http://af.reuters.com/
Sun May 3, 2009 10:57am
GMT
By Cris Chinaka
HARARE, May 3 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's
government has ordered all state
schools to slash their fees as it struggles
with an economic crisis
desperately crying out for massive foreign aid, a
local official newspaper
said on Sunday.
Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai told a Friday May Day rally a new unity
government he formed with
his rival President Robert Mugabe in February to
try end a political and
economic crisis was broke and could not meet union
demands for higher
wages.
Zimbabwe's Sunday Mail newspaper said Education Minister David
Coltart had
recommended state schools catering for a majority of Zimbabwean
students
should cut their fees when they open for a new term on Tuesday
because many
parents could not afford them.
"I cannot divulge the
figures at the moment because the recommendations are
going to the
(government) principals Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime
Minister Arthur
Mutambara on Monday. However, what we want are substantial
cuts," he was
quoted as saying.
Coltart was not available for further comment. The
Sunday Mail said the
minister was reducing the fees because Zimbabwe had so
far failed to get the
huge financial aid it needs to repair a shattered
economy with a 90 percent
jobless rate.
The Zimbabwean government set
school fees in state schools at between $20
and $280 a term two months ago,
but many parents have failed to pay, citing
low wages and high living
costs.
"When the (school) fees were set in March, the assumption was that
we would
get balance of payments support (to) kick start the economy. But
this has
not materialised and parents are worse off than before," Coltart
said.
On Friday, Tsvangirai said the power-sharing administration his
Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) had formed with Mugabe's ZANU-PF party
was bankrupt
and unable to raise the current monthly salary of $100 it is
paying its
workers to the $454 being demanded as a minimum wage by
unions.
Besides a crumbling infrastructure, mirrored in potholed roads
and broken
sewers in towns across the country, Zimbabwe's once sound
education system
is also wasting away under the economic crisis.
The
country's top Zimbabwe University in Harare has been closed for close to
a
year now with broken toilets and without piped water.
State media
reported on Sunday only 68 students out of 12,000 had fully paid
their fees
of about $300 when the college tried to reopen in March, and it
was also now
appealing for foreign assistance. Zimbabwe said last week it
had secured
$400 million in credit lines from African states to revive some
of its
ailing industries, many operating at below 20 percent of their
capacity.
But analysts say Zimbabwe badly needs billions of dollars
from Western
donors, who are demanding broad economic and political reforms,
including
ending a new wave of farm invasions by Mugabe's supporters, before
they
release any huge amounts.
Mugabe, 85, Zimbabwe's ruler since
independence from Britain in 1980, denies
any blame for the southern African
country's crisis and says the economy has
been sabotaged by "racist" enemies
of his seizures of white farms for
landless blacks. (Reporting by Cris
Chinaka)
http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20090430201136629
03 May 2009
Issue:
0028
Zimbabwe's central bank raided the foreign currency
accounts of universities
to prop up President Robert Mugabe's government
during a crippling economic
and political crisis that saw inflation reach
world record levels. A
legislator has taken the looting of funds from the
private Africa University
to parliament through an upcoming question and
answer session. Politicians
said three other universities claimed donor
money vanished from their
accounts.
Parliament's order paper states
that Misheck Kagurabadza, of the Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC), will
ask Minister of Higher and Tertiary
Education Stan Mudenge if he is aware
that the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
withdrew money from the Africa University
Public Sector Management Programme
forex current account and did not
reimburse the university.
Kagurabadza will also ask Mudenge if he could
inform parliament when the
money will be refunded "so that the programme can
resume its normal
operation".
In an interview, Kagurabadza confirmed
his intention to question Mudenge on
the raiding of university foreign
currency accounts. Africa University, a
private institution connected to the
Methodist Church, failed to respond to
questions asking about the amounts
involved.
Two legislators involved in the parliamentary education
portfolio committee
told University World News that three other universities
had also approached
them saying that donor money for different projects had
disappeared. They
could not give details before tabling the matters in
parliament as per
procedure.
The looting of foreign currency
accounts, which happened before the
formation in February of an inclusive
government involving former opposition
MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who is
now Prime Minister, and Mugabe, is not
limited to
universities.
Recently Hivos, a Dutch development organisation, said it
was demanding
repayment from the Reserve Bank of a total of EUR90,000
(US$120,000) which
it said has not been accounted for from a total of
EUR300,000 taken from its
account by the central bank. The organisation has
since opened a new bank
account in Botswana.
