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KP fails to agree on Marange gems

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

by Own Correspondent     Friday 05 November 2010

JERUSALEM – The Kimberley Process KP) has failed to reach agreement on
whether to allow Zimbabwe to export more diamonds from its controversial
Marange deposits, but Harare immediately said it would resume selling the
gems “without any conditions”.

"An agreement has not yet been finalised," KP chairman Boaz Hirsch told
journalist after a four-day meeting of the world diamond industry regulator
ended in Jerusalem on Thursday.

Hirsch said. “There are a small number of countries that are still in
consultation with their capitals. We had deadlines and the plenary has
ended, but we do hope to reach a consensus in the coming days …. we are
still working with Zimbabwe and other countries.”

But a defiant Zimbabwe Mines Minister Obert Mpofu disagreed, telling
reporters that the southern African country would immediately resume exports
of diamonds from the Marange fields.

Mpofu said Zimbabwe would not be held hostage to the West who have looted
its diamonds for too long.

"These are our God-given resources and we will do with them what we feel is
best for our people,” Mpofu said. "Zimbabwe will sell diamonds without any
conditions. There is no opposition to that."

The KP temporarily lifted a ban on Marange diamond exports in July after its
Zimbabwe monitor Abbey Chikane said Harare had met all conditions set by the
regulator.

Under a consensus agreement reached by the KP and Zimbabwe during the World
Diamond Council (WDC) meeting in Russia three months ago, Harare was allowed
to conduct two supervised auctions of rough diamonds from Marange.

The move saw about 1.5 million carats of stockpiled Marange diamonds going
under the hammer in August and September.

It was not immediately clear what action the KP would take should Zimbabwe
carry out its threat to sell diamonds outside the KP system, with Hirsch
only saying that it was up to individual member countries to uphold the
group’s principles should Zimbabwe begin exports before an agreement is
reached.

WDC president Eli Izhakoff also declined to speculate what action the
organisation that represents the diamond industry would take should Zimbabwe
begin exports before a decision is made.

Izhakoff said the WDC’s position has always been “an inclusive one” rather
than advocating expulsion or the possibility of allowing diamonds to
penetrate the market outside the KP system. – ZimOnline


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Elections chief appeals for cash

http://www.zimonline.co.za

by Sebastian Nyamhangambiri     Friday 05 November 2010

HARARE – Zimbabwe’s elections chief Simpson Mutambanengwe on Thursday said
without an immediate injection of funds his commission will not be able to
carry out reforms key to ensuring that polls expected next year are
credible.

President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai have said
elections to choose a new government to replace their uncomfortable
coalition must take place next year once an exercise to write a new
constitution is completed.

But Mutambanengwe said the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) could only be
able to carry out elections next year if the government urgently provided it
with   funds to fix a voters’ roll that is in shambles and for other work
that must be done to ensure the conduct and outcome of the vote is
acceptable to all parties.

"If the funds are made immediately available for us to carry out preliminary
operations then we will be ready to carry on elections," said Mutambanengwe,
a former Harare High Court judge brought in to head the ZEC as part of
reforms meant to ensure elections in the country are free and fair.

Mutambanengwe, who was serving on the Nambian bench after leaving the Harare
High Court, said he wants a voters’ roll that "is acceptable and that
satisfies all stakeholders.”

Critics say the present voters’ register is outdated with thousands of dead
people still appearing on the voter’s register and have accused Mugabe and
his ZANU-PF party of benefiting from the shambles.

In what seemed a veiled warning that he will not be railroaded by political
leaders into conducting an election without proper preparations, the former
judge said: "I know politicians have been talking about it, saying there is
going to be elections next year.

“But the point is whether (conditions are conducive) to enable us to carry
out are our mandate according to the precepts can only be determined by
ZEC."

Zimbabwe’s elections have in the past been blighted by violence and charges
of vote rigging, which saw the European Union and United States slapping
sanctions on Mugabe and senior members of ZANU-PF.

The country's most recent election in 2008 ended in stalemate after
Tsvangirai defeated Mugabe for the first time but election officials
withheld results for five weeks, only to call for a run-off vote, which was
marred by violence and boycotted by Tsvangirai citing deaths among his
supporters at the hands of ZANU-PF.

Mugabe was elected unopposed but the veteran President’s blood-soaked
victory was rejected by the international community including some of his
African allies forcing him to agree to form a power-sharing government with
Tsvangirai. – ZimOnline.


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Four teachers severely beaten by ZANU PF youths in Masvingo

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Lance Guma
05 November 2010

As the country once again plunges into election mode ZANU PF youths in
Bikita severely assaulted four teachers who had dared to suggest during a
discussion that the country was not ready for elections next year. A report
by the Daily News website says three of the teachers are battling for their
lives at Silveira Mission hospital. A nurse at the hospital has also
confirmed the admissions.

During a discussion in a local pub the four teachers are said to have argued
against the holding of elections next year, citing rampant political
violence. It is the tragic irony of the incident that their point was later
confirmed by the intolerant attitude of the ZANU PF youths who went on to
beat them up.

Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe Masvingo provincial Co-coordinator,
Munyaradzi Chauke, told the Daily News that Charles Gono, Ephraim Huyo and
Douglas Muchato were battling for their lives in hospital while Andrew
Mutuzu, who escaped, reported the incident at their office after he fled
Chizondo secondary school where he worked with his colleagues.

“Violence against teachers in the rural areas is still widespread especially
when it comes to issues that have something to do with politics. Our members
were beaten up for contributing their views during a debate at a bottle
store. They were assaulted because their views differed with that of the
ZANU PF leader Mugabe on the timing of elections. This is not fair and we
cannot continue to be treated as punching bags by ZANU PF members,’ Chauke
told the Daily News.

A war vet in the area, calling himself Comrade Lenin, is reported to have
bragged that ZANU PF would unleash violence on their opponents. ‘We have
since set up our war machinery since we are already in election mood since
the day our president announced that there will be polls next year and
campaigning is already under way. As for those who oppose our party, like
these teachers, I feel pity for them because we were ordered to deal with
them,’ the website quoted him as saying.


