Zim Independent
Mugabe worse than Stalin - Soyinka
Vincent
Kahiya
NOBEL Prize laureate Wole Soyinka has launched a scathing attack
on
President Mugabe's land reform programme saying it was worse than
Russian
dictator Joseph Stalin's collectivisation in which millions
died.
In an online discussion forum hosted by The Black World Today, a
United
States-based African American website which has in the past expressed
strong
sympathy for Mugabe, Soyinka berated the African Union questioning
whether
it would respond to Mugabe's "state thuggery" and "cynical
crudeness".
He questioned why Mugabe had failed to respond to the
land problem in the
past 22 years.
"Even Stalin in his mad race to
collectivise land and eliminate all those
conveniently-designated kulaks did
not send veterans of the Russian
Revolution to take over the land," said the
Nigerian-born writer.
"Not that his results were much better, but he
appeared at least to have
given thought to structural transfers, which is
something totally absent
from Mugabe's methodology," he said.
The
Nobel laureate said that the ageing leader was stung and humiliated by
the
elections two years ago and had resorted to intimidation to rule
the
country.
To achieve his mission Mugabe has resorted to
dastardly means like the
dismissal of judges and the attempted muzzling of
the press, he said.
Soyinka said Mugabe had embarked on a vicious
campaign to stay in power.
"The ageing lion has resorted to the most
blatant time-dishonoured methods
of African dictators who fail to understand
that people must be led in
dignity, not dragged on their knees along the
pathway to social
transformation," he said.
He said Mugabe had
joined the rollcall of African dictators who had
conducted an "undefined war
of attrition against his own people".
"And we only need to transport
ourselves to other nations like Zimbabwe to
eavesdrop on the prayers of
millions who wish that shortcut to national
redemption might be found if only
a certain power-obsessed near-octogenarian
and once revered revolutionary
leader would be called - to use a favourite
expression in my country - to
higher glory," he said.
Zim Independent
Shake-up looms in CIO
Dumisani Muleya
A MAJOR
shake-up is looming in the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO)
amid
reports President Robert Mugabe is anxious to modernise and sharpen
his
run-down security agency.
Intelligence sources said the
reorganisation will commence when Zimbabwe's
permanent representative to the
United Nations, Tichaona Jokonya, takes over
as CIO director-general
soon.
Jokonya is tipped to replace retired Brigadier Elisha
Muzonzini, recently
appointed Zimbabwe's High Commissioner to
Kenya.
The Zimbabwe Independent reported in February last year that
Muzonzini, who
is still at the CIO, would be replaced by
Jokonya.
Efforts to remove Muzonzini, a former BHP Platinum Mine
security officer, in
March last year were reportedly blocked by General
Solomon Mujuru. The two
come from Chikomba district in Mashonaland East where
Jokonya hails from.
"Jokonya is the best candidate for the job
because he is very professional
and fearless," a source said. "He should be
coming soon."
However, other sources said if Jokonya took over, the
CIO modernisation
would fail due to his "affinity for conspiracy
theories".
Insiders said CIO deputy director-general, retired
Brigadier Happyton
Bonyongwe, touted in some circles as Muzonzini's
successor, could go as
well. Bonyongwe, who comes from Nyanga in Manicaland,
is said to be
unpopular because of his perceived regionalistic
tendencies.
CIO officers were said to have been unhappy with
Muzonzini and Bonyongwe,
who replaced former CIO bosses Shadreck Chipanga and
Lovemore Mukandi in
1998, for different reasons.
Muzonzini and
Bonyongwe were also said to have drained the CIO through
spending on the
March presidential election and other expenditures seen as
wasteful by
insiders.
If Bonyongwe goes he is expected to be succeeded by
Internal Branch director
Menard Muzariri, seen as State Security minister
Nicholas Goche's blue-eyed
boy.
Muzariri, currently the most
senior of all the six CIO directors, would in
turn be replaced by his deputy,
Elias Kanengoni, who was involved in the
1990 shooting and wounding of
Zimbabwe Unity Movement national organising
secretary, Patrick
Kombayi.
But sources said the Kombayi incident could disqualify
Kanengoni. If that
happens, the deputy director for planning, Godfrey
Madzorera, would replace
Muzariri.
Sources said the restructuring
could also affect other CIO directors and
departments including Mugabe's
Close Security Unit (CSU) and his
counter-intelligence
division.
It is understood External Branch director John Andrew
Maringa,
administration head Thomas John Meke, Economics director Justin
Mupamhanga,
head of the director-general's pool Tobias Chaunoita, and CSU
chief Simbi
Tonde could also be reshuffled.
Daily Telegraph 15.11.02
'Send cash' plea from Zimbabwe to expats
By
Peta Thornycroft in Harare
(Filed: 15/11/2002)
Zimbabwe's finance
minister, Herbert Murerwa, yesterday made a rare official
admission of the
dire state of the economy with an appeal to Zimbabweans
working in Britain to
send some of their earnings home to prop it up.
In his budget speech, after
more than an hour speaking on the "perilous"
state of the economy and the
"hardships" of the people, Mr Murerwa said he
believed that God "has a plan
for Zimbabwe".
Many Zimbabweans have all but concluded that God has
been missing for the
past three years as the economy has halved and forced at
least 200,000
Zimbabweans into exile, mostly in Britain.
These "exiles"
are believed to change at least £20 million a month via the
black market to
help their families at home who spend most of each week in a
food
queue.
Mr Murerwa, a long-serving apparatchik of President Robert Mugabe, is
asking
Zimbabweans overseas to remit their funds to the Reserve Bank in
Harare
instead of changing them on the black market at more than 30 times
their
official value.
"We will provide incentives," he said.
Then he
went on to close foreign currency accounts at commercial banks and
said the
reserve bank would administer them in future. He shut all bureaux
de change,
citing "rampant abuse".
Mr Murerwa said the economy had declined this year by
more than 12 per cent,
after last year's 14 per cent slump. He blamed the
drought for much failure.
He referred only fleetingly to the collapse of
commercial agriculture after
Mr Mugabe's seizures and occupations of 97 per
cent of white-owned land,
which had produced 40 per cent of foreign
earnings.
Inflation, expected to reach 200 per cent by the end of the year,
is
reflected in the misery of the working class and unemployed. For them
the
budget provided no relief.
The price of meat doubled again this week.
The staples of the poor, maize
meal, sugar and bread, are no longer available
except on the black market.
In the eastern border town of Mutare, Mr Mugabe's
militia, known as the
"green bombers" because of their uniforms, raided most
of the bakeries on
Wednesday to force the price of bread down and
succeeded.
They were greeted as heroes by poverty-stricken people buying
bread at less
than the going price. Yesterday the bakeries had nothing for
sale.
Mr Murerwa made no mention of fuel, which is hardly available
and
sells for a fraction of its real cost.
John Robertson, an economist, said:
"The problem with fuel is too big for
them. They don't know what to do. If
they had to sell it at the real price
it would have to go up fivefold."
.
Kofi Annan, the United Nations secretary-general, urged Mr
Mugabe's
government yesterday to keep a promise not to use food aid as a
political
weapon.
COMMERCIAL FARMERS' UNION
Farm Invasions And Security Report
Friday 15th November, 2002.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This report does not purport to cover all the incidents that are taking
place in the commercial farming areas. Communication problems and the fear of
reprisals prevent farmers from reporting all that happens. Farmers names, and
in some cases farm names, are omitted to minimise the risk of reprisals.
MANICALAND
Chipinge: There has been a spate of housebreakings in the area. Butcheries
in Chipinge have been charged with 'overcharging' for meat.
Burma Valley: There has been a six day work stoppage on one farm which
grows a highly perishable commodity. The farmer's lorries were not allowed to
leave the farm and they had to hire a transport firm to move their produce. They
are back at work now.
As reported in the newspapers, there was an American shot and killed at a
roadblock in the Vumba.
Masvingo East and Central Area: Chidza Farm Owner has received threats from
a Police Official that resides on a plot on this property. Owner has been told
that his cattle are grazing the newly planted settlers maize and this must
stop.
Dromore Farm Owner has finally been informed by the settlers residing on
this property that he may come and collect his tractor and the remaining wheat
and potatoes.
Mwenezi Area: Continued poaching, snaring and theft of wire within this
area. Many owners are due to appear in Court from the last time they were put on
remand.
Mateke Hills: Cattle continue to be stolen within this area.
Chiredzi Area:Owners wait to see what is to happen next after many have
received the “seven-day” Section 8 Orders.
Save Conservancy Area: Poaching and snaring continue.
Gutu / Chatsworth Area: Cattle continue to be stolen within this area
almost on a daily basis.
MASHONALAND CENTRAL
Beatrice : Friday 8 th At night a truck arrived on Silver Oak farm and
offloaded 10 cows and 5 goats. 2 Cows have since died from being trampled.
Witdoorn Farm storeroom was broken into and the following was stolen;
Bricks & Stratten engine, pump, Stelson wrench and 60l diesel. RRB No.
0038163
Saturday 9th- Mantlavina Farm- a heifer in calf slaughtered by two of their
employees. Police have been informed RRBNo. 0038167
Sunday 10th- Brakvelt farm was visited by Cde Mandivenge saying the farmer
must stay out of his top paddocks. He was armed with a pistol.
On Zanka farm a dairy worker was assaulted. Police picked up one suspect.
Monday 11th - Plumstead farm reported 2 cows stolen and 80 fencing
standards.
