Zim Online
Tuesday 07 November
2006
HARARE - The Zimbabwe government is planning
fresh home demolitions,
just a little over a year after a similar campaign
to destroy shantytowns
and city backyard cottages left at least 700 000
people without shelter or
means of livelihood.
The government
in May last year and weeks after controversially
winning a key general
election, ordered the police and army to demolish
thousands of backyard
cottages, shantytowns and informal business kiosks, in
a campaign President
Robert Mugabe said was necessary to smash crime and to
restore the beauty of
Zimbabwe's cities.
In addition to those left homeless, another 2.4
million people were
indirectly affected by the military-style demolition
exercise to bring the
total number of victims to about three million or a
quarter of Zimbabwe's 12
million people.
Authoritative sources
told ZimOnline that Local Government Minister
Ignatius Chombo, who oversaw
last year's widely-condemned demolition
exercise, had set up a task force
comprising officials from his department
and the police to lay out the
groundwork for a new offensive against slum
dwellers and informal
traders.
"There is some kind of a brigade that is being set up
within the
police specifically for that mission (to carry out demolitions),"
said a
senior official in the Ministry of Local Government, who did not want
to be
named because he did not have clearance from Chombo to speak to the
Press.
"New illegal structures have come up since Operation
Murambatsvina
(the official codename for last year's clean-up campaign. We
will target
these structures that have sprouted up and others that somehow
survived the
first Murambatsvina," said the official.
Chombo
confirmed the government was planning new home demolitions but
said these
would be on a much smaller scale than Murambatsvina.
He said: "It
is not Murambatsvina. But the spirit of Murambatsvina
should not die. To
ensure that we don't reverse the gains of Murambatsvina
we will do regular
follow-ups. We cannot just watch while chaos prevails and
people build
wherever they want."
The government, bowing to international
pressure after the home
demolitions, announced in August last year that it
was launching a new
re-construction programme to build houses for people
whose homes it had
destroyed.
But only a handful of houses have
been built because the government -
which is also battling to raise cash to
import food, electricity and fuel
among other key national requirements -
did not have resources.
And thousands of homeless families have
tracked back to the sites of
their former shantytowns to rebuild their
shacks after the government failed
to provide the homes it promised under
the new home building exercise dubbed
Operation Garikayi/Hlani kuhle or
Operation Live Well.
Rodrick Chinyau, who appeared to be the leader
of about 30 families
squatting in Epworth near Harare, said: "We have
nowhere to go. The
government destroyed our houses last year forcing us to
come here. The
number of people here is increasing everyday and this will be
the case until
we get decent accommodation."
Chinyau however
said officials from Chombo's department had visited
the settlement and gave
the families up to the end of this week to vacate or
be forcibly removed. -
ZimOnline
Zim Online
Tuesday 07 November
2006
MASVINGO - A provincial executive of
the ruling ZANU PF party in
Masvingo says former chairman Daniel Shumba -
who now leads his own
political party - should be arrested and prosecuted
for stealing money from
the ruling party when he was its chairman for the
province.
Shumba, together with five other ZANU PF chairmen, were
suspended from
the party in December 2004 for allegedly seeking to block the
rise of Joice
Mujuru to the posts of party and state
vice-president.
Shumba is now the president of the little-known
United People's Party
(UPP) opposition party.
The provincial
executive says Shumba, his deputy Isaiah Masvayamwando
and former district
co-ordinating committee chairman Clemence Makwarimba
should all be
prosecuted for failing to account for about Z$1 million in
party funds
whilst in office.
An internal report compiled by the executive
dated 25 October 2006 and
a copy of which was shown to ZimOnline says Shumba
and his accomplices
should be handed over to the police for
prosecution.
The missing funds were raised in the run-up to the
2005 general
election through the sale of party cards in the province. But
the executive
alleges that not a single cent found its way into the party
coffers.
"After thorough investigations, we discovered that money
amounting to
over $1 million could not be accounted for.
"Our
investigations have revealed that the previous executive chaired
by Shumba
is responsible for the disappearance of the money.
"We therefore
recommend the arrest of Shumba, his former deputy and
the DCC chairman since
they were the ones responsible for the sale of the
party cards," says the
report.
Contacted for comment yesterday, Shumba denied any
wrong-doing saying
as chairman he was not involved in the sale of party
cards.
"As chairman, I was not involved in the sale of the said
cards. I do
not know anything about the alleged case. The allegations are
baseless and
unfounded," said Shumba.
Two other members of the
previous executive, Masvayamwando and
Makwarimba, also denied embezzling the
funds saying the charges were being
trumped up to tarnish their
names.
ZANU PF national chairman, John Nkomo, yesterday said he was
still to
see the report and its recommendations.
"I have not
seen that report . . . I can only comment after going
through its contents,"
said Nkomo.
This is not the first time that ZANU PF officials have
been accused of
looting party funds. Last year, the party set up a team
headed by David
Karimanzira to probe allegations of massive looting at
companies run by the
party.
Former ZANU PF secretary for
administration Emmerson Mnangagwa, who is
embroiled in a vicious struggle to
succeed President Robert Mugabe, was
rumoured to be at the centre of the
investigations.
ZANU PF is still to make the results of the probe
public. - ZimOnline
Zim Online
Tuesday 07 November
2006
HARARE - A chaplain with the Zimbabwe Republic
Police (ZRP) was last
week demoted from his rank after he was caught using
his service vehicle as
a taxi, ZimOnline has learnt.
In a clear
case illustrating how tough the economic situation is in
Zimbabwe, the
officer had resorted to using his service vehicle as a private
taxi to
supplement his meager income.
The police officer, identified as
Superintendent Doice, was the police's
Chaplain General based in
Harare.
Trouble for Doice began last Monday after a junior police
officer
boarded "the taxi" to Glen Norah suburb in Harare.
The
junior police officer who knew Doice refused to pay the Z$500 taxi
fare
arguing the chaplain should not charge any fares because it was a
police
service vehicle.
The junior officer later reported the matter to
his superiors at
police headquarters in Harare.
Luck for Doice
finally ran out last Thursday after Deputy Police
Commissioner Innocent
Matibiri himself caught the police chaplain using the
vehicle as a taxi in
Glen Norah.
Contacted for comment yesterday, Doice refused to
comment on the
matter referring all matters to national police spokesman
Wayne Bvudzijena.
"I have not yet heard about that so it is very
difficult for me to
comment on that matter. I will only comment on the
matter when I get full
details," said Bvudzijena yesterday.
Police officers are among the lowest paid civil servants in Zimbabwe
with
junior officers earning about $30 000 a month.
The salaries are
five times less what the consumer rights body, the
Consumer Council of
Zimbabwe says an average family of five needs every
month to survive. -
ZimOnline
Zim Online
Tuesday 07 November
2006
HARARE - Zimbabwe Cricket has struck
out from its draft constitution a
provision that empowered the sports
minister to handpick seven of the union's
12 board members.
