HARARE – Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai arrived to a warm welcome in the Libyan capital, Tripoli where he was the guest of strongman Col Muammar Gaddafi.

Tsvangirai departed from Harare on Thursday en route FIRST to Morocco where he said he intended to discuss “areas of co-operation” with officials. He then proceeded to Tripoli where he said he planned to brief Gaddafi, who is the current chairman of the African Union, on the latest situation pertaining to the Zimbabwe unity government.

“I am taking the opportunity of being in the region to meet the chairman of the AU about the developments in the country and what progress we are making,” Tsvangirai told journalists at Harare’s International Airport moments before he boarded his flight.

Tsvangirai said he had been invited to Tripoli by Gaddafi, a long time ally of President Mugabe.

The Prime Minister was met on arrival in Tripoli by his counterpar, the Libyan Prime Minister, Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmudi.

“Prime Minister Tsvangirai was met with full military honours,” James Madidadi said in a dispatch to The Zimbabwe Times from Tripoli Sunday. “

“He took the salute from members of the army, the airforce, the navy and the police. He will meet the Prime Minister at the PM’s offices in Tripoli.”

Tsvangirai said on departure from Harare that negotiators representing his Movement for Democratic Change party were meeting with representatives of President Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party in a bid to resolve disputes within the power-sharing agreement.

“The whole urgency of the matter is to try and rescue the credibility of the inclusive government,” Tsvangirai said.

Students Leaders case discharged

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

     
      Written by Student Solidarity Trust
      Sunday, 22 November 2009 17:02
      The now infamous Bikita court case has finally been discharged.  The
freed leaders are  Madock Chivasa ,Farirayi Mageza ,Simbai Chivasa, Hillary
Zhou, C.Mhofu Tapiwa Mushati and Dickson Chemvumba. The seven were arrested
on the 28th of March 2008 on the eve of the controversial March 29
harmonized elections for undermining police authority. The seven have been
appearing in court on routine remand from the time of arrest up until the
18th of November 2009 when the court finally discharged their case. The
arbitrary arrests and the long, expensive and painful experiences to get a
verdict is evidence of the gross human rights violations prevalent in
Zimbabwe. The 7 spent more than a year commuting from Harare to Bikita for
routine court hearings that yielded nothing. This case is one of many where
poor students are forced to put their lives on hold while they are harassed
and held at ransom by court cases that never reach a verdict in a reasonable
time, meanwhile, time and  resources are wasted as in most cases students
will not be re admitted into Colleges without court clearance.

Commonwealth accused of loss of 'moral leadership'

http://www.ft.com

By Michael Holman in London and William Wallis in Accra

Published: November 23 2009 02:00 | Last updated: November 23 2009 02:00

Commonwealth leaders gathering in Trinidad for Friday's summit have
surrendered their "moral leadership" by failing to act on the crisis in
Zimbabwe, according to a report published today.

It also accuses the Commonwealth of ignoring conflicts between member
states, backtracking on a pledge to encourage democratic principles set out
at a summit in Harare, Zimbabwe, in 1991, and of failing to defend good
government.

The 53-member organisation, linked by past colonial ties to Britain, has
been criticised in the past, but the 110-page analysis is expected to make a
significant impact in Trinidad.

Although commissioned by the Commonwealth Policy Studies Unit and Electoral
Reform International Services, both based in London, the report will have
the status of an in-house document. It was partly funded by the Commonwealth
itself and represents the most thorough and trenchant review of the
organisation in its history.

It was conducted with the co-operation of staff at the London secretariat,
and written by three experts whose findings have been endorsed by Amartya
Sen, the Nobel prize-winner for economics.

"It is time to move from affirmation [of the Harare principles] to full
implementation," Prof Sen writes in a forward.

It proposes regular, obligatory democracy "health checks" among other
reforms. "Every member country should be required to submit an annual or
bi-annual report on the state of its compliance with the Harare declaration,
drawn up in consultation with civil society, prepared by a small group of
academics appointed in consultation with the Commonwealth secretariat."

