Christina Lamb in Washington
(Justin Sutcliffe)
Ben Freeth and his wife Laura with their children Anna, Phillip and Josh. Their farm was set ablaze while they were at church
http://234next.com/
By Ini Ekott
October 10, 2009 09:40PMT
The 19 white Zimbabwean
farmers who arrived in Nasarawa State in 2006, on
the invitation of the
state government, were given a mandate to develop
commercial farming to a
scale unheard of in the country. This effort
followed on the progress
recorded by an earlier initiative in Shonga, Kwara
State.
The promise
of a new land tenure, a guarantee for a loan facility, security
and
infrastructure became a rallying point for the farmers, who hoped to
begin a
new life in Nigeria growing cassava, maize, soya beans and rearing
pigs and
cattle in commercial quantities. The state government provided the
essential
capital, which they were denied in Zimbabwe: over 10,000 hectares
of land.
But just less than a year after, the realities and the
uncertainties that
ranged from poor infrastructure such as access roads,
flooded rivers, to
late season cultivation, affected the yields, forcing
eight of the farmers
to leave in 2007.
"These were people who had to live in very basic
conditions, away from their
wives and families," said Colin Spain, a farmer
in Farm 10. "The challenges
were almost too much in the first year, although
we fortunately found four
new farmers to replace the ones who left." But
three and a half years down
the path, the challenges that pushed some of the
farmers away have not
abated, in a scheme reported to employ over 2,500
locals. Of the initial
number of farmers who came in 2006, only eight are
left today for a project
the Nasarawa authorities hoped will assist food
production and help develop
agriculture in the country.
The farmers
said the conditions under which they have worked over the past
years are
different from those agreed with the government and the financial
institutions which agreed to provide a long term funding for the plan. And
as a result, yearly projections have scaled down significantly and even
becoming worse in cases where farms lay fallow many months through the
season, as a result of lack funds.
"Commercial farming obviously will
be made difficult without long term
loan," said Patrick Ashton, a specialist
mango farmer at Panda, the site of
the project. "But the banks here do not
want to lend long term. If you
cannot pay for your house in five years, I
simply cannot repay agricultural
credit in five years." An agricultural
economist in Abuja said the coming of
the Zimbabwean farmers have exposed
the flaws within the nation's
agricultural sector. He said Nigerian banks
are not used to issues of
agricultural loans, hence the difficulties the
farmers face assessing them.
Mr. Ashton said the bank involved has
maintained a largely unstable rate
system, which has not assisted the
project.
The UBA Plc, which offered the first loan to the farmers in
2007, accepted
that it will be on the basis of eight per cent interest. The
interest rate
has since oscillated between 19 per cent and the present 24
per cent, even
with the intervention of the Central Bank of
Nigeria.
"Over half of the money graciously granted us, is gone to
interest rates,"
Mr. Ashton said.
Several calls to get the reaction
of UBA for this story did not succeed. One
of the spokespersons for the
bank, Nasir Ramon, repeatedly promised to get
back with information over a
period of two weeks.
NEXT, however, learnt that the bank refused to grant
additional funding to
the farmers because of the interest rate
issue.
Interest rate trouble
For instance, Mr. Spain lists the
planned cropping for 2009 to include the
cultivation of 2,590 hectares of
cassava, 410 hectares of maize, 210
hectares of rice, 1,000 head of cattle
and others -including piggery,
poultry, bananas, potatoes and vegetables -
with a total labour cost
estimated at over N104 million.
The plan,
Mr. Ashton said, has been "destroyed by bank failures to provide
funds as
contracted. They seem not to know what they committed themselves
to." For
the 2008 season, the farmers said enough finance was released to
enable
timely cropping. However, half-way through the season, they said the
bank
refused to release the other sums of finance. This meant crop
maintenance
was not completed and this caused significant loss in yields
and, therefore,
significant lower returns than budgeted and expected.
The revenues from
the 2008 season were used to finance land clearing and,
later, some
cultivation for 2009, Mr. Ashton said.
However, in most cases,
cultivation went down to as much as 90 per cent on
2008 levels. At the
moment, 30 months after negotiations commenced on
funding, the project got a
little respite in August, 2009, when some money
was released to the
farmers.
The Permanent Secretary in the Nasarawa State Ministry of
Agriculture, Peter
Okaba, told NEXT that the poor funding of the project was
due to a
restructuring of the scheme, particularly with respect to the
interest rate
which the government "insists must be reversed to its initial
charges." "To
my knowledge, the government said the current rate is too high
and called
for a reversal. The matter is with the executive council for now,
and I
cannot say of its outcome," he said, advising that the commissioner,
Oyigye
Iyimoga, who was unavailable to NEXT, would be the most competent to
release
details of the government's decision on the funding and other
challenges of
the farmers.
Again, although the farmers said the state
government and the community of
Panda have been reasonably supportive, some
indigenes said they suspected
the project may not be receiving as much
attention from the governor, Akwe
Doma, as it got from the immediate past
governor, Abdullahi Adamu, who
initiated it.
"I think the government
continues with it without a choice," said a man who
gave his name as Musa
Mohammed. "The fanfare has really reduced about it and
the government may be
using it for their politics." But Iliya Bello, a
doctor of agronomy who
serves as an adviser to Mr. Doma, said whatever
challenges the scheme faces
falls within the normalcy of any enterprise.
"It cannot be true that the
governor has less interest in it," he told NEXT
in Lafia. "Any business
comes with challenges, which the businessperson
solves over time. Nasarawa
State is largely agrarian, and any leader who
wants to have a direction
cannot do without agriculture. The project has
started, and it will be
there." Mr. Bello, incidentally, is a native of
Panda, a distance of about
150km east of Abuja where the farmers were given
20 farms in 2006. He said
the governor has also started a N1 billion small
scale farming scheme that
does not include the Zimbabwean farmers. "He
cannot do that if he does not
believe in agriculture," he said.
Inherited tenure troubles
But
whatever might be afflicting the farms could certainly be traced beyond
Mr.
Doma's tenure. For instance, the former administration of Mr. Adamu
assigned
the farms on a location with unresolved communal issues. Some of
the
residents still lay claims to the land allocated to the Zimbabwean
farmers.
One of the farmers spoken to by NEXT said in 2008, he lost
about seven and a
half percent of his gross turn-over to intrusions from
unrestrained nomadic
farmers who graze the area with their cattle. This
affects about eight of
the farms "That is about 40 per cent of my profit,"
the farmer said. "We are
very fortunate to have very supportive people
around, but this is business,
and you get helpless sometimes."
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 10 October 2009 19:47
FINANCE
Minister Tendai Biti has launched a scathing response to
claims by Reserve
Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Gideon Gono that he is blocking
badly-needed loans
from international financial institutions.
The state media has
been running a series of stories allegedly
"exposing" how Biti has prevented
the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the
African Export and Import Bank
(Afreximbank) and the PTA Bank from lending
money to
Zimbabwe.
In August the IMF extended a loan of
US$510 million as part of the
Bretton Woods Institution's response to the
global financial crisis and the
Afreximbank and the PTA Bank promised a
combined US$371 million in lines of
credit.
Gono in a
thinly veiled attack on Biti last week said the PTA Bank
facility had been
"taken off the table because we do not seem to be serious".
The
central bank chief has also publicly attacked his boss over the
way he has
handled the IMF funds, which has been described by Zanu PF
loyalists as
tantamount to "sabotage".
But in an exclusive interview on
Friday shortly after arrival from
Turkey where he attended this year's
annual meetings of the World Bank
Group, Biti said there is no way he could
block the loans because he was
"not the transacting
customer".
Even if he were to give the go-ahead, the money
would still not be
released as the process has to go through
Parliament.
He said the accusations were being made by
"political vultures
masquerading as advisors".
"If someone
wants to be a Minister of Finance," Biti said, "they have
to go through the
rigmarole of politics and learn to say slogans. A
frustrated politician
should not masquerade as a civil servant."
He described the
attacks as part of a "vuvuzela orchestra (that) is in
full
swing".
A vuvuzela is a noisy instrument popularised by South
African soccer
fans.
Artistes in South Africa are now
developing the instrument further to
come up with an orchestra from the
instrument.
"This business of blowing vuvuzelas of insanity
should stop. But no
matter how loud the noise becomes, a vuvuzela will never
play the Mozart or
Beethoven sound, and we will never dance to those
decibels," Biti said.
"Government is not run through
newspapers. You do not use the Business
Herald to exhibit your frustration.
We do not take advice from newspapers.
We run a serious ministry with a
serious mandate."
In what could add oil to the already burning
fire, Biti warned that
the continued leaking of information on the loans
could land some RBZ
officials in trouble with the law.
"Please do not break the Official Secrets Act by leaking sensitive
state
documents," he warned.
Biti said those accusing him should not
pretend like they "have a
higher dosage of patriotism than everyone else",
or behave as if they "hold
the sole monopoly of best interests of Zimbabwe".
He said negotiations were
currently underway between the government and
international finance
institutions on the release of the funds that have
been promised.
On the Afreximbank, he said they have a facility
worth US$200 million,
of which $100 million is already
running.
The country owes Afreximbank $59million, which was
incurred through
oil for the National Oil Company of Zimbabwe, a grain
facility through the
CBZ Bank and strategic imports.
The
current approved facility with the PTA Bank stands at $171
million, of which
$45 million is already running. The country owes the PTA
Bank $55
million.
The RBZ has proposed that part of the special drawing
rights (SDR)
from IMF be used to settle these debts.
But
Biti said this could only be done after a parliamentary process,
which has
not been initiated yet.
Once the necessary legal measures have been
taken, the funds can be
released.
"The law is very clear,
if the government is taking over the debt of
another corporate body, it just
cannot do it unless a Debt Assumption Act is
passed by
Parliament.