Last year, the Global
Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria said
EUR5.64 million was
missing from its bank account in Zimbabwe. The money has
since been
returned.
On 18 April, Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono, a member of
Mugabe's inner
circle, admitted raiding foreign currency accounts. Gono
defended the
action, saying it was done to save the country from "maximum
danger" due to
difficulties arising from western sanctions.
He also
admitted in a statement to purchasing 29 vehicles for three state
universities - Great Zimbabwe, Midlands State University and Chinhoyi
University of Technology - using foreign currency in expenditures that were
outside of the budget.
The Governor said this was necessary to retain
skilled staff. "It is hoped
that those now in the relevant authorities play
their reciprocal part in
ensuring that all our creditors who are owed money
are repaid," Gono said.
The raiding of private accounts has in part
contributed to western countries
declining to release financial aid that is
needed to restore basic services
such as education.
To underline the
urgency of donor support needed by universities, Professor
Levi Nyagura,
Vice-chancellor of the University of Zimbabwe - which has been
closed since
February - said it was appealing for US$3.2 million to enable
the
institution to reopen.
"Without the funds, all other things cannot move."
Water problems had been a
major concern as the institution had not had
supplies since May last year,
Nyagura said.
Last week, Britain
pledged an immediate £15 million (US$22.3 million)
humanitarian aid package
for Zimbabwe's unity government. But International
Development Secretary
Douglas Alexander said "no UK money will pass through
government of Zimbabwe
systems or through the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe".
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=16114
May 3, 2009
By Our
Correspondent
HARARE - Zambia will donate 9 000 metric tonnes of maize to
impoverished
Zimbabwe, the country's visiting President told a press
conference in Harare
Saturday. Zambia's President Rupiah Banda said the
donation was a pledge
made by Zambia during the SADC summit in Swaziland
last month where regional
countries pledged to help bankroll Zimbabwe's
beleaguered new government.
Zambia traditionally imported maize from
Zimbabwe. In October 1997 , for
instance, Zambia bought 70 000 tonnes of
maize from its southern neighbour.
A further 1 000 metric tonnes of maize
would also be availed. He revealed
that Zimbabwe had paid for the 1 000
metric tonnes, but the consignment had
been wrongly shipped to
Swaziland.
Banda, who was addressing a news conference with President
Mugabe in Harare
Saturday, said Zambia's Agriculture Minister, Brian
Chituwo, would ensure
that Zimbabwe gets the grain.
"We have also
discovered in our books that we owe you about 1 000 metric
tonnes of maize.
The maize was bought for Zimbabwe a long time ago, but
instead of shipping
it to you, we shipped it to Swaziland," Banda said.
The Zambian President
said although his country was experiencing economic
problems because of
plummeting copper prices it was incumbent on Zambia to
help a neighbor in
trouble. He said Zambia would honour the pledge it made
at the Mbabane SADC
summit where SADC countries pledged to help in shoring
up Zimbabwe's new
inclusive government.
"As you are aware we were doing well when copper
prices were very high,"
Banda said. "Unfortunately the prices of copper
dropped down from about US$9
000 to less than US$ 3 000. We are being
impacted negatively by the low
prices of metals, the mainstay of our
economy."
Banda said Zambia was keen to see the inclusive government pull
Zimbabwe
back from the brink of collapse and pledged support during the
two-year
existence of the inclusive government.
He also revealed that
his country was working on a financial rescue package
for Zimbabwe. He said
Zambian Commerce Minister Felix Mutati would
coordinate the lifeline with
Zambian banks to assist Zimbabwean companies
with credit facilities.
Separately, a Zambian company would supply
veterinary medicines to Zimbabwe,
he said.
The company was exhibiting at the ongoing Zimbabwe International
Trade Fair,
which Banda officially opened. Mugabe had apparently tasked
Agriculture
Minister Herbert Murerwa to open negotiations with the Zambian
company.
"We were walking around the Trade Fair stands and President
Mugabe asked his
minister if he was aware that Zambia was producing the
veterinary medicine,"
Banda said. "Mr Mugabe told his minister to see how
this Zambian company
could supply veterinary medicines to
Zimbabwe."
Banda called for greater cooperation between Zambia and
Zimbabwe and pledged
to mobilize Zambian companies to invest in Zimbabwe's
shattered economy.
