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Constitution Drafters Told to Clean Up 'Disappointing'
Charter
http://www.voanews.com
02 May
2012
Blessing Zulu | Washington
Zimbabwe's parliamentary
committee drafting the country’s new charter has
been given until Friday to
polish its draft, which has been described by
legal experts as
"disappointing and half-backed".
The committee had finally submitted the
long-awaited draft to government,
almost two years behind
schedule.
It is not yet clear though when a referendum will be held. If
approved, the
new constitution will pave way for elections that will bring
to an end
Zimbabwe's fragile, three-year-old coalition
government.
Co-chairman Douglas Mwonzora of the MDC formation led by
Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai confirmed the committee has been told by
its principals to
clean-up the draft ahead of the management committee’s
meeting Monday to
finalize the charter.
Sources say contrary to
reports devolution is the only factor stalling the
completion of the
process, there are a number of issues still outstanding.
These include
dual citizenship, land, the number of lawmakers the country
should have,
among others. The draft also has too many typographical errors,
an issue
analysts say is an embarrassment given resources poured into the
process.
Most issues that many thought have been agreed on by the
three political
parties in the inclusive government have also been left out
of the draft.
Some controversial issues like dual citizenship have been
referred to
parliament. Apart from tightening the loose ends, the select
committee is
also facing a serious challenge from ZANU-PF hardliners, who
are threatening
to derail the process.
ZANU-PF caucused in Harare
Tuesday where hardliners said they will not
endorse the draft, arguing it
does not reflect the people’s views.
President Robert Mugabe will on
Thursday chair a crucial meeting of his
party's supreme decision-making
body, the Politburo, that is expected to
discuss the draft and also the
divisions that have rocked ZANU-PF in its
on-going district coordinating
committee meetings.
There is also confusion within the parliamentary
committee about the role
political parties will play in analyzing the
draft.
Some officials say they still can force changes, but others say
they do not
have that power at this stage. Constitutional Minister Eric
Matinenga told
VOA that progress is being made despite the setbacks.
Draft
constitution retains powerful presidency
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
Written by Gift Phiri, Chief
Writer
Wednesday, 02 May 2012 15:29
HARARE - Lawmakers late on
Monday presented the first consolidated draft
Constitution to the management
committee that would maintain the sweeping
powers of Zimbabwe’s
imperial-like presidency and abolish the post of Prime
Minister.
The
new constitution is expected to replace the current document cobbled at
Lancaster House in London in December 1979 ending colonial rule in
then-Rhodesia.
The present constitution has been amended 19 times,
the last being in
February 2009 to formally pave the way for the formation
of the inclusive
government that created the Prime Minister’s post for
Morgan Tsvangirai, the
MDC leader.
Circulated widely, the draft could
fall short of expectations of Zimbabweans
who had hoped it would trim
presidential powers that have turned President
Robert Mugabe into a
demi-god.
The draft constitution, proposes retaining the all-powerful
presidency, and
has no age caps but says the incumbent must be at least 40
years of age. No
one can serve for more than two terms under the proposed
constitution.
It has a provision for one vice president and an
alternative provision for
two vice presidents.
The draft has already
caused disputes in the troubled inclusive government.
Some politicians,
angry about various clauses in the draft, are threatening
to rally their
supporters to reject the new constitution when it goes before
voters in a
referendum.
There are still a number of “parked” issues where there is no
agreement on
issues such as devolution.
The Daily News heard
yesterday the management committee — comprising three
of the six negotiators
who drafted the global political agreement, Priscilla
Misihairabwi-Mushonga,
Elton Mangoma and Nicholas Goche — on Monday ironed
out differences on
issues such as land and citizenship.
Significantly, the draft
constitution retains an executive president at a
time many Zimbabweans
wanted a new constitution that will whittle down the
president’s powers,
strengthen the role of Parliament, and guarantee civil
liberties, political
and media reforms.
A new constitution for Zimbabwe is an integral part of
a power-sharing deal
in 2008 after a disputed election erupted in widespread
bloodshed.
Many Zimbabweans blamed the all-powerful presidency and long
festering
governance issues for the violence, which killed more than 200
people,
according to the MDC and seriously dented Zimbabwe’s
image.
The draft constitution completed on Monday proposes abolishing the
post of
Prime Minister, for the second time. In 1987, the position of Prime
Minister
was abolished through a constitutional amendment and Mugabe assumed
the new
office of executive President of Zimbabwe gaining additional powers
in the
process.
Significantly, the draft Constitution removes
prosecuting powers from the
attorney general who becomes only a legal
advisor to the President while a
new National Prosecuting Authority is
created.
The landmark change follows accusations that the current AG
Johannes Tomana,
a member of Mugabe’s Zanu PF, has targeted political
opponents in actions
that critics say threaten the rule of law and harms the
integrity of the
government.
Meanwhile, the draft Constitution
retains the death penalty but only for
“aggravated murder.”
Civil
rights activists had campaigned for an end to judicial executions.
Pope John
Paul II, during a visit to Zimbabwe in 1998, appealed to the
government to
abandon the death penalty, so has several churches here.
Several
prisoners on death row have had their sentences commuted to life
imprisonment after the Supreme Court ruled it inhuman to delay their
execution. At Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison on the outskirts of Harare,
there are 50 convicts who have been condemned to death by
hanging.
The draft constitution prohibits gay marriage despite spirited
attempts by
the Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (Galz) to respect and uphold
the rights of
all citizens despite sexual orientation as enshrined in the
Universal
Declaration of Human Rights.
Although President Mugabe is
unpopular for his economic policies, his
anti-gay stance resonates with many
Zimbabweans.
But some Zanu PF elements have always wanted to have gay
rights in the
constitution and the Access to Information and Protection of
Privacy Act
(Aippa) which was crafted by political flip-flopper Jonathan
Moyo to curtail
media freedom, recognises gay rights.
Mugabe was
hoodwinked into signing it into law.
Even the constitutional pressure
groups have failed to get Zimbabweans to
accept homosexuality. Activists
rejected proposals to ban discrimination on
the basis of sexual orientation
during four-month public consultations in
2010.
Meanwhile, the draft
constitution still aspires to give women a good deal on
the question of
gender parity in Parliament. While the draft acknowledges
50-50
representation, it also provides that Parliament shall not be rendered
unconstitutional by failure to meet the envisaged 50-50.
There has
been a lot of rhetoric in support of women’s equal participation
in
politics. But there are only 29 female parliamentarians in Zimbabwe.
The
draft constitution, which was written mostly by a committee of
legislators
and constitutional scholars, now moves to the second
all-stakeholders
conference.
The first all-stakeholders conference held on July 13, 2009,
degenerated
into chaos as riot police broke up clashes between rival
delegates.
The constitution-making-process, like the inclusive
government, has been
characterised by intense bickering, delays and
frustrations.
Many Zimbabweans see a new constitution as the centerpiece
of positive
change in the country — there has been popular demand for this
reform going
back well before the 2002 presidential
election.
Zimbabwe’s last draft constitution was soundly defeated in
2000.
Political leaders are linking this moment in Zimbabwe’s history to
the
struggle for democracy, and to the determination to remove some of the
underlying causes for the 2008 election mayhem.
Yet, it is difficult
to avoid the sense that the future of this project
hangs in the balance
given the saber-rattling from Zanu PF.
New
constitution will not allow Zim exiles to vote
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Tichaona
Sibanda
2 May 2012
The new constitution for Zimbabwe will still
prevent individuals with dual
citizenship from voting in the next election,’
leading pro-democracy
activist Dewa Mavhinga said on
Wednesday.
Millions of Zimbabweans have over the years been denied the
right to
participate in national elections in Zimbabwe, having acquired
citizenships
in their countries of exile.
Zimbabwe prohibits those
with dual citizenship from voting. The new draft
that was presented to GPA
negotiators on Monday by COPAC still contains a
clause that revokes
Zimbabwean citizenship, if it is discovered the holder
is a citizen of
another country
‘If a person acquired Zimbabwean citizenship by birth,
having been presumed
to be such a citizen as provided in section 3, the
citizenship may be
revoked if the person’s nationality or parentage becomes
known, and reveals
that the person was a citizen of another country,’ reads
a section from
Chapter 3 on Citizenship.
Mavhinga said it was clear
there was no agreement on citizenship and that
the current Lancaster House
constitution and the new draft favours the ZANU
PF position to prohibit dual
citizenship.
It is expected that most of the contentious issues, like
dual citizenship,
will only be dealt with after a new president has assumed
office. ‘Although
a detailed legal analysis of the constitutional draft is
pending there is
already emerging concern regarding a powerful executive
president and the
fact that many of the unresolved issues are expected to be
resolved by three
political principals.
‘The National Constitutional
Assembly has also noted with concern that the
MDC formations had made too
many concessions in this draft – such as on the
executive presidency,
prohibition of dual citizenship, prohibition of gay
rights, prohibition of
devolution, among other issues,’ Mavhinga said.
On Tuesday COPAC
co-Chairman Douglas Mwonzora said the issue of dual
citizenship would be
left to an Act of Parliament to determine.
Read the first consolidated draft constitution here:
http://www.swradioafrica.com/Documents/First%20COPAC%20Consolidated%20Draft%20Constitution.pdf
Mugabe
banking on violence to win elections
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Tichaona Sibanda
2 May
2012
President Robert Mugabe’s determination to hold elections this year,
with or
without a new constitution, is driven by fear that he will lose a
poll held
under free and fair conditions, a political analyst said on
Wednesday.
This assessment came as the ZANU PF politburo met in Harare on
Wednesday to
study a draft copy of the new charter that was presented to GPA
negotiators
on Monday. The meeting is also expected to tackle the implosion
of violence
that has rocked the party since the holding of the controversial
District
Coordinating Committee elections.
United States based
analyst Dr Maxwell Shumba told SW Radio Africa’s Hidden
Story program that
the rationale behind Mugabe’s insistence in having an
early poll, without
reforms, was ‘very intriguing.’
‘Mugabe has been in power for 32 years
and questions should be asked why he’s
not patient enough to wait just
another year or few months to have elections
under a new constitution,’
Shumba said.
He added that a new constitution could help create a more
level playing
field, something Mugabe does not want.
‘So what must he
do to avoid that…have an election without a new
constitution because of his
party’s ability to mobilise massive structures
of political violence against
opponents in order to retain power,’ Shumba
explained.
‘When a
politician has good policies for his country and people there is no
need to
resort to political violence just to win elections. We’ve had the
GPA to
bring about the needed change since the bloody 2008 elections. But
some
political elements are in the process of wanting us as a country to
return
to those ugly days in our history.
‘It’s also correct to note that the
desperate nature of someone wanting
political power will not stop them from
even sacrificing lives of human
beings like what they do in ZANU PF. They’ve
tasted so much power that they
simply cannot let go of it, even if they lose
elections. Look at the way
they’re bludgeoning each other following the DCC
elections. It’s all about
wanting political power and wealth,’ Shumba
said.
