VOA
By
Peta Thornycroft
Harare
17 November 2005
Nearly
a quarter of Zimbabwe's remaining few hundred commercial farmers are
being
expelled from their land and others are having their equipment seized
by
security forces. The seizures appear to be contrary to official policy,
as
most of the affected farmers are operating with the assistance of
government
loans.
Scores of white commercial farmers, who had previously survived
the wave of
farm seizures are being evicted from their land in all parts of
Zimbabwe.
Others complain of being harassed ahead of eviction. Tens of
millions of
dollars of farming equipment is being seized off productive
farms by members
of the police and the army, who are also raiding warehouses
and confiscating
stored equipment.
Many farmers being evicted or
harassed are recipients of loans to grow crops
from Zimbabwe's central
bank. Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono
has encouraged white
commercial farmers to remain on the land and has
expressed alarm at the
latest round of evictions. However Lands Minister
Dydimus Mutasa said he
didn't know about the latest evictions and equipment
seizures. The crops
grown on commercial farms have been vital sources of
foreign exchange
earnings for the cash-strapped country. Most economists
say that Zimbabwe
can only recover its economy if agricultural production is
revived.
The new farm seizures come just as the new summer growing
season is
beginning. Hendrik Olivier, director of the Commercial Farmers
Union, says
he is baffled and worried about the situation.
"We are in
the start of our agricultural season, and this is possibly the
worst start
to any agricultural season since 1980.... lack of inputs, lack
of fuel,
chemicals, fertilizer, and of course, the rain, and on top of all
this,
there are continuous disruptions and evictions taking place," he
noted. "We
have farmers who have secured finance through the Reserve Bank
and in 53
percent of all the disruptions taking place country wide are
farmers who had
access to RBZ finance, and we currently see approximately 80
disruptions
countrywide."
There were about 4,000 white commercial farmers whose lands
produced 40
percent of Zimbabwe's foreign currency before President Robert
Mugabe
ordered his supporters to evict white farmers in early
2000.
Approximately 300 survived the purge, although operating on greatly
reduced
land and circumstances. This small group still produces about 80
percent of
export crops, although volumes have dropped to a quarter of
previous levels.
Commenting on contradictory government attitude toward
the white farmers,
veteran political analyst Brian Raftopoulos says there is
a dislocation of
government policy. He says the continued seizures of white
farms, most of
which are being taken by senior civil servants including top
policemen, a
judge and ruling ZANU-PF politicians, shows that the state has
run out of
other resources to maintain political patronage. Mr. Raftopoulos
says the
farming disruptions are further evidence that Zimbabwe is becoming
ungovernable.
Meanwhile, many small-scale farmers who used to produce
half of Zimbabwe's
annual production of the staple food corn, say they are
unable to afford to
buy seeds and fertilizer. They say they are also limited
by the lack of
fuel.
Zimbabwe does not have enough foreign currency
to import fuel and many other
basic items at a time when inflation has
topped 400 percent a year.
Less than 10 percent of land confiscated from
white farmers since 2000 is
being used, according to official
statistics.
[ This report does not
necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]
JOHANNESBURG, 17
Nov 2005 (IRIN) - The Zimbabwean government says it is
willing to accept UN
assistance to house people affected by its urban
clean-up campaign, but
donors are not clamouring to fund the programme.
"The government wants us
to build shelters for its own list of
beneficiaries, while we would like to
help all those in need and left
homeless," said a western diplomat.
A
UN report estimated that Operation Murambatsvina - which the government
said
was aimed at clearing slums and flushing out criminals - had left more
than
700,000 people homeless or without a livelihood after kicking off in
mid-May.
The Zimbabwean government had initially rejected the UN
offer to build
temporary shelters as there was "no humanitarian crisis",
only to make an
about-turn this week.
In its acceptance letter the
government laid down specifications for the
construction of permanent brick
and concrete one-room shelters.
The construction of 10 pilot houses for
government approval was likely to
begin next week, said UN spokesman Hiro
Ueki in the capital, Harare.
Subject to funding, the UN is to construct
2,500 housing units during the
first phase of the programme, which intends
to build 20,000 units at a total
cost of US $18 million, he
added.
"Imagine the precedent we will be setting - any country can go
ahead,
demolish informal settlements and ask the international community to
rehabilitate them," the diplomat commented.
