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Zimbabwe's
human rights has improved - Tsvangirai
http://uk.reuters.com
Fri Oct 9, 2009 2:42pm BST
*
Says fewer human rights abuses since unity government
* Optimistic
power-sharing deadlocks can be broken
* Expects elections within 18
months
By Jason Webb
VALLADOLID, Spain, Oct 9 (Reuters) -
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said
on Friday people could live in peace
in Zimbabwe since the formation of a
power-sharing government.
He
said that while there were some "toxic issues" for the government he
formed
with old foe Robert Mugabe this year, he hoped his party could make
progress
working with the veteran president and eventually be elected in its
own
right.
"If you were to have come to Zimbabwe last year between March and
June, the
level of human rights abuses was far higher and now people can
live in
peace," Tsvangirai told Reuters in the northern Spanish city of
Valladolid
where he was due to receive a prize for lifetime
achievement.
"There has been substantive progress, it's just that you
have got one or two
incidents and then it spoils the
thing."
Tsvangirai formed the unity government with Mugabe to try to end
a violent
political crisis.
Tsvangirai himself was a victim of abuses
under Mugabe's government, and was
once so badly beaten that his face was
barely unrecognisable.
Mugabe, in power since independence from Britain
in 1980, is blamed by
critics for plunging his country, once the bread
basket of southern Africa,
into poverty through mismanagement and
corruption.
He has accused his Western foes of ruining the economy
through sanctions in
retaliation for a policy of seizing white-owned farms
for landless blacks.
PROGRESS DIFFICULT
Tsvangirai said
while progress has been difficult, he was hopeful his
Movement for
Democratic Change could work productively with Mugabe.
"Progress is
gradual and it cannot be an event. You have to work it on a
daily basis and
hopefully we can do that within the shortest possible time,"
he
said.
But he said: "There are deadlock issues with regards to certain
appointments, the governor (of the Reserve Bank), attorney general, and
there are issues of the implementation which have to do with provincial
governors."
"Then there are toxic issues, the issue of not complying
with the spirit and
the letter in terms of the media."
Tsvangirai
said an online poll of supporters had provided positive feedback
despite the
problems.
"I want to tell you the evaluation is overwhelmingly that we
should stay in
government and make this the direction the country needs to
take," he said.
"We have to manage our transition until such time as the
MDC can be elected
in its own right," he said, adding he expects a date for
elections to be set
within the next 18 months.
The Zimbabwean
government says it needs up to $10 billion in foreign aid to
help repair an
economy that saw inflation surge to over 500 billion percent
in 2008,
according to the IMF.
But so far, nowhere near this sum has been
forthcoming from Western donors
and Tsvangirai said Zimbabwe would need to
be weaned gradually onto a
greater flow of aid anyway.
"It isn't a
question of having billions of dollars, because we may not have
the capacity
to absorb them," he said, adding that aid should focus more on
development
than addressing humanitarian needs.
"So even if at the end of five years
the actual amount of required aid is
huge at this stage I don't think that
the country has the capacity to absorb
those billions," he
said.
Tsvangirai was optimistic a reform to the country's struggling
mining sector
would address concerns of foreign mining companies, who were
worried by an
earlier draft they feared would have given locals control of
mining
operations owned by foreigners.
"We're doing our part to
create conditions that will attract foreign direct
investment in the mining
industry," he said. (Editing by Marius Bosch and
Alison Williams)
Dialogue with
EU 'key' to progress in Zimbabwe
http://news.yahoo.com
by Denholm Barnetson - Fri
Oct 9, 11:57 am ET
VALLADOLID, Spain (AFP) - Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai said
on Friday that talks with the European Union on normalising
relations would
help restore international confidence in his
country.
The EU in June held its first official talks with Zimbabwe in
seven years
with a landmarking meeting in Brussels, followed last month by
the visit of
an EU delegation to Harare.
The dialogue marks a major
diplomatic overture with Zimbabwe after years of
strained relations due to a
series of violent elections and claims of gross
human rights abuses by
President Robert Mugabe's government.
Tsvangirai joined Mugabe in a unity
government in February, and quickly made
a tour of western capitals in a bid
to improve relations and seek
desperately needed aid for Zimbabwe's ruined
economy.
"Zimbabwe is emerging from a political and economic conflict.
One of the key
things that we need to do is to expedite the EU's rapid
dialogue,"
Tsvangirai told AFP.
"The issues are very clear. The
Europeans have their own legitimate
concerns, we have our legitimate
concerns and therefore I think that only
through dialogue are we able to
establish a common ground and remove those
obstacles that have led to
strained relations."
He spoke to AFP in the northern Spanish city of
Valladolid, where he was to
receive a lifetime achievement award from the
Cristobal Gabarron Foundation.
The EU maintains a travel ban and asset
freeze against Mugabe and about 200
of his close allies, but has also
provided 600 million euros in humanitarian
aid between 2002 and
2009.
Xavier Marchal, head of the European delegation in Harare, said on
Thursday
that the bloc was ready to resume "massive and full-fledged
assistance" to
Zimbabwe if relations normalise.
Even Mugabe, who just
last month railed against "bloody whites" interfering
in his nation's
affairs, has struck a more conciliatory tone.
On Tuesday he said Zimbabwe
was ready for "fresh and cooperative relations"
with Western nations, which
have spearheaded global condemnation of his
rule.
Washington, which
also maintains sanctions on Mugabe and his inner circle,
has responded more
cautiously, telling Mugabe to first show his "commitment
to democratic
reform and political opening."
The power-sharing government aimed to end
political violence that erupted
after failed elections last year and to halt
Zimbabwe's economic freefall,
powered by world-record hyperinflation that
impoverished the once dynamic
country.
Tsvangirai said economic
stabilisation was critical to the country's
recovery, and also called for a
"move away from humanitarian support to
development needs."
The unity
government has been rattled by public feuding between Finance
Minister
Tendai Biti and Reserve Bank chief Gideon Gono, most recently over
control
of 400 million dollars in resources from the International Monetary
Fund.
But Tsvangiraid said Gono had no choice but to accept Biti's
decisions.
"The fiscal authority in Zimbabwe is the minister of finance.
The governor
is answerable and subordinate to the minister of finance, so
there is no
dispute," the former opposition leader said.
Biti "will
set the priorities."
He said the IMF funds would be used "for social
development in all sectors."
Hours after the Barack Obama was
sensationally awarded the Nobel Peace
Prize, he also called on African
leaders to do more to help the US president
develop the continent.
"I
think he will be sympathetic to Africa but I think he has other
priorities.
So it now depends on the African leadership ... to do something.
Let's
facilitate Obama to help us."
Zimbabwe central bank chief denies "killing" economy
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/
Written by Agence
France Presse (AFP)
Friday, 09 October 2009 06:45
Zimbabwe's
Reserve Bank chief Gideon Gono, who presided over the
collapse of the local
currency, insisted he was not to blame for "killing"
the nation's economy,
in an interview with AFP.
He again rejected calls for his
resignation after President Robert
Mugabe's unilateral decision to appoint
him to a new five-year term last
year -- one of the major disputes facing
the eight-month-old unity
government.
"The immorality and
irrationality of the whole argument is that 'Gono
must go because he printed
money and he killed this economy.'
"That's a white lie because no
single individual can harm or kill an
economy," he said.
Gono's
tenure at the helm of the Reserve Bank saw inflation soar from
already
staggering four-digit figures when he took office in 2003 to numbers
estimated in many multiples of billions last year.
He
introduced new bank notes, sometimes every month, in denominations
that
reached 100 trillion Zimbabwe dollars - even after repeatedly slashing
digits to keep the numbers manageable.
The government finally
abandoned the currency in January and now uses
US dollars as its currency of
reference.
Gono also stands accused of siphoning off state money
into secret
accounts in Asia and Europe, a charge he denies.
"Whatever I did had authorisation from the government of the day,"
said
Gono, a former commercial banker.
He described his job as "a
plumber mending burst pipes. I prevented
this country from descending into
chaos like Somalia."
In his defence, Gono said "bureaucrats"
blocked his proposals for
economic reforms. He points out that he drew ire
from party loyalists for
criticising import and price controls that left
most store shelves empty two
years ago.
He insisted that
feuding between ZANU(PF) and the rival Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC)
has done more than his policies to hurt the economy,
which has been
shrinking since 1997.
"The greatest economic impediment has been
political quarrels between
ZANU(PF) and MDC. There was never commonality of
vision. While some were
building, others were destroying," Gono
said.