Shumba added that he’s hopeful the International Community is
taking
cognizance of what is happening now in Zimbabwe, ahead of the pending
general elections. If ZANU PF can beat up people from their own party, what
can stop them from attacking their opponents.
‘What I know, and which
I want people to be aware of is that, there are evil
plans that some
politicians in ZANU PF are orchestrating to bring about
political unrest,
especially when they have realized, that the people of
Zimbabwe have
resolved to elect someone outside ZANU PF to be the next
leader of
Zimbabwe
‘In this regard, it is crucial for organizations like SADC and
the AU to
send monitors and check the pre- election period when violence is
likely to
be most intense.’
In 2008 polling in many districts went
ahead without the presence of a
single local, regional or continental
observer. Both MDC formations have
pleaded with SADC to have observer
delegations coordinating with one
another, to ensure that a broad
distribution of observers is achieved in the
next election.
Jonathan
Moyo and Obert Mpofu bunking parliament
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Lance Guma
02 May
2012
Jonathan Moyo, the MP for Tsholotsho North, and Obert Mpofu, the MP
for
Umguza, are said to top a list of ZANU PF and MDC MP’s bunking
Parliamentary
sessions between September 2011 and March this year. Political
turncoat Moyo
and Mines Minister Mpofu have not attended parliament for 21
consecutive
days.
Out of 32 sittings held in 32 days Moyo only
attended once. Although Mpofu
only sought two official leave of absences, he
was absent 29 times. The
constitution says that if an MP “is absent for 21
consecutive sittings
during any session without the leave of Parliament,
their seats shall become
vacant.”
This means both legislators should
have lost their parliamentary seats by
now.
Moyo and Mpofu are not
the only errant MP’s. Other MP’s absent without leave
include Kembo Mohadi
(29), Saviour Kasukuwere (24), Stanislaus Mudenge (28),
Didymus Mutasa (28),
Webster Shamu (22) and Olivia Muchena (28) all from
ZANU PF.
From the
two MDC formations Jameson Timba (29), Joel Gabbuza (19), Moses
Mzila Ndlovu
(27) Tapiwa Mashakada (25) and Heneri Dzinotyiweyi (26).
The revelations
will infuriate many ordinary Zimbabweans, given recent
proposals to expand
parliament by another 90 MP’s, allegedly to accommodate
women.
Clearly not too much serious business is being conducted by
Parliament,
leading some to suggest it has become nothing more than a very
expensive
white elephant.
Moyo vows to
continue parliament boycott
Boycotted ... MPs not pitching up for parliamentary
debates
01/05/2012
00:00:00 |
|
by Staff
Reporter |
| |
|
|
ZIMBABWE’S seventh
Parliament is “dysfunctional”, Tsholotsho North MP Jonathan Moyo (Zanu PF) said
on Tuesday as he defended his scant attendances.
Moyo has been
named along with more than two dozen other legislators including Mines Minister
Obert Mpofu (Zanu PF), Heneri Dzinotyiweyi (MDC-T), Jameson Timba (MDC-T), Stan
Mudenge (Zanu PF), Didymus Mutasa (Zanu PF) and Joel Gabbuza (MDC-T) as top
absconders from parliamentary meetings.
MPs who miss 21
consecutive parliamentary sittings without official leave can be expelled if
half the legislature votes for the motion, according to parliamentary
rules.
The
privately-owned NewsDay newspaper reported Tuesday that Moyo attended just one
of 32 sessions – on February 28 – since September 6 last year.
But the Clerk of
Parliament, Austin Zvoma, the custodian of the parliamentary register, said the
newspaper got it wrong, insisting: “With respect to Moyo, he has not missed 21
consecutive days and so he has not fallen foul of that
provision.”
But far from
retreating from his stance, Moyo vowed on Tuesday to CONTINUE his
boycott.
"Look, the
self-indulgent hullabaloo over this matter is coming from the usual desperate
circles with nothing useful to offer and it is no better than a storm in a
toilet,” Moyo said.
“My decision to
make technical appearances in Parliament – which should have been dissolved some
18 months ago – is very deliberate and quite considered because I want to make a
point about that fact.”
Moyo claimed he
had found it “necessary and liberating to make technical appearances in
Parliament”.
Since the
formation of the power-sharing government in 2008, Moyo said a constitutional
amendment meant that Bills were agreed at Cabinet level and sent to parliament
for rubber-stamping – effectively usurping MPs’ powers.
This had reduced
Parliament to an “idle body” where MPs turned up to pick up their US$75 per
diems at each sitting while debating non-binding motions.
Moyo told New
Zimbabwe.com by telephone from Harare: “There are many occasions where you find
Honourable Members taking the floor and declaring that this tribe is better than
other tribes.
“If they are not
doing that, they are calling for men to be ‘immobilised’ to curb their sexual
appetite or the formation of a union for prostitutes.
“The question is:
do you stand up and debate that Member and sink to their level, or do you just
sit and listen? My view is neither of those are an option, you just stay away
from the nonsense.”
Moyo, first
elected to parliament in 2005 as an independent and again in 2008 before
rejoining Zanu PF, said the seventh parliament was “the worst since
Independence” because it lacked authority.
He said some
parliamentary committees had scored decent successes in probing public
officials, but insisted the vast majority of MPs were incapacitated by the
Global Political Agreement which concentrated power in leaders of the country’s
three main political parties.
The parliamentary
boycott by dozens of other MPs from all the parties was evidence of growing
disenchantment with the political order of the day, he said.
“I am glad that
the desperate circles who are clinging to undeserved public offices for personal
enrichment have finally noticed the point and I hope they will take it and
support the holding of the delayed elections to produce the kind of Parliament
and government that Zimbabwe needs and deserves,” he said.
“I say this
because I am very clear about why I have found it necessary and liberating to
make technical appearances in Parliament by attending only when it is absolutely
necessary to do so, and I stand by my decision without any apology to anyone
whatsoever.
“I believe my
position is the best and the most rational thing to do given the dysfunctional
circumstances of the Seventh Parliament which are as unprecedented and as
unfortunate as the dysfunctional inclusive government arising from this
Parliament.
“I am not going to
change making technical appearances until this Parliament is dissolved as it
should have been by now and anybody who has a problem with that should get a
life and stop wasting time.
“The bottom line
is that there's absolutely no need whatsoever for me or anyone else for that
matter to go to Parliament everyday only to collect a $75 per diem to listen to
Honourable Members trading abuse and insults without let, or to go there to be
part of a captive audience to, or even to debate with MDC MPs who routinely use
the floor of the House to denigrate national institutions and processes such as
calling for evil sanctions against Zimbabwe with impunity and in gross violation
of their oaths of loyalty taken in the same Parliament.
“That kind of time
can be better spent elsewhere finding development solutions for my constituency
and in that regard, I am very happy that, working with other like minded
comrades over the last 24 months, we are on the verge of finalising an amazing
gold mining initiative with a foreign investor in Tsholotsho which will empower
the community by creating wealth and jobs for the youth and transforming
Tsholotsho district into a vibrant town in the very foreseeable
future.
“It takes a lot of
time and effort to do this and it would be a tragedy to waste that time by just
sitting in Parliament to listen to honourable members calling each other and
their country's institutions and processes dishonourable names in the floor of
the house."
Top
Parliament Absconders [Number in brackets shows sittings missed out of
32]
» Tsholotsho North
MP Jonathan Moyo (31)
» Mount Pleasant
MP Jameson Timba (MDC-T) (29)
» Beitbridge East
MP Kembo Mohadi (Zanu PF) (29)
» Mutoko South MP
Olivia Muchena (Zanu PF) (28)
» Masvingo North
MP Stanislaus Mudenge (Zanu PF) (28)
» Headlands MP
Didymus Mutasa (Zanu PF) (28)
» Bulilima West MP
Moses Mzila Ndlovu (MDC) (27)
» Budiriro MP
Heneri Dzinotyiweyi (MDC-T) (26)
» Hatfield MP
Tapiwa Mashakada (MDC-T) (25)
» Mount Darwin
South MP Saviour Kasukuwere (Zanu PF) (24)
» Chegutu East MP
Webster Shamu (Zanu PF) (22)
» Binga MP Joel
Gabbuza (MDC-T) (19) |
Row
over gold mine sucks in Mugabe's man
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
Written by Lloyd Mbiba, Staff
Writer
Wednesday, 02 May 2012 15:42
HARARE - An ownership row over
a gold mine in Kwekwe has sucked in one of
President Robert Mugabe’s top man
as the fight for rich pickings exposes how
the indigenisation programme is
hollow.
Workers being evicted from Kwekwe Consolidated Gold Mine (KCGM)
say Air
Vice Marshal (AVM) Henry Muchena, who retired as a military
commander to
concentrate on campaigning for Mugabe ahead of watershed
elections to be
held most likely next year, is pushing his weight to worsen
their plight.
The mine is at the centre of a dispute, with Australian
national Lee Waverly
John currently in court for allegedly taking over the
mine illegally. While
the matter is pending at the courts, a political twist
has emerged.
Workers say Muchena is using his political clout and
background as a former
top military commander to protect John, while an
Australian newspaper also
claims that Mugabe has stepped in to protect the
embattled miner.
The matter is now playing out at Zanu PF headquarters in
Harare, with the
court case becoming a side show. Zanu PF national chairman
Simon Khaya Moyo
confirmed handling the matter a fortnight ago before taking
it up to party
vice president John Nkomo. Worker representatives, some
living in the open
after being evicted from the mine compound, approached
Khaya Moyo and asked
him to rein-in Muchena during a meeting at
Zanu PF
headquarters.
“Yes I met them but the matter is now at the vice
president’s office,” said
Khaya Moyo, refusing to divulge too many
details.
The mine’s Workers Trust chairperson Cleopas Chipangura told the
Daily News
yesterday that they are yet to meet with Nkomo or people from his
office.
He said the workers took the step to approach Khaya Moyo after
realising
that top Zanu PF officials were using their influence. The
workers, he said,
told Khaya Moyo that Muchena was blocking their efforts to
remain at the
mine and possibly be allowed to mine through a trust they have
formed.
“We told him (Khaya Moyo) that as workers we are suffering most
from this
fighting and what makes it worse is that the AVM (Muchena) is
frustrating us
yet he is supposed to be part of Zanu PF leaders fighting for
the
downtrodden like us.
“It defeats the whole purpose of
indigenisation and we wanted Zanu PF to do
something about this. We are weak
and should be protected but as we speak
some of our colleagues are being
thrown out and are living in the open,”
said Chipangura.
In a sign of
how fights over business opportunities have set brother against
brother in
Zanu PF, Buhera North MP, William Mutomba is also involved in the
wrangle.