The
revised draft constitution, which was approved by stakeholders
during a
meeting on Saturday, will be presented to the Sports and Recreation
Commission (SRC) for approval tomorrow.
The SRC in September
refused to endorse ZC's draft constitution,
saying the union needed to
revise Section 25 which gave the sports minister
the prerogative to appoint
the majority of the board members.
"The (Saturday) meeting
considered Section 25 of the draft
constitution which deals with the
appointment of the board of directors and
agreed that the ZC board shall be
made up of 13 directors who will elect
from among themselves a chairman and
vice-chairman," ZC spokesman Lovemore
Banda said.
The ZC
stakeholders also approved the procedure for the election of
the board of
directors, with seven appointed by the provincial chairpersons
sitting as an
electoral college and six by the chairpersons from provincial
nominations.
If the SRC approves the draft constitution
tomorrow, the tenure of ZC's
interim committee is expected to end on
November 18, when a special general
meeting is expected to be held for the
adoption of the draft constitution as
well as the election of the 13 board
members.
The ZC interim committee's tenure had been extended by
another four
months after the SRC rejected the union's initial draft
constitution that
would have seen a substantive board taking office on
September 1.
The Peter Chingoka-led interim committee was initially
given up to
June 30 to sort out the mess in cricket - including the drafting
of a new
constitution - but had its term extended to August 31 on
request.
The SRC dissolved the substantive ZC board in January
following
serious wrangling in cricket.
"We are happy with the
progress we are making in implementing the
roadmap to usher in a new
dispensation for Zimbabwe cricket. We expect to
meet our deadline of the
18th of this month," said Tavengwa Mukuhlani, ZC's
acting chairman in the
absence of Chingoka who was in India to attend an
International Cricket
Council (ICC) meeting. - ZimOnline
Yahoo News
Mon Nov 6, 9:23 AM ET
BEIJING (AFP) - China's relations
with Zimbabwe are "unshakeable", President
Hu Jintao has said as he met his
Zimbabwean counterpart amid accusations
that Beijing's ties help shore up a
pariah regime.
"Developing friendly relations between China and
Zimbabwe is an unshakeable
policy," Chinese state television quoted Hu as
saying as he received
President Robert Mugabe in Beijing Monday.
Hu
said he wanted to develop "agriculture, telecommunications and
infrastructure" ties with Zimbabwe.
China has faced criticism for not
toeing the world diplomatic line in
isolating Mugabe's regime, which is
accused by opponents and rights groups
of using torture and arbitrary arrest
to quell dissent.
Mugabe has cultivated relations with Asian countries as
part of a so-called
"look east" policy since many western countries imposed
sanctions on
Zimbabwe four years ago, accusing the president of human rights
violations.
"The Zimbabwean government pays a great deal of attention to
relations
between the two countries," Mugabe told the Chinese
president.
The meeting was just one of several one-on-one encounters
planned Monday
between top Chinese leaders and the leaders of African
countries who
attended a two-day China-Africa summit in Beijing that
concluded on Sunday.
The summit was seen as strengthening China's ties
with Africa and resulted
in 1.9 billion dollars in trade deals, plus Chinese
promises of aid, debt
relief, and increased bilateral trade in the years
ahead.
But fast-growing China, which is keen to gain access to African
energy
resources, has been criticized for engaging some tainted African
nations
without pushing for improvements in human rights and
governance.
A report issued ahead of the summit by Human Rights Watch
urged China to
uses its diplomatic leverage to encourage positive change in
countries such
as Zimbabwe.
"Despite Beijing's growing concerns about
Zimbabwean President Robert
Mugabe's repressive tactics -- most noticeably
his willingness to literally
starve his opposition and destroy the
Zimbabwean economy -- China has
continued to sell the Zimbabwean government
technology that enables it to
monitor electronic communications," the report
said.
Hu met on Friday with President Omar al-Beshir of Sudan, another
regime
under intense international criticism for widespread killings, rapes
and
abductions by government-armed forces in the country's western Darfur
region.
China has rejected pressure from other countries over its own
human rights
record as outside interference and refused to apply similar
pressure on its
African allies.
Mail and Guardian
Harare, Zimbabwe
06 November 2006
03:58
The Zimbabwean government is to rewrite a controversial
Bill
that would allow the state to eavesdrop on private phone conversations
and
monitor faxes and e-mails, officials said on Monday.
The Interception of Communications Bill has come under a barrage
of
criticism since it was published in May but a government official and a
leading lawmaker confirmed that it is now being amended.
"The minister of transport and communications and Attorney
General have
agreed that a rewritten document that takes into account
amendments as
suggested by the parliamentary legal committee be submitted,"
said
opposition MP Welshman Ncube, who chairs the committee.
"The
document has not been withdrawn as such but it has to take
into account the
suggested amendments."
Ncube said the amendments are too many
to list off the cuff.
George Mlilo, permanent secretary at
the Ministry of Transport
and Communications, confirmed the legislation is
being amended.
"I am not sure when the amendments will be
completed," he said.
"The document is still going through various committee
stages in
Parliament."
In August, rights groups and
internet service providers urged
lawmakers to reject the Bill, arguing it
contravened fundamental rights and
would drag the country back into the past
if passed into law.
The proposed legislation would allow for
the establishment of an
intelligence centre "to monitor and intercept
certain communications" from a
variety of sources.
It
would also empower the communications minister to issue a
warrant for the
interception of communication between individuals or
organisations while
having the power to hear appeals against such
interceptions.
Under the proposed law, telecommunication
service providers
would be compelled to install devices to enable
interception of phone
conversations, faxes and e-mails. -- Sapa-AFP
Some small comfort for our loved
ones at home: your desperate plight is
becoming ever more widely known.
Once again the Vigil had to divide its
resources to encompass the protest at
what is happening in Zimbabwe. Some
of us engaged the public passing by the
Vigil to and from a big rally in
Trafalgar Square demanding action on global
warming. Other Vigil supporters
went to hear speakers at a meeting
organised by ACTSA (Action for Southern
Africa, the successor to the
Anti-Apartheid Movement) in support of the ZCTU
(Zimbabwe Congress of Trade
Unions). We found many sympathizers among the
climate change people - they
seemed to know instinctively that what was
needed in Zimbabwe was Mugabe
change. As for the ACTSA meeting, Lord
Triesman, Minister for Africa at the
FCO (Foreign and Commonwealth Office)
was emphatic: the British government
could not stand aside while Zimbabweans
starve. It had contributed £38
million to feed the starving in the last
financial year and was doing
everything it could to help the people of
Zimbabwe. It was urging the UN
and EU (European Union) to continue
engagement on the issue. He said
President Chirac of France was keen to
host a conference for the African
Union and wanted to invite all African
leaders including Mugabe to attend.