He also blamed western nations for undermining the economy
with a
travel ban, asset freeze and other targetted sanctions imposed on
himself,
Mugabe and other government officials, even though the sanctions
don't
affect trade and investment in Zimbabwe.
"The single
biggest obstacle to our economic progress has been the
imposition of
sanctions against this country," Gono said.
The Global Political
Agreement (GPA) signed in September 2008, which
led to the creation of the
unity government in February, calls for Mugabe to
"consult" with the MDC
leader, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai on major
appointments.
Mugabe unilaterally reappointed Gono in October last year while still
in
talks with MDC over key government posts, but the central bank boss said
he
was properly named.
"I am definite that the removal of sanctions
was mentioned in the GPA
and not me," he said.
However, he
conceded that unity deal was the road map against which
the government is
"legitimately being judged".
Now, without control over the money
supply, Gono has found his role
sharply curtailed and his influence
overshadowed by Finance Minister Tendai
Biti, who was drawn from the
MDC.
Gono is publicly feuding with Biti over control of 400 million
dollars
in resources from the International Monetary Fund, but said their
sparring
was purely professional.
"It's healthy to have
professional differences," he said.
The Times (SA)
German govt
protests to Zimbabwe over invasion of German-owned farm
http://www.apanews.net
APA-Harare (Zimbabwe)
Germany has written a protest letter to Zimbabwe Prime
Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai after a German national lost more than US$1.5
million invested in
a farm that was invaded by a top army officer in
violation of a bilateral
investment protection agreement between the two
countries.
The German
embassy in Harare said in the letter to Tsvangirai that the
invasion of
Karori farm by Brigadier General Justin Mujaji was unlawful and
jeopardised
the investment made by the German investor into the farm.
The farm is
jointly owned by Zimbabwean white commercial farmer Charles Lock
and the
German national.
It has been occupied by soldiers acting on behalf of
Mujaji for several
weeks in a bid to force the owners to abandon the land,
crops, farm
equipment, livestock, household property and other personal
effects.
"The embassy wishes to express its dismay, and strongly protests
against the
criminal behaviour of Brigadier Mujaji. It expects the Ministry
of Foreign
Affairs and all authorities concerned to take immediate action to
restore
law and order at Mr Lock's premises, and to ensure full compliance
with
Zimbabwe's obligations under international law," the embassy
said.
Zimbabwe has often clashed with a number of Western governments
with which
Harare has binding bilateral investment protection and promotion
agreements.
The government has however insisted that no foreigners are
allowed to own
land in Zimbabwe, with all land belonging to the
state.
JN/daj/APA 2009-10-09
ZANU
PF will stand in the way of transparent land audit: JAG
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Alex Bell
09
October 2009
Justice for Agriculture (JAG) on Friday warned that ZANU PF
will stand in
the way of a transparent land audit, arguing the party will go
out of its
way to control the process for its own benefit.
The
European Commission this week said it is ready to fund an audit of the
land
'reform' programme, saying an audit is a key step to resolving Zimbabwe's
land issues. Head of the Commission's delegation to Zimbabwe, Xavier
Marchal, said: "We are ready to assist the government to implement an
inclusive, transparent, and comprehensive land audit . . . which should be
aimed at resolving the land issue. This is the bigger picture, which cannot
be ignored if Zimbabwe's agriculture is to become highly successful
again."
But the likelihood of a transparent audit involving the
government is slim,
with JAG's John Worsley-Worswick explaining on Friday
that an audit,
independent of any political party, is the only way
forward.
"ZANU PF cannot afford to have an independent audit, because
they will want
to camouflage and cover up their destruction of the land,"
Worsley-Worswick
explained.
The JAG official added that a
well-funded, well-resourced and independent
commission is the only way the
land 'reform' programme will be exposed for
causing "a national disaster."
Worsley-Worswick continued that an audit is
not a 'massive' task, with all
the real, legitimate information being
closely protected by farmers' rights
groups, such as the Commercial Farmers
Union. But explained it is the lack
of 'political will' that will stand in
the way of an audit uncovering the
truth.
While promising to help the government with an audit, the European
Commission's Marchal also called on the coalition to take responsibility for
the collapse of the sector as a result of state-sponsored land seizure. He
said: "Government has to take its responsibilities. The decline in the
agricultural production is indeed related to failing government polices
associated to issues relating to the way the land and agrarian reform
programme has been conducted. These need to be addressed by
government."
The ongoing seizure of commercial land in the name of land
'reform' is among
key issues that have soured relations with the European
Union, who imposed
targeted 'shopping' sanctions on key members of Mugabe's
regime, as well as
on the dictator himself. This year's renewed offensive
against commercial
farmers has also been a critical barrier against
financial aid for the unity
government, with potential donors saying the
money is available as soon as
critical reforms are in place.
The
agreement that formed the basis for the coalition promised to undertake
a
comprehensive land audit that would set the stage for an orderly and
equitable reform programme in the collapsed agricultural sector. But the
government has refused to follow through on this particular promise, citing
a lack of resources. Lands Minister Herbert Murerwa last month said the
government needed US$30 million to carry out the land audit, money which the
government simply does not have.
Mutambara
says Charamba damaging the standing of government
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Violet Gonda
9
October 2009
Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara confirmed on SW Radio
Africa on
Friday that individuals for the Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC)
have been
approved by the Principals and it's now just a matter of
announcing the
commission. The Deputy Prime Minister also said some of the
boards announced
by Webster Shamu, the Minister of Media, Information and
Publicity, were
unlawful. The individuals appointed by the Minister last
week are mostly
ZANU PF defenders and military personnel, who will sit on
the media boards
for the six parastatals under his
ministry.
Mutambara said: "What we are saying is that they must be
reversed as this is
illegal and un-procedural appointment of the board of
Zimpapers and the
board of the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe, but the
media commissions
have gone through the President and the Prime Minister...
and now it's a
question of announcing."
But earlier this week Press
Secretary George Charamba told editors at a
media conference in Harare that
the ZMC will come into being only when three
other constitutional
commissions are put in place. These are the Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission,
the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission and the
Zimbabwe Human Rights
Commission. There are fears that this is another
attempt to delay much
needed media reform, especially as it is not known how
long it will take for
the other three commissions to be set up.
When asked about Charamba's
statement, Mutambara said the Press Secretary
was wrong and is not qualified
to speak in that way. He said: "These are
the individuals who are damaging
the standing of the government by speaking
out of turn and speaking without
authority. We do not take that very kindly;
he has no authority to speak as
he has done."
"He is a civil servant but he is behaving like a political
commissar, which
is a travesty of justice in our country," the Deputy Prime
Minister lashed
out.
Sources close to government allege the Permanent
Secretary, who is also
Mugabe's spokesperson, helped set up the media boards
and played a big role
in coming up with the scandalous list of board
members. Charamba is said to
have added people like Charles Utete - the
former Secretary to the President
and the Cabinet, who worked with Charamba
for many years. Charamba is also
said to have also roped in Dr Tafataona
Mahoso - the media hangman who
worked closely with him to muzzle the media
in the country. Mahoso was
appointed the chair of the very important
broadcasting authority, which
would hand out licenses to independent
broadcasters.
Mutambara pointed out: "We do not approve of his
activities. As inclusive
government and as Deputy Prime Minister and the
Prime Minister we take
strong exception to these quasi-political activities
that a civil servant is
carrying out."
But it is clear that Charamba
is only carrying out these 'activities'
because he is getting permission and
authority from the power at the top,
namely Robert Mugabe.
Early this
week Charamba also threatened Barnabas Thondhlana - the editor
of Newsday
with arrest, if he circulated the private paper without a
licence. Newsday
is a new daily newspaper proposed by the Zimbabwe
Independent Group. Since
the new government said it plans to open up the
media space, only the state
controlled H-Metro has been given a licence to
publish a new daily
newspaper.
Early this week the MDC Deputy Minister of Information Jameson
Timba told us
that he was not consulted when Shamu made the media board
appointments. And
this week the Zimbabwe Independent revealed that the
Deputy Minister said he
has not been able to raise his concerns with his
colleagues in the ministry.
He is quoted as saying: "I do not have a
platform to do so. The Minister and
the Secretary (Charamba) hold management
meetings to which they do not
invite me. They make most of their decisions
and I see them in the newspaper
like every other Zimbabwean. Unless we are
forced to meet because there is a
requirement to do so from another office,
then I am excluded. I am supposed
to be the Deputy Spokesperson of this
inclusive government but, I am
excluded in its processes, including not
being given information on
government decisions which if the minister is not
reachable I am supposed to
communicate."
