed Block
102,4510morgan 112 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 112 4786/97 Zimhih Pvt Ltd
Gwelo Subdivision A of Subdivision 2 Watershed Block 434,2715ha 113
20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 113 788/91 J L Van Helsdingen Gwelo remaining
Ext Subdivision 3 Watershed Block 204,2700morgen 114 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT
168 114 788/91 J L Heisdingon Gwelo Blink Watershed Block 102,1600ha 115
20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 115 2627/84 W B Lawry Gwelo Subdivision
5 Watershed Block 189,0000morgan 116 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 116
1972/96 J E Nica Holsteins Pvt Ltd Gwelo Lot 6 Watershed Block
205,0000morgen 117 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 117 4786/97 Zimwick Pvt Ltd
Gwelo Watershed Block A 434,2715ha 118 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 118
7908 F Choveaux Gwelo Lot 4 of Kanuck 564,1900ha 119 20-05-2005 SECTION 5
LOT 168 119 321/80 W B Lawry Gwelo Lota 14,15 Watershed Block
939,3270morgen 120 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 120 1485/83 P Schoultz Gwelo
Subdivision 6 of Sonambula 2 174,8300morgen 121 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT
168 121 3772/99 Fajvermaak Gwelo Lot 3 of Umsungwe 147,8854acres 122
20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 122 4397/96 S Newton Gwelo Subdivision
A WestGwelo Block 132,1750morgen 123 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 123
775/95 Earalics Investment Pvt Ltd Gwelo Subdivision 2 of Subdivision a West
Gwelo Block 80,9984acres 124 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 124 3620/98 Five
Star Enterprises Pvt Ltd Gwelo Lot 24 West Gwelo Block 1 226,0000ha 125
20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 125 2170/87 Dixie Ranches Pvt Ltd Gwelo Lot 15
West Gwelo Block 1 258,2800morgen 126 20-05-2005 SECTION 5 LOT 168 126
1778/91 M A Gous Gwelo Sesame Extension West Gwelo Block 15,1900morgen
Zimbabwe's lonely record over Press freedom
in
Africa --------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Bob Wekesa
Although Kenyans complain about the difficulty of
getting information, other journalists gave a gloomy picture of the
profession in their countries.
Take the case of Zimbabwe, where
being a journalist is like signing a death warrant.
John
Gambanga, an editor in Zimbabwe, feels sorry about the developments in a
country once referred to as "God's own country" by early white
settlers.
Gambanga is the editor of The Daily News, an independent
newspaper that has borne the brunt of President Robert Mugabe's
high-handedness.
"The slogan of our paper is 'Telling it as it is'
and so I will tell the story of media in Zimbabwe as it is," Gambanga told
delegates attending the 54th IPI General Assembly in Nairobi on
Sunday.
"I would be a liar if I said there is Press freedom in my
country today," he said.
He listed "intimidation, arrests,
censorship, repressive media laws and jail sentences" as the
routine.
It has not helped matters that the newspaper that started
in 1999 under the Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe is partly owned by
British nationals, whose home country Mugabe loathes.
Through
what Gambanga calls "well-oiled propaganda machinery", Mugabe's government
labels the newspaper as an instrument for foreign interests hell-bent on
influencing regime change.
"The newspaper's founding
Editor-in-Chief, Geoff Nyarota, left the country after being detained,
jailed and taken to court before the case was dismissed in December 2002. He
now lives with his family in the US," says Gambanga.
Gambanga
says by unearthing scandalous activities by members of the Mugabe elite and
publishing them, the newspaper has attracted the Government's wrath. The
Daily News' circulation rose from 50,000 copies to 129,000, showing that the
public took its message seriously.
Gambanga says independent media
have attracted the wrath of the Government by training their sights on
glaring social inequalities.
"The irony of Zimbabwe is that on one
end, we have millions scrounging to sustain themselves, yet on the other end
of the scale, a few who wallow in untold luxury through
corruption."
When the newspaper published details of fabulous lives
by a minority in the midst of extreme poverty, Mugabe "reacted with a
hammer".
"The paper's printing press was destroyed in a mysterious
bomb attack in January 2001 and closed down because it had refused to
register under the draconian Access to Information and Protection of Privacy
Act of 2002," he says.
