The ZIMBABWE Situation
An extensive and up-to-date website containing news, views and links related to ZIMBABWE - a country in crisis
Please note: You need to have 'Active content' enabled in your IE browser in order to see the index of articles on this webpage
Zim
back on Sadc’s agenda
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
By Reagan Mashavave
Monday, 02 May 2011
15:23
HARARE - Negotiators to the Global Political Agreement (GPA)
meet this week
in Cape Town, South Africa with President Jacob Zuma’s
facilitation team to
discuss the election roadmap and the review of the
unity pact.
In two weeks’ time, the country will be on the agenda of the
Sadc
extra-ordinary summit later this month.
Zuma’s international
relations advisor, Lindiwe Zulu confirmed yesterday
that negotiators will
meet for three days in Cape Town and that Zimbabwe has
been placed on the
agenda of the Sadc extra ordinary summit to be held in
Windhoek, Namibia on
May 20.
The Cape Town meeting comes weeks after the Sadc Troika on
Politics, Defence
and Security resolved that the country implement all the
agreed issues yet
to be implemented by the coalition partners and that there
must be an end to
political violence that has been reported in the country
since the beginning
of the year.
“A meeting will be held on May 5 to
May 7 in Cape Town, South Africa.
“Two items are going to be on the
agenda which are the review of the Jomic
and the roadmap to elections which
I understand has been completed,” Zulu
said.
The six negotiators
representing the three parties are Tendai Biti and Elton
Mangoma for the
larger formation of the MDC, Zanu PF’s Patrick Chinamasa,
and Nicholas
Goche, while the smaller MDC formation will be represented by
Priscilla
Misihairambwi-Mushonga and Moses Mzila Ndlovu.
The meeting of the
negotiators in Cape Town comes at a time when Zanu PF has
made a major climb
down on their stance that elections will be held this
year even before key
reforms have been implemented.
Last week Chinamasa said general elections
in the country might be held next
year or in 2013.
Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai who is also the MDC leader told his party
supporters at
their congress in Bulawayo last week that the country is
likely to hold
elections in the next 12 months.
Tsvangirai has said he will only
participate in a free and fair election
that will produce a credible result
which will not be disputed.
Mugabe
to wield axe
http://www.financialgazette.co.zw/
Friday, 29 April 2011 16:03
Dumisani Ndlela, Deputy
Editor-in-Chief
PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe is said to be planning a
surprise Cabinet reshuffle
sometime next month to strengthen his political
hand and weed out those that
have fallen to the temptation of greed, The
Financial Gazette can
exclusively reveal. At least three longtime allies
from ZANU-PF are likely
to fall by the wayside as the veteran Zimbabwean
leader shifts focus from
his bruising tug-of-war with Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) formations
in the inclusive government to the
performance of State bureaucrats in his
Cabinet lineup.
The Cabinet
reshuffle would be the first by President Mugabe since a forced
marriage of
convenience with the former opposition parties led by Prime
Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai and Industry Minister, Welshman Ncube to form the
unity
government in February 2009.
Ncube, a controversial political schemer, took
over the helm at the other
MDC formation after he was voted party president
at a congress held in
February to replace Deputy Prime Minister Arthur
Mutambara who was left
clutching at the straws for survival.
The only
Cabinet reshuffle that has taken place since the formation of the
coalition was by Prime Minister Tsvangirai who dropped a few of his MDC-T
ministers, including the party’s organising secretary, Elias Mudzuri and
Education secretary, Fidelis Mhashu.
Tsvangirai’s reshuffle was said by
critics to have been meant to purge
potential rivals or members of his party
said to have been aligned to a
rival within his party, recently hit by a
spate of violence during
provincial elections ahead of the MDC-T’s elective
congress, which begins
today in Bulawayo.
President Mugabe’s reshuffle,
which the ZANU-PF party leader expects
to rejuvenate his government
machinery and endear his party with a restive
urban and rural
population eager for change was said to
have been contemplated
after the Southern African Development Community
(SADC) put brakes on
elections he had targeted to hold this year.
SADC — the guarantor of the
Global Political Agreement upon which the
coalition is anchored — is
demanding a clear-cut election roadmap to be
endorsed by all the major
parties in the inclusive government before it
could give the green light to
an election in Zimbabwe.
The 15-member bloc fears that rushing elections in
tension-filled Zimbabwe
could worsen violence, reported in some parts of the
country and, in the
end, produce yet another contested electoral
outcome.
With the elections now unlikely this year focus in the inclusive
government
is now shifting to the conduct of its public officers in and
outside their
offices.
The performance of the bulk of its office bearers
has not been up to
scratch. Cabinet has also been blighted by allegations of
corruption against
some of its ministers.
The Financial Gazette has names
of three Cabinet ministers likely to be
purged under the reshuffle. All
three are not aligned to any of the two
prominent factions within ZANU-PF,
reportedly led by retired army general,
Solomon Mujuru and Defence Minister,
Emmerson Mnangagwa.
