http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Tichaona
Sibanda
24 October 2012
Any changes to the draft constitution
following the second All-Stakeholders
conference in Harare will only be
based on consensus, a COPAC co-chairman
said on Wednesday.
Douglas
Mwonzora, the MDC-T spokesman and COPAC co-chair, told SW Radio
Africa they
would only make changes to the draft charter if everyone in the
various
thematic committees wanted changes.
‘The most important thing to come out
of this conference is that people
accepted the draft. They did not reject it
as had been hoped by some
skeptics and destructive elements of
society.
‘What people did was to try and improve the draft and certainly
not to
reject it. We have few areas where delegates wanted improvements, but
the
rest wanted it like that,’ Mwonzora said, adding they were quite happy
that
everything went according to plan.
Asked to give an example of
what constituted a consensus, the Nyanga North
MP explained; ‘Delegates
noted that the right of youths to education and
empowerment was in the
national objective and not in chapter 4 of the
Declaration of Rights. A
point was therefore made that the rights of youths
must be put in the
Declaration of Rights and there was no argument against
that. That’s an
example of consensus.’
However Mwonzora said there was no consensus on
many of the contentious
issues such as devolution.‘But this is not a new
disagreement, it’s a
disagreement we were aware of when we drafted the
constitution. In a
nutshell there won’t be wholesale changes to the draft
and they can’t be a
deadlock because there was nothing new that was brought
on the contentious
issues.’ he said.
While it didn’t take time for
some thematic committees to give thumbs up to
the draft, others dealing with
devolution, dual citizenship, security
services and the executive took hours
arguing on the need to make changes to
some clauses. But the arguments came
to nothing.
It’s also reported that it took less than 30 minutes for the
thematic
committee on principles of public administration and leadership to
finish
its work without making any changes or recommendations.
The
two day conference was attended by over a thousand delegates and COPAC
has
already started compiling a report and will send it to parliament,
together
with the draft and a national report.
Mwonzora reiterated that only
Parliament and not the principals, as stated
by Robert Mugabe, had the right
to make changes to the draft.
‘Mugabe’s message was confused and confusing.
He seems to be implying that
the principals must do the constitution
themselves. They cannot do that. We
(COPAC) are writing the constitution and
we are capable of doing any
adjustments to the draft.
‘The principals
can of course intervene where there is a problem, to ensure
that the COPAC
program runs smoothly like what happened with the conference.
The principals
will have a say when the constitution is taken to cabinet,’
the MP
said.
Meanwhile, it’s reported that controversial businessman and ZANU PF
delegate
Themba Mliswa grabbed a COPAC video camera and fled with it after
noticing
the cameraman filming him during the deliberations.
Newsday
reported on Wednesday that Mliswa was filmed while blaming his party
“for
failing to coach the delegates well.” He demanded that the cameraman
delete
the recording, but when the cameraman refused Mliswa wrested it from
him, in
the presence of the police who did nothing.
Mliswa later told journalists
he had taken the camera to Harare Central
Police Station.
http://www.radiovop.com
Harare, October 24, 2012 - Zimbabwe
is going to hold a referendum earliest
in January 2013 as having it this
year only applies theoretically, the
constitutional parliament select
committee has said.
This comes after the peaceful completion of the Second
All Stakeholders
Conference where political parties and stakeholders
proposed some few
amendments to the draft constitution. One of the
amendments regards the
rights of youths which had not been included in the
Bill of Rights.
"There are still a lot of things that need to be
done. For example the
financing as well as the hand over take over of the
constitutional process
from COPAC to the Zimbabwe Election Commission (ZEC).
A referendum is an
election and it falls under ZEC,” COPAC Co-Chair Douglas
Mwonzora, told
Radio VOP exclusively in Harare Tuesday at the end of the
Second All
Stakeholders Conference.
ZEC early this month said they
needed about $104 million for the referendum.
It also indicated that at
least six weeks was needed to put logistical
arrangements in
place.
Finance minister Tendai Biti recently said treasury had no money
for
by-elections which President Robert Mugabe was ordered to hold by end of
next March by the Supreme Court.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
23/10/2012
00:00:00
by Staff Reporter
PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe faces
resistance in his bid to wrest control of the
new constitution from
Parliament with Copac chairmen insisting that GPA
Principals have no role in
the process while leaders of other political
parties accused him of trying
to usurp the powers of the legislature.
Copac, a Parliamentary committee,
has been steering the process to write a
new constitution but Mugabe told
delegates to the second all-stakeholders
conference in Harare Monday that
he, along with Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai and his deputy, Arthur
Mutambara, would have the final say on the
new constitution.
Said the
Zanu PF leader: “Ivo vatatu vamuri kuona ava, tisu takanyora ichi
chinonzi
Global Political Agreement.
“Ndisu zvakare takati kumember dzedu
dzeParliament hapana anoti kwete, mese
munosungirwa kuvhota. Zvino
idemocracy iyoyo? I am saying this because
sometimes Parliament thinks that
it is full of sovereignty that it should
control the acts of the Principals,
hazviite.”
Mavambo Kusile leader Simba Makoni said there was no basis for
Mugabe’s
claim in the GPA and accused him of trying to usurp Parliamentary
authority.
“The GPA Principals have no mandate to finalise the country’s
constitution.
Nowhere in the GPA are the so-called Principals given a role,
let alone
final say, in the making of the new constitution,” Makoni said in
a
statement.
“The import of the President’s remarks is that the
people’s views do not
matter at all … the three GPA leaders are not the only
people in Zimbabwe;
the country has fourteen million citizens.
“But)
this should not surprise anyone, since disregard of the will of the
people
has been President Mugabe’s hallmark for the past two decades.
Copac
co-chair Douglas Mwonzora said Mugabe’s statement was an attempt to
interfere in the affairs of the legislature.
“I don’t agree with the
President,” Mwonzora said in an interview.
“It was just a statement and I
didn’t actually get what he meant in terms of
at what stage are the
principals going to come in. The legislature is an
equal arm of the State
just like the judiciary and the executive.
“Copac will produce a national
report after tabling the matter to Parliament
that’s when our job end. The
executive will only come into the fold when the
document reaches
cabinet.”
Mwonzora’s Zanu PF counterpart, Paul Mangwana, said the
Principals could
only intervene in the event of a deadlock adding: “There is
always this
structure - the principals have given us (management committee)
. . . they
can always come in on areas where the Select Committee cannot
reach a
consensus.
“If we are able to deal with those views, then
there will be no need for
them to come in but in the event that we have
conflicting views, then
principals will intervene.”
MDC leader
Welshman Ncube, who boycotted Monday’s opening ceremony, claimed
that Mugabe
was planning to hand control of the process to a Cabinet
committee chaired
by Mutambara.
Meanwhile, the conference ended Tuesday with delegates
still divided over
proposed changes to the draft although Mwonzora insisted
that no major
changes had come up adding a referendum on the document would
likely be held
in January next year.
“There is no new thing brought
up except minor terminology changes. Most
delegates have expressed
confidence in the COPAC draft,” he said.
“The delegates have also seen
for themselves that there is no homosexuality
in the draft, it was just
propaganda, political grandstanding peddled by
people who wanted to have
this process abandoned.
“We have always said we wanted elections with a
new constitution and now
that the process has been a success, it is possible
to have a referendum
this year but logistically it might be impossible but
by January we should
have a referendum.”
