Zim Standard
BY
CAIPHAS CHIMHETE
THE fertilizer saga took a sinister
twist this week as it
emerged that one of the South African companies
involved was allegedly used
by a local businessman two years ago to defraud
the Grain Marketing Board
(GMB) of billions of dollars.
Documents at hand indicate that Industrial Commodity Holdings
(ICH), one of
the companies which supplied sub-standard fertilizer to
Zimbabwe, is also
implicated in the on-going trial of Harare businessman
Cyril Muderede as
being part of the syndicate that fleeced the GMB of
billion of
dollars.
Muderede is out on bail.
Test
results from head of the Chemistry and Soil Research
Institute (CSRI) L.T
Mupondi, dated 30 June 2006, indicate that Compound D
supplied by ICH is
inferior.
"The submitted Compound D is less than the CSRI or
Standard
Association of Zimbabwe specifications on the phosphorous content
and
normally would not be registered as Compound D," said
Mupondi.
A memorandum written by RBZ investigator John Ruston
to the bank's
division chief, Millicent Mombeshora, dated 18 July 2006 said
ICH supplied
over 823,65 tonnes of inferior fertilizer. The importation of
the fertilizer
was done through the Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) of South
Africa.
Sources at the RBZ said central bank governor, Gideon
Gono,
acted against advice and awarded the fertilizer tender to ICH, the
company
implicated in the GMB maize scandal.
Muderede
sold maize to ICH, owned by Piet Greyling. The company
would then resell the
maize to the GMB, which paid for it in foreign
currency.
To avoid detection, Muderede would `allegedly transfer his money
from his
South African bank account to New York and then to Zimbabwe under
the name
Oakley Investment, Muderede's investment vehicle.
President
Robert Mugabe once described the GMB maize scandal as
"high
treason".
The sources said it was amazing that ICH, named in
the Muderede
trial as being involved in the money laundering, was given a
contract to
supply blend fertilizer.
"President Mugabe
has a duty to order an investigation by an
anti-corruption committee to
investigate Dr Mombeshora and ICH," said the
source. "and if Gono knew about
this, and allowed this to happen, then their
resignations from RBZ, along
with all the persons who covered up the
corruption, both in central bank and
GMB should be forthcoming."
The source said that as a result
of the bungling, heads were
likely to roll this week in the Ministry of
Agriculture. .
But it was not only ICH whose integrity was
brought into doubt
last week.
There was fresh evidence
that Intshona, another company
contracted to supply fertilizer by RBZ was of
questionable credibility. This
is contrary to Gono's assertion that Intshona
are "a formidable force to
reckon with, not only regionally but also
internationally."
A major partner of Intshona announced that
it was pulling out of
the fertilizer deal, alleging that the controversial
company was acting
unprofessionally.
Profert (Pty)
Limited, withdrew from the deal, citing Intshona's
"unprofessional
conduct".
The move threw into doubt Intshona's capacity to
supply the
remaining 177 000 tonnes of fertilizer to
Zimbabwe.
Profert's involvement made it possible for Intshona
to supply
the 33 000 tonnes to Zimbabwe.
Abie vander
Walt, Profert director, said his firm and Intshona,
which is headed by Dr
Christa van Louw, operated on a joint venture basis
with regard to the
Zimbabwe export contract.
He said Profert's involvement with
Intshona, a newcomer to the
market, was a vital element in Intshona's
ability to secure the Zimbabwe
export supply contract totalling US$45
million.
He said Profert was currently seeking legal advice
on the
matter.
"Therefore, Profert wishes to declare
that, as the Zimbabwe
contract product conformance was determined through
the official visit of
the Agricultural Ministry delegation's inspection in
Durban as well as
independent sampling by the African Centre for Fertilizer
Development, the
group is not accountable for fertilizer not supplied
through its own
warehouse," said vander Walt.
He said,
"Profert further emphasizes that it is a well respected
and professional
business with a long established reputation which conducts
itself according
to ethical business practice at all times."
Executive
chairperson of Intshona Christa van Louw could not be
reached for comment.
His two numbers were not reachable while the third
number was answered by a
person who said Intshona had moved from the
premises.
A
search of Intshona Agricultural Products on the Internet
yielded nothing
except a few Zimbabwean stories attributed to Gono.
Analysts
have queried how Intshona escaped media attention in
South Africa,
regionally and internationally if it was "force to reckon"
with as alleged
by the RBZ governor.
Gono could not be reached for comment
yesterday.
Zim Standard
BY
WALTER MARWIZI
CAPTAIN Alfred Chiukira, the soldier
accused of involvement in a
plot to assassinate President Robert Mugabe,
escaped from King George VI
barracks last Friday, amid fears that his
disappearance could have been
"arranged".
Chiukira, who
had languished in detention for six months without
being tried, was due to
appear before the General Court Martial on Monday.
The
decision was communicated to him only after The Standard
sought an
explanation from army public relations over his continued
detention without
trial.
The Standard had been informed that the Army was keen
to keep
him under lock and key until after the conclusion of Peter
Hitschmann's
trial in Mutare.
The State claims Hitschmann
masterminded a plot to kill
President Mugabe during this year's 21st
February celebrations in Mutare.
Among other allegations was
that Hitschmann and his alleged
co-conspirators intended to spill used oil
on the Christmas Pass section of
the Mutare highway to cause an accident
involving Mugabe's motorcade.
Chiukira was detained at the
Army Headquarters in March
following accusations that he was an informant of
the ex-Rhodesian soldier.
He tried in vain to have his case
heard, including trying to
send a document to Mugabe, detailing the abuses
he suffered at the hands of
the army. The document was
suppressed.
A doctor who examined Chiukira certified that he
had a 17
percent disability as a result of torture. He was also not allowed
to see
his lawyer, relatives and friends.
Sources said
some army officials, concerned that Chiukira was
finally going to appear
before the military court where he could have
exposed sensitive information
about the plot, may have facilitated his
escape.
Sources
told The Standard that a soldier guarding Chiukira woke
up at King George V1
barracks on Saturday morning around 4:30 only to
discover the prisoner had
disappeared.
Chiukira apparently pretended that he was taking
a late night
bathe, turned on the shower and bolted.
When
his guard woke up hours later, the shower had not been
turned
off.
Chiukira's disappearance was confirmed by a top army
official
last week. It immediately triggered a flurry of crisis meetings at
the
barracks.
There were fears that army chiefs may
either have arranged his
escape or created conditions which made an escape
attempt irresistible.
"How could a person accused of plotting
to kill the Commander in
Chief of the defence forces escape from KGVI, the
army headquarters?" asked
an army source. "If prison guards can provide
heavy guard to petty
criminals, how about a person who was after Mugabe's
head? You would imagine
the person would be heavily guarded even by a whole
battalion,"
But as The Standard established, there was lax
security around
Chiukira who faced a firing squad if he was of convicted of
treason.
All he had was an unarmed captain, as an
escort.
"The message our bosses may have sent to Chiukira was
- escape
if you can and he just did that," another source told The
Standard.
The Army HQ did not respond to questions concerning
Chiukira's
escape.
Zim Standard
BY OUR STAFF
AIR Zimbabwe passengers travelling abroad
have to scrounge for
foreign currency on the black market following last
month's decision by the
airline to charge airport handling taxes in United
States dollars.
The new measures became effective last month
when the airline
hiked its fares by over 300%.
Initially
the airline and travel agents sold tickets
incorporating required taxes in
local currency. Passengers travelling to and
from London are now required to
pay US$52 over and above the fare of Z$1.4
million.
The
taxes for travellers to China are US$11, Dubai US$8 and
South Africa US$31
respectively.
The local currency component of the fares to
the destinations is
$2.5 million, $1.3 million and $365 000
respectively.
A snap survey by The Standard yesterday, showed
the US dollar
was selling at $2 000 on the parallel
market.
Passengers and travel agents who spoke to The
Standard last week
said the airline's decision had placed them in an
"invidious" position.
"The banks will not give passengers the
foreign currency and
they have to source it on the black market," a
spokesperson for a Harare
travel agent told The Standard yesterday. "This
move has impacted on our
business."
Air Zim acting group
CEO Oscar Madombwe said there was nothing
wrong in asking passengers to pay
taxes in foreign currency since they were
collecting it on behalf of the
aviation authorities.
"Taxes accrue to aviation authorities
and we are a collecting
agency. We forward the money to aviation
authorities," he said.
The AirZim boss said in the past the
airline faced problems in
remitting the money to civil aviation authorities
after collecting the taxes
in local currency.
"If you go
to South Africa and you want to make a phone call,
would you use Zimbabwean
dollars?" Madombwe asked.
A traveller who spoke to The
Standard on Friday said the move
would only promote the black
market.
"You don't get foreign currency in a bank. So where
do you go? -
The black market," said the traveller who could not be named
for fear of
being prosecuted for sourcing money on the parallel
market.
Zim Standard
By
Bertha Shoko
THE Global Fund to fight malaria,
tuberculosis and HIV and Aids
has finally officially communicated to
Zimbabwe the reasons why its Sixth
Round application was turned down a
fortnight ago, ending weeks of
speculation.
Zimbabwe's
application for more than US$300 million to the
Global Fund for the three
diseases was turned down by the funding body's
Technical Review Panel
(TRP).
The TRP consists of independent experts in disease
control and
development economics from universities and development
institutions around
the world.
The Standard understands
that the Global Fund notified Zimbabwe
on Friday of the result of Round Six
and that members of the Country
Co-ordinating Mechanism (CCM), are yet to
meet on the matter and review the
reasons why the TRP turned down Zimbabwe's
request for funding.
The CCM, which is chaired by the
Minister of Health and Child
Welfare, David Parirenyatwa, is responsible for
preparing grant proposals
for consideration by the Global
Fund.
Although the CCM had not yet received any formal
communication
from the funding body on the matter, Parirenyatwa's deputy,
Edwin Muguti,
was in the State media early in the week attacking the funding
body for
being "politically biased".
Muguti, was quoted
in the State media as saying he was more than
convinced that the funding
body lacked objectivity and that Zimbabwe would
"go it alone" and not seek
funding from organisations with ulterior motives.
While
Muguti was breathing fire, a calm Parirenyatwa told The
Standard that
Zimbabwe would give the official position as soon as the CCM
had had a
chance to meet and review the fund's decision.
He said it was
for this reason that he could not disclose the
reasons for the denial of
funding.
However, highly-placed sources privy to the matter,
said the TRP's
main reason was that Zimbabwe sought to expand its already
successful Round
Five application that had not even taken
off.
Sources said: "Zimbabwe's grant proposal was meant to
expand
Round 5 application, and the TRP wants to see that Round 5 grant gets
underway and can operate well before it approves more money for the roll
out.
"If the Round 5 grant actually works reasonably well
over the
coming year, my guess is that Zimbabwe's Round 7 application will
have a
much greater chance of being recommended for funding with a few
changes."
The other reason was that Zimbabwe had included a
provision to
pay health personnel extra money to compensate for inflation,
in an effort
to retain their services.
A problem arose
with this proposal when it emerged that this
proposal would only benefit a
few districts as this meant that there would
be impossibly large salary
differences between neighbouring districts, said
sources.
The TRP was unanimous that this would not work.
Zim Standard
BY CAIPHAS CHIMHETE
THE plight of
workers at a Chinese owned brick-making firm in
Harare is set to continue as
it emerged this week that there is no credible
union to represent workers in
the industry.
Workers at S & M Bricks (Pvt) Limited are
working under
appalling conditions in Dzivaresekwa.
Apart
from the threat of a disease outbreak, the workers alleged
poor pay and
"very long" working hours without proper protective clothing.
Their plight was first reported in The Standard, prompting an
angry response
from their Chinese employer, Yumpu Meng who denied conditions
at his factory
were bad. He said disgruntled workers were free to resign.
Inquiries to establish which union represented the workers
revealed that
clay and brick making industry workers had no union.