"This is an elementary legal position which is so
self-evident that it
shocks me certain institutions don't know about
it."
In an earlier address to the 15th Congress of the Zimbabwe
Commercial
Farmers' Union (ZCFU), Biti pleaded for prayers saying the
accusations
against him were the work of evil forces.
"Kana
mwana Grade Two chaiye akamboramba mari here? Imhepo chete
dzakasimuka,
ngatidzinamatirei. (Even a Grade Two pupil cannot refuse money.
It's just
evil forces at play. Let us pray)."
During a public discussion
on Friday evening, Biti said although he
"knew from day one that I would
swim in sewage", he would not quit.
Biti's full
interview;
Over the last few weeks, Finance Minister Tendai
Biti has been accused
of stopping financial injections from the
International Monetary Fund, the
PTA Bank and the African Import and Export
Bank (Afreximbank). The figures
mentioned in the state media reports amount
close to one billion US dollars.
The MDC lawmaker spoke to our
Senior Staff Writer Vusumuzi Sifile to
clarify the position on the funds,
and his frosty relationship with RBZ
governor Gideon Gono.
VS:
It has been reported than you are stopping the release of hundreds
of
millions of US dollars from the IMF, Afreximbank and the PTA Bank. What
is
happening with the funds? Are there any prospects of them getting into
the
country's coffers?
TB: There is nothing like that. Imhepo
dzirikusimuka chete (Its just
evil forces blowing). Zimbabwe has an
excellent working relationship with
the Afreximbank and the PTA
Bank.
We have ongoing facilities with the institutions.
With
the PTA Bank, the current approved facility stands at $171
million, of which
$45 million is running.
With the Afreximbank, we have an approved
facility of $200 million, of
which $100m is running.
We owe the
PTA $55million and the Afreximbank $59 million.
Of that, $19.9
million was for an oil facility through the National
Oil Company of
Zimbabwe, $25 million is for a grain facility with the CBZ,
while the rest
went into strategic imports.
VS: The RBZ had suggested that part of
the money from IMF be used to
pay these debts. Why didn't you pursue this
option?
TB: All these loans were guaranteed by the RBZ. We have
made it clear
to the PTA Bank and Afreximbank that we will take over the
current debts
from the RBZ once the proper legal channel has been followed,
which is to
handle it through the medium of parliament.
But
everyone knows that under our current parlous economic condition
we cannot
liquidate these amounts.
We only have one source of revenue, which
is tax. The amounts owed
represent more than two months in tax revenue. From
January to June, we had
a sharp increase in tax revenue, but now there is
evidence of a reversal in
that trend. This is evidence of the own goals we
have been scoring.
Even if I wanted to refuse the money, I can't
because I am not the
transacting customer.
The law is
very clear, if the government is taking over the debt of
another corporate
body, it just cannot do it unless a Debt Assumption Act is
passed by
parliament. This is an elementary legal position, which is so self
evident
that it shocks me certain institutions don't know about it.
VS: Has
there been any engagement between your ministry and the RBZ
over these
issues? From the look of things, it seems most of your
discussions are
through the press. Does this mean your relationship has
irretrievably broken
down you can't even sit on the same table and discuss
these
issues?
TB: As you know, I have been away on government business. I
only came
back today (Friday), and I have only seen the reports in the
papers. There
has been not been any engagement.
Government is
not run through newspapers. You do not use the Business
Herald to exhibit
your frustration. We do not take advice from newspapers;
we run a serious
ministry with a serious mandate. Please do not break the
law, the Official
Secrets Act, by leaking sensitive state documents.
VS: What are you
doing to close the rift between your office and the
RBZ?
TB:
The vuvuzela orchestra is in full swing. This business of blowing
vuvuzelas
of insanity should stop.
But no matter how loud the noise becomes,
a vuvuzela (a noisy musical
instrument popularised by South African soccer
fans) will never play the
Mozart or Beethoven sound, and we will never dance
to those decibels.
If someone wants to be a Minister of Finance,
they have to go through
the rigmarole of politics and learn to say slogans.
A frustrated politician
should not masquerade as a civil servant. We have
political vultures
masquerading as advisors. Don't pretend you hold the sole
monopoly of best
interests of Zimbabwe, you do not have a higher dosage of
patriotism than
everyone else.
VS: Is the money going to be
released? If so, when?
TB: There is no way I can stop the release
of those funds because I am
not the transacting customer. The problem we
have now is that we do not have
a Debt Assumption law which allows treasury
to take over debts created by
corporate bodies. It is the role of Parliament
to determine how the money is
handled. That money has to be handled through
the medium of Parliament.
VS: Your party, the MDC, is pushing for
the resolution of outstanding
issues of the GPA. Among them is the
appointment of the RBZ governor. How
has Gono's continued stay in office
affected your work as Minister of
Finance?
TB: This does not
affect my work at all. We know what our mandate is
in terms of the law. We
are a serious ministry. I have been consistent in my
principles, and let
history judge us.
VS: What is your response to reports that your
party amended the
constitution to allow Tsvangirai's term to continue beyond
2011?
TB: There hasn't been any new amendment to the party's
constitution.
The constitution was amended at our last congress in
2006.
The understanding was that when you are in a struggle, you do
not
concentrate on terms of office.
But in government, our
position has always been very clear, the terms
of office for the members of
the executive have to be limited.
BY VUSUMUZI
SIFILE
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 10 October 2009
19:41
THE three Matabeleland provinces have asked the politburo to
intervene
after they failed to agree on a candidate to replace the late
Vice-President
Joseph Msika.
Zanu PF had given the former
PF Zapu strongholds of Bulawayo,
Matabeleland North and South up to
Wednesday to nominate their choice for
the vacant post.
But sources said meetings to choose the VP nominees held on Friday
were
abandoned after delegates differed on the agenda. In Gwanda,
Matabeleland
South, the meeting only lasted 10 minutes.
The party's national
chairman John Nkomo had appeared on course to
land the post after Bulawayo
province nominated him unopposed last Sunday.
But his fortunes
changed dramatically after a number of hopefuls
entered the
race.
Deputy President of the Senate Naison Ndlovu, Mines
Minister Obert
Mpofu (pictured), Bulawayo Metropolitan governor Cain
Mathema, co-Minister
of Home Affairs Kembo Mohadi and Zimbabwe's ambassador
to South Africa,
Simon Khaya Moyo are some of the heavyweights who are
reported to be eyeing
the post.
The VP hopefuls met in
Bulawayo after the aborted selection process
and asked for the politburo's
intervention.
Their argument was that all the country's 10
provinces must be
involved in the selection process because PF Zapu was not
a regional party.
Former PF Zapu heavyweights such as Tinaye
Chigudu and Ambrose
Mutinhiri live outside Matabeleland.
"The major issue of Vice-President has been referred back to the
Politburo
for further review," said Zanu PF deputy commissar Richard Ndlovu
in a
statement after the Bulawayo meeting.
"PF Zapu was not a
regional party but a national party. So we expect
the Vice-President to be
elected by the 10 provinces as the Unity Accord
says."
Ndlovu added: "We do not want to regionalise PF Zapu."
Sources
said although the decision to refer the matter back to
politburo had dented
perceptions that Nkomo is the leading political figure
in Matabeleland, it
would strengthen his campaign for the post.
They said Nkomo
would be a stronger candidate if all the provinces
were allowed to
vote.
In terms of an internal Zanu PF arrangement which came
about as a
result of the 1987 Unity Accord, Msika's position and the
chairmanship are
only for those from PF Zapu.
Efforts to
get a comment from Zanu PF spokesperson Nathan Shamuyarira
or its secretary
for administration Didymus Mutasa yesterday were fruitless.
Analysts said the fact the issue of Vice-President had been referred
to the
politburo will be a headache to President Robert Mugabe who has been
relying
on "a tribal balancing act" to stabilise his party.
BY
CAIPHAS CHIMHETE
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 10 October 2009 19:39
THE
Attorney-General's office has ditched government officials who are
being
sued by Jestina Mukoko, the Zimbabwe Peace Project director, who was
abducted and tortured for 21 days. The reason for the shock move remained
unclear at the time of going to press yesterday.
Mukoko is
seeking damages in the courts after she endured torture and
humiliation at
the hands of state security agents.
Over a fortnight ago, the
Supreme Court ruled that her ordeal was a
clear violation of the
Constitution and quashed all attempts by the state to
prosecute her for
alleged terrorism and banditry.
The ruling, welcomed by human
rights activists, boosted Mukoko's case
against the officials she held
responsible for her harrowing and
dehumanising experience.
With the highest court of appeal having ruled that she had been
tortured and
her constitutional rights violated, a lawyer said proving her
case had
become as easy as a hot knife cutting through butter.
And in a
surprise turn of events, the AG's office filed papers in the
High Court on
Friday notifying all the parties to the case that it would
not represent
the defendants.
The office did not give any reason except to
say that: "Be pleased to
take notice that the Civil Division of the
Attorney-General's office do
hereby renounce agency on behalf of all the
defendants."
The defendants are the Minister of State Security,
Land and Land
Reform, Co- Ministers of Home Affairs, Minister of Defence,
Commissioner
General of Police, Chief Superintendent Magwenzi,
Attorney-General of
Zimbabwe, Didymus Mutasa and Brigadier General Asher
Walter Tapfumaneyi.
The AG said all correspondence addressed to
the defendants should now
be directed to private legal practitioners,
Mutamangira and Associates.
Yesterday Johannes Tomana, the AG
was not immediately available to
explain the reasons behind the renunciation
of agency. The defendants could
also not be reached.
Harrison Nkomo of Mtetwa and Nyambirai, the lawyers for Mukoko
confirmed
that the AG's office had renounced agency in the matter involving
their
client.