If fact, the three are long-time loyalists of the
President but are said to
have become a significant impediment to the
rejuvenation of the party owing
to controversies surrounding their tenure in
their respective portfolios.
One of the ministers hails from Mashonaland
West, President Mugabe’s home
province. The second one is from Mashonaland
Central, while the third is
from Matabeleland. All three are elected
representatives of ZANU-PF in
Zimbabwe’s Parliament.
It was said by one
source that one of the ministers had already been
proscribed from approving
new deals within his ministry.
“All new dealings by the ministry are now
being approved by President
Mugabe,” said the source.
The other had been
involved in acts that the President felt had grossly
undermined ZANU-PF and
threatened its electoral chances.
The third minister was said to be “too
ambitious to be able to spearhead his
mandate without overcoming the
temptation of greed”.
Sources said it was unlikely the reshuffle would be
indiscriminate and
President Mugabe was said to be particularly alert to the
potential to stoke
further divisions within his party by purging members of
any of the two
prominent factions within ZANU-PF.
There have been efforts
to unite the fractious party through a restructuring
exercise spearheaded by
former Air Force of Zimbabwe vice Air Marshal, Henry
Muchena. Muchena is now
a full time director of ZANU-PF.
But sources have indicated that divisions
remain wide and deep, creating the
possibility of an implosion should
President Mugabe choose to step down as
the party’s leader.
HIFA
artists ‘targeted by ZANU PF thugs’
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
by Irene Madongo
Monday 02 May
2011
Four sculptors who participated in the recently ended Harare
International
Festival of Arts (HIFA) were attacked by ZANU PF thugs on
Sunday, according
to reports.
On Monday, SW Radio Africa
correspondent Simon Muchemwa said the sculptors
explained that they were
headed for HIFA when they were picked up by a group
of Zanu PF youths, taken
to the party’s provincial offices and beaten up.
Muchmewa said it was not
clear who the ZANU PF group were taking orders
from, as it is believed that
there are now a number of groups taking orders
from different people in the
party.
He said that the group of four sculptors (including one white
foreigner)
explained that they were accosted by ZANU PF thugs and then taken
to ZANU PF
Harare Province offices at Fourth Avenue Bus terminus. “While
they were
there, they say they were beaten and told they were being beaten
because
HIFA is pro-MDC, and that is why ZANU PF and the police are worried
about
it,” Muchemwa said.
They were released in the evening, just
before the HIFA closing ceremony.
The incident comes after four top HIFA
officials were summoned to Harare
Central Police Station on Thursday to
discuss their censorship clearance for
the show. They were questioned and
released without charge.
On Monday HIFA artistic director Manuel Bagorro
confirmed that he and three
others met the police, who wanted to know if
standard censorhisp procedures
had been sought and secured.
Former
Campfire director blames rampant poaching on land reform
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Sunday, 01 May 2011
15:38
BY CHIPO MASARA
REPORTS from independent environmental
organisations like the Zimbabwe
Conservation Task Force (ZCTF) and the World
Wildlife Fund (WWF) clearly
indicate that the country’s wildlife population
continues to dwindle
drastically.
Unless some corrective measures are put
in place urgently, the country risks
losing a whole lot more, to the point
of some animals becoming extinct.
A drive around Zimbabwe`s game parks
and most remote areas that used to be
infested with wildlife is not as
interesting as it used to be as there is
evidently no longer as much
wildlife to talk about.
So bad is the situation that it has become
necessary to reflect on the
wildlife management stance that the country has
adopted for so many years
and discuss whether it is not about time that it
is relooked at and
reviewed, seeing the strategies are not
working.
Through much lobbying and advocacy, the Communal Areas
Management Programme
for Indigenous Resources (Campfire) in Zimbabwe gained
much momentum from as
early as the 80s in its fierce fight for
``sustainable utilisation`` of
local wildlife resources and the need to
grant locals licences to hunt and
trade in animal products.
This was
welcomed by many Zimbabweans, most of who saw it as a chance to
fully
utilise the country`s resources for financial enrichment.
Unfortunately,
most appear to have missed the bit about utilising the
resources in a
sustainable manner.
Although the Campfire programmes might genuinely have
been positive as it is
undoubtedly of paramount importance that the
indigenous people be
financially empowered through the locally-based
God-given resources, results
show the prevailing trend has proven to be
highly detrimental to the
livelihood of one the country`s most valuable
treasures.
In a one -on- one interview with The Standard, Steven Kasere,
the former
Campfire director who resigned in 2001 under circumstances he
described as
``political`` had a lot to say about the present state of
affairs, as far as
wildlife management is concerned.
Kasere, who took
over the directorship of Campfire in 1999 and became a
major player in the
fight for the sustainable utilisation of the wildlife
resources in Zimbabwe,
expressed great disappointment and concern over the
rapid deterioration of
the country`s wildlife.
