http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
May 6, 2013 in News
THE dust, dirt,
long snaking queues and aggressive vendors just outside the
main offices of
Zimbabwe’s dilapidated passport office at Makombe Building
in Harare make
for a chaotic if not foreboding atmosphere.
Wongai Zhangazha
Upon
arrival at the offices it is not difficult to understand why the
offices
rank topmost among the places people dread visiting. As soon as the
gates
open, pushing and shoving are the order of the day as passport seekers
scream and shout, while children’s cries of hunger intermittently pierce the
musty air.
The many meandering queues quickly take their toll on
people’s patience.
There are no special arrangements for the elderly, the
pregnant or disabled
who forlornly await their turn while passport officials
allegedly first
serve those that would have been referred to them after
money has exchanged
hands through the intricate channels the staff have set
up with outsiders.
There is no running water due to regular rationing and
ablution facilities
are scarce. Neither is there a place to purchase a
decent meal and as a
result hunger pangs usually translate into frayed
tempers.
Visitors to the passport offices are greeted mostly by grumpy
and
demotivated civil servants who earn as little as US$350 per month. They
in
turn vent their frustrations on poor citizens mainly seeking identity and
travel documents.
Passport seekers are shuttled from one office to
the other, with bossy
officials barking angrily at those who get into the
wrong offices or block
the path of the stuffy and crowded corridors and
small offices.
Those seeking to sort out passport issues are best advised
to choose their
words very carefully at all times when communicating with
Makombe staff as a
slight misunderstanding or misconstrued statement could
mean being ignored
as punishment or suffering the ignominy of being chucked
to the back of the
queue.
For those with cash to spare, a bribe of
about US$30 through corrupt
channels ensures one is served promptly and
courteously.
A person who has paid a bribe is typically seen by his or
her confidence in
jumping the queue and heading straight to the serving desk
where they
mention the name of the staffer who has “sent” them.
From that
office, they are then referred to different staffers at other
offices where
they breeze through the entire process without any hustle.
In stark
contrast, those without cash to grease officials’ palms are forced
to queue
outside Makombe Building for hours from as early as 4am, with no
guarantees
they will be served on that particular day.
Positions in the queue are
for sale from a syndicate whose members get up
early to occupy strategic
positions in the queue.
Last year, Registrar-General Tobaiwa Mudede gave
assurances the public would
benefit from the computerisation of his offices
as it would improve
efficiency and reduce time spent queuing for
forms.
He announced that part of the computerisation of his office would
introduce
“a top-of-the-line SMS solution and has developed unique
applications which
will enable the RG to give better service to the
Zimbabwean citizen. Under
the new system the RG’s office will also be
sending SMS messages to passport
applicants to collect their
documents”.
Mudede also triumphantly announced Zimbabweans wishing to
apply for
passports could download application forms on the Internet, fill
them in
online before submitting them at the passport office for a US$3 fee.
However, the forms have proved impossible to download.
Furthermore,
the prevailing situation at the passport offices belies Mudede’s
pronouncements as professionalism and efficiency remain alien to his
department, while queues, frustration and bribes for staff in cramped
offices remain the order of the day.
An ordinary passport costs US$50
and takes four to six weeks to process; an
emergency passport takes three
days at a cost of US$250, while an executive
passport takes a day at US$315.
Social commentator Maxwell Saungweme said
the announcement last year that
passport processing had gone online was just
a “high-sounding
nothing.”
Saungweme said: “Nothing really went online; apart from that
people with
internet access would access the website but have difficulties
downloading
the passport forms.
“People still have to endure the
process of getting into queues; buying the
forms at the RG’s office and
joining queues to submit the forms and have
fingerprints taken. The long
queues and inefficiency also await people at
passport collection.”
He
added:“A typical online passport system, apart from enabling people to
download forms online, would include allowing people to pay passport fees
electronically, making appointments for submission and collection of
passports online and one only has to go to the passport offices at the
appointed time when they are booked to collect their passport. But
Zimbabwe’s
passport offices continue to be characterised by corruption and
inefficiency
as nothing has changed.”