BY WALTER MARWIZI
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 10 October 2009
19:36
SENIOR managers at the Zimbabwe School Examinations Council
(Zimsec)
are allegedly inciting workers to go on strike to pressure the
government to
accede to their demands for luxury cars. Zimsec spokesperson,
Ezekiel
Pasipamire last week told the state media that workers had downed
tools
demanding that the lowest paid employee's salary must be increased to
US$400, up from US$115.
But sources said management had
taken advantage of a request by
workers for a salary review to push their
own agenda.
The sources said the managers were angered by
treasury's refusal to
buy them luxury cars among other benefits which they
have not been enjoying
over the years due to negative economic
conditions.
Zimsec director Happy Ndanga yesterday admitted
that the workers were
never on strike but denied that management was angry
over outstanding
benefits.
"It is true that they were never
on strike and that we are
negotiating," he said.
BY JENNIFER
DUBE
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 10 October 2009
18:45
ZIMBABWE has 134 202 people over the age of 90 on its discredited
voters' roll, a figure that makes a mockery of the country's life expectancy
of 37 years.
As of last year, the country had 5.9 million
voters on the roll but
new research by the Research Advocacy Unit (RAU)
poses fresh credibility
questions about Zimbabwe's electoral
system.
The report titled 2013 Vision - Seeing Double
and the Dead - has
stunned observers and reinforced long held suspicions
that President Robert
Mugabe's Zanu PF has used underhand tactics to retain
power.
Analysts said the figures were baffling considering that
the average
life expectancy in Zimbabwe is 34 for women and 37 for men and
in the light
of the fact that the World Health Organisation predicts that
only 14. 7 % of
Zimbabweans live beyond 60.
"Some 134 202
people over 90 appear on the roll, with some 30 044 of
these with the listed
birth date of 1st January 1901," the Zimbabwe Election
Support Network
(ZESN) said in a statement.
ZESN says this could explain why
the percentage poll in some wards
during the March 2008 harmonised elections
exceeded the number of registered
voters.
There were also
questions about the massive swing of voter preference
after the first round
of the presidential elections where Mugabe was beaten
into second position
by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.
Mugabe won the uncontested June 27
run-off with a "landslide" amid
allegations that ballot boxes were
"stuffed".
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has refused to
release the detailed
results of the run-off that was roundly dismissed as a
shame by world
leaders.
There are a lot of other curious
statistics on the roll including the
fact that 676 887 people have been
de-registered since 2002.
There are 182 564 instances of
entries relating to people with the
same identification number who appear on
the roll twice or more.
BY OUR STAFF
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 10 October 2009
18:43
A High Court judge has slammed the conduct of the police during
the
plunder of the Chiadzwa diamond fields in Marange, Manicaland, after the
government muscled out a British-registered company from its claims. Justice
Charles Hungwe two weeks ago delivered a landmark judgement confirming
Africa Consolidated Resources (ACR)'s right to claims in the mining
area.
The government seized the ACR claims in October 2006 and
allocated
them to the state-owned Zimbabwe Mining Development
Corporation.
The move opened the floodgates for illegal diamond
hunters and exposed
Zimbabwe to international scrutiny after soldiers who
were deployed to
restore law and order became involved in human rights
violations.
ACR says police confiscated 129 400 carats of
diamonds from its
offices but did not give any receipts, claiming they were
acting on the
instructions of then mines minister Amos
Midzi.
In his full judgement that was made available last week,
Hungwe said
the fact that police did not deny the allegations levelled
against them
showed that they were being used to further personal interests
of greedy
individuals.
"The police have no business acting
outside the law. To do so would be
to abdicate their constitutional duty,"
Justice Hungwe said.
"Yet this is precisely what they did. To
charge a person days later
after dispossessing that person of valuables can
only be conduct which
should be condemned in the strongest
terms."
The police were ordered to return all the diamonds that
were seized
from the company.
Hungwe said the judiciary
cannot be expected to remain a spectator as
the rule of law was violated at
will.
"The courts cannot but speak loudly against such an
abdication of
responsibility for the duty to protect rights to property," he
said.
"The papers before me paint a gloomy picture for the duty
to protect
our national heritage by those constitutionally charged with that
responsibility.
"I say this because the courts cannot
accept that the whole state
machinery cannot be said to have failed to
restore order in Marange to the
extent that a cabinet minister finds that
the solution to lawlessness is to
bring in parastatals to join a
free-for-all with the police selecting who
goes in and who does
not."
Last week, Mines and Mining Development Minister Obert
Mpofu was
quoted saying the government will appeal against the
judgement.
Officially opening parliament on Tuesday, President
Robert Mugabe said
government had identified two investors that will mine
diamonds in Chiadzwa.
BY OUR STAFF
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 10 October
2009 18:43
A special committee set up by the Harare City Council to
investigate
circumstances that led to the chaotic organisation of the
inauguration of
mayor Muchadeyi Masunda has recommended that the
disappearance of 1 150kg of
meat be referred to the police.
Guests
at the function held at the City Sports Centre and presided
over by the
Minister of Local Government, Ignatious Chombo in August failed
to get food
although 10 beasts were slaughtered for the occasion.
Council
said after it launched investigations to establish why all the
meat was not
served to the guests, the 1 150kg of meat were found at the
Cresta Jameson
Hotel's cold rooms.
According to a report of the committee
presented to council on
September 24, the hotel did not "co-operate with the
investigators" and "in
this regard the committee recommends the engagement
of the ZRP to further
investigate the matter".
"When asked
whether all the meat (10 beasts) supplied by council had
been served, the
first reaction from the hotel was that all the meat had
been served," the
council report said.
"It was only after further probing that
the hotel indicated that there
might be some meat at the hotel.
"On
inspection by council and hotel management it was discovered that
there was
1 150kg in the hotel cold rooms which was more than the 682 kg
purported to
have been consumed at the function. Council said it had agreed
with the
hotel that all the meat from the 10 beasts would be prepared and
served at
the function and "platters meant for VIPs would be invoiced".
"Contrary to this, the hotel served 1 500 menu platters for the other
guests
and for the VIPs, 350 costing US$9 and US$12 per platter
respectively," the
report said.
The committee said it was absolving council
workers of any wrong doing
until the hotel co-operates with
investigators.
Officials at Jameson Hotel yesterday referred
questions to a Judy
Jones at their head office whom they said would only be
available tomorrow.
Masunda was not immediately available for
comment.
BY OUR STAFF
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 10 October 2009
18:42
A Kadoma town councillor has been arrested on allegations that he
leaked information to the media exposing council management for allegedly
awarding themselves a hefty salary increment without authority. Erasmus
Jochore was picked up by police on Tuesday last week after The Standard
reported that Kadoma councillors were livid that management had awarded
themselves allowances ranging from US$400 to US$1 500.
Councillors had only approved allowances of between US$150 and US$200
a
month.
Jochore, who chairs the works' council- which decides on
workers
salaries - handed a petition to the mayor Peter Matambo warning him
that
workers were threatening to go on strike because of mounting corruption
within the local authority.
His lawyer, Alec Muchedehama,
said it was still unclear what charges
the councillor would face but senior
council officials were accusing him of
breaking into offices to steal
confidential information.
"The charges are not yet very clear
but I can confirm that he was
questioned, a docket was opened and that he
will be appearing in court on
Monday," Muchadehama said.
Kadoma Residents and Ratepayers' Association acting chairman Simon
Mojapela
said the arrest was an attempt by council management to sweep the
corruption
allegations under the carpet.
"As residents we feel that the
arrest of Jochore is an attempt to put
a lid on the fraudulent activities
that have been going on at the council,"
he said.
"Even if
they arrest Jochore we want the issues of the abuse of funds
that have been
going on to be investigated and this will not stop us from
pursuing the
interests of residents."
When the scandal was exposed, the
acting town clerk Joel Madzivanyika
insisted all the salary adjustments were
done above board.
Police spokesperson, Andrew Phiri said he
wanted to contact Kadoma
police before he could comment on the
issue.
BY OUR STAFF
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 10 October 2009
18:35
JESTINA Mukoko's emotional scars from her abduction, illegal
detention
and torture by state security agents in December are still
fresh.
"Sometimes I wake up feeling emotionally drained," said Mukoko
in an
interview. "Some events remind you of the horrific experiences and it
sets
you back.
"You re-live those moments in your mind and
the feeling is traumatic,
it's hard."
Mukoko's personal
ordeal is now seen as a representation of the untold
suffering several MDC-T
and human rights activists have endured since their
abduction and subsequent
indictment on spurious banditry charges.
The former ZBC news
anchor who was abducted from her Norton home in
early December last year was
tortured by state security agents and denied
medical attention while
detained at an unknown place for 21 days.
A fortnight ago the
Supreme Court ruled that she could not be
prosecuted because her abduction
and torture in custody infringed on her
rights.
The
Zimbabwe Peace Project director said although she was receiving
counselling
she had not fully recovered because the therapy "is not a
one-day
event".
"It is those nightmares that can even take you five
sessions back. It's
an ongoing struggle to find yourself again. The
emotional scars are too
deep," she said.
The single mother
said it was important for family members of tortured
victims to receive
counselling because they were equally affected.
While Mukoko is
fortunate that she is receiving psychological therapy,
several hundreds of
MDC-T supporters who were also abducted and tortured are
not so
lucky.
One such victim is Graham Matehwa, MDC-T youth chairman
for ward 26,
Makoni South in Manicaland.
For 51 days he was not
allowed to see sunlight and did not even know
which day of the month it
was.
He has injuries on his stomach and under his feet which are
consistent
with bashing by a wooden plank.