On Dunrobin Farm the settlers closed all dairy cattle in a crawl and
refused them to go out. The police said that they would look into the matter.
Lyne farm employees went on strike on Sat morning, wanting SI6. They
refuse to negotiate with NEC, but local Police spoke to the labour force and
agreed to have a meeting on the farm on Wednesday. As of today, there is no
change. Farmers are in the process of planting tobacco, so they are not liable
to pay packages.
ZIMBABWE: Economy needs urgent action - finance minister
JOHANNESBURG, 15
November (IRIN) - Zimbabwe's Minister of Finance Herbert Murerwa admitted that
Zimbabwe's economy required urgent corrective action to avert further
deterioration when he tabled his budget for 2003 on Thursday.
In his
budget speech Murerwa said output had declined by 19 percent over the last three
years and inflation accelerated to 144 percent by the end of October.
The
severe drought and food shortages, a drop in the country's food supply, the
scarcity of foreign exchange and negative international perceptions following
the implementation of the land reform programme, were factors compounding the
current economic difficulties.
In response, he raised tax-free
threshholds for certain sectors of the population including the elderly and the
retrenched, pumped more money into the agrarian sector and introduced a tough
set of measures to keep a tighter grip on valuable foreign exchange.
For
the land reform programme, which has seen thousands of commercial farmers forced
off their land, he boosted the coffers of the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands and
Rural Resettlement, and set aside several billion Zimbabwe dollars for a
crop-input scheme, field trials and training and the development of irrigation
infrastructure.
Murerwa was quoted in the Herald as saying: "The expected
growth of agriculture should improve overall economic growth, anchor sustainable
inputs supply into agro-based manufacturing and distribution
industries."
He hoped a tax break would stimulate interest in the new
Agribond which aims to raise Zim 60 billion (about US $1 billion at the official
exchange rate) for resettled farmers. However, the Financial Gazette newspaper
warned that the low interest of 24 percent on the bonds would discourage
investors and added that the Agribonds had come too late for the current
season.
In an attempt to control government foreign exchange reserves,
Murerwa announced the abolishment of all bureaux de change and would also raise
the amount of foreign currency exporters had to surrender to the Reserve Bank,
up by 10 percent to 50 percent.
"The above exchange control measures have
been necessitated by the gravity of the foreign currency leakages. These
measures will, therefore, be reviewed in due course as and when the situation
improves," he said.
He also predicted that inflation would fall from its
October level of 144 percent to about 96 percent next year in spite of reports
that the International Monetary Fund expected it to rise to 500 percent.
The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said the budget "did
little or nothing to resolve the economic crisis that has gripped Zimbabwe in
the past three years".
In a statement the MDC said the budget deficit was
unacceptably high at 11.5 percent of GDP and interest rates were too low in the
current hyper-inflationary environment.
The decision to raise the
retention by government of foreign exchange earnings by the private sector was a
"death thrust" on the export sector and made no effort to encourage
exports.
It welcomed the adjustment of the tax thresholds but said the
benefits would be minimal in the current inflationary environment.
It
also slammed the large defence allocation in the face of the withdrawal of
Zimbabwean troops from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Murerwa set aside
Zim $76 billion (US $1.4 billion) for defence, while the Ministry of Health and
Child Welfare received only Zim $73.4 billion (US $1.3 million). He also
allocated Zim $2.5 billion (US $46 million) for procurement of anti-retroviral
drugs.
Open Letter to Mrs Anne Matonga
Zimbabwe Independent
(Harare)
OPINION
November 15, 2002
Posted to the web November 15,
2002
Dear Editor, IT seems you have been completely brainwashed into
believing
that by virtue of your marriage to a Zimbabwean you, of British
origin so
reviled by Zanu PF, have a right to "take over" the 1 500-acre
farm
belonging to Vincent & Monica Schultz.
With your few months'
residence in this country what do you know of the real
conditions here, other
than by hearsay? Are you so naive that you cannot see
what is going on
outside the halls of power? If you believe starvation is
the propaganda of
"colonialist" organisations such as Oxfam and others then
leave "your" 1
500-acre farm and travel to the rural areas.
Open your eyes and talk to
the folk who earlier this year saw their crops
wither and die from lack of
rain. Join them as they hunt for roots and
rodents - anything to sustain them
until their next crop is harvested. This
would not be a day trip but a
journey that would take many days travelling
to the furthest corners of the
land.
Take nothing with you for the rural folk are generous and will
share their
roots and rodents with you. Do not travel in convoy and do not
tell the folk
you meet that you are married to a Zanu PF stalwart. Go out and
learn the
truth for yourself.
When you return to the bright lights and
supermarkets with shelves stocked
with goods that only the wealthy can
afford, will you have the guts to say,
"I made a mistake, I am sorry?" or are
you one of the Party who are blind
because they will not see, are deaf
because they will not hear? One of those
who, despite evidence to the
contrary, swear there was no holocaust.
If you are true to yourself and
your beliefs, can you answer the question as
to why "your farm" has not been
subdivided into 150 10-acre plots for the
landless?
While pondering
this question, ask yourself why so many farms purchased in
the 1980s on a
willing buyer/willing seller basis are still lying idle 15
years later or do
you consider this more anti-government propaganda? I'm
sure I don't need to
remind you that all empires and dictatorships fall,
none last forever - not
the Egyptian, the Roman, the British, not Ian
Smith's "never in a 1 000
years" nor Adolph Hitler's 1 000-year Reich.
Generally the more brutal the
regime, the quicker its demise.
History will undoubtedly repeat itself in
the case of Zimbabwe - it is only
a matter of time and then, Madam you will
be a very lonely person with many
hands turned against you and deprived of
"our land".
If I lived in a free society I would be happy to sign my name
to this letter
but I am aware of the danger to those close to me so must
regretfully sign
as:
Concerned Elderly Citizen,
Harare.
VOA
Human Rights Organization Closes Office in Zimbabwe
Peta
Thornycroft
Harare
15 Nov 2002, 17:57 UTC
The
leading human rights organization in Zimbabwe, the Amani Trust, has
closed
down, following government threats to arrest its officials.
The offices
of the Amani Trust were closed Friday, and its officials were
lying low.
People close to the trust say its leaders believe the government
has every
intention of carrying out threats made earlier this week by the
welfare
minister, July Moyo.
In a speech in parliament on Wednesday, Mr. Moyo
said the government was
going to arrest officials of the Amani Trust, as well
as several other
non-governmental organizations, because they were not
properly registered
under the Private Voluntary Organizations
Act.
Members of the Amani Trust said Friday, they had deliberately not
registered
under the act, because they believed the government would not
register a
group that, among other things, addresses questions of political
violence.
Instead, the group formed a legal trust, and registered it with
the Deeds
Office.
The Zimbabwe government has regularly accused the
Amani Trust of being a
hotbed of support for the opposition Movement for
Democratic Change. The
trust has also received funding from the British
government, which makes it,
according to government leaders, part of a plot
to overthrow President
Robert Mugabe.
But the trust has always
maintained that it is strictly a human rights
organization, and does not side
with any political group. Before the March
presidential elections, it
provided medical support for victims of political
violence, dispensing aid to
members of the ruling party, as well as the
opposition.
Its
investigations, however, have frequently drawn government criticism. In
a
recent report on a wide range of human rights abuses, it found that more
than
90 percent of them were committed by members of the ruling
party,
ZANU-PF.
The closure of the Amani Trust has caused dismay among
human rights
supporters in Zimbabwe. Many say it was the last organization
left that
provided assistance at a time of increasing repression in
Zimbabwe.
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
PRESS RELEASE
AI Index: AFR 46/048/2002
(Public)
News Service No: 208
16 November 2002
Embargo Date: 16
November 2002 00:01 GMT
Zimbabwe: Government steps up harassment of human
rights defenders
Amnesty International condemns efforts by the Zimbabwean
government to
silence human rights defenders. Recent statements by government
ministers
signal intensified scrutiny and intimidation of NGOs who have
spoken out
about the deteriorating human rights situation in
Zimbabwe.
"Human rights organizations who expose human rights
violations and are
perceived to be critical of government policy are coming
under increasing
attack," Amnesty International said today.
Amnesty
International calls upon the Zimbabwean government to respect the
United
Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders and to immediately end
its
intimidation and harassment of human rights organizations and other
human
rights defenders.
"The authorities must enable human rights defenders
to work without fear
of intimidation or arrest. The Zimbabwean authorities
and the international
community should ensure that impartial and independent
public investigations
are carried out into human rights violations and that
those responsible are
brought to justice" said Amnesty
International.
On 13 November, the government published a list of NGOs
which allegedly
threaten national peace and security. On the same day,
Patrick Chinamasa,
the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs
made statements in
parliament accusing Amani Trust, a leading Zimbabwean
human rights and
service organization which appears on the list, as well as
other
organizations, of destabilizing the country. The Minister of Public
Service,
Labour and Social Welfare, July Moyo reportedly told parliament
that
organizations such as Amani Trust which are not registered under the
Private
Voluntary Organizations (PVO) Act would be forced to close their
offices or
face arrests.
The government also reportedly discredited
the political violence reports
produced by the Amani Trust. The research
findings of Amani Trust on human
rights violations in Zimbabwe are consistent
with Amnesty International's
own investigations and those of other
international humanitarian and human
rights organizations. Amnesty
International believes that these allegations
are part of government efforts
to discredit and undermine the work and
reputation of Amani Trust. Amani
Trust appears to have been specifically
targeted by the government because of
its meticulous documentation of human
rights abuses.