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Chombo, wife fight over assets

Herald, Friday, November 05, 2010

By Peter Matambanadzo

LOCAL Government, Rural and Urban Development Minister Ignatius
Chombo is embroiled in an acrimonious property-sharing wrangle with
his wife, Marian, from whom he has been separated for the past three
years.

The protracted divorce and property sharing dispute is now before the
High Court.

The estranged couple agreed to divorce, but failed to reach a
settlement on the sharing of vast properties spread countrywide
despite several pre-trial conferences held to try to resolve the
matter without going to trial.

On Wednesday, Judge President Justice George Chiweshe referred the
contentious issues to trial after another attempt to resolve the
matter hit a brick wall.

During the civil trial, the court will seek to come up with a formula
on how to share the matrimonial property.

The court will hear evidence regarding contributions made by each of
the parties in acquiring the properties.

The court will look at money invested as well as generation of ideas.

The hearing date is yet to be set.

Mr Wilson Manase of Manase and Manase is acting for Minister Chombo
while Mr Motsi Sinyoro of Sinyoro and Partners is representing Mrs
Marian Chombo (nee Muhloyi).

The two separated in 2007 and Minister Chombo wants a divorce, citing
irreconcilable differences.

"The marriage between the two parties is irretrievably broken down to
an extent that the two are not reconcilable and no prospects for . .
. restoration of a normal marriage relationship," stated the minister
in his declaration filed with the court.

He says the two have not lived together as husband and wife for at
least 24 months and there is no more love or affection.

Minister Chombo has pledged to look after their two children, born in
1986 and 1989.

"He will take care of his two children's educational requi-rements,
including air fares once a year to and from school, tuition and
ancillary expenses," he said.

Minister Chombo says during the subsistence of the marriage they
acquired property like furniture, utensils and electronic equipment.

He wants the couple's two houses in Alexandra Park and Greendale
awarded to his wife.

The minister also proposes that all movable property at their Allan
Grange Farm go to Mrs Chombo on condition that farming equipment
which is not on loan or not yet fully-paid for is valuated and shared.

He also wants to be granted the first offer to buy the equipment.

Minister Chombo, however, is not agreeable to paying his estranged
wife the US$2 000 monthly maintenance she is claiming, arguing that
she can earn a living from the properties and businesses he wants to
cede to her.

Mrs Chombo, in her summary of evidence, claims she was customarily
married to the minister in the United States in 1985.

In 1993 she said they renewed their vows and remarried under the
Marriages Act (Chapter 5:11).

"Defendant (Mrs Chombo) will testify that the relationship became
strained when plaintiff (Minister Chombo) left matrimonial home
saying that he wanted to sort out some personal issues and promised
to come back home," Mrs Chombo says.

She says since then the marriage has been strained but there are
prospects for restoration of normal marriage.

Given a chance to reflect on the matter without undue influence, Mrs
Chombo feels the marriage can be successfully resuscitated.

On the matrimonial assets, Mrs Chombo says she signed a post-nuptial
agreement stating that they will share 50 percent of all properties
acquired - whether held personally or in proxy - during the
subsistence of their marriage.

She averred that on top of fixed assets including a borehole,
generator, coldroom, it will be just for Minister Chombo to pay a
monthly maintenance of US$2 000 until her death or re-marriage.

She also wants the court to award her 15 of the family vehicles that
include:

- 4 Toyota Land Cruisers
- 3 Mercedes Benzes
- Mahindra
- 2 Nissan Wolfs,
- 1 Toyota Vigo,
- 1 Mazda BT-50,
- 1 Bus
- 1 Nissan Hardbody
- 1 Toyota Hilux

Mrs Chombo is also claiming other properties that include:
- 2 Glen View houses
- 2 flats in Queensdale,
- A property in Katanga Township,
- Stand Number 1037 Mount Pleasant Heights
- 4 Norton business stands
- 3 Chinhoyi business stands,
- 4 Banket business stands,
- 1 commercial stand in Epworth,
- 2 residential stands in Chirundu
- 4 commercial stands in Kariba
- 1 stand in Ruwa
- 1 stand in Chinhoyi,
- 2 stands in Mutare
-  2 stands in Binga.
- 4 stands in Victoria Falls
-  1 stand in Zvimba Rural
- Chitungwiza (two residential and two commercial stands)
- Beitbridge (four stands),
- 20 stands in Crow Hill, Borrowdale
- 10 stands in Glen Lorne,
- 2 flats at Eastview Gardens (B319 and B320)
- 1 flat at San Sebastian Flats in the Avenues, Harare
- Number 79 West Road, Avondale.
- Greendale house
- Number 36 Cleveland Road, Milton Park
- Number 135 Port Road, Norton,
- 2 Bulawayo houses.
- Number 18 Cuba Rd, Mount Pleasant
- Number 45 Basset Crescent, Alexandra Park,
- 2 Chegutu houses
- 1 Glen Lorne house (Harare)
- 2 houses (Victoria Falls).
- Stand along Simon Mazorodze Road,
- Norton (one stand)
- Avondale (two stands)
- 365 Beverly House (one stand)
- Bulawayo (three stands),
- Mica Point Kariba (one stand).

She further wants the court to share farming equipment at New Allan
Grange Farm including three tractors, two new combine harvesters, two
boom sprayers and two engines.

She is also seeking an order compelling Minister Chombo to cede to
her shares in the family's 10 companies including Dickest, Hamdinger,
Landberry and Track in Security Company.

Mrs Chombo, in her court papers, is also claiming cattle at Darton
Farm, shared chicken runs, pigsties, a shop, grinding mill, house,
mills, tractors, lorries, six trucks, five of which are non-runners,
four trailers (three non-runners) and one truck.

She added that other interests were the Mvurwi Mine, hunting safari
lodges in Chiredzi, Hwange, Magunje and Chirundu as well as
properties in South Africa.


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Chombo must be fired!

Friday 05 November 2010

The published part of the vast personal asset register of Ignatius Chiminya Chombo ,a close ally of Robert Mugabe, a senior Zanu PF politburo member and a Cabinet minister, arising from his marriage dispute before the High Court, clearly points to his unsuitability for public office. The salary and benefits of Cabinet ministers are a matter of public record. There is no way a single, honest person in high office could have managed to acquire such treasure, other than through abuse of office.