Mutomba is seeking to force (KCGM) to renew a mining
agreement which expired
on February 3, 2012 claiming his company Midkwe had
sunk in over $600 000
into Chaka plant, a part of the mining operations and
could therefore not be
forced out of the project. John, whose ownership of
KCGM is under dispute
but enjoys the protection of Muchena, according to
workers, has refused to
allow Mutomba back in.
Efforts by Mutomba to
reach out to Muchena have so far failed as the former
soldier has largely
ignored his overtures.
“Mutomba frantically tried to get hold of Muchena
in order to discuss the
issue with him but was ignored. He ended up paying a
visit to the Zanu PF
headquarters where he met a Major General Shungu to
whom he told of his
predicament,” said a source.
Muchena refused to
speak to the Daily News when contacted for comment while
Mutomba said he
would rather pursue the matter “quietly” away from the
media.
The
Australian newspaper added another dimension to the issue when it
claimed
Mugabe personally sided with John.
Quoting unnamed sources, the paper
claimed that John’s representatives met
with Mugabe last week to outline the
campaign waged against him by Mutomba.
Senior officials from Mugabe’s
office were despatched to secure John’s
release from Harare Central Prison
on Thursday morning, the paper claimed.
Presidential spokesperson George
Charamba said he was unaware of such a
meeting or arrangements.
Khaya
Moyo also said he was unaware of Mugabe’s personal intervention in the
matter.
The Kwekwe saga is just part of a bigger
problem.
Recent reports showed how small scale gold miners in Manicaland
were being
forced off their claims by Zanu PF officials and youths who
claimed to be
new owners on the basis of the indigenisation programme,
oblivious of the
irony that they are taking the same claims from fellow
blacks.
Chief
Defies Charumbira Over Farm Seizure
http://www.radiovop.com
Harare, May 02, 2012-A Zimbabwean
traditional leader has defied a rebuke by
Chiefs Council president Fortune
Charumbira to vacate a farm which he
invaded in Mashonaland Central
province.
According to a memorandum written by the Zimbabwe Republic
Police (ZRP)’s
Internal Security and Intelligence (PISI), Chief Chiweshe
recently seized
Heyshot farm in the rich Glendale farming area of
Mashonaland Central
province.
The farm is owned by John Sole.
Police
say Chiweshe whose real name is is Joseph Chigariro led the farm
occupation
with the assistance of his aides who camped at the productive
farm for
several days while executing the farm seizure.
Police say Chief Charumbira,
who is also a ZANU PF member had failed to
dissuade Chief Chiweshe from
seizing the farm.
The law enforcement agents hit out at Chief Chiweshe and
accused him of
being greedy as he was already in occupation of another farm
located in
Mvurwi in the same province which he reportedly
underutilised.
“This is just a clear act of greediness. He should direct his
efforts
towards ensuring that his Nhangura farm becomes productive than
trying to
acquire all land that he perceives to be productive,” the police
said in
their memorandum.
The police said they were monitoring the
incident at Sole’s farm which
becomes the latest property to be seized at a
time when President Robert
Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s
coalition government declared
a moratorium on farm seizures.
Critics
blame the land grab exercise which began in 2000 for the collapse of
the
country’s once vibrant agricultural sector while some ZANU PF supporters
defend the seizures as necessary to correct colonial imbalances.
War
vets besiege Biti office and threaten to beat him up
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Lance
Guma
02 May 2012
ZANU PF’s reliance on violence and intimidation was
displayed on Monday when
suspected war vets and party militia besieged the
offices of Finance
Minister Tendai Biti, threatening to beat him up for
allegedly not
respecting Mugabe.
Incensed by reports that Biti had
said Mugabe should be confined to an old
people’s home, the mob waved
banners written “Biti show the President
respect”. More worrying for the
media in the country, the war vets even
threatened to burn down independent
newspapers for encouraging ‘Biti’s
campaign against Mugabe’.
Speaking
to the Daily News newspaper Biti said he respected Mugabe in the
same way he
respected Tsvangirai, as principals in the government. The MDC-T
Secretary
General went on to say: “Just last week I was in a
three-hour-meeting with
the President and we had beautifully-made chicken
and pancakes.”
Biti
also went on to talk about how he was the “product of the good
education”
under Mugabe’s government soon after independence. “He educated
us to offer
different views and I am part of that generation he should be
proud of. The
President did not educate us to be imbeciles, slavish and
engage in moronic
behaviour,” Biti said in clear reference to the mob that
besieged his
offices.
It’s not the first time war vets and ZANU PF militia have
besieged Biti’s
office.
Following a bust up between Biti and Mugabe
in a meeting last year, a petrol
bomb was thrown at the durawall of his
house and ZANU PF sponsored many
demonstrations at his office. In June last
year hundreds of war vets held
Biti and his office workers hostage from 11am
until early evening, singing
derogatory songs against Biti and his MDC-T
party. The crowd, which
initially gathered at the ZANU PF provincial offices
along Fourth Street in
central Harare, marched to Biti’s office building
under a police escort.
Two weeks before this incident another group of
war vets surrounded Biti’s
offices demanding that he sign a petition calling
for lifting of targeted
western sanctions against Robert Mugabe and his
cronies.
It’s not just war vets who threaten him. A senior police chief
asked
traditional chiefs and headmen in Murewa to generate lighting to kill
Biti,
claiming civil servants will never get a decent wage as long as he is
Finance Minister.
Mugabe
to chair tense Zanu PF indaba
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com
John Nyashanu - News day 6 hours 33 minutes
ago
President Robert Mugabe is tomorrow expected to chair a
potentially tense
politburo meeting to mend fissures threatening to rip Zanu
PF apart
following shambolic party district co-ordinating committee (DCC)
elections
in some parts of the country.
Zanu PF political commissar
Webster Shamu has been ordered to submit a
report to the Politburo on the
extreme cases of intra-party violence and
discontent that have dominated the
party DCC elections in Masvingo and
Manicaland provinces.
Party
spokesperson Rugare Gumbo yesterday confirmed the DCC saga would be
high on
the agenda at the potentially explosive politburo meeting.
The issue of
DCC elections will be discussed at the politburo meeting
tomorrow. The
political commissar was tasked to come up with a report on how
the situation
prevails and we will take it up from there, he said.
The politburo
position on the matter follows reports of vote-rigging,
imposition of
candidates and a litany of other irregularities deemed
inconsistent with
democratic elections in the two provinces last month.
At Shumba Primary
School in Nyajena, Masvingo, police reportedly fired
gunshots as the clashes
escalated last week on Saturday. Classroom windows
were smashed following
the running battles.
Two days earlier, party supporters had allegedly
engaged in fist-fights at a
country club in Nyanga again over the DCC
election results.
The clashes followed demonstrations by rival factions
at the Zanu PF
headquarters in Mutare last month as some accused provincial
chairperson
Mike Madiro of vote-rigging and imposition of
candidates.
According to party insiders, the fissures centred on factions
reportedly led
by Vice-President Joice Mujuru and Defence minister Emmerson
Mnangagwa, who
are said to be leaving no stone unturned to position their
allies in
strategic positions in all party structures.
The two are
perceived as front runners to succeed 88-year-old Mugabe who has
been in
power since independence in 1980.
Air Zimbabwe Resumes Domestic Flights With Only 3
Passengers
http://www.voanews.com
02 May
2012
Gibbs Dube | Washington
After suspending
operations early this year due to viability problems, Air
Zimbabwe resumed
domestic flights on Wednesday with one of its planes flying
from Bulawayo to
the capital, Harare, with only three passengers.
State Enterprises
Minister Gorden Moyo confirmed the flight, but said he was
surprised the
airline had resumed operations when the government is still
looking for an
investor to partner the company, saddled with a $140 million
debt.
The airline’s Boeing 737-600, with a capacity of 126
passengers, left
Bulawayo with only three people on board. Air Zimbabwe is
planning to have
three flights a week between Harare, Victoria Falls and
Bulawayo.
Moyo cautioned the move may backfire as the national airline
does not yet
have the capacity to embark on such operations due to lack of
funds and a
crippling debt.
Independent economic commentator Rejoice
Ngwenya said Air Zimbabwe should
abandon the flights, calling them
unproductive. “This is a foolish move that
will worsen the airline’s
financial problems,” said Ngwenya.
A U.S. aviation firm last December
impounded one of Air Zimbabwe’s
international commercial aircraft in London
for non-payment of a US$1.2
million debt.
The seizure followed the
impounding of an Air Zimbabwe Boeing 737-500 by
South Africa’s Bid Air
Services over a US$500,000 debt for ground services
Matombo
attacks MDC
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
Written by Chengetai Zvauya and Ivan Zhakata
Wednesday, 02 May
2012 15:38
HARARE - Lovemore Matombo, president of a faction of the
Zimbabwe Congress
of Trade Unions (ZCTU), yesterday accused Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai
and his MDC of fuelling factionalism within the
ZCTU.
Matombo, said this while addressing hundreds of workers gathered in
Harare
Gardens to commemorate Workers Day.
He described Tsvangirai’s
and the minister of Labour Paurina Mpariwa’s
absence at their festivities as
the highest order of betrayal to the workers
by the MDC
leaders.
Tsvangirai, Mpariwa and several of his party officials attended
the main May
Day celebrations organised by the George Nkiwane-led ZCTU at
Gwanzura
Stadium.
“We invited the PM and minister Mpariwa to attend
our gathering but they
have decided not to attend for the reasons known to
them. We understand that
the PM was at Gwanzura Stadium attending the
Nkiwane and Japhet Moyo ZCTU
gathering,” said Matombo.
The theme of
their celebrations was: “Workers Unite, Restore your Dignity
and Achieve
Poverty Datum Line (PDL)”.
He said the Nkiwane gathering was a political
rally not a workers’ day
event.
“We know that MDC was mobilising
their supporters to attend the address by
Tsvangirai.
“I understand
yesterday MDC organising secretary Nelson Chamisa was giving
instructions to
their party supporters who are workers not to come to Harare
Gardens but to
go to Gwanzura Stadium,” said Matombo.
Dino Mudondo, Daiton Somanje and
Raymond Majongwe’s Freedom Orchestra
entertained workers who attended the
Harare Gardens event.
Harare Residents Trust, Zimbabwe Human Rights
Association (Zimrights) and
National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) were
among some of the civic
organisations who attended the
commemoration.
Matombo claimed that he was informed by other MDC senior
leaders that their
party has taken a resolution in their meeting not to
support any ZCTU
faction. He also said that they were expecting the MDC to
remain neutral and
act as mediators to resolve factionalism in
ZCTU.
Tsvangirai is a former ZCTU secretary general.
The MDC is a
brainchild of the labour movement. It is from this movement
that the
majority of MDC leaders come from.
Raymond Majongwe who is the
secretary-general of the Matombo-led faction had
no kind words for
Tsvangirai.