"He is having a problem
with his kidney which was kicked countless
times but his main problem is
day-and-night hallucinations," said a relative
who refused to be
named.
During detention he was thrown into a "room full of
corpses".
"He calls out at night. He is forever looking in all
directions as if
in fear that someone is about to snatch him again as
happened on December
17, 2008 when six men bundled him into a vehicle and
drove him away leaving
his wife and one child in tears," the relative said
choking with emotions.
The MDC-T last week said Matehwa will
receive medical treatment and
counselling this week.
Matehwa is among seven MDC-T activists who were abducted and tortured
before
they were released without any charges being preferred against
them.
Several others who are facing charges similar to those
preferred
against Mukoko still face the double challenge of dealing with
treason
charges hanging over their heads and trauma they suffered at the
hands of
the state agents.
The MDC-T led by Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai says it is not only
those awaiting trial who have to deal
with psychological trauma from last
year's madness.
Thousands of MDC-T supporters were tortured by marauding Zanu PF
militants
ahead of the aborted June 27 presidential run-off poll and the
majority
never received any form of treatment.
The party's director of
welfare, Kerry Kay, said several hundreds of
MDC supporters seriously need
urgent counselling after last year's violent
elections.
Some victims, mostly from rural areas, still have nagging physical
wounds
because they failed to get immediate medical help after they were
threatened
with death if they left their homes for urban centres.
Some of the
victims nurse amputated limbs, bear deep scars on their
bodies while others
are crippled for life and having difficulty coping with
the new
conditions.
Women were raped while other activists had their
homes burnt down,
livestock and household goods looted by their neighbours
in broad daylight
after they were accused of being
sell-outs.
At least 200 MDC-T activists were killed while over
5 000 supporters
were displaced during last year's political violence
orchestrated by the
state security agents, Zanu PF militia and war veterans,
the MDC-T said.
A counsellor with a local non-governmental
organisation working
closely with victims of last year's political violence
said many of them
were struggling to cope with the emotional scars. The
counsellor, who
requested anonymity for professional reasons, said some of
the victims were
having difficulties concentrating, felt hopeless and were
generally
withdrawn because they do not trust anybody anymore.
Some
victims, said the counsellor, were having nightmares after
witnessing their
relatives, parents or children being hacked to death.
"These
people's lives will never be whole again," she said.
Kay said
the MDC-T was carrying out an outreach programme to identify
and assist
victims of last year's political violence.
The programme will
also help identify the number of victims who still
need assistance.
However, the programme is being slowed by lack of funds and some areas
are
still not accessible to MDC-T officials.
So far 14 000 victims
have received medical help or some form of
psychological assistance since
last year, she said.
"These people are still traumatised. If
you look into their eyes you
see they are shut down," said Kay, who is a
counsellor by profession.
Kay said MDC-T recorded at least 130
cases of rape against women
during the violent elections.
Some of
them were raped in front of their children or husbands while
others were
raped at terror bases established by Zanu PF militia and war
veterans, she
said.
The MDC-T said Zanu PF must bear the cost of counselling
the victims
and pay them reparations as it was responsible "for 99,9% of the
political
violence".
"You cannot have national healing
without justice and reparations,"
said Kay. "The whole process of healing
does not only involve telling part
of your story but for the perpetrators to
acknowledge what they did and pay
reparations."
BY
CAIPHAS CHIMHETE AND JOHN MOKWETSI
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 10 October 2009
18:35
TWO Beitbridge women have sought protection from the courts after
they
were allegedly assaulted and verbally abused by the co-Minister of Home
Affairs, Kembo Mohadi and his wife.
According to summons issued by
the Beitbridge Magistrates' Courts
against Mohadi and his wife, Tambudzani
who is a Senator for the area, the
two Zanu PF heavyweights are trying to
forcibly take over plots belonging to
the women.
The two
women are beneficiaries of the land reform programme, which
the previous
Zanu PF government claimed was meant to empower landless
blacks.
One of the women, Judith Mugombwi says the Mohadis
assaulted her on
September 27 after they unsuccessfully tried on several
occasions to force
her to give up Plot 1 Jompepi Block.
"The Mohadis came to my plot when I was cooking dinner. Tambudzani
strangled
me and pushed me to the ground," said Mugombwi in her
affidavit.
"She then hit me with a cooking stick resulting in
the cooking stick
breaking into pieces.
"She further threw away the
pot from the fire and poured mealie-meal
over my head.
"All this
happened when my children were watching helplessly."
The
following day Mugombwi says one of Mohadi's workers came to her
plot
demanding to be intimate with her but she turned him down.
She
reported the matter to an Inspector Mpofu of Beitbridge rural
police
station. She said the inspector refused to open a docket against the
minister resulting in her seeking advice from lawyers.
"I
am now afraid of going back to my plot. I am therefore applying for
a peace
order against them to stop visiting me or harassing me," Mugombwi
says in
her affidavit.
Another alleged victim is Sofiria Ndou, a widow
who claims the Mohadis
visited her regularly in a bid to scare her away from
a farm that was
allocated to her late husband in 2002. "I am a widow, my
husband passed away
in 2005. He was a beneficiary of the land reform
programme.
"Now I am being evicted by Senator Mohadi to pave
way for her nephew
Danisa," she said.
"The Senator strongly advised
me not to cultivate my field this
season. She said I should move out of my
plot since it was re-allocated to
her nephew.
"This is
surprising since I have tried by all means to develop my
plot. I cannot go
anywhere"
The Mohadis have been summoned to appear in court on October
22 to
explain why the two women cannot be given peace orders against
them.
In July, eight villagers from Mohadi's farm appeared in
court facing
attempted murder charges after they allegedly assaulted 11
villagers who
were reportedly trying to recover their cattle from the
minister's wife.
The workers allegedly assaulted the villagers with fan
belts, sticks,
hands and boots accusing them of stealing the minister's
cattle.
On Friday, Mohadi said he was in Bulawayo and was not
aware of any
legal proceedings against him.
"I do not know about
it. I have never threatened anyone. I have my own
farm," he
said.
BY SANDRA MANDIZVIDZA
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 10
October 2009 18:32
BULAWAYO - The City fathers and the police are
embroiled in a war of
words after municipal workers were allegedly barred
from disconnecting water
supplies at various police camps over unpaid
bills.
Council recently launched a blitz against government departments
in
order to recover over US$2,1 million.
It emerged during a full
council meeting on Wednesday that the police
have been threatening council
employees enforcing the directive to cut off
non-paying
customers.
The Ministry of Home Affairs, under which the police
falls, owes the
local authority US$570 000.
"I think it is not
proper for police to stop disconnection teams,"
said Councillor Phineas
Ndlovu, who chairs the Lands and Planning Committee.
"Police are not special
from other ratepayers.
"What's so special
about the
police who graduate after six months' training? They are
like our security
guards."
Deputy Mayor, Amen Mpofu accused the police of abusing
council's
goodwill and reiterated that the disconnections will
continue.
But Bulawayo police spokesman, Inspector Mandlenkosi
Moyo on Friday
said the council employees might have failed to identify
themselves
properly.
"If anyone wants access to offices,
they have to identify themselves
and if they do not, and given the security
required at the station, the
police manning the entrance to the station
would obviously not allow them
in," Moyo said.
He said if
the councillors wanted a genuine solution to the problem
they "knew" the
protocol they had to follow.
"We are a very transparent organisation
that does not have anything to
hide," Moyo said.
BY
NKULULEKO SIBANDA
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 10 October 2009
18:16
AID agencies have warned that the general lack of urgency in
resolving
the current water and sanitation problems in Zimbabwe could lead
to another
cholera outbreak. As the rainy season approaches, fears of a
fresh cholera
outbreak heightened following the recent outbreak of new cases
in
Manicaland.
International Federation of the Red Cross
and Red Crescent Societies
(IFRC) disaster management co-ordinator, Farid
Abdulkadir said not much has
been done to resolve the water woes that
triggered the cholera outbreak last
year.
"The reason why
cholera occurred in Zimbabwe, the circumstances that
led to the cholera
outbreak are still there today.
"The water system still needs
to be worked on, the health system still
needs to be improved," Abdulkadir
said.
He was speaking at a meeting on regional water
integration held in
Randburg, South Africa.
Abdulkadir said
the problem had been compounded by the various
disasters that befell
Zimbabwe last year including the food crisis, floods,
political violence and
cholera.
"We tried to look for funds to intervene in Zimbabwe
but very few
people came," Abdulkadir said.
"Whether this
was due to political reasons or people got tired, God
knows. But everyone
knows that 4 000 people died because of cholera."
The situation
could get worse with changing weather patterns due to
climate change, he
said.
"A lot of things have turned upside down because of
climate change,"
added Abdulkadir.
"Like when cholera
occurred in Zimbabwe, it was during the dry season.
Usually, you would
expect it during the rain season."
In most cases, noted IFRC's
communications manager Matthew Cochrane,
people hide behind the fact that
some disasters, which could be avoided, are
natural.
"Cholera was not a natural disaster as people call it," Cochrane
said.
"There is nothing natural about a child dying. . .we need
to address
the structural aspects of water supply."
Shantha
Bloemen from the UN Children's Fund (Unicef) said while
improving water and
sanitation infrastructure was important, there was also
need to scale up
programmes to empower people at the grassroots to sustain
that
development.
"It cannot be just infrastructure, it cannot just
be hardware," said
Bloemen. "It is about empowering communities. . .giving
communities the type
of support they need to support their
development."
Meanwhile, the Deputy Minister for Health and
Child Welfare, Dr
Douglas Mombeshora says the cholera and swine flu
outbreaks in the country
are under control.
He said about
eight cases of cholera and 14 of swine flu had been
confirmed countrywide
since the outbreaks were detected.