The
Cement and Lime Workers' Union (CLWU) told The Standard it
applied to the
Registrar of Trade Unions in 2004 for accreditation to
represent the
neglected workers but had still not received a response.
The
office of the Registrar of Trade Unions falls under the
Ministry of Public
Service, Labour and Social Welfare, headed by Nicholas
Goche.
A senior official with the registrar of trade
unions, Clemence
Vusani, refused to comment on the delays in issuing the
licence. He referred
all questions to Goche's ministry.
Goche could not be reached for comment.
But a senior official
with CLWU, Raston Nyirenda last week said
the office of the registrar of
trade unions had cited a critical shortage of
personnel and stationery as
the cause for the delay in processing the
application.
"Apart from that, there is also a 'yellow union' called The
Brick and Clay
Workers' Industry which is trying to block us from
representing those
workers," said Nyirenda.
Investigations by The Standard
established that the Brick and
Clay Workers' Union (BCWU), led by Douglas
Mudzi, was linked to the Zimbabwe
Federation of Trade Unions
(ZFTU).
Reports say that ZFTU is a creation of the Zanu PF to
counter
the growing influence of the larger Zimbabwe Congress of Trade
Unions
(ZCTU).
"To be honest with you these guys (BCWU)
have no office and have
only one official, Mr Mudzi," said an official in
the Ministry of Public
Service, Labour and Social
Welfare.
Efforts to contact Mudzi were
fruitless.
Meanwhile, controversy related to the S&M
Bricks continued last
week as it emerged that some unscrupulous union
officials were taking
advantage of the workers' plight for personal
gain.
Last week, the Zimbabwe Construction and Allied Trades
Workers'
Union (ZCATWU) suspended two senior officials for allegedly
conniving with
S&M Bricks management to flight an advertisement denying
allegations of
gross abuse of workers' rights at the
company.
The advert suggested that a report carried in The
Standard about
the appalling conditions at the firm was
false.
ZCATWU general secretary Charles Gumbo said the union
suspended
Alex Masarafuta and Morgan Mazarara for dealing with matters
outside their
jurisdiction as well stealing the union's
letterhead.
"We have suspended them pending dismissal," said
Gumbo. "We can't
have rogue elements in our union. We suspect they got some
kickbacks,"
ZCTU deputy secretary general, Japhet Moyo, said
the umbrella
body would soon dispatch officials from its organising
department to
investigate the matter.
"I made
consultations with our legal department and established
that we cannot write
to the Minister but we have to go through the union.
But since we don't have
a union, then we will send officials from here,"
Moyo
said.
The ZCTU had said it would write to Goche to intervene
on the
matter.
Last week, the ZCTU said previous
investigations into the
reported appalling working conditions at
Chinese-owned companies in
Zimbabwe, were being stymied by government
protection of the owners.
Moyo said they had encountered
problems investigating the
Chinese firms because it seemed to be the
government's policy not to
antagonise China, the lynchpin of its "Look East"
policy.
Since the government launched its new policy, after
the
imposition of targeted sanctions by the West, it has invited Chinese
firms
to invest in the country.
Zim Standard
BY VALENTINE MAPONGA
GENDER
activists last week launched a campaign to fight for a 50
percent women
representation at all levels of political leadership and
decision-making.
Over 100 women marched from the Africa
Unity Square to Harare
Gardens where opposition women politicians gave
solidarity speeches. Zanu PF
legislators however, snubbed the campaign
launch, which is being run by the
Women in Politics Support Unit
(WiPSU).
The women wore black and white attire to represent
their demands
for what they termed "Zebra" listing, one man: one woman ratio
in all
aspects of political and decision-making
positions.
Harare North MP Trudy Stevenson told the marchers
the time had
come for women to be recognised as able
leaders.
"We have to start at the grassroots going up," she
said. "One
day we should to have a woman president, as happened in Liberia.
As women,
we constitute 52% of the Zimbabwean population, yet many years
after
independence, we have only 22.2% representation in
politics."
She said Harare women should start now to campaign
for the City
Council elections to be held sometime next
year."
Harare City Council elections are long overdue and a
commission
chaired by Sekesai Makwavarara, elected on an MDC ticket, is
currently
running the city.
Regina Dumba, the
vice-chairperson of the Women Coalition of
Zimbabwe, urged women who turned
up at the marchers not to vote for
political parties that do not address the
issue of equality (between men and
women).
Women
performed dismally in the Rural District Council (RDC)
elections held last
month.
Although official statistics were not readily
available last
week, it was estimated that women only managed to get
slightly more than 150
council seats out of the 1 275 wards in the 59
districts. There are only
eight women out of about 305 urban
councillors.
WiPSU director Rutendo Hadebe, said obstacles
faced by women
wishing to enter politics could be
overcome.
"There are a lot of solutions such as changing
electoral systems
and introducing quotas," she said. "Political parties,
however have not been
meeting the commitments they made before an
election."
During the 2005 parliamentary elections Zanu PF
committed itself
to at least 35% women candidates.
Abigail Damasane, the deputy minister of Women's Affairs, Gender
and
Community Development, last week said the equality of men and women was
vital to the establishment of a just and developed society.
Zim Standard
BY OUR STAFF
A Rusape man,
arrested earlier this year for staging a one-man
demonstration against
"Mugabe", was recently acquitted by a provincial
magistrate.
Rusape Provincial magistrate Loyce Mukunyadzi
found Charles
Zinyembe not guilty of contravening Section 16 of the Public
Order and
Security Act (POSA).
The State had argued that
his one-man demonstration was against
President Robert
Mugabe.
But his lawyer, Chris Ndlovu of Gonese & Ndlovu
legal
practitioners successfully argued that his client could have directed
his
anger at any other Mugabe besides the President.
Zinyembe marched from Vengere Township to the Rusape Town Centre
holding a
Big placard written in bold letters: "Mugabe must go now. No
violence joins
in the march. We have suffered long enough. It is now or
never."
"During the trial we argued that the words on the
placard did
not constitute any crime," said Ndlovu. "We argued that the name
Mugabe
alone, without any prefixes does not refer to the President. There
are so
many Mugabes who are in positions of authority."
He said only one witness, a woman war veteran, was called in to
testify
during the trial, which lasted for less than four hours.
A
number of Zimbabweans have been arrested for complaining about
President
Mugabe over the past six years. He stands accused of running down
the
economy of a once prosperous country.
A recent attempt by
leaders of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade
Unions to stage a demonstration
against soaring poverty in the country was
brutally suppressed by the
police, who allegedly beat up the unionists.
Zim Standard
By Nqobani Ndlovu
BULAWAYO - An
attempt to gatecrash his girlfriend into a
Bulawayo music show earned a
senior police officer a thorough beating from
two constables whose duty was
to ensure everyone paid an entry charge.
Constables Pearson
Mawolera and Tendai Kachomba were fined $8
000 for assaulting former Deputy
Commander for Bulawayo province, Assistant
Commissioner Mpumelelo Sunduza
earlier this year.
The two officers were charged with
assaulting Sunduza after he
tried to get his girlfriend, Constable Patience
Moyo, admitted into a Tongai
Moyo show without paying.
The incident took place on 4 February this year at Matopo Rock
Motel in
Matobo where Moyo and his backing group, Utakataka Express, were
playing.
The state led by Jeremiah Mutsindikwa said
Mawolera and Kachomba
assaulted Sunduza following an altercation over
entrance to the show.
The incident occurred after the senior
police officer tried to
get Constable Moyo into the show free of charge,
much to the annoyance of
the junior officers manning the
gate.
They would have none of it.
The
State said the altercation degenerated into a fight, which
ended with
Mawolera and Kachoma double-handcuffing Sunduza from the back and
beating
him on the head with a baton.
The constables were represented
by Ndabezinhle Mazibuko of
Calderwood, Bryce & Hendrie Legal
Practitioners.
They were convicted of a lesser charge of
common assault when
they appeared before senior Bulawayo provincial
magistrate, Cephas Masaka
Sibanda on Wednesday.
The two
had pleaded not guilty to assault with intent to cause
grievous body harm.
But they were slapped with a five-month jail term,
wholly suspended on
condition that within that period they do not commit a
offence.
Sibanda noted that it was the court's finding
that there was an
element of provocation by Sunduza.
Zim Standard
By Bill Saidi
EPHRAIM Chamba
must have thought I was pulling his leg when I
asked him the meaning of a
phrase in Oliver Mtukudzi's album, Tuku Music.
"Zvechisa?" he asked. Then he
laughed; Chamba had a rich, infectious laugh,
which seemed to originate deep
in his throat, right down to the pit of his
stomach.
It
had what someone has called a contagious joy.
On occasion, he
would switch to the Korekore dialect and bombard
me with four-letter words,
which would have made a sailor blush, as they
used to
say.
Zvechisa is the refrain of a song about child sexual
abuse, one
of my favourites in Tuku Music. The girls begin the song with
Ndozviudza
aniko, sounding so helpless, you have to remember the singers are
married
women - or have experienced the equivalent of
matrimony.
When next Chamba telephoned me he paraphrased the
word into
Zezuru, which he could have done at the beginning. I suspected he
had
contrived the interval so that he could have a huge
guffaw.
Chamba loved to laugh. When you were with him you
were
guaranteed many laughs, some at your expense, but most at the wild,
woolly,
weird ways of the world.
After they buried him at
Warren Hills cemetery, many people
spoke of Chamba's input into music.
Mtukudzi himself had something to say. I
was reminded of Zvechisa and
concluded that Chamba himself had penned that
line for Oliver - they were
close and both loved the dialect.
Chamba's death came too
suddenly: it reminded me of David
Zamuchiya's, also in a road
accident.
These are people you never imagine ending their
lives in such a
mundane fashion - death in a road accident is the ultimate
in the mundane, I
heard it on TV, for the first time. I listened intently
for any clues to the
contrary. There were none; he had indeed died in a car
accident.
Unfortunately for me, at the time, there was not enough fuel in
the car to
travel very far, at least not to Chisipiti.
Chamba and I had known each other for years, being products of
Harare
Township. I had never known him as anything other than a broadcaster,
as he
had probably known me only as a newspaper reporter who moonlighted as
a
singer.
For me, Chamba and Dominic Mandizha were the
personification of
the African service of the entire
network.
Our singing group, the Milton Brothers, established
a virtual
bond with Mandizha, although Chamba seemed always in the
background, a
shadowy, avuncular presence like a guardian
angel.
On my return in 1980, he was one of the first people I
approached about a house to rent. We took a ride to Westwood and examined a
property.
During the drive, we reminisced about "the good
old days". By
that time, Chamba was in public relations: soon, both he and
Mandizha would
not be in broadcasting.
Years later, I
would walk into a small office in Jason Moyo
Avenue: Chamba would share the
office with Lawrence Vambe, my
editor-in-chief at African Newspapers in the
1950s. Vambe would be
publishing a magazine; Chamba would be dabbling in
public relations. You
should have heard the three of us talking about what
might have been!
Vambe once observed that, although he
considered himself one of
the pioneers in journalism in this country, not
once did anyone ever ask him
to speak of his experiences, or share them with
the younger generation.
Zvechisa: it's frightening that,
after independence, the
government and Zanu PF decided anyone who had
thrived in any profession
before independence, must have been a
collaborator, a sell-out, a lackey of
the racist regimes.
You have only to listen to and watch the state electronic media
to know what
a tragedy that policy inflicted on the country.
You have only
to read the State publications to appreciate how
half-baked journalism is
now being glorified as "the real thing".
All of it gives you
a new dimension of Zvechisa, to which Chamba
would have responded with his
rich, throaty laugh.
Zim Standard
BY OUR STAFF
THE head of the Roman
Catholic for the Archdiocese of Bulawayo,
Archbishop Pius Ncube says he is
extremely disenchanted because someone
watered down the recently launched
Churches' discussion document.
Describing the National Vision
document as "soft as
decaffeinated tea", Ncube alleges that some areas were
altered while several
pages were removed from the document that was
originally signed by the
clergy in Zimbabwe.