“We were beaten and tortured by the police and the Central
Intelligence
Organisation (CIO) claiming that we were working for MDC now
you will be
receiving reports that we are working for the CIO and this is
causing the
confusion within the workers.
“I don’t remember a day
when Nkiwane and Moyo were taken by the police. They
didn’t even attend the
workers’ marches and demonstrations but they are now
claiming to be the
champions of the workers’ rights,” said an enraged
Majongwe.
Matombo
said they will be announcing soon the day they are going to
demonstrate and
march to force employers to pay their workers a PDL wage of
$546 per
month.
The two factions are involved in a legal battle for control of the
labour
union with both factions claiming to be the legitimate union.
Police
have cowed workers: ZCTU
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Zimbabwean workers continue to suffer poor
working conditions but are not
free to air their grievances due to the heavy
handedness of the police, the
Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions said ahead
of this year’s Workers Day
celebrations.
02.05.1208:33am
by Fungi
Kwaramba
ZCTU Secretary General, Japhet Moyo, told The Zimbabwean
workerswere still
underpaid but could not openly express their grievances
for fear the
excessive use of force by the police.
“It is time we
devised other ways of protesting because of what happened in
the past where
leaders were beaten by the police. Even today, they (victims
of police
brutality) walk with the scars and, as a result, the workers are
reluctant
to join a strike because they fear the consequences,” said Moyo.
In 2006
President Mugabe’s government instilled fear into the masses after
his
police severely assaulted the ZCTU leadership, including veteran trade
unionists Lovemore Matombo, Lucia Matibenga, now a Cabinet Minister, and
former Secretary General, Wellington Chibebe.
Since then, workers
have not organised a successful strike and the police
have been swift to
arrest those who have attempted to turn to the streets to
voice their
plight.
The ZCTU estimates that over 80 percent of the country’s
population is
unemployed and those that are in formal employment are
receiving poor
salaries and wages.
“The State has destabilised the
workers and, as a union, we must come up
with ways to confront the system.
We should not be scared forever. With
time, we are going to devise ways
which will enable us to challenge the
system,” vowed Moyo.
Solve
Problems In Soweto First: ZCTU’s Moyo Tells Mbeki
http://www.radiovop.com
Harare, May 02,
2012 - Former South African President and mediator to the
unity government
Thabo Mbeki has been castigated for pretending to be
helping the University
of Zimbabwe when Zimbabwe through President Robert
Mugabe is splashing
hundreds of thousands of dollars to South African
universities every year,
something that does not help local institutions,
the ZCTU secretary general
said.
Addressing workers at the May Day celebrations Japhet Moyo, ZCTU
secretary
general castigated Mbeki's involvement in raising donations for
the
University of Zimbabwe when his ally Mugabe is using thousands of state
funds to sponsor students with links to his ZANU PF party at a time when the
UZ has been in the doldrums.
"Two days ago, we hear the former President
of South Africa was at the
University of Zimbabwe raising money for the
university. You know that we
have a presidential scholarship. Today we pay a
lot of money to South
African universities. When we say our children must go
to South African
universities, we will be looking forward that those who
benefit are children
from parents who cannot afford college fees," Moyo said
at Gwanzura stadium
during part of the workers day commemorations.
"But
those that are going to South African universities are children of
Ministers. If you are not from ZANU PF, you cannot benefit. We are now
seeing banks like FBC and others falling over each other to pledge to Thabo
Mbeki. But we see that bank employees were refused transport to gather here
for this day. Banks refused to pay any donation for this day but they donate
millions to Thabo Mbeki."
"Why does Mbeki come to help us when there is
poverty in Soweto. What did he
do about the poverty in Soweto when he was
president in South Africa. He
must go back to resolve issues in South
Africa, we can do our things alone
in Zimbabwe. We don't need him," Moyo
added.
Mbeki, the chief architect of the Global Political Agreement and a
confessed
admirer of Mugabe has been accused of siding with the 88 year old
Mugabe's
ZANU PF party during the negotiations to form a unity
government.
Mbeki's critics say problems in the unity government over reforms
were
deliberately crafted by Mbeki in Mugabe's favour. The former South
African
leader was ousted by the ANC congress which ushered Jacob Zuma to
lead
Africa's leading economy.
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai
addressing the same gathering appealed to
two factions of the Zimbabwe
Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) to unite and
fight for workers rights at a
time when the biggest labour movement is
riddled by divisions.
"We know
that today there are factions. Factions are there in politics but
you cannot
have factions in workers unions. The working class cannot be
divided on the
basis of personalities. The working class will always be
united on the basis
of class interests," Tsvangirai said at Gwanzura stadium
in Highfield suburb
where the George Nkiwane faction of the MDC was
celebrating workers
day.
The other faction of the ZCTU is being led by Lovemore Matombo.
"It’s
very imperative that this day unites us than it divides us as workers.
I
want to appeal very much to the leaders, some that I have very high
respect
for that they must come back and unite, that is the only way the
interest of
the workers of this country can be tackled through one voice and
one unity."
Top
cop, banker fight over gold mine
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
Written by Everson Mushava, Staff
Writer
Wednesday, 02 May 2012 15:25
HARARE - Top police officers
have been implicated in a dispute over a gold
mine in Kadoma targeting local
businessman Patterson Timba.
Details emerging in court show how hired
thugs used violence and police used
their offices to forcibly take over the
gold mine from Timba.
According to court papers, Charles Mufandaedza, a
commissioner in the force
sanctioned a violent and illegal takeover of
Glencairn Mine on April 5 on
behalf of another local businessman Jameson
Rushwaya.
Timba says Mufandaedza is abusing his office and has
“interests” in the gold
mine.
Timba is now suing Mufandaedza and his
boss, police commissioner-general
Augustine Chihuri, co-Home Affairs
ministers Kembo Mohadi and Theresa
Makone, the messenger of court for Kadoma
Otten Tsongorani and the couple
who illegally took over his mine, Rushwaya
and his wife Anne.
Kadoma district officer-in-charge Manzini Moyo has not
been spared legal
action.
In his founding affidavit, Timba alleges
that the messenger of court and “40
to 50 youths” invaded the mine on the
instruction of Mufandaedza and changed
all the locks at the premises,
inserted a new set of locks and subsequently
handed over the keys to
Rushwaya.
“I struggle to comprehend how this matter may involve a
commissioner of the
police unless the commissioner is involved in a hazy and
clearly unlawful
crusade.
“I have never understood the position of
the law to be that a commissioner
of the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) can
have the unlawful entitlement to
issue orders to a messenger of court,” said
Timba in his founding affidavit.
According to Timba, about 600 grammes of
gold were also stolen by officials
from the messenger of court and despite
making a police report, nothing has
been recovered and no arrest has been
made.
“The police officers in Kadoma have made me to understand that
there are
standing though informal orders from Commissioner Mufandaedza to
the effect
that no arrest is to be made to 1st and 2nd respondents (Rushwaya
and his
wife) and their allies,” said Timba.
He said the police were
being used to subvert his rights.
According to Timba, Mufandaedza had
been frequenting the mine over the
Easter Holidays when the mine has been
invaded by Rushwaya, raising
suspicion that he could have been promised a
stake by Rushwaya.
“It seems also that the Dispol (district police
commander) for the Kadoma
district has been incapacitated by commissioner
Mufandaedza,” said Timba.
“Furthermore, Mufandaendza has in the past
caused my arrest at the instance
of 1st and 2nd respondents even under
circumstances when the attorney
general indicated that I had committed no
crime only for the charges to fall
in court,” said Timba.
Timba’s
lawyers, Scanlen and Holderness, in an urgent chamber application
heard on
March 16 this year, sought a relief order to bar Rushwaya from
interfering
with the affairs of the mine because he sold his shares to Timba
last year
and should be waiting for his payment without interfering with
mine
operations.
Justice Felistas Chatukuta is presiding over the
matter.
She is still yet to rule on the urgent chamber case two weeks
on.
“Furthermore, the involvement of the 4th Respondent (Mufandaedza) in
itself
gives rise to urgency, as the need arises to immediately curb the
abuse of
office being perpetrated.
“It is alleged that messenger of
court has the backing of the 4th respondent
with the latter exhibiting
interest going beyond his constitutional mandate
in visiting the mine after
the dispossession took place,” Timba’s lawyers
said.
Glencairn Mine
has been at the centre of an ownership wrangle between Timba
and Rushwaya
since last year.
Timba claims Rushwaya failed to settle a bank loan which
he settled himself
as a way of “assisting a Christian brother.”
Timba
did not take over Rushwaya’s 23 percent shareholding in the mine and
Rushwaya remained the man on the ground.
But Timba, after realising
Rushwaya was misappropriating funds, resolved to
buy off Rushwaya’s shares
and assumed full control of the mine last year,
according to court
papers.
After a series of litigations, an agreement was made for Rushwaya
to sell
his shares to Timba, a majority shareholder with 61 percent shares
in the
mining concern through his company Swimming Pool and Under Water
Repair
Private Limited.
The agreement also meant that Rushwaya would
transfer mining claims he had
“fraudulently” transferred to the name of his
wife Anne. Rushwaya then made
an about turn and tried to muscle Timba out of
the mine but High Court Judge
Joseph Musakwa last year awarded the mine to
Timba and barred Rushwaya from
accessing it.
But on February 18 this
year, Rushwaya instructed management at the mine to
prepare his return to
the mine and resorted to illegal means to assume
control of the mine,
according to Timba’s founding affidavit.
In his defence, Rushwaya said he
still controls the mine because Timba has
not yet paid him the money for the
shares and the agreement of sale is
therefore null and void.
He
denied hiring a mob saying it was Timba who was trying to cause commotion
at
the mine.
Tsongorani denied working on the orders of Mufandaedza saying
he was doing
his duties.
Mufandaedza is yet to respond to the court
application.
Zim
envoy defies recall
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
Written by Gift Phiri, Chief Writer
Wednesday, 02 May
2012 15:34
HARARE - A recalled diplomat at the Zimbabwe embassy in
Australia, Felix
Nyamupinga, who allegedly framed MDC diplomat Jacqueline
Zwambila, has
refused to return home.
Nyamupinga, husband to Zanu PF
Goromonzi MP Biata Nyamupinga, remains
ensconced in Canberra after he was
recalled by the ministry of Foreign
Affairs ostensibly on health and
retirement reasons.
Joey Bimha, Foreign Affairs permanent secretary
promised to return our call
but had not done so at the time of going to
Press. His mobile remained
unavailable.
Nyamupinga, the former
counsellor at the Zimbabwe mission in Canberra, was
alleged to be part of
staff at the embassy in Canberra that wanted
ambassador Zwambila, a member
of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC, to
go.
They allegedly
concocted a litany of incredible stories on the Zimbabwean
envoy, that she
stripped naked in front of male embassy staff in protest at
the leaking of
information to a state controlled newspaper in Harare and
that a butler at
the embassy Felix Machiridza had accused the envoy of
sexual
abuse.