"The
government's recent enforcement of the PVO Act is part of an overall
campaign
to shut down organizations and silence independent media which
investigate
and publicize human rights violations in Zimbabwe. Some of
these
organizations, such as Amani Trust, provide vital medical and
psychological
services to hundreds of victims of political violence and
torture. These
developments, in addition to on-going state intimidation and
harassment of
independent journalists, lawyers and human rights NGOs, has
effectively
created a hostile work environment for human rights defenders,"
Amnesty
International said.
Background
In September, the
government issued a public notice advising NGOs to
register with the
government as per Section 6 of the Private Voluntary
Organizations (PVO) Act.
The notice warned that NGOs which failed to
register risked prosecution.
Although the PVO Act was enacted in 1997, it
has not been fully enforced.
There are also concerns that new legislation
may be introduced which will
further curtail the activities of NGOs.
In August, Dr. Frances
Lovemore, Medical Director of Amani Trust, was
arrested and charged with
"publishing or communicating false statements
prejudicial to the state". The
charge stemmed from press reports which
referred to Amani Trust's work with
victims of torture and politically
motivated rape in Zimbabwe. The offices of
Amani Trust were raided and
searched by police. Dr. Lovemore was released the
day after her arrest and
all charges against her dropped due to insufficient
evidence.
Industry Hurt By Land Reform
UN Integrated Regional Information
Networks
November 15, 2002
Posted to the web November 15,
2002
Harare
The impact of Zimbabwe's controversial fast-track land
reform programme has
rippled through the economy, but it has been the
country's once robust
agro-industries that have been the hardest
hit.
The take-over and breaking up of most of the vast commercial farms
to
benefit landless and impoverished Zimbabweans has fragmented the market
base
of industries servicing the previously highly profitable
estates.
"Most of these companies have either downsized or ceased
operations because
there was no longer a sustainable demand base ... Most of
the new settlers
are small-scale and communal farmers who do not use much
equipment or
inputs. Large-scale farming requires extensive equipment and
inputs and this
is what the new farmers cannot afford," economist John
Robertson told IRIN.
"There was no policy foresight on the part of the
present government. No
planning was done because [the ruling] ZANU-PF was
concerned mostly with how
to survive the challenge of MDC [opposition
Movement for Democratic Change].
The result of that tendency is what we see
today - ruins of industry," said
Tapiwa Mashakada, an economist and MDC
legislator.
Even farmers who have been settled on intact commercial
farms, the so-called
A2 scheme, have run into difficulties in financing the
purchase of necessary
equipment in the short to medium term. Recently, there
was an outcry when
some of the desperately needed winter wheat crop was left
to rot in the
fields when the first rains fell because new farmers could not
afford to
hire combine harvesters.
Commercial farmers were
traditionally an important market for engineering
firms, who supplied
tractors, combine harvesters and irrigation equipment.
According to the
latest Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) report,
local markets are
shrinking due to the collapsing agriculture sector. As a
result, 450
engineering companies have gone on short working hours and are
hiring
contract workers rather than permanent staff. About 12 small to
medium firms
folded between 2000 and 2001.
Companies whose businesses depend on raw
materials from the farming sector
have also been hard hit. They include
millers, bakeries, leather dealers,
timber manufacturers and clothing and
textile concerns.
The CZI report said large-scale millers had retrenched
more than 50 percent
of their staff and had closed some of their branches. It
cited a lack of
inputs - mostly maize, wheat, and cotton seed - as one of the
major
constraints faced by the industry.
The national maize demand is
about two million mt per annum, but current
production has been estimated at
500,000 mt. The country has only managed to
produce 200,000 mt of wheat,
against the domestic requirement of 400,000 mt.
"Most small bakeries are
still very marginal and company closures are taking
place. In the event that
wheat supplies do dry up, many fresh liquidations
can be expected," the CZI
report said.
The leather industry, the CZI report pointed out, has been
affected by the
lack of raw hide. White commercial farmers whose land was
occupied had
complained that some new settlers had killed their cattle for
food.
According to media reports, the affected farmers also slaughtered
their
herds when it became clear the government was bent on evicting
them.
Herald Sun, Australia
Hit-and-run cup bid
By ROBERT
CRADDOCK
17nov02
WORLD Cup organisers will try to persuade the
Australian cricket side to be
part of a commando-style operation to ensure
its match against Zimbabwe goes
ahead.
Cup
organisers are aware of Australia's deep reservations about entering
the
strife-torn country for its match against Zimbabwe at Bulawayo on
February
24.
A plan is being hatched for Australia to catch an hour-long,
early-morning,
privately chartered flight from Johannesburg in South Africa
across the
border to land in Bulawayo on the morning of the match.
The
Australians would be taken to Queen's Ground with an armed security
escort
around their team bus and would fly out within 90 minutes of the
completion
of their match.
Cup organisers, flushed with a $180 million budget, would
bankroll the
exercise. Australia cancelled its three-Test tour of Zimbabwe,
which was
scheduled for April this year, due to domestic unrest surrounding
the
country's controversial election.
International Cricket Council
chief execu tive Malcolm Speed will visit
Zimbabwe in a fortnight with a team
of security experts to decide whether
the country should be allowed to host
its quota of cup games.
There is a chance the Zimbabwean games will be
rescheduled for South Africa.
If the ICC deems Zimbabwe is safe to visit
-- Pakistan is now touring
there -- Australia will forfeit points if it
elects not to make the visit.
Likely schedule: 6am, leave Johannesburg;
7am, land in Bulawayo go to
Queen's Ground under armed escort; 10am, match
starts; 6pm, match finishes;
7pm, leave Queens Ground for airport; 8.30pm,
leave Bulawayo; 9.30pm, arrive
Johannesburg.
BBC
Saturday, 16 November, 2002, 15:21 GMT
Zimbabwe freezes
prices
Zimbabweans have been facing fuel shortages since
1999
The Zimbabwean Government has announced sweeping price freezes on a
wide range of goods in a move to tackle the country's deepening economic crisis.
The freeze applies to products such as food, fuel, medicines, electrical
appliances, agricultural machinery, fertilisers and school textbooks, according
to the state-owned Herald newspaper.
Inflation in Zimbabwe is running at
a record level of 135% and nearly half the country's 12 million inhabitants are
facing starvation.
In his budget speech on Thursday, Finance Minister
Herbert Murerwa said price controls imposed earlier on some staple goods were
not working.
Business leaders say the measures have led to increased
shortages and more black market trading.
Currency crackdown
According to The Herald, the latest price freeze has been imposed to
stop manufacturers evading price controls "by re-branding and reducing the size
of some products to those not controlled".
Many are
reliant on food aid
It is not clear how the controls will be
enforced.
Price controls on staple food products were introduced in
October last year, but Zimbabwe still faces critical shortages of cornmeal,
sugar, milk and cooking oil, among other goods.
Earlier this week, the
government announced plans to close every bureau de change in the country and
introduce tighter currency controls in an effort to curtail the black-market
currency business.
The announcement formed part of this year's budget
statement, during which the finance minister admitted that the country's economy
would contract by 11.9% this year, after shrinking by 7.3% in 2001.
Many
economists blame corruption, mismanagement and the near-complete disruption of
commercial farming by government-approved seizures of land - as well as the
drought - for Zimbabwe's economic crisis.
Farmer saves elephants from Mugabe's men
By Tim Butcher with the Braeside
elephant herd
(Filed: 15/11/2002)
With thousands of game animals being
slaughtered illegally each week in Zimbabwe, a white farmer has spirited 12
domesticated elephants out of the country to safety in neighbouring South
Africa.
Threatened with death at the hands of militant supporters of the
Mugabe regime, the herd has been saved by its trainer, Rory Hensman,
56.
The collapse of law and order in Zimbabwe has led to thousands of
animals being poached from game farms; wilderness areas such as the Gonarezhou National Park have been
plundered.
For seven-year-old Dande, a two-ton female with a penchant for
playing football, the 20-hour lorry trip across the border was not
easy.
"It was an epic journey and it must have spooked her because you
can see she has not been quite right since the day we left Zimbabwe," Mr
Hensman, said, ignoring her trunk as it ruffled his hair vigorously.
"The
elephants have been with us so long that there are like family so we can tell
just by looking in her eyes if something is wrong."
Mr Hensman and his
wife, Lindie, trained their first calves in 1988 at their home, Braeside farm,
near the town of Chinhoyi. They were used for elephant-back safaris at Victoria
Falls.
But it all went sour in Zimbabwe when President Robert Mugabe
ordered the invasion of white-owned farms such as Braeside two years
ago.
"The so-called war vets pitched up on the farm and from that day we
had to stop normal life," Mr Hensman said.
"The elephants were accused by
them of being used for 'psychological warfare' and I am certain that like so
much other game on our farm and elsewhere if we had left them they would have
been killed."
The Times
What Britain can do in Zimbabwe?
From
the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth
Affairs
Sir, While I share the frustration of Vanora
Bennett at what is happening in Zimbabwe under Robert Mugabe's cruel regime
(Thunderer, November 11) she is wrong to say that we in the Government have been
wringing our hands. In fact, the Government has been working hard diplomatically
to ensure that there is a united international response to the appalling
situation in Zimbabwe. As a result, there is now action by the European Union,
the US and the Commonwealth against the Mugabe regime.