Supreme Court To Hear Makoni Case
http://www.radiovop.com/
Harare, October 09, 2009 - The
Supreme Court will determine whether
the former Finance Minister and losing
Presidential Candidate in the March
2008 elections, Simba Makoni, should
face trial for violating the repressive
Public Order and Security Act
(POSA), a Bindura magistrate ruled on
Thursday.
Makoni,
who broke away from Zanu PF early last year, to form the
Mavambo/
Kusile/Dawn Political Project to contest the election as an
independent, is
being charged for addressing more than 400 supporters in
March last year
without police permission, as is required under POSA.
Police
re-opened his case in June this year, a time when the former
politburo
member launched his political project as a new party.
The state had
lined up two Zanu- PF members and councillors as
witnesses - Henry Magundani
and Tendai Kuzvidza - who failed to turn up
Thursday to hear the ruling.
Also subpoenaed to testify in the matter were
four police officers stationed
at Glendale Police Station, namely Albert
Chifamba, Johane Chimbari,
Oddington Chonze and Jacob Pedzai, to testify
against Makoni.
When Makoni's trial kicked off on September 15 in the mining town, 19
months
after the alleged offence, he filed an application to have the matter
referred to the Supreme Court as his trial violated his freedom of speech,
assembly and movement.
When his case resumed on Thursday, the
presiding magistrate said he
concurred with Makoni's lawyers who contended
the law was violating sections
of the supreme law that guarantees the basic
freedoms to all citizens.
Denford Magora, Makoni's spokesperson
said he was not surprised that
the court had seen it fit to refer his boss's
case to the Supreme Court. "It
was really gong to be difficult, if not
ridiculous, for the court to decide
otherwise without discrediting itself
and the already battered judicial
system in Zimbabwe. It would have been
interesting to hear the reasons for
the ruling that the case should proceed,
as the state was insisting," said
Magora.
President Robert
Mugabe's opponents and human rights groups accuse the
veteran leader of
using POSA to bar his opponents from campaigning freely
and to persecute
dissenters to his controversial rule.
Makoni, on his part says
he sees "malice" in the decision by the State
to pursue charges for a case
that it had seemingly discarded months ago. He
came a distant third in the
Presidential race which was widely believed to
have been won by MDC's Morgan
Tsvangirai.
Mugabe went on to win the run off election after
forcing off race his
remaining challenger, Tsvangirai, through an orgy of
state sponsored
violence.
Zimbabweans
to benefit from relaxation of UK immigration rules
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Tichaona Sibanda
9
October 2009
Thousands of Zimbabwean asylum seekers are to benefit from
the relaxation of
immigration laws by the British government.
From
July, the UK government quietly loosened the immigration rules for
asylum
seekers in order to clear a backlog of cases. The British government
two
years ago halted its policy of returning Zimbabwean asylum seekers
because
of the dire political situation.
The United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees describes an asylum seeker
as an individual who has sought
international protection and whose claim for
refugee status has not yet been
determined.
SW Radio Africa can reveal that in the last few months,
hundreds of failed
asylum seekers from the MDC were granted leave to remain
in UK after their
cases were reviewed on an individual basis.
Reports
in the British media on Friday said as a result of the changes, some
40,000
immigrants who had moved to the UK from Zimbabwe, Iran and other
troubled
countries have been told they can stay in the UK.
Jaison Matewu, the
organising secretary of the MDC-UK, told us Home Office
figures show that
20,000 Zimbabweans applied for refugee status in the UK in
the last nine
years and that slightly over 8,000 have been granted.
Matewu said they've
always been lobbying the UK government to give asylum
seekers the right to
work while their claims were being processed by the
Home
Office.
'We've never stopped lobbying the government to allow those who
can, to
work, as their ineligibility for state benefits had rendered many
destitute,'
Matewu said.
The 40,000 are among a backlog of 450,000
asylum cases which British
ministers have pledged to clear by 2011.
According to reports Phil Woolas,
the UK immigration minister, wrote a memo
suggesting that asylum applicants
from countries with poor human rights
records should be granted leave to
remain in the UK if they have been living
in the UK for 4-6 years.
Previously the rules stated that they must have
been living in the country
for 10-12 years before being granted leave to
remain indefinitely. Woolas
denied the new rules amounted to an
amnesty.
'There is no amnesty. Our guidelines were updated to provide
case workers
with a simple framework to judge cases, and to avoid long,
drawn-out court
battles. Less than 40 per cent of cases are being granted,'
he said.
Last year, Zimbabwe had the second-highest number of people
seeking asylum
in industrialised countries, according to a United Nations
report released
in July.
The report said the countries of origin
showing a significant rise in
applications for asylum due to unrest or
conflict last year included
Afghanistan, up 85%, Zimbabwe up 82%, Somalia,
up 77% and Nigeria up 71%.
Obama
wins Nobel Peace Prize
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Lance Guma
09 October 2009
US President
Barack Obama was the surprise winner of the 2009 Nobel Peace
Prize. The
Norwegian Nobel Committee said it gave the award to him for his
'efforts to
strengthen international diplomacy," his "vision of and work for
a world
without nuclear weapons" and for inspiring hope and creating "a new
climate
in international politics."
The decision drew both praise and criticism
on Friday. Obama has certainly
made his mark by being the first
African-American to be elected as President
of the United States, but his
critics say so far it's his speeches that have
got him where he is, and he
is yet to deliver on the many promises he has
made.
Zimbabweans will
no doubt have been rooting for Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai who,
alongside a Colombian Senator, Chinese dissident and an
Afghan women's
rights activist, was one of the people nominated for the
award. A brief
scouring of the internet showed a tremendous stream of
support for
Tsvangirai and just hours before the winner was announced,
Tsvangirai
appeared to be one of the front runners.
One blogger suggested Tsvangirai
deserved the award because 'he stood up to
a murderous dictator' for years
and has always chosen the route of peaceful
resistance. Finland's former
President Martti Ahtisaari, who won the award
last year, put some
perspective on the debate by arguing the Nobel committee
probably wanted to
encourage Obama to deliver on the issues he has been
articulating.
But for Tsvangirai to have been in the running for the
award represented an
acknowledgement of his efforts in trying to bring
democracy and a respect
for human rights to Zimbabwe.
Envoys
'interfered' in Zimbabwe deaths probe
http://www.smh.com.au
October 10, 2009
A diamond industry
official says Australia tried to help miner Rio Tinto,
writes Ginny
Stein.
AUSTRALIA has been accused of using diplomatic pressure to try to
prevent
action against Zimbabwe over allegations of a massacre at one of its
diamond
mines.
Ian Smillie, a founding member of the Kimberley
Process, the international
group governing the global diamond industry, said
Australian diplomats paid
quiet visits to the governments of a review team,
members of which recommend
no action be taken against Zimbabwe.
"As I
understand it, members of the Australian diplomatic corps, have
visited the
governments of countries that had members on the review team
that went to
Zimbabwe in June [to try] to dissuade them from action which
would include
suspension from the Kimberley Process," he told SBS TV's
Dateline
program.
Mr Smillie, who resigned from the Kimberley Process in June
citing a lack of
action, has accused the Australian Government of putting
the commercial
interests of one Australian company ahead of human
rights.
The miner Rio Tinto has a 78 per cent stake in one of Zimbabwe's
three
diamond mines.
''I am old enough not to be surprised but I was
actually quite stunned," Mr
Smillie said.
"That you would be
concerned about regional political interests or that you
would allow
commercial interests to trump human rights or even to trump the
long-term
best interests of the diamond industry I think . is unfathomable."
A
spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it had not
yet finalised Australia's position and while it has been talking to other
governments it denied recommending they act in a particular way.
"As
a country that was not part of the review team and is not represented on
the
relevant KP working group [the working group on monitoring] we have not
finalised our own position."
Human Rights Watch released a report in
June accusing Zimbabwe's armed
forces of killing more than 200 people late
last year in a violent takeover
of one of its diamond fields. Local human
rights investigators said the toll
could be higher with new evidence being
uncovered of a mass grave at a
cemetery near the diamond fields.
Next
month, Kimberley Process members will meet in Namibia to decide whether
to
suspend Zimbabwe, one of the recommendations from its review team
following
the team's June visit to the Marange mine. Gem-quality diamonds
were
discovered on the Marange claim in the remote east of Zimbabwe in 2006.
Andrew Cranswick, chief executive of African Consolidated Resources, said
the discovery by his company was a major find.
"It put Zimbabwe on
the map. This took Zimbabwe to possibly a new level in
terms of total
supply," he said.
But three weeks after the discovery and following a
surprise visit to the
site by the then mines minister, Amos Midzi, the
Government revoked the
company's claim and invited the community to begin
digging for diamonds.