Ambassador Zwambila was briefly recalled to Harare for a
disciplinary
hearing but she was cleared of any wrongdoing and reinstated
back at her
post.
Foreign Affairs then recalled Nyamupinga and
Machiridza back to Harare, but
they have defied the directive amid reports
they have applied for asylum in
Australia using a bridging or humanitarian
visa, according to Canberra
sources. We could not independently verify
this.
Meanwhile, the Goromonzi MP was said to be against her husband's
return and
was said to have lobbied the Public Service Commission to block
her
husband's return.
While diplomat Nyamupinga could not be reached
in Canberra, his wife poured
cold water on claims that he had refused to
come home.
She however admitted that she had written to the Public
Service Commission
(PSC), but only to complain “as a mother” that her
husband had been removed
from salary after he was discharged on health
grounds.
She insisted he never applied for asylum.
“Felix is over
60 years, he is not a young man and nearing retirement,
angazvikwanise
zvekugeza chembere,” Nyamupinga told the Daily News
yesterday.
“Why
would he seek asylum, he has communicated with his employer about his
continued stay there. I wrote to the PSC because I was pained with his
removal from salary, not to block his return, how can I block my husband
from returning home? I queried as a mother,” she said.
Nyamupinga
said her husband, who worked for government for 31 years, would
not have
shipped his things back home if he was contemplating asylum, and
said he was
under doctors’ observation to stay there
under “close monitoring.”
Binga
Community Radio Station Raises Eyebrows
http://www.radiovop.com
Binga, May 02, 2012-Civil
organisations have described government’s move to
establish a Tonga
community radio station in Binga as a political gimmick
aimed at bolstering
Zanu (PF)’s propaganda in the MDC dominated area ahead
of the anticipated
elections later this year.
Transmedia Corporation (Pvt) Ltd chief
executive officer, Florence
Sigudu –Matambo on Wednesday told state media
that her organisation had
embarked on a transmission upgrading project in
the area that would pave way
for the setting up of not only the first
community radio station in the
area, but in Zimbabwe.
“We stand guided
by the wishes of the Binga community. If they want a
community radio
station, we are ready to provide them with training on how
to produce their
own local programming .This is the initiative of Minister
of Information and
Publicity Webster Shamu following his discussions with
Binga local
leadership,” said Matambo.
The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA)
Director, Nhlanhla Ngwenya
said the government has no business in setting up
community radio stations.
“The government‘s role is to facilitate a conducive
environment for
communities to set up their own radio stations.
“MISA and
other organisations have been fighting for the opening up of the
airwaves
including the setting up of community radio stations but the
government has
not been willing. Why this sudden interest in Binga when
scores of community
radio initiatives throughout the country are queuing to
be licensed,” said
Ngwenya in an interview with Radio VOP.
The Secretary of Ibhetshulikazulu, a
local pressure group, Fuzayo Mbuso said
it is clear that the government
sponsored Binga community radio station is a
political gimmick.
“Why has
Tran media not been guided by the wishes of radio initiatives such
as Radio
Dialogue, Radio VOP and many more who have been denied licences to
operate
radio stations in this country?
“The government through the Zimbabwe
Broadcasting Authority (BAZ) should
simply allow more players to compete in
the broadcasting sector. This
current situation where the government is both
the referee and the players
is unacceptable,” said Mbuso.
A Binga
councillor, Joe Mudenda said he is surprised that the government is
coming
up with a parallel community radio station when the community has
already
its own.
“This proposed community radio station came as result of a meeting
which
minister Shamu had with Zanu (PF) officials and chiefs early this
year.
“Nobody was consulted and if the consultations were made, the people
were
going to simply reject this government sponsored radio station because
we
already have our own community radio initiative which is waiting to be
licensed. This project is a Zanu (PF) propaganda tool,” said Mudenda.
He
added that 20 Zanu (PF) activists in the area have already been
identified
to undergo training for the community radio station which Matambo
said
should be operational by the end of this month.
Informal
traders boom as companies close
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Backyard industries are giving some
businesses a run for their money, a
survey by The Zimbabwean has
shown.
02.05.1208:03am
by Clayton Masekesa
Between 2007 and
2009 Mutare Board and Paper Mills, Zimboard and Plate Glass
among other
companies in the city closed down while Tanganda Holdings, Cains
Foods,
Wattle Company and Border Timbers scaled down operations, leaving
scores of
workers jobless.
John Hukuimwe (48), a former glass fitter of the closed
Plate Glass Mutare,
is one of the many informal traders that were now
competing with registered
companies. A shop owner in Mutare’s city
centre,Shaquil Ahmed, complained he
had been pushed out of
business.
“Informal traders sell the same wares I sell right in front of
my shop,” he
said.
A restaurant owner, FaraiZinyemba, admitted facing
stiff competition from
the unlicensed vendors which had seen his business
going down. He asked
council to rescue formal businesses like his by
arresting those operating
illegally.
The Mutare City Council Town
Clerk, ObertMuzawazi,who blamed non-existent
sanctions for closure of
companies in his city, said shop owners were
refusing to pay rates because
of an influx of un-registered back yard
industries.
Muzawazi said
council was encouraging informal businesses to grow and had
decided to
empower them through provision of properly built market stalls or
incubators. He said such a move would benefit the city.
Mugabe
unpopular with most: Gallup
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
President Robert Mugabe is one of the least
popular leaders in Africa and is
ranked lowly by his own people, according
to a 2011 poll by the
internationally esteemed Gallup World
organisation.
02.05.1211:06am
by OWN CORRESPONDENT
Mugabe, Zanu
(PF)’s First Secretary, is the party’s chosen candidate in the
next general
election, which he insists should be held this year despite
strong local and
international opposition. Gallup’s survey puts Mugabe third
from the bottom
on a list of 34 countries. Only Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal
and Angola’s
Eduardo dos Santos, who came last, are worse than him.
Only 36% of the
Zimbabwean population approves of Mugabe’s leadership,
according to Gallup -
a distant rating from the 81% enjoyed by Botswana’s
Ian Khama, who is the
most popular leader in southern Africa.
In Botswana, only 19% of the
population disapproved of Khama’s leadership,
while 73% gave the overall
leadership the thumbs up.
“The President’s and Country Leadership ratings
are the highest among
surveyed countries in the SADC region, as well as
being well above both the
African and global average,” said Jeff Ramsay, the
Botswana government
spokesperson.
The annual survey, done through
face-to-face interviews with citizens of the
respective countries,
determines popularity of national and institutional
leaders of countries
around the globe and sampled 142 countries.
While “the state of the local
economy does have an influence on Africans’
assessments of their country’s
leader, other factors are also at play” says
Gallup.
In the majority
of African countries, the rating of the heads of state was
proportional to
that of the national leadership, but, says Gallup, Zimbabwe
was
different.
The national leadership represented by top officials in the
coalition
government set up in early 2009 as a compromise between Zanu (PF)
and the
two MDC formations, performed better than Mugabe.
Even though
in Africa people tend to rate their head of state’s performance
more highly
than they rate that of the country’s general leadership,
Zimbabwe is
different, according to the survey findings.
“Zimbabwean residents give
higher marks to the country’s general leadership
than to the president. This
suggests that they credit improvements in their
lives more to the actions of
the broader unity government in fighting
hyperinflation than those of their
head of state,’’ said Gallup.
Gallup says 43% of the adult population are
unlikely to view Mugabe as a
popular leader in the future, preferring the
overall leadership instead,
while those that would still approve him
remained at 36%.
“Governance issues, such as the honesty of elections and
the judicial
system, seem to matter much more in the eyes of most Africans.
Other
factors, such as political apathy, may play a role as many may not be
interested in political affairs and tacitly approve of their leader’s
performance,” said Gallup.
Poll findings
Approve
%
Botswana - Ian khama 81
Moz - Armando Guebuza
64
Mauritius - Navin Ramgoolam 67
Kenya - Mwai Kibaki
62
Swaziland - King Mswati III 56
Zambia - Rupiah Banda*
47
DRC - Joseph Kabila 43
Malawi - Bingu wa Mutharika*
36
Zimbabwe - Robert Mugabe 36
Senegal - Abdulaye Wade*
30
Angola - Eduardo dos Santos 16
*No longer in office
Despite Legislative Safeguards, Domestic Violence Remains High in
Zimbabwe
http://www.voanews.com
01 May
2012
Tatenda Gumbo | Washington
Domestic violence
against women remains a major problem in Zimbabwe despite
legislative
safeguards adopted six years ago, and concerted efforts by the
government
and lobby groups to curb the scourge.
In a survey by the Zimbabwe
National Statistics Agency, some 30 percent of
women said they had
experienced physical violence since the age of 15, a
figure slightly lower
than statistics recorded in 2005.
Eighteen percent of respondents
reported experiencing physical violence
within the past 12 months. Many said
the violence was "perpetrated by a
current or former partner or
boyfriend."
Responding to the high incidence of domestic abuse, the
government enacted
the Domestic Violence Act in 2006 amid cheers from
advocates, but six years
down the line, critics say the law say the law has
not lived up to
expectation.
The law criminalizes different forms of
abuse, including physical abuse,
sexual, emotional, verbal, psychological
and economic abuse.
The women affairs ministry is pushing for zero
tolerance against domestic
abuse, demanding adequate
protection.
Coordinator Glanis Changachirere of the Institute for Young
Women
Development told VOA cultural practices are exacerbating the problem,
urging
government to plug traditional loopholes that expose women to
abuse.
Changachirere said the cultural practices included lobola, or
bride price
where a man feels entitled to his wife, adding "men still
perceive women as
minors; they still want to be above in terms of making
decisions, and they
want to be listened to by women."
Director Irene
Petras of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights concurred,
saying cultural
views continue to be a problem.
"In having those proper systems in place
and being able to resort to the
system, so that the police and law
enforcement are able to do what they need
to do," said Petras, "women and
other victims of domestic violence would
feel comfortable and confident in
reporting cases."
Harmonise Zimbabwe’s marriage laws before changing marriage
certificates
By Sibusisiwe Ndlovu – Bhebhe
IN the latter half of
2011 government through the ministry of Justice and
legal affairs announced
that it was making moves to harmonise Zimbabwe’s
long criticised marriage
laws. This would see every Zimbabwean marriage
being recognised under one
act and the same rights and limitations being
applied to all marriages by
the proposed law. Zimbabwe’s law currently
recognises three kinds of unions,
the civil marriage, the registered
customary marriage and the unregistered
customary union and these have
brought more confusion than the freedom of
choice to users.
In its move to review these laws the ministry stated
that research was being
conducted in selected districts of Zimbabwe to
determine the type of
marriages prevalent in Zimbabwe and identify the
challenges which
communities face in registering marriages. While the
results of this
research are yet to be revealed, one is compelled to assume
that the
unregistered customary unions may top the list. This presumption
rises from
the fact that civil and registered unions can only be solemnised
by state
registered marriage officers and these are not always available in
the
remote parts of Zimbabwe where the majority of the population resides.