The British government's attitude is
that EU sanctions against Mugabe and
his cronies should be maintained (for
more on Lord Triesman's speech see our
separate report below). The main
speaker at the meeting was Lovemore
Matombo, one of the ZCTU leaders who was
beaten up with his colleagues by
Zanu-PF thugs after their recent attempt at
a democratic protest. He said
how much he would have liked to attend the
Vigil but his tight schedule made
it impossible.
Speaking at the Vigil, the MDC UK Chair and Secretary,
Ephraim Tapa and
Julius Mutyambizi-Dewa, reminded supporters of the
importance of speaking
out about Zimbabwe and taking part in demonstrations
to support the struggle
for a Free Zimbabwe. Ephraim said Zimbabweans must
take to the streets
wherever are. This is what membership of the Vigil was
about - it was not
about obtaining papers to stay in the UK. However the
Vigil was aware of
how difficult it was for asylum seekers to be effective
and would help its
supporters in their efforts to gain legal status in the
UK. Julius
introduced Joshua Chigwandwa, the MDC UK Secretary for
Immigration and
Asylum Issues. He would be available to assist MDC asylum
seekers. Even
before hearing Ephraim and Julius, Dorcas Nkomo from Liverpool
had taken to
the streets of Liverpool on a one-person Vigil. She showed us
one of the
flyers she had been distributing which said, "I am an asylum
seeker and one
of the torture survivors. I want Liverpool people to
understand the
situation in Zimbabwe." The Bristol Vigil reports that their
next two
Vigils will be on 25th November and 30th December under the covered
way,
just near the Watershed, Canon's Road, Harbourside, Bristol. They have
plans to teach the non-Zimbabweans Zimbabwean songs and for a
fundraiser.
Free-Zim Youth briefed us on their latest initiative - they
have a meeting
with the Lesotho High Commission on Wednesday (Lesotho is the
present chair
of Southern African Development Community - SADC).
Our
day was made by a young fellow on the most extraordinary stilts. Modern
technology has allowed him with the help of springs to bounce up and down to
extraordinary heights and we tried to capture him in photographs but he was
always higher or lower. The climate change people certainly chose a good
day for their demonstration: on Guy Fawkes Eve, normally a cold, wet, windy,
awful day, we had brilliant sunshine - a good day for two girls who attended
the pollution rally dressed in household rubbish. Their headgear was
particularly extravagant - made out of plastic bags. Two young drummers
from the public played at the Vigil for a long time.
Good news from
our supporter Chipo Tsuro whose baby boy, Ashley, was born
earlier this
month. Unfortunately she is being moved to Glasgow next week.
We are trying
to contact supporters there so she can start her own Vigil
there. Thanks to
Sue and Francisca for looking after the Vigil table to
enable others to go
to the ACTSA meeting. They were doubly welcome because
they brought such
splendid presents for Dumi and Gugu's baby due on Boxing
Day. Grateful
thanks for Wiz who washed and mended the banners - they are
looking much
smarter. One day they will adorn the Freedom Museum in Harare.
We never
fail to be impressed by the efforts of our supporters to get to the
Vigil.
Tendayi, one of our most regular supporters, has made the long
journey from
Stoke-on-Trent, once or twice every month this year. Others
came from
Liverpool, Sheffield, Coventry, Manchester and we even had a
supporter from
Stockholm today.
For this week's Vigil pictures:
http://uk.msnusers.com/ZimbabweVigil/shoebox.msnw.
FOR
THE RECORD: 49 signed the register.
FOR YOUR DIARY: Monday, 6th
November, 7.30 pm, Central London Zimbabwe
Forum. The speaker this week is
Elton Mangoma, Vice Treasurer of the MDC. Mr
Mangoma comes to us from
Harvest House with fresh news about the outcome of
the just ended rural
elections. He will also discuss matters to do with his
department. Upstairs
at the Theodore Bullfrog pub, 28 John Adam Street,
London WC2 (cross the
Strand from the Zimbabwe Embassy, go down a passageway
to John Adam Street,
turn right and you will see the pub).
Britain fears for European
solidarity on Zimbabwe
Vigil report on Lord Triesman's speech in London on
4th November 2006
The British government is becoming increasingly worried
about European Union
solidarity on the Zimbabwe issue according to Lord
Triesman, Minister for
Africa. He was speaking at a meeting in London
arranged by ACTSA (Action
for Southern Africa, the successor to the
Anti-Apartheid Movement) in
support of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions
(ZCTU).
The meeting was attended by Lovemore Matombo, one of the ZCTU
leaders who
was beaten up with his colleagues by Zanu-PF thugs after their
recent
attempt at a democratic protest. Also attending was Kate Hoey, Chair
of the
All-Party Parliamentary Group on Zimbabwe, who was warmly praised for
her
work by the Minister.
Lord Triesman said targeted sanctions
against Mugabe and his supporters must
be maintained, yet there were signs
of wavering from France and Portugal.
President Chirac of France wanted to
host a conference for the African Union
and invite all African leaders,
including Mugabe, in defiance of the EU's
policy. The French were supported
in this by Portugal, which takes over the
EU Presidency in July next year.
Lord Triesman said the EU sanctions were
due to be renewed in February and
trade unions and others should press for
them to be continued.
In a
remarkably outspoken speech, Lord Triesman said that Zimbabwe was a
failing
state which dealt with all its problems with brutal suppression,
citing the
ZCTU's crushed attempt at peaceful protest. He said the UK
Government
unequivocally supported the ZCTU and the Zimbabwe Ambassador had
been called
in to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and asked to account
for his
government's actions.
He said South Africa had genuine dilemmas about the
situation in Zimbabwe
but there were signs of increased willingness by
Pretoria to confront the
issue. It was crucial, he said, to continue to
apply pressure on South
Africa.
Speaking about what the UK government
is doing about Zimbabwe, Lord Triesman
said it couldn't stand aside while
Zimbabweans starved. It had spent £38
million on food for Zimbabwe in the
last financial year. It was also
pressing the UN to engage the Zimbabwe
issue as well as putting pressure on
other African governments.
Vigil
co-ordinator
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 by the current regime 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
Raw Story
dpa German Press Agency
Published: Monday November 6,
2006
Harare- Zimbabweans will have to brace for another round of massive
price
increases after the government gave troubled state companies the green
light
to charge higher rates, it was reported Monday. In a surprise
announcement,
state radio said struggling state-owned enterprises like the
national oil
company NOCZIM and the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) were
likely to
take advantage of a new directive allowing them to up their
tariffs.
While this move may be painful in terms of massive price hikes
for
consumers, the effect will be to make the companies efficient, the radio
reported analysts as saying.