Political commentator Blessing
Vava said there are a lot of rogue elements
at the RG’s office hence its
failure to execute its duties efficiently and
professionally.
“Professionalism and efficiency are alien to this office and
heads must
definitely roll if anything is to improve,” said Vava.
The situation at
the RG’s offices reflect the corruption and incompetency
within the civil
service in general.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
May 6, 2013 in News
THE
acrimonious row over security sector reforms and the role of the
military in
the next crucial general elections has intensified with Prime
Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai upping the ante on the issue by lobbying Sadc
leaders this
week, while MDC-T defence secretary, Giles Mutsekwa, fiercely
hit back at
those attacking him for disclosing he has been engaging army
commanders
ahead of the polls.
Report by Staff Writer.
Confrontations among
parties in government over the issue, which was part of
their Global
Political Agreement (GPA) negotiations, are escalating as it
becomes clear
the military would play a critical role during the watershed
elections.
Article XIII of the GPA, dealing with state organs and
institutions, says
these organiations, including the army, police and
intelligence services, do
not belong to “any political party and should be
impartial in the discharge
of their duties.”
This was brought up by
sensational public remarks by army commanders before
the 2008 elections and
their subsequent involvement in the polls. The issue
is part of the
elections roadmap although the parties are deadlocked on it.
Tsvangirai
this week raised the matter with Sadc leaders, particularly Sadc
facilitator
on the Zimbabwe dialogue, South African President Jacob Zuma,
and chairman
of the Sadc troika on politics, defence and security, Tanzanian
President
Jakaya Kikwete. He was due to raise the same issue with Sadc
chairman,
Mozambican President Armando Guebuza, and Namibian Prime Minister
Hage
Geingob whose president also sits on the troika.
Debate on the security
sector reform issue heightened after the Zimbabwe
Independent last week
reported Mutsekwa, a retired major who served in the
Zimbabwe National Army
(ZNA) and fought in the Mozambique civil war after
being integrated into the
new army in 1980 following service in the
Rhodesian forces, has held talks
with hardliners in the military, including
Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF)
commander General Constantine Chiwenga, ZNA
chief of staff (general
staff)
Major-General Martin Chedondo and chief of staff (quartermaster)
Major-General Douglas Nyikayaramba.
Mutsekwa also confirmed on record
said he had also engaged police
Commissioner-General Augustine
Chihuri.
This however triggered angry reactions from Chihuri who attacked
Mutsekwa,
while threatening Independent journalists for reporting on the
issue.
President Robert Mugabe’s spokesman George Charama also reacted
albeit
temperately.
Charamba dismissed Mutsekwa’s assertions as “a
major lie coming from a
Rhodesian major”, while Chihuri said service chiefs
had no time to engage
“confused malcontents”, after which he threatened to
arrest journalists for
writing the story.
However, Mutsekwa this week
held firm, insisting he had been holding talks
with service chiefs although
he said he no longer wanted to go into the
details about the
issue.
“First of all, I want to state that Charamba is not the
spokesperson of the
ZDF; he has never been in the army and does not know how
it operates,” said
Mutsekwa this week. “He is the secretary for Information
and Publicity, and
spokesperson for the president, but does not have the
jurisdiction to speak
on behalf of the ZDF which has its own
structures.”
Mutsekwa went further: “The second thing is that remarks by
Chihuri were
expected but the nation should not read too much into his
statement.”
Mutsekwa said the fact he served in the Rhodesian Army does
not hinder him
from negotiating with the security service chiefs and has a
legitimate right
to engage because he also served in the ZNA, is a cabinet
minister and the
defence and security secretary of the MDC-T.
He also
said Tsvangiari was right to lobby Sadc to support the realignment
of the
security sector, saying it was part of the GPA. “We have never
doubted that
they are properly trained, but what is at stake is that over
the last 33
years, Zanu PF has abused the security sector and made it part
of its
structures in violation of the constitution and laws of this country.