Also
judging from the number of legal disputes over property rights,
inheritance
and estates of deceased persons, it is possible that a great
number of
married people may not be married under the civil union or may
simply not
understand their rights under these laws.
Furthermore,
according to the Development Centre’s Social Institutions and
Gender index,
more than 80 percent of Zimbabwe’s rural households are
counted among the
unregistered customary marriages. It is quite interesting
though that the
Registrar General’s (RG) office has moved faster to amend
its civil marriage
procedures than the ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs
to harmonising
marriage laws. Recently the RG’s office halted civil
marriages countrywide
to make way for a new system of registering marriages
and a marriage
certificate with special security features. Many have lauded
the move
stating that it will protect citizens intending to get married
especially to
foreign nationals and women who have often fallen prey to con
artists.
The new procedure requires those intending to marry to
submit their full
names and identity particulars plus passport size
photographs and thumb
finger prints on the day of the wedding. The witnesses
to the union also
need to give their full names and identification details.
In the case of
foreign nationals wishing to marry Zimbabweans, they need to
produce a
police clearance document absolving them of any past criminal
activity or
conviction in their home country. This will in no doubt compel
couples to
take time to think about the process and their need for marrying
before they
say the “I dos”, but may not necessarily reduce the number of
marriages of
convenience and the union of locals to ex-convicts from other
countries.
In the last decade an influx of foreigners marrying local
women and men for
the convenience of gaining citizenship and easy access to
local business
opportunities has made ordinary citizens and leaders wary of
the laxity
marriage laws. This has seen many being taken advantage of or
even losing
their their property when their spouses for example choose to
move to
another country. Zimbabwe’s rigid citizenship laws also have the
potential
to negatively affect those, especially women, in trans-national
unions as
battles of who gains custody of the children in cases of divorce
or
relocation may arise.
The RG’s explanation that police clearance
letters will help reduce unions
with former criminals, places the need to
‘protect’ citizens directly above
one’s freedom to choose whom they want to
marry. While little explanation
has been given as to what reprieve
ex-convicts have to marry a Zimbabwean,
the RG’s office is in a way limiting
Zimbabweans’ choices on who to settle
down with. Locals may not decidedly
chose to marry someone who has a
criminal record no matter how rehabilitated
they maybe because of the fear
that he or she may not be allowed to marry
them.
Given these new requirements for formalising marriage, some couples
may end
up choosing to remain unmarried or use the unregistered customary
marriage
laws which could turn out to be more problematic. Clearly these new
changes
show just how discriminatory Zimbabwe’s marriage laws are because
the civil
union has once again been fortified while the registered and
unregistered
customary unions remain open to abuse. A formalised marriage
does not only
offer psychological protection, but also the protection of
property as one
knows that whatever is purchased while they are in that
union will be
recognised as belonging to both parties. It also helps protect
the rights of
the surviving spouse in the case of death as it will help
settle any estate
disputes faster than if people were just living together
without
officialising the relationship.
Despite the many efforts
government is making to ensure protection of people
getting married, this
protection does not seem to be filtering through to
the marriage institution
itself as some marriage laws still recognised in
the country still men more
power than women in a relationship. For example,
under the registered
customary marriage laws a woman cannot inherit her late
husband’s estate
ahead of his male kinsmen. This law also allows a man to
take more than one
wife and considers the man to be legal guardian of the
children over his
wife. The RG’s office and involved ministries must
consider that the extra
security features on the marriage certificate will
not protect women from
the challenges they face once they get into these
union because of the
skewed and somewhat insensitive laws that still
prevail. In this regard, the
RG’s office cannot be seen as doing anything
else other than practicing
double standards when it claims it is protecting
people going into
marriages.
As a recommendation, the RG’s office may consider ensuring
first that
benefits from all types of marriages, as long as they are
registered with
the Government of Zimbabwe ,are similar. For instance, for
areas that are
too far away from magistrates courts or have no marriage
officers nearby,
certificates of marriage must be obtainable from the
nearest government
offices to officialise unregistered customary marriages.
It is not a secret
that in African culture, even those that sign the
marriage register and
those that hold white weddings first pay some form of
dowry. Why then deny
those that have paid dowry only, the opportunity to
officialise their unions
if that, in their culture, is recognition enough of
marriage. Does the RG’s
office then only view marriage to have taken place
if the vows have been
made before a judicial officer or a church official
registered with
government? If so let requirements be made for all people
who consider
themselves married to sign some form of register and for these
registered to
be readily available in all government centres.
So far
only women have the incentive to have their marriages officialised
otherwise
men tend to benefit more from the unregistered marriages and this
causes a
lot of problems for women. This is mostly due to the fact that a
man may
claim full marriage rights (conjugal and otherwise) from a woman by
simply
paying dowry to the woman’s family, however the performance of these
duties
by a woman in an unregistered customary marriage may not be enough
for her
to claim half the property acquired during the union upon divorce or
death
of the spouse. To the legal system in Zimbabwe, payment of lobola
remains
misleading to many women who still lose out even when they know that
according to culture their union is valid. The government may incentivise
the registration of marriages for men by ensuring that they are for example
guaranteed some form of spousal support from the working ex-wife in case of
divorce or that they cannot contest the support of an ex-wife and children
if the marriage was not registered. As things stand currently, families
remain unprotected despite the cosmetic changes currently taking place in
the sphere of marriage laws.
According to the Development Centre
Social Institutions and Gender index,
more than three-quarters of the
Zimbabwe’s population; about one in ten
women live in polygamous unions.
Such marriages are three times more
frequent in rural communities than in
urban areas, and the incidence is
lower among women who have a secondary
education. There is therefore a need
for the recognition of payment of
lobola as formalisation of marriage at a
certain level to cater for the huge
number of people still using customary
guidance for marriage. The rules must
be as binding to those that make this
commitment before their families as
those who make it before a registered
marriage officer of the law. This may
need certain requirements to be met
first for example the legal age for
marriage to be 18 for both males and
females (currently men can marry at 18
and girls at 16), it could also be a
requirement for witnesses to sign a
certain agreement to show that the two
partners entered the union willingly
to deter from early and forced unions.
It is hence not enough for government
to introduce stringent marriage
conditions to laws that have always
protected women without first making an
effort to improve on the laws that
continue to keep women undermined in
marriage like the registered and
unregistered customary marriages. It is
time government acted to harmonise
all marriage laws in the country.
Sibusisiwe Ndlovu – Bhebhe is the
Gender Officer at Bulawayo Progressive
Residents Association (BPRA). She
writes in her personal capacity. She can
be contacted on busisiwe75@gmail.com
Dollars
and condoms economy
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/
A man went into a supermarket to buy his lunch. His
bill came to $4.85, and
he handed over a $5 note. There was no change so he
had to either pick three
sweets or three packs of condoms instead. But the
sweets had run out so he
had no choice but to take the
condoms.
02.05.1203:16pm
by Clemence Machadu
As the teller
handed them over, his wife arrived to do her shopping and saw
him. “Honey,
we don’t use those,” she shouted - and they lived unhappily
ever
after.
The introduction of the multi- currency system in 2008 certainly
improved
the macro economic environment – leading to lower inflation,
increased
resource employment and economic growth for the first time in a
decade. But
it brought about a change crisis.
The lack of change has
caused distortions in pricing and short changed
consumers. Where no
approximation is done and exact prices are charged,
customers are forced to
buy funny small items like condoms, matches, razor
blades, bubble gums,
sweets, etc.
Some supermarkets tried to be innovative by issuing
vouchers, but they force
customers to purchase again in the same
supermarket. The change problem is
also wrecking havoc to those who travel
by kombis.
Attempts by the banks to use the R8 million worth of coins
imported from
South Africa were not fruitful. Retailers rejected the coins,
citing
exchange rate difficulties. They ended up sourcing the coins at one
rate and
having to give it out at another rate. The banks eventually
returned the
coins to South Africa!
US dollar coins would be ideal
for the economy, as most transa- ctions are
taking place in this currency.
The Government promised to source coins from
the US in partnership with the
Bankers Association of Zimbabwe – but BAZ
says it is not aware of any plans
to import coins.
I very much doubt we will get these as importation of
coins is very
expensive. It costs about $2 to import coins worth $1 from the
US to
Zimbabwe; and players in the banking sector, driven by self interest,
would
not find any incentive in importing the coins.
Zimbabwe should
consider coming up with urgent home grown measures to
address the change
crisis, such as the use of plastic money. The ideal
solution would be to
mint our own coins, backed by the US dollar.
Ecuador, which has been
dollarized for many years, did this successfully.
Zimdollar coins could also
be re-introduced. This would cause some problems
but they are not
insurmountable.
New online business directory
launches, uses TelOne directory data
Staff Writer
May 2nd,
2012
The online
directory of the Zimbabwe’s sole fixed line operator, is by far one of the most
useful websites locally providing business phone numbers and addresses. It’s the
go to web destination to locate businesses. But it’s also far from perfect as a
tool to connect to businesses, having no way for business owners to update their
information, no maps to help with directions, no way to search for a business
whose name you don’t know, and information limited to just the addresses and
phone numbers.
You could argue of
course that the directory was originally never meant to provide any more than
just what it does now, but that would be to ignore that it’s been published on
the internet to serve a purpose and so far it’s falling short. A new online
business directory in beta by a company called Sweetmellon Publishers realises
this and is out to fix it. Using TelOne’s own data. And they are not stopping
there; they’re even planning to lunch their own physical business directory in
just 2 months.
We came upon
Sweetmellon’s theDirectory a
few days ago and noticed there was something different about it; It is that
unlike other such new
projects, this one has data, lots of it. Searches you do
actually yield results. It’s so much listed businesses just need to verify their
entries and maybe add more information. Looking at the data they have we could
see the data was scrapped off the TelOne online directory, or off a site that
scrapped it off TelOne. Point is being it’s TelOne data.
This clearly makes
theDirectory more useful that TelOne’s directory. And since they seem to
understand the internet much more than TelOne so far, this could actually work
very well for them. The only mistake we noticed is that they scrapped everything
including individual (non-business) data resulting in a lot of people’s
addresses being on the site. We suspect they couldn’t differentiate. Their
argument here could be that the data is already public so no one should
complain.
TelOne and
Directory Publishers will probably be unhappy with this model of course.
Directory Publishers has its own Yellow Pages website that it outsourced
to local web company and judging by the time it’s been online against its
usefulness so far, the polite way to put it is it hasn’t been a resounding
success.
Drought:
Zimbabwe needs new agro model
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
02/05/2012 00:00:00
by Tafirenyika
Makunike
I HAVE the privilege of writing from Zimbabwe where I am
spending a couple
of days. Once you have survived the Animal Farm chaos of
entering the
country through BeitBridge, you can really have an exciting and
memorable
visit.