It is without doubt that Chombo, a former teacher, neither inherited the wealth nor ever owned a business empire to justify personal ownership of such a sickening amount of wealth. Before his appointment to government, slightly more than a decade ago, Chombo’s claim to property was a smallholding in the former African purchase area of Chitomborwizi near Chinhoyi. In the absence of an explanation of how he managed to acquire such an obscene array of properties from Chirundu to Chiredzi; from Victoria Falls to Mutare; a fleet of top of the range vehicles and commercial trucks; 10 companies; commercial farms; mines and safari lodges, Chombo must simply be relieved of his official duties and called to account as he is clearly unfit for public office.

Mugabe seems to shield Chombo. After the Harare City Council reported him to the police in April 2010 for his involvement in shady deals in the city, involving an irregular acquisition of more than 20 hectares of prime land in the plush suburb of Helensvale, the police ignored the complaint and never mounted a criminal investigation.

The MDC understands that Chombo’s assets are merely a tip of the iceberg, compared to the collective loot that the entire top Zanu PF leadership holds as personal and family estates. There are numerous reports of other senior leaders owning literally whole towns, like Rusape and Victoria Falls. That Chombo has been able to acquire such booty in such a short period of time makes nonsense claims by Mugabe and Zanu PF that travel restrictions on their senior party leadership are the prime cause of Zimbabwe’s slide into an economic abyss.

The MDC has been vindicated by the latest expose inside Zanu PF. The party has always maintained that Zanu PF politicians often raid state coffers and national assets for personal use.  It is now clear from the latest case that the collapse of Zimbabwe was authored and promoted by Zanu PF through unbridled asset-stripping, corruption, violence and dictatorship, as evidenced by the revelations emanating from the domestic tiff between Chombo and his ex-wife, Marian, which is now spilling out into the public domain. Under an MDC government, no public official can get away with such greed and avarice. Inside the MDC family, our leaders have signed a code of ethics and values; and have declared their private property and assets for public scrutiny.

On a national scale, the MDC calls for a comprehensive inquiry into the private interests of all senior Zanu PF leaders and senior public officials, from any other sections of our society, to ascertain the impact of the looting that has taken place in Zimbabwe during the past 30 years. Only through a judicial commission of inquiry can Zimbabweans, in the public interest, be able to know fully the plunderers of their national heritage and finite resources.

Together, united, winning, ready for real change!!


--
MDC Information & Publicity Department


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Zanu PF dismisses Mabhena death threats claims

http://www.dailynews.co.zw/

By Guthrie Munyuki
Friday, 05 November 2010 10:05

HARARE - Zanu PF has laughed off claims by Norman Mabhena, the young brother
of the late national hero, Welshman, who has relocated his family to a safe
house citing “increasing” attempts at his life by members of the
revolutionary party.

Welshman Mabhena died in Bulawayo last month after a long struggle with
diabetes and high blood pressure.

Rugare Gumbo, Zanu PF spokesman, said Norman Mabhena was seeking attention
but was irrelevant to their ethos and would not cause them sleepless nights.

“This is downright nonsense. There are many people who have opposed Zanu PF
but are still walking on the streets.  Why would we want to eliminate him
when we honoured his brother and our comrade, Welshman Mabhena, whom we
conferred with a national hero status?

“It’s not about physical elimination of people but elimination of ideas. As
far as we are concerned, Norman is not part of us, will never be with us and
we will also never be with him as our ideas and his are different,” Gumbo
told the Daily News.

Mabhena has said the pressure on his life and family has been increasing and
fears that Zanu PF henchmen are out to eliminate him in revenge of the snub
the Mabhena family delivered to President Robert Mugabe when it refused to
have the late nationalist buried at the national shrine in Harare.

Norman Mabhena and his family were fiercely opposed to have Welshman buried
at the Heroes Acre despite the Zanu PF Politburo declaring him a national
hero.

The snub was seen as a kick in the teeth for Mugabe and Zanu PF who
desparately  tried to have the family change their decision which eventually
stuck as the former ZAPU strongman was buried at Lady Stanley cemetery in
Bulawayo.

Mabhena has claimed that the threats on his life have increased after being
trailed by unknown people whom he claimed attempted to sweep him off a
bridge in Bulawayo on October 29.

He said his family had been moved to a safe house following the incident.

“I thought that the first time we received the death threats, it was going
to be a once-off issue, however, my family is no longer safe as we have
continued to receive threats and I have moved my family to another location,
which I cannot obviously disclose,” Mabhena told a local daily paper of the
latest incident.

Inexplicably, Mabhena, who is the national executive committee member of the
main faction of the MDC, has not reported the threats to the police.

“We need co-operation from Mr Mabhena. In such situations, we expect a
person to report to the police so that we take necessary action. It’s not
about a political party, it’s about the security of an individual,” police
spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena told the Daily News.

The MDC issued a statement pleading with the law enforcement agents to take
action against what it said were dark forces in Zanu PF.

“The MDC condemns attempts by Zanu PF to eliminate one of our top leaders in
the party, Norman Mabhena. The MDC, the Mabhena family and the nation will
hold Zanu PF responsible if anything happens to Norman Mabhena or any of his
family members.

“Zanu PF should leave the Mabhena family alone as they mourn the life of a
celebrated revolutionary, who fought for the liberation of this country and
stood up against Zanu PF’s corruption, the traits the MDC is fighting for to
deliver real change to the people,” said the statement.


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Robert Mugabe launches into rap

http://www.guardian.co.uk

Octogenarian becomes star of hip-hop videos calculated to appeal to young
voters ahead of possible elections next year

    * David Smith, Africa correspondent
    * guardian.co.uk, Friday 5 November 2010 16.28 GMT

From William Hague's baseball cap to Gordon Brown's iPod, politicians'
attempts to woo the young have often invited ridicule.