"Each unit is now going
to cost between US $500 and $1,000, and the total
cost is going to climb
beyond the $18 million figure earmarked for the
initial proposal, which
involved the construction of wooden shelters - for
that amount of money we
could have helped everyone affected by the clean-up
operation," another
envoy remarked.
On Wednesday, human rights and civic organisations
appealed to African
leaders to address the humanitarian crisis in
Zimbabwe.
The joint appeal, led by Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights
(ZLHR), was
supported by international organisations that included the
Housing and Land
Rights Network, the Habitat International Coalition,
Amnesty International,
Human Rights Watch and the Centre on Housing Rights
and Evictions.
"We want to highlight the failure of African leaders to
condemn the clean-up
campaign and their non-compliance with the UN report's
recommendations to
provide humanitarian assistance to those affected," said
ZLHR's Otto Saki.
[ENDS]
Reuters
BR>
Thu Nov 17, 2005 8:58 AM ET
By Cris Chinaka
CHIVHU, Zimbabwe (Reuters) -
The "highway girls" wave at truckers while
teenage boys in tattered clothes
hold up fuel cans to passing motorists.
Zimbabwe's major roads these days
are littered with people trying to eke out
a living any way they
can.
Rising poverty in the southern African state has forced thousands of
young
people in the countryside to work either as prostitutes or vendors,
selling
everything from scarce commodities such as fuel and sugar to
firewood, wild
fruit and twists of marijuana -- which thrive in the local
climate.
Some have nothing to offer but their bodies.
Day and
night, young women -- many just out of their teens and invariably
wearing
skimpy dresses or clinging pants -- line up at bus stations outside
towns
big and small, offering sex to motorists for "a little fee".
The women,
popularly known as "the highway girls," are generally picked up
by
crossborder truck drivers, who regional health officials say are fuelling
an
AIDS/HIV pandemic said to be killing 2,500 Zimbabweans each week.
"I have
to do this because there are no jobs, and the income is a bit higher
than
selling vegetables," said Rumbidzai, a 20-year-old woman who has been
working as a prostitute from the central town of Chivhu for two
years.
"I know there is AIDS, and I insist on condoms," she
added.
The work of the highway girls has been immortalized in a popular
song
entitled Madhara Egonyeti (Elderly Truckers), which pleads with drivers
to
desist from sleeping with young girls.
While the women parade and
wave down potential customers, further down the
road a group of scruffy
teenage boys are waving fuel cans, saying they have
the scarce commodity for
sale at blackmarket prices of up to four times the
official
rate.
Joshua Masarakwedu, 16, said his trade was quite profitable. "We
buy from
truckers or other dealers and we hold back and sell during dry days
when
there is no fuel and prices are good."
The highway girls and the
fuel traders vie for a living on Zimbabwe's roads
alongside fish and
fish-worm sellers, beggars and drug peddlers who offer
potential customers
marijuana.
The problem has got worse since the government demolished
shantytowns and
thousands of "illegal" houses in a controversial campaign
early this year,
which the United Nations said left about 700,000 people
homeless and
destroyed the informal sector.
Zimbabwe is struggling
with a severe economic crisis which many government
critics blame on
President Robert Mugabe, in power since independence from
Britain in
1980.
Mugabe's policies have seen a former food exporter holding out a
begging
bowl for the last five years as people grapple with rising poverty
and
unemployment of well over 70 percent, the critics say.
But the
81-year-old Zimbabwean leader says the economy has been sabotaged by
domestic and Western opponents seeking to oust him over the controversial
seizure and redistribution of white-owned farms to his black
supporters.
An estimated 3.5 million Zimbabweans -- about a quarter of
the national
population -- have sought jobs and homes abroad, many of them
illegally, as
a result of a political and economic crisis blamed on Mugabe's
increasingly
controversial rule.
Hundreds of thousands live and work
illegally in Britain, Zimbabwe's former
colonial master.
Xinhua
www.chinaview.cn
2005-11-17 00:58:32
HARARE, Nov. 17 (Xinhuanet) -- Zimbabwe and
the Chinese province
of Jiangxi on Thursday signed a Memorandum of
Understanding for the supply
of irrigation, tillage, road construction,
mechanical and surveying
equipment.
Visiting Vice Governor
of Jiangxi province, Sun Gang, and
WaterResources and Infrastructure
Development Minister, Munacho
Mutezo,signed the memorandum at the ruling
Zimbabwe African National
Union-Patriotic Front Headquarters on
Thursday.