He revealed that he was also coordinating
international efforts to
rehabilitate Zimbabwe's shacky infrastructure. He
hoped the rehabilitation
of infrastructure would help in rebooting the
economy.
"In my opinion, this economy cannot take long to fix," he said.
"This
country has an infrastructure which is intact and its people are
educated."
Banda stated that white farmers being kicked out of Zimbabwe
were free to
come to Zambia to "utilise the water and grazing land for
cattle ranching.
"We went to Gwanda yesterday and I was talking to a
farmer whom I told he
should come and look at investing in cattle ranching
in Zambia because it
has land, water and grass that is good for cattle
pastures."
Mugabe said Banda's visit had "opened a new chapter in
relations between our
two countries.
"Zambia and Zimbabwe need to
pull their resources together to withstand the
prevailing global economical
crisis," Mugabe said.
The press conference was also attended by the
Zimbabwean and Zambian First
Ladies, Thandiwe Banda and Grace
Mugabe.
Banda returned home on Saturday. After officially opening the
ZITF
Wednesday, he took time to visit Gwanda where he was born 72 years
ago.
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=16128
May 3, 2009
Washington, DC
(Zimbabwe Mail) - Despite reports of growing divides in
embattled Zimbabwe's
unity government, Finance Minister Tendai Biti called
for increased aid and
investment in an optimistic speech in Washington, DC
this week and made a
stop over in the United Kingdom.
In his twitter message, British Foreign
Secretary David Miliband said, "I
met Tendai Biti, Secretary General of the
MDC and Minister of Finance in the
new transitional government. His economic
responsibilities are massive - but
the use of Dollars and Rand as hard
currency has brought inflation down from
crushing levels and brought food
and goods back into the shops. His economic
plan is a good basis for
progress. But politics hold the key - whether Prime
Minister Tsvangirai and
his colleagues are able to exercise the power for
which the Zimbabwean
people voted, and which the agreement to a transitional
government provides.
That is the basis for the re-engagement of the
international community on
which Zimbabwe depends."
Biti was in the U.S. capital for the spring
meetings of the World Bank and
International Monetary Fund, and he also met
with United States officials.
Following the meetings, he addressed Zimbabwe
observers for over an hour at
the National Endowment for
Democracy.
Biti said that Zimbabwe was experiencing peace and stability,
"the biggest
achievement of the inclusive government." But, he added, "peace
and
stability does not make headlines."
Biti said that progress made
over the past two months had opened the door to
change "slightly
ajar."
"The only way we can deal with toxicity by ensuring that door is
fully
opened, but it cannot be fully opened if there is no investment in
this
experiment," he said.
After meetings with Biti, the U.S. gave no
signals that it was going to
shift course in its Zimbabwe policy. "We want
to see how the government is
making progress on democratic reforms, economic
reforms and then we will
make a decision on whether we want to provide
significant development
assistance," State Department spokesman Robert Wood
told Reuters.
The United States still has targeted sanctions against many
Zimbabwean
political leaders, including President Robert Mugabe other key
members of
his Zimbabwe Africa National Union-Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF)
party. The
United States does give humanitarian aid to non-governmental
organizations
in Zimbabwe.
Human Rights Watch, in a statement
coinciding with Biti's arrival in London
on Wednesday, seemed to echo the
U.S. position, encouraging donor
governments and institutions, the United
Kingdom in particular, to continue
to take a wait-and-see
approach.
"Until the new government takes bold, irreversible steps to end
human rights
abuses and carry out major legislative reforms, the
international community
should continue to withhold longer-term development
aid and maintain its
targeted sanctions," said Georgette Gagnon, Africa
director at Human Rights
Watch.
Donors in Washington appeared to
agree with Biti's plan to begin to rebuild
Zimbabwe, but questioned the
sincerity of Mugabe and other Zanu-PF leaders'
commitment to
change.
Biti acknowledged that major issues remain, including the recent
invasions
of farm land and the continuing detention of members of his
Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC). He said that the time has come for Roy
Bennett, the
MDC treasurer, to be sworn into his cabinet position.
He
blamed the current obstacles on "catfish" in Zanu-PF because "where there
is
clarity the catfish starves."
Biti also said there were ways to work
around the problem of sending aid
directly to government coffers, including
setting up trust funds in foreign
embassies in Zimbabwe.
Biti's
fractious relationship with Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono seems
to be
deteriorating. Biti wants Gono to leave his position, but Gono so far
has
refused, apparently backed by Mugabe.
