http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Alex Bell
26 October
2012
One of the ZANU PF ‘beneficiaries’ of conservancy land leases and
hunting
licences is reportedly being investigated for poaching, as the
future of the
Save Valley Conservancy remains unclear.
Former ZANU PF
Minister and ‘war vet’ Shuvai Mahofa, referred to as the
Masvingo ‘Iron
Lady’, is reportedly being investigated after a butchery she
allegedly runs
in Gutu was raided by police. According to a NewsDay article,
three buffalo
carcasses and other game meat was discovered.
Mahofa was one of a group
of mainly ZANU PF linked individuals who were
granted a hunting licence by
National Parks in August. She and the group of
so-called ‘indigenous
farmers’ were given the licences and 25 year land
leases as part of the ZANU
PF led indigenisation campaign.
Those who were handed leases at Save
Valley include war vets leader Joseph
Chinotimba, Major General Gibson
Mashingaidze, Major General Engelbert
Rugeje, Masvingo Governor and Resident
Minister Titus Maluleke, ZANU PF
Masvingo provincial chairperson Lovemore
Matuke, the late Higher Education
Minister Stan Mudenge, Health Deputy
Minister Douglas Mombeshora; ZANU PF
central committee member Enock
Porusingazi and ZANU PF MPs Alois Baloyi,
Abraham Sithole, Samson Mukanduri
and Noel Mandebvu.
The group last year formed the ‘Masvingo Initiative’
which led a campaign of
intimidation and harassment against various land
owners in the province.
During this campaign Mahofa seized the Savuli Ranch
and this year evicted
the owners and their employees.
Mahofa has
since given permission to some safari operators to hunt on Savuli
Ranch,
granting them hunting quotas according to her newly issued licence.
Mahofa’s
brother is understood to be a known bush meat trader and sources
have told
SW Radio Africa that their butchery business in Gutu has been
thriving ever
since Mahofa was given her hunting licence.
Some observers have suggested
that targeting Mahofa is a result of ZANU PF
infighting she has now become
tangled in. The saga around the Save Valley
has already pitted some members
of ZANU PF against each other, with the
Walter Mzembi led Tourism Ministry
facing off against Environment Minister
Francis Nhema.
Mzembi has
suggested that the licences should be withdrawn until a full
investigation
is done. It’s understood his position is one of damage
limitation ahead of
the scheduled UN World Tourism Organisation conference
set for Victoria
Falls next year. The situation at Save Valley Conservancy
has added to
widespread criticism of Zimbabwe acting as the host of the
international
meeting.
Nhema meanwhile has previously backed the handing over of the
licences as a
progressive move for indigenisation. He has slammed Mzembi in
interviews for
trying to change the situation.
Both Ministers were
meanwhile part of a committee set up by the ZANU PF
politburo to try and
calm tensions around the situation at the conservancy.
The committee was
asked to look into the possibility of turning the
conservancy into a
national park, which would effectively see the leases
being withdrawn. But,
since its appointment, the committee has failed to
meet.
Johnny
Rodrigues, the chairman of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force, told
SW
Radio Africa that withdrawal the leases and putting a moratorium on
hunting
was the best way to tackle the ongoing problem of poaching and
illegal
hunting. He said a proper audit needs to be completed to ensure
hunting is
controlled.
He meanwhile said that plans to turn the Conservancy into a
national park
are part of efforts by the authorities to “hoodwink” people,
into believing
that the situation is under control.
“They are trying
to show the world that they are in control, particularly
with the UN meeting
happening next year. But the reality is if the situation
is not brought
under control, then we won’t have any wildlife left,”
Rodrigues warned.
http://www.radiovop.com/
Bulawayo, October 26,
2012- Zimbabwe's Finance Minister Tendai Biti said
there are no funds for
early elections as well as the referendum to chose a
new constitution for
the country.
“Clearly as Zimbabwe government we don’t have funds for this
election and
the referendum too, therefore our friends the United Nations
and other
countries like China, United Kingdom, Sweden, Denmark must come to
the party
and help us, in the same way they helped us in the past with
things such the
education trust and the health trust,” said Biti in a
pre-budget
consultative meeting in Bulawayo Thursday.
“Issues around
the threat of early elections are affecting business
confidence and
production outputs in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe has also never known
peace and
stability for 10 successive years,” Biti said.
According to the Global
Political Agreement (GPA) signed on September 15,
2008, President Robert
Mugabe’s Zanu (PF) and the two Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) factions
led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and
Industry Minister Welshman Ncube
should be committed to the drafting of a
new constitution that will pave way
for a free and fair election.