Vice President Joyce Mujuru and officials from the
District
Development Fund, the Zimbabwe National Water Authority and the
Department
of Irrigation witnessed the signing of the
Memorandum.
The three departments are expected to benefit from
the Memorandum
of Understanding, which will last for five years and
issubject to renewal.
Speaking before the signing ceremony,
Mujuru said the visit by the
Chinese delegation would further cement the
strong relations between the two
countries.
China was
carrying out a number of development projects in the
country, including
construction of dams, she said.
"These include Valley Dam in
Matebeleland and Marovanyika Dam in
Manicaland," she said.
"Recently they (Chinese) have been awarded Bindura Dam in
Mashonaland
Central and we are looking forward to them carrying out the
Kunzvi Dam close
to Harare."
Construction of Kunzvi Dam is expected to end
Harare's water woes.
Mujuru said the Zimbabwe government was
determined to move
awayfrom rain fed agriculture to irrigation in order to
improve food
security.
Resources meant for food imports
could then be directed toward
other development programs such as
infrastructure development and
procurement of essential drugs, she
added.
The Memorandum of Understanding is a follow up to an
agreement
that President Robert Mugabe signed when he visited China in July
this year.
The Zimbabwe government has adopted a deliberate
policy to
moveaway from traditional partners and markets in the West to
establishing
new ones in the East. Enditem
IOL
November 17 2005
at 05:14AM
Zimbabwean Air Force instructors are to be dispatched to
South Africa
(SA) to train local air force pilots under a memorandum of
understanding
signed between the two governments in Cape Town on
Thursday.
"This initiative, involving seconding Zimbabwe's flying
instructors to
train SA Air Force pilots, aircraft technicians and support
staff, follows a
long tradition of training exchanges between our
countries," Intelligence
Minister Ronnie Kasrils said.
These
included joint military exercises, peace keeping training,
defence
management training, staff course visits, communication training,
sporting
activities and aviation safety.
Kasrils was addressing cabinet
ministers from Zimbabwe and South
Africa during the first meeting of a joint
permanent commission on defence
and security between the two
countries.
In his welcoming address, he congratulated
Zimbabwe on "great
achievements" during its 25 years of
independence.
"Very heavy congratulations to these notable
achievements at a time
when Zimbabwe is facing challenges," he
said.
Zimbabwe's National Security Minister Dydimus Mutasa
responded that
good relations between South Africa and Zimbabwe were vital
for the
stability of the region.
"The future of the region
depends on the good relationship of our two
countries. If there is conflict
between our two countries, there will be no
stable future in this region,"
he said. - Sapa
defencenews.com
By
GORDON BELL, REUTERS, CAPE TOWN
South Africa signed a pact with its
neighbor Zimbabwe on Nov. 17 to
strengthen ties on defense and intelligence,
spurning western government
efforts to isolate President Robert Mugabe's
government.
The agreement will see the two countries share information on
security
issues. Zimbabwean pilots and instructors will also travel to South
Africa
for training.
"This week's historic meeting further
consolidates a long-standing
socio-political and economic relationship
between our two countries," South
African Intelligence Minister Ronnie
Kasrils said at the signing in Cape
Town.
Zimbabwe's problems
are no different than those faced by other countries
that have come through
a colonial past, he added.
South Africa, roundly criticized for not
taking a stronger line against
Mugabe, has vowed to continue working with
the Zimbabwe government to try to
solve that country's
difficulties.
"We are not going to do anything - based on some of the
populism chants that
happen on our soil and elsewhere - that is going to
upset that program,"
South African Safety and Security Minister Charles
Nqakula told reporters.
The deal comes at a time when Europe and the
United States are increasing
pressure on Mugabe's government, widely accused
of vote rigging and human
rights abuses.
Zimbabwe is reeling from its
worst economic and political crisis since
independence from Britain in 1980,
triggered in part by government seizures
of white-owned farms for
resettlement of landless blacks.
Zimbabwe blames its problems on a
Western campaign of sanctions and
isolation, led by Britain and the United
States, opposed to its land reform
program. It promised on Nov. 17 to
continue its "war of words" with British
Prime Minister Tony Blair and U.S.
President George W. Bush, and warned
South Africa of foreigners trying to
interfere in the affairs of African
states.
