US$60 MILLION FUEL DEAL COLLAPSES Fri 12 November
2004
HARARE - Zimbabwe faces a dry festive season with reports that
a US$60 million fuel supply facility with BP South Africa and another
unnamed foreign oil firm has stalled because the country has no hard cash to
pay for supplies.
Under the deal, secured in September, the
foreign oil firms were to supply local oil companies under the umbrella of
the Petroleum Marketers Association of Zimbabwe (PMAZ) with 2.4 million
litres of petrol and 36 million litres of diesel per month.
Well-placed sources told ZimOnline that the fuel facility came unstuck after
the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), that initiated the deal in the first
place, failed to guarantee payment in hard cash to the foreign
suppliers.
BP South Africa and the oil foreign firm now want
hard cash upfront, a demand foreign currency-strapped Zimbabwean firms
cannot meet.
Another US$20 million oil tender floated last week is
also understood to be in a glitch with foreign firms that had been
short-listed for the contract now backtracking because the RBZ will not
guarantee they will be paid in hard cash.
A senior state energy
official, who spoke anonymously, said: "Nothing has happened since the first
tender was awarded because the companies especially the foreign firms wanted
an express RBZ guarantee that they will be paid in hard currency. "They have
been studying the trends on the foreign currency auction market which have
indicated that hard currency is in short supply."
Both the PMZA
- which groups local fuel companies - and Energy Minister July Moyo were mum
on the latest fuel crisis.
Reports of difficulties with the fuel
supply deal, that had been expected to ensure supplies throughout the
festive period, comes as the country ran dry with most filling stations
across the country reporting they had run out of fuel or were selling their
last stocks.
In Harare and in the second largest city of
Bulawayo, long queues of motorists waiting to fill up their cars could be
seen at the few garages that were still selling fuel.
Fuel is
only one of several vital commodities that also include electricity and
essential medical drugs in short supply in Zimbabwe because the country has
no hard cash to pay foreign suppliers. - ZimOnline
Supreme Court throws out evicted farmer's appeal Fri 12
November 2004
HARARE - Zimbabwe's Supreme Court yesterday threw
out an appeal by an evicted white farmer saying he had no right to contest
the government's seizure of his land.
In what was seen as a
test case for President Robert Mugabe's controversial programme to seize
land from white farmers for redistribution to landless blacks, the country's
highest court ruled that farmer, George Quinnell, could not recover his 1
200-hectare farm taken from him by the government two years
ago.
Quinnell, who had owned the farm since Zimbabwe's independence
from Britain in 1980, is one of about 5 000 whose farms were seized by the
government under a chaotic and often violent land reform programme in which
at least eight white farmers were killed and several of their black workers
injured by government supporters.
Mugabe says the land reform
programme that destabilised agriculture causing severe food shortages was
necessary to right an unjust colonial land tenure system that left a
minority white community owning about 70 percent of the best farmland while
blacks were crammed on poor sandy soils.
The court, sitting as a
Constitutional Court, ruled 4-1 that irregularities in parliamentary
procedures when the government's Land Acquisition Act was passed in 2002
were of a technical nature. The court also held that the public interest of
resettling landless blacks overrides the private interest of
Quinnell.
The only opposing vote came from Judge Wilson Sandura,
the country's most experienced judge and the only surviving member of the
court before the government began purging dissenting jurists.
Sandura said there were major errors in the way the seizure was ordered and
Quinnell should get his farm back.
Quinnell's lawyers told the
court when the matter was heard last May that the government's land
acquisition laws stripped farmers of their right to a fair hearing. Under
the land seizure laws, farmers are given at most 90 days to vacate their
land and could be jailed for up to two years for defying state eviction
orders.
The farmer, who told the Press he has been living on money
raised by the sale of his last crop and assets salvaged from the farm when
he was evicted in 2002, said he was now considering emigrating to
Australia.
Zimbabwe's food production plummeted by about 60 percent
since the farm seizures began because the black villagers settled on former
white farms by the government lacked financial resources, inputs or skills
to maintain production.