Last week, state electricity company
ZESA was allowed to increase its
tariffs by up to 270 percent, while last
month national airline Air Zimbabwe
said it was putting up airfares by as
much as 500 per cent.
The hikes were unusual given that President Robert
Mugabe's government is
normally reluctant to allow price increases because
of the knock-on effect
on inflation, which currently stands at 1,023
percent.
Independent analysts have pointed out that Air Zimbabwe appears
to be
calculating its fares on the illegal but widely-used parallel market
for
foreign currency.
Other companies could follow suit, which would
mean six- or seven-fold price
hikes. The Zimbabwe/US dollar exchange rate
has been artificially fixed by
the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe at 250: 1 but on
the black market it trades at
around 1,800: 1.
Monday's radio report
said the state-run bus company ZUPCO popular until now
because of its low
fares is also likely to take advantage of the directive
allowing companies
to charge competitive rates.
Mugabe is out of the country at the moment,
attending the China-Africa
summit in Beijing.
© 2006 dpa German Press
Agency
By Tichaona
Sibanda
6 November 2006
There are allegations Police
commisssioner Augustine Chihuri is
excluding officers from United Nations
peacekeeping duties because they
sympathise with the opposition
MDC.
ZimOnline reported Monday that the long serving commissioner
has
barred about 150 junior officers from taking part in lucrative
peacekeeping
duties in Kosovo because of their 'questionable loyalty' to
Robert Mugabe's
regime.
The Zimbabwe Republic Police has been
participating in UN peacekeeping
missions for the last 15 years. ZRP
officers have served in Angola, and
currently they have personnel keeping
peace in Liberia, Sudan and East
Timor.
It is the selection
criteria to be part of the blue berets that has
been controversial ever
since. Former police assistant commissioner Jonathan
Chawora said as long as
there are no set down rules for selection to UN
duties, the procedure will
continue to be dodged by the same accusations.
'Even when I was
still serving in the ZRP, we would get similar
complaints that the selection
process is flawed and that certain individuals
with strong links to senior
officers are always chosen at the expense of
more deserving officers,'
Chawora said.
The formation of the MDC made things worse, according
to Chawora, as
officers would falsely be accused of supporting the
opposition. This is what
happened last week when Chihuri ordered the Police
Internal Security
Intelligence (PISI) to weed out junior officers suspected
of backing the
main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
party.
It is believed the commissioner was not happy to deploy
officers to
work on the lucrative duties because of their questionable level
of loyalty
to Mugabe's government. He has also warned officers during
pre-deployment
briefings not to make any negative statements about Zimbabwe
while abroad.
SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe
news
Fin24
06/11/2006
19:16
Pretoria - Zimbabwe's economic woes could be reversed if the
southern
African country implements monetary and fiscal reforms recommended
by the
International Monetary Fund, a regional IMF official said on
Monday.
Zimbabwe is in its eighth year of recession, marked by the
world's
highest inflation and chronic shortages of fuel, food and foreign
currency
that critics blame on poor policies and mismanagement by President
Robert
Mugabe's government.
"The good news is that can be
reversed. It can be reversed if the
Zimbabwe authorities take the
appropriate steps to address the issues that
affect the economy," Abdoulaye
Bio-Tchane, head of the IMF's Africa office,
told a conference in Pretoria,
South Africa.
"We are addressing them on the steps that should be
taken," he added.
He gave no specific details of the IMF's
suggested remedies but said
it could include "lifting non-fiscal measures
that are clearly hurting money
supply, and of course,
inflation".
Asked if the IMF was helping to pull Zimbabwe out of
its economic
troubles, he said: "We have said many times what needs to be
done on the
fiscal front, what needs to be done on the monetary front and
what needs to
be done on the social side."
Zimbabwe's central
bank has admitted to printing money to shore up the
economy and in some
cases pay off huge foreign debts. Analysts say this only
compounds one of
the main hurdles to curbing price pressures - rising money
supply.
Zimbabwe's annual inflation rate eased in September,
but remained the
world's fastest at 1 023%. Unemployment has grown to
70%.
Yahoo News
HARARE (AFP) - Zimbabwe's high court has suspended new
regulations aimed at
giving state-run fixed line operator TelOne a monopoly
on international
calls following protests from two private cellphone
firms.
Mobile phone operators Telecel and Econet Wireless had protested
against the
new regulations, saying it would push them out of
business.
"We sought an order that the regulations be suspended," Telecel's
lawyer
David Drury told AFP, referring to a recently passed law which was
due to
come into effect last Wednesday.
"That order has been granted.
What it means is that pending a determination
on the merits... to say
whether the regulations are valid or not, the
regulations will not
apply."
Judge Rita Makarau also ordered Telecel and Econet Wireless to
join hands in
their court challenge.
The Zimbabwean government had
issued new telecommunications regulations to
replace the multi-gateway
system with one gateway run by state firm TelOne.
The ministry of
transport and communications said the new regulations were
necessary "to
ensure accountability by private operators in the industry."
Econet
Wireless lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa said the regulations breached the
telecommunications act which authorised Econet to operate its own gateway
for both incoming and outgoing traffic.
She said the company would be
filing an appeal in the supreme court
questioning the new
regulations.
Zimbabwe Times
Agents of the Zimbabwe government have reportedly
infiltrated
Botswana, where they are reported to be monitoring the
operations of the
country's security forces as well as the activities of a
growing Zimbabwean
immigrant community
More than 800 illegal
immigrants, most driven into the prosperous
neighbouring countryby economic
hardship in their own country, were
reportedly arrested last
week.
A weekly newspaper, The Botswana Guardian, reported Friday
that
"sources within the Botswana Police Service" had confirmed they "have
been
tipped about the presence of members of Zimbabwe's Central Intelligence
Organisation (CIO) who cross into Botswana from time to time masquerading as
illegal immigrants."
The paper claims that once in Botswana,
the CIO agents "at the service
of the Zimbabwe government," then investigate
how the Botswana government
authorities treat illegal immigrants in a
country that is an increasingly
popular, if somewhat hostile and often
xenophobic, destination for desperate
Zimbabweans.
The paper
reports that part of the mission of intelligence agents
deployed in Botswana
is to track down Zimbabweans who are on the police's
wanted list back at
home.
The paper also claims that Zimbabwean newspapers have
reported
recently that some of the Zimbabwean illegal immigrants were
tortured in
Botswana but the reports, the paper says, were not
true.
The Botswana Guardian quotes a senior police officer, who
asked not to
be named, as claiming that some of the arrested illegal
immigrants had
confirmed these allegations.
The officer was
quoted as saying: "We understand there are some who
have been sent here to
spy on the way we treat their people, arrested for
staying in the country
illegally."
The paper reports that 832 illegal Zimbabwean
immigrants were arrested
in the country's Northern Extra region during a
two-day joint operation last
week.