Mombeshora said of the eight
cholera cases, seven were reported in
Chibuwe, Chipinge, and one in Mabvuku
high-density suburb.
He said nine cases of swine were reported
in Mt Mulani, Chipinge, four
in Mutare and one at Howard
Mission.
"These are the only figures of swine flu and cholera
that we have so
far, but we would like to believe the situation is under
control," he said.
"We also believe that cholera in Chipinge was imported
from Mozambique."
Mombeshora, who was speaking on the sidelines
of the Association of
Healthcare Funders of Zimbabwe Biennial
all-stakeholders' conference in
Nyanga, said there was an urgent need to
revamp the health sector to make
sure that it can cope with
emergencies.
BY VUSUMUZI SIFILE & SANDRA
MANDIZVIDZA
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 10 October 2009
18:10
The following is part of the judgement by Justice Charles Hungwe
in
the case brought by the applicants (African Consolidated Resources and
five
other companies) against the government over the mining claims in
Marange.
THE case for the applicants is established in the
affidavits filed by
the Assistant Mining Commissioner, the Mining Commission
as well as by the
first respondent heads of
argument.
Once it is established that the applicants
claims were lawfully
registered it follows that they are entitled to the
diamonds which they
extracted from their claims.
As they
were legally entitled to prospect, it can hardly be argued
that they could
not lawfully possess diamonds. In my view the applicants are
entitled to the
diamonds which they found on their claims. I say so for the
following
reasons.
Serious allegations were levelled against the police
by the applicants
in respect of both their role at the Marange diamond area
generally and more
specifically in respect of the eviction of the applicants
from their claim
in the ACR claims area.
In Harare the
applicants claim that the police took 129 400 diamond
carats from its
offices without giving a receipt for it and claimed they
were acting on the
instructions of the first respondent.
This averment was not
disputed by the fourth respondent. In fact, the
whole attitude of the police
was to indicate that they will abide by the
decision of this
court.
The police have no business acting outside the
law.
To do so would be to abdicate their constitutional
duty.
Yet this is precisely what they did. To charge a person
days later
after dispossessing that person of valuables can only be conduct
which
should be condemned in the strongest terms.
Such
conduct confirms perceptions, which abound of influential members
of society
who use the security establishment to further not the national
interest, but
personal interest.
The courts cannot but speak loudly against
such an abdication of
responsibility for the duty to protect rights to
property.
The papers before me paint a gloomy picture for the
duty to protect
our national heritage by those constitutionally charged with
that
responsibility.
I say this because the courts cannot
accept that the whole State
machinery cannot be said to have failed to
restore order in Marange to the
extent that a Cabinet Minister finds that
the solution to lawlessness is to
bring in parastatals to join a
free-for-all with the police selecting who
goes in and who does
not.
This in essence is the effect of the affidavit filed by
the second
respondent when he states at para 9.2 that:"It was therefore
imperative that
the second respondent begins its mandate by mopping up what
diamonds it
could in the area.
I must state that this
process did not seek to overrun the effects by
the police, who were
conducting their own simultaneous operations but it was
clear that people
had devised means of evading the police as each sought
some form of gain for
their illegal efforts.
"In order to avert imminent sanctions,
second respondent with the full
mandate of the government, embarked on the
cash in exchange for diamonds
returned".
Thereafter the
respondents have the temerity to deny that they were
not buying diamonds
from illegal miners!!
In my respectful view, the government has
the capacity to enforce law
and order in Marange.
This
matter demonstrates that either it is unwilling to do so for
reasons best
known to itself or it just will not do it!!
The courts will be
failing in their duty if they did not pronounce
themselves clearly in such
situations.
The applicants' rights have been contravened. They
are entitled to a
declaration of those rights.
I therefore issue
the following order:
1. The African Consolidated Resources P/L
claims issued to the third,
fourth, fifth and sixth applicants within the
area previously covered by
Extension Prospecting Order 1523 held by
Kimberlitic Searches P/L are valid
and have remained valid since the date
they were originally pegged
2. The right granted to the third
respondent by virtue of the Special
Grant shall not apply in respect of the
African Consolidated Resources P/L
claims area as indicated on annexure "B"
to the papers.
In that regard it is hereby ordered that third
respondent cease its
prospecting and diamond mining activities in the said
area.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED AS FOLLOWS:
3. That
second respondent return to the applicants possession the 129
400 carats of
diamonds seized from applicants offices in Harare on January
15,
2007.
4. The second respondent return to the applicants all
diamonds
acquired by second respondent from the African Consolidated claims
area
using the register kept by the second respondent in compliance with the
Kimberley Process Certification Scheme.
5. That fourth
respondent be and is hereby ordered to direct Police to
cease interfering
with the applicant's prospecting and mining activities.
6. That
first, second and third respondents pay applicant's cost on a
legal
practitioner and client scale, the one paying the other to be
absolved.
7. Any appeal noted against this order shall not
suspend the operation
of the order.
Here is the
Judgement in Full;
AFRICAN CONSOLIDATED
RESOURCES 1st APPLICANT
And
CANAPF
INVESTMENT (PRIVATE) LIMITED 2nd APPLICANT
And
DASHLOO INVESTMENT (PRIVATE) LIMITED 3rd
APPLICANT
And
POSSESSION INVESTMENT (PRIVATE)
LIMITED 4th APPLICANT
And
HEAVY STUFF
INVESTMENT (PRIVATE) LIMITED 5th APPLICANT
And
olebile investment (private) limited
6TH APPLICANT
Versus
minister of mines and minidng
development 1st
respondent
and
MINERALS MARKETING CORPORATION OF ZIMBABWE 2ND
RESPONDENT
AND
ZIMBABWE mining DEVELOPMENT
CORPORATION 3RD RESPONDENT
COMMISSIONER OF POLICE
4TH
RESPONDENT
HIGH COURT OF ZIMBABWE
IIUNCJWE
J
HARARE 24 September 2009 .
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 10 October 2009 17:22
BULAWAYO - Zimbabwe might soon start exporting 40 megawatts of
electricity
to Botswana for three years after the two neighbours opened
negotiations on
the revival of the Bulawayo power station. Zimbabwe, which
faces a huge
electricity deficit, has been struggling to operate its small
thermal power
stations in Bulawayo, Harare and Munyati due to a shortage of
spares and
coal.
The Zimbabwe Electricity Authority (Zesa) is already
selling
electricity to Namibia to repay a loan advanced by the Namibia Power
Company
for repairs of its generators at the Hwange Power
Station.
It emerged last week that negotiations between the
Zimbabwean and
Botswana governments for the resuscitation of the Bulawayo
station with a
capacity to produce 90 megawatts of electricity a day were at
an advanced
stage.
Zesa officials reportedly met a Botswana
delegation led by that
country's Minister of Minerals, Energy and Water
Resources
shego Kedikilwe met in Francistown recently where it was
agreed a
Memorandum of Understanding on the project be signed before the end
of the
year.
Botswana, which says it risks losing 100
megawatts of electricity in
imports from neighbouring South Africa due to
increasing demand in that
country, will fund the bulk of the rehabilitation
exercise through its
utility, the Botswana Power Company
(BPC).
Energy and Power Development minister, Engineer Elias
Mudzuri
confirmed the latest developments saying they were only waiting for
the
paper work to be finalised.
"It is true there is a deal
involving Zesa and the Botswana Power
Company," Mudzuri
said.
"Under the deal, it is envisaged BPC will inject money
into firing
some stations in the country, starting with Bulawayo whose
station has been
lying idle for some time.
"After the
injection, Zesa will then work on ensuring that some of the
power generated
from the stations is exported to Botswana."
The minister
indicated that the deal was good as done saying: "We have
been communicating
with our counterparts in Botswana and we are confident
that come November,
the MOU will be ready for signing and that is when the
full details of the
deal will be unveiled."
Zimbabwe imports electricity mainly
from Mozambique and the DRC but is
always struggling to make payments on
time.
BY NKULULEKO SIBANDA
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 10 October 2009
17:14
SCHWEPPES Zimbabwe Limited (SZL) has filed opposing affidavits
with
the Supreme Court in the case where Petter Trading of South Africa are
challenging the Reconstruction Act that was used to seize Mutumwa Mawere's
business empire.
Last month, Petter, which is under
liquidation, argued that if the
Supreme Court were to confirm the
reconstruction of Mawere's assets, it was
going to lose equipment it bought
for SZL which is close to sealing a merger
deal with Delta
Corporation.
Petter is asking the Supreme Court to declare
Sections 6, 12 and 18 of
the Reconstruction of State-Indebted Insolvent Act
(Chapter 24:27) in
violation of sections 16(b), (c) and (d) and 18(9) of the
Constitution of
Zimbabwe and therefore of no force and
effect.
Petter liquidator, Harry Kaplan said pursuant to
Section 4(3) of the
Reconstruction Act, an order issued against a company
could affect any
associate company or another which "benefited from the same
credit or
guarantee payable from public funds".
"The effect
of this section was to place not only the Second
Respondent (Mawere's SMM)
under the control of the Fourth Respondent (SMM
administrator Arafas
Gwaradzimba) but also technically the Applicant
(Petter) as it can be argued
that it was an associated company of the Second
Respondent on account of the
fact that it carried business with the
company," he said.
But in his opposing affidavit filed on September 25, SZL managing
director,
Charles Nkululeko Msipa said Coca-Cola Central Africa's (CCCA)
rights to
recover the shares in SZL from Fidelity Life Asset Management
(FLAM) arose
not from the implementation of the Reconstruction Act, but
rather from the
breach of the 2003 Sales Purchase Agreement.
SZL said CCCA paid
for the assets which are subject of the application
to the second respondent
(SMM Holdings Private Limited) and Petter should
look for relief from
SMM.