"You see, I
think someone leaked - among the three bodies from
the Evangelical
Fellowship of Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Council of Churches and
the Zimbabwe
Catholic Bishops' Conference - somebody leaked it to the
government and the
government was demanding that before it's published
certain pages should be
removed and I see it's really toned down. It's not
the original document
that we agreed upon as churches."
The outspoken cleric was
speaking during an interview with SW
Radio Africa on the ongoing National
Vision document launched recently by
the three main church groups in
Zimbabwe.
Ncube said although the document is very soft it
may still be
usable but he castigated the meddling by the
State.
He said: "But I don't like the bullying of the
government. This
government has done enough harm, enough bullying. They are
causing suffering
on people and now they must come over and bully us the
churches. That was
supposed to be our document. Not their document. I am
pretty angry about
this."
Although he said he hadn't
finished comparing the launched
document with the original, the Bishop
believes the critical areas were
toned down. For example, there was a whole
paragraph on the media,
illustrating how there is no free media, but Ncube
claimed the government
cut out the whole paragraph and just added one
sentence that says the media
is polarised and not working for national
unity.
When asked if he thought the church was trying to
confront wrong
without offending the Mugabe regime, he responded: "As a
church we are too
soft in such a way I wonder if we are going to make any
headway."
He also agreed with sentiments that outspoken
critics like
himself may have been used to legitimise what some have
described as a
Mugabe- sponsored initiative. He said he truly hoped it was
their (churches')
initiative but was not aware that the government would
pull out certain
pages from the discussion document.
"I
am extremely disenchanted, having seen how they have done a
lot of damage to
our original document."
Zim Standard
BY OUR STAFF
TEN Masvingo State University (MASU)
students, arrested
following a demonstration against worsening learning
conditions at the
institution, were beaten by police in custody, student
leaders have said.
Over 300 students took to the streets
waving placards in
Masvingo city before police disrupted their protest and
arrested organisers.
They demanded that the government address poor
conditions at their
institution and unsuccessfully sought to present a
petition to Governor
Willard Chiwewe.
Narrating their
ordeal to The Standard, the students said they
were assaulted by police
officers while in custody for two days.
Gideon Chitanga,
Zimbabwe National Students' Union (ZINASU)
vice-president who was among
those arrested, said they were severely
assaulted by police who accused them
of being used by the opposition MDC to
destabilise the
country.
"I am in great pain, we were severely assaulted all
over our
bodies by police officers who took turns over the two days we were
in
custody. They said ZINASU leaders were opposition activists serving the
interests of the enemies of the state," Chitanga said.
"They want us to be silent when we are suffering," he said.
Another student, Edison Munyero described his ordeal in police
custody:
"We had two days in hell. They beat us with
batons, clenched
fists and booted feet. We were threatened that if we held
another demo we
would be killed. They also said the beatings were just a
warning, as next
time we could lose our lives."
Masvingo
police spokesperson, Phibion Nyambo, denied that
students were assaulted
while in police cells. "I don't remember anyone
being assaulted by police
officers, kungotaura kwemastudents but they were
not assaulted. Actually I
am not the one who dealt with the issue; call
Oliver Mandipaka, he is in a
better position to answer you on that one,"
said Nyambo.
Zim Standard
BY OUR STAFF
SIXTEEN of the 120
farmers awarded 99-year leases last week are
white commercial farmers
affected by the government's largely chaotic and
violent land reform
programme.
The Minister of State for National Security,
Lands, Land Reform
and Resettlement, Didymus Mutasa confirmed this last
week:
"Yes, we gave them the leases. This decision was taken
as a
start and we will continue issuing those leases until everyone has
received
them."
But he said no white farmer whose farm
was confiscated during
the land reform would be awarded the 99-year
lease.
"It would not make sense to take a farm from someone
and then
give it back to them." said Mutasa. "We are carefully considering
this
matter because all those who are getting these leases will not be
removed
from those farms."
One farmer granted a land
lease was Dennis Streak, the father of
Zimbabwe's former cricket captain,
Heath Streak. He was due for eviction
after being handed a confiscation
notice. But he is now being allowed to
stay on the land after impressing the
government with the production on his
farm since the notice was
issued.
Although some farmers see hope in these latest
developments,
Justice for Agriculture Trust (JAG) chief executive, John
Worswick, said the
99-year leases are not a viable solution as they would
not serve as
collateral and/or be transferable.
"You
can't build a new tenure system on a seriously infringed
land system," said
Worswick. "Obviously they are going to use a political
screening process to
award those leases."
JAG represents 4 300 dispossessed white
farmers, only 300 of
whom have received compensation from the
government.
Zim Standard
BY CAIPHAS CHIMHETE
ILLEGAL immigrants from several African
countries are using
Zimbabwe as their transit point into South Africa, where
they seek economic
and political refugee status, investigations by The
Standard have
established.
A month-long probe confirmed
that local businesspeople had
formed a syndicate which facilitates the
movement of immigrants past
Zimbabwe's borders for a "handsome
fee".
Most of the immigrants are from politically volatile
countries:
Eritrea, Somalia, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo
(DRC).
Some are from Angola, Nigeria, Zambia and Malawi, and
are
trekking down south in search of economic fortunes not easily accessible
in
their own countries.
"It's a regional syndicate,
because it involves people in
Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa." said a
local transporter.
He was hired two weeks ago to ferry
immigrants from Nyamapanda
border post to Harare.
"The
refugees have contact people in the three countries, who
facilitate their
movements for a fee."
The transporter said each immigrant
pays between US$200 and
US$400 to each contact person.
Most of them have no proper travel documents and use illegal
crossing points
on Zimbabwe's porous border.
"Personally, I suspect some of
them are fugitives from justice
in their own countries, which is why they
are using clandestine methods to
get into South Africa," said the
transporter.
Two weeks ago, he said he was hired during the
night to ferry 16
immigrants of Eritrean origin from Nyamapanda border post
to Harare. They
were dropped off at a businessman's house in Belvedere,
where they stayed
for two nights before continuing their journey down
south.
"All the travelling is done at night to avoid police
detection.
But when we meet them (the police) we pay them," said the
transporter.
"As things stand today, you know no-one would
resist the US
dollar."
While The Standard was still
investigating the racket, 15
Somalis were arrested near Kanyemba border post
while trying to enter the
country.
They are now detained
while investigations continue.
The group was assisted by two
Zimbabweans and a Zambian to cross
the crocodile-infested Zambezi
River.
Mashonaland Central police spokesperson Inspector
Michael
Munyikwa said the police suspected the Somalis were on their way to
South
Africa.
"Preliminary investigations established the
15 suspects crossed
into Zimbabwe on 16 October with the assistance of a
Zambian, identified
only as Joseph," Munyikwa said.
Chief
police spokesperson Wayne Bvudzijena said Zimbabwe has,
for a long time, had
problems with illegal immigrants from central, north
and the Horn of Africa.
He said the police were working closely with the
United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to address the
problem.
"This is not a new issue," said Bvudzijena.
"We have had this
problem for a long time. But refugees should
seek asylum in their first
country of call, who are their immediate
neighbours. Some of them are
criminals, while others have military
backgrounds. So if we get them, we
screen them thoroughly," said Bvudzijena.
The Commissioner
for Refugees in the Ministry of Public Service,
Labour and Social Welfare,
Isaac Mukaro, referred all questions on the
immigrants to the ministry's
permanent secretary, Lancester Museka.
"I am too junior," he
pleaded.
At the time of going to print, Museka had not
responded to
questions faxed to him.
Zim Standard
By Our
Staff
ELEVEN-year-old Kudzai Chivhunze from Mvurwi is
appealing to
well-wishers for donations so that she can undergo a bone
marrow transplant
in South Africa as a matter of urgency.
Kudzai suffers from a condition known as aplastic anaemia and
treatment for
this condition is not available in Zimbabwe.
She is currently
admitted in the coronary care unit at
Parirenyatwa group of hospitals where
doctors have been trying to stabilise
her condition until she can be treated
in South Africa.
Kudzai needs about R1 million to undergo
surgery and restore her
health. Her family is also appealing for assistance
to take care of local
medical costs as they are finding it increasingly
difficult to meet them.
A room in the intensive care unit at
the hospital costs about
$100 000 a day and Kudzai has been there since
September.
Donors can deposit their contributions into the
following
Agribank Account Number: 010504654011 or get in touch with
Kudzai's father
on contact number 091 768 283.
Zim Standard
Nqobani Ndlovu
BULAWAYO - Two senior officials of the
pro-Senate Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) are to apply to have their
case of distributing
subversive material referred to the Supreme
Court.
Paul Themba Nyathi, the director of elections, and
Sithatshisiwe
Sibanda, the Matabeleland South administrator, will make their
application
early this week.
The State has accused them
of distributing material which could
incite soldiers and the police into
anti-government demonstrations.
They are accused of violating
Section 30 of the Criminal Law and
Codification Act.
Through their lawyer, Thomson Mabhikwa of Mabhikwa, Likhwa &
Nyathi
Legal Practitioners, the two are set to make an application to have
their
case referred to the Supreme Court when they appear in a magistrates'
court
again on Wednesday.
Mabhikwa confirmed that his clients would
take the matter to the
Supreme Court to challenge the constitutionality of
the charges against
them.
"We will challenge the
constitutionality of the sections under
which the two are charged, as they
violate the Declaration of Rights and
basic human rights as enshrined in the
constitution," Mabhikwa said.
Zim Standard
By Our Staff
BUSINESS leaders are
worried that if the National Incomes and
Pricing Commission Bill became a
law, it could dry up investment.
It could undermine even
further the already frosty relationship
between industry and the government,
they said last week.
The industrialists, speaking strongly
against the proposed law,
said it might deal a fatal, knockout blow to the
deteriorating economy.
The Confederation of Zimbabwe
Industries CEO, Joseph Malaba,
said he was worried that the commission would
not be granted full autonomy,
making it susceptible to government
interference.
The National Incomes and Pricing Commission
Bill empowers the
Minister of Industry and International Trade to direct the
commission on
policy issues.
Commission members would be
appointed by the President.
Malaba said he would rather see
the commission granted full
autonomy so that it would not be manipulated by
the government.
"The major concern is what flexibility the
commission will have
to review prices in the hyperinflationary condition in
which industry is
operating," he said. "The commission can consult but it
should maintain an
independence (from the government) and be impartial,"
Malaba said.
The CZI CEO said giving the minister power to
direct policy
would compromise the independence of the
commission.
"What happens in cases where the commission holds
a view
contrary to the minister's?"
The industrialist
said he would want the commission to be given
the authority to effect price
reviews without consulting the minister and to
appoint its own board
members, instead of the minister, as stipulated in the
Bill.
Malaba was speaking at a public hearing dealing
with the Bill,
organised by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee for
Foreign Affairs,
Industry and International Trade on
Tuesday.
Zimbabwe National Cha-mber of Commerce economist,
Bothwell Deka,
said the Bill could deter investment.
Deka
said the timing of the introduction of the Bill was wrong,
as the economy
was undergoing a crisis, with industry short of foreign
currency to boost
productivity.
"The country is trying to lure investors and
none of them would
want to come if there is a law that allows price
controls. We should be
having a market-driven economy."
Deka said instead of introducing the Bill, the government could
use
statutory instruments because they were easier and quicker to
amend.
"Having a piece of law that will take time to repeal
is to do
ourselves an injustice. The worry is: to what extent would the
producer be
allowed to increase prices vis a vis the
costs?"
Tapiwa Maponda, who said he was speaking in his
personal
capacity said the government would have a "hard time" implementing
the law
because most price increases were driven by the informal
sector.
He said shortages and prices racketeering could be
expected once
the Bill became law.
Labour disputes would
increase, because employers would freeze
wages.
The Bill
provides for a five-year imprisonment for any person
found to have increased
prices exorbitantly.
Zim Standard
By
Deborah-Fay Ndhlovu
THE cost of drugs is rising by a
shocking 2.5 percentage points
every day due a shortage of foreign currency
and an increase in the cost of
raw materials.