There
is need for realignment so that they know that we are in a democratic
dispensation,” he said.
“We also know that it is a few people who
made subversive statements and
these statements must never be made by a
person in uniform. We are willing
though to inherit the security sector
lock, stock and barrel although there
is need for
realignment.”
Several Zanu PF bigwigs, including Mugabe, Defence minister
Emmerson
Mnangagwa and State Security minister Sydney Sekeramayi have said
their
party would not allow security sector reforms.
The military ––
whose senior commanders have benefited a lot materially
since Independence
in 1980 –– is Mugabe and Zanu PF’s pillar of strength and
survival.
––
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
May 6, 2013 in News
PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe yesterday
read the riot act to senior Zanu PF
officials involved in bitter factional
infighting which is threatening to
rip apart his faction-riddled party as
bigwigs jostle to succeed the 89-year
old veteran leader.
Report by
Obey Manayiti
Speaking at the burial of Matadziseyi Tangwena, wife of the
late national
hero Chief Rekayi Tangwena in Tsatse village in Nyanga, Mugabe
said his
party needs to be organised ahead of elections. He also attacked
architects
of the 2008 “Bhora Musango” (sabotage campaign) campaign that saw
Zanu PF
losing its parliamentary majority to the MDC formations for the
first time
since Independence.
“You should organise yourselves well,”
said Mugabe. “This business of
continuously insulting each other and forming
little factions should stop.
We don’t want that.
No, no, no I have
rejected it. This is not what (Chief Rekayi) Tangwena died
for,” Mugabe
said.
Zanu PF is mainly divided along factions allegedly led by
Vice-President
Joice Mujuru and Defence minister Emmerson Mnangagwa fighting
for political
control and dominance to produce a successor to
Mugabe.
“We should not be people who fight because of different totems or
different
political parties. If people refuse to buy your ideologies you
don’t use
force. Let’s vote peacefully,” Mugabe said.
On primary
elections; let’s vote peacefully. In all parties there is
fighting; we can’t
have all of you to represent the party during elections;
it’s only one who
represents the party. We heard that some leaders are using
money. We don’t
want vote buying; you can’t buy people, they are not
clothes.”
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
May 6, 2013 in News
DEPUTY Prime
Minister Thokozani Khupe has vowed to tackle Shurugwi-Tongogara
Community
Share Ownership Scheme problems after the community’s complaints
over lack
of transparency and alleged misuse of funds.
Report by Wongai
Zhangazha
The problems came to Khupe’s attention from a group of Shurugwi
residents
while she was attending a Catholic professionals’ regional
workshop where
she addressed other delegates from Uganda, Kenya, Malawi,
Tanzania and
Zambia at Arrupe College in Harare last weekend. Tongogara
Community Share
Ownership Scheme was commissioned in November 2011 after
Unki Mine complied
with government’s indigenisation regulations and availed
US$10 million to
the share ownership scheme.
The community identified
“five start-up projects” to be funded using the
money which include building
of a mortuary, classroom blocks, gardens,
drilling boreholes and
constructing a dam.
Shurugwi delegates at the workshop expressed their
disgruntlement, with one
resident who only identified himself as Andrew
saying: “Shurugwi received
US$10 million; are you aware that people need
roads and hospitals but the
money is being kept in an account and not being
used properly. Are you aware
that the first thing that they built with that
money was a mortuary; a
mortuary of all things?”
Khupe said she was
not aware of how the Shurugwi community share ownership
money is being
used.
“I didn’t know that the money is in the bank and all these issues
you are
raising,” said Khupe. “I will make sure I raise them in cabinet to
get to
know what is happening”.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
May 6, 2013 in News
ZIMBABWE is
losing millions of dollars to the Chinese in untendered
government projects
like the US$98 million National Defence College (NDC)
and Long Cheng Plaza
in Belvedere whose workmanship is of substandard
quality, local engineers
say.
Report by Paidamoyo Muzulu
The cash-strapped Government of
National Unity has contracted nearly US$500
million in debt to China in the
past four years through construction
projects mainly funded by mortgaging
the country’s mineral wealth,
particularly diamonds.