"The greatest threats to
the stability of the region and Zimbabwe in
particular is the threat of
exogenous influences whose aim is to effect
regime change, especially in
regards to my country," Zimbabwe's Minister for
State Dydimus Mutasa
said.
He also criticized non-governmental organizations he claimed are a
front for
foreign governments.
Zimbabwe Defence Minister Sydney
Sekeramayi said accounts of human rights
abuses in Zimbabwe are merely
imagined and Mugabe's government would not be
swayed by such
accusations.
The agreement signed will also see South Africa and Zimbabwe
cooperate to
better enforce immigration laws, as thousands of Zimbabweans
seek refuge in
more affluent South Africa.
By
Tererai Karimakwenda
17 November 2005
The Women of
Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) were on the streets of Harare and
Bulawayo on Thursday
demonstrating peacefully against the senate. They
believe the senate
represents poverty while the Zimbabwean people want
dignity. In each city
about 200 people took part in the protests which ended
successfully without
any reported arrests.
WOZA coordinator Jenni Williams said the
police arrived after the demo
was over in Bulawayo, and they approached the
women slowly in Harare. Jenni
said they appreciate the police when they
behave this way and understand
that they have their job to do. She added
that many police officers are
family members of WOZA women.
With the senate elections due on November 26, the WOZA women have
joined
forces with civic organisations, students and churches to organise a
public
referendum intended to confirm that Zimbabweans truly want dignity
and not a
senate. This coalition is mobilising its members and will launch a
weeklong
door to door campaign during which the public will fill out forms
that will
reflect what they want. Jenni said the results will be announced
just before
the senate elections. She added that if the referendum shows
that the
majority do not want the senate, then people will know what to do,
or what
not to do on election day.
The government is spending 90 billion
dollars on the senate elections.
The WOZA women ask whether Zimbabweans want
senators or the basic right to
live dignity. WOZA Referendum forms can be
down loaded on our website, where
more information about the campaign can
also be found. WOZA is also
appealing for assistance with printing the forms
for distribution and
transportation for their
staff.
SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news
By
Violet Gonda
17 November 2005
A serious health crisis is
looming in Harare as some parts of the
streets in the city centre are
over-flowing due to burst sewers. The speed
at which the capital city is
deteriorating is very worrying. There are burst
water pipes everywhere, and
countless broken street and traffic lights.
Our Harare
correspondent Simon Muchemwa says Harare is no longer a
tourist attraction
with rubbish heaps everywhere as refuse has not been
collected in many
areas. Muchemwa said the city is in a shambles especially
along 1st Street,
Nelson Mandela Ave and Rezende Street.
SW Radio Africa
Zimbabwe news
SABC
November 17,
2005, 20:15
Lawyers for Zimbabwe's opposition leader asked the Supreme
Court today to
take over his challenge to President Robert Mugabe's 2002
poll victory and
set aside a lower court's ruling dismissing part of the
case.
Lawyers for Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai
say a
lower court hearing the case has delayed action on it and its rulings
have
handicapped their ability to have the election nullified. "We have been
prejudiced irredeemably. Witnesses have become unavailable to us. ... We
have not been given a fair hearing," Jeremy Gauntlett, Tsvangirai's main
lawyer, told the Supreme Court, asking it to take over the
case.
Tsvangirai filed a two-pronged challenge immediately after the 2002
presidential election. The case reached court in 2003. Part of the challenge
involved Mugabe's amendment of some electoral laws days before the election
which Tsvangirai's lawyers said amounted to abuse of power.
Last year
the high court dismissed the MDC's initial arguments without
giving a
reason, an omission Tsvangirai's lawyers say crippled their case.
The
lawyers also said the High Court had failed to conclude the case 3 1/2
years
after the petition was filed.
The Supreme Court said it would rule on
Tsvangirai's application, but did
not give a date.
Lawyers for Mugabe
and a state electoral body that supervised the 2002 polls
argued that the
Supreme Court had no jurisdiction to hear the matter, and
that under
Zimbabwe's electoral laws, the matter should go back to the lower
court.
The MDC charges Mugabe, in power since independence from
Britain in 1980,
won the last presidential poll through rigging and a
violent campaign
against the opposition. Mugabe denies the charge, saying
his ruling ZANU-PF
party won 2000 and 2005 parliamentary polls fairly. -
Reuters
New Zimbabwe
By Lebo
Nkatazo
Last updated: 11/18/2005 03:48:35
A HARARE magistrate on Wednesday
issued a warrant of arrest against
President Robert Mugabe's nephew, Patrick
Zhuwawo and 31 Zanu PF supporters
after they failed to appear in court to
answer violence charges.