If half our politicians just experienced a quarter
of what the rest of us
have to endure just to get into the country through
the BeitBridge border
post, then all the border issues would have been
solved long time ago.
I have always wondered how many visitors just stay
away from Zimbabwe
because they cannot endure BeitBridge border. It is in
this vain that I
welcome a suggestion by Mthuli Ncube of the African
Development Bank that
BeitBridge should be converted into one-stop border
post.
The country is still pregnant with opportunities whose gestation
period is
being lengthened by our collective hesitancy to bite the bullet
and do what
needs to be done. The country is still largely a tale of two
groups of
people – a large mass of “have-nots” at the bottom and the few
privileged
haves perched at the top with a sprinkling of some “desire to
have” in the
middle.
Those with the “desire to have” can transverse
the divide between them and
the haves, once they identify and exploit a
particular opportunity. If they
fail, then they slide down to the large pool
of “have nots”.
The financial survival of most of the “have nots”,
largely located in the
rural areas, is inextricably linked to the rainfall
patterns of the area. I
went through my own village where I grew up and for
probably the third year
in a row, they are going to harvest absolutely
nothing again but not for
lack of trying though. They may even be the
unintended victims of climate
change, a phenomenon they neither know about,
nor did they participate in
causing.
Every year, they have dutifully
put their seeds to the ground, weeded the
young crop, even applied
fertiliser but while they were waiting for the
bumper harvest the rains
disappeared. When you do the maths of all the
finances that these villagers
put to the ground with no return, it is
absolutely devastating.
There
is no human being anywhere in the world who is wired for handouts.
Receiving
handouts year-in year-out does terrible things to their
self-esteem. Much of
these rural villages enter that period which Charles
Mungoshi
euphemistically called "waiting for the rain" prone to repeat the
same
vicious cycle if the rain decides to show up in October, disappearing
in
early January.
There is need for us as a country to develop a
sustainable rural-based model
that would reduce the reliance on the pattern
of rainfall. Unfortunately,
our politicians' eyes are now firmly focussed on
the next election which may
or may not happen in 2012 or 2013.
While
I do believe in the value of democratic elections, I do not buy the
notion
that it will answer all our socio-economic maladies. We need more
innovative
national thinking that transcends short term elections focussed
on
delivering a better life for those still trapped in the ‘have not’
cycle.
We now have a number of universities packed with the cream of our
national
intelligentsia, but what we require from them is the conversion of
theoretical knowledge into applied knowledge for the upliftment of our
country.
I have had the benefit of doing some work in a number of
agro-based regions
of South Africa and I have observed that much of their
agriculture is not a
direct function of the rainfall pattern. It is more
directly correlated to
the irrigation infrastructure. Building dams is
indeed a good start but it
is not the end.
The village I come from
has benefitted from a new dam build across the
Mpudzi River. Apart from the
boon for those of us who enjoy bass fishing,
there is no harvesting of this
water resource for cropping purposes
currently happening. Once a dam is
built, there is need to deliver the water
affordably to the cropping
fields.
If you are not in Nyanyadzi, Chakohwa or many areas of the
Lowveld where
water can just be delivered to the fields through gravity,
then you require
energy to deliver the water.
The Matabeleland
Zambezi Water Project – long mooted – is not just a
romantic pipe dream but
a sustainable agricultural model which could green a
large part of our dry
lands resulting in improved livelihoods.
If we added an additional 3000MW
of power generation capacity, our growing
economy could consume this added
capacity in less than ten years. This
national planning requires futuristic
thinking going beyond the horizon of
the next election.
Energy costs
money which must be paid for in one way or another.
Unfortunately, when it
comes to paying for energy, our political leaders are
terrible examples. The
government is unable to provide the funds for the
huge infrastructural gap
that exists in the agro-industries space. There is
need for massive
incentives to entice the private sector to bring to invest
in this
space.
Contrary to widely-held perceptions, rural people are quite
amenable to
change once the benefits are clearly understood and explained.
It is not
that the “have nots” are not willing to work for improving their
lives. All
they require is guidance to move from just working hard to
working smarter
and harder.
For sustainable livelihoods in rural
areas, we need our intelligentsia to
assist in adoption of innovation from
land preparation, planting of seeds,
crop care to harvest. There is ample
opportunities for further innovation
from post-harvest handling, logistical
arrangements for delivering the
harvest in time, right quality and price to
the appropriate market.
We can excel as a nation in this field when we plan,
allocate resources, and
act with the long term goal in
mind.
Tafirenyika L. Makunike is the chairman and founder of Nepachem cc
(www.nepachem.co.za), an enterprise
development and consulting company. He
writes in his personal capacity
Harare:
hungry for culture
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/
Harare is obviously a city hungry for culture. In the
week before the start
of the annual Harare International Festival of the
Arts, the impending shows
were all anyone could talk
about.
02.05.1208:39am
by Special Correspondent
The opening
ceremony, at the Main Stage in Harare Gardens, drew a crowd of
several
thousand. Indeed, a HIFA official remarked that the massive
attendance had
not been expected, and the ceremony drew one of the largest
audiences ever.
For the organisers, the surge in interest was a pleasant
surprise.
Long queues snaked down either side of the walkway
separating the Main Stage
from the Coca Cola Green for well over an hour
before the gates were opened,
with an impromptu performance from the Tonga
Ngoma Buntime Music Group
helping to entertain the impatient throng of
spectators.
There was barely any room to move on the grass lawns in front
of the
visually-imposing main stage. Despite some overcrowding issues, with
some
spectators shimmying up the small trees dotted around the edge of the
arena,
an extraordinary show went off without a hitch.
The ensemble
performance included spoken word, dance, and contributions from
several
local musicians. A choral cover of Queen's 'Somebody to Love' and a
barnstorming rendition of The Cat Empire's 'Chariot' added a contemporary,
international and inclusive flavour to proceedings. All the acts involved
stormed the stage to close the show under a jaw-dropping fireworks display
against the backdrop of the distinctive Crown Plaza Hotel and a starry,
cloudless night.
The ceremony was the brainchild of Neville Campbell,
the founding artistic
director of Tumbuka Contemporary Dance Company, who
returned to Zimbabwe to
direct a memorable night, while local musician Vee
Mukarati obviously
performed a strong role as the show's musical director.
If Tuesday night was
a hint of things to come, Harare is in for an exciting
week.
A phalanx of artists, actors, designers, musicians, poets and
painters have
descended upon a city buzzing with expectation. A small army
of technicians
worked feverishly around the Main Stage all of Monday, while
a stone's throw
away at the festival's main office, the phones barely
stopped ringing for a
moment while preparations were being
completed.
HIFA has always been about more than just the music, but the
artists
garnering the most attention this year are the ones who will be
performing
at the main stages - and the popular Coca-Cola
Green.
That's not to say that other acts have gone unnoticed. Comrade
Fatso and
Outspoken made their lyrical mark as spoken word artists, but the
duo have
broken new ground and forged unique identities with their satirical
news
broadcast stage show, Zambezi News, both showings of which were sold
out a
week before the festival even started.
Theatre usually attracts
something of a niche audience, but a variety of
stage performances this year
has something for every palate. Three venues -
Reps, The Standard Theatre
and 7 Arts, which has clung to life despite the
death of the Avondale cinema
complex - will host this year's theatre
line-up.
Danai Gurira's new
play, Eclipsed, is being shown in Zimbabwe for the first
time. The Bed In
Her Head, directed by Leeroy Gono and Melissa Eveleigh,
features a strong
Zimbabwean cast, while The 24 Hour Theatre Challenge, in
which five
10-minute plays will be written and rehearsed the day before the
performance, promises exciting and unpredictable results. The eye-catching
one-man show Leo, from German theatre company Circle of Eleven, is already
attracting attention, and there’s plenty more to see besides – although
showings are selling out fast. A bursting dance schedule includes acts from
Zimbabwe, South Africa, India, the USA and several international
collaborations.
Oliver Mtukudzi's festival-closing show at the main
stage promises to be a
must-see, despite the $20 entrance fee, and his
performance is preceded on
Saturday by the return of Ismael Lo to HIFA’s
Main Stage.
These two iconic musicians are accompanied by an impressive
number of local
musicians, including Edith Weutonga, Alexio, Chiwoniso
Maraire, John
Pfumojena, Winky D, Mokoomba, Hope Masike, Netsayi
Chigwendere, and Prudence
Katomeni-Mbofana. A full international complement
of musicians complete a
truly varied line-up.
As is always the case
in Harare, word-of-mouth has been far more powerful
than the posters
plastered on the walls, trees and lamp-posts
- an increasingly peculiar
presence whose primary use is now advertising in
a city that turns
pitch-black after sunset. One band that everyone has been
talking about is
German Rock/Ska/Reggae fusion group Jamaram, who will
perform a free show
with the ZGS Acoustic Artists on the Coca Cola Green on
Tuesday night and a
$10 show with local reggae artist Mic Inity on the Main
Stage on Wednesday
evening.
While the festival is undoubtedly centred upon the cluster of
stages that
fall under the shadow of the Crown Plaza, an effort has been
made to branch
out into the surrounding communities. Interactive
performances will take
place at the First Street Platform and artists will
present workshops and
performances at various community centres and free
venues around Harare,
while a large-scale mural is being developed in Mbare.
A full Spoken Word
programme at the HIVOS Poetry Café behind the National
Gallery – and
extensive exhibitions inside the gallery - complete an
inviting programme.
Voices
of Zimbabwe: stories of hope
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Tsitsi became involved in farming almost by
accident. Through her sister’s
businesswomen’s association she met Roy
Petersen, a famer who owned over 50
hectares in the Mupfurudzi Estate near
Bindura and was leasing out portions
of his land. At 27 years-old, she was
looking for a way to make a living and
saw farming as an interesting
challenge.
01.05.1206:13pm
by Firdose Moonda
She started off
with onions. Thorough research, keen interest and dedicated
staff assistance
she established herself as a commercial farmer in Zimbabwe.
Three years,
later, Tsitsi had 18 workers and was thriving. Then, she was
asked to turn
her farm over to the government. She claimed they wanted the
land to set up
Border Gezi camps and train youth militia and she was
determined to fight
against it. Like many farm owners in Zimbabwe,
resistance proved futile and
she was soon taken over. What makes Tsitsi
different is that she “thought I
was black enough,” not to became a target
for land seizure.
Her story
is one of 24 in the book “Don’t listen to what I’m about to say,”
a
collection of narratives that aims to tell Zimbabwean stories in
Zimbabwean
voices. The editors spoke to a range of Zimbabweans across the
social
spectrum, from those who live in exile to those who have remained
behind,
from farm owners to farm workers, from elderly people battling to
preserve
memories of their homeland, to youth struggling to see a future for
themselves in it. The result, as mentioned in the foreword written by Harare
North author Brian Chikwana, is “a record of what it means to be
human.”