The authors also suggest Commonwealth observer missions be given the right
to monitor member state elections, a process that currently requires a
formal invitation from the host government.

They call for the strengthening of the mandate of the Commonwealth
ministerial action group.

CMAG, which was intended to be the cutting edge of policy formulation and
implementation, is singled out for criticism. "The failure to take any
initiative on Zimbabwe . . . undermined the Commonwealth claim to moral
leadership," the report says.

It cites "a number of conflicts" where the Commonwealth has failed to
respond. Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are the "most egregious" and Kashmir "is
always studiously avoided, as was the UK's trouble in Northern Ireland", it
says.

"The involvement of Namibia, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe in the
Democratic Republic of Congo tragedy would seem to merit attention - even
more so if and when Rwanda is accepted as a member."

Rwanda's application for membership is due to be considered at the summit.

Zimbabwe Vigil Diary – 21st November 2009

Is it time to campaign for targeted sanctions against some MDC leaders? The question was discussed at the Vigil with some animation on the day President Zuma of South Africa was supposed to visit Harare to discuss progress towards implementing the GPA.  Trouble is there hasn’t been any. 

The SADC Troika, meeting in Maputo on 5^th November, agreed on the urgency of the matter and ordered that talks between the three parties should be under way by 21^st November and wrapped up by 6^th December.  Needless to say nothing has happened. Zimbabweans may be dying but there is Christmas shopping to be done. 

While the other negotiators kicked their heels, the two MDC-Mutambara representatives, Welshman Ncube and Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga, made sure they were away on an all expenses paid trip overseas, apparently a ministerial meeting in Europe of the World Trade Organisation. Big deal.

Their intention was clear: delay these SADC talks as long as possible if we still want a job and travel perks. That’s why many members of the Vigil favoured extending targeted sanctions against these non-negotiators so that they will be forced to stay at home and do what they are paid to do. 

The Vigil appeals to President Zuma to force these self-serving obstructionists to comply with the SADC plan for the liberation of Zimbabwe by early elections. Mr Zuma knows what is at stake – even if Welshman and his pals have their snouts buried in the trough. 

As an incentive, the Vigil wishes to notify Mr Zuma that Vigil supporters will be encouraging him onwards every step of the way during his state visit to the UK next year.  We are grateful that he has cast aside the discredited Mbeki policies and we will try to make sure that his visit gets maximum publicity for the Zimbabwe cause. 

The Vigil was pleased at the publicity given to our petition calling for sanctions against SADC. As you may have seen from our website it was even covered by the Nyasa Times (Malawi). The years we have spent targeting SADC seem to be paying off. 

While the Vigil was taking place, one of our supporters Kudaushe Matimba, formerly of the Bundu Boys, was featured on BBC Radio 3’s programme ‘World Routes’ talking about Zimbabwean music and playing his mbira. You can listen to the programme (for the next seven days) via this link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00nyf0w. Strongly recommended.

A welcome visitor was Caroline Elliott from Scotland Yard who is part of the Metropolitan Police’s Communities Together Strategic Engagement Team with special responsibility for African communities in London. Her job is to help inform them about their rights. For more information, check the Safer Neighbourhoods Website: http://www.met.police.uk/saferneighbourhoods/. There are Safer Neighbourhood teams for all over London and they deal with all kind of concerns.  On the front page of the website there is a red box where people can put in their postcodes – it will then give them contact details for their local team.  In an email sent after the Vigil, Caroline said “It was great to meet with the people I have read so much about over the past months.  And thank you for the warm welcome - as police officers we are not always welcomed so kindly!”  We can’t imagine the Zimbabwe police operating like this!

We had a surprisingly big turnout on a very sodden day.  We were huddled tightly under our tarpaulin while the rain poured down. It was so wet we were unable to form our usual big circle at the end of the Vigil to sing the national anthem.

For latest Vigil pictures check: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zimbabwevigil/.