Ms Bennett
suggests that we send home the Zimbabwean High Commissioner. But this would
result in the expulsion of our own High Commissioner in Harare, leaving the
26,000 UK nationals in Zimbabwe without any representation at all, and further
undermining our efforts to help those in Zimbabwe struggling to promote
democracy. Ms Bennett recommends that EU visa restrictions and the freezing of
assets be broadened. I do not rule this out. But she then rejects the only means
to bring this about: working patiently behind the scenes with partners to build
a consensus.
The UK is the second largest contributor to the UNs relief
efforts in Zimbabwe and we will do all we can to help the Zimbabwean people in
their hour of need.
We will continue to play a key part in the
international communitys efforts to isolate the Mugabe regime until it respects
basic democratic rights and its international obligations. But we must never
allow Mugabe to succeed in portraying this issue as a dispute between his
country and its former colonial master. As the leader of Zimbabwes Movement for
Democratic Change, Morgan Tsvangirai, said recently: If you are at the forefront
you turn Mugabe into a martyr. That's what he wants.
Yours
faithfully,
VALERIE AMOS,
Foreign and Commonwealth Office,
King Charles
Street, SW1A 2AH.
November 12.
Zimbabwe to blame for tobacco firm
dilemma
------------------------------------------------------------------------
14.
November 2002 Print Article (IE & NS
4+)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zimbabwe's
volatile political situation spells change for Danish
smokers, as tobacco
giant House of Prince, maker of the popular Prince
and Cecil cigarette,
scrambles to find African countries capable of
producing tobacco for its
celebrated brands
Controversial Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe is
leaving a trail of
problems for Danish tobacco giant House of Prince. The
series of
government-supported attacks against white farmers in Zimbabwe
have
brought a precipitous drop in the country's tobacco harvest, from
235
million kilos of tobacco in 1999 to a projected 60-70 million kilos
for
next year.
As a result, House of Prince will be compelled to
replace a large
portion of the Zimbabwean tobacco currently contained in a
Prince
cigarette with tobacco from other countries, daily newspapers De
3
Stiftstidender and JydskeVestkysten reported this weekend.
"It's a
big disappointment that we'll come up short of Zimbabwean
tobacco, and we're
on the verge of losing a huge market that can't
readily be replaced. Our best
alternative in the short term is Brazil,
which is quick to get in gear in
production," said House of Prince
vice-director Jacob Bjerre, who also heads
the company's raw tobacco
department.
The company has assured Danish
smokers that the shift in tobacco won't
affect the taste of the standard
Prince cigarette.
House of Prince is currently investigating three other
African countries
that may be able to fully take over Zimbabwe's tobacco
production for
Prince in the long term. Tanzania, Malawi and Mozambique
currently top
the short list for their favourable climates in producing
a
Zimbabwe-like tobacco. Other possibilities include Zambia and
Uganda.
November 14, 2002
Life grinds to a halt as Mugabe's fuel runs out
Letter
from Harare TimesOnline.com
THERE is a joke that Zimbabweans lack
so many basic commodities that they do
not know which queue to join, but it
no longer seems very funny.
In Harare's once comfortable suburb of Greencroft
yesterday about 200 people
queued outside the supermarket for bread. At the
Shell service station next
door about 20 lorries and buses were waiting at
the diesel pump. At the
Mobil station next to that the queue for petrol
stretched down the road and
out of sight.
Bread shortages have been the
norm for more than six months in Zimbabwe, but
they are now being matched by
fuel shortages that threaten to paralyse the
country.
Traffic is choked by
multiple lines of vehicles jostling for position
outside the decreasing
number of petrol stations that still have fuel to
sell.
Commuting has
become a nightmare. The once-orderly queues at the bus
terminus outside the
Harare central police station have turned into a
chaotic half-mile of
humanity jamming the pavement five-deep.
In the town of Gwanda in southwest
Zimbabwe last week 70 members of
President Mugabe's irregular youth militia
forced the driver of the bus they
were travelling in to go to the head of a
long queue. Motorists who objected
were threatened. When two policemen
intervened, they were beaten up. No
further action was taken against the
mob.
A senior oil company executive said: "The fuel queues will soon be no
more
because there won't be any more fuel."
The shortage compounds the
famine that now threatens half of Zimbabwe's 13
million people. Inflation is
expected to reach 200 per cent next month and
the currency is
collapsing.
Tony Hawkins, an economist, said: "I don't think it's ever been
as grave as
this."
In August last year chronic fuel shortages were
relieved when Colonel
Gaddafi of Libya responded to appeals from Mr Mugabe by
ordering his
state-owned oil company, Tamoil, to give a year's credit of
US$360 million
(£227 million) for fuel to Zimbabwe.
However, fuel industry
sources confirm that the supply was cut off in mid-
September when the
state-owned National Oil Company of Zimbabwe was unable
to meet
payments.
Two weeks ago Mr Mugabe made a rare admission of failure when he
said that
the fuel crisis gave him "headaches and stomachaches". He reversed
his
22-year policy of allowing only the state to import fuel, a
"strategic
commodity", and said that multinational oil companies would have
to take
over.
A fortnight later fuel industry sources report no progress
in talks with the
Government on how this is to be done. The primary obstacle
is what the oil
companies will charge.
Under Mr Mugabe's orders, the price
has been frozen since June last year at
Zim$76 per litre. The currency has
fallen to less than a tenth of its value
since then. That means that the
national oil company is paying about
US50cents (31p) a litre, and selling it
for the equivalent of US4 cents (2p)
a litre. A pint of beer in Zimbabwe
costs six times as much as a litre of
petrol.
"The Government is going to
have to do something with the price," Mr Hawkins
said. "But they cannot just
double it without the risk of those on the
streets throwing stones."
November 14, 2002
Ivory ban relaxed for £6m one-off sale
From Michael
Dynes
In Johannesburg TimesOnline.com
SOUTHERN Africa welcomed the
relaxation of the 13-year-old ban on
international ivory sales yesterday,
allowing regional states to sell off a
vast stockpile despite warnings that
it could spark an upsurge in poaching.
More than £6 million is expected to
flow into the conservation coffers of
South Africa, Botswana and Namibia
after the surprise decision by the
Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species (Cites) to allow
them to sell about 60 tonnes of
stockpiled ivory in a one-off deal. The
controversial move is opposed by
animal welfare groups, and is widely seen
as the first step towards allowing
African countries to harvest their
surplus ivory for profit.
"This
constitutes an enormous victory," said Valli Moosa, South
Africa's
Environment Minister. "South Africa has constantly argued that a
sensible
and scientific approach needed to be taken in the management of
wildlife."
South Africa, Botswana and Namibia convinced the 160-member
Cites
organisation, which regulates global trade in animal and plant life,
that
their conservation policies had allowed elephant numbers to increase to
the
point where they are no longer an endangered species.
Attempts by
Zimbabwe and Zambia to sell their ivory stockpiles were,
however, flatly
rejected.
Delegates to the twelfth Cites conference in Santiago, Chile, said
they were
not convinced that Harare and Lusaka could monitor ivory sales
because of
widespread corruption and political instability.
A proposal to
allow all five countries to sell an annual quota of 14 tonnes
of ivory, which
would effectively reopen the ivory trade permanently, was
also put on
hold.
The vote has opened up a deep rift across Africa between proponents
and
opponents of the ivory trade, with conservationists, in Kenya
especially,
predicting that the decision will lead to a wholesale resumption
in ivory
poaching and a new black market.
Elephant numbers fell from 1.3
million to 600,000 by the end of the 1980s.
A report published by the
European Union in the run-up to the Cites meeting
said that there was
mounting evidence of smuggling rings being set up by
West African business
interests, working with security forces and local
trackers, to flood the
international market with illegal ivory.
14/11/02
Mark Chavunduka: crusading journalist
FRED BRIDGLAND The
Scotsman
THE Zimbabwean journalist Mark Chavunduka, who focused
international
attention on the savage human rights record of President Robert
Mugabe's
government after suffering prolonged torture, has died in Harare at
the age
of 37.
Chavunduka hit world headlines in January 1999 when the
Standard, the
independent Sunday newspaper of which he was editor, reported
widespread
unrest in the Zimbabwean Army over the deployment of 14,000 troops
in the
civil war then raging in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Chavunduka
was arrested by senior military officers when he published a
report by one
of his journalists, Ray Choto, saying there had been an
attempted but
unsuccessful coup against Mugabe by a group of 23 army
officers.
For more than ten days, both Chavunduka and Choto were beaten,
kicked,
punched, electrocuted and very nearly drowned by army torturers at
the
notorious Cranborne Barracks, a 30-minute drive from Harare,
Zimbabwe's
capital. Chavunduka said later: "They were saying things like, for
example:
'President Mugabe's already signed your death warrant, and so we can
do
anything we want to do.'" Neither Chavunduka nor Choto revealed
their
sources for the alleged coup plot. They stuck by their story and
charges
against them for publishing "a false report liable to create alarm
and
despondency" were later dropped. The defence minister at the time, the
late
Moven Mahachi, denied that the two men had been tortured. He said
their
wounds were self-inflicted "scratches".
Chavunduka and Choto
were able to tell their stories when they were allowed
to leave Zimbabwe for
prolonged treatment for their physical and mental
injuries at Helen Bamber's
internationally acclaimed Medical Foundation for
the Treatment of Torture
Victims in London.
The International Press Institute used Chavunduka's
ordeal to highlight how
Zimbabwean journalists operated in "a climate of
fear".