It subsequently handed over mining rights to a
state-owned company, the
Zimbabwe Mining Development
Corporation.
With the country then at the depth of its economic meltdown,
and with
millions of people out of work, the fields were soon swamped by
thousands of
people.
Security forces led by the military are accused
of wide-scale killings and
other human rights abuses including rape and
torture over a two-month period
as they attempted to seize back control of
the mine field.
Zimbabwe's High Court last month ruled that the Marange
mine had been
wrongfully seized by the Government and should be returned to
African
Consolidated Resources, but Government agencies are continuing to
mine the
claim.
"It is totally illegal and they are aware of it," Mr
Cranswick said.
Ginny Stein is a freelance journalist. Her report on
Zimbabwe's diamond
fields is on SBS TV's Dateline on Sunday at 8.30pm.
Msika Died A Bitter Man - Dabengwa
http://www.radiovop.com/
Masvingo, October 09, 2009-
Chairperson of the revived Zapu party,
Dumiso Dabengwa, stunned audiences
here when he said the late Vice President
Joseph Msika had died a bitter man
for betrayal by Zanu PF and had
masterminded the revival of Zapu
quietly.
Dabengwa who was addressing a press conference on
Thursday after a
workshop to re-organise his party, said: "Msika mobilized
us to break away
from the marriage of convenience after Mugabe failed to
honour the
agreement. He was not so open about it, but the truth is that he
told us to
have a national congress and consult on the way forward. He died
a very
bitter man, he must be turning in his grave because he felt betrayed
by Zanu
PF."
Msika died in August this year.
Zapu
pulled out of the 987 Unity Accord in May to revitalize after
party
stalwarts-among them Dabengwa and other politicians from
Matabeleland-complained of being overshadowed by Zanu PF.
Dabengwa said Msika approved of the pull-out from the Unity Accord
after
Mugabe failed to honour the agreement.
Zapu fought
alongside Zanu in the war of liberation. The two later
merged to become Zanu
PF after Mugabe unleashed the North Korean trained six
Brigade in
Matabeleland that killed thousands of people in what was later
called the
Gukurahundi massacres.
ZAPU was being accused of being involved in
insurgency, banditry and
trying to topple Mugabe. Several party
leaders-among them Dabengwa, and late
veteran nationalist Joshua Nkomo-were
arrested.
Dabengwa said that they were forced into signing the
agreement after
thousands lost lives, while many were left
crippled.
"We had no option as our people were being killed. We
told ourselves
that there was no option except to sign the deal and save
their lives. We
hoped the deal would work," said the intelligence
supreme.
Commenting on the appointment of vice president from their
party, as
per the 1987 agreement, Dabengwa said they were not going to field
a
candidate to fill that post because they are totally divorced from the
agreement.
He speculated that many political heavies from
Matabeleland would also
follow suit and defect from ZANU PF 'when the time
would be ripe'.
School
records zero examination registration
http://www.zimtelegraph.com/?p=3574
By GETRUDE GUMEDE
Published:
October 9, 2009
ZIMBABWE - PLUMTREE -
Zero percent registration for this year's Ordinary
Level examinations, 58
pupils sharing one Ndebele set book and one "O" level
Mathematics
book.
That is the reality that is prevailing at Bambadzi Secondary
School in
Bulilima District, more than 100km west of Plumtree
Town.
The school, which began operating in 1986, made history by failing
to
register a single pupil for the public examinations this
year.
Their case brings to the fore the effect that the examination fees
announced
by the Government and the strike by teachers had on pupils in poor
communities.
The Government set examination fees for "O" level pupils
at US$10 per
subject and US$20 for Advanced Level pupils.
A lot of
pupils, especially in rural areas, however, failed to raise the
fees, and
will therefore not be sitting for the public examinations.
Some pupils
were forced to cut the number of subjects they are sitting for,
as they
could not afford to pay for all the subjects.
In Matabeleland South, more
than 40 percent failed to register for any
subject, with Bambadzi Secondary
School recording zero percent registration.
For the Bambadzi community
and pupils at the school, however, that was the
best decision under the
circumstances.
"Last year, we did not learn at all because teachers were
not there. Those
who were there were not teaching because of the strikes. I
was not prepared
for the examinations, so I chose to go back to Form 3 at
the beginning of
the first term," said Ruth Nleya.
"The examination
fees were also too much and considering that I was likely
not to pass if I
had written this year, I chose to repeat. I'm, however,
looking forward to
writing nine subjects next year."
The school teaches Agriculture,
Commerce, English, Mathematics, History,
Geography, Mathematics and
Science.
Ruth and 10 other pupils from her class repeated their "O"
Levels, believing
that by the time they write public examinations next year,
they would be
ready for the challenge.
The bulk of those she was
supposed to write her exams with were, however,
not that patient, and chose
to drop out of school altogether.
The deputy chairperson of the Bambadzi
School Development Committee, Vonolia
Ndlovu, said the school was faced with
a difficult situation when it dawned
on them that the bulk of "O" Levels
pupils felt they were not ready to write
examinations.
"Actually, not
only did we fail to register any pupil, but the entire Form 4
class
collapsed. We don't have a Form 4 class as we speak. Very few "O"
Level
pupils came back when schools opened because they were frustrated
after
going for almost the whole year without lessons," she explained.
"The
majority of those who came back said they were not ready for
examinations
and asked to go back to Form 3. "The parents also did not have
money for
their children to write examinations, so in the end everyone was
in
agreement that repeating was the best way forward.
"Only about three
pupils said they wanted to write the examinations, but in
the end they also
repeated."
Mrs Ndlovu said apart from the strike by teachers, pupils at
the school were
learning under very harsh circumstances, which also
contributed to them not
being prepared for the examinations.
The
school has a serious shortage of furniture, books and other material.
In
most cases one book is being shared by an average of 10 pupils.
To
preserve the small amount of books available, the pupils are not allowed
to
go home with the books because the authorities fear that the books may be
lost or damaged.
"This means that the pupils have difficulties in
studying as they do not
have any other reference other than their notes,"
said Ndlovu.
The pupils at the school revealed that the shortage of books
was very
severe, especially for subjects such as Mathematics, English,
Commerce and
History.
Senzile Khuphe, another pupil who is repeating
her "O" levels, said her
entire class was sharing one Ndebele set book,
Amasokisi, while there was
only one Mathematics book for the
class.
There is one Form 3 class at the school with 58 pupils.
"The
books are kept by the teachers. For Ndebele, the teacher reads the book
for
us in class while we listen. We have no chance to read on our own
although
we take down notes and discuss in class. On other subjects we just
take down
notes," she said.
The school also teaches Science although there is no
laboratory, meaning
that pupils cannot carry out experiments. A building,
which is supposed to
be the laboratory, has been at roof level since 2007,
as the authorities do
not have funds to complete the project.
A
villager from Bambadzi, who has children at both Bambadzi Primary and
Secondary schools, Mr Michael Ndlovu, said he was not shocked that no pupil
from the school had registered.
He said most villagers could not
afford the examination fees as they were
struggling to earn a
living.
This is despite the fact that a large number of people from the
area were
living and working in South Africa and would therefore be expected
to be
able to raise the fees.
"It's true that a large percentage of
the population works in South Africa,
but what happened is that because of
the continuous strikes by teachers,
most parents took their children to
South Africa, and they are learning
there," said Ndlovu.
"Most of
those still learning here are from vulnerable families and
therefore can not
raise the examination fees. That is the reason why they
had to repeat.
Honestly how could they have written anything given that they
had not learnt
anything and that the examination fees were beyond their
reach?
"Hopefully, the Government will be more sensitive next year
and come up with
examination fees which will enable the poor to also write
examinations."
Although Chief Madlambuzi said he was not informed of the
situation at the
school, he said most of his subjects were struggling to
make ends meet which
could answer why pupils failed to
register.
"There is no money. People are struggling to survive. A
majority of the
people in my area did not harvest anything because their
crops were
destroyed by elephants and birds.
They are struggling to
buy food to feed themselves and I should think that
they also can't afford
to pay examination fees," said Chief Madlambuzi.
Authorities at the
school revealed that enrolment had dropped from 300 last
year to below 200,
after a number of parents took their children to South
African schools while
some pupils dropped out.
Bambadzi Secondary School's catchment area
includes places such as
Gotshombo, which is 20km away from the school, Mafa
20 km and Hingwe, about
15km.
Hordes of pupils walk to and from the
school everyday to get an education,
and will be hoping to reap the rewards
of their sweat.