``Everywhere I go; people ask me if Campfire
still exists. This is a very
sad situation when considering that it was
mainly because of the Campfire
programme that the downlisting of the
elephants from Cites (Convention on
International Trade in Endangered
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) Appendix
1 to Appendix 2 was granted,`` he
said as he reflected on the Campfire`s
past achievements.
With the
rate of wildlife poaching in Zimbabwe, it would appear as though
Campfire is
losing grip of the programmes that it once promoted with so
much.
This could be because there isn`t much wildlife to talk of
anymore.
Kasere blamed the apparent failure of Campfire`s programmes on
greed nature,
which he said had seen so many animals getting killed for
financial gain
without as much as allowing them a chance to
regenerate.
Kasere was however quick to point out that failure of the
Campfire
programmes to realise the intended results also had much to do with
the land
reform programme that the government embarked on more than a decade
ago.
``The land reform, though necessary, brought about human resource
changes
that had to be accommodated.
Urbanites who were never part of
the Campfire structures for management of
natural resources suddenly became
farmers.
“Naturally, they started to cut down trees and kill animals
because they had
no knowledge of other viable land use options other than
agriculture,`` he
said.
`In the former Campfire areas, key personnel
that commanded higher natural
resource posts moved to new resettlement
areas, leaving Campfire
institutions on the ground ineffective.
“So in a
way, the land reform was not accompanied by the necessary
institutional
arrangements to save wildlife. Hence a lot of wild animals
were killed while
natural resource institutions collapsed,`` Kasere said.
However, the real
issue here is not whether to place the blame on Campfire
for the leading
role that it played in propounding the idea of resource
utilisation that has
now clearly gone out of hand or if the blame should
instead rest on the
government’s land policies that have seen the settlers
causing unprecedented
degradation to the areas they settled in.
What is important is to admit
that the wildlife management strategies that
Zimbabwe has adopted are just
not working and to urgently seek to rectify
the situation, if the country`s
wildlife is ever to be saved.
Gukurahundi:
Mugabe losing fight against history
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
30/04/2011 00:00:00
by Dinizulu
Mbikokayise Macaphulana
ZIMBABWE, as we have known and experienced
it, is coming to an end; not only
an end, but a very sad one for those who
insist that the genocidal
absurdities and violet extremities of Robert
Mugabe are normal and should be
ignored.
Consumed by its internal
contradictions and attacked by its external enemies
in the shape of
survivors of Gukurahundi, victims of ethnic cleansing and
its former friends
in the African and larger international community, the
genocidal tyranny in
Harare is coming down tumbling from political grace to
historical
grass.
As sure as sunrise and sunset are tomorrow, Mugabe is, by the hand
of
historical gravity and the active agency and anger of his victims,
tittering
towards seeing the very ugly colour of his political and
historical demise.
The observations that I posit to make in this article
are not the easy
rantings of a disgruntled journalist or emotional
postulations of an
extremist oppositional communicator. They are, in
actuality, honest
examinations of recent historical developments and candid
expressions of
ensuing political events whose truism, accuracy and realism
exists in the
blood, flesh and bone realm that can been seen by one and all.
And these
observations are for record.
While Mugabe has so far
enjoyed the comfortable and gentle “opposition” of
Morgan Tsvangirai who,
when he is not boycotting elections to let Mugabe win
unopposed, is
describing how Mugabe remains his hero, at last Mugabe is
coming face to
face with the very unhappy children of those he put into mass
graves.
While Mugabe’s so far formidable opponents and critics like
Nelson Chamisa
have been shouting at him on top of desks but under the
tables sending him
romantic and admiring notes, at long last the aged tyrant
is confronted by
those he owes not only truth and justice but also blood.
Mugabe himself and
all serious observers of the Zimbabwean political theatre
and its
absurdities are very clear about these sobering
realities.
One needs only to notice the undignified speed and
unceremonious desperation
with which Zanu PF mandarins led by Nathaniel
Manheru are trying, on behalf
of Mugabe, to unite Zimbabweans by mobilizing
their memory of colonialism
around the mass graves in Mount
Darwin.
Their shameless pretence has been that the skeletons that lie in
that grave
are victims of the genocidal Rhodesian regime. Zimbabweans are
being
bombarded with horrific images of exhumed cadavers in an attempt to
shock
them into rallying behind Mugabe as a liberator and national
protector.
In spite of the fact that it is known that those remains in
Mount Darwin are
remains of Gukurahundi victims that were abducted from
Matabaleland and the
Midlands , killed and buried in chosen spots in
Moshanaland, the Nathaniel
Manherus of our time will still try to use them
as cheap Zanu PF propaganda.
What Mugabe and his mandarins know and are
trying to avoid is that there are
many in Matabaleland and the Midlands who
will not have their memories
jogged to the distant brutalities of Smith but
are resolved to get justice
for the recent genocide of Mugabe and Zanu PF of
in Gukurahundi massacres.
