http://www.washingtonpost.com
By Associated Press,
Updated: Thursday, November 15, 3:47 AM
VICTORIA FALLS, Zimbabwe — The
Zimbabwe Diamond Conference, which wound up
here Wednesday, was sponsored by
President Robert Mugabe’s government to
highlight its emergence as a major
player in the world diamond trade.
The conference was held to “shed
light” on Zimbabwe’s diamond mining and to
allay widely-held concerns of
corruption and looting of the gems, said
organizers.
But the
conference raised more questions than answers.
Delegates spoke of the
amazing potential Zimbabwe has as a diamond producer.
Zimbabwe allegedly has
the capacity to produce between 110 million to 160
million carats of
diamonds annually, making it one of the top five diamond
producers by volume
in the world.
But where the diamond money is going is not clear. The
Mugabe government
seemed unconcerned about providing clarity on how much is
mined or earned at
the country’s eastern Marange diamond fields. Mines
Minister Obert Mpofu
dismissed calls for transparency.
“How then are
you expected to be transparent when there are hyenas chasing
you?” said
Mpofu to conference delegates, referring to diamond watchdog
groups. “They
want to know what car you drive, which house you are living in
and what
plane you are flying.”
Mpofu was named as having amassed “unexplained
wealth” from illegal diamond
deals, in a report released at the start of the
conference by a Canadian
group campaigning against conflict diamonds,
Partnership Africa Canada. The
report described Mpofu as “the chief guardian
of Marange” because of his
role in awarding “opaque” concessions beyond the
scrutiny of government
ministers and the public.
Mpofu denied the
accusations and dismissed the report as being funded by the
Canadian
government to “vilify and lie” about Zimbabwe.
“You think Africans can
believe that nonsense? We are very emotional about
it and we have suffered
enough,” Mpofu said.
At least $2 billion from diamond sales was allegedly
stolen from the Marange
diamond fields and enriched President Robert
Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party
loyalists and military hierarchy, the report
said.
The funds from diamond sales could have turned around the country’s
embattled economy, but they have not shown up in the national
coffers.
After years of political and economic meltdown, Zimbabwe’s
health and
education services remain broke.
Finance Minister Biti
said in his budget speech he had been promised $600
million from diamond
sales but the head of state-run Zimbabwe Mining
Development Corporation,
Goodwills Masimirembwa said that figure had to be
revised downwards to $150
million due to poor performance of diamond sales
affected by Western
sanctions.
While Zimbabwe’s entire budget for education for 2012 was $8
million, Mugabe’s
party is constructing a $6 million conference hall in the
provincial city of
Gweru for its annual convention in
December.
Education Minister David Coltart criticizes the government’s
spending.
Coltart said last week that the number of children dropping out of
school
has risen by 10 percent because of increased school fees. Coltart
said his
ministry must rely on the goodwill of donors to assist in its
programs.
He accused Mugabe’s party of having misplaced
priorities.
“We have a warped system in Zimbabwe, a history of misplaced
priorities;
this hall in Gweru and the military college constructed for $100
million,”
Coltart said.
“If that money had been channeled toward the
rehabilitation of schools, then
we would have improved the learning
institutions.”
Zimbabwe received a $98 million loan from China to build a
sprawling
military training college. China wants the loan repaid over 13
years from
proceeds from the Marange diamond fields.
However, the
Mugabe government complains that sanctions by Europe, Australia
and the U.S.
are “denying the people of Zimbabwe a chance to benefit from
diamond
sales.”
Former South African President Thabo Mbeki told Zimbabwe that it
must ensure
the “greatest possible transparency” in the mining and sales of
its diamonds
and guard the diamond industry against “a predatory elite which
uses its
access to state power to enrich itself, against the interests of
the people
as a whole, acting in collusion with the mining
companies.”
Mbeki said the country’s political leadership “owes a sacred
obligation to
the peoples of Zimbabwe to ensure that the country’s diamonds
serve as the
people’s best friend.
By GILLIAN GOTORA, Associated
Press – 1 day ago
VICTORIA FALLS, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe's diamond
conference was rocked by
controversy Tuesday over the Kimberley Process, the
world diamond trade
regulatory body, whose chairwoman was publicly asked to
resign because she
is American.
Gillian Milovanovic, the American
chairwoman of the Kimberley Process, came
under a barrage of criticism from
African delegates at the Zimbabwe Diamond
Conference for allegedly not doing
enough to persuade the U.S. government to
lift trade restrictions on
Zimbabwe's state-owned diamond mining companies.
South Africa's Kimberley
Process monitor Abbey Chikane accused Milovanovic
of having a conflict of
interest because she is American. Chikane alleged
Milovanovic has failed to
follow African delegates wishes to promote the
trade of diamonds dug up from
Zimbabwe's notorious Marange field in Europe
and the United States.
The
state-run Zimbabwe Mining Development Company and Minerals Marketing
Corporation of Zimbabwe are on the U.S. sanctions list, because of evidence
of the Mugabe government's state violence and human rights
violations.
"There is a danger of having a chairmanship that will fragment
the
organization because you are conflicted ... you are then supposed to
recuse
yourself," Chikane said to Milovanovic in front of the
conference.
"When South Africa takes over the chair next year we will solve
these
issues," said Chikane, who is chairman of the South African Diamond
Board.
Zimbabwe Mines Minister Obert Mpofu told Milovanovic that most traders
and
investors at the conference, mostly of Indian and Arab origin, were
"scared"
of her presence at the conference, which was sponsored by President
Robert
Mugabe's government.
"They are coming to me whispering, scared
that they will be heard by the
Americans who will interfere with their
accounts," Mpofu said. "But it will
not stop us from what we are doing," he
said, referring to Zimbabwe's
diamond trade with India and Dubai, which has
been criticized for alleged
corruption through price fixing.
Other
delegates from Africa, India, Israel and Dubai told Milovanovic that
because
of U.S sanctions against Zimbabwe, the Kimberley Process is
unwittingly
promoting the illicit trade of Zimbabwe diamonds and creating
the same
conflict diamonds it is trying to prevent from being traded.
Milovanovic told
the delegates that she would not respond to their
criticism.
"You are
looking for something very dramatic from all this but you are not
going to
get it," she said. "I'm not a dramatic person by nature."
Milovanovic said
her position on the Kimberley Process had no power to
influence the U.S.
imposition of sanctions against Zimbabwe.
The U.S Embassy said U.S. sanctions
against Zimbabwe's state-owned mining
companies are separate from the
Kimberley Process. Michael Gonzalez, the
political and economic officer at
the embassy in Harare, said the American
sanctions against Zimbabwe's mining
companies have nothing to do with the
Kimberley Process but are a bilateral
issue. He said Washington has imposed
sanctions because of its concerns over
state violence.
Zimbabwe's "attorney general and security chiefs must start
honoring the
president's calls to end violence so the sanctions can be
removed," said
Gonzalez.
Mugabe's government staged the conference in the
resort city of Victoria
Falls to gain international credibility for
Zimbabwe's huge production of
diamonds in the Marange fields in eastern
Zimbabwe. But the Mugabe
government's efforts to win respectability have
been overshadowed by
allegations that $2 billion of diamond proceeds have
been stolen by Mugabe's
cronies. Zimbabwe government officials denied the
charges of corruption in
the report by the Partnership Africa Canada, a
group campaigning against
conflict diamonds.
Since 2006, Zimbabwe has
mined Marange — one of the world's largest diamond
deposits — producing
rough stones worth an estimated $2 billion per year.
Yet the report charges
that the funds have not reached the Zimbabwean
treasury to help the
impoverished country. Instead the diamonds have
enriched Mugabe's close
associates and an international ring of traders,
according to the report.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tererai
Karimakwenda
14 November, 2012
Officials from Zimbabwe’s Mines
Ministry and many of the invited guests to
the Diamond Conference at
Victoria Falls, used the second day on Tuesday to
focus on the issue of what
they called ‘Western sanctions’ and to attack
American officials, who they
accused of hindering the country’s diamond
trade.
The Mugabe regime
claims Zimbabwe’s diamond industry is being hindered by
sanctions. In fact
these are targeted sanctions which are mainly an asset
freeze and travel ban
on key members of the regime. Two diamond companies
affiliated with the
security sector chefs are on the list, because of the
human rights abuses
that occurred in the diamond mining areas.
Mines Minister Obert Mpofu who
hosted the two-day conference, invited
individuals and political figures who
support ZANU PF, in an attempt to gain
credibility for Zimbabwe’s tainted
diamond trade.
One of the unfortunate targets was the American Gillian
Milovanovic, who
currently chairs the Kimberly Process (KP), a global
watchdog set up to
eliminate the trade in so-called blood
diamonds.