The construction
projects include roads, airports, dams, hydro-electric
power stations, the
NDC and Long Cheng Plaza.
The Plaza has reportedly developed cracks due
to poor workmanship and
failure to adhere to local building laws, while the
NDC is structurally
unsound, according to the engineers.
The Plaza
along Bulawayo Road adjacent to the National Sports Stadium —
another
Chinese project whose quality of work has been condemned — is being
constructed on a wetland against the advice of environmentalists, in
violation of environmental laws and despite council objections.
A
senior local engineer who requested anonymity for professional reasons
said
the costs of Chinese projects are inflated and generally not up to the
required standard.
“Projects that are not procured via a transparent,
public and open tender
system are usually over-priced and of poor quality,”
said the engineer.
“Competitive bidding through tendering is a function that
has to be
performed correctly in order to maximise effectiveness and
minimise costs.”
Chinese projects have not been subjected to local
council by-laws as they
are given preferential treatment by their
influential government
connections. In most cases, local authorities have
been prevented from
supervising the structures at necessary
stages.
Another engineer said such unlawful practices should
automatically make the
se projects illegal.
“Any construction that
goes on without adhering to council by-laws is an
illegal structure. The
building codes and construction standards laid out by
the Standards
Association of Zimbabwe (Saz) must be adhered to. Any
violation should meet
the full wrath of the law.”
In terms of the agreements, most of the
projects are erected using Chinese
labour and products, irrespective of the
fact that some of these Chinese
professionals may not be qualified to work
in Zimbabwe, particularly in
specialised fields such as
engineering.
Engineer and construction expert Clever Bere said: “In these
bilateral
Zimbabwe-China projects, the entire professional team is Chinese
and most of
the building material is imported from China, except manual
labour which
would be Zimbabwean.”
Engineers say Chinese developers
should be compelled to form consortiums
with locally-qualified architects,
engineers and other professionals to
safeguard standards of the finished
products.
The Chinese constructed the National Sports Stadium and worked
on the
dualisation of the Harare-Norton Road, which took more than 10 years
to
complete.
Both projects have experienced structural
problems.
The stadium developed cracks and had to undergo a two-year
refurbishment
recently but still has problems with the drainage system,
while the
Harare-Norton road had its surface peeling off before the project
was
completed.
Chinese companies, among them Anjin and Sino-Hydro,
continue to bag
Zimbabwean construction contracts at the expense of local
companies.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
May 6, 2013 in News
WHEN
Zvikomborero Gotora (not real name) graduated from the Harare
Polytechnic’s
Division of Mass Communication six years ago with a diploma in
journalism
after a two-year study, he was relieved that at last he could
realise his
dream of working as a reporter.
Report by Hazel Ndebele
He was
hopeful of securing employment soon enough for he had worked well
during his
attachment stint, with several stories published under his
byline.
Sadly, it was not to be. His dreams gradually turned into a
nightmare when
months of job seeking became years despite promises from
within the media
industry.
Gotora has spent six years as a freelance
reporter, eking out a living by
writing stories for online and several local
publications under an assumed
name. With the local media largely remaining
stagnant despite the licencing
of scores of players to start publishing and
broadcasting, Gotora’s
prospects of securing a permanent job remain
gloomy.
The situation is made worse by the emergence of digital and
social media
which are rocking the print media sector as newspapers face the
threat of
extinction.
“I do not regret choosing journalism as a
career because it is something I
really wanted to do and I felt I could get
far in the profession,” said
Gotora. “But the stark reality is that the
industry just cannot absorb the
many media graduates being churned out by
the colleges as it is not
expanding, but the situation is not unique to
media graduates only. The
country’s economy remains depressed and the
majority of Zimbabweans are
unemployed.”
As Zimbabwe joins other
countries in commemorating World Press Freedom Day
today, it should be a
moment to reflect on the fact that thousands of
journalism students graduate
from different institutions countrywide every
year, but fail to find jobs in
the industry because the media industry has
not grown over the
years.