Another police officer,
Senior Superintendent Alakalani Makobo, was
quoted as saying these
allegations about CIO spies in Botswana were "news to
me".
Last
Updated ( Monday, 06 November 2006 )
Mail and Guardian
Valentine Maponga | Harare, Zimbabwe
06 November 2006 01:50
The Harare city council's decision to
shut down many firms
dealing with funeral services has led to the birth of a
thriving but illegal
"death business" at state-owned hospitals in the
Zimbabwean capital.
Hospital employees, working with illegal
undertakers, are
cashing in on bereaved relatives who can no longer afford
skyrocketing
funeral fees.
In September, the council
temporarily closed down 21 licensed
coffin-selling firms. It had proved they
had started preparing bodies for
burial, for which they were neither
licensed nor properly equipped.
Moreover, this "moonlighting"
by the coffin-makers deprived the
council of much-needed
revenue.
But investigations by the Standard newspaper soon
proved that
council action had brought an undesirable element to the
business of death.
There was a sharp increase in funeral
costs after the closure of
the private parlours.
A Harare
woman who declined to be named said she went through a
nightmare after a
close relative died at home. "We moved from one parlour to
another after the
government hospitals told me that they had no space. The
private parlours
are charging as if it's a crime to have a dead relative,"
she
said.
There are only six properly licensed funeral parlours
in Harare.
They are now charging between Z$150 000 and Z$200 000 to cover a
funeral.
The money caters for the preparation of the body and transport
only.
An official at Doves Funeral Services said they now
charge Z$180
000 for a funeral. The fee does not include transport costs
outside Harare.
Sources at the Harare Central Hospital
mortuary said workers,
realising the desperate situation facing many
bereaved people, are making
fat profits by preparing the bodies for burial
at the hospital under cover
of darkness.
Some of the
workers have teamed up with illegal undertakers to
form their own private
funeral parlours. One such parlour is located in
Highfield's Gazaland
area.
A visit to the hospital last week indicated that more
than 20
illegal undertakers were conducting thriving businesses, advising
mourners
on how to get their deceased relatives buried at an affordable
"people's"
cost. The illegal undertakers were even ready to go to the houses
to prepare
the bodies.
"How can we help you?" asked one
undertaker, eagerly, unaware he
was talking to a reporter. "Where is the
body? Is it an adult or a child? Do
you have the papers [burial order]? We
can help you bury your relative and I
tell you we are the cheapest in
town."
He said the cost of preparing the body would be Z$20
000. The
job is done in a backyard parlour in Highfield's
Gazaland.
"We can also provide transport, a coffin or casket
and help you
with the documentation," he said enticingly. "We can even come
to your house
to prepare the body and our coffins range from Z$28 000 to
Z$80 000."
Investigations last week revealed the probability
that normal
procedures were not being followed when private parlours brought
in the
bodies.
Security at both Beatrice Road Infectious
Diseases Hospital and
Wilkins Hospital mortuaries proved dubious, at the
very least. The City of
Harare's acting director of health, Prosper Chonzi,
is reportedly probing
the activities of the funeral
parlours.
Last week, he could not be reached for comment as
he was
reported to be attending a funeral, out of town.
The City of Harare charges more than Z$20 000 to bury an adult
in any of its
cemeteries. A grave for an adult at the low-income Granville
cemetery costs
Z$19 550 during weekdays and Z$24 550 at weekends. --
Zimbabwe
Independent
China's economic growth without democracy policy
is
spoiling African dictators like Mugabe
By Dr Stanford Mukasa
6
November 2006
In today's Letter from America Dr. Stan Mukasa argues
that China's
economic growth without democracy policy is spoiling African
dictators like
Mugabe.
The announcement by President Hu Jintao that
China will double its aid
to Africa to the tune of $5 billion over the next
three years will have some
implications on efforts by Zimbabwean civil
society and church leadership to
negotiate with Mugabe and ZANU PF a return
to democracy and the rule of law.
The excessive generosity with which
China has assisted Mugabe and
other dictators of the world makes Mugabe and
ZANU PF scoff at any appeals
for human rights or democracy.
Against
this background, the document by a section of Zimbabwean
church leaders and
which was handed to Mugabe last week will probably carry
little, if any,
significance to Mugabe and ZANU PF who feel their Look East
policy will soon
bear fruit.
China and Mugabe's Look East policy are giving Mugabe some
hope that
he will be able to survive the pressures against him.
China's policy of economic progress without democracy has historically
been
a model and a source of great inspiration for dictators in Africa.
Virtually all appeals to the Chinese by the international community to
bring
pressure to bear on Mugabe have been ignored.
Chinese ambassador to
Zimbabwe, Zhang Xianyi , recently spelt out the
principles that govern
Chinese policy towards Zimbabwe, namely, what he
called equality, mutual
benefit, solidarity and common development.
The ambassador said China's
bilateral trade with Zimbabwe will
increase by 11.5 percent to US$500
million in 2008. In 2005 the figure was
US$283 million.
Overall,
China's trade with Africa in the past 10 years increased 10
times to about
$40 billion last year.
China has also announced it will forgive debts
owed to it by the
poorest African countries.
President HU also
announced other measures by China to boost trade
with Africa.
At a
recent meeting of the American Enterprise Institute it was noted
that:
. More exports from Africa to China will receive tariff-free
status.
. China will train 15,000 African professionals.
.
China will build schools, hospitals and anti malaria clinics.
. China
will send experts and youth volunteers to Africa.
. China wills double
the number of scholarships to African students to
4,000 by 2009.
China is an emerging world economic power and the second largest
consumer of
energy and petroleum products. To meet internal demand China has
invested
heavily in oil resources in Nigeria, Sudan, Angola, and Gabon as
well as in
copper purchases mainly in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of
Congo.
In Zimbabwe China is eyeing the country's untapped platinum
resources
reported to be the second largest in the world. Zimbabwe has also
other
mineral resources like uranium, gold, silver and copper that China
would
like to invest in.
While China is looking to invest in raw
materials it is also looking
for markets for its products. The United States
is now one of the biggest
markets for Chinese products.
Africa is
now ripe for a massive influx of Chinese products. China
tends to be very
independent in its trade and other policies. And the
consumers in many
African markets for Chinese goods are compelled or
attracted to buy, most
often at low prices, goods of sub standard quality
while at the same time
undercutting local industries.
Yet in its aggressive quest for
increased trade China has totally
ignored the human rights implications of
its economic growth without
democracy policy. China's refusal to bring
pressure to bear on undemocratic
regimes like Mugabe has encouraged the
dictators that China will always be
there to bail them out in the case of
sanctions and other pressures from the
Western countries and human rights
organizations.
China has thus spoiled African dictators. Human rights
in China are
not a characteristic aspect of life in that populous country.