Milovanovic was challenged to recuse herself by Abbey Chikane,
a KP monitor
for South Africa accused of supporting ZANU PF. Chikane claimed
there was a
conflict of interest because US ‘sanctions’ imposed on Zim are
hurting the
diamond trade. Chikane himself is a controversial figure who
fell out with
civil society groups in Zimbabwe.
Milovanovic argued
that the sanctions are a bilateral issue that has nothing
to do with
diamonds. She is quoted as saying: “Compliance with the KP
certificate is
unrelated to the issue of sanctions.”
Mike Davis, a campaigner for Global
Witness, dismissed Chikane’s role as an
accuser, saying he is behaving in a
hypocritical manner because he is a
compromised figure himself who
previously betrayed the trust of leading
civil society activists in
Zimbabwe.
“He even went to the extent of an unauthorized mission to
Zimbabwe in
November 2010, to authorize thousands of diamonds for sale on
behalf of the
KP, which he had no mandate to do,” Davis told SW Radio
Africa.
Mines Minister Obert Mpofu also unleashed a public attack on
Milovanovic,
saying most of the Indian and Arab traders and investors at the
conference
were “scared” of her.
Mpofu said: “They are coming to me
whispering, scared that they will be
heard by the Americans who will
interfere with their accounts”.
According to reports, other delegates
from India, Israel and Dubai told
Milovanovic that the KP is creating
conditions for the illicit trade in
Zimbabwe diamonds, by maintaining
sanctions against the country. Milovanovic
refused to be drawn into the
argument.
Davis explained that there is a clear threat posed in the way
that diamonds
are being controlled by elements of the security apparatus.
With an election
due next year the concern is that the diamonds will be used
to fund violence
that will assist the Mugabe regime to retain power.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com/
14/11/2012 00:00:00
by Deutsche
Welle
A US diplomat has said sanctions on Zimbabwe will
remain until human rights
situation in the country is
improved.
Zimbabwean government officials blame sanctions on Zimbabwe's
diamonds as
the cause of the country's ailing economy.
Zimbabwe
government's international conference on diamond trade has ended on
Tuesday
with delegates asking western countries to lift sanctions it imposed
on the
African country's leadership about a decade ago following reports of
human
rights abuses.
Diamond traders from all over the world and government
officials said the
sanctions were affecting Zimbabwe's diamond prices on the
world market.
The two – day conference was aimed at finding ways in which
Zimbabwe's
diamonds could improve the country's ailing economy. Speaking at
the
conference, President Mugabe blamed sanctions imposed on him as the
cause of
Zimbabwean diamond lower prices.
“Diamonds have been
marketed at depressed prices owing to a negative buyer
perception resulting
from these illegal sanctions… I do not even know why
sanctions exist,” he
said.
On the other hand, delegates at the conference blamed the Kimberly
Process,
the world diamond trade watchdog, for not doing enough to persuade
the U.S
Government to lift sanctions on Zimbabwe's state- owned diamond
mining
companies.
"The sanctions that are on Zimbabwe should be on
other things and not on
diamonds. Zimbabwe has proved that they are in
compliance. Anything that
concern Zimbabwe must be out of the sanctions,"
said Namibia Mines and
energy Minister Isa Kigali.
Human
rights
Some diamond traders at the conference attacked the Kimberly Process
for not
able to solve the problem and blamed Obama's administration for
making
Zimbabweans lives miserable through the sanctions.
“I have not
earned a single penny since I came to this country. If anything
I have spent
$50,000 of my own money, and I have got nothing to go back home
to" said
Gianni Meals, an American investor in Zimbabwe.
Trading in Zimbabwe
diamonds in the US is being hampered because Washington
has imposed
sanctions on all Zimbabwe diamond trading companies.
"I do not know why
America has chosen a fight with this country, it has been
through enough.
This is one of the largest diamond producers yet 50 percent
are unemployed.
The country has been robbed,” Melas insisted.
But some western
diplomats who attended the conference in Victoria Falls
ruled out lifting
the sanctions unless human rights situation improves in
Zimbabwe.
“The restrictions in place are response to the broad
environment. They are
necessarily a response to individual
transactions.
But fundamentally the restrictions are in place about unrelated
to the
diamond sector or any given transaction but what those funds are
being used
to perpetuate,” said Mike Gonzales, head of political and
economic section
at the US embassy in Zimbabwe.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/
As jostling for positions within President
Robert Mugabe’s Zanu (PF) party
in Masvingo reaches fever pitch, at least
nine “retired” members of the
Zimbabwe National Army have thrown their hats
into the ring to contest the
forthcoming parliamentary and senatorial
elections.
14.11.12
10:02am
by Regerai Tututuku
This
gives credence to what has been repeatedly claimed by political
analysts
that the dividing line between the military and the Zanu (PF) wing
of
government is seriously blurred, with senior army officers regarding
themselves first and foremost as politicians rather than professional
soldiers.
Brigadier General Callisto Gwanetsa is eying the Chiredzi
senatorial seat
while Brigadier General Livingstone Chineka is eying the
Zaka seat. Former
Bikita West legislator and journalist Colonel Claudius
Makova is gunning for
the Bikita senatorial seat, while Brigadier General
Victor Rungani wants to
be one of the legislators in
Bikita.
Brigadier Gibson Mashingaidze is also understood to be interested
in running
for a parliamentary seat in Bikita, his home area.
In
Gutu, where the late former army commander, General Vitalis Zvinavashe,
was
trounced in the 2008 elections by little known Empire Makamure of the
MDC-T
, Colonel Mutero Masanganise is reportedly gunning for the senatorial
seat.
Barely a month after the death of Higher Education minister
Stan Mudenge,
who was Masvingo north legislator, Colonel Davis Marapira
openly declared
his interest to take over the reins. He has already started
campaigning in
Masvingo North constituency - although Zanu (PF) says no-one
should campaign
before being given the nod by the national
leadership.
In Masvingo West former executive mayor candidate Major
Bernard Mazarire has
declared his interest to wrestle the seat from the
MDC-T. In Masvingo urban
former United People’s Party president, now a Zanu
(PF) member, Colonel
Daniel Shumba wants to snatch the seat from the
MDC-T.
Contacted for comment, Zanu (PF) Masvingo provincial chairman
Lovemore
Matuke said it was too early for anyone to start campaigning as
they were
still awaiting a signal from the party leadership.
“It is
not bad for people to strategically position themselves, but it might
cause
confusion within the party,” said Matuke. “We do not mind whether one
is a
former soldier or not. If he is chosen by the people he will be allowed
to
represent them - but there is no such policy where we say members of the
army have to get special treatment.”
The party’s national spokesman
Rugare Gumbo has said the politburo will meet
soon to come up with
modalities and principles to be followed when holding
party primary
elections. There has been speculation that the army will not
allow anyone
without “liberation war credentials” to rule the country.
This has been
interpreted to mean that the army will not allow Prime
Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai to rule even if he wins the next poll. However
analysts have
warned that the militarisation crusade by Mugabe’s party will
lead to an
agonizing defeat. They say Mugabe should confine soldiers to the
barracks if
he wants to snatch meaningful votes in the next election.
Soldiers
standing
Bikita - Brigadier Gibson Mashingaidze
Bikita - Brigadier
General Victor Rungani
Masvingo West - Major Benard
Mazarire
Bikita - Colonel Claudius Makova
Chiredzi - Brigadier
General Callisto Gwanetsa
Gutu - Colonel Mutero
Masanganise
Masvingo North - Colonel Davis Marapira
Masvingo urban
- Colonel Daniel Shumba
Tell us about it
Will Mugabe’s
militarization crusade lead to Zanu (PF)’s defeat at the
polls? Please tell
us: .
Email: editor@thezimbabwean.co.uk
Facebook:
http://www.
thezimbabwean.co.uk/#facebook
Twitter: https://
twitter.com/thezimbabwean
Sms: +27 79 570 9663, +263 736 999 005
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
By Fungai Kwaramba, Staff Writer
Wednesday,
14 November 2012 10:40
HARARE - Zanu PF’s “Mr Fix It”, Jabulani Sibanda, is
in President Robert
Mugabe’s home province of Mashonaland West where he is
marshalling support
for the party ahead of elections that are expected next
year.
The firebrand war veterans leader says he is in the province to
boost Zanu
PF support.
Contrary to a story that appeared in the Daily
News last week which
erroneously quoted Sibanda as stating he had met with
Mugabe because of the
party’s sorry state in the province, the war veterans
leader said he had not
met with Mugabe on issues besetting the
province.
Sibanda said he is in the province to strengthen the party’s
fortunes ahead
of elections which the Zanu PF leader says should be held
next year in
March.
The war veterans leader, who takes no prisoners
in his campaigns, has
reportedly enhanced Zanu PF fortunes in the province
where the MDC, Zanu PF
fiercest rival, plays second fiddle.