Zanu PF’s Patrick Chinamasa
added: “We are prepared to bend backwards just
to have this process
through.”
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
The United Nations says it is ready
to dispatch monitors to observe the
forthcoming elections should Zimbabwe
give them the green light.
24.10.12
by Garikai
Chaunza
“At the moment we do not have a request from the government
with regards to
the election monitoring. Unless we get a clear request from
the government
we believe and respect that elections are national events
which are run by
its people. We have not yet reached that stage right now,
so we will wait
for a clear request from the government”, United Nations
Development
Programme Country Resident Representative, Mr Alain Noudehou,
told
Journalists in Harare Wednesday.
President Robert Mugabe is on
record saying election observers and monitors
from the west are not welcome.
Mugabe insists elections will be held next
year in March.
Noudehou
said they are prepared to finance the bankrupt Zimbabwean
government to hold
a referendum on the draft constitution.
“We have been assisting the
Constitution-making process since its inception
and we will continue doing
so. What we are waiting for is the government’s
engagement in that regard,
“he said.
The country needs about $104 million for the referendum. But
the government
says it has no money.
According to COPAC, the
referendum will be held in January next year.
http://www.voazimbabwe.com
Violet
Gonda
23.10.2012
WASHINGTON — Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai begins a two-day
State visit in Botswana Wednesday where he will
hold his first bilateral
talks as a government leader with President Seretse
Khama Ian Khama.
Representatives from the finance, transport, water and
agriculture
ministries form part of Mr. Tsvangirai's delegation.
The
Prime Minister’s spokesman, Luke Tamborinyoka, told VOA some of the
issues
to be discussed include the $64 million credit line facility signed
by the
two countries recently, the opening of a new border post and the
possibility
of Harare and Gaborone embarking on a critical joint water
project to save
drought-stricken regions in the two countries.
“The other issues include
discussions around the implementation of the
agreement on the control of
foot and mouth disease, opening of the Mamabaka
& Malambele border
posts; and the tripartite agreement between Botswana,
Mozambique and
Zimbabwe to develop a rail link and port for the
transportation for coal and
other commodities from the three countries to
the eastern markets,"
Tamborinyoka said.
Interview with Luke Tamborinyoka
According to press
reports, Mr. Tsvangirai will also brief Khama on the
political situation in
Zimbabwe, including recent statements by senior Zanu
PF officials and an
army general that they will not recognize the MDC-T
president if he wins the
next election.
Although Tamborinyoka confirmed Mr. Tsvangirai will have a
private
discussion with the Botswana president on the sidelines of the
government
program, he could only say the Prime Minister will update Mr.
Khama on
developments in Zimbabwe, especially the just-ended Second All
Stakeholders
Conference on the new constitution.
Mr. Khama, one of
the Southern African Development Community Heads of State
who are guarantors
of the Global Political Agreement in Zimbabwe, invited
the Zimbabwe Prime
Minister for the two-day working visit.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tererai
Karimakwenda
24 October 2012
Operation Nguva Yakwana, a traffic
operation recently launched by the Harare
City Council, has to date
impounded over 2,000 commuter omnibuses and caused
transport nightmares for
Harare residents.
City officials say the campaign is meant to bring
“sanity” to the crowded
Central Business District and is aimed at those who
are violating city
codes. This includes operators without permits or rank
discs and those who
load and offload in illegal restricted
zones.
Leslie Gwindi, city public relations manager, told the local press
that so
far 792 operators had been impounded for operating without permits,
470 had
no rank discs, 503 violated rank designations and another 263 were
impounded
for road obstructions.
According to the state run ZBC news
Gwindi said the city would continue to
penalize violators until “sanity”
prevails in the capital. “Sanity” is the
same excuse that the Health
Services Director Dr. Stanley Mungofa used when
the city embarked on a blitz
that shut down 228 shops this month, saying
they were illegal.
It is
feared that officials in the capital are conducting another demolition
exercise similar to “Operation Murambatsvina”. The 2005 demolitions
displaced nearly one million people, with the ZANU PF government claiming it
was a “cleanup exercise”.
The Harare Council is run by a majority of
MDC councillors, who are facing
criticism for failing to help the people and
forgetting who voted them in.
But Promise Mkwananzi, secretary general of
the MDC-T Youth Assembly, blamed
the policies targeting small businesses on
the Local Government Minister,
Ignatius Chombo.
“ZANU PF continues to
exercise arbitrary power through the Ministry of Local
Government, who has
more or less executive power over local authorities.
What we see here is the
continuation of the insensitive attitude of ZANU PF
towards the way they
treat people”, Mkwananzi explained.
He added: “ZANU PF purports to be
promoting local businesses through
indigenization policies and so forth. But
the same ministry under Chombo
drives out innovative people trying to make a
living out of very difficult
circumstances.”
Before “Operation Nguva
Yakwana”, commuter omnibus operators were struggling
to deal with gangs of
ZANU PF thugs who forced them to pay daily “operation
fees”. Some drivers
had refused to pay this illegal fee imposed on them by
the gangs, sparking a
turf war that saw violence break out at the bus ranks.
In addition
operators are being victimized by the police at roadblocks,
where they are
forced to pay illegal bribes or risk being fined for
violations that are
made up on the spot.
There are an estimated 6,000 minibuses operating in
the capital. Impounding
over 2,000 of the fleet has caused serious transport
problems for commuters.
Those who are still operating are reportedly taking
advantage of the
situation and charging more per trip.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tererai
Karimakwenda
24 October 2012
Over 200 families that became homeless
last week, after a government owned
company demolished their homes, have
been invited back, by government, to
rebuild their homes.
Sunway
City, a subsidiary of the government’s Industrial Development
Company, last
week acquired a court order to demolish the homes, on the
basis that they
were illegal. Residents were not given enough notice to find
alternative
accommodation.
But reports said a decision had been made by government on
Tuesday, “to turn
the industrial area into a residential area” in order to
accommodate the
displaced families.
A report in Newsday newspaper
quotes the deputy minister of Local
Government, Sesel Zvidzai, as saying
government will provide funds “to
assist in the housing programmes”. But we
were unable to reach Zvidzai to
get further details.
It has also been
revealed that most of the people who had been given land at
the site were
ZANU PF supporters who paid “shadowy” local officials, not
knowing the
officials had no authorization to parcel out land in Epworth.
Mfundo
Mlilo, coordinator at the Combined Harare Residents Association
(CHRA), said
many people are being fooled by ZANU PF officials who are not
authorized to
make land deals in Harare. The Minister of Local Government,
Ignatius
Chombo, has been implicated in many of these illegal land deals,
but no one
has been able to prosecute him.
“Most of these people are hungry for land
and have nowhere to go. So they
are being duped by ZANU PF officials to pay
some amount of money so that
they get land. But there is a lot of
corruption. Years down the line that
land is taken away in the same fashion
that we have seen in Epworth,” Mlilo
told SW Radio Africa.
Mlilo said
it is not clear whether government will pay for the Epworth
residents to
rebuild their homes. But he explained that it is “highly
unlikely” because
many families that were displaced during Operation
Murambatsvina in 2005,
are still homeless and government has not provided
alternatives.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
Wednesday, 24 October 2012 09:51
HARARE -
About 100 Zanu PF supporters have reportedly invaded Caps Holdings
Limited
(CAPS) owner Frederick Mtanda’s Winray Farm in Mashonaland West
province
under the pretext that it has been “declared party property”.