The 2000 MLF cadres who recently burnt the
Zimbabwean flag in Johannesburg,
the Mthwakazi trio that Mugabe recently
tortured and incarcerated Moses
Mzila and Father Mkandla are just a small
part of that generation that is
tired of being afraid and silent. Mugabe,
his army, police and intelligence
will not stop this.
Now that the
victims of Gukurahundi and survivors of ethnic cleansing are
naturally
becoming unafraid of Mugabe’s brutality and jails one only needs
to watch
the political and historical space for another Saddam Hussein
scenario in
Harare.
The people of Mashonaland might weep and be angry with Ian Smith
about the
gruesome images of skeletons from Mount Darwin; thanks to Mugabe
the people
of Midlands and Matabeleland are angry with Mugabe and about
Gukurahundi.
The national sentiment and memory that Mugabe is trying to
invoke is of a
Zimbabwe that no longer exists as it was finished by the
Gukurahundi
genocide that divided the country into victims and non –
victims. Mugabe is
desperately seeking this now imaginary Zimbabwe when it
is already too late.
The anger of the victims of Gukurahundi has reached
boiling point in
Midlands, Matabeleland and in the Diaspora. This happens at
a time when
Mugabe’s British friends who assisted him commit the Gukurahundi
crime
against humanity and knighted him in the order of Bath are no longer
so fond
of him to say the least.
This also happens at a time when
Genocide Watch International as recent as
2010 has declared Gukurahundi a
major genocide warranting international
attention. Therefore, that Mugabe is
a cornered tyrant who has become
vulnerable to his angry victims and those
in the international community who
are more than willing to assist them is a
stingy underestimation.
The images of a dejected and humiliated Laurent
Gbagbo of Ivory Coast and
his wife surrounded by their angry capturers
should mean more to Mugabe than
to any ordinary news viewer.
The
2000-strong so called apostolic sect members that Mugabe has settled in
Gary
Rosenfels’ farm in Marula are not civilians. They are a selection of
soldiers, police officers and intelligence operatives and their
families.
Most of them already have villages and land in Mashonaland,
they are only
being settled in Matabeleland South to dilute the Matabale
language and
sentiment, to influence elections and infiltrate the angry
region
politically.
Mugabe desperately wishes that Gukurahundi will
be forgiven and totally
forgotten; and, not only that, but also that
Matabeleland itself does not
exist anymore. These and others are the
desperate doings of a drowning man
who from a distance appears to be waving
when he is sinking and sinking very
deep.
Matabeleland will not cease
to exist, Gukurahundi will never be forgiven or
forgotten and the
perpetrators will be punished by their victims and
humanity. Mugabe’s
attempts to erase the memory of the crime are a pathetic
losing fight
against history which is a herald of political and historical
doom whose
dramatics and spectacles will forever haunt posterity.
While Tsvangirai
and MDC-T are praising Mugabe and passing laudatory notes
to polish his
genocidal ego, general Nandi Nandi, Welshman Ncube and Dumiso
Dabengwa
should breathe courage and inspiration into the youths that have
started
burning the false flag.
A courageous and visionary leadership block must
be created that will fight
the war against genocide and tyranny that Joshua
Nkomo wisely or unwisely
avoided and postponed. Africa and the larger
international community are by
ordinary observation ready to support those
who confront tyranny by any
means.
Away with the tyrannical
stigmatization that those Africans who align with
Westerners to pursue their
political and historical ends are sellouts.
Junius Brutus, a philosopher,
argued that “I would rather let a thief feed
me than allow a supposed
shepherded to devour me.” If our former colonisers
and enslavers are willing
to help us to solve genocide and access justice
then God bless
us.
Mugabe was armed by the British, trained by North Koreans and
financed by
the Chinese in conducting Gukurahundi, there is nothing unholy
or sellout
about victims of genocide forging their own useful
alliances
As Mugabe and his admirers in the MDC-T continue to fight a
losing battle
against history and memory , the leaders of the victims of
genocide and
survivors of ethnic cleansing should be utilizing the African
and
international revolutionary opportunities that world history and nature
have
so generously occasioned at long last. Africa and the world must not be
allowed to sleep peacefully, while a major genocide is swept under the
carpet.
Dinizulu Mbikokayise Macaphulana is a Zimbabwean journalist
studying in
Lesotho, dinizulumacaphulana@yahoo.com
Mpofu
must go
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
By Reagan Mashavave, Staff Writer
Monday, 02 May 2011
15:16
HARARE - Mines Minister Obert Mpofu is fighting for his
political life
following the arrest last week of two foreign nationals who
allegedly
smuggled diamonds out of the country worth US$2 million without
the
necessary Kimberley Process certification.
Two Indian
citizens were arrested by India’s revenue intelligence
directorate last week
for allegedly smuggling 48 663 carats of rough
diamonds which are said to
have come from the vast Marange diamond fields.
The men were identified
as Zohra Desai, 53, and Prema Desai, 49.
This has prompted diamond
dealers, experts, activists, and political parties
to ratchet up their calls
for the beleaguered Mpofu to either resign or be
fired.