FOR THE RECORD: 197 signed the register.

EVENTS AND NOTICES:

·           ROHR Liverpool Demonstration. Saturday 28^th November from 2 – 5 pm. Venue: Liverpool City Centre, Church Street (outside Primark). Contact: Desire Chimuka 07917733711, Anywhere Mungoyo 07939913688, Patrick Kushonga 07900857605, Trywell Migeri 07956083758. Future Demonstrations: Saturdays 12^th, 19^th and 26^th December. Same time and venue.

·           ROHR Chelmsford general meeting. Saturday 28^th November from 2 – 6 pm. Venue: 3 Stars, Trent Road, Chelmsford CM1 2LQ. Present: Amnesty International, Chelmsford Mayor, Chelmsford MP and ROHR Executive. Contact: R Mafigo 07944815190, Billy Machekano 07765459538, Martha A Magwaza 07748644911, Tendai Gwanzura 07772192679, Fungai Muzambi 07961635917 or P Mapfumo 07915926323 / 07932216070

·           ROHR Brighton to participate in World AIDS Day event. Saturday 28^th November from 11 am – 6 pm. They have been invited to cook food and take part with other organisations and have been given a stall to advertise ROHR. Venue: Brighthelm Church and Community Centre, North Road, Brighton BN1 1YD. Free food, drama and lots of entertainment. Contact: Sinikiwe Dube 07824668763, Wellington Mamvura 07949595506.

·           ROHR Woking general meeting. Saturday 28^th November from 2 – 5 pm. Venue: 11 Raveswood Court, Hillview Road, Woking GU22 7NR. Contact: Isacc Mudzamiri 07774044873 or Sithokozile Hlokana 07886203113.

·           ROHR Christmas party. Saturday 5^th December, time tba. Venue: Coronation Hall, Stoke Road, Water Eaton, Bletchley, Milton Keynes, MK2 3AB. Stations: Bletchley (nearest) or Central Milton Keynes. Use Bus 5 from both stations. Parking: additional parking is available in the Veterinary Practice next door and on the gravelled area to the front of the Practice building. Further parking is available in the Plough Public House approx 100metres from the hall. Please do not obstruct the public footpath or highway or hamper access to the neighbouring properties. Contact: Martha Jiya 07727016098, Pamela Dunduru 07958386718, Jemias V Mujeyi 07534034594, Rodah Kulhengisa 07983057533 or P Mapfumo 07915926323/07932216070

·           ROHR Brighton general meeting. Saturday 12^th December from 1 – 4 pm. Venue: Community Base, 113 Queens Road, Brighton BN1 3XG. Rohr executives present and a well known lawyer. Substantive committee to be elected. Contact Sinikiwe Dube 07824668763, Wellington Mamvura 07949595506 or P Mapfumo 07915926323/07932216070.

·           Zimbabwe Association’s Women’s Weekly Drop-in Centre. Fridays 10.30 am – 4 pm. Venue: The Fire Station Community and ICT Centre, 84 Mayton Street, London N7 6QT, Tel: 020 7607 9764. Nearest underground: Finsbury Park. For more information contact the Zimbabwe Association 020 7549 0355 (open Tuesdays and Thursdays).

·           Strategic Internship for Zimbabweans organised by Citizens for Sanctuary which is trying to secure work placements for qualified Zimbabweans with refugee status or asylum seekers. For information: http://www.citizensforsanctuary.org.uk/pages/Strategic.html or contact: zimbabweinternship@cof.org.uk.

·           Vote for Betty Makoni of Girl Child Network as one of CNN’s top ten heroes of 2009 via this link: http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cnn.heroes/. 

Vigil Co-ordinators

The Vigil, outside the Zimbabwe Embassy, 429 Strand, London, takes place every Saturday from 14.00 to 18.00 to protest against gross violations of human rights in Zimbabwe. The Vigil which started in October 2002 will continue until internationally-monitored, free and fair elections are held in Zimbabwe. http://www.zimvigil.co.uk.