Lack of Clean
Groundwater a Health Threat
http://www.ipsnews.net
By Ignatius Banda
BULAWAYO , Oct 9 (IPS) -
As the rainy season approaches, and sewage from pit
latrines seep further
into the Zimbabwe's groundwater, Irene Ngubeni will be
at risk as the
country faces another possible cholera outbreak.
Even now, just before
the rains have started falling Ngubeni is ill. She has
travelled the 170
kilometres from her village in Matebeleland North to
Bulawayo for treatment
after drinking contaminated groundwater.
The stomach cramps that plague
her, she believes, are a result of drinking
unclean groundwater. She
suspects that even though the water she drank comes
from the village
borehole, it could have been contaminated.
"We do have a borehole in our
village, but people always talk about the
water being unsafe to drink,"
Ngubeni said, who comes from Lupane, in
Matebeleland
North.
"Villagers still use open spaces as latrines and yes there is a
possibility
that waste has found its way into our drinking water," she
said.
But this is a reality she said she lives with everyday.
And
this rainy season the country is at risk for another cholera outbreak,
according to humanitarian agencies. Last year the waterborne disease claimed
over 4,000 lives.
According to experts there are still millions of
people living in rural
Zimbabwe with no access to clean water and who are
susceptible to waterborne
diseases.
In this situation, however,
Zimbabwe is not alone. Contaminated groundwater
is a problem faced by many
countries in southern Africa.
Only a few Southern African Development
Community (SADC) countries are
monitoring and properly managing groundwater,
exposing millions of people
living in rural areas with no access to clean
water to waterborne diseases,
experts say.
Up to 70 percent of
Zimbabwe's rural population and 90 percent in Swaziland
rely on groundwater.
But in the absence of proper monitoring of this vital
resource, fecal matter
from latrines that lie too close to boreholes has
polluted people's drinking
water.
In some SADC areas groundwater is the only reliable water source
with up 70
percent of the people and another 60 percent of the region's poor
rural
communities using groundwater as their primary water
source.
However, experts agree that with proper monitoring and
mechanisms, the
contamination of the groundwater can be avoided and at the
same time save
lives.
These reports come at a time when some
humanitarian agencies, including the
International Federation of Red Cross
and Red Crescent, say Zimbabwe faces
another possible cholera outbreak as
the rainy season approaches.
Management of underground water is crucial
if its contamination is to be
avoided says Barbara Lopi, a communications
specialist with the SADC
Groundwater and Drought Management
Project.
"An example (of this) is Zimbabwe where the cholera outbreak
emanated from
contaminated groundwater from a borehole," Lopi
said.
"Rural populations across the SADC region build their latrines near
boreholes and this has helped spread diseases like cholera," Lopi told a
seminar on Integrated Water Resources Management recently held in South
Africa.
Access to clean water remains a problem that affects even
urban populations
across SADC as governments fail to replace poor
infrastructure.
Burst sewers across Africa's major cities has resulted in
sewage seeping
into water supplies meant for household use and further
exposing urban
populations to disease.
The failure by many SADC
countries to adequately deal with groundwater
management could fuel the
potential outbreak of waterborne diseases, Lopi
said.
These concerns
come at a time when access to clean water remains a big issue
with some
humanitarian agencies saying many countries in sub-Sahara Africa
will miss
by a huge margin the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) that seeks
to provide
clean water for all by year 2015.
Sylvain Bertrand of OXFAM GB says
groundwater is vital if SADC countries
like Zimbabwe are to meet any of the
MDGs.
"The alleviation of diseases and poverty can be tied to providing
clean
water to communities," Bertrand said.
"Water sources must be
protected from outside contamination in particular
fecal matter," Bertrand
said.
According to the 2008 WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Report, less than
50
percent people in the SADC region have access to adequate sanitation, and
rural communities are the hardest hit, making them extremely vulnerable to
diseases such as cholera.
Early next year, SADC will set up the
Groundwater Management Institute as
part of efforts to respond to challenges
presented by groundwater management
in the region.
And the meantime
Ngubeni and people in her village will have to be cautious
about protecting
their water supply. Currently, Ngubeni admits, they only
become concerned
when someone takes ill. "It is when someone complains of
stomach pains and
diarrhoea that people start speculating about the cause
because we do not
boil the water."
Charity Boss
On FBI Wanted List
http://www.herald.co.zw/
9 October 2009
Harare - THE American Federal
Bureau of Investigation says it is hunting for
Wishkids International
director Phillip Mazorodze (45), who is on an
outstanding international
warrant of arrest over charges of forgery, fraud
and theft allegedly
committed in the United States of America.
Through the International
Police Organisation, the FBI has embarked on a
manhunt for Mazorodze, whose
charity organisation on Monday donated 155
wheelchairs to three hospitals in
Harare.
Mazorodze on Monday officially handed over the chairs to Prime
Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai, who received the gift on behalf of the health
institutions at a ceremony at Harare Central Hospital.
Health and Child
Welfare Minister Henry Madzorera was among Government
officials who attended
the occasion where Mazorodze addressed the gathering
saying he was working
with some international organisations to mobilise
support for Zimbabwe's
health institutions.
However, it appears the Good Samaritan might not be
so clean after all.
According to Interpol's website, Mazorodze is facing
"counterfeit/forgery,
fraud and theft" charges in the United
States.
Police spokesperson Senior Assistant Commissioner Wayne
Bvudzijena yesterday
confirmed that Mazorodze was on the Interpol wanted
list, but said they were
trying to verify if he was still in
Zimbabwe.
Mazorodze on his part claimed the allegations had been
fabricated by people
opposed to his support for the Government of Zimbabwe
and the matter had
since been sorted out with US authorities.
Snr Asst
Comm Bvudzijena said: "We confirm receiving communication from
Interpol that
one Phillip Mazorodze is a wanted person in connection with
crimes he
allegedly committed in the United States of America.
"We are making
investigations to establish whether or not he is still in
this
country.
"Although I was not briefed on the actual charges he is facing
there, the
FBI are looking for him through Interpol."
It could not be
established at the time of writing whether the communication
from Interpol
was received before or after Monday's donation.
It was also not clear if
port of entry authorities had been notified of the
international arrest
warrant when Mazorodze entered Zimbabwe.
Asked to clarify these issues,
Snr Asst Comm Bvudzijena said: "All I can
confirm right now is that Interpol
is looking for someone called Philip
Mazorodze."
However, Mazorodze --
whom police say they are looking for -- yesterday told
The Herald that he
was in Harare and was not hiding from anyone.
He said the issue was
ironed out last year and neither US authorities nor
Interpol were looking
for him.
"The allegations were fabricated by some individuals who were
against the
sup-port I lent to the Government. It started when I was in
America when we
used to run programmes to support medical institutions in
Zimbabwe and those
people were against the idea of supporting Zimbabwe
because of the sanctions
on the country.
"But I am Zimbabwean and I
should support my country. I have vowed to
continue supporting Zimbabwe.
Another issue is that those people thought I
had succeeded in the Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission interviews and they
wanted to discredit me. I did
attend the interviews but I failed."
He was one of 25 people interviewed two
weeks ago by a parliamentary
committee to sit on ZEC.
It is
understood that when he allegedly fled the US he left behind his wife
and
three children.
He yesterday confirmed that he had left his three
children and wife in the
US but denied that he had abandoned
them.
"One is at university studying medicine while the other two are in
primary
school."
Mazorodze said he would continue donating equipment
and whatever else he
could to Zimbabwe's health
institutions.
According to Internet news reports, US prosecutors have
been looking into
Mazorodze's US-registered charity, Wishkids International,
which claims to
have "substantial experience (in) implementing HIV/Aids
welfare projects and
poverty reduction income-generating projects in
developing nations,
especially Africa".
The charity says it "offers
solutions for developing country projects";
claims "significant experience
with United Nations Population Fund impact
evaluation projects" and states
that its specialties "include designing
management structures for efficient
project implementation and effective
evaluative project-data collection
systems".
The wheelchairs donated by Mazorodze will go to Harare Central,
Chitungwiza
and Parirenyatwa hospitals.
PM Tsvangirai said the
wheelchairs would "go a long way in alleviating the
plight of the
disadvantaged".
There are no indications that the Prime Minister's Office
was aware of the
questions surrounding Mazorodze.
Zimbabwe and the US
do not have an extradition treaty, which explains why
the matter was
transmitted through Interpol.
Interpol's regional headquarters are in
Zimbabwe.
News Day To Go Online
http://www.radiovop.com/
Harare, October 09, 2009 - Zimbabwe Independent
Group's NewsDay is set
to go online on November 2 following threats by the
Permanent Secretary in
the Ministry of Information and Publicity, George
Charamba that it will shut
down the group if they publish without a
license.