“I am now
in Mashonaland West province even when Jesus said “makwayi angu
anonzwa izwi
rangu” (my sheep heed to my call) he was saying so because he
had walked
among his people and the people knew his voice and his works.
“I am still
in Mashonaland and I will be there building support for the
party,” said
Sibanda.
During the 2008 harmonised elections Zanu PF won 88,89 percent
of the seats
in Mashonaland Central, 82,61 percent in Mashonaland East,
74,07 percent in
Midlands and 72,73 percent in Mashonaland
West.
During the synchronised elections Tsvangirai’s MDC won 99 of the
210 seats
with Zanu PF taking 97, while Industry and Commerce minister
Welshman Ncube’s
MDC won 10, and an independent candidate won
one.
Ironically Zanu PF legislators got more votes than MDC. There was a
total of
2 405 147 valid votes cast, with Zanu PF garnering 1 112 773 (46,3
percent),
MDC 1 038 512 (43,2 percent), and Ncube-led MDC getting 203 146
(8,4
percent).
http://www.herald.co.zw
Wednesday, 14 November 2012
00:00
Sydney Kawadza Assistant News Editor
Zanu-PF has threatened
to pull out of the Joint Monitoring and
Implementation Committee (Jomic)
over alleged interference by the Zimbabwe
Institute, which manages the
body’s finances and related logistics. In a
letter presented to a full Jomic
meeting on Monday, Zanu-PF Jomic
co-chairperson Cde Nicholas Goche called
for the de-linking of ZI and Jomic.
“The Jomic secretariat should fully
control and run Jomic programmes under
the direction of the full Jomic
committee, failure of which Zanu-PF will
find it extremely difficult to
continue to co-operate with or work through
Jomic,” Cde Goche
said.
(MDC) confirmed that the full committee meeting received the
complaint from
Zanu-PF.
“We will sit down as Jomic co-chairpersons
and we will report back to the
full committee meeting after discussing the
issues raised by Zanu-PF,” she
said.
Mrs Misihairabwi-Mushonga said the
co-chairpersons would only report back to
the full Jomic committee meeting
next year. While ZI was headquartered in
Cape Town,
South Africa,
Zanu-PF noted that the institution had largely shifted its
base from that
country to Zimbabwe. Cde Goche said ZI transferred most of
its staff from
Cape Town to Harare, resulting in Jomic changing offices to
accommodate
them.
Jomic has eight employees, while the ZI has about nine.
Cde
Goche said that the ZI director and his deputy had a “long and very
strong
background with the MDC”.
“The two were founding members of the MDC and
worked as directors at the MDC
headquarters at Harvest House until the party
split in 2005,” Cde Goche
said. He said the two moved away with the
formation led by MDC leader
Professor Welshman Ncube, but disappeared until
their 2009 link with Jomic.
“It is believed that during this period they
were in South Africa where they
later emerged as directors of the Zimbabwe
Institute,” said Cde Goche.
He said the ZI director attended major Jomic
meetings, including those by
co-chairpersons. Cde Goche said some parties in
Jomic were failing to raise
their quota of people for inter-party meetings
in districts.
“This is clear evidence that the parties do not have
reasonable members in
some districts and are riding on Jomic programmes with
the assistance of ZI
to start organising membership and creating party
structures in those
districts,” said Cde Goche.
Responding to Dhlakama's threat that he will provoke a fresh bloodbath if the government does not share the country's ever-increasing wealth and reform the electoral system, the authorities said they trust he will not take up arms.
"Mr Dhlakama is not a child. He is an adult, and an adult thinks of the consequences of his actions. That is why we think he will not do anything. He has children and a wife," police spokesman Pedro Cossa said on Tuesday.
In an exclusive interview from his base in the Mozambican bush, Dhlakama told AFP he wanted peace, but vowed to send the country "backwards" toward a brutal civil war if necessary.
"We don't believe he will go to war because he has promised several times that he will not make war, that he wants peace. We don't believe he can change his mind from one moment to the next and say he wants war," Cossa said.
Mozambique's government has sent members of the country's elite riot squad or "Rapid Intervention Force" (FIR) to the Gorongosa area where Dhlakama is camped out with several hundred armed supporters.
Cossa said they were there to ensure Dhlakama's safety.
"We don't want any problems to occur involving his safety or his health so, if anyone does anything against him, FIR will be called in to assist," he said.
"The police of FIR do not have the intention to attack the Renamo leader. We will wait until he wants to go back to his house in Maputo and accompany him."
Renamo militants have clashed several times with the elite squad in the past and consider them their sworn enemies.
Earlier this year the FIR launched an assault on a group of Renamo militants who had camped out outside their former party headquarters in the northern city of Nampula. Four people died in the clash.
http://www.herald.co.zw
Wednesday, 14 November 2012
00:00
MAPUTO — Former Mozambican rebel leader Afonso Dhlakama has
said he is now
training his men in preparation for a war against the
government.
In an exclusive interview with AFP from his base deep in the
Mozambican bush
where he has gathered several hundred armed supporters, the
former
rebel leader vowed a return to violence if the government does not
share the
country’s wealth and reform the electoral system.
Dhlakama
warned he was not scared of derailing the country’s economic boom.
“If it is
necessary we can go backwards. We prefer a poor country than to
have people
eating from our pot,” he said.
“I am training my men up and, if we need
to, we will leave here and destroy
Mozambique.”
Dhlakama directed an
insurgency against the Frelimo government that resulted
in the death of a
million Mozambicans between 1977 and 1992.
To lend weight to his demands,
Dhlakama has coupled a motley of former
rebels with AK-47 rifles.
In
the shadow of Mount Gorongosa, they receive weapons training and run
military drills while guarding their leader, believing the ruling party will
hire assassins to eliminate him.
“We have to wait a little, but we
are waiting for the moment we can finish
what we started,” said ex-fighter
Armindo Milaco.
It remains unclear whether Dhlakama can or will make good on
his threats,
but after 20 years of “patience”, he insists his former Renamo
rebels have
had enough of the government’s “robbery” of the country’s
resources.
“We want to say to (President Armando) Guebuza, ‘You are
eating well. We
want to eat well too.’”
But Mozambican police said
yesterday they do not believe the former rebel
leader would make good on his
threat to return the country to war.
Responding to Dhlakama’s threat, the
Mozambican authorities said they trust
he will not take up
arms.
“Mr Dhlakama is not a child. He is an adult, and an adult
thinks of the
consequences of his actions.
“That is why we think he will
not do anything. He has children and a wife,”
police spokesman Pedro
Cossa said.
The police spokesperson added: “We don’t believe he
will go to war because
he has promised several times that he will not make
war, that he wants
peace.
“We don’t believe he can change his mind
from one moment to the next and say
he wants war.”
Meanwhile, the
Mozambican government has dispatched members of the country’s
elite riot
squad or “Rapid Intervention Force” (FIR) to the Gorongosa area
where
Dhlakama is camped out with several hundred armed supporters.
Cossa said
they were there to ensure Dhlakama’s safety.
“We don’t want any problems to
occur involving his safety or his health so,
if anyone does anything against
him, FIR will be called in to assist,” he
said.
“The police of FIR do not
have the intention to attack the Renamo leader. We
will wait until he wants
to go back to his house in Maputo and accompany
him.”
Renamo
militants have clashed several times with the elite squad in the past
and
consider them their sworn enemies.
Earlier this year, the FIR launched an
assault on a group of Renamo
militants who had camped out outside their
former party headquarters in the
northern city of Nampula.
Four
people died in the clash. — AFP-Herald Reporter.
http://www.mdc.co.zw
Wednesday, 14 November 2012
The Standing Committee of
the MDC met in Harare today, the 14th of November
2012 and among other
things reviewed the situation in Mozambique.
The MDC is extremely worried
about the political and security developments
in Mozambique especially the
possibility of another civil war in that
country. Since the end of the very
debilitating civil war which lasted
sixteen years, Mozambique embarked on an
admirable path towards economic
development. That standard of living of the
people of Mozambique improved
considerably during this time of peace and
that can never be disputed.
The MDC unequivocally supports the people of
Mozambique and their right to
leave in peace and harmony. We therefore urge,
the political leadership of
Mozambique especially Frelimo and Renamo to put
the interests of the
Mozambican people first and resolve their political
differences in a
peaceful manner.
The war in Mozambique will bring
untold suffering for the people of
Mozambique and beyond. Further, it will
reverse all the economic, social and
political gains that have been made so
far. We urge the international
community especially SADC and the African
Union to deal with the disturbing
developments in Mozambique as a matter of
urgency. We urge all the people of
Zimbabwe especially the political parties
to set aside their political
differences and support the peace efforts in
Mozambique.
The Last Mile: Towards Real Transformation!!!