While the
Harare businessman was unsure about the motive of the latest
disruptions,
the Mutorashanga incident forms part of a series of wanton
actions to
take-over the farm altogether since government also tried to
acquire the
land in recent years.
On the other hand, Zanu PF secretary for lands
Ignatius Chombo yesterday
dismissed the incident, saying the party had no
policy or interest to be
involved in farming directly and, therefore, the
Winray overrun was illegal.
“The party has no ambition of owning farms.
In fact, they have always been
allocated to individuals,” he said, adding
there were also possibilities
that the “people masquerading as Zanu PF
youths and women had been deployed
by the party’s
detractors”.
Attempts to secure comment from party spokesperson Rugare
Gumbo, Rural
Resettlement minister Herbert Murerwa and Mashonaland West
provincial
administrator one Mr Shumba were unsuccessful, as their mobile
phones went
unanswered.
With President Robert Mugabe’s land
redistribution exercise benefitting
party cronies and allies, the invaders
want Mtanda out of the
highly-productive 1 600 hectare farm under a nasty
twist to the chaotic
programme, which has seen black-on-black violence
increase in recent years.
“This is not the first time they have done this
(as) they have (also)
resettled people on the other part of the farm using
the same method.
Initially, the farm was over 2 000 hectares,” the troubled
businessman told
the Daily News yesterday.
A controversial character
and businessman, Mtanda has also been in the news
for an alleged $25 million
fraud at his drug manufacturing firm, although he
denies the
charges.
Known by his wartime nom de guerre, Chillis, the ex-freedom
fighter and
personal assistant to the late Vice President Joshua Nkomo has
also grabbed
the headlines after clashing with several Zanu PF functionaries
over Zapu
properties countrywide.
In what could be considered a
cheeky political move or development in Zanu
PF circles, he has also written
the foreword to Nkomo’s popular and
republished autobiography The Story of
My Life, which also chronicles his
travails at the hands of Mugabe’s
post-independence administration.
Zanu PF ‘youths’ invade Mtanda’s
farmZanu PF secretary for lands Ignatius
Chombo. - Xolisani Ncube
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
24/10/2012 00:00:00
by Business
Reporter
ZIMBABWE exported tobacco worth US$40 million to China,
representing about
40 percent of the overall crop produced this year, the
Tobacco Industry
Marketing Board (TMB) revealed this week.
TIMB chief
executive Andrew Matibiri said exports to China attracted average
prices of
US$8.60 per kilogramme which was significantly better than the
US$7.28 price
achieved in 2011 when the country exported 57 million kgs.
“Our tobacco
continues to be in demand the world over. China is not alone in
the pursuit
of our tobacco. This is so because of its good smoking flavour
and very few
cigarette brands globally are made without Zimbabwean
components," said
Matibiri.
Zimbabwe earned US$525 million for 144 million kgs of tobacco
this season, a
46 percent increase from last year's US$360
million.
Overall output missed the 150 million kgs production target for
the just
ended season but tobacco farming continues to rebound after years
of
decline.
South Africa is the leading consumer of local tobacco in
the region,
importing 12 million kg last year and another 7 million kg this
year.
Elsewhere on the continent, Sudan imported one million kg last year
and two
million kg so far this year from Zimbabwe.
TIMB said Japan
was offering the highest price for tobacco from Zimbabwe for
the 2012 season
at US$10,63 per kg. Britain, Belgium and the United Arab
Emirates have also
shown great interest in local tobacco, with the UK buying
ten million kg
last season and 11 million kg so far this year.
The UAE has so far
imported five million kg from Zimbabwe, eight million kg
shy of the figure
it imported last season. Belgium last year imported nine
million kg of local
tobacco and has so far imported seven million kg.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor, Gideon Gono,
faces another probe by
Parliament despite resistance from a strong clique
within Zanu (PF) that
reportedly benefited from his monetary and
agricultural equipment handouts
in the past.
24.10.12
by
Tawanda Majoni/ Edgar Gweshe
Chairman of the Parliamentary Portfolio
Committee on Agriculture, Lands and
Resettlement, Moses Jiri, told The
Zimbabwean the committee wanted Gono to
appear before Parliament to explain
how he allocated farming equipment under
the multi-million agricultural
mechanisation programme. He is also expected
to defend several claims of
financial impropriety. Previous attempts to
fully probe Gono failed because
of fierce opposition from a Zanu (PF) group
that benefited from the alleged
corrupt activities at RBZ, particularly
between 2003 and
2009.
Cabinet ministers, top government officials, parastatal heads,
military,
police and intelligence top cats reportedly received monetary
gifts, cars
and farming equipment from Gono under shady arrangements. They
are now
working flat out to prevent the probe. Jiri said the committee’s
efforts
were being met with fierce resistance from a coterie of Zanu (PF)
fat cats
who fear the move will expose their corrupt activities.
“The
major challenge is that there are certain individuals within Zanu(PF)
who
benefited from the fraudulent deals and now they fear that if Gono is
probed, they will be exposed. They are trying their best to ensure the issue
is swept under the carpet,” said Jiri.
“Because of the delay which is
being caused by those who do not want their
illegal activities exposed the
probe has taken longer than necessary. Also,
our work has been hindered by
the fact that Parliament has not been sitting
regularly and the Committees
have also been suspended,” he said.
Zanu-(PF) Member of Parliament for
Mhondoro-Ngezi, Bright Matonga who is
also part of the Parliamentary
Committee on Agriculture, Lands and
Resettlement dismissed the possibility
of another investigation into Gono
and RBZ.
Matonga, who
controversially acquired a sprawling orange farm in Mashonaland
West at the
height of the fast track land redistribution programme, is one
of the most
prominent beneficiaries of Gono’s quasi-fiscal activities.
“It is public
knowledge that I benefited from RBZ’s farm mechanization
programme and I
don’t have any regrets for that”.
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor,
Gideon Gono, faces another probe by
Parliament despite resistance from a
strong clique within Zanu (PF) that
reportedly benefited from his monetary
and agricultural equipment handouts
in the past.
Chairman of the
Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Lands and
Resettlement,
Moses Jiri, told The Zimbabwean the committee wanted Gono to
appear before
Parliament to explain how he allocated farming equipment under
the
multi-million agricultural mechanization programme. He is also expected
to
defend several claims of financial impropriety. Previous attempts to
fully
probe Gono failed because of fierce opposition from a Zanu (PF) group
that
benefited from the alleged corrupt activities at RBZ, particularly
between
2003 and 2009.
Cabinet ministers, top government officials, parastatal
heads, military,
police and intelligence top cats reportedly received
monetary gifts, cars
and farming equipment from Gono under shady
arrangements.
“We will not be probing Gono again because we don’t have
the jurisdiction to
do so,” Matonga told The Zimbabwean.
Matonga
argued that their committee could only investigate activities
regarding the
previous financial year, and not beyond that period.
“Gono did an
excellent job to bust sanctions. Theft happens where there are
sanctions. If
anyone out there has evidence, let him go to the police,” he
added”.
“But this could be difficult since, as Matonga admitted, “the
police, army,
institutions, everyone got money to survive from
Gono”.
Another Zanu (PF) beneficiary of the mechanisation programme,
Temba Mliswa,
in 2010 described police Commissioner General Augustine
Chihuri as a very
corrupt person.