The
pharmaceutical industry said yesterday that a 100% increase
in production
costs each month was fuelling the surge in drug prices.
"There have also been massive increases in costs of other
locally sourced
inputs," chairman of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers
Association, Erasmus
Chindove said last Thursday. ". . . plastic packaging
and paper products
have gone up by on average 100% per month. Wages went up
by 95% in July and
another 120% for the last quarter beginning October.
"Utilities like electricity and water have also gone up
substantially."
He said middlemen were exploiting the
foreign currency crunch to
inflate the price of drugs.
But the industry was in talks with the Ministry of Industry and
International Trade to stem the price hikes. The Ministry of Health and
Child Welfare had been consulted.
"The scarcity of
foreign currency in the formal sector and the
resultant drug shortages, have
seen the emergence of unscrupulous briefcase
businesspeople (known as
runners) who import drugs using their own foreign
currency," said Chindove,
"and are at liberty to charge any price they
want."
Zim Standard
BY OUR
STAFF
A staff mission from the International Monetary
Fund (IMF) will
be in the country next month for its "long overdue" Annual
Article IV
Consultations.
The consultation is an annual
meeting the IMF holds with
member-countries.
During the
mission's stay, IMF holds meetings with all
stakeholders, including
government ministries, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe,
labour and
business.
IMF senior external relations officer Gita Bhatt,
confirmed to
Standardbusiness that the team "will be coming to Zimbabwe in
early
December".
"The mission will be headed by Ms
Sharmini Coorey," Bhatt said.
Bhatt could not be drawn into
revealing the actual dates, though
Standardbusiness understands the mission
will run from 5-16 December.
The IMF was scheduled to arrive
in July but could not make it as
both the Ministry of Finance and the
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe were busy
preparing the fiscal and monetary
policies respectively.
Relations with the Bretton Woods
institution have not been rosy
after Zimbabwe reneged in settling its
arrears.
Zimbabwe has been in continuous arrears since
February 2001 and
twice survived the axe by making eleventh-hour payments to
IMF.
In February this year, Zimbabwe cleared its arrears
under the
crucial General Resources Account ahead of the March board meeting
which
spared itthe axe.
Zim Standard
THE inconsistency
in policy at the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has
been sending shockwaves on the
financial markets, leaving investors confused
over where to put their
money.
The confusion was apparent in both the stock and money
market
last week, where both share prices and interest rates
dropped.
Last week was particularly bad for the industrial
index which
slid 2.14% points to close on Wednesday at 415 072.73 points.
Analysts said
investors were edgy after the scrapping of the seven-year
economic
stabilisation bond and the reduction of threshold for the five-year
financial stabilisation bond to 20% from 25% of balance sheet
size.
"Investors are concerned because there is still the
unresolved
issue of the bonds," said an analyst with a stockbrokers' firm.
"They might
have scrapped the ESB but at the back of the investors' minds is
the thought
that the governor (Gideon Gono) is going to put something in its
place."
The analyst said stockbrokers were worried that the
2007
national budget might announce measures not favourable to the
industry.
"Gono is convinced the stock market is the main
driver for
speculation and he did mention in his last monetary policy that
they would,
along with fiscal authorities, be developing instruments to
reorient the
Zimbabwe Stock Exchange to productive activities. They are the
policymakers
and will do what they see as right. Our fear is: more taxes
coming our way."
ZSE boss Emmanuel Munyukwi said theirs was
the most expensive to
invest in throughout Africa because of various taxes,
including withholding
tax, value added tax and stamp
duty.
Wednesday's losers included TA which went down $35 to
$350.
Cottco and Hippo lost $20 each to $160 and $300
respectively.
Some of the gainers included Radar, which upped
$35 to $150,
Gulliver added $15 to $45 and rebranded DZLH firmed $10 to
$210.
The mining index retreated 0.08% points to close at 158
815.64
points sparked by a $1 loss in Hwange to $230. Bindura gained $20 to
$420.
The Money Market was not spared the losses, with
deposit rates
crashing to 30% for 7-14 days from 150%, 50% for 30 days and
100% for 90
days.
"The pressure to remove deposit rates
was erased after the
scrapping of thebond. Also the statutory reserves due
on Monday were not as
high because the size of deposit for banks had been
reduced, so rates
started to come down," said an analyst with a Bulawayo
bank.
He expected interest rates to drop even further this
week as $30
billion should be coming into the market by way of CPI coupon
payments and
government salaries.
"This is of course in
the absence of interventions by the RBZ."
Zim Standard
BY OUR STAFF
ZIMBABWE will not
enjoy the benefits of a common market and
single currency unless the economy
moves with the rest of its counterparts,
an official at the Common Market
for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)
has said.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Trade and Globalisation
workshop at Wits
Business School early this month, Dr Chungu Mwila, COMESA
director
responsible for Investment Promotion and Private Sector
Development, said
low inflation levels were a prerequisite to join the elite
group.
COMESA, a 20-member grouping of African nations,
envisages to
create a single market and a single currency by 2018. The
creation of a
single currency is dependent upon a strong economy with low
inflation
levels.
"They (countries with high inflation
levels) will be excluded
from enjoying the benefits. Once things are sorted
out economically, they
can come in," said Dr Mwila.
Zimbabwe has a year-on-year inflation of 1 070% as of October,
the highest
in the COMESA grouping.
Dr Mwila said that countries that
fail to enjoy the benefits
will not be expelled from the grouping but will
be monitored by a central
bank to see whether they are putting their houses
in order.
He said that countries without import cover would
not enjoy the
single currency benefits.
"If you don't
have import cover for two weeks it is impossible
to integrate with countries
with import cover of over four years," he said.
Other
benefits of a free market include a borderless region,
free mobility of
factors of production, common investment area and
integrated transport
network.
At least 13 countries are participating in the Free
Trade Area
where tariffs are abolished and COMESA has a vision of Customs
Union in
2008.
The Customs Union will establish a common
external tariff to be
used by member states and will abolish the non-tariff
barriers. In 2018,
COMESA is expected to feed into the greater continental
African economy.
COMESA has also reconstituted itself as
Eastern and Southern
Africa to bring on board other Southern African
Development Community
members in the on-going reciprocal Economic
Partnership Agreements (EPAs)
with the European Union.
African, Carribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries used to enjoy
unilateral
trade preferences with the EU for almost three decades under the
Lomé
Conventions.
The Fourth Lomé Convention was replaced by the
Cotonou Agreement
in 2000, which extends these unilateral trade preferences
up to the end of
2007.
Negotiated World Trade
Organisation (WTO) compatible reciprocal
trade agreements, EPAs, will
replace the current non-reciprocal preferential
trade regime. These EPAs
have to be concluded by no later than the beginning
of
2008.
COMESA was founded in 1993 as a successor to the
Preferential
Trade Area for Eastern and Southern Africa (PTA), which was
established in
1981.
COMESA formally succeeded the PTA on
8 December 1994 upon
ratification of the Treaty by 11 signatory
states.
Currently it has 20 members - Angola, Burundi,
Comoros,
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea,
Ethiopia, Kenya,
Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles,
Sudan, Swaziland,
Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
President
Robert Mugabe last week at attended the 11th summit of
COMESA in
Djibouti.
Zim Standard
By Our Staff
MOTORISTS have
complained over the failure by the Zimbabwe
Revenue Authority to expedite
the issuing of import certificates.
The delay, they said, was
frustrating their efforts to acquire
new number plates.
Zimbabwe Independent chief executive officer, Raphael Khumalo,
said they had
to wait for more than three weeks before receiving the
certificates.
"We bought the vehicles from individuals
who import them from
Japan. After signing the agreement of sale, the
individuals took the cars
for clearance with CVR (Central Vehicle
Registration). They were given new
number plates and registration books,"
Khumalo said.
"After they gave us the cars we repeated the
clearing process
and had to go to ZIMRA to get an import certificate to take
to the
municipality so we can get registration books and new number plates.
We had
to wait for two weeks before we could get the certificate: in the
past it
took just a day."
He said he did not understand
why the process of registration
had to be done twice.
ZIMRA corporate communications manager, Priscilla Sadomba, said
the delays
in issuing the certificates were caused by a shortage of number
plates.
"The sole supplier of number plates is failing to
meet the
demand. To this end, shortages and inconsistent supplies are
creating
backlogs which ultimately bottleneck the system," Sadomba
said.
She said the types of number plates in short supply
included the
square-square, long and square, private motor cycles and
commercial
vehicles.
Sadomba said the shortage was likely
to continue until the
supplier could meet the demand.
Zimind human resources manager, Fay Vermaak however said ZIMRA
had nothing
to do with number plates and could not understand the delays.
Zim Standard
Comment
ZIMBABWE'S uncaring conduct and bungling - and not
Western imposed
sanctions - showed last week how they are the greatest
threats to the lives
of ordinary people.
The Global Fund, which
provides funding in the fight against malaria,
tuberculosis and HIV and AIDS
last week, announced it had turned down
Zimbabwe's application for funding.
It dashed the hopes of thousands of
people, who expected that approval would
enable increased access to
treatment drugs.
While the reasons for the
rejection were not given immediately, the
explanations for the Fund's
decision are no secret. The establishment of the
AIDS levy was a positive
move. It showed a country's determination to
demonstrate to the world that
despite limited resources, it had a specific,
measurable, achievable and
realistic response to the pandemic.
Any funding organisation looking at
such a local response to the crisis
would be swayed to pour resources into
the country to buttress the
government's efforts. But that is not Zimbabwe's
position.
The AIDS levy is a magnet of controversy. Concerns have been
raised about
levels of transparency in the way the levy is disbursed with
teachers
throughout the country questioning who the beneficiaries are
because their
members have failed to access ARVs, despite paying levies
regularly.
There are also damning accusations of the ruling party bigwigs
raiding the
levy and elbowing out the majority, lending credence to
allegations that so
many of the schemes set up by the government,
purportedly in the interests
of ordinary Zimbabweans are, in fact, a
camouflage.
Concern over rampant abuse, by politicians, of
Anti-Retroviral drugs donated
by the international community and failure to
put a stop to the practice,
are at the core of the Global Fund's rejection
of Zimbabwe's application for
the Sixth Round.
As a consequence of
the abuse of the drugs, external organisations involved
in the fight against
HIV and AIDS are channeling drugs through
church-related health
institutions. Such a shift is a damning
vote-of-no-confidence in the
structures set up by government to roll out
provision of
ARVs.
Although the Deputy Minister of Health, Edwin Muguti, was recently
forced to
recant his damning assessment of the National Aids Council, which
administers the Aids levy, the consensus was that his condemnation of the
National Aids Council (NAC) reflected general public perception of NAC's
misplaced priorities and how vulnerable it was to political
interference.
The bulk of the funding Zimbabwe had applied to the Global
Fund would have
gone to scaling up supply of ARVs but rejection of the
application means
that only about 40 000 people out of more than 600 000
people who actually
need ARVs can continue to access the life-prolonging
drugs from state-run
programmes and in the private sector.
The
rejection effectively scuttles any plans to put thousands of infected
people
on ARVs and the government must shoulder the blame for jeopardising
the
lives of people who are in urgent need of treatment.
A dark cloud hangs
over this year's World Aids Day, which is three weeks
away because there is
little to cheer when more than 550 000 known cases
have no access to
drugs.
Approval of Zimbabwe's application would have been the ideal
Christmas
present for hundreds of Zimbabweans in need of treatment, but the
government's
avaricious and reckless approach means it would rather
sacrifice lives in
order to guarantee its comfort.
The alternative is
for the international community to increase support for
the supply of the
ARVs through church mission hospitals and various other
voluntary
organisations that have set up clinics for people who need
treatment. This
way the level of government interference will be minimised,
while those in
need have access to the drugs.
Zim Standard
sundayopinion by Elizabeth Marunda
IN order to realise
democratic objectives, a people-driven
constitution for instance, it is
proper to work as a team.