The 31 Zanu PF youths, who have been on bail
since February, were part of
Zhuwawo's campaign team in the March 31 general
elections.
They were released on free bail in February, days after they
were arrested.
A deputy minister in Mugabe's government, Zhuwawo is
brother to Leo Mugabe,
both of them sons to the President's sister
Sabina.
Harare Magistrate Rodney Mzyece issued the warrant of arrest when
the
accused's names where called out three times outside the courtroom and
failed to show up.
The youths were nabbed a day after they allegedly
overran a police post in
Norton in a bid to rescue a colleague who had been
arrested on charges of
political violence
Prosecutors say the youths
went on a hunt for MDC in the Norton area. When
their hunt yielded nothing,
they indiscriminately attacked anyone perceived
to be an MDC
supporter.
It is the State's case that the accused were led by Shepherd
Tsomondo,
husband to the ruling party's one time aspiring candidate in the
constituency, Bybit Tsomondo, before paving way for
Zhuwawo.
President Robert Mugabe nephew defeated the MDC's Hilda Mafudze
in polls
which the opposition party said were characterised by
violence.
Daily Mirror, Zimbabwe
From
Pamenus Tuso in Hwange
issue date :2005-Nov-18
CHIEF Nelukoba of
Mavalebu Communal Lands, Hwange, has threatened to poison
a pride of lions
terrorising villagers and killing their livestock because
the department of
National Parks and Wildlife Management is doing nothing to
stop the
menace.
Highly placed sources at the Hwange National Park provincial
offices in
Matabeleland North, said the chief, a teacher by profession,
stormed their
offices on Monday this week and threatened to shut down the
premises unless
the department took immediate action and shoot the killer
beasts.
"The chief looked menacing and threatening. He claimed that the lions
had
devoured 17 of his cattle and wanted them killed. He even threatened to
poison the lions if nothing was done," a source at the national park said
yesterday.
Hwange Park's operations warden, Wellington Mafuka, confirmed
that the chief
indeed caused an incident at their offices over the
lions.
"It's true that the chief raised the issue of lions in his area to
us. But
we told him that our hands are tied because the area falls under
the Hwange
Rural District Council, which is supposed to invite us in such
cases. We
cannot just go there without an official invitation letter from
them,
otherwise we will face problems," Mafuka said.
"The chief also
threatened to poison the lions, but we urged him to perform
traditional
rituals to get rid of the animals. Traditionally, when such
problems occur,
chiefs brew beer and engage in rituals which has helped in
other areas," he
added.
The warden said they had since advised Chief Nelukoba that it was
criminal
to poison the lions.
Besides Mavalebu, lions have also wreaked
havoc in Chief Shana's Chidove
area of Jambezi near Victoria Falls town
where they have so far devoured 15
cattle worth more than $200
million.
Chief Nelukoba could not be reached for comment yesterday.
A
number of traditional leaders in Zimbabwe have been embroiled in
controversy
over the years. Early this year, Chiefs Zvimba and Nyamweda were
sucked into
a dispute over the ownership of the Lion and Cheetah Park, just
outside
Harare.
In a separate incident, Chief Sikhobokhobo Nkayi cried before
President
Robert Mugabe after he had been accused of receiving war veterans'
gratuities and pension illegally.
President Mugabe then lashed out at
those harassing chiefs, saying such
behaviour was unwarranted.
In a
related matter, Chief Chikwaka was recently arrested andarraigned
before the
Murehwa magistrates' court on allegations of extortion. He is
expected to
return to the same court on November 29.
Another chief, Masekesa of Buhera,
was dragged to court in October on
bribery charges and was remanded to next
Wednesday
Daily Mirror, Zimbabwe
Business
Reporters
issue date :2005-Nov-18
THE Tobacco Industry and Marketing
Board (TIMB) has for the past three weeks
released more than $350 billion to
assist tobacco farmers boost the crop's
output in the new season.
This is
part of the $1 trillion requested by the farmers.
The funds were disbursed in
two batches: the first one in early November and
the second on
Wednesday.
The farmers are expected to procure various inputs that may be
lacking
during the current period of transplanting the dry land
crop.
TIMB deputy-general manager Godfrey Buka yesterday confirmed the
disbursements by government, through the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.