Life in China
is still highly regimented despite the fact that Hu Jintao is
China's
youngest and technocratic president in many years.
This may
well explain why Mugabe is dragging his feet on any pressures
to negotiate a
resolution of the country's crisis of governance with the
opposition civil
society and why Mugabe and ZANU PF have somewhat survived
so long.
Mugabe's survival can be attributed to number factors including a
strong
military and generous looting of the national resources to reward his
cronies, notably top party and government officials as well as the army. But
the China factor is increasingly becoming a significant lifeline for the
aging dictator.
According to reports China has extended generous
financial and other
forms of assistance to Mugabe and ZANU PF in exchange
for the wholesale
mortgaging of national resources to China. Some people are
calling this Look
East policy a new colonialism from China.
China
has also given technical assistance to Mugabe and ZANU PF's
instruments of
oppression and degradation of fundamental freedoms. Such
assistance ranges
from fighter jets, arms, equipment to monitor private
conversations as well
as to jam signals from external radio stations like
SWRA and Studio 7 at
VOA.
China has thus become Mugabe and ZANU PF's handmaiden in the
repression of Zimbabweans.
Given this environment of the
degradation of human freedoms and
dignity it is difficult to imagine what
kind of success, if any, the bishops'
anticipated when they presented their
document titled, The Zimbabwe We Want,
to Mugabe. The document contains main
facts and points that have merit in
identifying the current problems
confronting Zimbabwe.
What is at issue here is not so much the
substance of the document but
the failure by the bishops to obtain a
consensus from civil society on a
common strategy for dealing with the
issues highlighted in the document.
The clergy behind this document
aroused suspicion when they were seen
several weeks earlier having tea with
Mugabe and exchanging jokes. Their
image in the minds of many Zimbabweans
would have appeared to be that of
clergy who were engaging in the politics
of accommodation with Mugabe.
This pilgrimage to the State House by the
clergy was not helped by the
MDC's participation in the district council
elections. District councils in
Zimbabwe have never historically had any
real and effective political power
or influence. Their roles are effectively
reduced to minor administrative
functions under the very close supervision
of the minister of local
government where real power lies.
The one
or two district councils or wards that the factions of the MDC
won will not
play any significant role in the mobilization of the masses in
any action
against Mugabe, should this ever happen.
Given the distorted and
unreliable voting system in the country it
makes no sense to talk of winners
and losers. How can the very same
Zimbabweans whom Mugabe's military chiefs
now acknowledge that they hate
Mugabe and ZANU PF so much have given an
overwhelming vote to the same
Mugabe and ZANU PF? Also, given the
dilapidated state of affairs in Zimbabwe
today what Zimbabwean in his or her
right mind could have cast a vote in
favor of Mugabe and ZANU PF in those
council elections?
The bottom-line is that the opposition movement has
yet to get its act
together. Civil society leadership must remember that, by
participating in
elections they know very well that they will lose, given
the restrictive and
oppressive system of voting, they are not only wasting
their time and
resources but putting their supporters through an emotional
roller coaster
of expectations that end up being dashed.
Mugabe has
found a formidable partner in crime in form of China. None
of the strategies
by the opposition movement, that is, participating in
elections are working.
And the mere handing over to Mugabe of a document
giving a road map to the
democratization of the country would appear to be a
public relations
strategy by Mugabe to project himself as someone keenly
interested in
working with all towards resolving the problems of governance
in the
country.
The opposition movement and civil society leadership must come
to
grips with the fact that Mugabe has in China a real and substantive
promise
of support - whether or not China will actually deliver on all
promises made
to Mugabe.
Strategies for confronting Mugabe must
factor this reality
SW Radio Africa
Zimbabwe news
Zimbabwejournalists.com
By a Correspondent
LONDON - THE
battle between the Home Office and failed asylum seekers
from Zimbabwe
enters another phase with the Court of Appeal granting lawyers
from the
Refugee Legal Council, who are representing the Zimbabweans,
permission to
appeal a ruling allowing the UK to deport them.
The court directed
that the appeal should be heard soon. The British
government won the right
to deport thousands of failed Zimbabwean asylum
seekers early August but
lawyers representing the failed asylum seekers
fought hard to appeal against
the decision.
This followed a lengthy legal battle in which the
Asylum and
Immigration Tribunal (AIT) had said there was not an automatic
risk that
Zimbabweans returned to Zimbabwe would face a 'real risk of being
subjected
to persecution or serious ill-treatment.'
In the AA
proceedings concerning the safety of forced return to
Zimbabwe, an
application for permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal was
lodged with
the Court of Appeal, permission having been refused by the AIT,
on 18
September 2006 resulting in the permission to appeal.
The AA case
has been in and out of the courts for a long time now
resulting in many
failed asylum seekers being forced to live in squalor as
they are not
allowed to work or to go to school. An earlier decision by
immigration
judges stopping the British authorities from sending back failed
asylum
seekers to Zimbabwe until the situation changed was overturned in
August
resulting in another appeal being launched by the failed refugees.
"We hope that this time things will come out in our favour," said a
failed
asylum seeker who spoke on condition of anonymity. "We do not want to
stay
in the UK forever, things are bad in our country and everyone knows
that.
All we want is to be given the sanctuary we so badly seek at this hour
and
promise to go back and rebuild our country as soon as things
change."
Speaking at a London meeting over the weekend, Lovemore
Matombo, the
Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions boss, told those present that
Britain
should help Zimbabweans who are here to get education and improve
their
skills in preparation for a new Zimbabwe. He said things were bad on
the
ground and there was need for countries that have Zimbabweans seeking
refuge
to protect them and help them.
Meanwhile the suspension
on forced returns to Zimbabwe continues until
the outcome of AA's appeal is
known. There has been news, however of
immigration raids in a number of
areas with huge concentrations of
Zimbabweans following petty squabbles.
Some Zimbabweans have been reportedly
sent back home after being nicked for
a variety of crimes, including drunken
driving and stealing.
Zimbabwejournalists.com
By Selbin Kabote
BIRMINGHAM - A Christian
alliance group, whose major focus is to
promote the development of a
resource pool of intellectuals and
professionals in preparation for
rebuilding Zimbabwe in the near future, has
been launched in the United
Kingdom.
The Zimbabwe Association of Christians in England (ZACE)
hopes to
bring Zimbabweans living in the UK together under their Christian
banner and
facilitate their growth, development and re-training so they can
eventually
contribute to re-building a new Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe
has been experiencing major economic and political problems
for the past six
years resulting in the mass exodus of highly qualified and
skilled personnel
who are now scattered around the globe.
The Christian alliance also
seeks to support members to start
businesses, follow and develop their
chosen career paths and Christian
ministries in the UK.
Speaking at the official launch, the alliance's secretary, Dr Siyanda
Mkweli
said the group will endeavour to promote and facilitate networking
and
advice among members in their field of Christian ministry or secular
vocations.