Now Robert Mugabe may have outdone them all. Africa's oldest leader, 86, is
the improbable star of music videos in which he chats with a teenage rapper,
uses urban slang and mocks "old white folks' behinds".

Even his fiercest supporters would be hard pushed to describe him as the
epitome of cool. But the radical makeover seems calculated to appeal to
young voters in possible elections next year. In the past this task has
generally been left to his notoriously brutal Zanu-PF youth militia.

One of the videos, Diaspora, combines an old Mugabe speech berating
Zimbabwean exiles with a pulsing dance beat. The president can be heard
saying in the shona language: "You run off to England, you get there and you
get a job cleaning old white folks' behinds. Who are you running to?"

In another, shown frequently on state television, he sits in his office,
picks up a mobile phone and asks a young singer, "Zvirisei-sei?", which
translated means "Wassup?"

Zimbabwe's state-run newspaper, the Herald, said the songs are from an
album, Get Connected, by a group called The Born Free Crew. "Some of the
songs on the album pay tribute to President Mugabe for advocating the total
emancipation of not only Zimbabwe but also the continent at large," it
added.

"The album opens with the track Network, about the need for people to stay
connected with their country as well as the leadership, with President
Mugabe at the helm."

The paper said a copy of the album was recently presented to the president.

Jonathan Moyo, a Zanu-PF MP formerly known as Mugabe's spin doctor, said the
videos had been created by young musicians rather than Mugabe himself but he
assumed they have the president's blessing.

"He has not made this video, they are by young musicians," he said. "These
young musicians have decided to put across a message with the assistance of
president Mugabe's speeches from the archives and footage from the archives.
It's not like he spent three days shooting them."

But Moyo admitted he did not know whether Mugabe had recorded the line
Zvirisei-sei, or been subjected to artful editing.

He added: "I can't imagine president Mugabe would disapprove because there
is nothing offensive about them. He must be charmed by the realisation that
young people reached out to him.

"Normally you'd expect young people to stay away, as he's been presented by
his opponents as too old, out of touch and a political dinosaur. This shows
the opposite reality. It's not him trying to incorporate young people into
his message; it's young people incorporating him into his message."

Heidi Holland, author of the biography Dinner with Mugabe, said she would
not be surprised if the 30-year ruler had a hand in the videos.

"Mugabe will stop at nothing to win because that's the core of his
personality," she said. "He will adopt whatever persona is required. During
an election he does put on all the populist stuff. It's just rather strange
for an octogenarian to be donning shades and using hip-hop language."

The videos are not Mugabe's only populist ploy ahead of his desired
electoral contest with the Movement for Democratic Change next year. He
recently handed a cheque for $300,000 to the Zimbabwean runner-up of the TV
reality show Big Brother Africa All Stars. It seemed to work as that
runner-up, Munyaradzi Chidzonga, has agreed to campaign for the president.

In the past Mugabe has also flooded state radio with pro-Zanu-PF jingles.
South Africa's Mail & Guardian newspaper noted today: "His handlers have
tried to make him look cool before. In 2008 they invoked Tupac, using lyrics
from the Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z album, to send the message to voters that
their troubles were only temporary.

"Using Tupac's lyrics from the song Keep Ya Head Up, one banner declared:
'Through every dark night, there's a bright day after that. So no matter how
hard it gets, stick your chest out, keep ya head up.'"

But young Zimbabweans may take more convincing. One 27-year-old, who did not
wish to be named, said: "I can imagine going out in Harare or a rural area
and seeing people dancing, but because it's catchy, not because they're
going to vote."


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Ncube throws water on calls for early elections

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

By Staff Reporter
Friday, 05 November 2010 16:13

HARARE - The secretary general of the smaller Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC)  party, Welshman Ncube has a strong message for his colleagues in the
larger MDC party led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

“Why would some people think they will agree with Mugabe on a big thing like
elections when they can’t agree on small things like the appointment of the
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) Governor?” asked Ncube as he threw a veiled
attack to his colleagues in the MDC who have taken a position that the
country’s political woes would only be solved by an early election.

“If you can’t agree on simple appointments what makes you think you can
agree on something like a United Nations observer mission for elections?”

Ncube said this while speaking at a broadcasting media conference hosted by
the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) in Harare on Friday.

He said the Global Political Agreement (GPA) which he negotiated together
with representatives of Tsvangirai’s party and Zanu PF representatives was a
peace document.

“The GPA was a peace agreement, Zimbabwe was literally at war but when the
peace collapses do you say let’s go back to war and fight or you go back to
the peace agreement to see what went wrong and how it can be solved ?” said
Ncube.

Ncube even called his colleagues in the larger MDC party to look at things
in a more sober view.

“Any election called by Mugabe in anger cannot be anything other than a Zanu
PF victory. It will take us back to June 2008,” said Ncube who said the
country’s reform agenda has not been completed and any call for an election
will be an exercise in futility because no persuasion has been made on
Mugabe to reform the country’s electoral laws.

He even said no one was guaranteed an electoral victory.

Ncube’s view of suspending an election has been interpreted as a fear of the
plebiscite because of his party’s failure to command popular support.
But he said Mugabe and Tsvangirai suffer from what he called the “Cow Dung
Effect.”

“We are slowly retreating as political parties to our electoral mode
trenches and the moment we are in those trenches  it is unlikely that we are
going to have those reforms which is why some of us think it was a mistake
to start talking about elections,” said Ncube.

“The difficulty  is that we have political gladiators understandably who are
more preoccupied with proving to the nation who has less fear for the
elections than the other. They have all this macho-mentality when all
objective indicators show that it’s not in the national interest to talk
about election or even talk about it when you have not even completed the
constitution making process.”

Mugabe and Tsvangirai seem to have agreed that the country should go for an
election next year after which a new government will be formed.

Mugabe has indicated that he will not want to extend the lifespan of the GPA
whose term is supposed to run until the end of February 2011.

But on Thursday the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) made it clear that
it had no money to run the poll. Among some of the things that it will need
to do is to overhaul the country’s voters roll which is in shambles. This it
says will take several months to complete.