“Chihuri…is the most corrupt police
officer in the country. He is promoting
corruption instead of stopping it.
President Mugabe must fire Chihuri
because as long as he is at the helm of
the police, corruption will never
stop in Zimbabwe,” said Mliswa, who is
named in an active but parked fraud
case being handled by the Serious Fraud
Section at Ahmed House.
In the case, DR 15/07/10, Mliswa, through his
company called Saltlakes, is
being accused of having fraudulently acquired
$6million from RBZ. Documents
at hand show that Mliswa allegedly purchased
tobacco from farmers and had it
processed through a local firm, but he later
misrepresented that the leaf
had been spoilt by water and he thus could not
repay the money.
In their investigations, the police queried why RBZ was
communicating
directly with Mliswa when that should have been happening
through a bank.
The motion to probe Gono was moved in Parliament in July
by Zanu-(PF)
Goromonzi North Legislator, Paddy Zhanda, who also proposed a
probe into
Gono’s personal finances and investments. At the time Gono
declined to
reveal how the farming equipment and inputs were distributed
under the Farm
Mechanization Programme when he appeared before the
Parliamentary committee.
He cited the RBZ Act, which he said did not permit
him to disclose client
information to third parties. This led to a heated
argument and Zhanda
stormed out.
A further probe is underway by the
Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission after
Gono’s former advisor, Munyaradzi
Kereke, produced a dossier outlining graft
at RBZ, which makes a raft of
allegations against Gono.
These include giving thousands of dollars to a
local newspaper; illegally
selling gold bullion; theft of RBZ Zimbabwe Stock
Exchange listed shares;
payment for undelivered equipment; bribery and
undercover diamond mining
activities.
Gono has accused Kereke of
seeking to tarnish his image.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Alex Bell
24 October
2012
Zimbabwe’s troubled national airline is reportedly set to resume
regional
and international flights, in a bid to avoid a ban by the global
air
transport group.
Air Zimbabwe suspended its services earlier this
year amid crippling strikes
by their staff and massive unpaid debts, which
led to the seizure of an
aircraft in London.The airline was also recently
suspended from the
International Air Transport Association (IATA) after
failing to comply with
global safety standards.
Air Zim was given
until November 31st to comply with IATA’s international
standards or face a
ban from using international airports and airspaces in
other
countries.
In an apparent effort to beat this deadline, Air Zim is now
making moves to
get back into the sky. The state ZBC News reported that the
airline has
managed to acquire two airbus planes to service its regional and
international route, and the flights are expected to resume soon.
The
planes were delivered early this month. No details about how and where
the
cash strapped parastatal found the resources to acquire the planes have
been
availed. There is speculation that the Chiadzwa based Mbada diamond
mining
firm, which has its own aircraft, could be involved in assisting.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
Wednesday, 24 October 2012 09:47
HARARE - Former Zimbabwe
Football Association (Zifa) chief executive
Henrietta Rushwaya was abandoned
by her lawyers yesterday as her corruption
trial opened at the Harare
Magistrates’ Court.
Rushwaya, who was fined for wilful default after
failing to appear in court
on time as she scampered around looking for a
lawyer, appeared for trial
alone after her lawyers ditched her after their
attempt to scuttle the trial
was thrown out by the
magistrate.
Magistrate Esthere Chivasa had earlier dismissed Rushwaya’s
application to
stop the trial pending application for review of the
magistrate’s decision
at the Attorney General (AG’s)
office.
Rushwaya’s lawyer Jonathan Samukange did not turn up for the
afternoon trial
after he had insisted that the trial be stopped. Chivasa had
dismissed his
application saying the appeal for review did not stop the
corruption trial
proceedings.
“I’m actually clear that the
application for review does not stop the
proceedings from these lower courts
so I am convinced that the trial should
proceed,” said Chivasa.
After
a brief adjournment, defence attorney Dumisani Mtombeni, standing in
for
Samukange, immediately applied for a postponement of the matter to today
since the court had dismissed their application to stop trial. - Ivan
Zhakata
http://www.mdc.co.zw
Wednesday, 24
October 2012
Mai Elizabeth Tsvangirai today donated foodstuff worth
thousands of dollars
to the families of 31 MDC members who are facing false
charges of murdering
a police officer.
The goods were donated at the
party headquarters, Harvest House.
Presenting the food stuffs which
included maize meal, flour, rice, dried
fish, cooking oil and other
accessories, Mai Tsvangirai urged the families
of those in remand prison not
to lose heart. “God will have an answer to all
what is happening and you
should note that you are all not alone,” she said
quoting Bible verses of
Proverbs 31 vs 10 and Psalm 46.
Mai Tsvangirai said she was happy to
learn that when she visited those in
prison early this month she got
comforted in learning that they were holding
prayers every day. “Therefore,
I urge you to support them in prayer and God
will create a way,” she
said.
Some of the accused Glen View 31 have been in remand prison for
over 17
months as they have been denied bail on several occasions. Among
those in
remand prison is the Youth Assembly chairperson, Solomon
Madzore.
The MDC Deputy Treasurer General, Hon. Elton Mangoma said the
incarceration
of the MDC members was nothing but political and a true
reflection of the
evil nature of Zanu PF party. “That is why the 31 were
arrested. What law is
there? That people are arrested and denied bail yet we
have a case in Shamva
were police officers killed people but are walking
scot-free. The message
that Zanu PF is sending is that it is running scared
because of its past
actions,” said Hon. Mangoma.
Hon. Nelson Chamisa,
the organising secretary said the arrests of the 31
members had not only
affected the party but had seriously dislocated family
structures. “Arrests
have no time or warning especially in this time where
we have a
dictatorship. As a party, our position is that the accused have
not
committed any crime. As a party we respect peace and justice that is why
President Tsvangirai released doves as a sign of peace during the 13th
Anniversary celebrations in Bulawayo. As a result we want to thank Amai for
leading us in this humanitarian programme,” said Hon. Chamisa.
The
event was attended by senior MDC officials who included the deputy
national
chairperson, Hon. Morgen Komichi, national spokesperson, Hon.
Douglas
Mwonzora, national executive members, Hon. Paurina Mpariwa, Hon.
Lucia
Matibenga and the Harare provincial leadership led by Hon. Paul
Madzore.
The Last Mile: Towards Real Transformation!!!
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Probe teams set up by Local Government Minister,
Ignatius Chombo, to
investigate councils across the country resulting in
unfair dismissals of
MDC-T officials have gobbled close to $1 million in the
past seven months.
24.10.12
by Brenna Matendere
The
Zimbabwean has established that most of the money went towards
allowances
for probe team members. Eight MDC-T mayors and 16 councillors
have been
suspended or fired by Chombo, including Mayors Brian James of
Mutare,
Tinashe Madamombe of Bindura, Lionel de Necker of Gwanda and
Zvishavane Town
Council Chairman, Alluwis Zhou.
Harare City Council was the biggest
casualty with seven councillors
dismissed, followed by Rusape with five and
Banket with two. “We have always
opposed the objectivity of the teams set up
by Chombo. Over $750,000 has
been taken from cash-strapped councils and the
ministry to finance their
controversial work,” said Deputy Local Government
Minister, Sessil Zvidzai.