Mkweli said some of the association's major
objectives will be to
provide a forum through which members and their
immediate families could be
supported during their stay in the UK and also
in times of illness or
bereavement in an environment where many do not have
extended families to
support them.
The alliance is also
planning to establish a Cultural Centre, where
Zimbabwean children in the UK
can be taught and familiarized with their
culture, history and
languages.
Mkweli said the association will also promote and
support the
development of stronger cultural ties among members and other
Zimbabwean
living in the UK.
He said ZACE will also be involved
in charitable programmes supporting
the less-privileged back
home.
ZACE can be found at Mercury house, Shipstones Business
Centre,
Northgate, New Basford, Nottingham, NG7 7FN. Phone:0870 1633063, Fax
01159648201
Email: zaceuk@ntlworld.com
By Violet
Gonda
6 November 2006
Last month they ambushed and
disrupted a London meeting by the South
African Foreign Minister Dr.
Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, expressing their
displeasure with South Africa's
handling of the Zimbabwean crisis. They have
taken part in numerous
demonstrations and they say they will continue to
hound African delegates in
the UK on the unfolding events in Zimbabwe. The
diligence and determination
of this energetic UK based pressure group,
Free-Zim Youth, has resulted in a
meeting with Southern African Development
Community (SADC) officials. They
will meet Lesotho officials in London on
Wednesday to urge SADC to change
their policy on the political and economic
meltdown in Zimbabwe. This is
significant because Lesotho's Prime Minister
Pakalitha Musisili is the
current co-chairperson of SADC.
The youth activists said in a
statement; "This is a follow up to the
just ended SADC finance protocol
summit in South Africa in which we feel
member states are mocking our
suffering by signing Zimbabwe to the trade
protocol. Yet they know there is
no economy to talk about due to bad
policies, with no balance of
trade."
Spokesperson Alois Mbawara confirmed that the youths had
been invited
to a diplomatic meeting with Lesotho High Commission Officials.
He said:
"This is part of our diplomatic approaches trying to approach
African
countries, mainly SADC member states, in trying to present and
project the
Zimbabwean crisis and what we wish SADC members could do to end
the
humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe."
SW Radio
Africa Zimbabwe news
From The Financial Mail (SA), 3 November
By Thandeka Gqubule
Zimbabwe is fighting
to keep SA from banning asbestos imports
Munyaradzi Hwengwere, former
spin doctor to Zimbabwe's President Robert
Mugabe, is in SA on a
near-impossible mission - to stop SA from banning
white asbestos. He says
he's here to save the livelihoods of the communities
around two asbestos
mining towns in the midlands of Zimbabwe. Hwengwere is
on the payroll of
Turnall, a Harare-listed company with British and
Zimbabwean shareholders
that manufactures cement and mines white asbestos.
The government of
Zimbabwe also has a stake in the company, which provides a
valuable source
of foreign exchange. The asbestos mines are facing closure
in the wake of a
threatened ban on asbestos products by SA. Legislation has
been drafted and
is now open for public consultation. It is expected to take
effect in
mid-2007. SA is Zimbabwe's main market for the asbestos, consuming
40% of
production. It is used mainly in roofs on low-cost housing, car
exhaust
pipes and irrigation systems. Hwengwere says closure of the mine
would
plunge about 100 000 people into poverty.
Sources tell the FM that
the mines are in dire financial straits anyway.
They are faced with regular
government raids and confiscation of any foreign
exchange. Local politicians
are proving less than sympathetic to the banning
lobby. Quite aside from the
communities around the mine, the asbestos market
is a lucrative one for the
ruling Zanu-PF and its cohorts. Doors seem to be
closing on Hwengwere as he
tries to explain that there is internationally
proved evidence that, because
white asbestos is different in structure and
chemical composition from its
blue and brown siblings, it is not a health or
environmental threat. He is
distributing a self-produced DVD on the
environmental safety of white
asbestos. Langa Zita, chair of the portfolio
committee that has the final
say on the banning, says the issue should be
subject to
government-to-government talks, in which she is willing to
engage. Another
committee member says the Zimbabwean government has "left
their industries
and companies to beg and lobby SA authorities while they
have not lifted a
finger to aid them by talking directly to their
counterparts in
SA".
Hwengere has invited Zita and the rest of the committee to
Zimbabwe to
inspect more than 70 000 medical records compiled over a period
of 40 years
on the communities surrounding the Zimbabwean mines. It is also
understood
that Hwengwere recently approached Mugabe, his former boss, at
Southern
African Development Community talks in Lesotho, and asked him to
urge
President Thabo Mbeki to intervene. Environmental affairs deputy
director-general Joanne Yawitch is adamant that the ban will go ahead. She
points to a World Trade Organisation dispute over the issue after France
banned imports of white asbestos from Canada. The world's largest producer
of white asbestos lost in a tribunal, which confirmed France's right to ban
imports. Yawitch says the difference between white asbestos and the brown
and blue kinds is simply that it kills you more slowly. Disputes over
asbestos have run their course locally too, and include huge settlements
with asbestosis sufferers. Local manufacturer Everite has invested
substantially in technology to produce safe alternatives. Yawitch says cheap
Zimbabwean imports would undermine those efforts.
But the
Zimbabweans grumble that the reason for SA's resistance to white
asbestos is
a form of silent sanctions against Zimbabwean industry. In this
version, a
powerful lobby comprising Everite, trade unions that say they are
protecting
their members' health and environmentalists has succeeded in
lobbying the
environmental affairs department. While trying to save the
mines, Hwengwere
is also doing some repair work after landing a clutch of
SA's empowerment
supremos in Chikurubi prison last month. Three executives
from an
empowerment mining group ended up on a concrete floor for the night
while
discussing the future of the mines. Hwengwere had hoped to pull off a
deal
with the politically connected South Africans to protect the Zimbabwean
market. But the executives were arrested and accused of plotting to
overthrow the Zimbabwean government. It took a lot of fancy footwork and
diplomacy by the SA ambassador in Harare and by Hwengwere to secure their
release. Since then, it's been difficult to entice South Africans to the
mine.
Email: jag@mango.zw : justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
Tel.
No. 04-799410, 011 610
073
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTICE
OF THE JOINT ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF JAG AND JAGMA
Notice was duly
given on 24 October 2006, of the JOINT ANNUAL GENERAL
MEETING of the Justice
for Agriculture Trust (JAG) and the Justice for
Agriculture Membership
Association (JAGMA) to be held on the afternoon of
Tuesday, 14 November, 2006
- .30pm for 2.00pm start.
The JAG Trust would like to confirm that the
venue for this Annual General
Meeting will be the Main Hall at Northside
Community Church, Borrowdale.
Please diarise this important meeting and
watch this space for confirmation
of Agenda and directions to venue.