Miscarriage Of Justice

http://www.radiovop.com

     
      Harare, November 21, 2009 - The Attorney General (AG)'s Office has
promoted  Andrew Kumire, the disgraced prosecutor who recently evaded
serving time in jail after he was sentenced to five days in prison for
contempt of court.

      Kumire, who was the area prosecutor for Chitungwiza, has now been
promoted to area public prosecutor for Harare Province, meaning all
prosecutors at Rotten Row, Mbare and Chitungwiza Magistrates Court will now
report him.

      Kumire is taking over from Jonathan Murombedzi who has been
transferred to Marondera.

      Last month Kumire evaded serving time in jail after he was convicted
of contempt of court and sentenced to five days in prison by Harare
Magistrate Chiwoniso Mutongi.

      Kumire who was prosecuting in the trial of prominent human rights
lawyer Alec Muchadehama who is accused of facilitating the release on bail
of three people accused of terrorism in collusion with Constance Gambara,
the Clerk of High Court Judge Justice, Chinembiri Bhunu was convicted after
a ruling was made against him and he banged his hand on the desk and clicked
his tongue in disapproval at the ruling by Mutongi.

      He stormed out of the court after Mutongi had told her he should get
in prison for five days for his behaviour. He drove off the court yard only
to come back later in the afternoon and was given USD 30 bail by another
magistrate. The matter was heard again on another day and the magistrate
upheld a judgement by Mutongi, saying the prosecutor had to serve his time
in jail. However he never went into jail but instead got a promotion.

      Mutongi, one of the few women magistrates in Zimbabwe,  has since
resigned from the bench citing interference, harassment, and abuse by the
prosecuting authority.

Constitutional Music Concert Barred

http://www.radiovop.com

     
      Mvurwi, November 22, 2009 - Zanu PF politicians from Mashonaland
Central Province have banned a civic society constitutional educational
campaign concert that was slated for this weekend despite the event having
been cleared by the police.

      Artists for Democracy in Zimbabwe Trust (ADZT) national coordinator
Felix Machiridza told RadioVOP: "On Monday we approached the Mvurwi Rural
District Council and they told us that we could go ahead with the concert
but when I returned there on Friday they gave me an excuse that we could not
proceed because there was a provincial netball tournament," said Machiridza.
      He said he told them that they were prepared to move the concert to
Sunday that is when he was told to go and get further clearance from
      the chief executive officer of the Concession Rural District Council.
      "When we got to Concession the CEO openly told us that his hands were
tied and he then referred us to the Provincial Administrator Sylvester
Marumahoko. The PA said he had no authority to clear public events in the
province but only the provincial governor (Martin Dinha) had that power," he
said.

      Machiridza said he then asked for the governor's number but the PA
refused to give him the contact details.
      He was openly told this was a politically challenged province and
political events had to be cleared by the superiors.
      "After I returned back to Harare, I got the number and phoned him but
Dinha was not available," added Machiridza.
      As a result of the deliberate attempts to block the concert, ADZT
moved it to Chinhoyi.
      "We didn't have any problems with the Chinhoyi authorities. It took us
less than 30 minutes to get the police clearance and the Chinhoyi.
      ADZT in conjuction with other civic society organizations that support
the writing of the new constitution using the Parliament led process, such
as Zimrights and the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition have held more than 20
concerts around the country.
      The last one was in Marondera's Rudhaka Stadium where known musicians
like Josphat Somanje, Raymond Majongwe, Maddiz, Snipper and the Mambokadzi
Dancing Group participated.

Bridging the knowledge gap: Part 2

http://www.zimonline.co.za/

by Mutumwa Mawere Monday 23 November 2009

OPINION: Often in the quietness of our time it is not unusual to assume that
our universe represents the entire body of knowledge that exists and is
relevant on any subject matter.

Many of us interact with companies without pausing to appreciate the
instrumentality of such entities in the enterprise of human development and
civilisation.