“If they had, for instance, bought water
chemicals or refurbished aged
pumping systems countrywide using that money,
would we not be a step further
forward?” asked Zvidzai.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
In a desperate bid to win the general
elections set for 2013, Zanu (PF) is
settling homeless people on unapproved
residential stands here as a way of
securing their
support.
24.10.12
by Staff Reporter
More than 200 poor
families have illegally taken occupancy of one of the
settlements, Linderis
Farm, some 2km from the Epworth Local Board on the
border with Zanu (PF) MP
Hebert Murerwa’s Goromonzi constituency.
The settlement, popularly known
as Magada, resembles a Zanu (PF) base, with
party flags flying all over the
place. While the place has existed as an
informal settlement for some time,
it tends to expand whenever there is an
election.
“All that is
required to secure a residential property here is a Zanu (PF)
membership
card. Prices of stands range between $100 and $150,” said a youth
leader
responsible for vetting applicants, who identified himself
Chirovamhanga.
He said residents were not encouraged to construct
permanent structures for
now, as the properties were yet to be serviced.
Successful applicants make
cash payments to the Zanu (PF) village
chairperson, only identified as Mai
Mazvimba.
Most settlers are
former tenants from urban areas and struggling members of
the defence
forces. Many Zanu (PF) officials at the farm, who share the cash
paid by
settlers, have bought themselves residential properties and
constructed big
houses at the neighbouring Glenwood Suburb.
“Besides cashing in on
desperate poor home seekers, Zanu (PF) will destroy
the environment through
their massive brick-making projects. Bricks have a
ready market in Epworth,
especially at Glenwood. Judging from past
experiences, the settlers will be
evicted soon after the elections,” said a
settler who could not be
identified for security reasons.
People dig shallow pits for toilets
while others relieve themselves in the
surrounding bush. Officials at
Epworth Local Board refused to comment,
saying: “The area is not under our
jurisdiction.”
A council official, who answered the phone at Goromonzi
Rural District
Council, said the rural authority was not aware of such a
settlement,
adding: “Some of these things are mere political
gimmicks.”
Recently, similar illegal settlements were demolished at Cell
7 and Zimbabwe
Phosphates area in Epworth leaving some 250 families
homeless.
Zanu (PF) through its Harare Provincial Chairperson, Amos
Midzi, took a
swipe at the demolitions. “Destruction of people’s shelter is
both inhuman
and barbaric,” said Midzi. However, in the winter of 2005, Zanu
(PF)
embarked on unprecedented residential and business property destruction
nationwide. The globally condemned Operation Murambatsvina (Clean up)
displace hundreds of thousands of families homeless.
http://af.reuters.com
Wed Oct 24, 2012 2:33pm GMT
HARARE Oct
24 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's January-September gold output rose 22
percent from
the same period a year ago to 11 tonnes, generating $585
million in revenue,
data from the mining chamber showed on Wednesday.
Gold output in the
southern African country is expected at 15 tonnes this
year, compared to 13
tonnes in 2011.
Output remains below the 27 tonnes reached in 1999 before
a decade-long
economic crisis that was at its worst in 2008 when
hyperinflation crushed
the economy, forcing most mines to shut.
South
Africa's Metallon Gold is the largest bullion producer while
Toronto-listed
New Dawn Mining and Caledonia Mining and London-listed Mwana
Africa also
produce gold.
http://af.reuters.com
Wed Oct 24, 2012 6:41am GMT
By
Nelson Banya
HARARE Oct 24 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's state-owned
infrastructure bank said on
Wednesday it will float a $30 million bond to
raise funds for the national
power utility, as the country grapples with
electricity shortages that have
crippled industry.
Infrastructure
Development Bank of Zimbabwe (IDBZ) said in a statement it
would float the
three-year bond with a 10 percent fixed rate on October 29.
"It was
resolved that the focus of the bond issue be on the power sector,
which is a
key enabler in the economy," IDBZ said.
Zimbabwe's infrastructure -
including roads, railways, dams and power
plants - has been starved of
finance due to a decade of economic collapse,
which eased somewhat with the
formation of a power-sharing government in
2009.
Earlier this year,
Finance Minister Tendai Biti said the country would float
$100 million bonds
to rehabilitate its aged infrastructure.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
23/10/2012 00:00:00
by
AFP
A HERD of elephants hobbles past a cluster of acacia trees to
a water-hole
deep in Zimbabwe's vast Hwange game reserve, attracted by the
drone of
generators pumping water round the clock into the pool.
With
the elephant population ballooning, wildlife authorities have resorted
to
using 45 generators, each consuming 200 litres (52 gallons) of diesel a
week
from June to November, to ensure the animals can get water.
The strategy
appears to be working. So far this year around 17 elephants
have died in the
area due to the extreme heat and lack of water, compared to
77 last
year.
"The elephants drink close to 90 percent of all the water (pumped)
here,"
said Edwin Makuwe, an ecologist with the Zimbabwe National Parks and
Wildlife Authority, "I think elephants now know that when they hear an
engine running, chances are that there is water close by."
But the
water, while life-preserving, may be running against the flow of
nature. The
14,600-square-kilometre (5,600-square-mile) reserve is home to
between
35,000 to 40,000 elephants, twice its capacity. The increase in the
elephant
population has led to higher demand for water at the park, home to
over 100
different species of animals including the "Big Five": elephant,
lion,
leopard, buffalo and the endangered rhinoceros.
Makuwe said the rise in
the elephant population at the game reserve,
established in 1949, had also
led to the destruction of the environment.
"There is so much activity by
the elephants that the vegetation has been
affected negatively, the trees
are no longer growing as fast as they should,
they are no longer producing
as many seeds as they should. In the long term
this will have a negative
effect on the entire habitat of Hwange."
He said the quality of the
forage had gone down, with elephants stripping
tree barks and digging roots
for food.
"The African savanna is supposed to be a mosaic of trees and
grasses. The
moment you start to have more grasslands than trees it is not
functioning as
African savanna."
Makuwe fears small animals and
insects who live in the trees risk
extinction.
"If you lose the trees
and you are left with the grasslands, then definitely
some of the species
will be lost," he said.
The authorities are yet to find a solution. "Some
people advocate to let
nature take its course ... (but) we are yet to find a
method which can
convince all the people to accept and bring down the
(elephant) population,"
Makuwe added.
With tourists, who have
shunned the country over the years, slowly
returning, there is little
incentive to cull the main attraction.
In the meantime, Tom Milliken, of
the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), said
elephants in Hwange were suffering
greatly due to the water shortages.
"This is the worst time of the year
for elephants and we still have a month
before the rains come," he told AFP.
"Elephants have most stress this time
of the year when there is no water."
http://www.herald.co.zw
Wednesday, 24 October 2012 00:00
Cindy
Mugwagwa
Harare, at 1 483m above sea level, sits at one of the highest
points of
Zimbabwe’s central plateau and watershed. Within the city
boundaries are
several sources of key rivers such as the Manyame and
Mukuvisi which feed
Lake Chivero. Harare’s wetlands (vleis), often referred
to as open green
spaces, are replenished only by rainwater and in turn
replenish the urban
streams and rivers.
Their importance in Harare’s
water supply is seriously overlooked and
undervalued by both the City
Council and relevant Government departments.
Greater Harare sits in the
headwaters of the Manyame and Gwebi catchment
basin and 6,5 million people
currently depend on this invisible source for
their water supply. (At
current rates this population will double in 12 to
14 years.)