Hello JAG
Hello John,
I would like to relate to you what happened
to me last Wednesday while
shopping at Borrowdale TM supermarket.
At
about midday, I popped into the supermarket to buy some groceries. My
last
port of call at the supermarket was the bread department where I got
some
bread and bread rolls, which I put into the plastic bags provided.
I
actually had a few plastic bags over which I left in the trolley
and
proceeded to the till. Once I had paid, I transferred the goods into
a
shopping bag which I had, using the extra plastic bags to put some of
the
items into. There were some plastic bags over which I just put into the
bag
as well. The rest of the groceries were loose in the trolley.
All
of this I did in front of the till operator and the assistant. I left
the
till and proceeded to push my trolley to my car, which was parked
some
distance from the supermarket in the car park, when a very aggressive
man
came up to me and said he wanted to search me for stolen goods. I asked
him
who he was as he was not dressed in the supermarket uniform but he just
said
it was no concern of mine. He searched my trolley and shopping bag and
on
finding the extra plastic bags, accused me of stealing and said he
was
taking me to the Manager. He was very aggressive and sort of pushed
me
along to the Manager's office and was joined by someone else who I did
not
pay too much attention to. The black Manager looked more than
embarrassed
when I told him there was no sign saying that one was limited to
so many
plastic bags and besides that, I always took a few extra to put my
goods
into. He obviously recognized me, as I have spoken to him before and
he
took the plastic bags and told me to go.
As I left the premises and
went past the guy who had searched me, who was
quite a distance from me now,
I said to him that this would be the last time
I ever shopped at this
supermarket. I carried on to my car and when about
half way there, I heard
this voice behind me say ''hey mister'' so I turned
around and there were
three people, as well as another one in a blue shirt
which looked like the
supermarket shirt. The guy who had searched me said
that I was under arrest
for insulting the President of Zimbabwe. ell I was
gob-smacked, as all I had
said was that I would not be shopping at that
supermarket again. I tried to
wheel my trolley to the car but they jostled
me and pulled me around and when
I tried to open the car, the one guy
grabbed me and tried to get the keys
from me but I was able to pull them
away and get them into my pocket. They
forcibly took the trolley away from
me and prevented me getting into the car.
They said they were going to take
me to the Police Station in my car to have
me charged for insulting the
President - so it was now my word against
theirs. I told them that no ways
would I drive them to the Police Station,
especially in my car, as I did not
know who they were. I asked them for
their identities and they pulled cards
out of their pockets but would not let
me look at or touch them and while
showing me from a distance, they held
their thumbs over the writing. They
said that they worked for the President
and would show me their cards when
we got to the Police Station. One of them
went right around my car looking
in all of the windows. A uniformed
Policeman in reservist uniform with a
cap appeared on the scene and asked me
what was going on. I wondered if he
was now part of the gang or a genuine
policeman. I explained to him what
was going on while the others were still
shouting at me. He took them to
one side and moved away from the car and
while he was talking to them, I
managed to retrieve the trolley, open the
car, put the groceries into the
car and I jumped into the driver's seat and
locked the door. One of the
people rushed at the car and tried to open my
door and another ran to the
back of the car. Fortunately, I did not have to
reverse as there was a
clear passage ahead of me so I went forward and put
foot and got out of
there.
I think I was being set up for either a
hijacking or political harassment on
a white man and personally, I think that
they were probably from a criminal
element of the Youth Brigade, as they were
young and this searching thing
was just their alibi - but the scary thing is
that they are obviously in
cohorts with some of the supermarket staff. Why
are these people being
employed by supermarkets if they are infact being
so?
I have thought about putting in an official complaint with the Head
Office
Management but have decided against that, as I would have to submit my
ID
details and address, which I am not prepared to do - for obvious reasons
as
one cannot trust anybody any more.
I was very shaken up but
fortunately got away unscathed.
(Name supplied but withheld.)
VOA
By
Blessing Zulu
Washington
06 November
2006
Movement for Democratic Change founding president Morgan
Tsvangirai and
leaders of the Save Zimbabwe Campaign are expected to meet
the Churches in
Zimbabwe religious leaders promoting a "national vision"
document they hope
will help open a dialogue between President Robert Mugabe
and his opponents.
But opposition insiders said the meeting would be a
mere formality as
Tsvangirai's MDC faction and the closely allied Save
Zimbabwe civic
coalition have concluded that the paper amounts to an offer
of a "soft
landing" for Mugabe, and dismissed it.
Senior figures from
the Catholic Church, the Evangelical Fellowship and the
Zimbabwe Council of
Churches presented the paper to Mr. Mugabe last month.
The document said
the church leaders sought to "facilitate national
dialogue, debate and
national reconstruction across the broad spectrum of
national opinion,
constituencies and stakeholders."
Mugabe's response was said to have been
lukewarm, particularly on the
document's suggestion that the constitution be
overhauled.
Executives of the Tsvangirai faction examined the document
Saturday, and
opposition sources said a majority concluded that it did not
address
fundamental issues and that church consultations on which the report
was
based had not been wide enough.
Tsvangirai faction spokesman
Nelson Chamisa told reporter Blessing Zulu of
VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe
that the grouping's official position would be
forthcoming.
Gabriel
Chaibva, representing the rival MDC faction of Authur Mutambara.
said that
he had been disappointed by the church's approach.
National
Constitutional Assembly Chairman Lovemore Madhuku said the document
could
not be of any real use in resolving the country's long crisis.
VOA
By Jonga
Kandemiiri
Washington
06 November
2006
Responding to expression of concern by the International
Labor Organization
about the beating of 31 officials and members of the
Zimbabwe Congress of
Trade Unions in Harare following a Sept. 13
demonstration, the government of
Zimbabwe said that the labor leaders were
trying to violently overthrow
President Robert Mugabe.
Harare said
the alleged attempt to unseat the Mugabe government justified
the use of
force against the leaders of the protest. Critics of the
government have
charged that the trade unionists were severely beaten by
police and security
agents intending to punish them for organizing protests
and to discourage
further demonstrations.
Labor Ministry Permanent Secretary Lancaster
Museka, who signed the response
to the ILO, said the union leaders had no
right to engage in an illegal
demonstration. President Mugabe has issued
similar statements - most notably
in remarks to Zimbabwean embassy staff in
Cairo, Egypt, soon after the
beatings.
Police later said the labor
activists sustained their injuries attempting to
escape, but Mr. Mugabe in
Cairo seemed to endorse police excesses, warning
that those who demonstrated
against his government would be "thoroughly
beaten."
ZCTU Vice
President Lucia Matibenga, one of those beaten by police on Sept.
13, told
reporter Jonga Kandemiiri of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that
Harare in
alleging that the union sought to destabilize to the ILO was
merely seeking
to justify its actions.