In fact, the media as originally structured is in decline due to
the digital
revolution and social media explosion. Besides economic
viability problems,
the media is also under political pressure.
The
media is also currently battling for the right to self-regulate like
other
professional disciplines, in the face of continued resistance from
government.
Private media practitioners continue to face harassment
and occasional
arrests under legislations such as Public Order and Security
Act and Access
to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, widely
criticised as
“draconian”, although those in the state media are
spared.
While applauding the draft constitution for explicitly
guaranteeing media
freedom and freedom of expression, media experts say it
appears like more of
a privilege than a fundamental
right.
Vice-chairperson of the Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe Cris
Chinaka was
quoted as saying: “The media industry has clearly and loudly
said it wants
self-regulation. We want it to be explicit in the
constitution, especially
coming from a period where we had repression of
media practitioners.”
Some private media journalists and stakeholders say
co-regulation is the way
forward since statutory and voluntary regulation
have failed.
The stagnation of the media industry has forced many
journalism graduates to
settle for other jobs unrelated to what they
studied, such as teaching.
Brian Mangwende, the chairperson of the Zimbabwe
National Editors’ Forum
(Zinef), urged the inclusive government to genuinely
open up the airwaves
and expand
media space for more players to come on
board thus creating employment.
“Although it must be noted that
government has begun to play its part in
opening up media space, there is
need to go a step further in order for the
industry to accommodate more
players and many students being churned out by
our training institutions,”
Mangwende said.
Mangwende said there is need for constant refresher
courses to enable
journalists to keep up with professional
trends.
Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (Zuj) secretary-general Foster
Dongozi said to
improve employment prospects for journalists there was need
to open up the
airwaves.
“Government needs to grant licences to more
magazines, newspapers and
broadcasters to tackle this (unemployment) problem
so that one day we can
celebrate World Press Freedom Day by taking stock of
achievements in the
industry,” said Dongozi.
“More than 3 000
students of media studies and journalism graduate annually
from different
institutions in the country,” said Dongozi. “Given an
opportunity, these
students will bring valuable input to the industry which
is why there are
journalists from Zimbabwe who are scattered all over the
world and doing
well.”
Dongozi said there were also other problems in the media.
“Zuj
has begun a campaign to ensure sexual harassment is addressed and dealt
with. We are in the process of carrying out a scientific survey to find out
the extent and effects of sexual harassment on female students and permanent
employees in order to tackle this problem,” he said.
Voluntary Media
Council of Zimbabwe executive director Takura Zhangazha said
graduates are
finding it difficult to secure employment because Zimbabwe’s
few media
organisations cannot accommodate them due to limited resources.
“There
are restrictive legal requirements to start up radio and television
stations
and newspapers, therefore government should look into this in order
to grant
the media a chance to diversify,” said Zhangazha.
He said the absence of
investment and profound media reforms ensured
unemployment remains high in
the industry.
The Media Monitoring Project of Zimbabwe has previously
accused the
inclusive government of letting the media down by rushing to
conclude other
national processes before implementation of key media reforms
agreed to
under the Global Political Agreement. It said during the inclusive
government’s four-year tenure, insufficient attempts had been made to reform
media laws.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
May 6, 2013 in News
THE new government
after general elections must implement further media
reforms to remove
remaining undue restrictions on freedom of expression,
including press
freedom, while promoting voluntary self-regulation among
players and opening
up the broadcasting sector to allow independent actors.
Report by Wongai
Zhangazha
This was said by the chairperson of the parliamentary portfolio
committee on
Media, Information, Publicity, Communication and Technology,
Settlement
Chikwinya, at a memorial lecture for renowned journalist Bornwell
Chakaodza
in Harare yesterday as part of today’s World Press Freedom Day
commemorations under the theme “Safe to speak: Securing freedom of
expression in all media”.