The country’s broadcast media which is currently monopolised by the state
owned Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) will need to be opened up to
ensure equal representation of the divergent political voices


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Passport Panic for Zimbabwean Migrants in South Africa

http://www.voanews.com

Darren Taylor | Johannesburg, South Africa 05 November 2010

If the Zimbabwe government cannot deliver passports, where do all these
people with passports get them?

Under new South African government regulations, Zimbabweans living in Africa’s
strongest economy must apply for new four-year residence permits by December
31. Those the authorities find to be working, studying or owning businesses
in South Africa – and the few with refugee status – will be allowed to stay.
The rest could be deported, says Jackie McKay, South Africa’s immigration
chief.

Zimbabweans have been streaming into South Africa for the past decade
because of political violence and poverty in their homeland. The
International Organization for Migration says there are up to two million
living illegally in South Africa.

Migrants without valid Zimbabwean passports are barred from applying for the
new residence documents. Monitors of South Africa’s revised immigration
policy say this requirement puts many Zimbabweans currently living in South
Africa in grave danger of being deported beginning early next year. They
question the Zimbabwean authorities’ ability to deliver all the travel
documents needed by immigrants before the year-end deadline for permit
applications.

South African and Zimbabwean government officials say the “vast majority” of
Zimbabweans in South Africa already have passports. But observers – such as
human rights activists, immigration analysts and groups representing
migrants – say exactly the opposite.

“The 31st December deadline is unrealistic. The major problem with that
deadline is that there are thousands of Zimbabweans who do not have
passports,” says Gabriel Shumba, a lawyer and director of the Zimbabwe
Exiles Forum.

Tara Polzer, from Wits University’s Forced Migration Studies Program, agrees
with Shumba, commenting, “That is one of the biggest hurdles for this whole
process. It’s actually quite concerning if the institutions involved are
going into it without recognizing that as a real hurdle.”

Braam Hanekom, who manages an NGO that advocates for immigrant rights, says,
“Only about ten percent of Zimbabweans here have passports. Those that have
them tend to be among the more privileged of the immigrants – those from the
urban areas and those who have access to [money] to afford the passports.”

But McKay insists that “most” Zimbabweans in South Africa do indeed have
passports – despite the fact that hordes of Zimbabweans from all over South
Africa have been besieging their consulate in central Johannesburg for more
than a month, desperate for the travel documents. Queues have been so long
and service so slow, that passport seekers have been sleeping on pavements
below the building for days on end.

As a reason for McKay’s view that most Zimbabweans in South Africa have
passports, Polzer says the South African government appears to be relying
“solely” on information it’s been given by its Zimbabwean counterpart.

“The Zimbabwean authorities obviously have an interest in making everything
appear as smooth as possible. But I think there’s plenty of evidence that
South Africa’s Home Affairs Department can draw on to show that the vast
majority of Zimbabweans in South Africa definitely do not hold passports,”
she says.

But Zimbabwe’s consul general in South Africa, Chris Mapanga, describes such
statements as “malicious.” He asks, “If the Zimbabwe government cannot
deliver passports, where do all these people with passports get them? All
those people who are now applying for these new permits at (South African)
Home Affairs offices, where did they get their passports if the Zimbabwe
government cannot deliver passports?”

But Elinor Sisulu, a Zimbabwean academic of international renown who once
worked for her country’s government, responds that Zimbabwe’s passport
application process is “dysfunctional at best. Even in Harare, there’s
administrative chaos.… There are huge problems in getting passports in
Zimbabwe. It’s very, very difficult to get a Zimbabwean passport.”

Mapanga scoffs at her comments, saying, “Hey, these NGO people. They make
things up. They lie. The fact is that Zimbabwe has a very efficient
(passport) system.”

But Austin Moyo, chairman of the South African branch the Movement for
Democratic Change, one of the parties in Zimbabwe’s unity government,
maintains that most Zimbabweans in South Africa don’t have passports “for a
very simple reason.”

“Most of them came (to South Africa) through (illegal) border jumping and
they did not have any documents,” he says.

McKay responds that Moyo is “wrong.”

“Most Zimbabweans come into the country legally. The statistics and the
facts from our movement control system at Beit Bridge (border post) show
that. And our system shows that they have passports,” he says.

NGOs, immigration experts and groups representing Zimbabweans expressed
surprised at McKay’s statements. “The whole world accepts that only a
fraction of migrants are in South Africa legally. There are loads of expert
international studies that show that. (McKay’s) kind of denialist (sic)
stance is shocking,” says Shumba.

But the immigration chief continued, “Even at our refugee reception centers,
Zimbabweans that are applying for refugee status or asylum status, most of
them have indicated that they do indeed have Zimbabwean passports.”


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Truth in Zimbabwean media increasingly difficult to find

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Tererai Karimakwenda
05 November, 2010

Several reports have appeared recently in independent newspapers, regarding
the ongoing battle for succession within ZANU PF. Some have included
interviews with top officials and include information that only trusted
insiders would have access to. This has intensified the debate over the
alleged infiltration of independent papers by Mugabe’s party and put some
journalists on the suspect list.

The most recent report to raise questions appeared this week in The
Independent newspaper and was headlined “Mnangagwa takes lead in Mugabe
succession race”. The piece was written by Faith Zaba, who has a history of
writing controversial political reports, some of which have been strongly
refuted by the MDC and described by them as “a figment of her imagination”.
In fact the MDC threatened to sue The Independent over one report in which
Zaba claimed that three MDC ministers were being investigated for
corruption.

This week she said Mnangagwa’s hopes of succeeding Mugabe had been gloomy,
after the Mujuru faction won key party positions in the Women’s and Youth
Leagues and held most posts in the politburo. But that had all changed as
“Top Zanu PF officials are now convinced that Mnangagwa is being groomed to
take over when Mugabe retires after the next elections”.

The ‘evidence’ used for this conclusion was the fact that her sources said
Mnangagwa “is the only Defence Minister that drives around in a
mini-motorcade. Former Defence Ministers Sydney Sekeramayi, and the late
Moven Mahachi never had that privilege”.

Zaba also claims that there is talk that Mnangagwa is using the presidential
helicopter. She quotes Mnangagwa dismissing this on Wednesday, saying he
uses an army helicopter to travel outside Harare, which has similar colours
to the one used by the president.