All the members should feel like
part of the team and they
should be prepared to listen to each other. They
should be able to
understand each other. They should be able to empathise
but most
importantly, they should be able to forgive each
other.
Forgiveness, however, becomes meaningful and useful,
if those
forgiven stop deliberately sinning against the poor, helpless and
voiceless.
If those forgiven, stop deliberately sinning against those they
know are
prone to forgiving, for how long, men and women of cloth, shall the
people
of Zimbabwe keep on forgiving?
A political
leadership that deliberately, keeps on making false
promises in order to win
elections, abuses people's taxes thereafter in
order to enrich itself, has
no sense of right and wrong, shows no respect
for human or property rights,
and deliberately ignores that people of
Zimbabwe have rights. Could it be
that they forget that the people of
Zimbabwe have rights?
If so, Lord, we beseech you, to give the Church leadership and
its flock,
the power to pray daily and to remind themselves of these rights
through the
Holy Anger Prayer.
Let us pray. "God helps those who help
themselves. Indeed we
helped ourselves and fought the colonial regime system
of segregation. God
was by our side, as evil is not the way of the Lord.
Dear Lord, you were
able to help us because we knew Lord, what was wrong,
and what we wanted. So
we were able to fight and remove
it.
"Look at us in Zimbabwe today dear Lord. We are not clear
on the
role of our national leaders. We do not understand, Lord, that when
we vote
for a councillor, MP, the president of a country, dear Lord, they
are there
to serve us, the people of Zimbabwe.
"Unfortunately Lord, we do not seem to know that each one of us
pays tax in
the form of sales tax, value-added tax, capital gains tax or
income tax and
other excise duties.
"We are not even aware Lord that these
taxes we pay are supposed
to enable us receive services, not as beggars on
the receiving end, but as
rightful owners of those
services.
"Dear God, get into our hearts, minds and tongues.
Help us
clearly express ourselves and articulate our needs to the political
leaders.
"Lord help the political leaders know, that the
people of
Zimbabwe are now aware, that the leaders are the people's servants
- people's
servants, who should use taxes, which is people's money, for
making sure
that, school fees is affordable, books are available, teachers
and lecturers
are well paid, and that college students go on attachment to
gain experience
for business creation or employment.
"Lord, one is not through yet. Drugs should be made available,
medical staff
should be well paid and all clinics and hospitals well
maintained.
"The leaders dear Lord, should provide each
and every one of us,
with affordable housing, affordable energy for
lighting, cooking and
business operations, as well as affordable transport
so that we can visit
relatives in rural areas.
"We also
want to conduct our business, happy in the knowledge
that we have affordable
water for domestic and agricultural use, and can
afford grain from the Grain
Marketing Board. We want well-paying jobs,
revolving loans for all, as well
as transparent criteria for receiving those
funds."
"Lord, a final reminder is that, we the people of Zimbabwe are
not beggars
for services, but rightful owners of those services. Give to
Caesar what
belongs to Caesar.
"Let us end with a word of caution to the
Church leadership,
with a part interpretation and direct quote from Amos
(Chapter 4): Listen to
this you Church leaders, and your spouses for those
of you who marry. You
Church leaders of Zimbabwe, you grow fat like the well
fed cows.
"By supporting a political leadership that
ill-treats the weak
and oppresses the poor, the days will come when the
suffering and the poor,
will drag you away with hooks, and everyone of you,
will be like a fish on a
hook. You will be dragged to the nearest break in
the wall, and thrown out.'
"Dear Lord, thank you for giving
us this time to share amongst
ourselves what lies in our minds and hearts.
We now know Lord the role of
our politicians, when they abuse their
political power and proclaim
themselves master over us, yet they are our
servants.
"They claim victory in elections, when we all know
they have
rigged and lost.
"They abuse our money for
their personal satisfaction, while we,
like petty men and women, walk under
their huge legs and they stand like a
colossus and we peep about to find
ourselves dishonourable graves.
"Our wrath as people of
Zimbabwe shall be witnessed. The holy
anger evoked, like the holy anger of
Jesus of Nazareth, over the abuse of
his father's temple.
Amen!"
* Dr Elizabeth Marunda is Human Resources and
Business
Consultant and Social and Political Commentator.
Zim Standard
sundayview By Pius Wakatama
AFTER
years of fighting for their rights against the formidable
odds of a partisan
army, police, government militias and press, Zimbabweans
were tired indeed.
Then, came the good news. The Church in the form of the
Evangelical
Fellowship of Zimbabwe, Catholic Bishops Conference and Zimbabwe
Council of
Churches, was going to step in and put things right!
There
was the visit to State House by the representatives of the
Church. Some of
us hopefully thought that finally, the President was going
to have the riot
act read to him by God's representatives on earth. Nothing
of the sort
happened. The men of the cloth came out smacking their lips,
smiling broadly
and singing the praises of the government and the President
as a "man who
really listens to his people".
When asked about the details
of the meeting with the President
the bishops and pastors were secretive and
refused to divulge much, thus
kindling and fuelling people's suspicions that
a sell-out was in the offing.
This was further confirmed when
the church leaders called for a
national day of prayer ignoring the
traditional one, organised by the
Intercessors led by Rev Chimbambo. The day
of prayer was held and was graced
by the First Family, government ministers
and the usual Zanu PF entourage.
It was a State affair in full regalia, with
all the accoutrements of pomp
and majesty. Our hearts
sank.
After the publication of the National Vision Document
it became
known that the President had suggested to the church leaders at
the State
House meeting that they initiate discussions among all Zimbabwean
stakeholders to help solve the problems bedevilling the country. So, in
truth, the whole exercise was a government and not a church initiative as
the public had been led to believe.
Some of us, who have
long concluded that this government is not
only unwilling but incapable of
getting us out of the mess they got us into,
became perturbed. "What is the
government's motive?" we asked.
In Shona we say: "Mwoyo chena
wei kuti tsvimborume ibvise mwana
wemvana dzihwa?" In other words there is
reason to be suspicious when,
suddenly, a bachelor takes an interest in the
welfare of an unmarried mother's
baby. The answer is not far to see. The
country is in deep crisis and the
people are restless. They are tired of
suffering and being fed a diet of
lies. They need change so much so that
anything can happen. Zanu PF is in a
corner and is desperately looking for a
way out.
Under the present circumstances Zanu PF would not
win a single
seat in a free and fair election. In desperation they are
furtively and
disjointedly trying to push presidential elections to 2010.
President Robert
Mugabe is rumoured to have told top Zanu PF leaders that a
decision to hold
election in 2008 would depend on how Reserve Bank Governor,
Gideon Gono, was
able to stabilise the economy. Of course, he is totally
mistaken to even
think that the economy can be stabilised without major
political and
economic policy changes. In fact, one shouldn't even be
talking about policy
changes because our now divided and confused government
has no coherent
policy to talk about. What is really needed is a change of
government.
With pressure growing daily from civil society,
political
parties, church groups and the international community, it became
apparent
to the President that the balloon was liable to burst. Being the
master
Machiavellian tactician that he is, he decided to let some of the
steam out
of the balloon and also buy time for his much vaunted "economic
turnaround
programme" to take effect.
This he did by
asking the three church bodies to initiate
national discussions through the
National Vision exercise. And, our gullible
but well-meaning bishops and
pastors swallowed the bait, hook, line and
sinker.
What
is happening now is that Zimbabweans are letting off steam
in a Zanu PF
controlled environment thus lessening the pressure on the
government. By
getting church groups, civil society and political parties
debating the
National Vision document and even throwing verbal stones at
each other,
Mugabe has successfully diverted the people's attention from the
real
issues. Bravo, Gushungo!
Mugabe never had any intention to
act on whatever document the
church leaders came up with. He wants to buy
time by getting the whole
country dialoguing about issues whose solution
everybody knows. This is why
the National Vision Document is called a
"discussion document." He never
promised to abide by its
recomendations.
What can people discuss about their suffering
when the cause of
it is well known? These clerics, however sincere they may
be, are being used
to hoodwink the public and the international community
that the leopard is
changing its spots. In their document the clerics say:
"Zimbabwe would
benefit from a restoration of mutually beneficial relations
with the West
without sacrificing its sovereignity, its national purpose,
its interests
and the principles that inform its sense of
justice."
What sense of justice? If there was an iota of
justice in
Zimbabwe there would be no need for the National Vision document
because the
evils enumerated therein would not exist. If the church leaders
had any
wisdom in them, they would have accepted the President's call for
dialogue
but set essential conditions.
They should have
insisted on a return to the rule of law, the
repeal of oppressive laws like
POSA and AIPPA, the depoliticisation of the
military and the police and the
disbanding of the notorious Border Gezi
militias. If the President had
agreed to this then we could say that we are
embarking on real
dialogue.
With AIPPA and POSA in place it is impossible to
hold any
meaningful discussions nationally since civil society and political
parties
are essentially hobbled. How can they go to the people to inform
them about
the issues of the Vision Document when meetings without police
permission
are proscribed?
While the church leaders were
drafting their vision document and
in it piously proclaiming that their task
is to manifest God's presence and
activity in all spheres of life, ZCTU
leaders were being brutally tortured
and arrested for daring to stage a
peaceful protest march. What is
astonishing is that most of civil society
including the Zimbabwe Christian
Alliance raised a hue and cry about this
blatant abuse of human rights. The
EFZ, the ZCC and the ZCBC were
conspicuous by their very loud silence. How
could men and women, who claim
to be representing God, be silent in the face
of such sinful
behaviour?
Where did their prophetic voices go when the
President endorsed
the barbaric behaviour of the police? Were they
mesmerized into
speechlessness by the tea and cake as well as the grandeur
of State House?
The National Vision Document captures well
the situation
prevailing in the country today. However, it does not bring
anything new.
Therefore to call it a discussion document does not make
sense. Why should
people waste their time discussing the causes of their
suffering when these
are well known?
He, who has ears to
hear, let him hear.
'Chiefs will rue the day they accepted government
bribes'
TRADITIONAL leaders in other African countries must be
hanging
their heads in shame because of the behaviour of our
chiefs.
What is happening now has been foreseen by many of
our astute
observers. When chiefs were given and accepted brand new cars
from the
government, they actually sold their souls to the devil, who is now
calling
the shots. Our chiefs will soon rue the day they accepted the bribes
from
the government.
The President of the Chiefs'
Council, Chief Fortune Charumbira,
has no right whatsoever to interfere in
the political thinking of villagers.
What he said to villagers during a
recent Voice of America broadcast was
very belittling and of poor taste to
the villagers.
His patronising attitude towards the villagers
was very
distasteful, especially taking into consideration his youthfulness
compared
to the poor and disgraced people he was
lecturing.
Charumbira maybe the villagers' chief but holding
that position
does not give him the right to talk down to people who are
older than his
father, had he been alive. If Charumbira has a personal
advisor, he should
fire him because the advisor is evidently misleading the
chief. Otherwise
our conclusion is that the chief is behaving immaturely and
that he is being
arrogant, or both.
I have never heard
villagers speak so openly about the hatred
they harbour for their young
chief as they do now.
President Robert Mugabe is better
advised to look into why the
villagers have developed such intense dislike
for Charumbira as a
traditional leader, because this is how Zanu PF drives
supporters away - not
that the ruling party does not deserve
it.
Charumbira appears to be trying very hard to get on the
right
side of Mugabe, but in my view, he forfeited the chance when he was
Deputy
Minister of Local Government and has joined the gang of failed
ministers
from Masvingo.
Scattered throughout the whole
province are incomplete projects
such as dams, buildings, roads and bridges
to name but a few. Despite
producing luminaries such as the late Dr Eddison
Mudadirwa Jonasi Zvobgo, it
is difficult to say what they achieved for the
province.
Now each time Charumbira speaks to the people of
Masvingo, he
appears to make matters worse. The Constitution of Zimbabwe
does not empower
chiefs to drive away villagers from their ancestral homes,
simply because
they happen to belong to political parties opposed to the
ruling party.