About 5.5 million Zimbabweans or about
half the country's 12 million people have for the last three years survived
on food handouts from international relief agencies. - ZimOnline
Grain Marketing Board incurs Z$302 billion loss Fri 12
November 2004
HARARE - The state-run Grain Marketing Board
incurred a Z$302 billion loss in the year ending March 2004 because the
parastatal has been selling maize and wheat at below cost, according to a
confidential report on the grain utility's finances leaked to
ZimOnline.
In the preceding year ending March 2003, the GMB which
has a tight monopoly on wheat and maize trade in the country, posted a loss
of $24.8 billion. Foreign currency shortages also worsened losses for the
GMB which requires hard currency to pay for wheat and maize imports to
augment inadequate local production.
The report prepared by the
GMB's budget committee reads in part: "GMB's trading activities in maize and
wheat have remained unviable over the last three years due to the current
pricing policy where selling prices are below costs. This will further
worsen GMB's loss position.
"The board is continuously making
efforts to trade profitably on non-strategic grains even though competition
in trade of processed products with other market players seems to be tight.
Lack of foreign currency also affected the 2003/2004 budget and will impact
on trading activities of crops."
In a move dismissed by critics
as a cheap and populist gimmick to curry favour with the electorate ahead of
next March's election, the government last year ordered the GMB to sell
maize to millers at $9 600 per tonne while buying the grain from farmers at
$130 000 per tonne.
The parastatal was last year paying foreign
suppliers about $170 000 per tonne of maize and $150 000 per tonne of wheat.
It was selling wheat to illers at $30 000 per tonne.
The GMB is
set to incur huge losses again in the 2004/2005 financial year as it
continues selling wheat and maize at below cost.
The parastatal is
buying locally produced maize at $750 000 per tonne and imports the staple
grain at $1.6 million per tonne but supplies millers at $650 000 per
tonne.
The GMB pays local and foreign wheat producers $1.7 million
and $1.8 million per tonne respectively but sells a tonne of wheat to
millers at only $900 000.
Independent economist John Robertson
said the losses being incurred by the state-owned GMB would eventually be
passed on to the taxpayer.
He said: "The deficit incurred from the
losses is a bill that will eventually fall on taxpayers. It's not cheap
maize but it will be paid for in the form of high taxes because the GMB will
need money to ensure effective milling capacity." - ZimOnline
Jailing of MP incenses Inter-Parliamentary Union Fri 12
November 2004
GENEVA - The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) says it
is "extremely disappointed" with the jailing of Zimbabwean opposition
parliamentarian, Roy Bennet, and reports that he was being kept in poor
conditions in prison.
Secretary of the IPU's Committee on the Human
Rights of Parliamentarians, Ingeborg Schwarz, told ZimOnline the committee
had taken up Bennet's case with Zimbabwe Parliament Speaker, Emmerson
Mnangagwa and Justice Minister, Patrick Chinamasa.
Schwarz
said: "The declaration concerning the decision made by the Parliament of
Zimbabwe has been communicated to all relevant authorities in Zimbabwe. We
are waiting for responses from the authorities, that is the Speaker and
Minister Chinamasa."
In a decision criticised by local and
international human rights and pro-democracy groups, ruling ZANU PF party
Members of Parliament used their majority in the House to sentence Bennet to
15 months in prison with three months suspended for shoving Chinamasa during
debate in May.
Mnangagwa issued a parliamentary certificate barring
the courts from hearing an appeal by Bennet against the jail
sentence.
The MP's lawyers have however applied to the High Court
challenging the constitutionality of Mnangagwa's decision to bar the courts
from hearing his appeal.
They also want the court to stay
execution of the sentence imposed by Parliament while they appeal against
it in court. - ZimOnline
AFTER the long months of argument,
doubt and security checks, England will depart on Monday for a controversial
tour that includes five one-day internationals in Zimbabwe between November
26 and December 5. Michael Vaughan, the England captain, said: "It's not a
tour that I'm particularly looking forward to. We all want to get it over
with." Vaughan has been included in the touring party at the
insistence of David Morgan, the ECB chairman, despite the desire of Duncan
Fletcher, the coach, to rest his captain. Only Marcus Trescothick and Andrew
Flintoff will enjoy that luxury, but Steve Harmison opted out on moral
grounds.