Chikwinya told delegates from the Media
Alliance of Zimbabwe whose members
include members of the Zimbabwe Union of
Journalists, Zimbabwe National
Editors’ Forum, Media Monitoring Project of
Zimbabwe, Misa-Zimbabwe and
Voluntary Media Council, among others, as well
as the Zimbabwe Media
Commission (ZMC)
representatives, transformation of
the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation
(ZBC) into a public broadcaster and a
new law that allows democratic access
to
information were among the
reforms the next government must adopt. He said
the new government after
polls must review of media laws, promote
self-regulation, establish an
independent broadcasting regulator, pass a
democratic access to information
law, de-criminalise freedom of expression
by repealing criminal defamation
laws and transforming ZBC into a true
public broadcaster. “No person shall
be hindered in the enjoyment of freedom
of expression that is to say,
freedom to hold opinions and to receive and
impart ideas and information
without interference,” said Chikwinya.
ZMC commissioner Chris Mhike
said:“With the flawed ‘democrats’ who
constitute Zimbabwe’s ruling class
lacking the political will to afford
citizens optimum levels of freedom of
expression, press freedom, the free
flow of information, healthy levels of
access to information, and other
related rights, it remains to be seen if
the gains made in the draft
constitution will really translate into a more
free society; and a more free
Zimbabwean press.”
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
May 6, 2013 in Opinion
Congratulations to
the Herald’s “Political Mondays” columnist, Amai Jukwa,
for publishing what
everybody is thinking. “Mugabe must go,” she declared
this
week.
Opinion by The MuckRaker
Indeed. That’s what the nation
thinks. But this is the first time a Herald
columnist has been so bold as to
give substance to wishful thinking.
There then followed a cowardly attack
on those journalists and lawyers who
are perceived as MDC-T supporters. In
particular Geoff Nyarota came in for a
bashing.
“Has he written any
insightful works on anything remotely interesting apart
from hysterically
screaming the three magic words, ‘Mugabe must go’?” Amai
Jukwa wanted to
know.
What we want to know is which Herald reporters have the same
courage to
stand up to the regime as Nyarota has done over the years?
Not
one. They see their role as apologists for the regime. They indulge
delinquent governance and praise the incompetent.
Sadly they see
their role as more public relations than journalism. Part of
the nation’s
decline can be attributed to their collaboration with the
regime. Amai Jukwa
now becomes part and parcel of that malignant problem.
Squeak on
behalf
Apostolic Christian Council of Zimbabwe president Johannes Ndanga,
who
claims to speak and think on behalf of all apostolic sects in Zimbabwe,
is
once again making a nuisance of himself.
Ndanga, ZBC reports,
“reaffirmed the apostolic churches’ stance and support
for the revolutionary
party”, it reported.
This is despite the apostolic sects’ repeatedly
distancing themselves from
Ndanga’s utterances. In September we reported
that Musavengana Tawa, leader
of the Zion Church in Masvingo, said Ndanga
was chasing away members from
their congregations by supporting the
“discredited” Zanu PF and giving the
impression the rest of the congregation
supports the same party.
Ndanga now claims “leading” prophets from
various indigenous apostolic sects
have predicted a resounding victory for
President Robert Mugabe in the
forthcoming general elections.
“As
prophets we would like to reveal the word that has been delivered to us
through the Spirit. We now know the winner of the next harmonised elections
and it is President Mugabe,” Ndanga declared.
Muckraker is keen to know
why these “prophets” did not foresee Mugabe’s
defeat to Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai in the March 29 2008 general
elections.
Magicians,
charlatans
Curiously Ndanga himself was quoted by the Chronicle saying
magicians and
Satanists are now hiding behind the name of the church to
hoodwink people
into believing that they have the gift of prophecy and can
perform miracles.
“Magicians have been with us for a long time, but the
problem is that they
are now using God’s name to hoodwink people,” Ndanga
observed.
“The problem of Satanism has reached unprecedented levels in
the country and
as church leaders we have every reason to be worried.”
Without a hint of
irony Ndanga added: “People are being duped every day into
believing that
there are people with the gift of prophecy who can perform
miracles.”