If the ruling party wants the support of all
Zimbabweans, all it
has to do is to improve the lot of all the people of
this country. Chiefs do
not own any land in this country, therefore they
should not threaten
villagers for political reasons.
It
is my humble view that Charumbira has a lot of urgent matters
to attend to.
For example, the road from Bush Mead turn off to his homestead
through to
Nemanwa Growth Point should be graded and tarred. The road from
Stop Over
turn off to Renco Mine through Bondolfi and Mapanzure Business
Centre is in
an appalling condition. It requires regrading and tarring. A
recreational
hall at Mapanzure Business Centre has not been completed, while
a number of
dams remain uncompleted.
These, in my view, are worthy
projects for the chief to help in
ensuring that they are completed rather
than wasting time picking up fights
with defenceless villagers. Just what do
our MPs do in Parliament when
financial votes for districts' development are
debated? Are they busy paging
through catalogues of new makes of vehicles
which they want purchased for
them by the government?
Charumbira and his advisors need to revise their approach and
for once start
working for the people. Choosing to work for the government
of the day has
always alienated traditional leaders from the generality of
the people of
this country.
Pro-people
Masvingo
---------------
Society has a duty to
care for orphans
THE economic problems that we face have
been caused by a
vast array of factors, many of which the average Zimbabwean
cannot do much
about.
When a breadwinner dies it is
the dependants who feel the
pain.
Losing somebody
close to you is a traumatic experience
that most people have gone through,
at one stage or another in their lives.
It is in the period after mourning
and when significant donations from
church members have run out and only the
close family remains, that the true
meaning of losing a parent dawns upon
the child.
The hunger, the loneliness and the
inadequacy of most
necessities grips the child who has nobody to turn to.
Rarely can siblings
in such circumstances strengthen each other, as they
face similar problems.
It is, in my view, the
responsibility of people within
communities, to assist the guardians of the
children, to fill up the vacuum
left by the parents of the children. The
community refers to the church. It
would be very hypocritical of any
Christian church or its members to neglect
orphans.
As one of the worst effects of the HIV/ AIDS scourge, more
than 1,2 million
children within our country have no parents. This has left
many families
being headed by children, who have no sources of
income.
By ignoring or abandoning these children,
society will be
forsaking the future of our
country.
Tawanda Mahere
Harare
----------------
A vision
without the people
ZIMBABWEANS should reject the
national vision
document because they were never consulted during its
preparation. It would
be naïve for anyone to endorse any document such as
the National Vision,
whose origin is suspect.
The emergence of this document comes hard on the
heels of another being
crafted by the civic society, labour, political
parties and pressure groups
under the supervision and co-ordination of the
Christian Alliance of
Zimbabwe.
The Christian Alliance convened a
stakeholders'
conference some months ago where everyone was invited to
participate in
exploring strategies to save Zimbabwe from the current
quagmire. Right up to
now consultations are being conducted and the document
is being revised and
updated.
Among most
people, the general view is that the
National Vision Document is a product
of the intelligence services and the
ruling party and that its main
objective is to counter the Save Zimbabwe
campaign that is driven by the
Christian Alliance.
The NVD was first seen when
Bishop Trevor Manhanga
handed it over to President Robert Mugabe. But we did
not empower those
pastors to write the document on our behalf. Zimbabweans
have the capacity
to chart their own destiny without the so-called State
House pastors
masquerading as our ambassadors, when their mission could be
to protect the
Zanu PF regime through the derailment of any people-driven
process such as
the Save Zimbabwe Campaign, which is a people's
initiative.
It is the duty of every Zimbabwean to
ensure that
they do not allow projects whose origins can be traced to the
intelligence
services to block initiatives launched by ordinary Zimbabweans.
As ordinary
citizens, we suspect hidden forces are at work and behind the
National
Vision Document. Our suspicion is that this is Zanu PF's hidden
hand.
Bishop Manhanga's declaration during the
launch of
the document is to me clear testimony that the Office of the
President is
connected to the document.
In
future, church leaders should learn that before
embarking on any process or
programme that involves the people, they should
work with the people and not
Zanu PF leaders or anyone responsible for the
country's
decay.
Zimbabweans should not participate in
dangerous and
undemocratic programmes.
Kurauone Chihwayi
Harare
----------------
In sympathy with victims of State
brutality
AS a patriotic citizen of Zimbabwe, I would
like to
express my deepest sympathy and solidarity with those who were
brutalised by
this barbarous regime for merely marching and asking it to
improve the lot
of the majority of our
citizens.
I was unsettled by the arrests and
brutal assaults
of leaders of the labour movement and their counterparts
from the civic
society by youth militias disguised as uniformed police and
the Gestapo-like
Central Intelligence
Organisation.
Such horrendous violence against
defenceless
citizens by a government that purports to be a custodian of
democracy must
be condemned in the strongest of
terms.
As for South African President Thabo
Mbeki, SADC and
the African Union, it's time for a total shift from the
so-called quiet
diplomacy. It is time for a tougher stance against President
Robert Mugabe
and his government.
Zimbabwe
has become an impediment to both Southern
Africa and Africa's advancement of
democracy and development.
S T
M
Bulawayo
--------------
Use long chop-sticks to dine with the
Chinese
RECENT developments in Africa are a cause for
concern and Africa should beware of the wolf in sheep's clothing. It seems
our political leaders are oblivious to the intentions of China, our up and
coming wealthy friend.
I am all for
development in our backward countries
but Africa would rather remain poor
and underdeveloped than to become
subservient and enslaved to a foreign
superpower.
The problem with African countries is
a poor record
of governance. Each African country is endowed with untold
wealth, despite
the early colonial plunder, but because of poor governance,
we have created
greedy, unscrupulous beasts who are never satisfied with
their legal
earnings.
African countries have
always been able to develop
their own countries. Funds for such development
have always been made
available by well-meaning Western countries.
Unfortunately, money meant to
benefit the poor of Africa has been
systematically laundered in foreign
lands by our own
leaders.
Many of the so-called development
projects are
nothing but white elephants scattered all over Africa. What
makes China
believe that it will be able to improve the lot of African
countries? What
magic wand does China possess to transparently develop
Africa? It is no
secret that China has the largest population on earth. With
its current fast
development, it is running short of natural resources and
space for human
habitation.
Zimbabwe should
make peace with the enemy it knows
best, instead of courting the Chinese. We
run the risk of being the new
dumping ground for cheap Chinese goods. Once
the Chinese have flooded our
country, it will not be easy to get rid of
them.
I hope that our leaders are supping with
the Chinese
using long chop-sticks otherwise they will have their fingers
burnt.
Be
warned
Mvuma
---------------
Teachers cheated, abused, underpaid and
swindled
TEACHERS are an essential force for good in
any
society all over the world, but in Zimbabwe they are a cheated lot,
despised
and lowly paid.
Unscrupulous
governments of this world have been
known to abuse their teachers for very
little pay. Zimbabwean teachers are
among the worst paid workers in the
country.
As if to rub salt into a wound, teachers
in Zimbabwe
are cheated by their own government, which seems bent on
squeezing every
cent from their meagre salaries. The teachers are also
cheated
professionally when they are encouraged to further their education
on half
pay. They are pursuing degree programmes in administration and
special needs
education.
By letting so many
teachers take up such courses,
the government is not being sincere because
it knows full well that only a
few posts will be made available in schools.
Only one teacher is required at
each school to cater for special needs
children and there is only one post
of an administrator in a school - that
of the headmaster or principal, which
can only be created through
retirement, dismissal or death of the incumbent.
Once an administration post is created in a school,
only those
administrators working at head office have an opportunity of
getting the
post because of their proximity to the centre of
power/authority.
The government is aware of
this fact yet it keeps on
encouraging teachers to study for these degree
programmes. It would be less
disappointing for teachers who acquire the
degrees if they were to receive
some form of financial recognition for their
efforts.
Financially, these degree programmes are
a burden to
the teachers because they are not awarded scholarships. Instead,
they are
given 50% of their salary and as a result they struggle while
pursuing their
further studies. Is it practical and realistic that teachers
on study leave
end up applying for expensive loans from banks when there is
no hope of
improved salaries?
Teachers are
further cheated when they are made to
complete dubious appraisal forms at
the end of the year. These appraisal
forms are really meaningless because
they do not improve the performance of
the teacher because, on the contrary,
the quality of education in Zimbabwe
has gone down since the introduction of
these questionable appraisal forms.
To worsen
matters, teachers are required to use
their meagre resources in order to
photocopy the single genuine form from
the government that is given to each
school throughout the country.
Yet in many of the
schools because of scarcity of
resources, teachers are buying teaching aids.
As a result of the hardships
facing teachers, the majority have become
mobile tuckshops, selling sweets,
biscuits, soap, cooking oil and various
other basic commodities in order for
them to make ends
meet.
My advice to teachers is that they form a
powerful
trade union to look after their interests. The current teachers'
organisations have proved ineffective because most of their leaders are at
the beck and call of the government.
The last
form of cheating by the government is
through State-endorsed loan-sharking.
Addresses of these loan sharks appear
on salary advisories indicating full
endorsement by the government of these
money lenders. As a result of the
poor salaries that teachers receive, they
sell their souls to the loan
sharks.
The government is given a share of the
loan sharks'
spoils and the money lenders laugh all the way to the
banks.
It is an insult to be a teacher in this
country. The
government does not appreciate the sterling effort being made
by these
educators because when it suits the government, the teachers are
threatened
on suspicion that they support opposition
parties.
Cheated
Masvingo
---------------
Story was a
masterpiece
I would like to congratulate the
entire Standard
editorial team for exposing the Ministry of Agriculture,
Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe and the Grain Marketing Board for corrupt
tendencies.
I strongly believe the author of the
fertiliser
scandal story deserves an award for investigative
journalism.
That was a brilliant story! If the
Head of State,
President Robert Mugabe, could respond to such a story, it
shows that you
have played your role as an independent media. Keep up the
work.
I see the RBZ Governor, Dr Gideon Gono also
responded to your story, but the bottom line is that the story was a master
piece.
We are behind you
guys.
S P K
Johannesburg
South
Africa
-----------------
less talk, more action
please!
MUCH has been written and talked about as
Zimbabwe
tries to scale up promotion of tourism. It is therefore surprising
that
while some people are talking of travelling to Berlin, London and the
Far
East to drum up support for tourism to ensure Zimbabwe features more in
their travel plans, the authorities seem to miss some of the elementary
points.
It has to be understood that before
we go out we
should put our house in order - or that the product we propose
marketing is
spruced up.
Last week, while
travelling to Harare International
Airport to welcome a relative who was
arriving in the evening, two things
reminded me of how far we still have to
go before we can expect results and
dividends from the numerous drives to
attract external visitors to come and
marvel at our beautiful country and
the varied tourist products on offer.
Driving up
from the Coca-Cola turn off to the
airport we came across stretches of the
road where there is total darkness.
After the 1 Commando Barracks, there was
another stretch of the road in
total darkness, right up to St Patrick's
Road. That was the pattern right up
to the
airport.
Why is it not possible for the relevant
authorities
to ensure that the whole route from the Harare International
Airport has
street lights, or don't they ever inspect these
things?
They should stop talking and start doing
something
that will ensure as a country we are serious about welcoming
visitors.
Tirivanhu
Mhofu
Emerald Hill
Harare
Dear Family and Friends,
Visiting an elderly couple this week the talk tuned
to their recent sixty
second wedding anniversary and the knowledge that
sticks in my mind is that
they
have been married longer than I have been
alive. I asked the couple about
their
children and grandchildren and they
told me of developments in their lives -
one
family in South Africa and
another in England. How very sad it is to take in
the
fact that there is
nothing to keep Zimbabwean children in Zimbabwe any more.
Even worse is the
fact that Zimbabwean parents now actively encourage their
children to leave
the country - to go to places where there is training,
opportunity, stability
and - the prize of all prizes: jobs.