"Since
the beginning of this month, government channeled the money to the
tobacco
production regulating authority for disbursement," Buka said.
"So far more
than $350 billion has been disbursed and quite a number of
farmers have
benefited," Buka said.
In March this year, farmers agreed on a $1 trillion
tobacco production
budget.
The farmers planned to grow tobacco on 100 000
hectares and set an output
target of 160 million kg during the coming
season.
Buka said funds were being made available in batches until the full
amount
that was requested is paid.
However, the chairman of the Zimbabwe
Association of Tobacco Growers (ZATG)
Julius Ngorima said although farmers
welcomed funds being made available,
the money was too little and was coming
too late.
"We appreciate efforts being made to ensure that funds for tobacco
are made
available to farmers," said Ngorima.
"However, our worry is that
the funds are coming in batches and have been
benefiting very few farmers at
a given time. The funds are also being
distributed late."
Tobacco
planting has a set timetable that must be adhered to if farmers are
to
produce a quality crop.
Seedbeds should be prepared as early as June while
transplanting for
irrigated crop should be done in August.
A dry land
crop must be transplanted during September and October.
Ngorima said many
farmers had hoped to meet the timetable but had failed to
do
so.
"Although the rain season had started a little bit late, farmers are
supposed to have completed planting the crop by mid-next month.
"The
delays in the disbursement of the fund will have a negative impact on
the
crop output. We appeal to the central bank to move fast in disbursing
the
funds."
Meanwhile, some tobacco farmers have said the new exchange rate, that
saw
the local currency devalued from $26 000 to about $60 000 last month has
short-changed them whilst giving tobacco merchants unearned super
profits.
Since the tobacco-selling season for this year opened in April,
farmers had
been selling their tobacco to the three auction floors up until
the closure
of the selling season in October.
During that period small
scale and commercial tobacco farmers benefited from
at least three exchange
rate reviews that saw the Zimbabwean dollar being
adjusted from $6 000, $10
000 and $17 500 to the United States dollar.
These reviews that were made by
the central bank were meant to provide a
cushion to farmers that were
producing for the export market, but farmers
however expressed
discontentment with last month's major review of the
exchange rate.
"The
local currency depreciated by more than 200 percent from $24 000 to
about
$60 000 in the past weeks. Tobacco farmers are no longer benefiting.
We sold
our tobacco at the old prices so the people who are now making
profits are
the merchants," one tobacco farmer said.
A number of local and international
tobacco merchants, among then companies
such as Dimon, were some of the
major merchants this season.
Among them the merchants purchased the country's
75 million kg of tobacco
produced this year down from 83 million in 2004,
which tobacco farmers are
claiming they have been short-changed.
"Tobacco
merchants are now making super profits at the expense of farmers
who
produced the crop. The merchants are making the super profits on top of
their profit margins on the old prices," another tobacco farmer from
Mashonaland East fumed.
Last month, in the central bank monetary policy
review statement tobacco
growers and gold producers became entitled to a new
exchange rate regime in
order encourage foreign currency
generation.
Tobacco and gold are two of the country's biggest cash cows in
terms of
foreign currency earnings.
The central bank said 70 percent of
the foreign currency from tobacco and
loan drawdowns would be sold to the
Reserve Bank at the ruling open market
rate.
The official auction rate
would apply on the remaining 30 percent.
"In order to promote pre-financing
of tobacco growing by merchants, and
hence, promote foreign exchange
inflows, merchants can now draw-down funds
from their offshore lines of
credit and pre-sale same to the Reserve Bank,
for purposes of financing
working capital requirements of growers.
"Such funds, which will be approved
on a transaction by transaction basis,
can then be netted off the
following," the central bank said.
Daily Mirror, Zimbabwe
The Daily Mirror Reporter
issue date :2005-Nov-18
THE
Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) has condemned as
undemocratic
the government's decision to extend the term of the Commission
running the
capital's affairs by an additional six months arguing it was a
violation of
the law.
Local Government, Public Works and Urban Development minister
Ignatius
Chombo last week announced that the Sekesai Makwavarara-led
commission's
second term in office would be extended when it expires on
December 9.
CHRA yesterday said: "Chombo has consistently denied residents
their
democratic voice as enshrined in our Constitution and the Urban
Councils
Act. The Urban Councils Act (Chapter 29:15) explicitly states that
once the
term of commissioners has expired after six months, it cannot be
extended
beyond a further three months."