At present,
only 600 000 cubic metres of the daily city water requirement of
1,2 million
cubic metres is being treated, much of which is lost through
major leaks in
an outdated reticulation system.
Thousands of cubic metres of wastewater from
industrial use and raw sewage
from faulty pipes are being discharged into
Lake Chivero on a daily basis.
This situation would be far worse if Harare’s
wetlands were destroyed,
because they provide the following services,
absolutely cost-free.
l Recharging of rivers, headwaters and aquifers of the
Mashonaland Plateau.
(Headwaters and aquifers contain 97 percent of the
world’s unfrozen fresh
water.)
l Highly effective filtration of this
recharged groundwater, which task
would otherwise fall on the expensive and
under-capacity Morton Jaffray
Waterworks, where even chemical dosing is
haphazard.
l Control of groundwater flow, which prevents river siltation and
soil
erosion, but deposits nutrients which help maintain wetland
biodiversity.
l A more efficient carbon sink (an area which absorbs and
stores carbon
dioxide from the air) than forests.
The city’s service
delivery of clean and adequate water is clearly woeful.
Forty percent of
residents have no daily access to clean water and 40
percent lack adequate
sanitation. The loss of water through leaks in faulty
pipe work is thought
to be over 40 percent.
The average water table in Harare has declined from
15m to 30m over the last
decade because of wetland loss and illegal sinking
of boreholes. The recent
gazetting and mapping, in July 2012, of 25 Harare
wetlands has caused some
panic amongst unscrupulous property
developers.
The Minister of Environment and Natural Resources Management
declared the
areas in Harare to be wetlands in terms of Section 113 (1) of
the
Environmental Management Act. As Section 113 (1) authorises the minister
to
declare any wetland to be an “ecologically sensitive area”.
The
gazetting process was flawed as a period for objections was omitted from
the
Government Gazette.
Therefore the declaration has been repealed for October,
to allow for
objections, and will be re-gazetted on November 1.
The
actual declaration for the protection of these wetlands and mapping is
accurate and EMA (Environmental Management Agency) has confirmed that no
alterations will be made in this area.
This panic and the rapidly
diminishing amount of undeveloped or “not
in-filled” land in the more
central areas of Harare has caused a flurry
amongst voracious “developers”,
particularly those with political
connections, who are looking to lay claim
to anything they can get hold of
as they believe its value will increase
exponentially in the future.
Their haste has led to an almost complete
disregard for EIA (Environmental
Impact Assessment) procedures and
environmental legislation and the
Environmental Management Agency appears to
be assisting this move by failing
to respond to complaints and requests for
protective action made by
residents in areas which are under threat.
Some
of these include Borrowdale West, Gunhill, Lewisam, Monavale and
Meyrick
Park.
Should this situation not be immediately addressed, there will be
little
point in expecting that a “normal” life can be lived in Harare for
any more
than a few years into the future.
Those who will suffer most
will be the poor and unemployed in high-density
suburbs, who will have no
access to clean water, which is a fundamental
human right enshrined by the
United Nations.
Water-borne diseases will proliferate and overwhelm the
already over-loaded
health system, the remaining industries in Harare will
have great difficulty
in continuing to operate and many other as yet
unforeseen difficulties will
arise.
One of the major concerns is the
construction of the Mall of Zimbabwe set to
be built in one of the few
wetland areas remaining in Harare, near the
National Sports Stadium.
The
wetland is crucial for sustaining livelihoods in the region through its
ability to absorb water in the rainy season and then release it in the dry
season.
It is said this ecosystem services approximately 6,5 million
people.
The writer is an environment activist based in Harare.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
24/10/2012 00:00:00
by Senator
Obert Gutu
“I want people to remember me as someone whose life has
been helpful to
humanity. We hope and believe that the best way of limiting
the usurpation
of power by individuals, military or otherwise, is to put
the people in
charge.Between fractions, between clans, plots and coups
d'etats can be
perpetrated. Against the people, a durable coup d’etat cannot
be
perpetrated. Therefore, the best way of preventing the army from
confiscating power for itself and for itself alone is to make this power
shared by the voltaic people from the outset.”
This is one of the most
famous statements made by Captain Thomas Isdore Noel
Sankara, the
charismatic leader of Burkina Faso from 1983 to 1987. It is a
pity that
Thomas Sankara was assassinated at a very tender age of 38.
For me,
Sankara represented a refreshing new breed of young African leaders
who were
keen on debunking Afro-pessimism and on projecting Africa as a
continent of
hope and opportunity – not the continent of poverty, despair,
war, hunger
and disease for which it is known. I admire Thomas Sankara.
One does not
have to dabble in robotics and mechatronis to sense that the
political mood
in Zimbabwe is slowly but irreversibly changing. That
Zimbabwe is about to
turn the corner is beyond disputation. We are on the
verge of turning this
mighty country into one of Africa's jewels, once
again.
We are
embarking on a journey of nation-building. We are refusing to take
the
economy class ticket on the plane heading towards development and
prosperity. We demand a front row seat in the premium class on that plane.
We are destined for greatness. We are a great nation. We are a great people.
We shall succeed. Defeat is not on our agenda.
We pay tribute to the
founding fathers of this blessed nation. We are
inspired by the heroism of
Joshua Nkomo, Herbert Chitepo, Albert Nikita
Mangena, Josiah Tongogara,
Lookout Masuku and many others who laid down
their lives to ensure that we
become an independent nation. My generation
and indeed, those generations to
come after us, will forever cherish the
sacrifice made by the gallant
daughters and sons of Zimbabwe as they
selflessly fought against a ruthless
and racist settler colonial regime in
the 1960s and 1970s.
We
appreciate that independence did not come on a silver platter. And as
such,
we will not betray the revolution. We are not and we will never be
sell-outs. We might differ with the earlier generation of nationalists on
the methodologies that they adopted to create a post-colonial
Zimbabwe.
Of course, many mistakes were committed by this earlier
generation of
leaders as they hopelessly failed to establish a viable and
sustainable
post-colonial nation state. Thieves and looters somehow joined
the bandwagon
of these otherwise decent men and women. Unfortunately, these
thieves and
kleptocrats hijacked the people's revolution as they
relentlessly pursued
their devilish agenda of self- aggrandisement and
primitive accumulation of
personal wealth while the majority of the people
wallowed in poverty and
squalor.
It is this bunch of renegades and
political charlatans that we are now
fighting against. The revolution has
always been our inspiration.For that
reason, we cannot and indeed, we shall
not fight against the revolution. We
are children of the revolution. We are
not sell-outs.
In our quest to establish a viable and economically stable
nation state, we
hereby declare that we are not hobnobbing to the dictates
of neo-imperialism
and neo-liberalism.Quite frankly, we agree that Africa's
resources must be
owned and controlled by Africans. There is no debate on
that one. We refuse
to be a client state of China or of the United States of
America.We are
patriots who will never agree to sell our sovereignty for a
few pieces of
silver.
But in the same vein, we will fearlessly
denounce corruption and clientilism
no matter who practises it.Plunderers of
the people's wealth should promptly
be given a one way ticket to Chikurubi.
Ill-gotten wealth should be
expropriated and returned to the people. Put
bluntly, no-one should be
allowed to benefit from corruptly acquired wealth.
That is our agenda. That
is our mission. We are not fighting the revolution.
We are not sell-outs.