Last year,
Core Mining director Lovemore Kurotwi, allegedly accused Mpofu in
front of
President Mugabe of asking for a US$10 million bribe for diamond
mining
favours.
Kurotwi was arrested soon after that and Mugabe did not take
action against
Mpofu. These details are contained in court documents
produced during
Kurotwi’s trial.
On its part, the MDC, supported by
diamond dealers, has long implored Mugabe
and the inclusive government to
investigate and prosecute the smuggling of
diamonds out of the country –
allegedly by Zanu PF leaders, senior
government officials and
securocrats.
The MDC and the diamond dealers further allege that Zanu PF
functionaries
are using proceeds from illegally-acquired diamonds
to
enrich themselves and to fund their party’s activities, as well as to
unleash terror on the people of Zimbabwe.
The Center for Research and
Development (CRD) said at the weekend the
minister was not doing enough to
curb diamond smuggling in the country,
was not doing enough to curb diamond
smuggling in the country, calling for
Mpofu’s immediate resignation or
dismissal.
It said the minister must “take full responsibility for the
continued loss
of revenue due to weak security throughout the diamond supply
chain and
unlicensed diamond mining activities, mainly due to his apparent
failure to
implement the joint work plan developed by Zimbabwe and the
Kimberley
Process Certification Scheme”.
CRD regional coordinator
Tyanai Masiya said the smuggling of diamonds out of
the country was
depriving Zimbabweans the ability to benefit from the
precious stones,
adding that foreigners now appeared to be the biggest
beneficiaries of the
country’s vast diamond resources.
“What we have been seeing is that the
minister (Mpofu) has been denying
reports of massive smuggling that has been
going on yet we see the
continuation of the proliferation of diamond
smuggling in the country. He is
not truthful on diamond smuggling. This is
not the first time that
Zimbabwean diamonds have been smuggled. Smuggled
diamonds from Zimbabwe have
been intercepted in at least four countries,”
Masiya said in a telephone
interview with the Daily News from his Cape Town
base.
“It is just an indication that government has not put adequate
measures to
stop diamond smuggling. The government must involve stakeholders
to stop the
smuggling of diamonds,” he said.
Other diamond experts
canvassed by the Daily News yesterday also confirmed
the existence of a
cartel of diamond smugglers allegedly led by senior Zanu
PF and government
officials, as well as some officials from the Zimbabwe
Mining Development
Corporation (ZMDC).
One of the experts who requested anonymity said:
“There is a deliberate ploy
not to meet the Kimberly Process requirements so
that the cartel continues
to smuggle diamonds through the underworld. Our
diamonds are being smuggled
to India, Dubai and Lebanon among other
countries.
The group involved in these illegal and despicable activities
is dangerous
because it has senior government officials, security guys and
even lawyers
among its ranks.
“If government starts selling diamonds
through the proper channels, then
they will not benefit. The one side of
government which is benefiting from
the illegal sales will be broke because
through the Kimberly Process, every
carat is accounted for. “If President
Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai do not act to stop this, then
the country will never benefit from
diamond sales. They are looting the
country dry while civil servants are
suffering.”
Meanwhile, reacting
to the arrest of the two Indian nationals, Mpofu said
his ministry had not
received any information on whether the diamonds were
from Zimbabwe. He said
the calls for his resignation were unwarranted as he
could not monitor the
country’s borders. He said only those who appointed
him could fire or make
him resign.
“It is difficult to stop smuggling. Why should I resign over
that? I am only
a minister of mines. I am not an investigating officer of
the police. It is
for the police and Interpol to deal with such
issues.
“How can I monitor 1 400km of the country’s borders? Diamonds are
smuggled
across the world and not only in Zimbabwe. Most powerful nations
like the
United States have been failing to stop drug smuggling with all
their mighty
security systems. You can’t totally eradicate crime,” Mpofu
said.
At least US$300 million from diamond sales disappeared early this
year. This
came to light when Mugabe inadvertently announced that he wanted
to give the
money to civil servants, only for finance minister Tendai Biti
to announce
that the money had not been transferred to treasury.
We’re
ready to takeover: Tsvangirai
http://www.zimonline.co.za/
by Edward Jones Monday 02 May
2011
BULAWAYO – Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader
Morgan Tsvangirai
said yesterday he was in no doubt that his party would
capture power from
long serving President Robert Mugabe in the next election
in a speech meant
to energise supporters and promised to grow the economy to
$100 billion by
2030.
Tsvangirai is the only politician that has come
closest to toppling Mugabe,
but his party says he has twice been robbed of
victory by the 87-year-old
former guerilla leader.
The fiery former
trade union leader formed a unity government with Mugabe in
2009 after a
violent election in which his MDC ended ZANU-PF’s dominance in
parliament in
2008. Tsvangirai is now Prime Minister in the unity
government.
Mugabe has previously called for elections this year but
his officials now
suggest the vote could be held in 2012 or
2013.