Some observers believe the report was planted by Jonathan Moyo, a very close
friend to Mnangagwa. The link between Moyo and Zaba is not clear but there
are rumors that suggest a very close friendship between the two.

It is Moyo who was named the ringleader in the failed Tsholotsho coup plot
in 2004 when Mnangagwa’s allies gathered to draw up a plan to secure his
position as vice president. The plan backfired and led to many being
punished by Mugabe. But Moyo and Mnangagwa survived.

As the Zimbabwe crisis gets more complex and as in-fighting within political
parties intensifies, it is the long suffering Zimbabwean people who have to
try and find the truth in reports carried in the media. And it is the long
suffering, truly independent journalists, who also have to continue to
battle to find the truth.


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Norway best, Zimbabwe worst places to live: U.N.

http://in.reuters.com

By Patrick Worsnip

UNITED NATIONS | Fri Nov 5, 2010 12:01am IST

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Oil-rich Norway remains the best country in the
world to live in, while Zimbabwe, afflicted by economic crisis and AIDS, is
the least desirable, according to an annual U.N. rating released on
Thursday.

The assessment came in a so-called human development index, a measure of
well-being published by the U.N. Development Program for the past 20 years
that combines individual economic prosperity with education levels and life
expectancy.

The UNDP placed Norway, Australia and New Zealand at the top and Niger -- 
last year's back-marker -- the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zimbabwe
at the bottom, as Western countries again led the list while sub-Saharan
African nations trailed.

Japan headed the field in life expectancy, at 83.6 years, with Afghanistan
last at little more than half of that -- 44.6 years. The tiny Alpine state
of Liechtenstein had by far the highest per capita annual income -- $81,011,
460 times higher than last-placed Zimbabwe on $176.

Overall, the index contained some significant changes near the top compared
with last year, with the United States rising to fourth from 13th and
Iceland -- hard hit by the global financial crisis -- plummeting to 17th
from third.

But UNDP officials said the figures were not fully comparable due to changes
in calculation methods this year.

Per capita gross national income, which includes aid and remittances, has
been used instead of gross domestic product, while in education literacy
levels have been replaced by average years of schooling.

Due to difficulties in obtaining the required figures from some countries,
only 169 of the 192 U.N. member states were graded. Absentees included North
Korea.

LONG-TERM TRENDS

Instead of year-on-year shifts, this year's report focused on what it said
were upward long-term trends, assessing developments in 135 countries since
1970.

"The overall message is actually quite positive," Jeni Klugman, lead author
of the report, told journalists. "What we find is that the world is much
better off than it was," including a doubling of incomes in real terms over
40 years.

The report says only three countries have a lower human development index
than in 1970 -- Congo, torn by conflict since the 1990s, Zambia, hit by
falls in the price of copper, its main export, and Zimbabwe, where inflation
reached 500 billion percent two years ago.

According to UNDP, the country to have made the most progress in the past
four decades is the Gulf state of Oman, because of major health and
education improvements, with China in second place due to its prodigious
economic growth.

"This report shows that the gap in health and education outcomes between
developed and developing countries has narrowed significantly over the past
40 years, even though the income divide, with a few notable exceptions,
worsened," UNDP chief Helen Clark told a meeting to launch the index.

This year's report also drew up new indicators measuring the impact of
inequality in the distribution of health, education and income, as well as
of gender inequality.

On distribution it found that the country with the least inequality was the
Czech Republic, while Mozambique had the most. The Netherlands had the least
gender inequality, while Yemen had the most, the survey said.


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Zimbabwe - An Unfriendly Investment Destination

http://news.radiovop.com/

05/11/2010 08:24:00

Harare, November 05, 2010 – Zimbabwe has been ranked 157th investor friendly
country in the world out of 183, the World Bank said Thursday.

Best Doroh, World Bank Finance and Private Sector Development Specialist
said at a press conference in Harare, Zimbabwe's neighbour Zambia had come
out better off at number 76.

The World Bank titled “Doing Business 2011” was done for the period from
June 2009 to 2010.

“Zambia performed much better. Our (Zimbabwe) business environment, our laws
have remained unreformed for the past year,” Doroh said.

It takes about 90 days to complete all the stages of registering and
starting up a business in Zimbabwe. The country has been making plans to set
up a one stop shop for setting up a company through the Zimbabwe Investment
Agency (ZIA) but this has not materialised.

Out of 183 countries Zimbabwe has been 128 in terms of businesses access to
credit lines and number 143 out of 183 in terms of starting a business.

Indigenisation regulations have scared investors away in the past months
after the government led by President Robert Mugabe moved to implement
empowerment regulations that will see all foreign firms worth more than US
500 000 dollars lose 51 percent stake to locals.

Foreign companies are still submitting their proposals to the Indigenisation
ministry.

The World Bank said their report “analyses regulations that apply to an
economy’s businesses during their lifecycle, including start-up and
operations, trading across borders, paying taxes and closing a business.”


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UN, EU, AU and SADC election monitors needed in Zimbabwe now


By Clifford Chitupa Mashiri, Political Analyst, London 05/11/10

The international isolation of Mugabe’s Zanu-pf regime is growing at an
unprecedented pace amidst fears that Zimbabwe is sitting on a knife edge due
to increasing political violence. The momentum should not be lost to Mugabe’s
diversionary tactics anymore. The latest in a series of Mugabe’s major
diplomatic flops was the decision by the Kimberly Process Certification
Scheme in Jerusalem on Thursday 4th November 2010, to uphold a ban
preventing Zimbabwe from exporting its controversial diamonds due to
allegations of human rights violations by government soldier despite threats
by AAG to flood the world market with under-priced diamonds if they are not
allowed to export (Associated Press, 04/11/10).