“The Bible is clear that during the last days we will see many
people
claiming to be possessing so much power and claiming that they are
God-sent,
yet they are out to cause mayhem,” Ndanga went on.
Amen to
that!
More tales in offing
Last week we illustrated how government
officials lied to the Herald,
telling the gullible newspaper how white
farmers had failed to take up the
offer of land.
In fact, the CFU
responded pointing out that over a thousand commercial
farmers had applied
for land but not a single one received a reply.
Yet the Herald went ahead
and published the government’s claim that no white
farmers had applied for
land. Political deceit trumped the facts.
It would be useful to note what
is going on here. It looks very much as if
people who are not journalists at
all are feeding the state media with
dissembling stories that are then
published as factual accounts. For
instance not a day goes past without an
attack on Tsvangirai.
The public are led to believe every claim made
about his plans and
movements. In fact much of the published material is
fictional. As Justice
Ben Hlatshwayo declared in 2008 when ruling in a case
involving Tendai Biti,
the charges against him made good bed-time
reading.
Watch out for similar fantasies in the days ahead. Perhaps the
worst
dimension in all this is the way in which the public media is being
abused
for electoral ends. Some journalists don’t seem to mind being
manipulated in
this way.
MDC-T versus 30
Muckraker has in the past
drawn attention to Zanu PF front organisations
which are designed to counter
genuine civics. The Zimbabwe Federation of
Trade Unions and Zimbabwe
Development Party are good examples.
On Monday the Herald carried a
picture of a gang of Zimbabwe Congress of
Students Unions (Zicosu) members
paying a courtesy call on President Mugabe
at Zanu PF headquarters. They
assured the president they were capable of
liberating the University of
Zimbabwe which they claimed was still a
colonised space.
We would
suggest they start with Zanu PF headquarters instead. That
desperately needs
liberating! The building carries a sign saying “New Zanu
PF Headquarters”.
It has been there over 20 years. On top it carries a motif
of a jongwe, a
symbol that was changed in 1987 and despite Zapu’s best
efforts remains
there.
Zicosu was set up to counter Zinasu. It was amusing seeing the
seven
students trying to look important as Mugabe addressed them. He told
them
Zanu PF stood for the youth of the country. The Zicusu students were a
“brave lot” he declared.
Other outfits masquerading as civil society
organisations include Zimbabwe
Children of War Liberators Association,
Zimbabwe Coffin Makers Association,
Zimbabwe Exhumers Association, Youth in
Natural Resources Management,
Journalists for Empowerment, Destiny for
Afrika Network, Zimbabwe
Revolutionary Volunteers Front, Federation of Civil
Society Organisations,
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Justice, and Upfumi Kuvadiki.
All formed for the single
purpose of standing against the MDC-T in
forthcoming elections.
Let’s see how they do.
Error of
omission
Still at the “New” Zanu PF headquarters, the Mail carried an
interview with
the party’s administrator Arthur Chadzingwa. He came across
as erudite and
sensible.
His interviewer, Munyaradzi Huni omitted to
mention Chadzingwa’s stint as a
diplomat in Algeria in 1983. This was a
period when several Zapu officials
were deployed on the diplomatic front.
George Kahari for instance went to
Germany and Don Mothobi to
Japan.
Why are we never told these things? Muckraker would have asked
Chadzingwa
for instance whether he was happy with his career in later
years.
Bowled out
The recent visit by Malawian President Joyce Banda
to Zimbabwe left her
“bowled over” by her host President Mugabe, the Sunday
Mail claimed.
Banda’s Facebook fans, the newspaper claimed, appeared to
be reading from
the same script as they “showered” praise on
Mugabe.
However, the unflattering comments about Mugabe seemed to escape the
Sunday
Mail’s notice.
“ … to me Mugabe is making more orphans out of
the economy in his country.
Mugabe and his wife are a disgrace not to be
emulated! (You) are wrong on
this one madam president! Sorry to say (that)?”
said Shadrack Macouko.