On Monday, Biti strongly criticized
the Reserve Bank without naming Gono,
and outlined a plan for reform which
calls for weakening the bank's powers.
Biti said that adopting multiple
currencies would limit the bank's
quasi-fiscal activities, which have in the
past been used as a vehicle to
buy support for the ruling
party.
Earlier this month, Biti reportedly accused Gono of borrowing U.S.
$1
billion without approval. The two also clashed over 50 cars that Gono
distributed to members of Parliament.
Gono shot back, though, in a
paid advertisement in the state-owned Herald
newspaper on Monday,
questioning Biti's proposed budget and strongly
criticizing a reduced
allocation for quasi-fiscal activities. Gono added
that Biti's budget had
"alien pieces of advice."
http://www.ft.com
By Tom Burgis in Johannesburg and William Wallis in
London
Published: May 3 2009 16:32 | Last updated: May 3 2009
19:06
African states and institutions are raising hundreds of millions of
dollars
in trade credits and business loans to shore up Zimbabwe’s bankrupt
unity
government in the absence of a financial rescue package from the
west.
Regional officials fear that the reluctance of western and
multilateral
creditors to provide direct financial support could lead to the
collapse of
the fragile power-sharing deal they brokered between Robert
Mugabe,
president, and Morgan Tsvangirai, his opposition rival and now
prime minister.
As an interim measure Zimbabwe’s neighbours, led
by Botswana and South
Africa, are stepping in with financing to revive the
country’s ailing
private sector.
Elton Mangoma, Zimbabwe’s minister for
economic planning and investment
promotion, told the Financial Times that
the government was targeting $1bn
(€753m, £671m) in credit lines from
Africa.
Tendai Biti, finance minister, said last week in London that he
has raised
$400m of this so far.
Nonetheless, without direct support
the government will fall hundreds of
millions of dollars short of financing
this year’s budget.
Neither Britain nor the US have been enthusiastic
about prospects of the
power-sharing government halting Zimbabwe’s
vertiginous collapse, which they
blame on Mr Mugabe.
They want to see
evidence that the opposition camp in government is gaining
ascendancy over
the ageing autocrat and is able to drive through reforms
before
international financial institutions and bilateral donors commit
direct
budgetary support.
Mr Tsvangirai pleaded with unions at the weekend not
to carry out a
threatened strike, saying the government was broke and unable
for now to
raise a civil servant allowance from $100 a
month.
“Tsvangirai himself has been saying to the masses who he leads,
that [the
deal] is working – give us a chance,” Mathews Phosa,
treasurer-general of
South Africa’s ruling African National Congress, and a
close ally of Jacob
Zuma, incoming South African president, told the
FT.
“So what is the responsible policy? It should be to support him ...
and not
just with nice sounding words,” he said, adding: “If the MDC feels
isolated
in the effort that [finance minister] Biti is pushing then the
whole thing
is going to collapse.”
But he said that South Africa,
which is finalising about $30m in trade
finance according to a government
official, was not prepared to shoulder the
burden of financing on its
own.
Botswana was also offering loan guarantees for its own banks worth
up to
$70m to fund “opportunities” in Zimbabwe, a government spokesman
said.
The Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank, the
finance arm
of the regional common market, is providing about
$50m.
Further afield, Afreximbank, set up to promote intra-African trade,
is
hoping to tap Zimbabwe’s large diaspora to fund a bond and is already
rolling more than $250m in trade credits annually to finance oil and grain
imports, and tobacco, gold and cotton exports.
But as well as
satisfying British and US expectations, the Zimbabwe
government must also
address $3.8bn arrears on existing $6bn debt before
accessing fresh credits
from multilateral lenders.
An IMF delegation that visited Zimbabwe in
March wrote in a report to the
fund’s directors, a copy of which was
obtained by the FT: “For real GDP
growth to turn positive in 2009, in
addition to sound policies ... official
budget support of at least US$200m
[6 per cent of GDP] would need to
be mobilised.”
Humanitarian
assistance in the areas of food relief, health and education
might need to
increase by up to $300m this year, it said.
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=16140
May 3, 2009
By Our
Correspondent
HARARE - Continuing human rights violations threaten to
destabilise Zimbabwe's
fragile inclusive government, a leading human rights
organisation has
warned. The latest rights violations report compiled by the
Human Rights NGO
Forum, casts a pale shadow over the sustainability of
Zimbabwe's three-month
old coalition government, formed in
February.