Vaughan emphasised that the players are not
approaching this as a normal tour. "I think it is clear we are taking a
stance by going to Namibia to prepare and not going to Zimbabwe till
November 24," he said. "We just want to get over there, get it done and get
to South Africa."
Zimbabwe govt and parliament differ on food
shortages
November 12, 2004, 05:45
A debate over the extent to
which Zimbabwe could experience food shortages is raging between the
Zimbabwean government and its parliament. This after a parliamentary
committee, set out to verify levels of food stocks, came out differing
sharply with the state's version of the extent of food shortages in the
country.
The government claimed a bumper harvest of 2.4 million tonnes of
grain was expected for the 2003/4 crop season. However the parliamentary
committee on land says only 500 000 tones will be delivered by year-end. The
government claims the 1.9 million tonnes shortfall is in the hands of
communal farmers who are withholding their produce. The committee says that
is in dispute.
No need for aid Robert Mugabe, the Zimbabwean
president, and his government insist there will be no need for food aid, as
there will be enough to feed the country's people. However, parliament's
agriculture committee wants to know why bumper harvests were expected even
in drought-ravaged regions.
Food agencies have warned Zimbabwe will need
close to 600 000 tones to eliminate the food deficit. Zimbabwean economists
agree and they say food aid under the circumstances is necessary. John
Robertson, an economist, said: "It's very necessary if you want to keep the
people alive, but the government has already told the donors that they are
not needed they have taken us off their programme and if you tell them now
we have changed our minds they would have to admit it is a difficult
situation."
Joseph Made, the agriculture minister, is expected to respond
to the parliamentary report next week.
[ This report does not
necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]
JOHANNESBURG, 11
Nov 2004 (IRIN) - Human rights activists have criticised the Zimbabwe
government for denying citizens living abroad the right to
vote.
"Zimbabweans' right to vote is enshrined in the constitution",
Gabriel Shumba, a human rights lawyer with the South Africa-based Zimbabwe
Exiles Forum, told IRIN.
He was dismissive of the argument made in
parliament on Wednesday by Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary
Affairs, Patrick Chinamasa, that the constitution did not extend the
franchise to people residing outside Zimbabwe.
Parliamentary
elections are due in March next year.
The official daily, The Herald, on
Thursday reported Chinmasa as saying that even if the constitution gave
non-resident Zimbabweans the vote, their registration would not be possible
because Zimbabwean officials are banned from travelling to most of the
countries where expatriates are based.
"There is a travel ban against the
Zanu-PF leadership, from the President down to the lowest ZANU-PF [the
ruling party] cadre, to travel to European Union countries, the United
States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand... How could ZANU-PF be able to
canvass for support of Zimbabweans in the diaspora when its political
leadership suffers from a travel ban in those countries?" he
remarked.
Emily Wellman, another Zimbabwean human rights activist based
in South Africa, cited estimates of three million Zimbabweans living outside
the country, and said most of them were probably critical of the ruling
party.
Considering how closely the last parliamentary polls were
contested, "even a million votes could influence the outcome, so why would
the ZANU-PF want Zimbabweans living abroad to vote?" she asked.
Tempers Flair During Telecel Bosses Remand Hearing
The Herald
(Harare)
November 11, 2004 Posted to the web November 11,
2004
Harare
TEMPERS flared in court yesterday when a prosecutor
accused the defence of trying to conceal evidence during a hearing in which
Telecel and its directors are seeking to be removed from
remand.
Magistrate Ms Memory Chigwaza had to briefly adjourn the
proceedings to allow the prosecutor, Mrs Venrandah Munyoro, and one of the
lawyers, Mr George Chikumbirike, to calm down.
The two had clashed
after Mr Chikumbirike asked the court to stop the prosecution from calling a
witness arguing that Mrs Munyoro should first finish with her
submissions.
Mrs Munyoro intended to call an RBZ official to testify
during the proceedings.