"The issue as to whether or not the cited sections of the
Reconstruction of State-Indebted Insolvent Companies' Act are
unconstitutional or the actions of the Third (Patrick Chinamasa) and Fourth
respondents are unfair and unconstitutional matters which do not concern
SZL," Msipa argued.
SZL said since FLAM was in breach and
SZL under reconstruction, CCCA
had no option but to deal with
Gwaradzimba.
"Further, in the circumstances that obtained at
the time in which FLAM
was in breach and SZL under reconstruction, CCCA had
no choice but to deal
with the Fourth Respondent who had the de facto and
apparently de jure
control of SZL and thus Applicant can have no grievance
or right of claim
against either SZL and or CCCA and this application simply
has no merit
against SZL and ought to be dismissed with costs on a scale of
a legal
practitioner and client," it said.
In 2003, FLAM
entered into a Memorandum of Agreement of Sale with CCCA
and Schweppes
Holdings Limited in which the asset managers would purchase
SZL for a price
of $1 on top of a US$5.8 million injection for equipment
upgrade.
The upgrade had to be completed in February 2004
for SZL to meet the
international standards while CCCA had to dispose of the
stake to comply
with the Competition and Tariff Commission directive to
localise the
operation.
Since FLAM had no access to foreign
currency, it turned to Mawere's
Africa Resources Limited which then
instructed Petter to pay for some
equipment.
The equipment
at the centre of the dispute includes a PET form System
for the production
of petforms, PET Blow Moulding System, a technological
plant for making PET
plastic bottles and 4PET Bottling lines.
Mawere's empire, FLAM
included, was put under reconstruction in 2004
after the government said it
was indebted to the state.
SZL was also put under reconstruction and
was only released after CCCA
had paid money owed to SMM and FLAM to
Gwaradzimba.
BY NDAMU SANDU
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 10 October 2009
17:14
AT least 493 exhibitors, more than 40% of the targeted number,
have
confirmed their participation at this year's Sanganai World Travel and
Tourism Africa showcase which starts at the Exhibition Park on
Wednesday.
The fair runs up to October 18.
Statistics obtained from the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA), the
organisers of the annual travel and tourism fair, show that the 350 target
for this year had been surpassed.
The ZTA says it is
targeting 500 exhibitors for next year's fair.
This year's edition will
focus on domestic tourism to encourage locals
to visit tourist
resorts.
"We are telling our people to visit Zimbabwe first and
from October 14
to October 2010 our slogan is visit Zimbabwe first," said
ZTA chief
executive officer, Karikoga Kaseke.
A total of
310 buyers have confirmed their participation with a number
of them leaning
towards investment to renew the tourism product.
"Some of the
buyers who are buying not only tourism but (are looking
for investment) have
already arrived from China," Kaseke said.
"Most of the buyers
for Sanganai are more of investors not outbound
tour
operators."
The investors will renew the tourism product to
compete with the best
in the region, Kaseke said adding that the industry
had not been renewed for
a long time.
Concern had been
raised on the deteriorating standards in the industry
with operators failing
to adhere to the prescribed minimum standards.
Kaseke admitted
that the standards have gone down blaming it on the
deteriorating economic
environment that prevailed in the past 10 years.
"Our industry
has gone through a harsh period but that does not mean
that people can do
what they want," he said.
"If we have not been lenient no hotel
in this country would be a four
star.
"There is no
four-star anywhere in the world which does not have high
speed internet in
the rooms and the issue of connectivity is outside the
operators' realm," he
said.
He said where operators have worked to improve the
product, ZTA had
been lenient.
Zimbabwe's tourism industry
is picking its pieces after years of
decline.
The inclusive
government has identified tourism to provide the
quickest turnaround ahead
of other sectors such as mining, agriculture and
manufacturing in the
revival plan, Short Term Emergency Recovery Programme.
In
April, government gave the industry some fiscal incentives to renew
its
products.
Statutory Instrument 46 of 2009 provides the terms
and conditions
under which the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) may grant
suspension of
duty on specified types of motor vehicles for licensed tourism
operators.
The suspension is effective March 1 and will run up
to February 28,
2011.
Under Statutory 60 of 2009 Zimra may
grant rebate of duty on new
capital equipment, boat equipment and other
goods taken out of bond for the
tourism sector.
To qualify
for rebate, the capital equipment must be used for
expansion, modernization
and renovation of hotels and restaurants.
Beneficiaries of the
facility should be registered with ZTA.
In another plus for the tourism
industry, Barclays Bank announced that
holders of Visa branded card can
withdraw money from any of the institution's
Automated Teller Machines
(ATMs).
In the past visitors to Zimbabwe had a burden of
carrying large sums
of money as the country does not offer credit cards
facilities.
"As long as your card is Visa branded you can
withdraw money from
Barclays' ATM. Our next step is to allow those with
Master cards to withdraw
money," said George Guvamatanga, Barclays' managing
director.
The World Cup in South Africa next year is expected
to increase
tourism arrivals into the country and all eyes will be on the
tourism
industry as Zimbabwe hosts the Cosafa Senior Challenge
Cup.
Cosafa is seen as a dress rehearsal for the 2010 World Cup
for
Zimbabwe.
BY NDAMU SANDU
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 10 October 2009
18:20
WORLD Teachers' Day was commemorated last week but in Zimbabwe
this
year the occasion only served to remind many of the numerous hurdles
ahead,
chief among them the crisis over whether the majority of children
will write
their final examinations.
The registration for the
examinations has been extended to Friday,
October 16, but after the initial
registration period expired with many
students unable to register the real
issues are whether all students
intending to write this year are fully aware
of the extension and secondly
whether they can afford the registration
fees.
Many will not be able to manage the fees because their
parents simply
cannot afford the amounts. The real question is whether the
amounts should
not be revised to levels that will make them accessible for
the majority of
students.
Clearly the fees did not take
cognizance of the predicament of the
parents many of whom are earning less
than US$200 a month.
There is need for a once-off decision to
enable students who have
struggled against all odds to write their final
examinations this year.
If there is an argument for cost
recovery examination fees, the
government may want to engage the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organisation (Unesco) - the
world body's agency that sponsors
programmes that promote education,
communication and arts. Then there is
Unicef and other organisations with a
similar focus for a once-off
assistance. Unicef has been the lead agency at
the forefront of humanitarian
measures with a focus on
children.
If that does not work then perhaps it would be worth
considering
allowing all students to write but with the condition that they
have to pay
upon collection of their examination results.
Zimbabwe cannot afford to have a whole generation missing out on
writing
final examinations. The consequences would be catastrophic.
What
makes this whole issue tragic is that there is never a shortage
of resources
to send Zimbabwean delegations to this and that international
conference.
The country would save more than enough to pay for this year's
examination
fees if only it had the will to forgo one international
conference. But
international meetings have become a revenue-generating
source and those
pushing for Zimbabwe's participation at the various
international forums are
unlikely to spare a thought to the plight of
students whose final
examinations are in doubt.
The theme for this year's World
Teachers' Day was Investing in
Teachers for Quality Education. The truth,
however, as demonstrated by the
paltry allowance given to members of the
profession, is that it is failing
to attract the best and teacher training
in general has been compromised.
The government has not invested in staff
development of members of the
profession.
A survey
conducted by one of the teacher organisations paints a bleak
picture of the
plight of teachers in the country. For example, 44% of the
teachers rely on
other sources of income to supplement what the government
is paying them.
That is hardly a situation where quality education can be
found.
Given the progress the country made in the education
sector during the
first two decades of Independence, the prospect of
hundreds of thousands of
students unlikely to write their final examinations
is the greatest
betrayal.
The Commonwealth Heads of
Government Meeting is due to take place next
month in the West Indies.
Zimbabwe needs to examine whether the country
should not return to the
grouping. Some of the problems the country is
facing could have been dealt
with by drawing on resources and expertise from
the
Commonwealth.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 10 October
2009 18:15
A year after signing of the GPA, vacancies for elected
parliamentary
seats are still to be filled. Parliament on one hand claims it
promptly
notified the President's Office about the vacancies in the Houses
of
Assembly and Senate while the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) on the
other, claims that there is no money to hold by-elections and even suggests
that by-elections cannot be held until new ZEC is in place.
This is
despite the fact that section 39 [2] of the Electoral Act
explicitly states
that the President and the Commission has to be notified
[in writing] by the
President of the Senate or the Speaker of the House of
Assembly once a
vacancy exists in the membership of either the House of
Assembly or
Senate.
On receiving this notification, the President is obliged
[within a
period of fourteen days] to publish a notice in the Gazette
ordering a new
election to fill the vacancy.
For electoral
reforms to take hold, certain essential prerequisites
must be in place,
among which are the need for a complete change in
political mindset; the
need for a strong, independent ZEC manned by non
partisan management staff;
the need for drastic overhaul of all laws such as
POSA and AIPPA which
curtail freedom of assembly, association, speech and
media freedom; and, the
need to ensure impartiality in the enforcement of
law by the
police.
Electoral experiences strongly suggest that legal
reforms alone
without political will to enforce them are not enough as they
are at high
risk of being flouted with impunity.
For instance
while comprehensive provisions on intimidatory practices
cover all forms of
violence and intimidation, these have been rendered
ineffectual by a
partisan police force which fails to enforce them to
protect party
supporters from one party against violence by members of
another party.
Provisions on fair media coverage of elections are only
effective if ZEC
monitors properly the media and takes action to put stop to
breaches.
The political environment before, during and
after voting must allow
political parties to campaign freely and voters to
freely express their
electoral choices without intimidation and reprisals.
There is need to amend
POSA to ensure that unreasonable restrictions on
political campaigning are
removed.