But The Daily News soldiered on after
Swedish friends donated another printing press. But also came to nought when
Government hatched a law requiring all media corporations to register with a
commission.
The presses went silent at The Daily News, the vanguard
of democratic expression in the country in September 2003.
Gambanga describes the crude methods the Zimbabwe government used to control
free media.
"Over the last three years, as many as 25 journalists
from The Daily News have either been arrested, charged, detained, tortured,
humiliated or been harassed by the state. One foreign correspondent, Andrew
Meldrum of The Guardian in London, was deported for reproducing a story. Our
vendors have been beaten up and in some areas many workers resigned because
of harassment by state agents," he says.
Zimbabwe maintains a
stranglehold on the country's single broadcasting station. Citizens set up
South West Africa radio in London, which broadcasts for a few hours and for
only a number of days in a week.
Gambanga says the other
alternative for Zimbabweans starved of news and information is the Radio 7
broadcast by Voice of America.
Dragnet Arrests in Zimbabwe Send Warning Amid
Disorder
By MICHAEL WINES Published: May 24, 2005 JOHANNESBURG, May
23 - With grocery stores bereft of basic goods and the currency once more in
free fall, Zimbabwe's government said Monday that it had rounded up more
than 9,600 residents of the capital, Harare, in a crackdown on black-market
peddlers and "general lawlessness."
The official explanation for the
dragnet, announced in state-run newspapers, was that the raids were aimed at
black-market profiteers who were hoarding commodities like cooking oil and
corn meal, creating artificial shortages.
But the roundups sent a pointed
message to Zimbabweans that the government could arrest and prosecute anyone
deemed a threat to public order at a time of growing unrest. In recent days,
the police have had to quell near riots at gas stations and stores as
thousands of people fought for a chance to buy fresh deliveries of scarce
commodities like gasoline and sugar.
"I would say that it's designed to
signal that the government is in control, including in the nation's teeming
cities where the government has suffered numerous electoral reversals," said
Iden Wetherell, an editor of The Zimbabwe Independent, a weekly newspaper
that is one of the few remaining publications not under state
control.
The operation began about five days ago in Harare and, according
to reports, will be extended to urban areas like Bulawayo and
Gweru.
The Herald, a state-run newspaper, quoted the police as saying the
dragnet had razed 34 illegal flea markets, netted 36 tons of black-market
sugar and 7,900 gallons of gasoline, and recovered negligible amounts of
illegal currency, led by $12,165 in American cash and $150 in American
travelers' checks. The police fought "running battles" with residents of
Mabvuku, a poor suburb, as they swept the area to destroy illegal stores and
shacks, the newspaper reported.
The city police chief, Superintendent
Oliver Mandipaka, told reporters for state news media that the police "will
leave no stone unturned in their endeavor to flush out economic
saboteurs."
But well over two-thirds of the reported detentions were for
traffic violations and other offenses unrelated to Zimbabwe's economic
crisis, the stated focus of the crackdown.
It was not clear how many
of the people rounded up had actually been arrested, or how many had been
fined and released.
Zimbabwe's economy is in tatters, plagued by steep
drops in production and ballooning inflation since the ruling ZANU-PF party
won crucial parliamentary elections on March 31. Critics say the government
bankrupted the national treasury to woo voters before the election, and now
has no reserves left to cushion the bruises of a long economic
decline.
A resident of Bulawayo, the nation's second largest city, said
in a telephone interview on Monday that no gasoline and few basic goods were
sold there for three days, except on the black market at prices few could
afford. The lack of gasoline has all but shut down public transportation,
forcing thousands in cities to walk to work.
The currency, officially
valued at 9,000 Zimbabwean dollars per American dollar after a 45 percent
devaluation last week, now trades at 25,000 per dollar on the black market,
up several thousand in the last few days. Government inspectors have
descended on hotels, travel agencies and other businesses that deal with
foreigners, searching for foreign exchange that the government needs to buy
gasoline and other essentials that keep the economy running.
Last updated: 05/24/2005 11:35:40
MOST people in Zimbabwe now understand that unless there is a sudden
infusion of foreign currency into the economy, the many shortages and other
problems that have dramatically worsened since March's general election will
not go away. It also seems quite clear that there is not going to be any
such forex quick fix. No cash loans or grants from abroad are forthcoming
and all the export sectors are struggling to just survive.