The rights violation report states that the month of March saw
a
continuation of the disturbances on commercial farms, thwarting of civic
activity and furtherance of political polarisation, as the rule of law
continued to be compromised despite the formation of the inclusive
government between President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai.
The report states that human rights violations remained a
worrying trend in
March in a society that hoped to transcend from a past of
violence,
political polarisation and intimidation into a new democratic
dispensation.
"In fact, even though the month shows a reduction, the
trend of human rights
violations threatens to destabilise the already
fragile peace in the country
and discourage any efforts to bring to an end
the socio-economic challenges
that have bedevilled the country for so long,"
says the report.
However, the total of 155 rights violations recorded in
March is much lower
than the 435 recorded in February. But there was a sharp
increase in
property related violations which was attributed to the
disturbances that
have been occurring on commercial farms; with seven
recorded in February and
16 in March.
As in the previous month, the
NGO Forum reports that clashes between
President Mugabe's Zanu-PF and MDC
supporters were reported in March;
another indication that political
polarisation is far from over.
The report says members of both parties
have been implicated in violent
retributive attacks, reminiscent of the
violence that occurred before and
after the 2008 harmonised
elections.
President Mugabe's Zanu-PF party went into combat mode after
the longtime
ruler and his party's devastating loss to Tsvangirai and his
MDC party in
general elections held last year in March, unleashing an orgy
of violence
that left in its wake over 200 killed and 200 000 internally
displaced.
A presidential runoff vote called in June was boycotted by
Tsvangirai citing
violence and restrictions on his campaigns. Embittered MDC
victims have now
gone on a warpath, exacting revenge on their assailants
hoping for
protection from Tsvangirai.
The latest report documents
incidences in which MDC and Zanu-PF supporters
clashed at the funeral of the
Prime Minister's late wife Susan Tsvangirai,
leading to massive property
destruction.
"Inter-party violence was also reported in the Zimunya area
as well as in
Mufakose and Glen View," says the report.
"These
attacks are a sign of deep-rooted anger and hatred which still
pervades in
Zimbabwe, especially after the violence that occurred in 2008.
Many of the
victims still bear the physical and emotional scars of what
happened to them
during that time. Much of this anger has been aggravated by
seeing the
perpetrators of the violations walking free, and in some cases
threatening
to do more harm. Some victims of the 2008 election violence have
thus taken
the law into their own hands and have sought revenge on those who
wronged
them."
The report warns that this retributive violence raises fears of an
even
bloodier election in the future unless more is done to ensure justice
and
closure for the wronged.
President Mugabe and Prime Minister
Tsvangirai have agreed to hold fresh,
free and fair election in two years
after their inclusive government has
taken steps to democratize the country
and written a new Constitution that
is expected to usher in a new electoral
framework.
But the NGO Forum report warns: "The ghost of the 2008 pre and
post election
period continues to haunt many communities in the country, and
this has
prevented attempts to return to some form of normalcy in their day
to day
activities."
The report documents the failure by some schools
in Zaka district to open
for the first term of 2009 as teachers refused to
return to work following
continued threats of victimisation by Zanu-PF
youths in the area.
Just last week, another human rights organisation,
Amnesty International
highlighted the continuing plight of teachers and the
harassment they are
still enduring for allegedly supporting the MDC in
elections last year,
especially in outlandish communities.
Teaches are
accused of campaigning for the opposition and causing
disaffection for the
government among the rural populace.
"The continued intimidation of
teachers has adversely affected the
communities in which they served as many
children are denied the opportunity
to go to school," says the Forum report.
"Political intimidation coupled
with economic challenges, threatens recovery
efforts within the education
sector and the future of thousands of young
Zimbabweans."
The signing of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) on
September 15 last
year brought with it hopes for change in the Zimbabwean
political landscape.
But the NGO Forum reports that the clampdown on
civil society has continued
leading to the arrest and detention of civic
leaders. The report documents
the arrest and detention of Women of Zimbabwe
Arise (WOZA) members in
Bulawayo while seeking audience with the
administration of Mpumelelo Primary
School over the way the school is being
run and the demands being made by
the school on parents.
"Student
leaders in tertiary institutions have also continued to be targeted
for
arrest, detention and intimidation as they seek to have issues affecting
them addressed", says the report, which documents the arrest and detention
of Bindura University students in March following a protest against high
tuition fees.