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
Wednesday, 14 November 2012
10:57
HARARE - Air Zimbabwe has once again broken aviation records after
the
troubled airline flew an empty aircraft from Johannesburg to Harare upon
the
resumption of regional flights on Monday.
Insiders disclosed
yesterday that Air Zimbabwe flew an empty Boeing 767-200
aircraft, one of
its long-haul planes, which has a carrying capacity of 203
passengers on its
evening return flight from South Africa after it had
ferried five passengers
to Johannesburg from Harare International Airport on
its morning
flight.
The airline cruised the Johannesburg-Harare route with nine
flight crew
aboard including two pilots only identified as Captain Jonasi
and
Murombedzi, the first flight officer, an engineer and six air
hostesses.
The insiders said the embarrassing incident was a result of
poor marketing
by the troubled airline which on Monday resumed regional
flights having
suspended them in January after creditors threatened to seize
the carrier’s
aircraft over crippling debts.
Air Zimbabwe acting
group chief executive officer Innocent Mavhunga could
not be reached for
comment yesterday as his mobile phone went unanswered.
This is not the
first time that Air Zimbabwe has flown near-empty. In 2005,
the national
airline cruised between Dubai and Harare, with one passenger.
Last year,
the airline ferried one passenger from Victoria Falls to Harare
after
landing in the resort town with 16 passengers on its Chinese-made MA60
aircraft from Harare.
Critics say years of mismanagement and
interference by the government have
nearly brought the airline to its
knees.
Starved of cash for recapitalisation, Air Zimbabwe uses mostly
old-fashioned
technology and equipment while nearly all its planes are
between 18 and 23
years old except for the Chinese-made Modern Ark (MA) 60.
- Kumbirai Mafunda
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
Wednesday, 14 November 2012 10:56
HARARE - Zimbabwe's
press freedom groups have said a proposed new media bill
has little
guarantees for free speech and gave government frightening powers
to control
the media ahead of forthcoming elections.
The Voluntary Media Council of
Zimbabwe (VMCZ) — a self-regulating committee
of journalists, lawyers,
priests, businesspersons and ordinary
persons —said, in a highly critical
report that, MDC MP Settlement Chikwinya’s
draft ‘Media Freedom and
Transparency Bill’ violated the Constitution and
undermined freedom of
expression despite amendments aimed at appeasing the
media.
“The
Bill, while seeking to transform the media legislative framework
through
calling for the repeal of the draconian Access to Information and
Protection
of Privacy Act (Aippa), an Act that has been used to arbitrarily
arrest and
detain journalists, unfortunately retains provisions in the Bill
that are
still undemocratic and hinder freedom of expression,” VMCZ
chairperson Alec
Muchadehama said.
“The Bill retains the Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC)
and a Media Council
under provisions that in our view do not conform to the
spirit and letter of
Section 20 of the current Constitution, Article 9 of
the African Charter on
Human and People’s Rights as well as Article 19 of
the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights.”
Nhlanhla Ngwenya,
director of Misa Zimbabwe chapter, told the Daily News
that while they
support initiatives that seek to repeal laws such as Aippa,
there were
“issues” with the Bill.
“As a party that claims to be government in
waiting, it must table before
Parliament laws that are in sync with various
democratic protocols on
freedom of expression and media freedom,” Ngwenya
said.
Chikwinya, who chairs the Media, Information and Communication
Technology
parliamentary portfolio committee, said he would hold more talks
to ensure
the private member’s Bill fits the media practitioners’ preferred
template
and then steer its passage through Parliament.
He is due to
table a motion on the media Bill when Parliament resumes
sitting on
tomorrow.
The proposed Media Freedom and Transparency Bill, which
Chikwinya crafted
after noting the apparent refusal by Information minister
Webster Shamu to
make changes to Aippa, would establish a Media Complaints
Committee;
recommend a fine or a prison term not exceeding six months for a
media
practitioner found guilty of a violation of a media code of
conduct.
The Bill is likely to be delayed for weeks by procedural
problems and
internal wrangling.
The ‘Orwellian’ Aippa that it seeks
to repeal was draconian, restricted
access for foreign reporters, imposed
tight controls on local media and
undermined press freedom.
Chikwinya
said some clauses could be tightened, but added: “It is
constitutional in
all its intents and purposes. To say it’s unconstitutional
is a
misrepresentation.”
The Daily News understands Zanu PF legislators were
not too keen on the
legislation.
Chikwinya’s Bill will maintain the
licensing and registration of journalists
and media groups, restrictions on
freedom of expression, and jail terms,
albeit reduced from two years to six
months.
VMCZ commended MP Chikwinya for trying to repeal the draconian
Aippa
legislation, but said they still found several clauses in his Bill
which
violated the constitution.
“It is the VMCZ’s considered view
that such provisions in the Bill are not
in the best interests for media
freedom or freedom of expression in
Zimbabwe, particularly, where they seek
to continue a culture of the
bureaucratisation of freedom of expression only
in order to curtail it,”
Muchadehama said.
The VMCZ chairperson said
it was beyond its mandate to accept “compromise”
legislation that still
undermines freedom of expression and media freedom.
Ngwenya said Misa
Zimbabwe felt that the Bill includes provisions that seek
to massage egos of
MDC’s political rivals.
The VMCZ was especially critical of retaining a
state-appointed commission
which would retain powers to licence journalists,
enforce standards and
conduct investigations.
The Bill, however, also
has positive provisions such as decriminalising
criticism of the President.
- Gift Phiri
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
Wednesday, 14 November 2012 10:48
HARARE -
The Supreme Court has ruled that the Whitecliffe Farm take-over by
ministry
of Lands and Rural Resettlement from property developer Edward
Pfugari was
illegal and ordered the vacation of occupants within five days.
The farm
owner, 76-year-old Pfugari was involved in the wrangle after his
farm
located on the outskirts of Harare along the Bulawayo Highway was taken
over
by the government.
Justice Ziyambi, who handled the case together with
Justice Paddington Garwe
and Yunus Omerjee, said a preliminary notice of
intention to acquire the
farm handed down in September 2004, was also null
and void.
He ordered Local Government and those claiming occupation
through them to
vacate within five days.
“It is declared that the
respondents (ministry of Lands) did not comply with
the Land Acquisition Act
in acquiring the land,” Justice Ziyambi said in the
ruling.
“Accordingly the acquisition order issued on June 15, 2006,
it is null and
void.”
The ministry of Lands and Rural Resettlement,
cited as respondents in the
case, were yesterday not represented.
The
property developer took his case to the Supreme Court contesting an
Administrative Court ruling, declaring the farm takeover as lawful. - Tendai
Kamhungira
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tichaona Sibanda
14
November 2012
A senior member of the MDC-T on Wednesday strongly
condemned police in
Mutoko for their inaction in arresting arsonists who
petrol bombed two
houses belonging to a party activist.
Piniel Denga,
the MDC-T provincial chairman for Mashonaland East, told SW
Radio Africa’s
Hidden Story program he was horrified to note that despite
evidence linking
the arson attack to known ZANU PF activists, police refused
to act because
the case is ‘highly sensitive.’
Denga blamed the lack of action on police
Commissioner-General Augustine
Chihuri, whom he accused of destroying the
once vibrant force.
‘We don’t expect the police to do anything to ZANU PF
operatives because
their boss is ZANU PF and wears a party t-shirt to work
under his uniform,’
Denga added.
Mutoko is a highly polarized
district and witnessed some of the bloodiest
violence during the 2008 poll.
No one has ever been arrested for the
violence that left many MDC-T
supporters dead.
‘Last week, police even had the audacity to tell the
victim to bring the
suspects to the police station in order for them to open
a docket,’ Denga
said.
This latest incident of political violence
flared up in Mutoko East last
weekend when suspected ZANU PF activists
petrol-bombed a homestead belonging
to David Chamanga Chihwayi, the MDC
organising secretary for ward 17 in the
area.
During the attack
Chihwayi reportedly lost 300kg of maize, all his clothes,
including school
uniforms for his two children, food stuffs and $300 which
he kept in his
bedroom.
Denga said by turning a blind eye when a crime is committed
police are
neglecting their duty and need to be fired. After the attack,
Chihwayi was
able to preserve some footprints as evidence but the police
never bothered
to send in a forensic team.
‘To his credit Chihwayi
was able to follow the prints from his homestead to
the house that belongs
to a known war vet who lives in the area. This case
should be treated as an
attempted murder because they torched his house when
he was sleeping. We
only thank god that he made it out before the fire
engulfed the whole
house,’ Denga said.
Before the attack, Chihwayi had received a series of
threats from known ZANU
PF activists for leading a campaign to be
compensated for the goods and
livestock they lost during the bloody 2008
elections.
The MDC-T in Mashonaland East have rallied behind its ward
chairman, raising
money and building materials to rebuild the two houses
destroyed in the
attack.