Chavunduka was honoured in 1999 with the International Press
Freedom Award
and the James Cameron Press Freedom Award. He was lionised and
many other
international prizes and awards followed, although back home
Mugabe's
military and police continued unashamedly to arrest and torture
journalists.
At 24, Mark Chavunduka became the youngest editor of a
national publication
in Zimbabwe when he was made editor in 1991 of Parade, a
monthly news
magazine. Six years later he became the founding editor of the
Standard.
He was a member of a distinguished Zimbabwean family. His
father, Dr Dexter
Chavunduka, was the first black veterinary surgeon in
former Rhodesia and a
Member of Parliament in independent Zimbabwe nominated
by Mugabe for his
expertise in animal husbandry. His uncle, Professor Gordon
Chavunduka, is a
veteran African nationalist politician who was Vice
Chancellor of the
University of Zimbabwe, where he conferred an honorary
degree on Mugabe. His
aunt, Sarah Kachingwe, was once the top civil servant
in Mugabe's
information ministry.
After treatment at the London clinic
run by Helen Bamber, a Jewish woman who
first treated Nazi concentration camp
victims, Chavunduka went to the United
States. He refused an offer of asylum
there before returning to Zimbabwe and
the Standard against the advice of
family and friends.
He continued to be a critic of the Mugabe government.
He suggested that
Mugabe "and his cronies" be given enough money by the
international
community to leave the country and settle elsewhere. "We cannot
let a few
greedy, despotic, corrupt people spoil the country for the rest of
us," he
said.
Mugabe sneered that Chavunduka was a white man in a
black skin. But his
colleagues in the independent press in Zimbabwe and
beyond recognised him as
a true crusader for freedom whose torture brought
the world's attention to
Mugabe's human rights violations and efforts to
suppress criticism.
In April this year, Chavunduka left the Standard and
bought out and became
chief executive of the company that published
Parade.
Until the end of his long illness his right eye still twitched as
a result
of the torture he endured. He also suffered from recurring
nightmares.
However, medical and family sources said his death was unrelated
to the
tortures. He had suffered prolonged chest pains and fevers, symptoms
which
inevitably have led to speculation that he died of an AIDS-related
infection
in a country where one-third of the population is
HIV-positive.
He is survived by his wife and three children. ©2002
scotsman.com
Media urged to wake up to Zimbabwe crisis
By Paul Donovan Posted 14
November
2002 00:00 GMT
A BBC journalist who went undercover to report
from Zimbabwe has called on
the British media to wake up to the unfolding
crisis in that country.
"We're talking about 6.5 million people here who
could starve by Christmas
and the international community has not woken up to
it," said Christian
Fraser, the Breakfast reporter on Five Live. "It seems
that it is only when
you start to see children with stick bones and swollen
bellies that the
tabloids get turned on."
Fraser managed to get into
Zimbabwe, from where the BBC has been banned, via
South Africa. He then went
to Harare and moved out to cover a by-election
where Robert Mugabe's ruling
Zanu-PF party was manipulating the food supply
in order to secure an
electoral win.
Fraser's reports on Zimbabwe have gone out on Five Live, Radio
One and News
24.
Fraser also believes that when the British media do focus
on Zimbabwe, there
is too much attention paid to white farmers.
"There are
1.5 million people working for the white farmers and they say
there is too
much focus on them. The farmers will admit that they can move
and farm
elsewhere - that is not an option for many who work for them,"
he
said.
Fraser recalled one case in which a farmer went away and returned
to
discover the whole workforce of 500 black farm workers had been removed
and
dumped elsewhere.
Fraser is keen that the UK media start to give the
crisis in Zimbabwe proper
coverage. "The reaction when you tell people that
more than six million
people could starve by Christmas is, 'It's Africa,
isn't it?' It's a sad
indictment that we don't care or the people who sell
newspapers don't care."
All contents © 2001, Quantum Publishing, or its
affiliates.
New York Times
South Africa Urges the West to Ease Censure of
Zimbabwe
By RACHEL L. SWARNS
OHANNESBURG, Nov. 16 - Cameras
flashed and reporters scribbled as the
foreign ministers of South Africa and
Zimbabwe met this week with hearty
handshakes. Then South Africa announced
that it was time for the world to
ease the pressure on its troubled
neighbor.
The South African foreign minister, Dr. Nkosazana Zuma, said it
was time for
Western nations to consider ending penalties they imposed on
Zimbabwe for
intimidating opposition party supporters, judges, journalists
and white
farmers, and manipulating the presidential election.
She
also called on Britain, Zimbabwe's former colonial ruler, to compensate
white
farmers who have been forced to give up their farms without
compensation.
Zimbabwe, which has ordered nearly 3,000 white farmers to give
their
properties to blacks, says its contentious land reform process is
now
complete.
Referring to the penalties, Dr. Zuma, speaking as she
stood next to Foreign
Minister Stan Mudenge of Zimbabwe during the news
conference in Pretoria,
said, "We don't think that's a situation which should
continue for a long
time."
Dr. Zuma's remarks were greeted with
outrage from supporters of Zimbabwe's
opposition party and many political
analysts in South Africa. Over the past
two and a half years, the government
of President Robert Mugabe has condoned
the killings of scores of black
opposition party supporters. The
intimidation of black government critics and
white farmers continues.
[Zimbabwe's economy is also in tatters, and on
Saturday the government
reimposed sweeping price controls, Reuters
reported.]
Zimbabwe's opposition party and civic groups have accused the
government of
denying emergency food to people who refuse to support the
governing party.
Last month, the United Nations suspended food distribution
in the community
of Insiza when government-backed militants seized three tons
of food for
their supporters before a local election.
Asked whether
South Africa was condoning lawlessness, Dr. Zuma said it was
important to
look ahead. "Even if Zimbabwe made a mistake, the point is that
we need to
move to the future," she said.
Western nations, notably the United States
and Britain, have urged South
Africa to take a harder line, recognizing that
President Thabo Mbeki often
describes himself as a champion of African
democracy.
He has rallied support for a development plan that would steer
Western aid
and investment to those African nations that respect human
rights. His
country is often hailed as one of the most democratic nations on
the
continent.
Mr. Mbeki has occasionally offered criticism of
Zimbabwe, but he and his
officials have expressed a clear preference for what
they call "quiet
diplomacy," which means criticism in private and cordial
cooperation in
public.
South Africa hailed Zimbabwe's presidential
election in March as legitimate,
even though officials eliminated polling
stations in opposition strongholds,
and the police fired tear gas to disperse
hundreds of people who were
waiting to vote.
Earlier this month,
foreign ministers in the region rejected efforts by the
European Union to
condemn Zimbabwe, although they did agree to a statement
that calls for food
to be distributed fairly in the country.
There is no doubt that South
Africa has quietly prodded Mr. Mugabe, who is
widely viewed as a proud and
mercurial leader who responds poorly to public
criticism. Zimbabwe is South
Africa's largest regional trading partner.
Mr. Mugabe was a staunch
supporter of the anti-apartheid struggle. Many
African officials respect him
for supporting the region's fight against
white rule and for his efforts to
redistribute land stolen by British
settlers. That issue resonates in South
Africa and Namibia, where whites
control most of the land.
Many
African officials are also suspicious of all the Western talk about
human
rights in Zimbabwe when there is little talk about human rights in
other
African countries.
"In other African countries where human rights are
ignored, it's business as
usual," said Claude Kabema, the acting director of
the Electoral Institute
of Southern Africa. "That's why many people have
failed to embrace the
Western position. They see it as hypocrisy."
Yet
others here and abroad say it is hypocritical for South Africa, which
fought
so hard for its democracy, not to loudly condemn rights abuses on
its
doorstep.
"South Africa is not supportive," complained Peter Moyo,
a spokesman for a
group of black Zimbabweans living in South Africa.
"Children are going to
bed hungry and nobody seems to care," he said. "We
need to hear from South
Africa."
Please send any job opportunities for publication in this newsletter to:
JAG
Job Opportunities <justice@telco.co.zw>
AN
URGENT POSITION EXISTS WITHIN COLBRO TRANSPORT IN OUR INTERNATION
SERVICE
CENTRE
A workshop manager, to be based in Mutare - starting
immediately.
To run small workshop, stores, fuel stocks, tyres and
labour.
Incumbent to have management skills and be able to lead and
supervise a
competent team of artisans and ancillary workers. Our work is
with
International Trucks, therefore a mechanical knowledge is
essential.
Also workshop admin, job cards, invoicing and payroll
knowledge is
necessary.
The Workshop Manager is to adher to and
practice the Colbro principals of
accounting (based on ISO), human resources
management, workshop practices,
stores control and customer relations. A
further requirement is to ensure
the production of good quality work within a
reasonable time frame.
Training and assistance will be given to the
correct person to ensure full
awareness of our quality and
systems.
Salary is negotiable, dependant on experience and
knowledge.
Any interested persons are to please contact Bob Collett on
Cell phone no:
091 200 519 or e-mail us on rcollett@mweb.co.zw with CVs, questions
and a
contact telephone number.
Opportunities in :
The
Comores
Hope that this is the right route to get info to you on possible
job
opportunities!
1. The French Government is anxious to help farmers
with EU (ie UK, Dutch
etc) nationality to settle in Mayotte, Comoros Islands
(off the coast of
Mozambique). Mayotte is a Departement of France and so
stable and law
abiding. Offered are tax rebates, cheap loans etc. More
information from
the French Embassy in Harare, I understand.