The residents' body said their
position was vindicated by recent court
rulings in similar cases.
"In her
recent judgment (Zvobgo Vs the City of Harare (HC 12862/00), Justice
(Rita)
Makarau ruled that the re-appointment of commissions remains
unlawful,
reaffirming the prior judgment of Justice (Wilson) Sandura in 2002
(Stevenson Vs the Minister of Local Government and others (SC 38/02)," CHRA
noted.
The association also noted a similar judgment by Justice Charles
Hungwe in
2001 in the matter between CHRA and the Registrar General
(HC210/2001) where
the judge ruled that the minister had no right to
continuously extend the
terms of commissions.
CHRA filed another urgent
chamber application on June 7 this year
challenging the Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission (ZEC) for failing to organise
council elections for Harare, but
Judge Lavender Makoni ruled that the
matter was not urgent and had to follow
the normal court's roll.
The date for its hearing is yet to be set.
The
Makwavarara commission was appointed last year following the suspension
of
councillors from the then MDC-led municipality and resignations of others
from the opposition party over what they termed excessive government
interference in the running of the local authority. Makwavarara initially
got into council on an MDC ticket as councillor for Mabvuku and deputy
mayor. She later rejoined Zanu PF announcing her decision during last year's
Heroes Day commemorations.
Daily Mirror, Zimbabwe
issue date :2005-Nov-18
THE Department of Veterinary
Services (DVS) has drafted an emergency
preparedness plan on the bird flu
virus detailing what needs to be done in
dealing with the virus should it
occur in the country.
The department's chief veterinary officer, Anne
Mujeyi, this week said
multi-sectoral government departments have been
working together to plan
their response should the virus reach the
country.
"The Zimbabwe Influenza Plan, currently in draft format, is designed
to
manage bird flu outbreaks among bird populations such as poultry farms,"
she
said.
She said the plan would later be submitted to cabinet for
approval and
funding by government and other stakeholders.
The committee
is made up of various stakeholders including the Ministry of
Agriculture,
Ministry of Health and Child Welfare, Ministry of Home Affairs,
Veterinary
Services, Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, Ministry of
Environment
and Tourism, Civil Protection Unity, Civil Aviation Authority.
Despite the
threat of the flu in Asian countries, Mujeyi maintained that
there were no
reports of the bird flu strain in Zimbabwe, either among birds
or
people.
"Zimbabwe has constantly been testing and screening for Avian
influenza in
order to facilitate poultry and ostrich exports and results so
far have been
negative," she said.
However, Mujeyi said there was need to
take key measures to prevent an
outbreak from migratory birds carrying the
avian influenza type 'A' virus.
The virus was carried inside the bird's
intestines and distributed into the
environment via bird
droppings.
Migratory birds infected with the virus could potentially spread
the flu to
any of the countries they visit.
She said there was need to
keep wild birds and domesticated birds apart and
ensure that domesticated
birds had a safe supply of drinking water.
Symptoms of the flu in birds
differ according to the species but can include
diarrhoea, breathing
difficulties, swollen head and death.
A sick bird is said to shed the virus
in its feathers, mucus, saliva and
droppings.
Mujeyi said humans who had
close contact with sick birds were at risk of
being infected with the
flu.
She said there was no evidence that the H5N1 strain could be spread from
human to human though there was concern that the virus that infects animal
species can change and infect humans.
"If the H5N1 bird flu virus were to
mix with a human influenza virus, such a
'combined' virus could create a new
human influenza that could spread
rapidly," she said.
Measures to contain
the spread of the flu she said included identifying and
destruction of
affected poultry flocks, research into tests and vaccines and
rigorous
quarantine practices.
Meanwhile the DVS routinely conducts tests on birds and
ostriches and has
also urged farmers to alert it of any death of birds in
huge numbers.
The department has also alerted people working with birds and
increased
sanitary measures in the handling of birds and poultry.
The DVS
is also adequately equipped to test for the virus
while samples will be
shared with the World Animal Health Organisation and
World Health
Organisation laboratories for a second opinion.
The H5NI strain that causes
the flu first emerged in Hong Kong in 1997,
causing death and destruction of
1,5 million birds and killing six people.
It re-emerged in 2003 in South
Korea and has now spread to China, Vietnam,
Thailand, Laos, Indonesia,
Turkey, and Romania and recently to the United
Kingdom.