‘We have all the material on site now and I
think by this weekend he will
move into his refurbished home,’ Denga added.
http://www.thezimbabwemail.net/
Staff Reporter
21 hours 50 minutes ago
MUTOKO - President Mugabe's peace
call is now in the spot light follwing the
burning of two houses belonging
to the MDC organising secretary ward 17 in
Mutoko amid reports of
re-emergency of torture bases and the army deployed
to help Zanu PF
militia.
"The burning of two houses belonging to David Chihwai Chamanga, the
MDC
organising secretary ward 17 in Mutoko confirms our concern over Mugabe
and
Zanu PF’s calls for peace in public fora whilst at night arming and
unleashing bands of Zanu PF militia groups to commit acts of violence
against perceived opponents.", the MDC said in a statement.
"what is more
worrying is police inaction in dealing with this case of arson
given that
their mandate is to protect property and citizens from
perpetrators of such
heinous crimes."
"The failure by police to act is a clear indication of
complicity in the
whole crime which vindicates our worry about the presence
of state sponsored
violence in Zimbabwe and as such we reiterate our call
for the security
sector reforms."
"More disturbing is the fact that
this incident comes hot on the heels of a
series of well calculated attacks
by state and non state agencies against
those prodemocracy organisations and
activists."
Of note is the recent raiding of the Counselling Service Unit,
arrests of
MDC leadership like Elton Mangoma, arrests of independent
journalists,
deployment of military personnel in Masvingo and Manicaland who
are
intimidating people to vote in favour of Zanu PF in the next coming
referendum and plebiscite in 2013.
"This is the beginning of a well
calculated plan by Zanu PF to create mayhem
and a bloodbath, before, during
and after next year’s election. We are aware
that this trend will increase
and become more intense as we approach
election time."
"From the
foregoing it is clear that our state security and the judiciary
are heavily
compromised."
"The continued abuse of state machinery by Zanu PF is
deplorable and must
stop if we are going to have a free and fair election
next year. The MDC is
worried about the safety and security of the
electorate and the vote under
these conditions which do not augur well for a
free and fair election."
"The MDC will not stand by and watch Zanu Pf
continue with such wanton acts
of provocations and barbaric display of
intolerance."
"We therefore call upon fellow Zimbabweans, and the
international community
to stand guard against this primitive conduct by
Zanu PF for the safety of
our people and the security of our nation. We call
upon our colleagues in
Zanu PF to immediately put a stop to this very dark
epoch in our
nationhood."
"Our position remains that we will not
participate in an election whose
conditions are suspect and not promote free
and fair conduct of democratic
expression of the people’s wishes," the party
said
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tichaona Sibanda
14
November 2012
MDC-T youth assembly President Solomon Madzore says anyone
who doubts Morgan
Tsvangirai will be the next leader of Zimbabwe should have
his head
examined.
Addressing party activists in Harare after he was
released from Chikurubi
prison on Wednesday, Madzore said whether the
military junta likes it or
not, Tsvangirai will be their next
commander-in-chief after the election.
‘We are not worried at all about
threats of a coup. ZANU PF and its partisan
military will not derail our
fight to free Zimbabwe from tyranny. We will
fight to the bitter end despite
all efforts to derail our fight,’ Madzore
said.
The youth leader was
finally granted a $500 bail on Tuesday after spending
over a year in custody
in connection with the alleged murder of police
inspector Petros Mutedza in
May last year.
However he was only released Wednesday because the fines
office at the High
court had closed by the time Justice Chinembiri Bhunu set
him free.
Hundreds of MDC-T activists thronged the gates of the maximum
security
prison to welcome the youth leader, who remained as defiant as
ever, telling
his fellow activists not to be afraid to fight for
change.
‘Never let the threats of incarceration stop you from fighting
for justice.
Look I spent a year at Chikurubi maximum college and I’ve come
out my skin
looking lighter and enlightened politically.
‘Everyone in
that prison, including all the guards and senior officers, are
yawning for
change. So don’t be intimidated by threats of being arrested
just because
you are fighting for change,’ he said.
This led to MDC-T’s co-Home
Affairs Minister Theresa Makone to comment on
her facebook page: ‘They found
that the benefit of releasing him far
outweighed the disastrous rate at
which the Prison Guards were changing,
vakati BETTER AYENDE (They thought it
was better for him to go).’
Madzore is among 28 other MDC-T activists who
were arrested and charged with
the killing of Mutedza during disturbances in
Glen View. The MDC-T insists
the charges are ‘trumped up.’
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tererai
Karimakwenda
14 November, 2012
Two men from Bulawayo, who were
arrested last Friday after they refused to
give way to Robert Mugabe’s
motorcade, appeared separately in court on
Monday and were released on $100
bail each.
Prayer Gavhanga and Newton Mlotshwa, both engineers from
Bulawayo, made
headlines last week after they refused to follow instructions
from the lead
biker in Mugabe’s convoy, who ordered them to pull over.
Mugabe was in
Bulawayo for a graduation ceremony at the National University
of Science and
Technology.
Sergeant Jeche, the lead biker in the
convoy, stopped his bike to block
Gavhanga’s car. He then walked over, took
the keys from the ignition and had
Gavhanga arrested.
The passenger
Mlotshwa decided to act. He got out of the car and grabbed
Sergeant Jeche’s
bike, preventing him from leaving as well. Soldiers who
were in the
motorcade came to Jeche’s aid and arrested Mlotshwa.
Gavhanga, who was
driving, appeared before magistrate Evelyn Mashavakure and
was charged with
“failing to comply with lawful instructions from a police
officer”.
Appearing separately before magistrate Tawanda Muchemwa, Mlotshwa
was
charged with “hindering or resisting a police officer”.
The pair has been
praised by many people for being brave enough to challenge
the police in
Mugabe’s convoy, who have a reputation for speeding through
local streets
and recently causing several deaths due to carelessness.
Political
commentator Wilbert Mukori told SW Radio Africa that the public
reaction
shows just how Zimbabweans are feeling a sense of frustration with
their
lives and with the political situation that is not changing.
“People find
themselves in a situation where for weeks on end there is no
water. There is
no electricity and nothing is going well. Then one day
somebody bullies you
around and says ‘pull over’.
Mukori added that the pair also showed a sense
of courage, in a country
where people are normally too afraid to demonstrate
about important issues.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
Staff Reporter
14th November 2012
Godfrey Chimombe is
the Mashonaland Central provincial chairperson of the
MDC-T and also the
co-chairman of the Joint Monitoring and Implementation
Committee. But once
again this outspoken critic of the regime has got
himself into
trouble.
While addressing a rally earlier this year in Mt. Darwin police
allege he
told the hundreds of MDC-T supporters gathered there that Joice
Mujuru was
responsible for the death of her husband.
The MDC-T claim
that Chimombe was at the rally, but did not address the
crowd.
But
now he has been fined $300 by a Bindura magistrate who ruled that he was
guilty of making false statements. His 6 months jail sentence was suspended
on condition that he commits no further offences.
General Solomon
Mujuru’s death remains a mystery after his charred remains
were found in his
farm house.
http://www.voazimbabwe.com
Jonga
Kandemiiri
13.11.2012
Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ) president
and NewsDay’s Bulawayo Bureau
Chief, Dumisani Sibanda, has requested to
temporarily step aside to deal
with allegations of indecently harassing a
workmate.
Sibanda was reportedly forced to step aside until he is cleared
of an
indecent assault charge levelled against him by a
colleague.
ZUJ secretary general Foster Dongozi said Sibanda sent a brief
statement to
the national executive saying he is stepping aside to enable
him to attend
to the issue, which is now in the courts.
Sibanda was
elected ZUJ president in 2010, taking over from Matthew Takaona,
who is now
a media commissioner.
Dongozi said vice president Michael Chideme becomes
acting president until
Sibanda’s issue is finalized.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
13/11/2012 00:00:00
by Staff
Reporters
THE government has launched a US$15 million Agricultural
Credit Facility
targeted at the through Agribank to help boost maize
production in the new
farming season.
Agribank Chief Executive Sam
Malaba said the facility would be targeted at
the A2 commercial farmers in
the high rainfall maize growing regions of the
country.
“The
government has availed a US$15 million agricultural credit facility at
a
concessionary rate of 4-5 per cent,” Malaba told reporters in Harare on
Tuesday.
“The facility will be released in tranches with the initial
US$5 million
having already been disbursed to Agribank. We hope this
facility will go a
long way in boosting the production of maize and ensure
food security in the
country.
“One of the major challenges we have
been facing is lack of funding for
agriculture which matches the backbone
status of the sector. We therefore
feel with such reasonable interest rates,
more farmers would take up the
facility.”
Prospective beneficiaries
can get up to US$100,000 each but must satisfy the
requirements of the bank
which include a proven track record of maize
deliveries to the Grain
Marketing Board.