When I observed that: "The real owners of a business, therefore, is the
customer and yet many look at shareholders as the true owners. If a company,
earns for instance, US$1 million profit the profit does not belong to the
shareholders but to the company . . . Shareholders are only entitled to
income that the company does not need to grow," in my first article in this
series http://www.mmawere.com/article/286 I was acutely conscious that this
statement would attract attention and reaction.

As we continue the conversation on what kind of Africa we want to see, I
believe that it is important that we attempt to reason together to better
understand the relationship between a company, shareholders, directors and
employees.

Equally we must and should understand the relationship between the state,
citizens and state actors if we are to change the direction of Africa's
development.

I was not surprised that in response to my earlier article the Oracle from
Utopia found the general thrust of my article interesting but disagreed with
the above proposition.

He rightly observed that the whole idea behind any business run on anything
other than humanitarian and socialist lines is to make a profit that belongs
ultimately to shareholders who are the owners of a business on account of
the fact that that it is their capital that brings the business into
existence.

What is a company? A company is a juristic person or a legal fiction. It
cannot act but it is individuals who act on its behalf.

It expresses itself through the actions of the people who are responsible
for its affairs and it is the officers who are then accountable for the
policies they decide on or omit to decide on, for the decisions they take or
omit to take, for what they do or omit to do, and for the resulting
consequences.

In law, a company can be sued in a court, sue others, for matters such as
money owed or breach of contract.

Although a company has no voice of its own, it serves as a cover for those
who take decisions.

Shareholders as owners appoint directors to take decisions on behalf of the
company.

Shareholders are no different from natural parents who give birth to another
human being.

Once born the offspring takes on his or her own personality that is separate
and distinct from the parents.

Although the relationship between child and parent is obvious, we rarely
describe the relationship between the two as an ownership one yet in respect
of juristic persons we regard shareholders as owners of a business.

The concept of ownership is a critical one in appreciating the relationship
between the parents of artificial persons and their creation i.e. companies.

Ownership is defined as the ultimate and exclusive rights and control over
property, which may be an object, land/real estate or intellectual property.
Such a right is conferred by a lawful claim or title.

The concept of ownership in not new it has existed for thousand of years and
in all cultures.

It is the basis for many other concepts that form the fundamentals and
foundations of ancient and contemporary modern societies such as money,
debt, trade, insolvency, the criminality of theft and private and public
property.

It is a key foundational principle of a capitalist system.

It is self-propagating in that the titleholder to any property will also own
the economic benefits from the property.

Being a shareholder, company owner, or partner brings with it a range of
challenges no different from the challenges faced by any parent.

A parent has obligations with no defined rights over his/her children.

If one's children do exceptionally well, then a parent will naturally be
proud but cannot assume the rights of the successful child, for example,
going to a bank to unilaterally withdraw funds from the account of the
child.

If parents have no rights over their children, then what rights do
shareholders have over the companies they form?

The only real power that shareholders have is the right to exclude people
they do not want to serve as directors.

The right to remove directors is vested in shareholders.  If they do not
want the direction the company is taking they can invoke the Companies Act
and remove directors and replace them with new ones.

The relationship between shareholders and a company they hold shares in is
non-contractual meaning that the income earned by the company belongs to the
company in the first instance.

The first line on any income statement is the revenue generated from sales
of goods and services.  If a business has no customers it ceases to have the
right to exist.

If for example, you invest in a hotel that fails to attract guests the value
of ownership will be closer to zero.

Being a shareholder of a shelf company will not confer any income rights to
the holder of the share certificate.

There is no purpose of a company other than to serve its customers.

Shareholders are important in putting in place an institutional structure
that delivers value to a willing customer.

Such institutional arrangement will entail appointing directors who when so
appointed cease to represent the interests of shareholders only but the
bundle of interests of all the stakeholders who have an interest in the
enterprise.

Ownership imposes obligations on the title-holder.  If the entity's legal
liabilities do not get redistributed among its owners or members then a
legal shield is said to exist.