Never has the situation been as critical. The government's forex coffers are
pretty much dry, and unlike before, there is little effort to pretend
otherwise. Without forex therefore, not much could have been expected from
Gideon Gono's latest media event.
Unlike in the early days of his
now almost two-year tenure as central banker, it has now sunk into the
public conciousness that he cannot pull a rabbit out of a hat to address the
long-running, complex and multi-faceted problems of Zimbabwe's economic
collapse. The reserve bank can implement various measures to try to ensure
that whatever foreign currency is available goes through the system to fund
critical imports, rather than mostly for consumptive spending and currency
speculation, as is wont to happen when it remains under pillows, mattresses
and in car boots. It can formulate policies to try to encourage the
formation and growth of the forex-generating productive sector. But the
central bank of any country is not a productive entity itself, it cannot
generate foreign currency.
Given this fact, there is no miracle
that Gono could have come up with in his much hyped speech last week. On
first assuming office, as part of his efforts to reform a financial sector
that had become a speculative free-for-all, many prominent bankers were
jailed, others skipped town, their banks having been discovered to be little
more than giant pyramid schemes built on depositors' funds. Many who had
been lionized as Zimbabwe's great new entrepreneurs overnight became crooks
in the public's view. The changes he brought about were high profile, with
perhaps short-lived but dramatic results. For a while inflation, the one
economic index that everybody understood because it affected them so
personally, appeared to becoming under control as a result of Gono's
innovative interventions.
The man could seem to do no wrong, with
an impressed, grateful public holding him in awe. Finally, after numerous
flirtations with an alphabet soup of imported and home-grown economic
experiments, after numerous cabinet reshuffles that yielded nothing;
finally, here was an economic czar who captured the public imagination and
seemed to actually have some ideas that might work!
But after
correcting some of the many distortions that had built up in the economy
over several years, it was inevitable that his drive and energy would have
diminishing returns, as long as the issue of falling foreign currency
revenues was not addressed. Gono also tried to spur long-term growth through
production by various support facilities to the declining productive
sector.
But even if successful, the results of this are necessarily
long term, not sexy, dramatic and high-profile like his early corrective
measures of the financial sector. In any case, those long-term measures
unfortunately were being applied in an environment of so many abnormalities
and distortions that were beyond the purview of the central bank to address.
Well intentioned as they were, and despite Gono's best efforts, they could
not produce the hoped for results that they might have done in a more normal
time. In an era of hyper-inflation and hyper-interest rates, it was
inevitable that low-interest money lent out for productive purposes would be
used speculatively: the temptation was simply too great to resist. Many
found they could become instantly wealthy by borrowing money at 50% interest
and then putting it on the money market that yielded three times that
interest.
Much easier than investing in a factory, and the
return is guaranteed and much higher! There have been many similar abuses of
such previous "cheap money" facilities, but Gono was confident that he could
close the loopholes. But how does one call in a defaulting loan to a senior
cabinet minister,army official or ruling party member who is on good terms
with the president, for instance? You can't, not in Zimbabwe's
patronage-laden reality.
When fuel importation was opened up
recently, many of the beneficiaries were ruling party members and the
politically well-connected in general. Naturally they expected to be availed
of forex to import the fuel at the unrealistically cheap official currency
exchange rate of one US dollar to Zim$6,000. If they imported any fuel at
all, the first stop before doing so was to trade the forex on the parallel
market,at more than Zim$20,000 to the US dollar, making a rather neat
instant fortune of a Zim dollar profit!
Others didn't bother to
import fuel at all-after all, there are children's school fees to be paid in
Australia, UK and the USA! Spare parts for one's luxury cars and other
imported symbols of the good life must be paid for in forex!
When fuel is actually imported at a critical time of its shortage, as is the
case now, a portion of it is sold formally at the pumps by day. The rest
finds its way to the black market at several times the approved, fixed
price. So some of the well-connected are able to make a killing at the forex
trading end, as well as another one by selling the fuel at the high,
shortage-driven price of the free market.
Result? A worsened
fuel problem, a high black market price for the little that can be found,
expenditure of forex on consumption than on production, and so on. Again,
the culprits are often too high up in the system for them to be brought to
book, and an already bad economic situation is compounded.