This comes in the wake of another diplomatic fiasco when Jacob Zuma of South
Africa failed to get EU targeted sanctions on his comrade in arms lifted
soon after the US snub of SADC on sanctions (Newsday, 14/10/10). It looks
like the net is closing in on Mugabe and his cronies unless there is a
restoration of human rights and the rule of law in the country. As if that
is not enough, the IMF expressed concern this week of the “deteriorating
political climate in Zimbabwe” (Voanews, 03/11/10). There could be no better
time for the civil society in Zimbabwe to vigorously campaign for the
immediate deployment of an advance party of United Nations (UN), European
Union (EU) and African Union (AU) and SADC election monitors and
peacekeepers to help prepare a level playing field.

Things should not be left to the last minute. Claims that there will be no
elections due to funding problems could be a ploy to take the opposition by
surprise. Civil society leaders should be wary of possible CIO infiltration
by being diverted from combating repression to making worthless regional
missions to SADC. Similarly, suggestions of a pre-election deal with
securocrats could be a Zanu-pf time-buying political gimmick because
everything about security sector reform is already in the GPA. All that
remains is for Mugabe to implement the GPA with all its imperfections
without delay.

One of the eminent African Elders, Nelson Mandela’s wife Graca Machel said
SADC has taken too long to solve the problems in Zimbabwe and that it was
time to tell Mugabe to respect the will of the people. “I want to say to the
leadership who are in government in Zimbabwe...a government must protect its
citizens…it’s how you treat your own citizens, that’s where your legitimacy
comes from,” she told church leaders who were planning to fast for Zimbabwe
(Zimeye, 22/01/09). Amazingly, there has been a rare admission of failure at
least by one SADC leader.

Botswana’s Foreign Minister, Phandu Skelemani told SW Radio Africa last
year: “Well as we have said before, we at SADC have failed the people of
Zimbabwe. We have simply failed to tell the leadership, the political
leadership in Zimbabwe that what they are doing is wrong, it is undemocratic
and that they ought to respect the people and do everything with the people
as the priority. That SADC has failed to do, so SADC has virtually achieved
nothing in respect of Zimbabwe. It is unfortunate but it is true” (Mmegi
Online, 29/01/09). The frustration with SADC’s role in Zimbabwe is traceable
to the time Mbeki was the mediator and is ever-growing.

Zimbabwean scholar, Brian Raftopuolos said that SADC’s announcement in
February that Mbeki’s mediation had resulted in the two political parties
reaching an ‘agreement on all substantive matters relating to the political
situation in Zimbabwe’ and that the outstanding matters were merely
procedural was the “worst kind of political dishonesty,” (The Mail &
Guardian online(19/03/08).

In an editorial entitled: ‘SADC Has Neither Bark Nor Bite’ the Zimbabwe
Independent last month declared that SADC has failed to be firm, “especially
with Mugabe, by demanding a resolution to the outstanding issues so that
work to build the country continues in earnest (Zimbabwe Independent,
24/09/10). SADC’s or more precisely, South Africa’s neutrality on the
Zimbabwe issue has always been nebulous.

African church leaders were shocked to hear the then South African President
Thabo Mbeki allegedly say that he supported Mugabe and that MDC and its
leader leader Morgan Tsvangirai were “puppets of the West” according to an
article by Gerald Harper on the Zimbabwemetro website on 05/05/08. Further
controversy was caused by the facilitator’s 10-page letter to Morgan
Tsvangirai. The perception of South Africa’s bias was reinforced by Jacob
Zuma’s Foreign Minister recently who pledged to use South Africa’s seat at
the UN Security Council to oppose any sanctions against Mugabe.

Although, we need African Union and SADC election monitors alongside the UN
and EU contingent, over the years until 2005, SADC countries have
demonstrated their solidarity with Zimbabwe for instance, by calling on the
Commonwealth and the European Union (EU) to lift targeted smart sanctions
against Mugabe and his inner circle, or refusing to attend SADC-EU
ministerial meetings that excluded Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe Election Support
Network, Report on the Zimbabwe 29 March Harmonised election and 27 June
2008, page 19).

In April 2005, SADC and African Union observers endorsed Zimbabwe’s
parliamentary election which was won by Mugabe’s Zanu-pf party. SADC said
the vote reflected the will of the people despite other monitors saying it
was neither free nor fair (BBC, 05/04/05). “Many voters were dead people and
ghost voters. Most of who voted for Zanu-pf,” claimed Vusi from Bulawayo. In
its short-sightedness and usual defiance, Zimbabwe dismissed the appointment
of an African Union envoy for the country, former Mozambican President
Joachim Chissano, arguing that there would be no talks between Zanu-pf and
the MDC (BBC, 16/08/05) and yet the GPA is now a fact.

It should be noted that African leaders failed to condemn controversial
re-election of Mugabe at their African Union summit in Egypt in 2008. Mugabe
reportedly hugged several heads of state and other diplomats in meetings
after the opening session. “He was hugging everyone, pretty much everyone he
could get close to,” one African delegate who was present at the talks said
(Aljazeera.net, 01/07/08). Disappointment with SADC and the AU has sometimes
elicited public anger.

Reginald Thabani Gola, a Zimbabwean Political Analyst charged that the SADC
and the African Union have strategically advanced misty views over
Zimbabwean genocide while the “madness goes on unabated.” “Yes! They have
come out loudly against any possible United Nations sanctions against
Mugabe. Unreservedly criticised the West for its unwavering attitude against
Mugabe’s crimes against humanity,” said Gola (Zimbabwemetro, 09/12/08).
It was therefore not surprising when the Zimbabwe Human Rights Forum said
the African Union had failed the people of Zimbabwe by turning a blind eye
towards human rights abuses. The New York-based Human Rights Watch said the
African Union should suspend Zimbabwe from the 53-nation group if Mugabe’s
government failed to end the political violence and other rights abuses
(Zimdiaspora, 22/01/09).

Admittedly, Mugabe’s anti-Western rhetoric has divided African opinion. Even
Botswana’s Ian Khama who had been in the minority of those critical of
Mugabe’s dictatorship, surprised the world last month by calling on Western
governments to lift the targeted smart sanctions on his neighbouring ruler.
However, some black luminaries have been unequivocal in their condemnation
of Mugabe’s tyranny. Among them, former South African President, Nelson
Mandela decried the “tragic failure of leadership” in Zimbabwe (LATimes,
26/06/08), while Archbishop Desmond Tutu told Dutch TV in 2008 that Mugabe
should be removed by force if he refuses to go, for the “gross violations”
he has committed (BBC, 05/12/08).