“The elections are critical in that they will, without doubt, usher
an MDC
government into power,” Tsvangirai told supporters, who voted through
Saturday night to choose new leaders.
“It is only an MDC government
that has capacity and support to grow this
economy by about 10 percent every
year.”
Zimbabwe’s economy, once a beacon of hope in the region, has
plumbed new
depths after Mugabe violently seized white-owned commercial
farms, which
knocked commercial agriculture, is now on the recovery path
after the
formation of the coalition.
But that recovery could come
under threat as the ageing President has again
rattled foreign investors
with plans to force miners to surrender at least
51 percent of their local
shares to blacks in less than six months.
Tsvangirai says the drive is
driven by greed.
The Zimbabwean Prime Minister said the MDC would embrace
investor friendly
policies, attracting investment in mining, infrastructure
development and
agriculture to end unemployment.
He said an MDC
government would entrench democracy and constitutionalism and
end human
rights violations.
But Tsvangirai will have to first unite the party that
has been knocked by a
sometimes violent leadership contest.
Of the
top positions only organising secretary Elias Mudzuri lost his
position to
former party spokesman Nelson Chamisa. MDC legislator Douglas
Mwonzoro is
the new spokesman.
Analysts said the largely unchanged leadership could
mean that supporters
still had confidence in the leaders and did not want to
cause further
divisions in the movement ahead of elections.
“I am
under no illusion that the task that you have placed on me and my team
will
be easy. But the vision that I have for this party and for Zimbabwe is
great
and will guide us to glory,” Tsvangirai said to cheers from
supporters.
“I have a vision to create a society where the rule of
law is paramount, a
society where property rights are respected, a society
where people enjoy
freedom of speech, freedom of association and other
rights guaranteed in our
Constitution.”
A survey carried by United
States based Freedom House has shown that support
for MDC dropped to 38
percent last year from 55 percent in 2009 at a time
ZANU-PF’s popularity
rose to 17 percent in 2010 from 12 percent in 2009, the
survey said. --
ZimOnline
Mudzuri
toppled
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
By Pindai Dube
Monday, 02 May 2011 15:11
HARARE -
Former Energy minister Elias Mudzuri, is now an ordinary card
carrying
member of the mainstream MDC after he was trounced by Information,
Communication and Technology minister Nelson Chamisa in elections for the
post of organising secretary.
Chamisa, the former
spokesperson of the MDC, garnered 2670 votes against
Mudzuri’s 777 votes and
there were 447 spoiled papers.
All delegates from the MDC’s 12 provinces
voted in elections to choose new
leadership which will lead the party for
the next five years.
Deputy Prime Minister Thokozani Khupe retained her
position as vice
president of the party after beating Norman Mabhena and
Tabitha Khumalo.
Speaker of Parliament Lovemore Moyo also retained the
chairmanship position
after defeating Lucia Matibenga.
Finance
Minister Tendai Biti retained his secretary-general position after
beating
Public Service Minister, Eliphas Mukonoweshuro.
The hotly contested
election was for the Information and Publicity Secretary
position where
Copac co-chairman Douglas Mwonzora defeated Deputy Youth
Minister, Tongai
Matutu.
Abdenico Bhebhe, who is the former MDC-Mutambara deputy
spokesperson, is now
the new deputy organising secretary after defeating
Thamsanqa Mahlangu the
former youth chairperson in another hotly contested
election.
Morgan Komichi is the new vice chairperson after defeating
Blessing Chebundo
and Alexio Musundire.
Economic Planning Minister,
Tapiwa Mashakada also retained his deputy
secretary general position after
beating three other candidates Gift
Chimanikire, Paurina Gwanyaya-Mpariwa
and Bhekithemba Mpofu.
Energy Minister, Elton Mangoma retained his
position of the deputy
treasurer general after beating two other candidates,
Sekai Holland and
Samuel Sipepa Nkomo the National Healing Minister and
Water Resources
Minister respectively.
In his closing remarks after
the elections which began on Saturday afternoon
and ended yesterday morning,
MDC President and Premier Morgan Tsvangirai
thanked the MDC delegates for
voting peacefully and also for being patient.
“I thank all of you for
taking time off your busy schedules to come and
participate in the
re-organisation of our party of excellence. What we have
done in the last
few days is to lay the foundation on our structure towards
our preparations
for governing this country,” said Tsvangirai.
Tsvangirai also paid
tribute to senior party members who lost the election
and also congratulated
those who won.
“I wish to take this opportunity to pay tribute to those
comrades who may
not have won their election, and to those who are
relinquishing their posts,
I wish on behalf of the grateful party, to thank
your sacrifice, leadership
and commitment over the past five
years.
“To those of you who have been re-elected or those who have been
elected to
new positions of leadership, I congratulate you, but you now have
enormous
responsibility on your shoulders,” he said.
The MDC
president said his task after being nominated unopposed by all
provinces is
to lead the party for the next five years and to take it from a
partner in
this coalition government to become the governing party after the
next
election.