South
Africa
Dear friends Two people in South Africa have manager positions on
their
farms vacant and are willing to keep these positions open for two
Zimbabwe
farmers who lost their farms. If interested please contact: Mr de
Villiers
(012) 361 7703 (after hours)
(012) 315 7556 (at
work)
From: "Frank Putterill" <malda@zol.co.zw> I am not sure if you
assist in
finding evicted farmers new employment but I have a friend in Natal
who
sells semen mainly to dairy farmers. He imports semen from Australia
and
the progeny is now having a major impact on the dairy industry
resulting
in his business really taking off so he is looking for someone to
assist.
I quote his request to me : "The person we are looking for would have
to
be qualified, Gwebi or varsity, with a background in dairying and be
able
to visit dairy farmers and advise them on breeding and be familiar
with,
or be preparedto learn, the bulls that are currently being used in
the
dairy world and how they breed. We have had the agency for the biggest
AI
organisation in Australia, Genetics Australia for the last three years,
so
the first Australian progeny started calving down at the beginning of
the
year. We must expand now as they are doing well and the demand is
there,
we just need more good men in the field." His name is Tim Arnot and
can be
contacted either by email- semark@mweb.co.za Semark P O Box 30
Cramond,
3220 South Africa Tel/Fax 033 569 1738 Mobile 083 630 4124 Trust you
can
help,
Best regards, Frank Putterill
Our company is a
sawmilling, forestry and farming operation in
Stutterheim, Eastern Cape,
RSA. We recently acquired some extensive land
for cattle farming and with
this, "inherited" some 40ha of irrigable land
on the Kei River, with
unlimited water and high heat units. This area can
be expanded. There are
vacant houses adjacent to the irrigable areas which
are not utilized for
cattle farming operations. We're looking to employ
someone with crop
farming/irrigation experience to develop this land and
would consider some
form of share scheme. No crops are established, there
is currently no
business going on with the irrigable areas and we need an
experienced person
to advise what best would be suited for the area and
its potential markets.
Capital is not a constraint. Should anyone be
interested, contact John Rance
at jcrance@rancetimber.co.za tel:
27 43
6837330 fax: 27 43 6837208. For a Zim reference on our company,
contact
Basil Kinsey, or Bob White, or Graham Hingeston, or Tim/Trish
Broderick in
Harare, or Peter Hingeston in Triangle.
Looking for a
recently displaced, RELIABLE, ZIM Farming Family
rod_benn@hotmail.com
As a modestly
successful South African businessman, my wife and I are
continually appalled
at what is still happening daily to white Zimbabwean
farmers. Yesterday there
was a radio news clip interviewing a farmer who
was physically and literally
crying at the sight of his cattle being led
away as he was forced to get off
his land. I am currently not in farming
at all, but I do have significant
technical, marketing and International
contacts in various
industries.
I am looking at an investment opportunity on farmland in the
Northern
Province (old Northern Transvaal) bushveld, but I am not limited to
this
-it could be anywhere in South Africa. There are some farms in
South
Africa which can be purchased still at reasonable prices. My idea is
that
I will buy the farm and allow a deserving displaced ZIM farmer to work
it
on a 50/50 basis. IE. He gets 50 % of the income generated. We would
run
the farm on a partnership basis (I would be a non-active investor,
but
would like to stay interested and be consulted on the various
businessses
we would do from the farm).
All I would ask is that we
would like to be able to visit the farm
whenever we liked (assuming there
was, say, a seperate cottage available
for us.) Can you perhaps put me in
touch with a deserving farming family
who have a good track record and who
might like to enter into this type of
relationship?
NO Chancers please
! We will screen the applicants very well and
establish their bona-fides
before signing anything finally. We really want
to do this to firstly , help
a really destitute farming family who ,
without their land, are rendered
virtually penniless. Secondly, if such a
family exists that you could
recommend to us, then I think with their
knowledge of farming, their need and
drive to re-establish themselves,
plus my business skills , and financial
guarantees that I could muster, we
could probably start a very lucrative
partnership that hopefully would
allow this family to re-establish themselves
- albeit not in their beloved
Zim, but as close to home as possible. I am
actually taking a shot in the
dark by writing to you, because I am not sure
if this would be attractive
to anyone, or maybe it has been tried and did not
work for some reason.
Perhaps you could give us some advice ? - we would be
grateful for that.
Any other ideas which I am sure you come up against daily,
would be well
received as well. Regards, Rodney and Mariette Benn Pretoria
South Africa.
Farming Opportunity in SA
My family has a farm in
Lowveld (Nelspruit), which was once regarded as
the best tobacco ground in
the lowveld. We would love to offer the land
to evicted land owners from
Zimbabwe, to use and restore their lives
again. Please could you let me know
if you know of people that would be
interested!!?? My uncle up in the
northern province can be contacted
regarding this matter. Dennis Traynor +27
15 295 9247.
Regards Jack Smith
083 235 5615
We have a farm
in the Eastern Tvl between Machadodorp and Nelspruit.Fairly
remote on 5000
hectars it is used for running a few cattle plus horses
where we take clients
on rides and as an outward bound area for school
children. There are two
houses with all elect water etc should you have
someone who might like to
move there they are available.There are numerous
other facolities plus 25 odd
km of the Crocodile river. The offer is to
some self motivating people on a
partnership basis.If they need set up
costs these can all be negotiated.
Should you have any takers cud you e
mail me at tn@earthport.co.za many thanks. Tony
North.
I know of someone in RSA who is looking for a Zimbabwean couple
to
caretake a plot in Potgietersrus. If you know of anyone who may
be
interested you can contact Nicola on msahome@iafrica.com Regards Debbie
Du
Plessis
Zambia Opportunity
A lodge on the banks of the
Zambezi is looking for a manager. The ideal
would be a couple. The package
includes: R5500 per month plus 10% profit
share. Free: Accommodation, food
and transport. Position available
immediately. Contact: BRUCE JOHNSON
0027827754888
Mozambique:
Position available in Mozambique.
Applicant should be experienced in
Horticulture or be prepared to learn. This
is a management position and
has good prospects for the future. Property is
already operating. House is
being built and the usual perks etc. go with the
the position as well as a
forex package. Phone: Harare
490583
Zimbabwe:
Wanted Immediately: Farm Manager to manage 2 ha
roses 10km west of
Harare and a 10 ha paprika/20 ha tobacco (agronomy and
industrial)
project with EPZ status on Shamva road 30 kms east of Harare.
Ideal for
a farmer already residing in Harare with experience in the above
fields.
Excellent salary prospects forex linked - successful
experience
essential. Please send or drop off C.V.'s at 11 Clarence
Drive,
Newlands. Phone 091237411 Interviews will be arranged to
suit
candidates. Best wishes Peter Dobson
TO ANY INTERESTED
FARMERS Opportunity for Business Investment in Transport
Industry with Colbro
Transport: There exists an opportunity of investing
in transport by
purchasing sections of 10 to 20 complete rigs along with a
franchise to run
for Procon RSA, on all routes run by Colbro.
Advantages being you walk
into 100% organised fleet, drivers, maintenance,
fuel, tyres, contracts etc.
Any interest: Please contact Bob Collett on
091 200 519
14th
October 2002 TO ANY INTERESTED FARMERS URGENT - A vacancy exists in
Colbro
Operations for a Business Manager. Preferably degreed with
business
experience. Possible first posting to Beira to run a fleet of
vehicles,
after transport training.
2nd vacancy exists for less
qualified energetic transport controller to
handle daily operations and
drivers, certain "out of town" travelling
needed.
3rd vacancy exists
for couple in Kariba - lady to run books with other
management
responsibilities at Kariba Marina. Gent to manage and maintain
boats, big
and small as well as other management duties.
4th possibility for couple
to run a procurement business in Harare for
Kariba and surrounding areas -
preferably a farmer who has a 7 ton truck
to enter into a
partnership.
Any interested party to contact: Bob Collett - 091 200 519
Bernice Wilde -
091 314 353 or 757295
OSTRICH MANAGER: young, keen
person wanted to take over all aspects of
ostrich management, starting
soonest, on Cawston Game Ranch, Nyamandhlovu,
to work under general ranch
manager. We are major ostrich producers
currently slaughtering 1500 birds
per year, and are also developing an
outreach programme. Common sense, a
work ethic and computer literacy more
important than ostrich experience. An
interest in the workings of the
game ranch, and participation in it, would be
an added advantage. Usual
farm perks plus good salary and bonuses offeredm
to the right person.
Please write with CV to Cawston Ranch, P.O. Box 9057,
Hillside, Bulawayo,
or email rosslyn@gatorzw.com or rosslyn@netconnect.co.zw.
GENERAL
MANAGER - FARMING we are looking for a Farm Manager for a
cereal/row crop
farm near Norton. Must have an agricultural
diploma/degree and at least 7
years' cropping experience. Knowledge of
cattle will be advantageous, as
will tobacco experience. Write sending CV
and contact details, together with
details of present and required salary
to The Company Secretary, P O Box WGT
10, WESTGATE, Harare or e-mail to
anne@kencor.co.zw.
FARM
ACCOUNTANT - to be based Gwebi area. At least 10 years experience
and able
to prepare and present Monthly Management Accounts. Do books for
2 farms,
stock schedules, debtors/creditors, wages etc. Write sending CV
and contact
details, together with details of present and required salary
to The Company
Secretary, P O Box WGT 10, WESTGATE, Harare or e-mail to
anne@kencor.co.zw.