"Your worship, I would like my learned
colleague (Mrs Munyoro) to withdraw her statements. These are serious
allegations.
"We do not come here to hide anything and do not object (to
the) calling of witnesses but it should be procedural," said Mr
Chikumbirike.
Ms Munyoro later withdrew her statements when proceedings
resumed.
The prosecutor then continued with her submissions arguing that
all the three directors - Anthony Carter, James Makamba and Edward Mutsvairo
- had a case to answer.
She argued that the three should be
answerable for the activities of the company regardless of the type of
directorship, that is, whether it is executive or
non-executive.
"Section 285 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act is
very clear.
"According to this section when an offence is committed any
person who was a director at the time of the commission of the offence shall
be deemed guilty unless it is proven that he did not participate," she
said.
She said by simply being a director one would be answerable for the
day-to-day activities and policies adopted by a corporate body.
"A
director in relation to a corporate body means any person who controls or
governs or a member of a board or a group of people who control or govern
the operations of that corporate body," said Mrs Munyoro.
She said
the Companies Act did not make a distinction between directors, saying it
simply stated that any person occupying the position of a director - even if
they were called by different names - was liable for prosecution.
She
maintained that Makamba, who argued that he should not be charged because he
was a non-executive director, had participated in the commission of the
crime when he sat in a board meeting on May 17 last year.
Ms Munyoro also
produced documents to prove that Mutsvairo was a director during the time of
the alleged offence.
She, however, conceded Carter was not part of the
board meeting as he had not joined Telecel at the time.
The State
therefore dropped one of the three counts that were being levelled against
Carter.
Ms Munyoro also argued that Telecel Zimbabwe had committed the
crime after involving itself in unauthorised foreign currency
dealings.
She said Telecel Zimbabwe had been authorised to apply for a
loan outside Zimbabwe but the company later failed to make full
repayments.
"The State would like to place evidence in court that (most)
of the payments made by accused (Telecel Zimbabwe) were not for servicing
the loan repayment but other services which were not approved by the Reserve
Bank of Zimbabwe," she said.
Ms Chigwaza is expected to make a ruling
today.
Telecel Zimbabwe and its bosses are being accused of externalising
US$4,5 million between January 2002 and August this year.
November 11,
2004 Posted to the web November 11, 2004
Harare
DESPITE the
many socio-economic setbacks, Zimbabwe's education system has remained a
shining beacon in sub-Saharan Africa.
Recording a youth literacy rate of
more than 90 percent on a continent with an average literacy rate of 50
percent and below is no mean achievement and bears testimony to 24 years of
well-oiled Government policies directed at wiping out illiteracy in the
country.
The achievements have made the country's education system the
envy of many countries across the globe as Zimbabweans land top jobs ahead
of locals.
For instance, Zimbabwe's doctors, teachers and nursing staff
are some of the most sought after even in the so-called developed
countries.
Inspired by the nation's eagerness to learn, the Government
has been investing billions of dollars in setting up universities and
tertiary colleges.
For years the education sector has been receiving
the highest allocation of Government support since independence.
And,
indeed, the continued growth of education has been a marvel to watch, not
only to Zimbabweans, but even to the whole region who up to this day revere
the country's sound education policies.
It is against this background
that several people have expressed concern at the spate of irregularities at
the Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (Zimsec).
Leakages of
examination papers, mix-ups in results and failure by the council to deliver
examination results on time to the candidates are becoming quite frequent,
raising fears that the country's education standards may be
compromised.
The introduction of a local examinations body was seen by
many as a noble initiative that was to ensure that the syllabi remained
relevant to the socio-economic needs of the country.
In advocating
for the localisation of examinations, educationists felt that this was one
more step in the total "emancipation" of a colonial-designed education
system.
However, despite these accolades that were heaped on Zimsec, the
examination council has been dogged with serious problems such as
allegations of corruption, forging of results, and other discrepancies that
are threatening to bring the body to its knees.
Formed five years
ago, Zimsec was seen as the answer to the problems that were being faced by
the education sector.