As we seek to reconstruct the devastated nation
called Zimbabwe, we are not
going to replace one set of thieves with a new
set of kleptocrats. No! We
are not going to do that. Ours is a legitimate
continuation of the
revolution that was started by our forebearers. We are
not going to betray
the spirit of Mbuya Nehanda and Sekuru Kaguvi. We are
not going to sideline
the spirit of Mzilikazi and Lobengula. We are a proud
generation with a very
deep link with our history. We are not ashamed of
being Africans. Indeed, we
are not ashamed of being black. We are dark and
lovely!
A complete and total paradigm shift on issues of governance is
what we are
clamouring for. Meritocracy as opposed to patronage and nepotism
is what we
seek to establish.This is not about party politics. This is about
a whole
shift in ideology and methodology.
When we attack the earlier
generation of nationalists, it is not about
personalities. We attack the
idea and not the person. Intolerance and
fascism have led Zimbabwe into a
hell hole. People fight over personalities
instead of over ideas. We spent
so much energy on pursuing petty factional
battles across the political
divide. People are categorised into various
factions. We completely refuse
to be factionalised. We do not belong to any
faction simply because we are
smart enough not to be anyone's tool or pawn.
We belong to the people'
faction. We will call a spade a spade.Like us or
hate us, we will not sell
our souls and principles to comply with some
self-serving and narrow
factional agendas. We always look at the bigger
picture. We never lose sight
of the ball.
Zimbabwe will have a brand new constitution in the next few
months. As some
of us have always argued, this constitution will be a
negotiated document at
the end of the day. That is the way it is. When this
new constitution is
finally adopted after the referendum coming soon, we
should take this as a
unique opportunity to rebuild our shattered
nation.
Zimbabwe does not deserve to wallow in persistent political
strife and civil
unrest. Over and above adopting a new constitution for
Zimbabwe, we also
have to adopt constitutionalism. Constitutionalism will
assist us to
denounce and renounce repression, intolerance, militarism,
dictatorship and
tyranny. Whoever wins the forthcoming elections, if they
are free and fair,
should be allowed to peacefully assume power.
The
people of Zimbabwe deserve better. We need a new brand of politics.
Politicians should come and go. No one is indispensable. Only God is! Our
national army and national police force should strive to be apolitical. They
should always strive to serve the people and not to only serve a particular
political party.
Thus, men and women in uniform should never be
allowed to be active
political players in the New Zimbabwe that is now
beckoning. It is not our
intention to politicise the uniformed forces nor to
militarise the civil
service. In true democratic fashion, our uniformed
forces should swear
allegiance to the government of the day; no matter who
wins the next
elections to be held in June 2013.
Zimbabwe is a
mighty, blessed nation.Very soon, Zimbabwe will go back to the
future.
Obert Gutu is the Senator for Chisipite in Harare. He is also the
MDC Harare
provincial spokesperson and Deputy Minister of Justice &
Legal Affairs
BILL
WATCH
PARLIAMENTARY
COMMITTEES SERIES
[24th October 2012]
Harare Public Hearing on 2013 National Budget: 25th
October
The House of Assembly’s Portfolio Committee on Budget, Finance and
Investment Promotion will conduct a public hearing in Harare on the 2013 National Budget in Harare:
Date:
Thursday 25th October
Venue: Rainbow
Towers, Harare
Time: 2
pm
The portfolio committee spent last week holding hearings in the rest of the country.
About the Hearing
The purpose of the hearing is set out in section 28 of the Public Finance Management Act, which states that
·
the Minister of
Finance may through the portfolio committee seek the views of Parliament
in the preparation and formulation of the national budget
·
the portfolio committee must for that purpose “conduct
public hearings to elicit the opinions of as many stakeholders in the national
annual budget as possible”.
The
hearing therefore gives all stakeholders – interest groups, business organisations,
farmers, miners and members of the general public – an opportunity to influence
the crafting of the 2013 Budget through the portfolio committee. Public input at the hearings will be included
in a report to be presented to the Minister for consideration as the 2013 Budget
is put together in the Ministry.
A report will also be presented to the
Parliamentary Pre-Budget Seminar in the Victoria Falls at the beginning of
November. The Minister of Finance will present the Budget in
Parliament on Thursday 15th November.
All interested persons are welcome to attend the hearing, at which
they will be given the opportunity to make contributions. If you want to make oral representations,
signify this to the Committee Clerk before the hearing so that he can notify the
chairperson to call on you. An oral
submission is more effective if followed up in writing. If you are making a written submission, it is
advisable to take as many copies as possible for circulation at the hearing.
Written submissions and correspondence are also welcome and should be
addressed to: The Clerk of Parliament, Attention: Portfolio Committee on Budget,
Finance and Investment Promotion. Parliament’s postal address is P.O. Box CY298
Causeway, Harare. If delivering, please
use the Kwame Nkrumah Avenue entrance to Parliament, between Second and Third
Streets, Harare.
NB:
Members of the public who cannot attend meetings, including Zimbabweans in the
Diaspora, can at any time send written submissions to committees by email
addressed to to clerk@parlzim.gov.zw
For
Further Information
For
further information contact the committee clerks; Mr Chris Ratsakatika and Ms.
Precious Sigauke, on the following contact
numbers: Harare 700181/252941, Mobile:
0772 428 946 and 0773 473 233, Or by
email: ratsakatikac@parlzim.gov.zw and
sigaukep@parlzim.gov.zw.
Veritas
makes every effort to ensure reliable information, but cannot take legal
responsibility for information supplied
COURT WATCH
20/2012
[24th October
2012]
Anglican Church Cases: Supreme
Court Dismisses 5 Appeals
& Reserves Judgment in 2
This bulletin
will outline the background of these cases, Monday’s Supreme Court hearing, the
position while judgment is awaited, and give a brief summary of previous
relevant court decisions leading to these appeals
Background
The Anglican Church in Zimbabwe has for many years been part
of the Anglican Church of the Province of Central Africa, which is the supreme
legal entity of the Anglican church in the region. The CPCA, while having a great deal of
autonomy, is in turn part of the world-wide Anglican communion, symbolically
headed by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
The Province includes Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi and Botswana. Church property in the Province is owned by
the Anglican Church of the Province of Central Africa, but is administered by
trustees in each diocese [the Diocesan Trustees]. In Zimbabwe there are several dioceses, each
headed by a bishop. Dr Nolbert Kunonga was elected and ordained as Bishop of the
Diocese of Harare in 2001 in accordance with the constitution of the CPCA.
2007 Breakaway
In late 2007 Dr Kunonga broke away from the established Church of the
Province of Central Africa [CPCA] with a small group of followers to form a
separate Anglican church for the
so-called province of Zimbabwe, with Dr Kunonga as its Archbishop. This withdrawal was rejected as “unconstitutional and uncanonical” by the CPCA; its stance being that the
CPCA, as the official Anglican church, continued to exist in the Diocese of
Harare and in Zimbabwe and could not be represented by people who had
unilaterally chosen to leave. Dr Kunonga
and his supporters, said the CPCA, had by their actions ”severed relationship with the Province of
Central Africa” – and the CPCA had not legally been replaced by the
breakaway Kunonga church. The CPCA,
accordingly, proceeded to install a new Bishop of Harare, Bishop Bakare, who has since been succeeded by Bishop Gandiya. The CPCA continued to regard Dr Kunonga and
his supporters as being no longer in communion with the Anglican
church.