Malaba said the revolving facility was a welcome boost
at a time poor
agricultural performance had cascaded negatively into other
economic sectors
such as manufacturing which rely on the through-put from
the sector.
“We are positive that this facility will boost other sectors
of the economy.
We have just seen a downward revision of the economic
targets and this has
been largely due to the failure by the agricultural
sector since it is the
anchor sector,” he said.
“We hope this will
provide the stimulus in the whole economy. We see no
reason why the farmers
will fail to pay the facility as we are giving it at
concessionary rates
with a 12 month period.”
The World Food Programme (WFP) recently revealed
that at least 1.6 million
people would need food aid around the country this
year following a poor
agricultural season.
The United Nations agency
said it would need about $119m for an aid
programme which would run until
the next harvest in March next year.
Food shortages are being blamed on
erratic rainfall and dry spells, limited
access to seeds and fertilisers, a
reduction in the planted area, poor
farming practices and inadequate crop
diversification.
The worst-hit areas are the chronically dry regions
of southern Zimbabwe.
Once a regional breadbasket, Zimbabwe has been facing
perennial food
shortages in recent years following a slump in food
production blamed partly
on President Robert Mugabe's controversial land
reforms which saw the
seizure of white-owned farms for re-allocation to
landless blacks.
The majority of the beneficiaries lacked the skills and
means for
large-scale farming, and were given little support from the
government.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Zanu (PF) activists who recently petrol bombed the house of
MDC-T ward
chairman for Zaka Central, Nelson Bvudzijena, are still walking
scot free
despite attempts to have them brought to
book.
14.11.12
by Edgar Gweshe
Bvudzijena is recovering
from injuries he sustained during the arson attack
on his house in
Mashingaidze village by Zanu (PF) supporters last month. He
and his wife
were both hospitalized following the attack.
Police inaction over the
matter has riled the MDC-T with party spokesperson,
Douglas Mwonzora,
expressing disgust over the manner in which the matter was
being handled. He
said there was a plot between Zanu (PF) leadership and the
Zimbabwe Republic
Police to make sure the matter was swept under the carpet.
“The fact that
the Zanu (PF) people who petrol bombed Bvudzijena’s house
have not been
arrested up to now shows a hidden motive. This selective
application of the
law tells us that when you see people not being arrested,
then you know Zanu
(PF) is involved,” said Mwonzora.
Member of Parliament for Zaka Central,
Harrison Mudzuri, also expressed
concern over police inaction on the matter.
Police spokesperson for Masvingo
Province, Peter Zhanero, said: “So far we
have not made any arrests but we
are continuing with
investigations.”
Bvudzijena, who cannot walk due to severe burns on his
legs, now lives in
fear of his life following death threats by unknown
assailants who
reportedly visited him in hospital and threatened to
eliminate him.
Mudzuri confirmed this saying, “After the Prime Minister
visited him, some
unknown people called the hospital matron and threatened
to come and get rid
of him.”
An eye witness said the Zanu (PF) youths
behind the attack on Bvudzijena’s
home were picked up for questioning and
released the same day.
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai castigated Mugabe
for lacking sincerity in
his calls for peace and political tolerance when he
visited Bvudzijena in
hospital last month. The advocacy group Heal Zimbabwe
Trust has expressed
concern over rising cases of harassment and intimidation
in Zaka Central.
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
Posted by Gerry Jackson on
Wednesday, November 14, 2012 in Behind the
Headlines, Featured | 0
comments
12th November 2012
GJ: My name’s Gerry Jackson and I’m
standing in for Tererai on Behind the
Headlines. The government is, once
again, trying to legitimize Zimbabwe’s
diamond industry at a conference
being held in Victoria Falls. As the
conference began, PAC (Partnership
Africa Canada), released a damning report
highlighting the violence, abuse,
corruption and theft that surrounds
Zimbabwe’s diamond industry. I spoke to
Alan Martin from the PAC and asked
him how they estimated that two billion
dollars had been stolen so far.
AM: Well I think with a lot of the
numbers we used in this report, we erred
on the side of being very
conservative and I think that included both in
coming to that estimate and
also even the estimate of Minister Mpofu’s own
wealth but I’ll just give you
a few ideas of how we came to that: there were
several numbers we talked
about in the report – one was the disappearance of
the 2.5 million dollar,
sorry, 2.5 million carat stockpile which has never
been really accounted for
despite having a forensic audit in 2011 but by
even current day’s depressed
prices, that would be valued at almost 200
million but I think that we could
even make that double that because of the
prices at which, during the time
that there was a stockpile, the rough
prices were double what they are now.
Certainly the prices from Marange were
double what they are now. We also
looked at the estimate that was given in
one of the Kimberley Process review
mission reports which talked about how
industry experts had estimated that
about ten million carats had been
removed prior to 2010 and again, if you
were to take that at today’s
depressed prices of about 60 dollars a carat
out of Marange, that would be
about 600 million dollars. And then you also
have just the kind of money
that Tendai Biti, the Finance minister, is
talking about missing, that he
had budgeted for and has not received. So
those are three of the ways in
which we looked at it and also looking at
production accounts which we’ve
heard from inside a company like Anjin where
there was supposed to be about
35000 carats per month coming out and we’re
not seeing that necessarily at
the other end.
GJ: So we’re talking
about really big money here. Now, is it a small group
of people who are
ripping the country off or is it a whole bunch of people?
AM: Hmm, it’s
both. I think that if we look at the way in which the
smuggling is happening
I would say there’s really about three streams, three
ways in which it is
happening. I think we have what you could classify as
being really
(inaudible) smuggling which is the kind of smuggling that’s
been happening
for really since the beginning of Marange where you have
small independent
figures who dig up a stone and they might be in cahoots
with sort of low
level military police and they have syndicates and they
will sell them,
drive them across the border to South Africa and in the old
days they’d
drive them across the border to Mocambique but that trade I
think has really
slowed down in the last year or so. And then you have a
second tier where
you have people who are sort of mid-level and higher in
the military who are
using proxies, and I think we named some of them;
people like Shmuel Klein
from Israel or Alan Banks who was a Zimbabwean
businessman who died, which
we talk about, those people are sort of a
mid-tranch and they’re pretty
serious but they’re not the big guys. And then
I think you have the top
level who are actually the highest level of
officials within the military,
within the mining ministries, both the
minister of Mines and the state
parastatals, things like the ZMDC and the
MMCZ and that is where you are
seeing the very high level smuggling and that
idea of selling diamonds at a
lower value than they are worth and then
seeing those diamonds exit out of
Dubai at twice the price. Usually the
people who are selling at or who are
controlling the trade through Dubai are
also the same people who are
receiving them in India so there’s a sort of a,
although it’s going through
different countries, it’s actually the same
people who are controlling the
trade of those diamonds.
GJ: And of course the main custodian of all this
is the Mines Minister
Mpofu. Now he’s been throwing his cash around quite
dramatically lately but
he’s not the main guy is he? He seems to have handed
over many of his
responsibilities to the military chiefs.
AM: Yes, we
focused on Mpofu for a reason. I think he is certainly not the
only one and
he’s certainly not the largest person who is benefitting but I
think he is,
we chose him for two reasons: one I think is because he has a
fiduciary
responsibility as minster of Mines to make sure that this resource
is
properly managed and he’s, I think, failing in that regard. I think also
he’s the one who has been most ostentatious. Clearly the stories are not,
there’s no shortage of stories of Mpofu allegedly buying things in
Matabeleland and I think he’s also done things where, it’s on the public
record about him buying a bank and his tourist assets but I think the other
thing that concerned us about him was that it seemed that he was using his
position as minister to take the money from diamonds and, or his access or
his role, his responsibility of the Ministry of Mines and branch out into
other businesses and I think one of them which we see is his entry into the
coal industry. He’s had his lawyer, Farai Mutambira who he’s appointed the
board of Hwange Colliery. I think there’s a sort of pattern which he’s
following in the way in which he is using his position. So that’s why we
chose him – it wasn’t necessarily because he’s the biggest or the worst
example of it, I think that Robert Mhlanga is also pretty clearly been
buying up a lot of real estate in South Africa as well under dubious
circumstances but I think in the case of Obert Mpofu I think he has a case
to answer for because of his role as a minister.
GJ: You do also
state in the report that South Africa is the main gateway
for smuggled
stones but you did mention the Democratic Republic of the Congo
and of
course that was tied in with Zimbabwe’s assistance in the war there
which
began in 1998. There were concessions given to ministers and Zanu PF
chefs
at the time for that assistance in the war – so this is just a sort of
giant
criminal ring between the two countries presumably?
AM: Well to be fair
to DRC I don’t think the DRC continues to be the conduit
that it used to be.