Barnabas Thondlana, the NewsDay Editor designate
said they were taking
the threats seriously.
"If we do not get
a license we going online on November 2. We are
taking the threats
seriously. We have already had a launch for the
advertisers...we presented
the dummy to potential advertisers," Thondlana
said.
Currently
there are no laws controlling online media in Zimbabwe
although the
goverment had tried to hack some news websites.
Thondlana said that
the Charamba had also told him that the government
would not expedite the
announcement of the Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC)
although some reports
said both President Robert Mugabe and Morgan
Tsvangirai had agreed on former
Herald and ZBC editor Henry Muradzikwa to be
the new chair.
"Charamba said they was nothing special about the Zimbabwe Media
Commission...," Thondlana said.
Government however recently
announced new names for media boards
through Information and Publicity
Minister Webster Shamu which saw former
Media Information Commission (MIC)
chairman made new chair for the
Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ).
Mahoso, Charamba and former
Minister of Information, Jonathan Moyo, who is
widely tipped to become Zanu
PF's new political commissar, crafted the
oppressive Access to Information
and Protection to Privacy Act (AIPPA) which
resulted in the closure of many
papers and forced many journalists into
exile.
Tsvangirai has condemned the appointment of Mahoso to BAZ,
saying it
was irregular.
Newsday is the new daily newspaper
from the Zimbabwe Independent Group
stable which has still to be given an
operating licence by government. The
group also publish the Zimbabwe
Independent and Standard. It is owned by
mogul, Trevor Ncube who is based in
South Africa.
"I will pick you up," Charamba said to a stunned
Thondlana in Harare.
"If your paper goes on the streets of Harare without a
license I will send
my boys to get you in your office."
Charamba was addressing more than 30 newspaper editors from Zimbabwe's
diverse media in Harare this week.
Zimbabwe's crisis chronicled in
stone at sculpture colony
AFP/File – Zimbabwean artist Fanul Marliza
works on a sculpture in Tengenenge in 2008. Sculpture has blossomed on …
by Griffin Shea –
13 mins ago
GURUVE, Zimbabwe (AFP) – Maicos Mugugu chisels a block of serpentine stone,
carving what he says will become a sculpture of a family pulling together, with
a message of the importance of unity in Zimbabwe.
"Together we stand, divided we fall. When we quarrel, we cannot stand. But
when we are in good books, working together, everything will go well," he
explains from under a msasa tree, leaves budding in fiery reds and yellows in
Zimbabwe's spring.
Mugugu hasn't seen a customer in months, but still he chips away at the
stone, expanding his collection on one of dozens of patches of land on a former
tobacco farm known as Tengenenge.
He says his work has no political themes, but his scupltures displayed on
stumps of wood show families uniting to overcome difficulty, and lovers
embracing not in passion, but to overcome sorrow.
His most striking figures are sandstone towers, carved into faces heavy with
sadness.
"This is a chief," Mugugu explained. "He is sad because his people do not
have enough to eat, and he does not know what to do."
Similar themes of Zimbabwe's economic collapse resonate across other
sculptors' works: farmers whose heads sprout into leaves, showing their hopes
for their crops; parents weeping over small children; enormous busts with
bewildered faces.
Sculpture has blossomed on Tengenenge since 1966, when the world slapped
sanctions on the white-minority Rhodesian regime to press for democratic
rule.
The farm's owner, Tom Blomefield, turned to sculpture and gave tools to the
farm workers to try their hand.
What emerged was a new style of sculpture from the hands of the farm workers
and artisans who over the years sought out Tengenenge as a place to live, work
and sell their creations.
Their sleek lines of polished stone with a Brancusi elegance, accented with
rough edges of natural rock in striking acts of balance made the sculptors a hit
internationally after independence in 1980, when world markets re-opened to
Zimbabwe.
But in recent years selling has become increasingly difficult for the 100 or
so sculptors living at Tengenenge. The farm lies a two-hour drive north of the
capital Harare, the last 40 kilometres (25 miles) down a dirt road now bisected
by a Chinese chrome mine.
A neighbouring tobacco farm was resettled under President Robert Mugabe's
land reforms that upended the nation's critical farm sector, leaving small-scale
farmers struggling to make ends meet by growing patches of maize. Tobacco barns,
tractors, tills and other equipment lie covered in dust and cobwebs.
But their problems turned even more dramatic last year, when the surrounding
district of Guruve erupted in political violence following inconclusive
presidential elections between Mugabe and his rival Morgan
Tsvangirai.
Many of the artists were beaten, they say, for refusing to attend rallies
held by Mugabe's ZANU-PF
party.
Meanwhile Zimbabwe's economy unraveled as hyperinflation soared to multiples
of billions. Without customers, most sculptors resorted to growing their own
maize and hunting for sable. Some went to the Han-se mine next door to turn
their skill with rock to mining chrome.
Blomefield, now a grandfatherly figure with a Santa Claus beard, last year
gave up living on Tengenenge and sold the farm to one of Zimbabwe's most
successful sculptors, Dominic
Benhura, who is subsidising the sculptors' work.
"We used to get in a good month 30 to 40 visitors. Now we are lucky to get
even one customer on a weekend," said Blessed Kaweka, Tengenenge's sales
manager.
"Most of our business is exported. We depend on the tourist industry," which
has fizzled, he added.
Kaweka, like most Zimbabweans, is counting on the unity government to
stabilise the economy and bring back business -- an optimism reflected in a few
of the sculptors' work.
Prosper Chiroodza, a 29-year-old who also performs in bira rain dances for
nearby villages, carves images of his dancers reaching for the sky with faces
toward heaven, calling for better times.
Mixed among the bira scenes, he has football players leap through the air,
with goalkeepers flipping to catch a ball, inspired by the World Cup next year in neighbouring
South Africa, the first time the tournament will be held on the African
continent.
"I am looking for 2010. If God believes in us, maybe I will go to South Africa to sell my work," he
said.
Council
prioritizes Isuzu Double Cab ahead of water production
145 Robert Mugabe
Way, Exploration House, Third Floor; Website: www.chra.co.zw
…as
CHRA puts meeting with Prime Minister on the cards and mount massive rates
boycott.
09
October 2009
The
residents of Harare are deeply concerned with the culture that seems to persist
at the City of Harare as Council continues to channel the ratepayers’ towards
purchasing expensive cars at the expense of service delivery. The Association is
shocked by reports that the Council purchased another vehicle to add on to the
Mayoral fleet and that the Mayoress also has access to that vehicle. Such acts
by the City of Harare are a cause for concern and a clear sign of misplaced
priorities.
Purchasing
expensive cars at a time when there are no trucks to collect refuse; roads are
littered with potholes and most streetlights are not working , is simply
unacceptable and it is reflective of Council’s insensitivity towards the
ratepayers. The City of Harare must be reminded that most of its customers are
civil servants who are getting an average income of US$150 a month and victims
of Operation Murambatsvina who are neither employed nor have any other source of
income. The country is struggling to recover from a virtually collapsed economy.
How can the City of Harare, in the good conscience of a public service provider,
afford a Mayoral fleet? The extravagant expenditures by the City of Harare are
not consistent with the socio economic environment obtaining in the country.
Such luxuries should only be considered when the most important business has
been established, put in motion and results are realized.
CHRA
urges the Council to look into these issues urgently and prioritize service
delivery so as to ensure good relations with the ratepayers. Meanwhile CHRA is
approaching the Prime Minister with its grievances; while the Association’s
General Council is already clamoring for a massive Rates boycott.
Illegality epitomises Mugabe's rule
I could probably write at least a
couple of thousand words on this very
subject - but today I want to look at
the periphery of Mugabe's kingdom, and
how he uses these associated wings of
his administration to the best of his
advantage to queer the MDC pitch for
clear and transparent democratic rule.
The first of his associative
bodies is the police - the Zimbabwe Republic
Police - a force that I was
once a proud member of. Within the Police Act,
the constitutional act under
which the police force is regulated and
governed, it is stated as a
prerequisite that officers have to be
apolitical.
Apolitical means
without any political bias towards any particular party.
This, when I was
serving in the ZRP, was one of the easiest requirements as
I had absolutely
no interest in the politics of the day.
But today the ZRP is headed up by
a ZANU PF maverick, Augustine Chihuri,
who, in typical pro-Mugabe fashion,
ensures that the officers under his
command toe the ZANU PF line.