This week an opposition MP has been
exposing the horrific facts about life
expectancy in Zimbabwe. Men are
expected to stay alive for 37 years and
women
for just 34 years. Today
you can expect to live longer than this even in
Sudan
or Iraq. When you
know those figures you know why parents encourage their
children to leave
Zimbabwe. If you think about the fact that a woman is only
expected to live
for thirty four years, you must also think of the children
she
bears when
she is twenty five - they will be orphaned before they even get
to
senior
school. What then are the chances for those orphaned children - will
they
live as long as their mother did, will they even be able to finish
school
and
learn a trade in order to support themselves and their
children - it is
very
unlikely and paints a very bleak picture for the
future of Zimbabwe.
Talking about all this with another elderly man,
recently widowed and in his
seventies, he wiped a tear away. He said I'd make
him think of his three
sons,
all in their thirties. One son he had buried
last year, he was just thirty
three. Another was now in Malawi, trying to
make a living as a stranger in a
strange land and the third was desperately
trying to find a place where he
could
settle and survive - he had tried
and failed in four countries in the last
five
years. Nowhere felt as good
as "home" - if only there was a way for him to
survive and make a decent
living he would come home to Zimbabwe in an
instant.
In true Zimbabwean
style we cracked jokes as I left - it is not the done
thing
to leave
people on depressing notes in these dreadful times and so we
laughed
about his new underpants. He had finally managed to save enough
money to buy
three pairs of new underpants - each costing the same as half of
his entire
monthly pension.
In a couple of weeks time the ruling Zanu
PF party will be holding their
annual
congress. They have been in power
for 26 years, just eight years less than
most
women are expected to live.
At the time of the Zanu PF Congress in 2004
inflation was 132%, by December
2005 it was 585% and now it is 1070%. What
disgrace for a party who have 26
years experience at running a country.
Maybe
this year the delegates will
find the courage and moral responsibility to
stop
patting themselves on
the back and start thinking about the ordinary people:
about the children who
can't wait to get out of the country; about the
parents
who can't wait to
send them away. About the elderly who are destitute and
alone
and about
the orphans - over a million of them. If the delegates to that
conference
want to grow old in Zimbabwe and have their grandchildren playing
barefoot in
the sun nearby, then those delegates know what must be done and
that
it
must be done now.
Until next time, thanks for reading, love cathy Copyright
cathy buckle, 18
November 2006
New Zimbabwe
By Simba Phiri
Last
updated: 11/19/2006 01:33:34
I READ with growing sadness the sentiments aired
by some learned compatriots
of mine on the crisis in Zimbabwe, and solutions
to it.
I initially resisted the urge to write but I have
succumbed.
Zimbabwe's historical past influences people in their
opinions, but surely,
that divides the nation. Or does it?
All you
need to ask is: are we one people? One nation? What values do we
give to our
children?
It is with these questions in mind that I seek to respond to
the article
Mugabe's Prosecution and Punishment (read article ), authored by
Admore
Tshuma and published by this website on November 8.
The
purpose of this article is to point and remind the reader that
nationhood
cannot be achieved by echoing tribal sentiments but working as a
people and
as a nation to achieve harmony. Gone are the days when we needed
tribal
marks for identification. What we need now is a nation of one people
and one
Zimbabwe.
Tshuma's article has been interesting but in a sad sense. The
premise of
that article is that "The unprecedented economic meltdown coupled
with gross
violation of human rights in Zimbabwe merits the prosecution and
punishment
of Robert Mugabe" .
Life in Zimbabwe is now very tough and
I can only empathise with my
compatriots at home and abroad. What I seek to
dissent on is the idea that
so and so caused the economic meltdown and the
issue of tribal rhetoric in
the arguments. Some of the statements are mere
claims based on hearsay, and
are not accurate.
The government in
Zimbabwe was criticised for introducing free education in
the early 1980s
and they were told people should pay for hospitals instead
of giving free
medication and treatment. The argument given was that of
sustainability of
the services and where the government was to get money to
pay for the
services. People from poor backgrounds managed to study up to
university
level as a result. Up to this day, Zimbabwe has one of the
highest literacy
rates among third world countries.
In countries like the United Kingdom,
Lord Rees-Mogg advocates for educating
only the top 5% of the population but
what happens to the rest? Maybe the UK
has a very visible class structure
that will sustain that school of thought
but not for Zimbabwe. I get the
sense that some international organisations
always want to stay ahead hence
their opposition to the quest for knowledge
by the poor child. Mugabe was
against the deeply-divided class system. So I
feel it is not fair to
criticize everything that Mugabe has done.
If there was a global village
why is it then that the English FA is lobbying
on FIFA to ban national teams
from holding training camps in Zimbabwe prior
to the coming football World
Cup tournament to be held in South Africa? Is
it not about freedom of
choice, freedom of association and liberty?
Foreign nations should not
interfere and try to influence the relationship
between Zimbabwe and other
nations. It feels like there is some agenda to
make and portray everything
done by leaders who refuse to take orders from
the West as bad. The West
says there should be free trade yet there are
organisations like World Trade
Organisation, G7, EU that are basically
cartels who feel violated when
countries like China increase trade with
third world
countries.
Tshuma also mixes up his facts by suggesting that Mugabe
wanted to establish
a one-party state after the unification of Zanu and
Zapu. If the Ndebele
were a hindrance to a one party state in the late 80s,
why then did Mugabe
seek to unite the parties?
In fact, extermination
is too strong a word to refer to the developments in
Matabeleland. If Mugabe
was trying to "exterminate" the Ndebele's using
"genocide", then the
international community, mainly Britain, are guilty of
complicity as they
actively supported the government in what they were
doing.
The point
that Tshuma misses completely is that Mugabe more than likely
distrusted
Zapu leaders after the so-called "arms caches" were found in
Matabeleland
just after independence. Compounded with the events at
Entumbane, any
reasonable leader would have acted in the interests of the
state. It seems
implausible that Canaan Banana (President) and Enos Nkala
(Minister of
Defence and at one time Home Affairs), both notable Ndebele
individuals,
would not lift a finger but actively participated in a
"genocide" against
their own tribe. It does not add up.
I have never traveled to countries
like South Africa, where there are
different tribes, but they seem to be
working together as South Africans for
the better of the nation.
The
historical facts of Zimbabwe show that the Ndebele and the Shona have
never
been united as a people and as a nation. When the white people arrived
in
Zimbabwe in the 1880s, the Ndebele people were raiding on the Shona's,
burning homesteads, looting from the granaries, taking away their cattle and
their beautiful women. Some Shona viewed the white man as the messiah who
would deter the Ndebele's from raiding the Shona's.
In the first
Chimurenga in the 1890s, the two tribes were fighting for the
same cause --
to drive out the white man. But they were doing it separately.
Both tribes
were defeated and the white man ruled Zimbabwe without any
problems till the
1950s. When the second Chimurenga started in 1972, it was
being fought with
bases along tribal lines meaning that Zipra forces were
aligned to
Matabeleland and Zanla forces to Mashonaland.
After independence, some
people from Matabeleland clearly showed that they
identified with the Zulus
and other tribes in South Africa. Many people from
Matabeleland claim to be
South Africans when they are outside the boarders
of Zimbabwe. This is
reasonable considering the shared roots and language.
It's good to
identify with a powerful tribe like the Zulus, but it has the
effect of not
giving the Ndebele nation the opportunity to work hand in hand
with the
Shona nation as one people of Zimbabwe, one nation. I am not
suggesting that
the Ndebele are less patriotic but most Ndebele consider
Zulus as brothers
and sisters and the Shona's as "the others". Surely,
geographically, that is
not good for Zimbabwe as people from Bulawayo and
surrounding areas would
rather go to Jozi than go to Harare to look for a
job. Is it because the
South Africans make them feel welcome or the Shona's
are just hostile? I am
still trying to find out.
I am not Shona and neither am I Ndebele. I grew
up suffering the labels like
"Achimwene", "muBwidi" etc but I have noted
that some people from
Mashonaland feel aggrieved because they were being
raided by the Ndebele's
and all their fat cattle and beautiful women being
taken away.
I feel, therefore, that to blame all these feelings on Mugabe
is unfair. I
have also noted some successful inter-marriages between the
Shona's and the
Ndebele's as well. I have friends from both tribes and I
speak both
languages. I think Zimbabwe is divided due to mistrust that stems
from
historical times. The duty is on noble Zimbabweans to leave tribal
sentiments and work progressively for the development of the
country.
At the present moment, Zimbabwe is divided along tribal lines.
It's also
very clear politically and economically. I firmly believe if the
will was
there, the Zambezi Water Project would have
materialised.
Sadly, Tshuma's arguments are tainted by tribal sentiments.
Surely, do you
really blame Mugabe for a Shona person who works in Bulawayo
but is not keen
to learn Ndebele?
Tshuma stooped really low when he
wrote: "Mabhena said Mugabe blames
Ndebele's for his miserable, fatherless
childhood".
Who said his childhood was miserable? I read the book "Robert
Mugabe" in the
late 80s and I don't remember it mentioning anything about an
unhappy
childhood, and neither does it mention about his father going to
live with
another woman, let alone a woman from Bulawayo. Mugabe's home boys
from
Zvimba cast doubt to these claims. Or maybe Tshuma is implying that a
fatherless child has a miserable upbringing?
Why do Zimbabweans need
Blair and the international community to push Mugabe
out and be brought to
account? It sad and it is a shame that Tshuma would
invite foreigners to
decide the fate of his country of birth.
One weakness about democracy is
that it can also breed tyranny. More than
ten constitutional amendments were
made since 1980. The nature of the
Zimbabwean politics is such that it's
very easy for the ruling party to
change or amend the constitution, and that
has nothing about Mugabe being
Shona.
To answer the questions I posed
in my opening paragraph, I would like to
point out that Zimbabweans need to
teach their children to see other
children as children and not as Shona or
Ndebele children. We need to see
each other as men, women and children and
not muShona, muNdebele or maShona
or maNdebele. We should learn and even
teach our children to desist from
using tribe as the main defining
characteristic.
My parents are from the Tumbuka tribe in Northern Malawi
but I was born and
bred in Zimbabwe. I am proud to be Zimbabwean. My
children know they are
Zimbabweans. I don't preach to them the gospel of
them being different from
the Shona or from the Ndebele. We should be one
people and one nation.
Sadly even at UZ, people were campaigning for SRC
positions using tribal
statements and people were voting along tribal lines
as well. I guess there
are people who are saying to their children we are
hungry because this Shona
is ruining the economy. The child will notice and
remember the
distinguishing feature (Shona).
If we get a Ndebele
president, the Shona will say "this Ndebele man has done
this and that to
the economy". That is a road to disaster. Even when the MDC
split, the
Welshman Ncube faction realised the tribal factor that tends to
shape the
politics of Zimbabwe and quickly co-opted a Shona man to lead the
party in
the form of Prof Mutambara. Prof Ncube could have led the party,
Gibson
Sibanda could have led the party. Or is it an acknowledgement by the
faction
that a Ndebele leader could not sell his policies to the large Shona
group?
Such is the politics of Zimbabwe and that has to be weeded
out. As long as
people continue to see each other along the Shona-Ndebele
divide or mubwidi,
we will always be divided as a nation, divided as a
people forever.
Let me conclude my urging all forward think compatriots
to shed off the
tribal skin and wear the coat of a proud Zimbabwean people
and nation. Lets
not criticise a leader because he is allegedly Shona or
Ndebele. Let's
criticise bad government policies and leave out the tribal
element that only
serves to divide our lovely nation.
Phiri writes
from the UK. He can be contacted at: phirisimba@yahoo.com
Greetings! |
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Please send any job opportunities for publication in this newsletter to:
JAG
Job Opportunities; jag@mango.zw or justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
SECRETARY
TOURISM/HUNTING WANTED
Secretary in tourism/hunting needed. Word, Email
and common sense required.
Is a very interesting and can be very entertaining
too. Salary negotiable.