The report states that many student leaders have been
arrested, detained,
expelled or suspended from institutions or have appeared
in court facing
various charges, as a result of these protests.
"Some
students who have been arrested have been beaten and tortured while in
custody, a technique that has been used to interrogate and intimidate
student leaders," says the report.
Since the early 1990s, student
activism has been viewed as a dangerous
precedent and a threat to the
government, hence the heavy-handed dealing
student protests.
The NGO
Forum report states that the rule of law in Zimbabwe continues to be
under
the spotlight as a new wave of violence grips the farming community.
The
report documents disturbances on farms in Chegutu and Chiredzi where
farmers
have been forced to leave their homes and have had their property
looted by
war veterans and Zanu-PF youths. Notwithstanding the rulings of
local courts
allowing some of the farmers to continue farming; intimidation,
arrests and
looting of property have continued unabated on commercial farms.
"Of note
in this recent spate of violence on farms," says the Forum "is the
incessant
looting of personal property that is totally unrelated to farming
activities, a trend that has raised questions over the claimed intent of
these farm occupations."
Prime Minister Tsvangirai has warned that he
would not countenance chaos on
the farms, but he has been contemptuously
defied by the militant war
veterans. The Home Affairs ministers, Zanu-PF's
Kembo Mohadi and Giles
Mutsekwa of the MDC have both failed to act against
the farm invaders.
The NGO Forum states that the recent violence on farms
has not only affected
the commercial farmers themselves but also a large
proportion of farm
workers and their families who have also been forced to
leave their homes,
and in some cases arrested for refusing to leave
them.
In a recent press statement, the General Agriculture and Plantation
Workers
Union of Zimbabwe (GAPWUZ) noted that 1 500 families had been
affected by
the current violence on farms as farm workers lose their homes
and
employment on farms where disturbances have occurred.
Occupation
of commercial farms has continued in total disregard of the
Southern African
Development Community (SADC) Tribunal ruling which ruled
that the occupation
of land was illegal.
A bombastic Mugabe has charged that the SADC court
has no jurisdiction over
Zimbabwe even though the country is a signatory to
statutes establishing the
court.
"The judicial system has also not
been spared by this plummeting in the rule
of law in the country as seen by
the arrest and subsequent charging of
Mutare Magistrate Livingston Chipadze
with criminal abuse of office for
ordering the release of Roy Bennett, the
Deputy Minister of Agriculture
elect," says the report. "The harassment and
intimidation of judicial
officers is worrying and will compromise the
delivery of justice in Zimbabwe
and taint efforts to move towards
democratisation which entails the
separation of powers and thus the
independence of the judiciary."
Key international financiers are waiting
for an end to rights violations
before unlocking crucially needed financial
assistance to Zimbabwe, which
needs US$8 billion to resuscitate the comatose
economy. Government officials
say the continuing rights violations were
being masterminded by hardliners
in Zanu-PF and a security cabal determined
to scuttle the fragile inclusive
government.
http://www.apanews.net/
APA-Harare (Zimbabwe)
Zimbabwean journalists are finalizing a code of
conduct as efforts intensify
to self-regulate the industry, the Voluntary
Media Council of Zimbabwe
(VMCZ) announced here on Sunday.
The council said in a statement to mark
World Press Freedom Day commemorated
annually on May 3 that the code of
conduct would be buttressed by sound
editorial guidelines or style books as
they are called in some news
organizations.
"The stakeholders within
the media who conceived the VMCZ - namely the
Zimbabwe Union of Journalists,
the Media Monitoring Project of Zimbabwe,
MISA-Zimbabwe, editors,
publishers, civil society and the church - drew up a
code of conduct that
will be adopted by all media organizations that endorse
the principle of
self-regulation," the council said.
The journalists' body urged the
Zimbabwean government to pass legislation
that encompasses an institutional
culture of self-regulation within both the
print and broadcast
media.
"If supported by open-minded politicians, media owners, editors,
reporters
and civil society, the code of conduct will go a long way in
promoting high
professional standards in the noble profession of
journalism," VMCZ said.
Zimbabwe's newly formed unity government is
working on measures to repeal
the country's draconian media laws.
The
media legislation has seen at least four privately owned newspapers
closed
since 2003 while several journalists have been arrested for
practicing
without government accreditation.