It provides details into Zimbabwean life that have not been told
before,
such as the story of John, who worked for ZAPU during the 1980
election and
married Joshua Nkomo’s daughter. His tale offers rare insight
into the early
activity after independence. Zenzele, a former police officer
living in
Canada, also has a personal account to give. He shares graphic
detail of his
torture which included the assault of Gukurahundi. To contrast
with Tsitsi’s
tale, is the story of George, a white farmer whose family
owned land in the
Karoi Estate which was commandeered by war veterans and
Nicola, a
horticulturalist, who ran a farm with her sister when their father
fled.
George left Zimbabwe but is now back in the country, working as a
manager
for a farm owned by a black Zimbabwean while Nicola still works in
Harare,
hoping to re-enter the agricultural industry.
Perhaps the
most poignant anecdote is that of Nokuthula, a former
hairdresser who works
as a domestic worker in Cape Town, South Africa.
Having fled Zimbabwe and
having sought safety in South Africa, she found
herself a victim of a
different kind of hostility in her adopted home.
Nokuthula was travelling on
a taxi which was searched for foreigners during
the wave of xenophobic
attacks that swept South Africa. She escaped violence
by pretending to be a
Zulu from Durban and was lucky to be believed. Hers is
a reminder of the
fragility of Zimbabwean existence, both at home and
abroad.
The book
concludes with a chapter dedicated to one man, Sankoh Chari. A
symbol of a
larger Zimbabwean problem, Chari’s business in Budiroro which
was one half
barber shop, one half room for charging batteries for people
without
electricity, was destroyed during Operation Murambatsvina in 2005.
Having
his livelihood taken away from him incensed Chari to the point where
he
turned to politics. He joined the MDC and became one of it’s most
outspoken
youth leaders and even clashed with Morgan Tsvangirai. After
movie-like cat
and mouse games with police officers and the murder of his
brother and his
best friend, Chari fled to South Africa but he is not at
peace. His story,
he said, is a message to all those who fought against him
in Zimbabwe and
think they won that, “Sankoh Chari is still alive.”
The book concludes
with those chilling but reassuring words but its overall
message is not one
of despair. It is an account of courage. Pamela and
Themba, a husband and
wife team in Harare, encapsulate that best with their
story of resilience.
The couple do marketing work for small firms and have
started their own
business and believe there is still potential in Zimbabwe.
Themba said his
homeland does not compare to any other and so, “Someone has
to stay behind
and protect it. Yes, I still have hope.”
So many Zimbabweans feel the
same way and in an election year, it is ever
more important for them to hold
on to that hope and continue to believe in
change. Boniface, a preacher on
the Musina border, has a message to keep the
fighting flame burning. “We are
hard pressed but we are not crushed, we are
down but we are not
destroyed.”
BOOK DETAILS:
Don’t listen to what I’m about to say:
Voices of Zimbabwe
Edited by Peter Orner and Annie Holmes, written by
Charles Mungoshi
Published by Jonathan Ball Publishers, 2011
In Zimbabwe, bicycles save lives
02/05/12
by Martha Tattersall
The road that leads Netsayi Bote to the households in
her village is long and bumpy. On this grey morning, surprisingly cold for
April, she is dressed in her new uniform, hat and health kit in tow as she sets
off for the day. Yet despite the tough terrain, Netsayi is thrilled to be on the
road, particularly since the addition of her new bicycle.
Netsayi is part of a troupe of formidable women who have
become the heros of the primary health care system in Zimbabwe, a country
riddled with political fragility and a deteriorated basic social service sector.
Today, she will visit mothers and babies in her community, spreading messages in
disease prevention and checking up on their health and wellbeing. Village Health
Workers like Netsayi are the lifeblood of the health system, empowering families
to strengthen their own health through preventative measures. They are the ever
unbreakable link between rural communities and local health
services.
Yet up until three months ago, far distances between
households meant this role, for which she is paid a measly $14 stipend per
month, was inefficient and time-consuming.
“Before this bicycle, I was doing my round at the
village four times per week. I am now doing two days and [then] I am finished,”
says Netsayi.
Improving the access and the quality of care as these
committed community members do, is indispensable in a country facing some of the
most challenging health statistics on earth: almost 15 per cent of the
population are living with HIV; over 1.3 million children are orphans; and 100
children under five die every day from preventable causes.
UNICEF Zimbabwe has begun to distribute bicycles to
Village health workers in ten districts in Zimbabwe, with the aim of providing
every village health worker with a bicycle by the end of the
year.
It
is an investment in the people of this resilient country, particularly if all
village health workers have the determination and resolve of Netsayi: “They
chose me because I laugh with everybody, I like everybody, I can hear some
issues from someone and I [can] keep the secret. They chose me because I have a
heart.”
The Magic of April/May in Zimbabwe
The months of April and May in this country are what I call champagne
months. We still have some greenery – the days are dry (zero humidity) and
clear with skies so blue they look unreal, nights so ablaze with stars that
you can walk by starlight. Temperatures are a comfortable 25 c at noon and
a slight chill in the evening, getting quite cold in the early
morning.
Last week I took my grandson, Keith, to the Zambezi valley for
four days of
fishing in the Chewore area just below Mana Pools National
Park. His parents
came with as did Grandma – but the trip was for Keith and
I and we were
hosted by Terry and Di Kelly who own a camp on the banks of
the river. We
had a great time and although it was cool and dry and the game
was very
disbursed because there was ample water in the rivers and pans
inland, we
still saw Elephant, Eland, Kudu, Impala, Waterbuck, Bushbuck,
Zebra and
heard lion every night and hyena one night.
We recognized
some 70 species of birds including flocks of Open Billed
Storks, two species
of Vulture, hordes of baboons and monkeys and hundreds
of hippo and crocs –
some very large specimens. In the dry months the
concentration of game must
be amazing. We had elephant and hippo in the camp
and the nearby baboons
were disturbed by the lions one night. We also heard
leopard.
On the
river we all caught something – Chessa, Bream (three varieties),
Tiger and
Catfish of different kinds. The largest specimen was a Barbel of
15 pounds
and a Tiger of 13 pounds, both caught by Keith who was barely able
to get
them to the boat and could not pick them up when they were landed. I
caught
several Tiger fish – the largest of which was just over 10 pounds – a
very
nice fish which gave me a great fight. Keith’s mother caught a 12 pound
Tiger on the first day and several other decent fish.
The lodges were
very comfortable and well fitted out and the staff
terrific – they served us
meals three times a day although on two days we
went out early and came back
for brunch after several hours on the river.
One evening they set up a table
and chairs on a sandbank on the river where
we enjoyed a beautiful,
unforgettable sunset and sundowners with wine, beer
and cold drinks. Not a
breath of wind and not a cloud in the sky with a half
moon and wonderful
view of the evening star.
This was Africa at its best – not even any bugs
and very few mosquitoes. A
world class bush experience with some of the best
game fishing you can find
anywhere. We used Chessa for bait and fished with
quite light rods and line,
casting out onto the river and allowing the bait
to drift with the current
which is about 7 kilometers per hour. The river
was between 3 kilometers and
150 metres wide and up to 30 metres deep in
places. If we had really tried
and the weather had been a bit warmer I am
sure that Vundu up to 150 pounds
and Tiger up to 20 pounds would have been
possible.
When the bait was taken – at first slowly and then with a rush,
followed by
a spectacular leap out of the water perhaps 100 metres from the
boat, it was
always a thrilling sight. The fight to keep the fish on the
hook and to
avoid obstacles that might impede recovery, the first sight of
the fish in
the water before you lift it out in a landing net and remove the
hook. This
was followed by a photo and weighing and then return to the water
– we
released all our fish except some bream and the Chessa used as bait. I
think
the smaller Tiger fish were even more fun than the larger
specimens.
The camp is some 440 kilometers from Harare and of
that about 140 kilometers
is gravel road – rough in places. It took us 6
hours of driving to get
there. You can fly in as there is a decent airstrip
just inland and this was
fairly well used. I enjoyed the drive in the bush –
its attractive country
with mature Mopani veld and quite a lot of Jesse bush
– still green and
thick with numerous pans still holding water.
The
Zambezi is an amazing river. It runs about 2700 kilometers, rises on the
Congo/Zambian border and draws most of its water (85%) from Angola, the
Congo and northeastern Zambia. It is projected that this catchment will be
wetter in the future and the river therefore is probably a secure source of
water for the region. Some six countries share the river and it already has
three hydro electricity dams on it – the Kafue in Zambia, the Kariba dam
shared by Zambia and Zimbabwe and Cahora Bassa in Mozambique. These dams
produce about 6000 megawatts of electrical energy and planned expansion will
take this to about 6500 megawatts with another three dams being planned –
another on the Kafue, two on the Zambezi above Kariba and possibly a fourth
on the lower Zambezi in Mozambique.
What also sets the river aside in
a special category is the fact that it is
so clean. In its catchment we have
some of the largest wetlands in the
world – the Bamangwato flood plains, the
flood plains in Angola and Namibia
(Caprivi strip) and these serve as a huge
surge chamber for seasonal
flooding and allows peak flows in May rather than
January/February when the
rains are heaviest. What is not generally
recognized is the importance of
hippo to maintain the drainage channels in
these vast flood plains. Silt is
retained in the wetlands and the water
going into the river is clean and
clear.
Then there is the wildlife
and a system of contiguous conservation areas and
parks stretching from
Angola, through Zambia, Namibia, Zimbabwe, to
Mozambique. It is the largest
conservation system in the world and covers
millions of hectares and
contains about 70 per cent of all the wildlife in
Africa. The Zambezi is its
lifeblood and runs right through the heart of the
whole system.
In my
view this constitutes one of the greatest potential tourist areas in
the
world. It offers the Victoria Falls, surely one of the wonders of
nature,
spectacular fishing, game viewing, hunting, birding (some friends
recorded
200 species recently in one weekend at Chirundu on the river),
photo safaris
and just plain relaxation in a great environment.
Because of our
political difficulties, Zimbabwe receives a tiny number of
foreign tourists
a year (less than a thousand a day), while Botswana
received 2,1 million
visitors last year and South Africa tops a million a
month. When finally
sanity returns to our politics and economics, there is
going to be a boom in
tourism in this country and in the region as a whole
which is going to be
difficult to manage. Already Zimbabwe controls the
majority of professional
hunting in the Central and Southern Regions of
Africa – from Cameroon to
South Africa. It is my personal belief that the
mining and tourist
industries will drive the Zimbabwean economy to the point
where we will have
the fastest growing economy in Africa, if not the world.
In the meantime,
we have all of this to ourselves and most of you will just
have to eat your
hearts out.
Eddie Cross
Harare, 1st May 2012