The police must apply law
properly and impartially. Previous elections
such as the 2008 re-run of the
Presidential elections witnessed considerable
levels of violence and
intimidation.
When entire party structures are focused on a single
by-election, the
risk of even more violence and intimidation is likely to be
high. ZEC should
therefore carefully monitor the situation on the ground
before and after
elections and where instances of violence and intimidation
are reported,
should do all in its power to put a stop to such
practices.
During the 2008 elections, violence was directed
against opposition
political parties. To avoid a replay of these political
malpractices, ZESN
recommends that the names and addresses of chief election
agents and
ordinary party agents should no longer be published and that
party election
agents must not be prevented from witnessing polling
process.
Since ZEC is a critical body that is constitutionally
mandated to
ensure that elections are free, fair, transparent, and in
accordance with
the law, urgent priority should be given to the
establishment of a new
Commission.
With new Commissioners
to be appointed in due course under
constitutional amendment 19, it is
imperative that the public have
confidence that these new Commissioners will
perform their duties
conscientiously, independently and without political
bias.
While Constitutional Amendment number 19 has changed somewhat
the
composition and method for appointing Electoral Commissioners, ZESN
feels
that the manner in which the chairperson is appointed is not
satisfactory.
ZESN recommends further changes to method of
appointment of
Commissions such as removing discretion of President to
select Commissioners
after Parliamentary Committee has chosen most suitable
candidates. There is
also need to comply with constitutional provisions that
clearly stipulate
that Commissioners cannot be members of political parties,
that they must
relinquish political membership without delay when appointed,
and, that they
must be non-partisan.
Before by-elections
are held, the incoming Electoral Commission should
address the issue of
their senior management staff. ZEC staff must be seen
to be scrupulously
impartial and apolitical in the performance of their
duties.
There is widespread perception that there has been politicization and
militarization of key staff position and that the senior managers are
politically biased. The new Commission must move in to replace discredited
Staff members with new staff that will carry out their duties independently
and without political bias.
The Commission can obtain staff
for its activities during an election
from the public service, such as
teachers, the health service and the
statutory bodies and councils who
should operate in various capacities such
as presiding officers at polling
stations. Only limited numbers of police
officers should be used for
security at polling stations and these officers
must not be located inside
polling stations.
The accuracy and integrity of voters' roll is an
essential component
of free and fair elections. ZESN has repeatedly pointed
out that the current
electoral roll is highly inaccurate and needs complete
overhaul before next
general elections. Claims of duplicate entries, voters
enrolled in wrong
constituencies, eligible voters being left off, and, dead
persons remaining
on the voters' roll continue to be reported. Ideally, an
audit of
constituency roll should be conducted and anomalies rectified
before
by-election.
Presently ZEC supervises electoral
processes while voter registration
is done by the Registrar General. ZESN
recommends that the function of voter
registration be removed from the
Registrar-General's Office and taken over
by the Electoral
Commission.
The Electoral Act must be changed to require the
Electoral Commission
to disclose promptly the number of ballot papers
printed for an election and
to disclose other such information, for example
the number of ballot-boxes
issued to each polling station.
In
last election, electronic voters' roll was made available to
political
parties but at considerable cost and not in computer searchable
format. ZESN
recommends that they be in computer searchable format. ZESN
also recommends
that voters' roll must be available both in electronic and
printed form and
be made available free of charge to polling agents,
observers and political
parties.
Counting and tabulation of results must be properly done
within the
provisions of the Electoral Act. The counting and collation
processes should
be done in the presence of candidates or their polling
agents. After
counting of the votes and posting of results outside polling
stations,
results must be sent to the Ward Collation Centre where they are
collated
and verified. The collated results should be posted outside the
Ward
Centers. These results should be immediately transmitted to the
constituency
elections officer for collation and verification who will
declare the
results and post them outside the Constituency Collation Centre.
These
processes must be done efficiently and expeditiously after polling has
taken
place with no unreasonable delay in announcing the results. Any
recounts of
votes should only take place after the announcement of the
results.
Independent observation of elections is vital part of fair
electoral
process as it lends credibility to the process. Existing law
relating to
observers is highly restrictive and should be reformed before
by-elections
are held. Local and international observers should be free to
observe all
by-elections, should be free to observe during the lead up
period to the
referendum, should be free to observe the voting process and
the collation
and announcement of results and the period following the
announcement of
results. The accreditation of observers should fall under
the management and
control of ZEC. There is also need to remove veto power
of Justice and
Foreign Ministers to exclude persons or organizations
government does not
want to observe elections.
Ideally the
whole media arena should be opened up so that there can be
media diversity
in both print and broadcasting prior to by-elections. The
ZBC should also be
transformed from a highly partisan broadcaster into a
genuinely public
broadcaster that will cover elections on a fair and
balanced basis. The
repressive media laws that exist currently must be
completely overhauled. In
the meantime the Electoral Commission must use the
legal powers already
incorporated into the Electoral Act to ensure fair
coverage of elections and
avoidance of hate speech. The Electoral Commission
must be pro-active in
monitoring the media and ensuring that they abide by
the legislation in the
lead up to the various by-elections that are due to
take place. This should
be done in conjunction with the Zimbabwe Media
Commission established under
Constitutional Amendment No 19.
This article was done by Zimbabwe
Election Support Network. Any
comments can be submitted to zesn@africaonline.co.zw This e-mail
address is
being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to
view it
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Interrogating aid Effectiveness as the Driver of Development
Saturday,
10 October 2009 18:36
THE 2005 Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness
was the outcome of the
High-Level Forum II meeting organised by the
Development Assistance
Committee of the Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development
(OECD-DAC) in Paris. At this forum, development
ministers from developing
and developed nations, and heads of bilateral and
multilateral development
institutions (including the UN and World Bank)
resolved to adopt far
reaching and monitorable actions to reform the ways in
which they deliver
and manage aid in view of the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs).
Targets were set for implementation and
monitoring by donor and
partner governments up to 2010.
Civil society was not extensively involved in the process leading to
the
Paris Declaration (PD).
The Jubilee South (JS) movement has
previously declared that Southern
governments must consider aid as a
temporary source of inflows. Indeed, the
movement asserts that justice and
reparations are due to people of the
Global South, who are actually
creditors of a massive historical and
ecological debt.
In
their view, unconditional debt cancellation is a major requisite
for aid
effectiveness. Increasingly, eminent authorities on the topic of aid
are
adding their voice to the disillusionment with aid. One of the latest is
former World Bank consultant Dambisa Moyo, who in her book Dead Aid explains
why aid is not working for Africa, whilst articulating a position on
alternatives to the dependency model.
One area where
contradictions manifest is the relationship between aid
and external debt
service. Indeed it has been observed that many developing
countries pay out
more in external debt service than they receive in aid.
Another
is the relationship between terms-of-trade losses suffered by
African
countries versus inward aid inflows. According to the African Forum
and
Network on Debt and development (AFRODAD), whilst it has been calculated
that the continent needs US$ 64 billion in aid annually, the continent
actually suffers more than US$75 billion in financial leakages made up of
US$60 billion terms of trade losses and US$15 billion in unwarranted debt
repayments.
The terms of trade losses are mainly caused by
unfair policies
advocated for and perpetuated by developed countries and
multinational
companies through the World Trade Organisation (WTO),
resulting in
unbalanced trade relations between powerful trading blocs such
as the
European Union (EU) and weaker economies in the developing
world.
The implementation of AE in Zimbabwe is coming in a
peculiar context
and extraordinary circumstances.
The total
resource requirements for the key priority areas outlined in
STERP are in
excess of US$8 billion. Unfortunately, the country is not in a
position to
generate all these resources internally in the short term, hence
the need
for external funding.
The most important point to note on the
implementation of AE in
Zimbabwe is that the country has not officially
signed onto the list of
"Countries, Territories and Organisations Adhering
to the Paris Declaration".
While it is innovative for the
inclusive government to link aid to
investment, they must give equal weight
to the creation of a good domestic
investment climate. A good start would be
to restore all the savings and
pensions which were eroded by
hyperinflation.
The government should also urgently launch a
transparent and
non-partisan land audit in line with article V of the Global
Political
Agreement. Surely, it is also not serious for the government to go
around
with a begging bowl to stimulate aid for investment purposes, while
land
invasions and farm disruptions are still taking place!
Zimbabwe is also refusing to incorporate land rights to conclude a
Bilateral
Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (BIPPA) with South
Africa. It
goes without saying that agriculture was the mainstay of our
economy, and
efforts for economic reform should start there.
At this point
it helps to note that there are six references to the
need for Zimbabwe to
wean itself from development aid in the policy.
Furthermore,
the government seems to be abandoning the strategy of
regional integration,
and signing up to open up its ailing economy to
competition from larger
trading blocs such as the EU through the Economic
Partnership Agreements
(EPAs), which have aid attached to them as a
sweetener.
Potential investors in mining also have their concerns, which the
government
is still a long way from addressing.
It's really hard to see how
this current approach will result in a
regenerated and competitive economy
which is solely dependent on internal
resources as articulated in the
government's policy document.
The strategic positioning of the
Premier in an aid co-ordination role
within the power-sharing government may
be interpreted as reflecting the
political economy of the ongoing political
transition. Some observers have
speculated that the incumbent Prime
Minister, and indeed his party have the
potential of attracting new aid from
donors.
Dakarayi Matanga
Harare.
---------------
Criminal Vandalism
Saturday, 10 October 2009 18:34
DRIVING to Harare last week I saw an
astonishing sight just outside
Gweru. From Gweru to Harare, a distance of
more than 250 kilometres, the
electrical system built after independence at
a cost of over US$100 million
dollars, has been stripped and lies derelict
and destroyed.