How
can I be so sure of this? Simple. Look at the land grab, now ongoing for
nine years. The seizure of farmlands has been littered with violence, theft
and murder. The numerous reports on the internet openly state that the ZRP,
whilst being present, have not lifted one finger to assist those being
beaten, stolen from or killed.
No one has been prosecuted for any of
the political deaths in last year's
reign of terror visited upon the MDC by
ZANU PF - even though the
perpetrators have been named.
Yesterday, an
article in the press stated that the author of a dossier
detailing the
events during the election last year was questioned at length
by Mugabe's
secret police, the Central Intelligence Organisation.
The war veterans -
those aging people that were active during the bloody
bush war against the
Rhodesian security forces during the 1970s - are also
allowed to perpetrate
whatever acts they like upon the people of Zimbabwe.
The leader of these
brigands is not even a war veteran! But he has adopted
that persona and that
is that!
Two weeks ago, we read about him brandishing a firearm whilst
orchestrating
the eviction of an old lady from a disputed household in
Gweru. In Zimbabwe,
the last time I checked, it was illegal to brandish a
weapon in a
threatening manner. I wonder whether he even has a licence to
own the
weapon.
The security chiefs - commonly referred to as the
Joint Operations Command
(JOC) - openly defy court orders, norms of practise
- and have even
threatened to go to war against the people of
Zimbabwe!
They refuse to salute the Prime Minister, Morgan Tsvangirai,
because, they
say, he has no chimurenga credentials - meaning that he never
partook in the
bush war. Even though many of their own do not have any of
those credentials
either!
The whole spectrum of Zimbabwean politics
is stained by the ZANU PF reliance
upon loyalty - and the need they have to
reward that loyalty with the
"spoils of war". the farms, luxury motor
vehicles and important public
offices.
But there must be an end to
this reign of mercenary behaviour, and there
will come a time when the ZANU
PF upper strata begin to fall off their
perches naturally and move on to
meet their maker.
More and more people are becoming aware of the
falseness, the illegality of
Mugabe's rule, the plunder and theft conducted
not only against the people,
but against the country. It will happen that
one day ZANU PF will no longer
be able to warp any election result, and they
will begin the slippery slide
into oblivion.
And that day can't come
soon enough.
Robb WJ Ellis
The Bearded Man
http://mandebvhu.instablogs.com/entry/illegality-epitomises-mugabes-rule/
A
letter from the diaspora
http://www.cathybuckle.com
9th October 2009
Dear Friends.
I had already
decided what I was going to write about this week when The
Zimbabwean popped
through my letterbox. The Editorial was commenting on the
numerous reports
his newspaper is receiving from around the country of
continuing violence
and the police failure to deal with the culprits. The
ongoing violence and
theft on the farms is but one example of the total
failure by the ZRP to
abide by their constitutional duty to uphold the rule
of law. Gangs of Zanu
PF youths assisted by war veterans and soldiers are
roaming the countryside,
claims the Editorial, intent on harassing and
intimidating the population.
Teachers in rural schools are in the frontline
of this onslaught and rural
communities are being told that the GNU's rule
has no mandate outside
Harare. I had personal confirmation of this when a
friend from Murehwa
phoned me this week to tell me that Zanu PF officials in
the area were
saying just that; Zanu PF is still in control in the rural
areas and the GNU
is powerless outside Harare; this despite the fact that
MDC meetings are now
being held openly in the area! What this apparent
contradiction tells us is
that Zanu PF is in election mode in the rural
areas and, as always, their
election strategy is to soften up the electorate
through violence and
intimidation. Morgan Tsvangirai's promise of free and
fair elections in 2011
based on a new people driven constitution means very
little to the lunatic
fringe of Zanu PF fanatics who continue to undermine
the GNU in every way
possible.
Where will it all end and how will ordinary Zimbabweans recover
from the
violence and hatred that has characterised their lives for the past
three
decades of Robert Mugabe's rule? It is surely relevant to examine how
other
countries have survived after periods of violence and genocide to see
what
lessons can be learned. Following the arrest in Uganda of another named
genocidaire, a question-and-answer piece in the UK Independent by Paul
Vallely looked at how Rwanda was coping with the aftermath of the genocide
of 1994. In a period of 100 days 800.000 Rwandans were massacred while the
world looked on and did little or nothing to prevent the slaughter. I am not
suggesting that Zimbabwe has experienced anything on that scale, though the
2030 thousand Ndebele killed in the Gukuruhundi certainly qualifies as a
massacre. After the Rwandan genocide some 120.000 people were arrested, they
filled the prisons to overflowing. In 2003 President Kagame realised that it
would take 100 years to clear the backlog of trials. In place of
western-style courts Kagame set up 'gacaca' courts where suspects were taken
back to the scene of their crimes to be confronted by their victims. There
were no legally qualified judges and no lawyers. Instead, respected village
elders were present to ensure that justice was done. One central requirement
was that the accused persons were required to ask forgiveness of their
victims.
Sadly, fifteen years after the genocide, the Rwandan Minister of
Education
reports that there are ominous signs that inter-ethnic hatred has
bubbled
away under the surface with Hutu students harassing their fellows
with
insults written on walls and various other forms of abuse. In Zimbabwe
too,
we see that state inspired hatred of people of different political or
ethnic
origins, disseminated by a state controlled media is not easily
erased even
by a Unity Government preaching tolerance and forgiveness.
Justice must be
seen to be done, that is the message of Rwanda. The 'gacaca'
system dealt
with almost a million cases and is credited by Human Rights
Watch with being
a reasonably fair way of dealing with a seemingly
insuperable problem.
Is there a lesson in all this for Zimbabwe? As Zanu
PF inspired violence
continues in the country with no sign the police will
do anything to stop it
until they are instructed by 'someone higher up',
there is a post-genocide
message from Rwanda that is directly relevant to
the rule of Robert Mugabe.
President Kagame of Rwanda is an authoritarian
ruler; no doubt he has needed
to be in a country torn apart by ethnic
divisions. His critics accuse him of
"suppressing internal opposition and
dissent more ruthlessly than Robert
Mugabe does in Zimbabwe." But, says Paul
Vallely, the difference between the
two men is that Kagame with western help
has brought economic stability to
his country. Rwanda, he claims is one of
the safest and most orderly
countries in Africa, its GDP has tripled,
tourism is booming and foreign
investment is being attracted. And for the
Rwandan people, that means jobs,
There are new schools too and
hospitals,clinics and roads are being built.
While Robert Mugabe in
Switzerland this week once again rants against
independent radio stations
and the use of the internet to 'bring about
regime change' Rwanda by
contrast has, according to Vallely, "an efficient
mobile phone and broadband
internet service in the cities which is moving
rapidly into the
countryside."
Perhaps the message of all this is that there is hope for
Zimbabweans, even
after thirty years of brutal repression, racism and
intolerance. There is
hope of a new dispensation for Zimbabwe, providing of
course, we have a
people-driven constitution, a completely new electoral
register, minus dead
voters, duplicate identities and centenarian voters,
followed by free and
fair elections. Not so much to ask, is it? If Rwanda
can survive the horrors
of genocide there must surely be hope for
Zimbabwe?
Yours in the (continuing) struggle PH.
Dark
shadows of specification
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
Friday, October 09, 2009 12:00 AM
Alex T.
Magaisa
SOMETIME in 2004, when the seismic tremors of
economic collapse
hit the financial sector in Zimbabwe, a number of
corporate executives were
specified by the government.
The specifications were executed in accordance with powers given
to the
Minister of Justice under the Prevention of Corruption Act
('PoCA').
Simultaneously, a number of companies were acquired
by the
government. Given the pattern of arrests and detention, some of the
specified executives fled the country. Others were not so lucky and found
themselves languishing in prison for many moons. But when they too got the
windows of opportunity, they did not stay a day longer. Vakarova pasi (They
literally hit the road).
This year, media reports
suggested that some of the specified
persons had been recommended for
de-specification. But Mutumwa Mawere of the
Africa Resources Ltd business
conglomerate was one notable exception.
Mawere
did launch legal proceedings challenging the
specification by the Minister.
This challenge failed, both in the High Court
and the Supreme Court. His
case and the decisions of the courts provide good
ground to scrutinise the
constitutionality of specification.
Moxon, Chanakira &
KMAL
It's important because this creature called specification
has
once again raised its ugly head, at a time when Zimbabwe is trying to
capitalise on the goodwill being generated, albeit slowly, by the new
inclusive government. The persons affected are John Moxon and KMAL, the
latter being one of the largest companies listed on the Zimbabwe Stock
Exchange.
The latest saga has a sub-plot, involving an
apparently
acrimonious relationship between John Moxon and Nigel Chanakira.