Contact tshafari@mweb.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ad
inserted 19 October 2006
Vacancy: Farm Manager, Lusaka Zambia
A
vacancy is available for a dynamic farm manager just outside Lusaka
Zambia.
The ideal candidate would be:-a single, Black- Fordby Graduate
or
similarly
educated type of person. The farm produces: - tobacco,
maize, wheat and
cattle.
Attractive salary, normal farm perks and
production-based bonus will be
offered. For further information, Phone 00
260 1213633 (evenings) or 00 260
96748249.
or 04
443017.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ad
inserted 19 October 2006
Bookkeeper/Secretary
Our wonderful
bookkeeper/secretary is leaving for South Africa and we need
to try and
replace her. Mornings-only in a small but chaotic office in
Hillside,
Bulawayo - for a wildlife and ostrich ranch. Mostly bookkeeping
(to trial
balance plus company tax, VAT returns, salaries and PAYE), trophy
export
documentation and some secretarial (emails and letters).
Meticulousness,
common sense and a good sense of humour all essential. To
start in December
(end-November for handover if possible).
Please email in the first place
to rosslyn@netconnect.co.zw with
contact
details and previous
experience.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ad
inserted 19 October 20006
Childminder Wanted
Mature maid wanted to
look after children, cook all meals, clean house, all
basic domestic chores.
Must have experience and traceable references.
Accommodation and competitive
wage offered. Emerald Hill area.
Call Mrs. Revolta 339733 or email tamken@zol.co.zw
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ad
inserted 19 October 2006
Vacancy exists for husband/wife couple to assist
in running rural superette.
All benefits: i.e., vehicle, house, medical
aid.
Please submit CV's to borser@comone.co.zw. Phone for reply to
011 408
986.
------------------------------------------------------
Ad
inserted 19 October 2006
Consultants Wanted
Consultants wanted for
a 40 day project in Zimbabwe. Anyone interested
should contact r.clark@agrisol.co.zw. A good knowledge
of Zimbabwe's sugar
industry and farming conditions in the low veldt would be
extremely useful.
1. Rural Development Sociologist
The person
must have a thorough understanding of Zimbabwean rural society
and social and
economic characteristics of Zimbabwe in general. Experience
with gender,
environmental, social, economic and poverty issues is
essential. The person
must have at least 5 years experience in the
formulation and evaluation of
development programmes.
2. Agronomist
Ideally the person must
have a post-graduate degree in agronomy. The person
must have at least 10
years of experience with the Zimbabwean sugar sector,
and substantial
experience in irrigated agriculture in general. Overall,
the proposed team
must have a thorough knowledge of business skills for full
understanding of
the larger players in the Zimbabwean sugar sector,
as well as development
skills to assess issues related to the smallholder
sugarcane
growers.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ad
inserted 26 October 2006
FINANCE MANAGER:
A plastics packaging
manufacturing company situated in Msasa is looking for
suitable applicants to
fill the position of Finance Manager.
Responsibilities:
-
- Managing and guiding the day to day activities of the
accounting
department.
- - Managing relationships with the company's
bankers
- - Sourcing of finance & investment of excess
funds
- - Forecasting, compiling and reporting
financial
performance to stakeholders as required.
- -
Managing and development of company information
system.
-
- Dealing with the tax authorities as need arises.
Qualifications
& Experience:
- - An appropriate degree in
accounting or professional
qualification (CIS/CIMA/ACCA)
-
- Experience in a manufacturing environment,
- -
Experience in the use of computerized accounting
software an added
advantage.
Competitive package including Company
Vehicle.
Applications for the above post accompanied by a detailed CV
should be
forwarded, before 10 November 2006, by candidates directly
to: The
Operations Director, via e-mail to hq@plastique.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ad
inserted 09 November 2006
Temporary position from the 27 November 2006 to
15 December 2006. Locality
Mt. Pleasant. Position is to fill in for General
Manager who is going to be
away from the 3 December until the New Year.
Basically it will be to oversea
the operations in conjunction with the
Factory Supervisor and send off the
final shipment on the 15 December 2006.
The operation is textile based.
The ideal person needs to have a good working
knowledge of knitting and
sowing as well as good administration skills. Must
be computer literate in
Word, Excell and E-Mail. Forward C.V. to aztec@zol.co.zw
soonest.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ad
inserted 17 November 2006
Farm Job Vacancy in Nigeria
Kwara State
Government, Nigeria , is looking for a General Manager for an
Agricultural
Training Farm, situated 30kms. NW of Ilorin .
The position entails the
managing of the 1000ha farm, growing 200ha. Maize,
100ha. Cow Peas and 100ha
Cassava, with livestock being Catfish, Broilers
and Layers. In addition, with
the assistance of 5 technical staff, train 100
Agricultural Students the
practical aspects of Commercial Agriculture.
The contract is for two years,
commencing on the 5th January 2007. The
contract is renewable and notice is
six months, to take effect at the end of
the cropping season.
Terms of
Employment:
Salary - US$50,000.00 per annum
Accommodation - Fully
furnished, three bedroomed house on farm,
with air conditioning
throughout.
Staff - One cook, one gardener, one official driver and 2
security
guards.
Other:
Two economy air tickets per annum to country of
choice
One official Govt. vehicle
One 4 wheel motor cycle
Free electricity, water and fuel
within Kwara State .
Internet
facilities
Four weeks leave per year.
Interested
parties, please contact Colin Spain - e mail address
spain_colin@yahoo.co.uk Please attach
recent
C.V.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ad
inserted 17/11/06
Maid required for family home in Umwinsidale area. To
start immediately.
Must speak good English, be energetic, over 30 years of
age having finished
having their own family, washing, ironing, house work and
basic cooking
would be useful. Accommodation is offered and husband and 2
children still
at school are welcome. Attractive salary to the right
person. Contact
499101 or 011207930 with contactable
references.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Ad
inserted 17/11/06
SAP and ORACLE Developers
Oxford IT are looking for
experienced SAP and Oracle Developers willing to
relocate to various
countries around Africa. Ability to speak various
languages is a
plus.
Please email your cv to cv@oxfordit.co.zw ensuring all your
contact
information is up to date, or call Sarah Vale on 309274 for
further
information.
The position closes Tuesday 21 November, cvs sent
after that date will not
be considered. The sooner you send in your cv, the
better chances you stand
of qualifying for a shortlisted
interview.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ad
inserted 17/11/06
Website Developer/Print Artist
Oxford IT are looking
for experienced, top notch individuals to work on
website development and/or
print design in Luanda, Angola. Knowledge of
graphic applications
(Photoshop/DreamweaverColdFusion) with experience in a
wide range of software
developer skills and ability to speak either
Portuguese or Spanish is a
plus.
Please email your cv to cv@oxfordit.co.zw ensuring all your
contact
information is up to date, or call Sarah Vale on 309274 for
further
information.
The position closes Tuesday 21 November, cvs sent
after that date will not
be considered. The sooner you send in your cv, the
better chances you stand
of qualifying for a shortlisted
interview.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ad
inserted 17/11/06
Gateway School Trust has three vacant positions, and as
a Christian
Organisation, we need to fill these vacancies with mature
Christians.
Interested candidates please apply to the Gateway School Trust
Offices at
303143 on or before the 24th of November 2006.
Lovett
Manduku
Chairman Gateway School Trust
GATEWAY TRUST VACANT
POSITIONS.
1.. SALARIES OFFICER.
DUTIES IN BRIEF.
a)
Responsible for preparing salaries and wages for all Gateway Trust
School
staff for the Primary and High Schools.
b) Sort out all month end
deductions and mandatory deductions such as PAYE,
NSSA ZESSCW, Medical Aid
and Pension.
REQUIREMENT.
a) Mature person who will work with minimum
supervision and is able to also
work after normal working hours to meet
deadlines.
b) Able to handle confidential information.
c) Good PR
oriented.
d) With relevant qualifications.
2.. ESTATE
MANAGER
DUTIES IN BRIEF.
a) Responsible for all aspects of Grounds
Maintenance of the two Schools.
b) Supervise and coordinate all construction
and building projects in the
schools.
c) Manage all Grounds staff.
d)
Purchasing of materials required for the running and upkeep of
the
Schools.
REQUIREMENTS.
a) A self motivated person.
b) A
multi skilled individual who is familiar with repairs and maintenance
of
field equipment.
3.. GATEWAY SCHOOL TRUST BUSINESS
MANAGER.
DUTIES IN BRIEF.
a) Responsible for Gateway School Trust
:
Finances - Human Resources - Policy - Legal Affairs · Capital Projects
-
Labour Relations.
b) Liaison between Gateway Schools with Government and
other Trust Schools
(ATS).
c) Look after the Pastoral needs of the people
in the Gateway School Trust
Community.
REQUIREMENTS.
a) A mature
Christian.
b) Ability to communicate with people at all levels of
society.
c) A vast experience in the Business Sector essential.
d) Ability
to plan work and execute the decisions of the Board of
Trustees.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ad
inserted 17/11/06
EMPLOYMENT OFFERED
We are looking for a
reliable, hard working honest middle aged gentleman to
fill the position of
Water/Land Manager in the Bumi Area.
Please could all CV's be emailed to:
dod@iitrade.net or dodonovan@acrplc.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
EMPLOYMENT
SOUGHT
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ad
inserted 19 October 2006
Bookkeeper / Administrator
I am a 23 year
old lady that currently works & resides in Harare. I will be
relocating
to Gweru in December and I am looking for a placement in the
above position
or similar. I am capable of performing the
following
functions:-
Accounting:
- Cashbook (manual &
computerised)
- Petty Cash payments and analysis
- Bank
Reconciliation's
- Debtors Invoicing, Statements & Debt collections
-
Creditors Analysis, Reconciliation's and payments
- Budgets and Cash
flows
- Journals and Ledgers
- Monthly Income Statements
- Draft Year
End Financial Statements & Income Tax Computations
- Salaries and wages
administration
- Capital Gains Tax Calculations and reconciliation's
- VAT
Calculations and payments
- PAYE Calculations, payments and
reconciliation's
- NSSA payments and administration
- NEC payments and
returns
- ZIMDEF payment and returns
- Medical Aid
administration
Administration:
- Company Secretarial work (statutory
returns) such as forms CR14, CR6, CR2,
Annual Returns, Company formation and
registration procedures.
- Functions of moderate Personnel
Management
Computer Literacy:
- Pastel Versions 5 - 8
- QuickBooks
(moderate knowledge)
- Belina Payroll
- Microsoft Office
For a
detailed Curriculum Vitae please contact: P. Russell - 011 646 268 or
756 841
or 756 850 or accounts@decisionstrading.com
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Ad
inserted 09 November 2006
Houseworker required.
Must be mature,
clean, honest and hardworking. Cooking would be an
advantage but not a
prerequisite. A good salary is offered along with
excellent accommodation to
the right person. Please phone 04-301467 , cell
011 614 233 or email
to:
dieselandplant@zol.co.zw
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ad
inserted 09 November 2006
Bookkeeping done at home
Anyone looking
for someone to do their books on a monthly basis, on Pastel,
Monthly Balance
Sheets, Profit and Loss produced? Please contact
tiger1@mweb.co.zw or phone cell 011 400
754
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ad
inserterted (17/11/06
I am a Bsc Hons In Agric( Crop science) graduate
and currently working on a
tobacco farm in Nyazura area as a Farm Manager,
doing mainly tobacco and
potatoes. I am looking for a similar placement
elsewhere in Zimbabwe or
Zambia. Available from 1December 2006. I have six
years experience in
agronomy and farm management with special skills
in:
planning cropping programmes farm staff and general labour
management
drawing & implementing farm budgets, general farm cost control
sourcing and
procurement of inputs marketing produce planning and directing
farm
operations
providing expert advice in production of the following
crops; tobacco,
maize,potatoes,peas,babycorn, sweet corn,cabbages, beans,
butternut.
For my detailed C.V e-mail imusiiwa@yahoo.com or telephone
011433837
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
For
the latest listings of accommodation available for farmers, contact
justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
(updated 18 November 2006)