Business in
Harare looking for secretary/bookeeper in agricultural based
operation.
Experience in Computers and Pastel bookeeping necessary. Job in
a busy
environment with an attractive salary being offered. Looking for
suitable
encumbant to start asap. Please contact on the below address.
Farmers wife
would be good! Contact - sales@maguires.biz
I write on
behalf of a company called Instamac (Pvt) Ltd. We are a medium
sized
construction/development company specialising in residential and
other
developmental infrastructure. Amazingly enough in these troubled
times, we
currently have a large volume of works on our books.
Subsequently, we are
urgently looking for suitable persons to recruit as
staff in the following
fields : (a) Construction Site Management ; (b)
Workshop Management. (a)
above would involve managing at least one
construction site in or near to
Harare (i.e.Ruwa and Norton). The type of
construction we are currently
mainly involved in, is that of providing
roads, water and sewerage to
residential stands. Construction of housing
may come in at a later stage.The
incumbent manager would be responsible
for at least one site, and all the
construction works on it (i.e.plant,
labour, materials, etc.). The works on
site are not highly technical, but
does require a person with a practical
mind, motivation and initiative.
(b) above would involve the daily management
of our central workshops in
Harare, plus the liaison of our various site
workshops and personnel. This
vacancy again requires a hands on type of
person, with some mechanical
experience, but not necessarily a formal
qualification in mechanics.
We are prepared to offer the right type of
person a good package. It would
be good if the person(s) had their own
transport. We would obviously pay
for this.
We have contacted
yourselves since we admire your positive and motivated
stance in these
difficult times, and because you may have a database of
ex-farm
owners/managers who have experienced problems recently, and may be
looking
for something to do. We feel these types of people would be ideal
for the
vacancies we have described above.
Thank-you for your time, and we would
greatly appreciate it if you
wouldn't mind possibly posting a copy of this
E-mail onto your
noticeboards, and/or with the relevant persons in your
organisation.
Thank-you once again for your kind cooperation on this
issue.
Yours faithfully
Paul Brown Contracts Director for
Instamac
GENERAL MANAGER - FARMING we are looking for a Farm Manager
for a
cereal/row crop farm near Norton. Must have an
agricultural
diploma/degree and at least 7 years' cropping experience. Plus a
suicidal
tendency to not want to be around very long. Contact John Smith
at
cryforfreedom@powernet.com
FLEXI-TIME
P.A./WORK FROM HOME BASE Anyone out there looking for a top
notch Personal
Assistant who is based in Avondale area and has all the
facilities a busy
person/farmer might need to make use of? My computer
and typing skills are
unbelievable, as well as my general PA ability.
E-mail me on fez@zol.co.zw or Tel/Fax:
263-4-335452.
We are urgently seeking a mature couple for an
established horticultural
farm in the Beit Bridge area. Work involves Citrus
production,protection
and export and field crop production. Office work with
basic computer
programmes. All normal farm perks with house and farm vehicle.
No section
5 or 8 yet and no deals made.
Applicants CVs to: Benfer
Estate P.O. Box 46 Beit Bridge or fax 086-2611
or e-mail: benfer@mweb.co.zw
Saudi
Arabia:
DAIRY INDUSTRY SECTION HEAD: ANIMAL HEALTH SAUDI ARABIA
A
leading Saudi Arabian Dairy Farm is seeking a suitably
qualified
and>experienced candidate to occupy the post of Section Head
Animal
Health.The successful candidate will head a multi-national team of
18
persons comprised of Veterinarians, Specialists and Laboratory staff.
He
will report to the Herds Manager. The successful candidate will
be
required to manage and control an ISO 9002 certified Animal
Health
Section, to maintain the highest standards of overall health care on
the
Farm. Duties will include conducting disease control measures, control
of
Animal Health Warehouse and Budget.
An attractive remuneration
package includes, furnished accommodation on
the farm, medical care, use of
company car, annual vacation entitlement
including airfare.
This
position is unlikely to suit candidates seeking education for
children in the
Kingdom, due to the location of the farm, approx. 100km
from the capital,
Riyadh.
Interested individuals should send full CV to:-
ROBERT H
FIDLER YORK PERSONNEL SERVICES P O BOX 391, UMHLANGA ROCKS, 4320,
SOUTH
AFRICA Tel: 0027-31-562 8712 / Fax: 0027-31-562 8753 e-mail:
recruit@yorkpersonnel.com
DAIRY
INDUSTRY SECTION HEAD: PARLOUR MAINTENANCE SAUDI ARABIA
A leading Saudi
Arabian Dairy Farm seeks an experienced Milking Equipment
Engineer, to head
an 18-strong multinational maintenance team for an ISO
9002 compliant
section. He would report to the Herds Manager.
Duties The successful
candidate would be responsible for the maintenance
and technical management
of:-
540+ (De Laval) state-of-the-art milking points in 7 parlours,
including
vacuum, pneumatic, electrical & hydraulic peripheral equipment,
in order
to maintain this equipment integrity, to guarantee milk
production.
A computerised cattle housing cooling system, together with
corral
fencing, and above-ground, cattle water supply.
Sectional
responsibility includes budgetary, administrative and spare
parts
control.
Candidate: The successful candidate should hold a recognised
technical
qualification in Electro/Mechanical Engineering and have at least 8
years
experience in milking equipment. He should have a good command of
English,
both spoken and written, and be computer literate.
An
attractive remuneration package including furnished accommodation on
the
farm, use of company car, medical care, and generous annual vacation
leave
entitlement including, airfare is provided.
Interested individuals should
send full CV to:-
ROBERT H FIDLER YORK PERSONNEL SERVICES P O BOX 391,
UMHLANGA ROCKS, 4320,
SOUTH AFRICA Tel: 0027-31-562 8712 / Fax: 0027-31-562
8753 e-mail:
recruit@yorkpersonnel.com
Australia:
Radiographer
Mark Palmer from the Royal Darwin Hospital writes:
I have job vacancies
for radiographers at Royal Darwin Hospital. We are
willing to sponsor
suitably qualified people. I can be contacted via email
Mark.Palmer@nt.gov.au. Here is a brief
description of the place:
RDH Radiology Department
RDH is a 350
bed general hospital, admitting a wide range of patients
including general
medicine, surgical, paediatrics, obstetrics,
orthopaedics, renal, A&E
etc. This is one of the large general hospitals
still operational.
RDH
radiology performs approximately 50,000 examinations per annum.
This
includes:-
1. CT - 3,000 examinations
2. Nuclear Medicine - 600
examinations
3. Ultrasound - 4,500 examinations
4. MRI - 400
examinations
The department outsources radiology, service is supplied by
NT Medical
Imaging. CT, MRI and Nuclear Medicine are currently fully serviced
by NT
Medical Imaging.
The General Radiography and Ultrasound are
performed by RDH radiographers.
There are 19.5 FTE RDH radiographers. All
staff participate on the shift
roster except the chief radiographer. Hours of
operation are 8am until
2am, 7 days per week, 365 days per year. Shift
radiographers commence
their shifts at either 1600hrs or 1730hrs. Normal
hours per week are 35
hours, ie commence at 8am until 4pm. RDH operates an
on-call system for
radiography after 2am, although the radiographer often
does not leave work
until 0230-0300hrs. Within a few months the Radiology
Department will be
moving into new premises. Some work at remote health units
may be required
from time to time. RDH provides an ultrasound service to
Gove,TennantCreek
and Kununurra as required. Chest Xrays for the chest clinic
may require a
radiographer to travel to various Aboriginal Communities. These
are
opportunities to see some of the remote health sites in the NT. Staff
may
be absent for periods up to 5 days. There are circumstances when staff
may
be asked to relieve other radiogr Salary range for a P1/P2 from $36,178
to
$60868 depending on years qualified. Additional to this there are
shift
pena lty payments and on-call payments, which generally may
increase
income by 10-15% annually.
There are 10 clerical staff
including 2 report typists, 2 front desk
receptionists and 6 other clerical
staff who sort and file Xray films.
There are 3 main general rooms, one
DSA room, 3 ultrasound rooms with 2
Acusons Xp10/128's and a Toshiba
Corevision Pro. There is a general Xray
room in the emergency department. Two
radiographers per day are rostered
to theatre and mobiles.
RDH has
many other advantages. It is located 5-10 minutes from Casuarina
beach and
the Casuarina shopping centre. Within the hospital complex is
parking for all
staff and visitors, there is a large swimming pool,squash
courts, tennis
courts, gymnasium and on-site accommodation. RDH is
approximat We are 90
minutes from Litchfield National Park and 3 hours
from Kakadu National Park
and very close to Bali too.
I hope that you will consider the RDH for
your future employment as I am
sure that the job will be interesting,
culturally enlightening, fulfilling
and challenging. For any more information
contact: Mark Palmer Chief
Radiographer Royal Darwin Hospital Te: 81 8 8922
8732 Darwin, NT.
Australia
Lynnford Stephenson, grandson of Don
Stephenson - ex-Salisbury Tobacco
Floors - is now an IT consultant in
Brisbane, Australia. He is always on
the look-out for software specialists
and believes that there may be such
people within farming families in
Zimbabwe who could resettle in Oz
(Lynnford arranges Residence Permits) and
then in due course send for
their families. More gen from Lynnford at:
Scott-Merrick Associates, Level
6 Northpoint Building, 231 North Quay,
BRISBANE, Qld 4000, Australia.
e-mail Lynnford@scott-merrick.com.au
Australian
Farming Opportunity
CITRUS FARM, NOOSA, SUNSHINE COAST,
AUSTRALIA
Please forward this to any Zimbabwean farmer who you think
might be
interested in living on a citrus farm in Noosa, Sunshine
Coast,
Australia,rent free. The farmer who owns the farm would like a
farming
couple to look after his citrus trees and there might be other
farming
opportunities.Please contact: richard.annabel.hulme@i-biz21.com
if the
offer is of interest to you. Thank you.