Tens of millions of dollars damage carried out
on the side of the main
road and in front of the entire country and its
police force. Recently the
co-Minister of Home Affairs, responsible for the
Police had his 30-tonne
truck impounded with 30 tonnes of stolen copper wire
on board.
We have heard nothing since then but I understand a
close relative has
been running a gang stripping wire from power lines for
several years. The
police at Beitbridge are well aware of this and have done
nothing.
This is criminal vandalism on a massive scale, just
when we need our
railways for exports and bulk movements of food, coal and
other commodities,
someone cripples the only major investment we have
carried out in our rail
system since Independence.
Eddie
Cross
Bulawayo.
-----------
Lost Relevance
Saturday, 10 October 2009 18:33
ONCE upon time Zimbabwe had a professor
whom many said was wise,
articulate and whose brevity matched none other in
the country. Many of his
colleagues spoke highly of him and tipped him to be
the future of Zimbabwean
politics. He joined Zanu PF in 2001 and within a
short period he had risen
within the ranks.
He was used
like a rag and most of us felt sorry for him, only to be
ejected from the
party after years of hard labour just like it was during
the days of the
slavery. The only difference being that he was a paid one.
His name is
Jonathan Moyo.
By rejoining Zanu PF Moyo only proved to the
whole of Zimbabwe how he
has lost political relevance and meaning in
Zimbabwe. What he has done is to
show the people of Zimbabwe what a coward
he is.
Rawlings Magede
via
e-mail
--------------
A bit of Common Sense Would Avert This
Inconvenience
Saturday, 10 October 2009 18:31
SOME things
require common sense. An example is the official opening
of Parliament loast
Tuesday. Each time this happens there is great
inconvenience to the motoring
public yet not a single person among those
responsible for co-ordinating
preparations for the official opening seems to
realise that a bit of common
sense - such as allowing closure of the streets
near Parliament at, say 9am
would remove the traffic congestion that is
created by closure of the same
roads as early as 6am.
Just because this has been the practice
over the years does not
necessarily mean it has to be followed
unquestionably.
It is a practice that served its purpose well
during a certain era but
clearly it no longer is of use in the present
circumstances. For one, the
volume of traffic was lower than the present and
so the extent to which the
official opening interfered with people on their
way to work was not that
pronounced.
So next time there is
another official opening of Parliament I expect
those in charge of the
preparations to show a bit of common sense and allow
people who are trying
to ensure the economy continues to tick to reach their
offices before
closure of the roads at 9am.
While we are there, do the same
officials not see that the dais could
do with a replacement? The one that
was left outside Parliament at the end
of business on Tuesday looks
embarrassingly tatty. And could the
accident-damaged vehicles be taken away
and auctioned off. They are a sore
sight.
A survey of all
government complexes shows a lot of cars that are
accident-damaged or broken
down.
Wouldn't it be better for the government to sell the cars and
realise
some revenue, because they are unlikely to get the vehicles back on
the road
any time soon.
G R Munhuwamambo
Avenues,
Harare.
-----------
Have They Forgotten the British
Hospitality They Enjoyed?
Saturday, 10 October 2009 18:25
FROM
Cold Comfort Farm, just outside the capital city, Harare, Didymus
Mutasa ran
away to the United Kingdom.
He chose the UK because of the warm
British hospitality which he could
not get from Ghana, Nigeria, Egypt, China
and Russia if he had gone there.
Remember that these countries were already
independent.
At the same time Amnesty International, a
major human rights
organisation was helping families of the detained
nationalists. The help
that the families of the jailed and detained
nationalists received was in
the form of money that went towards payment for
their rent and school fees.
Today Mutasa is condemning
international human rights organisations
and yet they are doing noble work.
Does Mutasa still remember these good and
noble deeds done for his fellow
nationalists?
From his racial and evil utterances concerning
white commercial
farmers, it shows that he has forgotten all that
international organisations
such as Amnesty International did for them in
the past.
Didymus Mutasa and his fellow so-called
revolutionaries have become
black racists, fascists and admirers of Nazis,
who enjoy seeing the
suffering of fellow Zimbabweans, both black and white
in the guise of giving
land to the landless blacks.
For
Mutasa, my question is: Can those who own six farms each be said
to be
landless blacks? Think about these issues.
D R Mutungagore
Mutare.
------------
SMS The Standard
Saturday, 10
October 2009 18:20
What's the deal? WHY is it the Zimbabwe Teachers'
Association is
deducting money from stranded teachers without their
knowledge? -Teacher
kybee.
******
TSVANGIRAI says he
is Head of Government, Mugabe insists on being
addressed as Head of
Government. What does the GPA say? Is it okay if I call
myself head
government as well? - Mekhi Sithole.
******
PEOPLE in
Beitbridge are forced to go to other towns for the changing
of ownership of
vehicles. If they do not trust Zimra at Beitbridge they
should not allow
them to work on imported vehicles. Biti, please wake up
because people are
not paying that percentage to Zimra. - Angry resident.
Moyo, the
curator
HAS Jonathan Moyo rejoined Zanu PF in order to complete his
grand plan
of banishing Zanu PF into the museum of politics, a place that he
is quoted
as saying, "that the current Zanu PF leadership belong." I feel
Moyo has
faced the reality and has decided to become a museum curator. - Mr
X.
******
EACH time The Herald or Jonathan Moyo attack the
PM and or Biti their
popularity goes up. So make our day and make more rabid
attacks. -
R Mataya.
Don't copy Zanu PF
I would
like to advise the South African Embassy to advise their
government to stop
their press from generating news that imply they might
want to take the Zanu
PF route of resolving the land imbalance. That was a
mad man's idea of doing
things. Their press should desist from referring to
it as the Zimbabwean way
because the majority do not subscribe to the way it
was done. The South
Africans shouldn't copy wrong things. Just formulate
laws that define
maximum sizes of farms and redistribute excess land and
compensate for that
land and redistribute to the needy. Also discuss your
intention with the
affected and allow those who genuinely want to farm to do
so and produce for
the people and the country. The Zanu PF way is now the
origin of our
problems in Zimbabwe and Zimbabweans are not even proud of it.
So be warned
before you repeat a mistake.- Landless.
Mbare belongs to
MDC
NYANHONGO please shut up. we did not vote for you. Mbare belongs to
MDC. Makajaira kuuraya patsunami - how many houses did you demolish? Do you
think people are that stupid. Come elections, we will show you. - MDC for
life.
******
PLEASE Chinotimba, patron of Teachers'
Union of Zimbabwe (TUZ) leave
us. We are not your members musabate mari
yedu pasina mvumo please. We can
sue you.- Teacher Kubvo, Murerwa
'Consider the widows'
WHEN examination candidates, most of whom
come from poor and
economically marginalized backgrounds are asked to pay
US$10 per subject it
is very unfortunate. A society that does not consider
the widows, orphans
and the poor is a sick one! Let the government pay for
the children's exams.
After so great a stride in the education sector, can
we afford to retrogress
now? - Herbert Mugwagwa, Chitungwiza.
******
ZANU PF, whether they like it or not shall implement GPA and the
more
they implement it the more they kick themselves out of power. GPA is
the end
of Zanu PF. - Wellwisher.
Hypocrites!
THE
Minister of Local Government, Urban and Rural Development, Dr
Ignatious
Chombo and the Deputy Minister of Transport, Hubert Nyanhongo must
not
pretend to sympathise with the residents of Harare over municipal market
stalls. Where were they when their boss unleashed Operation Murambatsvina
and destroyed our homes, tuck shops and market stalls? - Baba Nhingi,
Highfield.
******
HAS President Robert Mugabe suddenly
discovered that he is the Head of
State and government and
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces with the
advent of the Global
Political Agreement? The titles will not endear him to
us. Instead they
demonstrate how power hungry he is. It makes us even eager
to kick him out
at the next election. Let him hold free and fair elections
and we will show
him where he really belongs. We no longer need him in
government. - Tired,
Harare.
Appointments snub women
THE Federation of African
Media Women Zimbabwe notes with great
concern the composition of the
recently appointed boards of media
institutions. It is disturbing to note
the compositions lack gender balance
and inclusiveness. Therefore the
struggle for gender equality in and through
the media is far from being won.
It is sad to note that the Zimpapers board
consists of only eight men. The
Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe has seven
men and four women, while
Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings has 11 men and one
woman. Kingstons,
Transmedia and New Ziana boards have six men and three
women. The number of
women on these boards is of little value and
significance and reflects lack
of will on the part of the powers that be to
promote women to positions of
decision-making. - FAMWZ, Harare.
GUESS what
Minister Webster Shamu? Now we will definitely not pay for
our television
licences. We have had enough and nothing they do will stop
the tide of
change. - Justice, Harare.
IT'S time Zimbabweans learnt to call a
spade a spade. The reality is
that the opposition Zanu PF's land reform
programme has failed. I would like
to advise the South African Embassy to
caution their government to stop
press reports implying that they might want
to take the Zanu PF route of
resolving the land imbalance. That idea is mad.
Their press should desist
from referring to it as the Zimbabwean way because
the majority do not
subscribe to the way it was done. The South Africans
should not emulate
disastrous examples. What they need are laws that define
the maximum sizes
of farms, then redistribute excess land and compensate
those whose land is
redistributed to the needy. They must also discuss their
intentions with the
farmers who will be affected by the land redistribution
exercise. Then allow
only those who genuinely want to farm to do so and let
them produce for the
people. The Zanu PF way is the source of all our
problems. Most Zimbabweans
are not proud of it. So they should be warned
before they repeat the
Zimbabwean mistake. - Oracle, Harare.
WHETHER Zanu PF likes it or not they are going to implement their
obligations under the Global Political Agreement. The more they implement it
the more they will oust themselves from power. The GPA is the beginning of
the end of Zanu PF. - Reality, Harare.