Kenya’s Prime  Minister Raila Odinga said African governments should oust
Mugabe. Professor Ali Mazrui, a renowned African International Cultural
Historian and Political Scientist, criticised Mugabe for “shamelessly”
entrenching himself in power in contrast to former Ghanaian President Jerry
Rawlings who relinguished  power honourably without manipulating the system
in his favour(Modernghana, 14/03/02). Founder member of Zanu-pf, Enos Nkala
said, “We produced a creature that destroyed this country”
(Zimbabwesituation.com, 13/01/07.

Although, Zanu-pf would be less enthusiastic about EU election monitors,
Mugabe’s hostility to a UN role in the next elections should be expected in
view of a scathing report on the role of Zimbabwe defence forces in the
Democratic Republic of Congo and the alleged arms dealing, looting of DRC
diamonds by some named Zimbabwean politicians, soldiers and businessmen.
According to the (BBC 21/10/02) a United Nations panel called on the
Security Council to impose financial sanctions against companies and
individuals who plundered the DRC’s wealth. That was not going to be with
friends with veto powers on the Security Council like China and Russia, and
now South Africa.

Asked by Reuters about Zanu-pf’s readiness for polls in 2005, Jonathan Moyo
said, “I think Zanu-pf are sweating in their pants…” (Zimbabwesituation,
29/03/05). Probably, that could be still an accurate prediction of the 2011
elections. Before he was ‘born again’ as a Zanu-pf cadre, Jonathan Moyo
said, “In the circumstances, Mugabe has come to be surrounded by dodgy
political characters along with other bureaucratic and media sycophants who
are known for their malice and incompetence” (Zimbabwesituation, 19/01/07).

Given the increase in reported political violence stretching from
Chimanimani to Masvingo and the threat of a coup should Zanu-pf lose,  one
only wishes that election monitors and peacekeepers from the UN, EU, AU and
SADC could be stationed in Zimbabwe now – six months before the elections
expected in June 2011 and another six months thereafter. At the same time,
targeted sanctions including a travel ban, assets freeze on Mugabe and his
cronies should be maintained. Similarly the ban on the sale of weapons to
Zimbabwe must stay.
Clifford Chitupa Mashiri, Political Analyst, London
zimanalysis2009@gmail.com


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A letter from the diaspora



Friday, 05 November 2010

Six years ago on this very day I left Zimbabwe. I knew as I flew out of
Harare that life would never be the same again for me. I was leaving behind
a whole lifetime of memories, of friends and family – a daughter and a
grandson – to come to a country where I had been born but which was as alien
to me as Africa had once been. Time heals all wounds, they say, but for me
the passing years have only emphasised the sense of loss. “I am a
 Zimbabwean” I tell people here but hardly a day passes without Robert
Mugabe or one of his cronies telling white people that their skin colour and
their colonial past excludes them from making that claim.
I was reminded of that as I watched a re-run of ‘Mugabe and the White
African’ this week and heard Ben Freeth ask the question, ‘Can a white man
ever be an African?’ For Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF the answer is a
resounding ‘NO!’ but for me and thousands like me all over the diaspora,
Zimbabwe continues to be the place we call home. I think of all the
thousands of children I taught and of the teachers I trained – black
Zimbabweans all of them – whose acceptance and friendship filled my days in
Mutoko and Murehwa and I wonder how we have arrived at this racial
intolerance in Independent Zimbabwe.
This week, for example, a female Zanu PF member called for the death
sentence for anyone who supports sanctions or is friendly to the west!
Addressing the Chiefs at their annual conference Mugabe resorted yet again
to racist rhetoric, referring to Britain and America as ‘Damn fools’ for
saying that the GPA had not been properly implemented. Speaking in Shona he
talked about how the west, ‘Sevarungu’, as whites, came to Zimbabwe and
expected to have the upper hand as they once had. Mugabe’s inability to
forgive the racial injustices of the past gives him a convenient excuse to
blame the whites for everything that is wrong in Zimbabwe after thirty years
of his misrule. He conveniently forgets that these very ‘varungu’ are the
donors whose dollars are keeping ‘his’ people fed and providing reading
materials for schools where kids share one book between four and teachers
are subjected to mindless harassment for no other reason than the belief
that all teachers are MDC supporters.
Ever since Mugabe announced that elections will be held in 2011 war veterans
have been giving orders to transfer teachers out of ‘their’ areas. That was
going on in Mash East long before I left Zimbabwe; nothing changes it seems.
And in my old home district, police and CIO this week confiscated radios
donated to villagers on the grounds that the radios came from an unknown
source and customs duties had not been paid. Any excuse to silence the
source of independent news; nothing changes in Mugabe’s Zimbabwe.
But it was a letter in the Financial Gazette that really attracted my
attention this week. “Is this racist?” asked the letter writer and quoted a
question from the Grade Seven examination which every child in Zimbabwe sits
at the end of primary school. This is what the Grade Seven children were
asked in a multiple choice question on the General Paper: “Before
Independence blacks and whites failed to live together peacefully because:
A. the whites had guns.  B. the blacks liked to strike. C. the whites did
not like the blacks and D. all the blacks wanted to live in towns. Whether
this is racism or not, I do not know but what I do know is that it is a very
badly designed multiple choice question, aimed at 11-12 year olds to test
not factual knowledge but political opinion with racist overtones.
As Zanu PF gears up for elections, teachers in rural areas are once again in
the frontline. Zanu PF does not care for educated people, they think for
themselves and so teachers are beaten up for daring to express alternative
views. Three of those teachers are fighting for their lives in a Mission
Hospital after a violent beating by Zanu PF thugs in Bikita. All over the
country anyone with educational qualifications must be pondering their
futures in this divided and intolerant country.  No wonder the International
Crisis Group declared this week that Zimbabwe is ‘on a knife edge’ in the
run-up to the elections.
Yours in the (continuing) struggle PH. aka Pauline Henson.

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