Many
of these obstacles to the abuse of facilities that are innovative and
well-meant are political, and therefore beyond Gono's ability to address. At
the beginning he seemed to believe he had the full backing of the political
establishment to not have to fear being tripped up by these political
factors, but that was naïve in the extreme. Either he was given false
assurances, or the fluid and rapidly evolving political realities involved
in holding on to power when nothing is working required that he be
ignored.
So he talks about "corruption' and "indiscipline in
the economy," but sadly this all has a hollow ring now. "Crackdowns on
corruption" that fizzle out before they get too far into the power structure
have been a cynical Mugabe joke for years now. Mugabe is certainly not going
to allow Gono to go after big fish that Mugabe himself has shied from for
years now, as part of his political balancing act. As Gono gave his speech
the police were raiding street traders, some of whom are indeed involved in
"fuelling the parallel market."
But who do these street traders
work for? Are some of them not parts of organized syndicates representing
some very high-up people in both the private and public sector? Is this
really still a secret? What good does it do to arrest the black market's
mere messengers while letting the king-pins go scot free? I wonder if some
of these king-pins were not right there in the room cheering Gono on, as
they privately sniggered behind his back!
The source of
macro-economic "corruption" and "indiscipline" is not a few thousand small
time street traders, it is more in people holding some of the highest
positions in the land! Permitted corruption has become an instrument of
patronage, of buying the 'loyalty' of key members of the ruling clique. This
is just one of many reasons that any hopes of a real "economic turnaround"
under the present political system are a waste of time. In a non-performing
economy, there are too many fat-cats who have too much to lose from the
economy being allowed to run honestly, normally and by the book. The
shortages and general chaos that exist are the conditions that allow their
super profit-making, speculative activities.
Letting them continue
with them is one way that the system can give them an incentive to continue
to have a stake in propping it up, at a time when there are very few areas
of honest business that are still viable in this economy.
In a
policy review that had very little to offer because of the limited space in
which he has to manouvre in an environment of international isolation and
worsening forex shortages because of declining productivity, he has
instituted various support measures to try to kick-start
agriculture.
Very commendable, but if the present fuel crisis lasts
for just two or three months in its severity, on that basis alone one might
have to write off the next agricultural season. That might sound premature
and alarmist, but it would not at all be surprising if the latest edition of
the fuel crisis lasts that long : there is no money! Always before we have
been given some official cock and bull story about why there is no fuel, but
this time the government has been mum on the issue because there is no deal
in the offing to offer any hope of even a medium term solution.
You cannot talk of any serious farming with fuel in such critically short
supply. That is just one parameter to contend with, but there are so many
other things wrong , both in the economy and with the spirit of the nation,
that I unfortunately do not expect much to come out of Gono's valiant
efforts.
Before we can fix the economy, there needs to be not only
further corrections of countless skewed economic fundamentals, there also
needs to be a political will to fix things no matter the cost to certain
cliques and individuals. That political will is not there, and without it
much of Gono's efforts are wasted. There is also a spirit of public distrust
of the rulers, a cynicism about their double standards and a deep
demoralisation in the land about the continuing misrule and decline of the
country. Reversing all these factors that may be intangible and
incalculable, but are nevertheless a crucial prelude to any recovery,
requires a political overhaul first.
Expecting an economic
turnaround without such a political renewal is to expect a miracle which is
not likely to happen. Gono has tried hard under the narrow, difficult
conditions he has had to work with but as his policy review of last week
showed, he has no more tricks up his sleeve. And even his ideas to try to
help various sectors to seriously begin to generate forex again are coming
at a time when there are too many things wrong outside his control to make
that likely any time soon. He is simply grappling with the economic symptoms
of our political problems, and there cannot be any cure until the political
root cause is fixed.
I think Mugabe is so central to the reasons
that Zimbabwe has been considered a write-off by much of the world that no
resolution of the politics that would make any real difference to the
economy is possible with him at the helm of government. If it is unthinkable
to imagine his exit until he kicks the bucket or willingly decides to retire
in his own sweet time, then I am afraid that we will try all sorts of
economic gimmicks, but we will only be fooling ourselves, like we are doing
now. For us to hope to get enough foreign credit and grants to really
meaningfully kick start agriculture and industry, generating our own forex
again; for the country to begin to again believe the leadership are their
servants, for people to have a sense of hope, sacrifice and excitement about
helping to revive a dying country : for all this to happen, which might then
be the genesis for a "turnaround," down the road, the destructive Mugabe and
all that he represents will have to go.