I think that was more in the early days and I think a
lot of that was more
because of the military connections that had been made
during Zimbabwe’s
intervention on behalf of President Kabila in the late
1990s. I think that’s
where you start to see a lot of these individuals, the
military individuals,
including even the late Solomon Mujuru, there’s a lot
of allegations that
even some of the diamonds from River Ranch were probably
smuggled out
through DRC but I think that politically I think, as the KP has
tried to
adjudicate on this issue, I think the DRC has often had its hands
tied
because of the, in the words of one DRC official, he told me, he said
that
we are beholden to Zimbabwe so I think certainly that this debt of that
owed
to Zimbabwe which stopped DRC politically from ever intervening when it
was
the chair of the KP. But I think now in South Africa you are seeing, and
I
think this has been the case for even we saw this in the last report we
did
in 2010, that diamonds were certainly being driven across the border. I
think that they are also being flown across the border to South Africa; the
arrest of Shmuel Klein the Israeli was evidence of that. There’s also
another Israeli individual Gilad Halachmi who also flew them out and we’ve
also heard more recently that because of the way in which either the
European and North American sanctions are working and also after ways in
which it’s become a lot more, it’s more of a gamble to give diamonds to a
courier to take across to South Africa that a lot of the big guys are just
flying in with their own planes; they’re making deals with the Zimbabwe
defence industry, individuals and other people in the ZMDC, they just fly
them straight to Dubai and then on to India.
GJ: Can we just talk
briefly about the Kimberly Process which you mentioned,
the KP? Now Zimbabwe
has been desperate to get legitimacy through this
process and the KP is
supposed to police the diamond industry if I’m not
mistaken to make sure
there’s no blood diamonds on the market but there
seems to be confusion
about what constitutes a blood diamond.
AM: Yes it’s a good question,
this is one of the debates that the Kimberley
Process is trying to resolve
right now as part of a reform process to
revisit this idea as to what
constitutes a blood diamond because ten years
ago when the Kimberley Process
was created, it was borne out of the
experience of wars in west Africa and
Angola where you had people like Jonas
Savimbi and Charles Taylor who were
essentially getting the finance from the
trade of rough diamonds to fuel
conflict. I think over the last ten years we’ve
seen both criminality and
violence in the diamond industry change quite
considerably and if you look
at now to places like Angola or even in
Zimbabwe, you see evidence more of
the involvement of state actors or
private security companies, so PAC and
other civil society organizations and
also some governments have been trying
very hard to update this definition
to reflect the reality that people are
now dealing with. And I think that it’s
running into a lot of problems
because in the Kimberley Process everything
is done by consensus and I think
that you only have to have one country say
no and any reform idea gets
kyboshed. So it’s one thing that’s going to be
on the agenda at the
Kimberley Process meeting in Washington at the end of
this month and we’ll
see how that goes but I think that clearly you have a
lot of compromised
governments, not just Zimbabwe who I think are probably
going to try their
best to make sure that definition doesn’t come into
effect. So yes, that’s
the reality of it.
GJ: Of course Zimbabwe’s diamonds are spattered with
blood – you mention
briefly in the report that incident that happened some
time ago when 200
illegal gold panners were shot in the back from helicopter
gunships and then
you mention people like Alan Banks, the businessman found
in the boot of his
car with a plastic bag over his head – so he’s not the
only one presumably
who’s under threat? You also mention a professional
hunter who you ominously
say in your report is still alive at the time of
publication. So there’s a
lot of murder and brutality that goes on at the
same time?
AM: Yes I think there’s different kinds of violence at play –
the gunship
incident that you referenced was back in 2008 and that was what
initiated
the quarantining of Zimbabwe’s or Marange’s diamonds because of
that and I
think after that in Marange you had very frequent but lower
levels of
violence where you had different police and military individuals
who were in
Marange exercising violence upon either the local communities or
the
smugglers and the diggers. I think that to a large extent is not what it
was
two years ago. You still get stories, community groups in Marange still
have
recordings of people mostly involving dog bites with private security
companies. I did investigate an incident in May of a miner, an illegal miner
who was killed at the Anjin site, he was shot in the head at close range but
I think that’s where those kind of examples highlight the need for people to
recognize the role of these private security companies. But I think that
with the case of Alan Banks I think a lot of that was more a case of
criminality where he was, my understanding of it was he was trying to get
out of the business and I think that people felt that he was, that would
compromise them if he were to walk away so they killed him. And I think in
some ways that if you play with fire then you can’t be surprised that you
get burnt either. So it’s unfortunate but I think it was part of a game you
play when you are engaging those kind of illicit activity.
GJ: Can
you assume that this criminality, this plunder goes all the way to
the top
and I’m talking about the presidency and the vice presidency? We
know that
Joice Mujuru and her family have been involved in various illegal
deals
involved in the DRC – can we take it that far? Can we go higher? Where
can
we go with this?
AM: Well I think that, I don’t have any evidence of
Joice Mujuru being
involved in this. I think she might through her husband
who is involved in
River Ranch, there might have been some involvement and I
think certainly
her husband was playing some role in the illicit trade but
the funny thing
is that Mujuru and the people who are really in control are
really at odds
politically. Mnangagwa and his faction I think are the ones
who are better
in control of it than Mujuru. I think Mujuru had a role but
not a central
role. Mugabe I think in some ways is in a bit of a similar
boat as Mpofu; I
think he is a person who gets a top-up, he gets a, he’s
given a slice of it
but he’s not he one who’s really controlling it. The
only one where we see,
we certainly see companies like Mbada paying for a
lot of things, paying for
the lifestyle of Mugabe in terms of flying him to
different medical
treatments in Asia and we see a very close relationship
between DMC, the
Dubai-based company, and Grace Mugabe but I think that the
two big
companies, Marange and Anjin I think are very clearly controlled by
a
faction that is separate from everybody, it’s more the top echelons of the
military and I don’t even think Mpofu has much to do with that. I think he
has been very clever in recognizing that he essentially has to allow them to
do whatever they want to do if he wants to remain in the ministry and keep
at least a toe-hold in the business.
GJ: Now you have some
recommendations in your report on how to resolve these
issues but when you
look at the number of countries involved, the number of
people involved, the
fact that it’s big, big money – how do you ever turn
this into something
that benefits the country instead of draining the
country?
AM: Well I
think there’s a number of recommendations we made and I think we
tried to
find examples of things that were based upon African experience and
also
point to examples where Zimbabweans themselves had shown the ability to
ameliorate the situation and I think that if you look at the parliamentary
committee on Mines and Energy for example, they’ve done some great work in
the past revealing the ownership structure of these different companies and
individuals who are involved on the boards and in other ways and I think
that they would be well placed to re-examine a lot of these different deals
that have been concluded ostensibly by Minister Mpofu but by others above
him and to really assess whether these contravene either Zimbabwean law or
are not in the public’s interest. I think that if they determine that they
are then I think they should recommend that these licences be rescinded
and/or be re-negotiated. I think that Tendai Biti for example is also in the
process of doing, or drafting a new Diamond Act and I think this Act from
what I’ve seen of it is actually very positive. It has a lot of good ideas
about trying to add value added exports, or sorry, value added things that
can come off it by boosting a local cutting and polishing sector and trying
to create checks and balances in the system so the public good is protected.
I think he’s looking at this idea of a sovereign wealth fund which could
benefit Zimbabwe in the same way that oil revenues have in places like
Norway and elsewhere or even next door in Botswana or if you look at the
Royal Bafokeng in the north west province in South Africa who are sitting on
very rich platinum resources who have created ways of ensuring the good
management of a very promising resource. So I think there’s a lot of ways
where we’re trying to find African examples which also fit with something
called the African Mining Vision which is an attempt by the AU to
essentially break the resource curse that has been so destructive in so many
parts of Africa. So and I think in a wider way if you’re looking beyond it I
think there’s examples where the diamond industry certainly has to rethink a
lot of things. The Kimberley Process has always been about pressuring
national governments to do, whether they are compliant with the Kimberley
Process standards and industry people have largely got to buy from that,
they don’t really have much to account for despite the fact they often are
engaging in illicit activity whether it’s the receipt or the trading of
these diamonds. So there’s a lot of international effort underway right now
through the OECD for example which has done a lot of work on other conflict
minerals, high value but conflict-prone minerals, mostly things associated
that you find in smart phones and computers and things like that and so I
think there’s lessons to be learned from those initiators at the OECD but I
think the other side of it is if you look at the industry itself, the better
managed aspects of the industry I think are very concerned about countries
like Zimbabwe and how they impact on the consumer confidence of the product.