JN/daj/APA 2009-05-03
http://www.voanews.com
By Ish
Mafundikwa
Harare
03 May 2009
As journalists the
world over commemorate World Press Freedom day the
difficult relationship
between the Zimbabwean media and the government has
eased somewhat. But talk
by the new unity government of positive changes
have not been matched by
action.
Ever since the introduction of the Access to Information and
Protection of
Privacy Act in 2002 Zimbabwe has been one of the world's most
difficult
places for journalists.
Detentions and beatings became
routine and no one has been arrested for the
murder of a journalist who was
suspected of supplying some damning footage
to the international media.
Independent newspapers were banned and the
government maintains a tight grip
on the electronic media.
The new government of national unity has offered
a glimmer of hope for a
change for the better, and it has been making all
the right noises. But
Zimbabwe Union of Journalists president Matthew
Takaona told VOA that
although the former opposition Movement for Democratic
Change is serious
about reform, President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF would
resist.
"There is an election hovering over their heads any time in the
next 18
months and any election where there is a changed media landscape
will be to
the disadvantage of the ruling party, so therefore they will not
allow these
reforms to come soon," Takaona said.
Takaona conceded,
however, that there has been a drop in the harassment of
journalists and
that dialogue with the unity government is ongoing. He said
the Zimbabwe
Union of Journalists will attend a government-convened media
stakeholders
meeting later this month, even though other media organizations
are
threatening to boycott the meeting.
"The thematic areas that are on the
program are quite unpalatable [and] some
of them are quite meaningless, more
like poetic thematic areas. And one
wonders what the ministry wants to
achieve and I think that is one thing
that has really disgusted a lot of
stakeholders. But be that as it may,
engagement is always good you have to
engage then you move forward," said
Takaona.
While noting that
government-controlled newspapers and electronic media have
toned down the
rhetoric against perceived enemies, Takaona said overall
major change seems
to be some way off.
A warm, sunny day – a promise of summer – cheered us up despite the frustrating news: no money for Zimbabwe and no real prospect of any while Mugabe remains in charge. Big surprise!
Three months into the ‘unity’ government and there is still no agreement on crucial matters which should have been resolved at the beginning. People at the Vigil say SADC must intervene and ensure compliance with the global political agreement.
Finance Minister Tendai Biti says the IMF estimates it will take 45 billion US dollars and five years to restore Zimbabwe to its position in 1995! Unless an immediate start is made even this target could be beyond hope.
The Vigil believes SADC is responsible for allowing this situation to develop and must now follow up on its guarantee of the agreement. We accept Southern African countries do not have the financial resources to rescue Zimbabwe but recent comments by Zambia’s President Banda suggest they don’t have the understanding either. Still, let’s see what Zuma will do before we lose all hope.
Other points:
1. The Vigil is encouraged that more organizations are taking up the humanitarian question of Zimbabwean jails. We salute Roy Bennett, Deputy Agriculture Minister-designate for calling for an amnesty for minor offenders to relieve congestion. We are also heartened to hear that the Red Cross is going in to Zimbabwean prisons to report on conditions.
2. A British woman of Caribbean descent expressed amazement when she saw our photographs of conditions in Zimbabwe. She said ‘Mugabe must be mad’ – a further indication that support for Mugabe is fading.
3. Vigil management member Patson Muzuwa reminded supporters of the ‘Strangers into Citizens’ rally on bank holiday Monday – see for your diary below for details.
4. Another reminder to supporters of the Mbira concert at SOAS next week – see below for details.
5. We have been contacted by the International Organisation for Migration in London about a programme to help bring back on a short-term basis Zimbabwean health professionals and lecturers to support health institutions and the University Of Zimbabwe College Of Health Sciences. For more information check: http://www.iomlondon.org/zim/zim.html.
For latest Vigil pictures check: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zimbabwevigil/
FOR THE RECORD: 272 signed the register.
FOR YOUR DIARY:
· Central London Zimbabwe Forum. Monday 4th May. No forum because it’s a public holiday.
· ‘Strangers into Citizens’ Rally. Bank Holiday Monday 4th May at 12 noon in Trafalgar Square. Meet in Tothill Street SW1 at 11.30 for walk to Trafalgar Square. The event is preceded by services in several churches including Westminster Cathedral, St Margaret’s, Parliament Square, and Central Hall, Westminster. For more information: www.strangersintocitizens.org.uk.