The liability of the member or owner is limited to the amount paid for the
shares.

Human beings are perishable assets and yet the enterprises they may
establish when they are alive can exist in perpetuity.

Ownership implies a permanent relationship between the holder and the
property. If human beings cannot last forever how can we then locate the
concept of ownership in human civilization.

We have heard of concepts such as black economic ownership or
indigenization. To the extent that a company is a legal construction and yet
a human being is real, how can a human being be permanently attached to a
company?

In life, one may only temporarily be attached to property implying that
ownership can be transferrable without affecting the underlying entity.

For listed company, the trading of shares takes place outside the company.
Shareholders can change without the quality of service delivered by a
company changing.

If we understand the true meaning of parenthood then it must be easy to
understand the concept of shareholding and the challenges it imposes on the
holder of such rights.

In trying to appreciate what Africa needs to do to advance its cause the
analogy with a company is not far fetched.

Africa's shareholders are its citizens. A nation state is equally a legal
construction. It requires taxpayers to make it a viable entity.

A state cannot exist in a vacuum. Citizens have obligations to make the
state work.

Do we want an Africa that confers rights to citizens only on the basis of
birth?  We often equate indigenousness to a birthright.

Is it sufficient for a person to be entitled to shareholding merely because
one happens to be alive and relevant at a particular time when such right
are being distributed?

How can indigenization programs deal with successor rights?

Where ownership is restricted to a certain class of people, how can one
discriminate between competing groups? Who should get access and who should
not? When one wants to sell, how can one maximize value when the market is
artificially determined?

Many of us do not trust the market as a rational instrument to allocate
resources and yet human civilization has failed to provide any better
system.

What have we learned from the recorded human experiences in terms of what
kind of ownership patterns are best suited to human beings? - ZimOnline

Bill Watch Special of 22nd November 2009[Parliamentary Committee meetings 22nd to 26th November]

BILL WATCH SPECIAL

[22nd November 2009]

House of Assembly Portfolio Committees and Senate Thematic Committees will be meeting in the coming week.

The meetings listed below will be open to the public.  

Members of the public wishing to attend any of these meetings should telephone Parliament first [on Harare 700181], to check with the relevant committee clerk.  Entry to all meetings will be through the Kwame Nkrumah Ave entrance and IDs must be produced.

Monday 23rd November Morning at 10 am

Portfolio Committee on Natural Resources, Environment and Tourism

Briefing from CAMPFIRE Association and oral evidence from Minister of Environment

Committee Room No. 311

Clerk: Mr Ndlovu

Portfolio Committee on Transport and Infrastructure Development

Oral evidence from Air Zimbabwe and Civil Aviation Authority

Committee Room No. 1

Clerk: Ms Macheza

Monday 23rd November Afternoon at 2 pm

Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Water, Lands and Resettlement

Oral evidence from Minister of Finance on agricultural financing

Committee Room No. 413

Clerk:  Mr Ndlovu

Portfolio Committee on Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare

Oral evidence from Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions [ZCTU]

Committee Room No. 1

Clerk: Ms Mushunje

Tuesday 24th November Morning at 10 am

Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Water, Lands and Resettlement

Oral evidence from farmers’ unions

Committee Room No. 4

Clerk:  Mr Ndlovu

Portfolio Committee on Local Government, Rural and Urban Development

Oral evidence from City of Harare

Committee Room No. 413

Wednesday 25th November Morning at 9 am

Thematic Committee on Peace and Security

Oral evidence from Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development

Committee Room No. 4

Thursday 26th November Morning at 10 am

Thematic Committee on Human Rights

Oral evidence on Human Rights Instruments from Inter-Ministerial Committee [Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs]

Committee Room No. 2

Clerk:  Mr Ndlovu

Thursday 26th November Morning at 11 am

Thematic Committee on Indigenisation and Empowerment

Oral evidence from Minister of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development

Government Caucus Room

Veritas makes every effort to ensure reliable information, but cannot take legal responsibility for information supplied.