Because people I think in the industry are very aware that at the end of the
day, diamonds are only carbon, they are very, it’s a luxury item, people
don’t
necessarily have to buy them and the price and everything else about
them is
very artificial and I think they are very open to the idea that
their
product can be tarnished very quickly and I think that is what caused
the
industry back in the late 90s to get on board with the Kimberley Process
and
making it a reality. So I think now industry has a greater role to play
in
terms of demanding better of people who are knowingly and willingly
trading
these diamonds and I think this is one of the points we tried to
make in
this report is to essentially look at how a lot of these people who
are
trading these diamonds are not necessarily a bunch of gangsters, a lot
of
these people who are now taking receipt of these diamonds are actually
very
well respected people within the industry and that’s the case in South
Africa, it’s the case in Israel, it’s the case in India and I think that
those people have to recognize that they have to change their game if they
want to have a business dealing with them.
GJ: Alan Martin thank you
very much for speaking with us today.
AM: No problem Gerry thanks very
much.
GJ: I was speaking to Alan Martin from Partnership Africa Canada,
an
organization that works to build sustainable human development in Africa.
Their report on Zimbabwe’s diamonds can be found on SW Radio Africa’s web
site.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Watching the main news on Zimbabwe
Broadcasting Corporation television these
days makes you realise that only
Zanu (PF) gets more than adequate coverage
of its activities on the national
broadcaster. The same situation obtains on
all four ZBC radio channels.
Controlled and owned by Zanu (PF) sympathisers,
the recently commissioned
other radio channels are really no different from
ZBC.
14.11.12
by John Makumbe
The MDC parties will
be making a serious error if they agree to participate
in the next elections
before meaningful reforms have been implemented to
make the electronic media
non-partisan. This is one area which Zanu (PF) is
determined to keep closed
to all other political parties. Information is
power, and the ZBC channels
are actively involved in spewing obnoxious Zanu
(PF) propaganda literally
every few minutes.
It is true that many people now own satelite dishes
that enable them to
escape the ZBC–Zanu (PF) onslaught, but there are still
many who cannot
afford these liberating gadgets and have no choice but to
watch ZBC-TV. It
is these people who are subjected to what Zanu (PF) decides
they should hear
and watch, and most of it is trash. Coverage of MDC or any
other political
party’s activities is only undertaken when they are
negative. As a result,
the people sometimes ask, why is the MDC so quiet
these days? What is the
party doing about the looting of diamonds by Zanu
(PF) thieves? Some people
are now concerned that the formation of the
so-called government of national
unity may have muzzled the MDC to such a
severe extent that it has been
swallowed by Zanu (PF).
Electoral
legislation provides that during election campaigns, the national
broadcaster is required to ensure that it provides equal time to all
political parties wishing to inform the electorate about their proposed
policies, manifestos and other information. Experience has taught us that
the ZBC has consistently violated all such legislation on behalf of Zanu
(PF). It would be a high level of naivety on our part to assume that the
same evil practice will not recur come elections 2013. It is time for the
MDC formations to demand the requisite reforms in the electronic media while
there is still time. The SADC and the AU cannot be expected to come to
Zimbabwe and demand that media reforms be implemented.
It is my
considered view that an outfit like the ZBC needs to be placed
under the
leadership of a board comprising representatives of all the three
political
parties in the current legislature. This board must direct all the
operations of the ZBC channels. Indeed, this will mean the dismissal of the
current ZBC Board, which is entirely a Zanu (PF) affair. The former
liberation movement will obviously resist any such moves, but this will have
to be insisted upon if all political parties are to receive adequate and
equal coverage on the airwaves in the next elections.
I challenge the
negotiators, Jomic and other relevant structures of the GNU
to tackle this
urgent problem very seriously for the benefit of our nation.
We cannot allow
one political party to continue to bombard the electorate
with its sick
propaganda both now and during the campaigning period. In
fact, the MDC
formations should make electronic media reforms one of the
preconditions for
participating in the next elections. Failure to do this
will be tantamount
to subjecting our people to serious levels of
misinformation and sick
propaganda. - makumbe60@gmail.com
Clifford Chitupa Mashiri, 14th November 2012.
I disagree with those who
are dismissing Zanu-pf’s parallel capital city
near Robert Mugabe’s rural
home as ‘laughable’ or ‘dream fantasy’ and I will
say why.
What makes
the rather strange Zvimba City Project a credible possibility
could be
reduced to at least five reasons.
First, it was confirmed by a Mugabe
ally, Ignatius Chombo that the project
had already started even though
without the knowledge of the coalition
partners from the MDC
formations.
Second, there has to be some tangible explanation for the
budget shortfall
of approximately $600 million from diamond proceeds and now
causing funding
problems for the referendum and elections.
Third,
Zanu-pf leader Robert Mugabe and curiously Mines Minister Obert Mpofu
have
of late managed to dish out generous handouts at a time when the party’s
Jongwe Publishers’ workers have reportedly gone unpaid for
months.
Fourth, Mugabe loyalists have managed to lead lavish lifestyles
in the midst
of abject poverty – compare the destruction of the modest
Epworth homes with
the purchase by a Mugabe ally of multi-million rand
properties even at
inflated prices in South Africa.
Crucially, fifth,
the Zvimba City Project could be the ‘smoking gun’ given
the ongoing
suspicions of money laundering of Marange diamonds in the wake
of the
explosive Partnership Africa report alleging US$2 billion ‘theft’ of
Zimbabwe’s diamonds.
Surely, wherever the looted cash is, it has to
re-surface in Zimbabwe, in
one form or another, especially, as there is now
foreign pressure against
hosting laundered cash.
What does all this
mean? Obviously, the MDC formations who supposedly
control finance have
confessed ignorance about the Zvimba City Project,
despite rubber-stamping a
dubious plan to re-locate Parliament to Mt
Hampden, arguably beyond the
reach of those who want to contact their MPs or
to protest against bad
governance.
The Zvimba City Project exposes the false pretences of unity
in the
coalition government by confirming the regime’s Animal Farm
characteristics.
While, principals are equal, some are more equal than
others. The same for
the ministers, some are more equal than others. This
project adds evidence
of disharmony after that embarrassing incident where
the police band refused
to play the national anthem for partisan
reasons.
There is nothing bad about expanding Harare or setting up an
alternative
capital city for Zimbabwe, but the timing has to be right,
especially when
Bulawayo the second major city is almost folding up due to
capital flight or
de-industrialisation.
It is fair to argue that Mugabe
wants something with which to rally his
party ahead of the Zanu-pf
conference, the referendum and elections, like he
has done with the
so-called indigenisation programme, which is nothing more
than the rewarding
of cronies at the expense of real national development
because of his spite
for targeted sanctions. The Zvimba City Project is one
such means for
defying the West.
The project is likely to be a hardsell given the
increasing cost of living
and the urban decay of the country’s major cities
including Harare
Chitungwiza, Bulawayo, Gweru, Mutare, Masvingo which are
now more known for
their raw sewage in some places, dirty drinking water,
erratic electricity
supply, potholes and a terrible stench from uncollected
garbage than the
famous sunshine and ever-smiling people.
But that
does not seem to bother the Zanu-pf regime which appears more keen
to divert
attention from the unemployment time bomb and the democracy
deficit in the
country (ongoing human rights abuses; more suspected state
sponsored
violence despite Mugabe’s peace promises; digitalised police
corruption
available online and toothless commissions).
Let us re-visit those
suspicions of money laundering of diamond proceeds.
Hypothetically, the
proposed Zvimba Capital City has all that a ‘money
laundering regime’ would
need to be seen as normal and ‘clean’ (remember
billions of dollars which
are allegedly being looted are not the billions of
the Mugabenomics
days).
From what has been revealed so far, the new city would not be
worth its salt
without a posh repeat posh residential area. One wonders
which countries
will be allowed to set up embassy offices or residences in
the posh city of
Zvimba. Obviously shopping malls for bling, as well as
hotels most likely
with or outnumbered by casinos and another State House
are said to be on the
cards.
As for premises for government
ministries we can be sure that mines will be
the first followed by
indigenisation and the rest will probably share,
otherwise what would be the
point? We have learnt that there will be
another Reserve Bank when the
current one is almost redundant after failing
to sell treasury
bonds.
Before closing, we should ponder about what would be underground
that Zvimba
City. Probably that it is the whole reason for setting up a new
city. Will
there be bunkers? Or underground tunnels leading to luxurious
residential
quarters occupied by the dangerous and powerful?
Just
another thought, will the Zvimba City have missiles over-ground or
underground, helipads for each crony or a huge international airport named
after a certain loyalist?
And would Thabo Mbeki be invited again to
commission the Capital City of
Zvimba after he faithfully sang for his
supper at the diamonds conference?
That is food for thought.
For now,
we can only caution that you dismiss the Zvimba City Project as a
‘laughable
dream fantasy’ at your own peril.
Clifford Chitupa Mashiri, Political
Analyst, London,
zimanalysis2009@gmail.com