MDC President
Morgan Tsvangirai unopposed
Vice
President
Votes garnered
Thokozani Khupe 3047
Thabitha Khumalo
99
Norman Mabhena 347
Spoiled ballots 273
Chairperson
Lovemore
Moyo 3040
Lucia Matibenga 566
Spoiled ballots 273
Secretary
General
Tendai Biti 2815
Eliphas Mukonoweshuro 764
Vice
Chairperson
Morgan Komichi 1601
Alexio Musundire 535
Blessing
Chebundo 460
Spoiled 1000
Deputy Secretary General
Tapiwa
Mashakada 2177
Gift Chimanikire 631
Paurina Mpariwa
318
Bhekithemba Mpofu 240
Spoiled 416
Treasurer General
Roy
Bennett unopposed
Deputy Treasurer General
Elton Mangoma 2484
Sekai
Holland 757
Samuel Sipepa Nkomo 373
Spoiled 277
Organising
Secretary
Nelson Chamisa 2670
Elias Mudzuri 777
Spoiled 447
Deputy
Organising Secretary
Thamsanqa Mahlangu 1321
Abednico Bhebhe
1933
Spoiled 447
Information and Publicity Secretary
Douglas Mwonzora
2651
Tongai Matutu 1150
Spoiled 274
Madhuku
hails MDC election process
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
By Pindai Dube
Monday, 02 May 2011
15:21
HARARE - National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) chairman,
Lovemore Madhuku
said the mainstream MDC elections process to choose new
party leaders during
their just ended congress in Bulawayo was one of the
best in Africa, as it
was very peaceful and
transparent.
Addressing the MDC congress on yesterday morning at
Barbourfields Stadium
before announcing the results, Madhuku who was leading
the NCA team that
conducted the elections, said the MDC president Morgan
Tsvangirai and
delegates had excellent polls.
“I would like to thank
the MDC for this kind of exercise. You should have
asked Kenya Prime
Minister (Raila) Odinga, if you go around Africa today you
are not likely to
find an example of a political party that conducts its
elections with this
kind of thoroughness.
“There is no party like that, even us who were
asked to run elections we
were in doubt that the election process was going
to be successful,” said
Madhuku.
Madhuku said all losing candidates
and polling agents were satisfied with
the voting process as it was
excellent.
“If you see anyone who will be talking differently about what
happened here
during these elections, that person won’t be having the
interest of the
party and the country at heart,” he said.
The MDC
elections started on Saturday afternoon and ended in the evening.
The
verification process started at 10pm after all delegates from 12
provinces
of the party had voted.
The counting process followed and went on until
yesterday morning when the
results were announced around
8am.
Bulawayo lawyer Kucaca Phulu was also part of the team that
conducted the
election process.
Finance Minister and
secretary-general, Tendai Biti who also contested and
won told the Daily
News after the announcement of the results that the
peaceful environment
that prevailed during the MDC elections was a shame to
Zanu PF which wanted
to destabilise his party.
“Zanu PF was defeated; they had plans to
destabilise our party but were
defeated. I want to thank members of our
party for defending it against Zanu
PF,” said Biti.
Mugabe at the Vatican: Dictator beats EU travel
ban to be among 1.5m watching Pope beatify his predecessor
By
Nick Pisa
Last updated at 9:32 PM on
1st May 2011
Brutal dictator
Robert Mugabe sidestepped a European travel ban to attend the beatification of
the late Pope John Paul II at the Vatican yesterday.
The Zimbabwean
president was able to join the crowd of 1.5million at the ceremony because the
Vatican, while located in the Italian capital Rome, is a sovereign state and not
part of the EU.
The Roman Catholic
Archbishop of Westminster, Vincent Nichols, who attended the ceremony, said
Mugabe’s record on human rights was deplorable and ‘it felt uncomfortable to be
in his presence’.
Controversy: Robert Mugabe and his wife, Grace,
yesterday at the beatification ceremony for the late Pope John Paul II at the
Vatican
It was not the
first time Mugabe, 87, who has driven his country to starvation while building
up his own riches, has caused controversy by attending a Vatican
function.
In 2005 the tyrant
sat next to the Prince of Wales at Pope John Paul’s funeral and Charles was
caught out having to shake hands with him.
After yesterday’s
service, Archbishop Nichols said: ‘The Vatican has not broken off diplomatic
relations with Zimbabwe and if [Mugabe] wants to attend and he is invited, then
he can do so, but personally I found it uncomfortable.’
Pope Benedict XVI,
who wore Pope John Paul’s robes and kissed a phial of his blood during the
service, led the colourful spectacle of ritual, hymns and prayers in a
sun-dappled St Peter’s Square.
The service began
with a huge tapestry of Pope John Paul, who died aged 84 on April 2 2005, being
unfurled from a balcony at St Peter’s to cheers from the vast crowd on the
cobbles below as Pope Benedict announced the blessing.