Its formation was supposed to cushion Zimbabweans
from the exorbitant fees that were being charged by the Cambridge University
Examinations Syndicate.
The shortage of foreign currency also gave added
impetus to the localisation of examinations, which saw renowned
educationists like Isaiah Sibanda and Thompson Tsodzo playing the role of
"midwives" in the birth of Zimsec.
For a while, things seemed to be going
well until the council was enmeshed in a leakage of examination papers and
it has been embroiled in problems since then.
Only last week Zimsec
was forced to postpone the sitting of the Ordinary Level Mathematics Paper 1
examination following a "localised" leakage in Kadoma.
The body has,
however, since distanced itself from the leakage saying it occurred when
spoilt papers were sent to a Kadoma-based paper mills by the printers for
destruction.
In a Press statement Zimsec director Mr Jabulani Ndanga
said: "Zimsec Mathematics Paper 1, that was scheduled for 10 November was
leaked through spoilages taken to Kadoma Paper Mills by the security printer
for destruction.
"Zimsec staff were not involved in the leakage, all
arrests made so far do not include Zimsec staff."
The above
disclaimer notwithstanding, leakages and bungling of students* results,
where in some instances students have received results for subjects they did
not sit for, have characterised the local body since its inception in
1999.
At one time an examination that was scheduled to take place in the
morning had to be postponed to 2 pm of the same day because some of the exam
papers had gone missing.
Faced with such glaring shortcomings in the
running of the council, several organisations and educationists are now
calling on the Government to institute investigations in the operations of
the examination body.
"We need an explanation of what is happening at
Zimsec," said Mr Tinarwo Marere, a retired teacher.
He added that
while it was normal for an examination body to slip up once in a while in
running and co-ordinating examinations, the continued errors by the
examination council were becoming a cause for concern and had serious
implications for the reputation of the country*s education
system.
Last year the National Education Union of Zimbabwe (NEUZ) called
for a complete overhaul of Zimsec*s management for allegedly bringing the
education system of Zimbabwe into disrepute.
Delays in the release of
examination results have not endeared Zimsec to students who prefer to write
their exams in two sittings. "I had sat for some of my O-level exams in June
with the hope of easing the pressure this November, but I have since sat for
the same exams because the results are still not out.
"The (June)
exams have proved to be a waste of precious time and money," said Sarah
Manjengwa of Warren Park.
Last week 50 Girls* High pupils missed an
African History exam owing to a date mix-up. The date on the examination
timetable compiled by Zimsec did not tally with the date on the envelope
containing the examination papers.
Only 132 students out of the 184
students who had registered for the exam were able to sit for it. This was
after the students had been told to go home at the end of the morning
examination. Those who managed to write had to be contacted by phone. Those
without contact telephone numbers lost out.
The council plans to
resuscitate the Zimbabwe Junior Certificate exams, but with the current
problems bedevilling the O and A-level exams, questions are being asked
whether it has the capacity to handle an additional workload.
In the
light of the on-going problems, there is now an urgent need for the parent
ministry to intervene and help clear the mess that has accumulated over the
last five years if the country's education system is to regain its
credibility.
A concerned parent, a Mrs Madzivire, worried about the
perennial problems at the examinations body, says the Government should give
parents the right to choose between Zimsec and Cambridge.
She said:
"For fear of the unknown, my daughter will sit for the Cambridge as well as
the Zimsec examination because I have lost faith in the local examining
body."
"The fact that results are tampered with is something that I
cannot ignore."
Zimsec's public relations manager, Ms Faith Chasokela,
said that her organisation was doing its best to resolve the administrative
and operational hiccups that have given the organisation a bad
name.
She said that they were in the process of implementing a plan of
action which would improve things at the examination council.
Ms
Chasokela, however dismissed, the accusations of bungling, saying that it
had occurred only once. She attributed the mishap to a faulty
machine.
"The June results were late because we wanted to give ourselves
time to do a thorough job.
"We did not want to put ourselves under
pressure, and the results are pleasing because this time our results are
accurate," she said.
Ms Chasokela, however, did not express any sympathy
or apologise for the inconvenience caused to students who sat for the June
exams with the hope of easing pressure on the November exams.