The two men
were the respective heads of the formerly separate companies,
Meikles and
Kingdom Bank, which had merged a few years before in what was
celebrated at
the time as a beautiful marriage.
As it
happened, the marriage did not last long and the two have
become bitterly
estranged. As with most break-ups, there has been a lot of
filthy laundry
washed before the public gallery. It is in these unpleasant
circumstances
that Moxon and the companies associated with him have become
specified
persons under the orders of the minister.
It seems to me that
the PoCA is an example of an otherwise noble
law, created for good reasons
but is prone to and has been misused in ways
that cause more harm than good.
It's important to shed some light on the
meaning and implications of
specification.
Specification
Specification
essentially means that a person who is specified
ceases to have independent
control of his economic affairs. Instead, he is
placed under the authority
of an administrator, who is appointed by the
specifying Minister. It's
important to note that at law, a person includes a
corporate entity, such as
a company, hence the specification of companies
associated with
Moxon.
To be sure, specification is indeed a drastic measure
against a
specified person. His hands are tied. His feet are stuck.
Akasungwa mbira
dzakondo (He is literally bound hand and foot). He can do
little without the
authorisation of the administrator. Consequently,
specification entails that
the constitutional freedoms of a specified person
become severely
emasculated.
Reasonableness
In terms of section 6 of PoCA, the powers of
specification are
deployed against a person whom the minister "reasonably
suspects" of having
committed corruption-related offences listed under that
provision. The key
standard that the Minister must, therefore, satisfy
before specifying a
person is reasonableness. It can't just be a mere
suspicion or rumour - the
suspicion has to be reasonable.
The standard test for measuring reasonableness is objective.
This is a more
robust measure than a subjective test. It is designed to
minimise the risk
of imposing subjective judgement against persons and,
therefore, the abuse
of power.
But a standard of reasonableness in a statute is
not enough on
its own, unless there is an independent authority to
adjudicate whether or
not the Minister's suspicion meets the criteria of
reasonableness. Otherwise
there is ample room for the minister to misuse and
abuse his powers but
still claim to be acting reasonably.
What Zimbabwe needs is a competent and independent authority to
provide a
specified person with the chance to challenge the reasonableness
of the
specification. The trouble is that the present law, PoCA, does not
provide
for such a facility. The specified person has to seek judicial
review of the
Minister's decision, a process that can be lengthy and very
costly.
Instead, the law only allows the specified person
to put his
case to the administrator, whom as we have seen above, is a
ministerial
appointee. When the veil between them is lifted, it's apparent
that the
administrator is effectively the agent of the minister. As we have
seen in
the case of Mawere, where Arafas Gwaradzimba is the administrator,
there
could easily be vested interests which prevent the administrator from
acting
independently and impartially as far as the specified person is
concerned.
It is clear from the above that there is a problem
with the
issue of fairness, i.e. whether or not the specified person can
actually get
a fair hearing from the administrator, who is likely to
prioritise the
interests of the Minister. It's tantamount to asking an
accused person to
seek a fair hearing from his prosecutor. It can't be
fair.
Lack of time-frames
In addition, there
are no specific time-limits as to when the
specified person can get a
hearing from the administrator. The administrator
is entrusted with the
power to investigate and it is only during that
investigation that the
specified person can argue his case before the
administrator.
You would think given the drastic
consequences of specification
on a person's freedoms, that there would be
specific time limits so as to
more effectively protect the rights of the
specified person.
That indeed is part of the rationale in
criminal cases where if
the police arrest a person, they are required to
bring him before an
independent court of law within a specific period and if
they wish to detain
him further, they would have to get the court's
permission. This is over and
above the requirement that the police can only
arrest a person upon
reasonable suspicion that he has committed or is about
to commit an offence.
The whole point of this requirement is to afford the
accused person a chance
to be heard by an independent authority (the court)
other than the police
who would have arrested him.
Indeed, it is a requirement of the law, emanating from section
18 of the
Constitution that an accused person must be advised of the details
of the
offence against him. It enables him to consider and challenge, if
necessary,
the reasonableness of that suspicion.
Yet, as the Supreme
Court stated in the Mawere case, "There is
no requirement for the Minister
(under PoCA) to state the grounds for
specification in the notice or to give
the basis of the suspicion" (at page
17 of the judgment). It is difficult to
understand how such a law can stand
the constitutional test under section 18
whose purpose is to give persons
the protection of the law. If the Minister
is confident that his grounds for
specification are reasonable, why should
he not be required to state those
grounds in the notice?
Specification without Notice
In the Mawere case, the Supreme
Court appeared to justify the
position of specification without notice by
stating that giving notice to
the specified person would defeat the purpose
of specification "as this
would give the person an opportunity to take
whatever action he could to
frustrate the intended
investigations".
What the Supreme Court overlooked is that
there are other
effective legal means available to ensure that a person
under investigation
does not tamper with evidence or witnesses. If the
reasoning of the Supreme
Court were to be accepted, it would open the way
for such hideous methods as
preventive detention which are normally confined
to situations where a state
of emergency has been
declared.
It would give ammunition to those who advocate for
investigative
detention, where persons are arrested without sufficient
evidence, something
that is repugnant in any modern society. It is prone to
abuse and that
indeed is the risk with specifications for the purpose of
carrying out
investigations.
It is not clear why the PoCA
is so special that a drastic
measure such as specification can be used in
order to facilitate
investigations. The standard rule must surely be that a
person can only be
deprived of his civil liberties, which specification
does, only in those
instances where there is reasonable suspicion that an
offence has been
committed and the specified person has an immediate right
of recourse to an
independent court to challenge that specification, in the
same way that
accused persons in criminal cases have a right of recourse to
the courts
upon arrest.
Even in cases where a person is
to be declared insolvent or
liquidated so that the person's affairs are to
be managed by an
administrator, the decision is made by a court of law after
due
consideration of evidence.
Erroneous
Equation
In the Mawere case, the Supreme Court rather
astoundingly tried
to equate specification of persons under PoCA by a
Minister to provisional
orders that are issued by the courts. Justice Cheda,
delivering the
judgement stated at page 13,
"The
specification is no different from any other provisional
orders made in our
courts where it is feared that investigations may be
jeopardised if prior
warning is given to the person involved."
With respect, this
was an erroneous equation. Provisional orders
are granted by courts, that
is, independent adjudicators that have the legal
competence to do so as
provided for by the law. By contrast, specification
is executed by a
Minister, who is not and cannot be said to be an
independent authority in
such cases.
The learned judge's attempt to equate provisional
orders and
specifications would have made sense if provisional orders were
granted by
an interested party such as the Minister or other administrative
authority
as is the case with specifications. But they are not. Unlike
specifications,
they are granted by the courts. Whoever seeks a provisional
order even if he
is a Minister must approach a court of
law.
And there is a good reason why such provisional orders
are
granted by the courts. It is to ensure that there is impartiality and
fairness by a neutral authority. That is not the case where the specifying
minister is an interested party.
Conclusion
When parliament framed the PoCA, it had good
intentions. It
sought to minimise the incidence of corruption. But it is now
clear from
experience that the law has weaknesses; loopholes that leave it
open to
misuse and abuse. It may have been thought that specification is a
less
drastic measure; an administrative measure that would be deployed
reasonably
and decently. Yet experience suggests that this is a measure that
has
drastic effects not too dissimilar to arrest and detention considering
the
impact on a person's freedoms.
The fact that the
rights and interests of a specified person are
so exposed to the whims of
the Minister and the appointed administrator
means the specified person can
be left in limbo for a lengthy period of time
whilst at the same time being
prevented from exercising his freedoms.
The right to own and
enjoy one's property is a fundamental one;
one in fact without which the
enjoyment of all other freedoms is severely
affected.
The
Supreme Court had an opportunity in the Mawere case two
years ago to
scrutinise the constitutionality of these provisions, taking
into account
the practical reality. In that case, the Supreme Court did not
find
illegality in the specification. It did not find gaps in the law
warranting
changes.
It must be hoped that in future cases, if any, the
Court will
revisit the issue and consider the nature and implications of the
provisions
permitting specification, especially in light of the lived
realities of the
specified persons.
Potential investors
consider the manner in which the law is used
by the authorities. The
specification of a listed company cannot help
Zimbabwe at this time, when it
badly needs more investment. It sends the
wrong message and courts ought to
demonstrate that they will not stand aside
and permit the abuse of powers
under an otherwise legitimate law.
Dr Alex Magaisa is based
at the Kent Law School, University of
Kent and can be contacted on e-mail wamagaisa@yahoo.co.uk