Kunya Wycliffe Mwesigwa had this to say: “It is
also possible that those
kids are orphans because of Mugabe’s greed. He is
just cleaning (up) his own
mess but let him not create conditions that will
render more children and
women homeless.”
“Madam president advise
Mugabe to retire,” said Fredrick Omondi.
So much for being bowled
over!
Finally Jesse Jackson has returned to Zimbabwe for more
grandstanding.
In South Africa, in 1990, he asked Nelson Mandela’s
handlers if he could
join the parade from Pollsmoor prison.
“No,
certainly not,” came the reply.
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
May 6, 2013 in Opinion
TODAY is World
Press Freedom Day — a day we remember and honour journalists
who have been
arrested or killed for just doing their job of reporting
fearlessly on
events as and when they happen.
Editor’s Memo with Dingilizwe
Ntuli
But it seems in Zimbabwe this special day is annually marked by
official
threats to journalists who speak truth to power.
Last year,
Information and Media minister Webster Shamu threatened
journalists at
privately-owned media houses with a return to an era of
vicious repression
if they persisted with an “anti-African and anti-Zimbabwe
frenzy”, whose
meaning he did not clarify.
Nonetheless, Shamu has already been beaten at
his own game by our bombastic
Police Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri
who this week threatened to
arrest journalists for writing stories about
security forces.
He was reacting to the Zimbabwe Independent’s lead story
last week in which
we exclusively reported that MDC-T defence and security
secretary Giles
Mutsekwa was in talks with security service chiefs to
initiate discussions
on power transfer after elections.
The story was
not based on sources who declined to be named, but on an
exclusive
confirmation on record by Mutsekwa.
While Chihuri reserves the right to
express his opinion, it is the
threatening posture in which he responded
that is disturbing.
Presidential spokesperson George Charamba also denied
the story, but his
response was quite temperate despite its own
pressures.
Chihuri must be reminded he has more serious issues to deal
with rather than
threatening journalists.
Why threaten a journalist
for quoting someone, and on record? If the claims
are false, he must prove
Mutsekwa is lying, not threaten reporters.
Touts harass innocent
passengers at kombi ranks on a daily basis, but
Chihuri seems to believe
that this is too trivial for a cop of his rank to
comment on. We also
constantly witness corruption and criminality by rogue
police
officers.
For most of his 20-year tenure as Zimbabwe’s top cop, the
police has had
little interest in fighting corruption. Instead, graft in the
force is now a
major irritant for most law-abiding citizens.
While
most professional police forces around the world investigate crimes
like
corruption, kidnapping, theft, robbery, drug peddling and murder, these
are
the very same crimes our police officers are not effectively dealing
with.
Corruption is rampant in the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP).
In case his
officers haven’t told him, kombi drivers and touts now refer to
the ZRP as
Zimbavha Rinoba Pachena, which literally means a thief who steals
in broad
daylight.
It is public knowledge that some police officers have set up
elaborate
corrupt networks that extort bribes from motorists, street vendors
and
drivers of commuter omnibus and pirate taxis. Some even allegedly demand
sexual favours from prostitutes and innocent women they round up every night
outside several night spots in the Avenues.
Some of the police
officers also demand bribes from shopkeepers and people
who sell pirated
products and stolen items. They have also been accused of
running vending
stalls and hiring people to sell pirated products seized
from those who
would have refused to pay bribes.
We have never heard the
Commissioner-General declaring he will cleanse the
force of rogue cops or
potentially corrupt elements.
Should we interpret his silence to mean he
doesn’t care about this but
arresting journalists? We would want to
challenge Chihuri to publicly
declare as the police chief that those police
officers caught in corrupt
activities would suffer the consequences of the
law.
Of course, we don’t expect him to accept our challenge because he
has
presided over his officers’ dereliction of duty.
Chihuri’s men
and women hardly investigate reports of political violence
where the
perpetrators are Zanu PF supporters.
Against this background, Chihuri
should be more concerned his force contains
corrupt elements instead of
unnecessarily threatening journalists just for
doing their job.