Dr Kunonga and his supporters,
however, retained or took over possession and control of much church property,
including churches and rectories, missions and their schools, hospitals and
orphanages; and they have systematically, and sometimes violently, barred the
CPCA and its members from using or accessing this property.
Monday
22nd October: Supreme Court Hearing
The
Supreme Court sat on Monday 22nd October to hear the seven appeals that had
accumulated over the past five years, all arising from High Court litigation
over control of the Anglican church in Zimbabwe and its property. The appeals pitted the official Anglican
Church of the Province of Central Africa [CPCA] against the breakaway Kunonga
group and its followers. Although the
whole of this week had been set aside for these cases, the court in fact
completed the hearings on Monday, disposing of five appeals and reserving its
judgment to a later date in the remaining two key appeals:
·
five appeals were
swiftly dismissed for failure to
comply with the rules of court [these were all
appeals by Kunonga or his followers in cases that had gone against the Kunonga
group in the High Court – see below]
·
in the remaining two
appeals, argument by counsel from
both sides was completed on Monday, and the court reserved judgment to a later
date. [These were
appeals by the official Anglican Church of the Province of Central Africa
against decisions of Justice Hlatshwayo that went in favour of the breakaway
Kunonga group. Justice Hlatshwayo, among
other things, awarded all Anglican church property in the Diocese of Harare to
the Kunonga group. See further
below.]
The Arguments in the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court judges
assigned to the appeal were Deputy Chief Justice Malaba and Justices Ziyambi and
Omerjee. The
atmosphere was businesslike. First,
Justice Malaba raised the procedural defects and
breaches of rules of court in the five Kunonga group appeals. These appeals were then dismissed. This left the court free to deal with the
substantive issue between the parties – the correctness or otherwise of Justice
Hlatshwayo’s decision of July 2009 in favour of the
Kunonga group; as Justice Malaba pointed out, for
practical purposes the Supreme Court’s decision on that issue would resolve the
other CPCA appeal against Justice Hlatshwayo’s second decision to the same effect in May
2010.
·
For the
CPCA, Advocate Adrian de Bourbon
argued that by their actions in September 2007 the Kunonga group had voluntarily
removed themselves from the CPCA as individuals and denied the authority of the
CPCA, thereby causing a schism in the Anglican church. As the parties responsible for the schism,
they could not lay claim to control of the church or its property. Legally, that control had remained with the
CPCA. “In effect they [the Kunonga group] are
saying that a member of a club can resign from a club but still insist that he
is the Treasurer of the club.”
· For the Kunonga group, Mr Kanengoni surprised
CPCA supporters in court by arguing that Dr Kunonga and his supporters had never
legally left the CPCA, but had all along retained their positions in the CPCA
and their right to control the church and its property in the Harare
Diocese. The breakaway church, he
claimed, no longer existed. Advocate de
Bourbon responded
“We would not have been here if Dr Kunonga
was still Harare Diocese Bishop and recognising the authority of the
CPCA.”
The
Position While Judgment is Awaited
Harare diocese Until the
Supreme Court decision is given, control of church property in the Diocese of
Harare will remain with the Kunonga group.
That is the effect of a ruling by Chief Justice Chidyausiku in August
2011 when he reinstated the CPCA’s appeal against Justice Hlatshwayo’s decision [see below for the history of this appeal
and why reinstatement had become necessary].
Manicaland
diocese Here the position may be different, because
the dismissal of former Bishop Jakazi’s appeal means
that Justice Bhunu’s May 2010 ruling in favour of the
CPCA, and against ex-Bishop Jakazi, is no longer
suspended.
High
Court Decisions Against Which the Appeals Were Made
The
breakaway of September 2007 was swiftly followed by a number of High Court
cases, with both sides going to court over vcontrol
and use of Anglican church property in the Diocese of Harare – and in the
Diocese of Manicaland, where the previously incumbent bishop followed the
Kunonga lead. By 19th January 2008 there
had already been four urgent chamber applications for interim orders pending a
decision in a fifth case initiated by the official CPCA for a definitive
decision on use of church properties.
19th
January 2008 – High Court ordered shared use of church premises: A judge issued an interim order that the
church premises should be shared pending a final court decision. The judge’s order dealt with the allocation
of time slots for church services and allowed for variations to be agreed at
parish level. The Kunonga group noted an
appeal to the Supreme Court and continued to debar [sometimes violently] the
official CPCA’s congregations.
30th
January 2008 – High Court rejected Kunonga group’s claims to church
property: On
30th January 2008 the court dismissed a separate urgent application by the
Kunonga group for recognition of its right to possess church property. The Kunonga group noted an appeal.
1st
February 2008 – High Court ordered continued sharing of church premises
notwithstanding appeal: The
official CPCA launched an application to have the Kunonga group declared in
contempt of court as the Kunonga group, often with police assistance, had
continued to deny the official Anglican church access to church premises. The court dismissed the application, but
ruled that the interim sharing order decision was still effective. The Kunonga group noted an appeal.
July 2009 – Justice
Hlatshwayo decided in favour of Kunonga group: While trial
of the main case brought by the official CPCA to get its properties back was
still awaiting a much-delayed trial, Justice Hlatshwayo issued a judgment
awarding the Anglican church property in the Diocese of Harare to the Kunonga
group.
The Anglican Church of the
Province of Central Africa [CCPA] appealed to the Supreme Court against the
Hlatshwayo decision:
The Kunonga group applied
for the appeal to be summarily dismissed because the CPCA had failed to provide security for
their legal costs, as required by the rules of court. The Supreme Court granted this application on
3rd May 2010 and dismissed the appeal.
The CPCA promptly applied
for reinstatement of its appeal But no decision was given on this application
for over a year.
May 2010 – Justice
Hlatshwayo barred the trial of the main CPCA case When the CPCA
pressed for a trial hearing of their main case, Justice Hlatshwayo called both
sides to his chambers, said his July 2009 decision had finally decided all
issues, and ruled there was no need for a trial. The CPCA appealed to the Supreme Court.
It is the two appeals against Justice Hlatshwayo’s rulings in favour of the Kunonga group that are
now being considered by the three Supreme Court judges after Monday’s
hearing.
19th May 2010 – High Court
ruled against Kunonga ally in Manicaland The former
Bishop Jakazi of Manicaland followed the Kunonga lead
and announced the Diocese of Manicaland’s withdrawal
from the CPCA. The court held that as
Jakazi had voluntarily left the CPCA, he had forfeited
all rights over diocesan property, had no right to meddle in diocesan or CPCA
affairs. Mr Jakazi noted an appeal to the Supreme Court.
31st May 2010 – the High
Court suspended Justice Hlatshwayo’s
decision: The suspension was to apply pending a Supreme
Court decision on reinstatement of the CCPA appeal This should have revived the sharing
arrangement but Kunonga immediately appealed, resulting
in:
Reversion to Hlatshwayo
judgment awarding property to Kunongo:
August 2011 – Chief Justice
reinstated CPCA appeal against
Justice Hlatshwayo’s judgment after a year’s
delay. But he also decreed that Justice Hlatshwayo’s decision would be stand until the appeal was
decided by the Supreme Court
Despite the
Chief Justice’s call for “expeditious
finalisation of the dispute”, the Supreme Court
hearing has taken 14 months to organise.
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