"The
June exam is a supplementary exam and not for first-timers, students are
actually lucky because we are one of the few countries within the region who
still offer the June examination."
Zimsec officials have argued that the
same personnel who served during the Cambridge era are the ones presiding
over the examining body. This begs the question: If this is the case then
why are there now problems which were non-existent before?
Most
educationists are unanimous that localising Zimbabwean exams was a step in
the right direction, but the parent ministry should devise ways of ensuring
that this is done without tarnishing the image of otherwise excellent
education system.
November
11, 2004 Posted to the web November 11, 2004
Harare
QUEUES at
several Harare service stations started moving yesterday evening after the
National Oil Company of Zimbabwe (Noczim) released fuel from its Government
stocks to help out the private sector, which is seemingly immobilised by the
new requirement for players in the sector to co-operate when
importing.
Little or no fuel has been imported by the private sector
despite its allocation of foreign currency since private oil importers were
directed to combine import orders.
The instruction was given after it
was discovered that some private companies allocated foreign currency
through the auctions to buy fuel were either selling this entitlement or
were importing non-petroleum products.
The private sector was supposed to
form a small unit in its Petroleum Marketers of Zimbabwe Association that
would combine requirements, make a single order with each block allocation
of currency, organise the shipment, and then split the order when it arrived
in Zimbabwe among the member importers.
It was envisaged that this
would improve efficiency and increase fuel imports, since there would be no
wastage and misuse of funds.
However, it appears the private importers
have been unable to implement the scheme, and no one knows why. The
importers, normally quite vocal and open about their operations, are now
refusing to talk. There has been muttering about "logistics" and using the
pipeline, without any detail about just what could be going
wrong.
What is known is that the foreign currency has been made available
and that there were adequate Zimbabwean dollars to buy it. In fact, many
service stations have been asked to pay in advance for fuel yet to be
delivered.
"We are just waiting for our supplies from the marketers'
association and we do not know what is causing the delay.
"We have
since paid for our supplies and we also understand that the Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe is supposed to have made the foreign currency available more than
two weeks ago," said a fuel marketer on condition of anonymity.
The
delays in imports were bringing the operations of the private sector and the
ordinary motorist, both totally reliant on private sector imports, to a
standstill.
This is why the Ministry of Energy and Power Development
took the initiative and ordered Noczim to release fuel from the Government
and public sector stocks to help out the private sector and keep the wheels
of Zimbabwean business turning.
It was not known yesterday whether
Noczim was selling fuel to the private distributors or simply lending fuel
that would be replaced once the marketers' association had got its act
together and had managed to import fuel.
As news of the Noczim
release spread, tankers were seen yesterday morning pouring into the main
Noczim storage depot in Msasa to line up to collect the vital
commodity.
The fuel was finally delivered at the service stations late in
the afternoon or early in the evening.
The Secretary for Energy and
Power Development, Cde Justin Mupamhanga, said the shortages that were being
experienced would end after Noczim provided fuel to marketers.
"There
is fuel in the country and I can certainly assure the whole nation that the
situation will normalise in the next few days.
"Noczim has made fuel
available to the petroleum marketers and the delay is only due to logistical
problems on the part of the marketers," said Cde Mupamhanga.
He
dismissed rumours that there were problems with using the pipeline.
"The
pipeline system managers know how to operate the system basing on the
commodity on demand and this nullifies the speculation that the system might
be causing the problems," Cde Mupamhanga said.
The secretary's view
is backed by what has been seen in the past. Poor pipeline management does
not result in no fuel; it results in only one type of fuel being pumped for
several days.
Cde Mupamhanga said Noczim prioritised critical Government
departments but also supplied other petroleum marketers for on-selling to
retailers if the need arose.
The Minister of Energy and Power
Development Cde July Moyo last week told Parliament that the Government
would provide the commodity to fuel companies for distribution.
He
also said that following the deregulation of the fuel sector, private fuel
dealers had the responsibility to procure fuel and the central bank provided
them with the necessary foreign currency.