Nice try Gono, perhaps
some of your ideas might have to be tried again some time in the future,
after a political turnaround has been achieved first. Sorry fella, if you
really thought that you could easily undo all the destruction that Mugabe
has been so carefully causing all these years. CONTACT CHIDO: chidomakunike@yahoo.com
Makunike is a social and political commentator based in Harare
By Staff
Reporter Last updated: 05/24/2005 11:34:11 COVERED under a blanket, and
her legs and hands firmly chained, Catherine Mbele is goaded to the waiting
Egyptian Airlines plane.
It has been six months since she was grabbed by
fierce-looking police officers and immigration officials in an early morning
swoop at her flat in Swansea, Wales. She was shuffled into a waiting truck
and taken to a high-security immigration removal centre in
Bedford.
Two days before she was deported last Sunday, Mbele spoke to New
Zimbabwe.com from inside the Yarlswood Immigration Removal Centre. She was
determined to defy deportation to Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe.
"It has
been six months since they took me. They have done just about enough to
break me down. But I will try and resist deportation," she said.
"I can't
belive the British government wants me to be deported to face Mugabe's
despotic regime."
Of course her resistance came to nought. Many
Zimbabweans have successfully managed to avoid deportation by creating ugly
scenes at the airport. But the strategy has changed since her friends were
taken there a few days before. Now she had a blanket over her to muffle her
screams, and both feet and hands controlled by cuffs. She also had the
attention of three guards all determined to take her to Zimbabwe, two males
and a female.
Arriving in Zimbabwe with £1.50 in her pocket, a worn-out
and exhausted Mbele approached the Kukura Kurerwa Bus Company with her
story, and the bus staff agreed to an arrangement to be paid on arrival in
the second largest city of Bulawayo, about 400km from the capital
Harare.
Arriving at her family home in Mpopoma suburb, Mbele's already
desperate situation took an an extra-ordinary twist for the
worse.
"She was met by mouners. Her father had died at about the same
time she boarded the plane," a friend told New Zimbabwe.com. "She is
devastated. She has plunged the depths of despair, she has totally
cracked."
Mbele's case is a sad one. She is the latest victim of a new
violent form of removal of asylum seekers by hired bouncers from security
firms contracted by the British Home Office. Successful removals are
rewarded by the with more contracts.
Tens of Zimbabweans have
complained of being mistreated on the journey to Harare. Often, such
complaints have not been exhaustively investigated, or police have declined
to interview witnesses, like the case of a group of Zimbabwean women held at
the same detention centre who resisted deportation in April.
One of
them told the London-based internet radio station Afro Sounds FM from the
centre: "A guard stepped on my neck. I overheard them talking about visiting
friends in Harare, and my attempts to resist deportation were, therefore,
disrupting their plans and they took it personal. My friend was also
roughed-up and her breasts have been painful since. They are refusing us to
see a doctor."
Many of the detainees said in separate interviews that
they had been detained usually when reporting to the police on the
regulatory weekly basis; seized from home in the early hours of the morning
or when stopped while driving.
Zimbabwe's eminent clergyman,
Archbishop Pius Ncube, who was in Scotland to receive an international award
last Friday highlighted the abuse going on, and pleaded with the British
government to rethink its policy.
"It saddens me that the British
government since September last year has embarked on forced repatriation of
Zimbabweans who are asylum seekers. They fled from harassment, torture, and
a threat to their lives and they will be made to suffer when they are
returned," he said in his acceptance speech of the Robert Burns
International Humanitarian Award.
"Some Zimbabweans are handcuffed,
jailed and badly treated here in Britain. And as Great Britain is a highly
respected country in the world, I am afraid that this attitude will be
followed in other wealthier Commonwealth countries, as happened with the
imposition of the visa on Zimbabweans in November 2002. I plead that you be
patient with Zimbabweans till the situation normalises," the Archbishop
said.
A Home Office spokesman said the complaints by the women had been
looked at by Bedford police who decided no further action was necessary. The
Home Office insists all cases are looked at and reviewed to ensure all those
deserving protection by the British government are granted asylum, and to
protect the United Kingdom from abuse of the system through bogus
claims.