· Mbira Seminar and Concert: Friday and Saturday 8th and 9th May. Seminar on Friday from 3-6 pm in the Khalili Lecture Theatre. Concert on Saturday at 7 pm in the Brunei Gallery. Entrance free. Address: School of Oriental and African Studies, Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG. Features Professor Paul Berliner (Duke University) and Zimbabwean mbira dzaVadimu master Cosmas Magaya.
· ROHR Cambridge general meeting. Saturday 16th May from 1.30 – 5.30 pm. Venue: Arbury Community centre, Campkin Road, Cambridge CB4 2LD. Substantive committee to be elected. The ROHR President and his executive and a well known lawyer will be present. Get advice and learn more about your rights. Contact: Josephart Hapazari 07782398725, Maggie Jenkins 07894064600, A Mubaiwa 07846170094 or P Mapfumo 07915926323/07932216070.
· First Zimbabwe Vigil Forum. Saturday 23rd May at 6.30 pm. Upstairs at the Theodore Bullfrog, John Adam Street, London WC2N 6HL.
· Service of solidarity with the torture survivors of Zimbabwe. Friday 26th June from 7 – 8 pm. Venue: Southwark Cathedral. This is the 8th year the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum has marked UN International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. For more information, visit: http://www.hrforumzim.com.
· Zimbabwe Association’s Women’s Weekly Drop-in Centre. Fridays 10.30 am – 4 pm. Venue: The Fire Station Community and ICT Centre, 84 Mayton Street, London N7 6QT, Tel: 020 7607 9764. Nearest underground: Finsbury Park. For more information contact the Zimbabwe Association 020 7549 0355 (open Tuesdays and Thursdays).
Vigil Co-ordinators
The Vigil, outside the Zimbabwe Embassy, 429 Strand, London, takes place every Saturday from 14.00 to 18.00 to protest against gross violations of human rights in Zimbabwe. The Vigil which started in October 2002 will continue until internationally-monitored, free and fair elections are held in Zimbabwe. http://www.zimvigil.co.uk.
http://www.independent.co.uk
Sunday,
3 May 2009
Harare North, By Brian Chikwava
Reviewed
by Steve Bloomfield
"Harare North" is London, now home to hundreds of
thousands of Zimbabwean
immigrants who have fled Robert Mugabe's brutal
regime. It is the underbelly
of London, the part we don't normally see - or
rather, the parts we don't
normally want to see. The narrator and his fellow
Zimbabwean immigrants live
in a run-down Brixton squat with mould growing on
the walls and an
ever-growing rat scuttling under the floorboards. They do
the jobs we don't
want to: sweeping the floors in a fish-and-chip shop,
packing salads for
less than the minimum wage, and - worst of the lot in the
narrator's eyes -
working in care homes. Or as he puts it, becoming a BBC:
British Buttocks
Cleaner. Throughout it all, Chikwava weaves in nuggets of
life from a
rapidly deteriorating Zimbabwe: the astonishing and crippling
inflation, the
destruction of homes in opposition strongholds, the gross
corruption of
Mugabe's allies.
Life in Harare North is a daily
struggle. The fear of arrest and deportation
is ever present. Work is hard
to come by and even harder to keep. Employers
take advantage, reducing
already pitiful wages by subtracting an "emergency
tax" or even refusing to
pay altogether. Letters from home, imploring cash,
are frequent. They may be
paupers in Harare North, but to their relatives at
home, they are the ones
who have made it. The narrator's childhood friend,
Shingi, receives requests
for sound systems and Land Rover Defenders. There
is always a grandmother
who is sick or a child who needs school fees paid.
Money is dutifully wired
home. In Zimbabwe, like many developing countries,
the amount of money sent
home from the diaspora far outstrips the formal aid
distributed by western
governments.
Chikwava casts an outsider's eye on the rest of London. His
narrator wonders
why people don't look at each other as they go to work on
the Tube and mocks
the "teenagers that loiter in they hoodies, bling-bling
and wanting
respect". He has a distinctive voice that takes some getting
used to. He
speaks in a simple Zimbabwean English, using "he" and "she"
instead of "his"
and "her". He is no hero, but nor he is a cardboard cut-out
Mugabe thug, and
wires money to help Shingi's relative, an opposition
supporter, buy his way
out of jail.
There are moments of levity, but
this is a dark, unhappy novel. There are no
good guys and few uplifting
moments. Chikwava does not sugar-coat the
immigrant's life. It is, for many,
a depressing struggle with little
possibility of improvement. But at least
they got there safely.