Herd Manager -
Central Queensland Australia Married couple required for a
Central Qld cattle
fattening property. Prefer training in Allan Savory's
Holistic Management.
Responsible for stock management, welfare and waters.
Skilled in welding,
record keeping and computers. Details as follows:
Herd Manager at
'Huntly'
Job Description Hickson Grazing Company are looking for a
married couple
to manage Huntly a cattle fattening property in Central
Queensland,
Australia. They will be working closely with me, Bloss Hickson,
the owner
who lives up the road with her husband Rodney. The company
structure:
Huntly is a cattle fattening property in the Central Highlands. It
is a
part of a family company, Hickson Grazing Co, which includes
another
property, Melinda Downs a breeding property north of Cloncurry in
North
Queensland about 12 hours away.
Huntly is 5400Ha and carries
between 1500 - 2500 head of cattle, depending
on the season. Melinda carries
a breeding herd of over 1000
Charbray/Droughtmaster cross cows. Calves are
weaned down to Huntly 2-3
times a year where they are kept on improved buffel
grass pastures for two
years and sold straight to the meatworks.
The
company structure includes the three family directors, Peter, Robert
and
Bloss Hickson and the manager of Melinda Downs, Bill Shepherd. Peter
runs his
own accounting company in Brisbane, Robert is returning from 3
years in
Africa to his new property east of Goondiwindi, while Bloss has
been managing
Huntly for the past 15 years. The company works very closely
as a team and
weekly telephone hook up discusses and deals with all the
current
issues.
The philosophy: The company has adopted Allan Savory's Holistic
Management
approach on both properties. At Huntly, this involves rotating two
herds
around the property and monitoring closely the vegetation and
pasture.
Paddock sizes range between 150-200Ha and the fences are slowly
being
upgraded from electric to barb wire. Huntly lies in the scenic
Arcadia
Valley in the fertile brigalow belt of Queensland. It is an area that
has
been dramatically cleared over the past 30 years. There are many
valuable
tree species reestablishing themselves on Huntly and reforestation
and
biodiversity are an integral part of the property's holistic goals. We
are
looking to reach a sustainable level of production that involves
the
native species, improved pastures and the cattle with a future view
of
organic production. It is a fascinating position for the right
person.
The Job: The job involves managing the two rotating herds,
reading the
pastures and native vegetation and knowing when to move them.
Stock
knowledge, husbandry and stock work are essential and horse riding
is
strongly recommended. Recording herd movement, pasture quality and
paddock
conditions are important. The herd manager will also be responsible
for
recognising the finished cattle and sending them away.
The couple
will be in charge of all the cattle work and cattle related
responsibilities
such as the waters, fences and any feeding that might be
happening. Knowledge
of watering systems is essential, windmills,
monopumps, Kubota diesel
engines, Honda water pumps and polypipe and
fittings. There are some open
dams and we hope to build many more to
assure more reliable water supplies.
Controlling the brigalow regrowth is
the major issue for the next 3 years.
While there is a great need to do
something about it, we have been very
selective, leaving regular strips
and nature corridors. Blade ploughing
contractors are the most effective
and expensive method we have used and we
will continue to plough certain
places every year. A small D4 dozer is being
prepared with a stickrake to
clean up smaller areas and thin out thicker
areas. Some working and
mechanical knowledge of dozers would be an
advantage.
All fence posts, gates and the cattle yards are made of steel,
so welding
is an important skill. Computer skills are also useful to record
cattle
numbers and paddock reports and send them out on email. Accommodation
and
Community The house is made of timber, stone and mud, it is very cool
and
earthy but it is suitable only for a 'frog-friendly' family. There is
a
large living area under one roof (with two bunk beds) and a large
bedroom
and ensuite close by, under another roof. This is a temporary
situation as
a new cottage is to be built to better accommodate the couple
needs.
Children's accommodation is less private and more difficult at this
stage.
Huntly is 80km from the small town of Rolleston at the head waters
of the
Fitzroy Catchment, about 3 hours drive west of Rockhampton and 8 hours
NW
of Brisbane. The Arcadia Valley school and its rural community are 40km
to
the south and the popular Carnarvon Gorge lies 60km to the west in
the
mountains. It is an isolated and very peaceful existence and would
only
suit someone with a love of bush life.
If you are interested in
the position, please send your application,
resume and references to: Bloss
Hickson, 'Huntly' Rolleston 4702 or email
them to bloss@rocknet.net.au
Nigeria:
Two
opportunities have arisen in Nigeria: Northern Nigeria: Farm Manager
required
for 3500 ha farm, mostly cereal/row crops, but some other crops
also. Owner
is offering an expat package, with usual perks. Interviews
will take place in
Johannesburg between 10 & 15th December 2002, expenses
paid. Please
submit CV with full particulars to masibs@zol.co.zw, or fax
to 04 744166.
Schools are available, and Nigeria is only 5 hrs' flight
time away! Phone
Mary Cosgrove for more details on 011-613735
Eastern Nigeria :
Timber/forestry Specialist required to manage a 114 ha
forestry concession,
with sawmill and furniture factory. Successful
applicant must be capable of
managing the concession and running the
furniture factory & sawmill.
Expat package with usual perks
offered.Interviews will take place in
Johannesburg between 10 & 15th
December,exps paid. Please submit CV with
full particulars to
masibs@zol.co.zw,
or fax to 04 744166, or contact Mary Cosgrove on
011
613735.
Greece: A job is available for a single or married
man, in Thesalonica,
Greece, overseeing Burley production. Knowledge of
Virginia production
adequate for applicant. The incumbent would report to HQ
in
Switzerland.Please send full CV to Mr.M.Cutter, Avenue Felix Cornu
29,
1802 Corseaux, Vaud,Suisse. (Switzerland).
The
Ukraine:
I should explain that my company Britanica is mainly British
owned and is
engaged in the import and manufacturing of consumer products for
onward
sale in Ukraine and other countries of the former Soviet Union.
The
business has been established for more than eight years and is
profitable.
I was in touch with Derrick Arlett-Johnson of the Zimbawe
Farmers Trust
earlier this year about an opportunity which had arisen for my
company to
acquire a substantial parcel of high quality land in Ukraine at a
very
good price. ( 17,000 acres ). The opportunity had arisen following
a
Presidential decree permitting private ownership of land. My partners
and
I have no knowledge of agriculture but are well experienced in the ways
of
doing business in the former Soviet Union. We were working with
other
British parties interested joining with us in investment. We considered
it
to be wortwhile investigating the possibility of bringing on board
a
dispossessed farmer from Zimbabwe who had knowledge of working a
large
holding.
The earlier deal was abandoned when the Presidential
decree permitting
private ownership of land was overturned by the Ukraine
Parliament>
Presently there is a moratorium. Land acquired under the
Presidential
decree remains in private ownership but no new sales are
permitted and
land which had been acquired by private buyers cannot be sold
on until
there is a new legislation. However the lease of land for a period
of less
than 50 years is not proscribed.
Now a new opportunity has
arisen. There are two agricultural holdings
which have fallen into disuse
which could be available to rent. One is
some 4000 acres the other much
larger.
The lease would be for 49 years. The suggested rent is $8 per
acre per
year. I suspect a lower figure can be negotiated. The quality of
land is
high - more than 1 metre deep of black alluvial soil. The smaller
unit
has no equipment. The larger unit comes complete with Soviet
style
equipment. We would be dealing with the lead creditor which is the
local
authority. We are looking for someone experienced in farming on a
large
scale with whom we can explore the possibility of creating a
profitable
unit with a view to an eventual sale at a premium, hopefully
after
acquiring the freehold. My partners and I have no farming know how.
We
have funds available but expect the project would require us to look
for
an additional capital injection. We are not expecting the farmer who
joins
us to make a financial investment.
Life in Ukraine is tough but
I am sure nothing like Zimbabwe under Mugabe.
There is a small Western /
British Community. People here are generally
very friendly, especially to
anyone willing to commit themselves to
getting something worthwhile off the
ground. Language will not be a
problem.
The workforce is generally
well educated, technically competent but
usually lacking any understanding of
business. If we can be pointed to
someone suitable, it is highly likely there
can be a positive outcome.
Kind regards, Robert
Tyldesley.
WANTED:
Full time Personal Secretary/Assistant for busy
Harare based accounting
and secretarial practice.
Must be proficient
in Microsoft Word, Excel and Outlook and have general
all round computing
skills. Shorthand not essential. Position involves
general typing, client
liaison, diary and appointment keeping, stationery
control, letter dictation,
some staff supervision. Previous experience
with the Registrar of Companies
Office would be an advantage.
Salary and conditions of service negotiable
and dependant upon
qualification and experience.
Contact Miss Amanda
Jones, 793107/8; 706959, 736281 or email
lemacc@africaonline.co.zw or fax
736324.
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