Blessing: Pope Benedict XVI pictured arriving to lead
the mass for the beatification of Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Square
Vatican watchers
said it was the first time a current pontiff had beatified, or declared blessed,
his predecessor in a ceremony marking the initial stage in
sainthood.
The process
leading to sainthood usually begins five years after a candidate’s death, but
Pope Benedict waived the rule for Pope John Paul.
The decision came
after three million people attended his funeral in 2005, many carrying banners
urging Pope Benedict to make him a ‘santo subito’, or saint
immediately.
There has been
criticism of the speeding up of the process, especially as many observers claim
the Polish pontiff turned a blind eye to abuse by Catholic
priests.
To be declared
blessed, evidence of a miracle is needed and the one used in this case was that
of French nun Sister Marie Simon-Pierre who was apparently cured of Parkinson’s
after she prayed to Pope John Paul.
To proceed to the
next step and full sainthood, evidence of a second miracle is needed and Vatican
officials are ‘looking at several case studies’.
Security was tight
at yesterday’s service, with marksmen at strategic points overlooking the packed
square, helicopters buzzing overhead and plain-clothes police mingling with the
crowd.
As part of the
ceremony, Pope John Paul’s coffin was exhumed from the crypt below St Peter’s
and taken to a chapel so pilgrims could see it.
Celebrations
continue today with a thanksgiving mass at the Vatican.
Beatified: Pope John Paul II, who died in April 2005,
was honoured in a ceremony marking the initial stage in sainthood
yesterday
Banning Mugabe would drag the Vatican into a
diplomatic minefield
The Vatican is a
Church; on what grounds can it ban someone from coming to
Mass?
By
Fr
Alexander Lucie-Smith on Monday, 2 May 2011
Robert Mugabe
receives Holy Communion at the beatification Mass in St Peter's Square (AP
Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
Blessed John Paul
II, pray for us!
Like millions of
Catholics all over the world I am absolutely overjoyed by the beatification of
the Blessed John Paul II. I remember thinking at the time of his death that here
was a man who gave himself 100 per cent to his mission – a true example to all
priests and bishops, and to all the baptised. Now that shining example of
personal holiness has been raised to the altars as a Beatus.
However, not
everyone shares my joy. The usual suspects have rounded themselves up to try and
pour cold water on this celebration. One cloud on the horizon was certainly provided by the presence of Comrade (as he
prefers to be called) Robert Mugabe, and this was enough to give some commentators the excuse they were
looking for.
The Independent’s
report contains this misleading statement:
Mr Mugabe is the
subject of an EU-wide travel ban and the Vatican had to obtain special
permission for him to be allowed to enter the pocket statelet. It will be at
least the third time that Mr Mugabe has taken advantage of the Vatican’s and/or
Italy’s diplomatic largesse since John Paul’s
death.
The Lateran Treaty
established a “diplomatic corridor” between the Vatican and the rest of the
world. When Sir D’Arcy Osborne was holed up in the
Vatican for the duration of the Second World War, the Italians were obliged to
allow him and his staff to travel across Italian territory to Switzerland in a
sealed train, so that he could take a holiday, despite the fact that he was an
enemy alien. Likewise, personae non gratae in Italy have always had the right to
pass through Italian territory in order to get to the Vatican – this includes
members of the Savoy family, Italy’s former ruling house, who were banned from
Italy by law, but who were perfectly entitled to fly into Rome and visit the
Pope any time they wished (a privilege they never made use
of.)
Incidentally, this
convention applies to the United Nations as well. Hence Mugabe can fly into New
York and Rome to get to the UN, and no one can do anything about
it.
However, the
Vatican could ban Mugabe, as could the UN. Quite so. But there is a problem
here. The Vatican is a Church; on what grounds can it ban someone from coming to
Mass? It is perfectly true it could place Mugabe under interdict for his many
sins and misdemeanours, but if you start with Mugabe, where would you finish?
Should Berlusconi also be banned? What about the much married Sarkozy? What
about, let us say, the late Robin Cook? In these circumstances, given the
difficulty in judging politicians, it does seem reasonable to accept all comers.
They accepted Mussolini and Jörg Haider, after all. The latter did cause an
outcry, but to have banned him would have made every prospective visit a
nightmare of potential protest.
Another matter
that most English readers may not realise is that Mugabe, a hate figure in the
UK, is much admired in many parts of Africa. Indeed, in some countries he is
treated as a hero. And he is not disliked in Italy: that he has victimised white
farmers in the name of anti-colonialism does not play badly in Italy where what
is perceived as British hypocrisy over Mussolini’s invasion of Abyssinia in 1935
is not altogther forgotten. However, Zimbabwe is not much of an issue for
Italians, and this would explain why Fr Lombardi’s comments seem so
lame.
Incidentally, La
Repubblica, Italy’s top newspaper, seems to have no mention of Mugabe’s presence
in its current online edition. Far more interesting, from their point of view,
is the spectacle of a hardworking prime minister falling asleep at the beatification. Poor
Silvio Berlusconi. He is 74, and those late nights spent on official duties must
be taking their toll.