Before the unity government Zimbabwe's
economy had collapsed as a result of
economic mismanagement resulting in an
unemployment rate of 94% and
spiralling hyperinflation.
Zimbabwe‘s
economy, considered one of Africa’s strongest economies,
collapsed in an
atmosphere of political turmoil, capital flight, corruption,
mismanagement
and brain drain.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tichaona
Sibanda
26 October 2012
The inclusive government is being forced to
rely on foreign donors to fund
the referendum on a new constitution and
elections next year because of the
deepening financial crisis facing the
country.
Finance Minister Tendai Biti revealed this during a 2013 Budget
consultative
meeting in Bulawayo. He is expected to deliver his 2013 Fiscal
Policy
Statement on 15th November.
Faced with a US$400 million
deficit in the 2012 budget and huge debt Biti,
on the advice the
International Monetary Fund (IMF), said he will soon take
a begging bowl to
Western countries and world bodies for funds to bankroll
the referendum and
the elections, as the country had no money.
Zimbabwe is set to hold
elections next year to end the power-sharing
government of Robert Mugabe and
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. The two
formed a coalition in 2009 after
the SADC regional leaders nullified a
violent election in which Mugabe
claimed victory over Tsvangirai. There is
however a crisis that the treasury
does not have adequate resources to fund
the elections.
‘Countries
such as the United Kingdom, Norway, and China and the United
Nations have an
obligation to fund the elections, in as much as they fund
our education and
health sectors. We will soon approach them for assistance,’
he
said.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) requires a staggering $300
million
for both the referendum an election. The referendum alone will cost
over
$100 million, with the remainder going to the harmonized elections due
early
next year.
ZEC’s deputy Chairperson Joyce Kazembe said her
organization does not have
money to hold a referendum or elections but
agreed once the funds were made
available, the commission would be able to
organize both exercises without
problems.
Kazembe said ZEC would
require a six-week lead time before the referendum to
ensure voter
education, staff training and other logistical arrangements
were put in
place.
The date for the referendum is yet to be set, but there are
expectations it
might be held in January 2013, with an election coming six
months later.
Zimbabwe’s diamond fields would of course provide more than
enough money, if
the diamonds weren’t being plundered by the ruling elite.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
26/10/2012 00:00:00
by Staff
Reporter
THE country’s estimated 230,000 state employees
will get their 13th cheque
this year, Finance Minister Tendai Biti has
confirmed.
Biti last month warned that bonus payments for civil servants
were doubtful
this year as he revealed that the government was facing a
US$400 million
budget black-hole.
The revelations angered state
workers who have been threatening to strike
demanding salary increases to
levels in line with the poverty datum line
which is estimated at about
US$650.
However, Biti assured health workers in Bulawayo during the 2013
national
budget consultations Thursday that bonuses would be paid but on a
staggered
basis.
“Payment of bonuses to our civil servants is
guaranteed. We will pay them as
usual, but as we did last year, the payment
will be staggered.”
“However, you have to understand that it is not easy.
Our revenue inflows
are not good and the budget is underperforming, which
is why we had to cut
recurrent expenditures from ministries.”
Biti
has since been forced to revise his 2012 growth forecast from 9.4
percent to
5.6 percent as well as cut the budget back to US$3.6 billion from
US$4
billion due to poor revenue performance.
And on Thursday he also revealed
that the government was contributing to
problems at most utilities,
parastatals as well as in local authorities by
failing to pay service
fees.
“The Government is sitting on $350 million in arrears to service
providers
such as fertiliser and seed companies who are owed about US$40
million,” he
said.
“We owe US$30 million to Zesa, another US$30
million to mobile providers,
more than US$40 million in unpaid rates to
local authorities and US$20
million to Zinwa.
“We have accumulated a
budget deficit and we are already eating into the
future.”
Meanwhile
apart from the civil service bonuses treasury is also under
pressure to
raise funding for the new agriculture season as well as the
constitutional
referendum and elections which are expected next year.
Biti has since
approached oil-rich Angola as well as South Africa to follow
up on pledges
for financial support made at a SADC summit back in 2009 as
the regional
body helped facilitate formation of the coalition government
after violent
but inconclusive elections a year earlier.
http://www.voazimbabwe.com
Gibbs
Dube
25.10.2012
Three cabinet ministers say they are surprised that
Air Zimbabwe will return
to the skies next month before it gets a strategic
partner as recommended by
the government after it grounded the airline last
December due to a
crippling debt of $100 million.
The ministers, who
declined to be named, estimated the airline will need
capital investment of
at least $500 million to resume domestic, regional and
international
flights.
The cabinet ministers also said they have not been officially
informed by
Transport Minister Nicholas Goche that Air Zimbabwe had acquired
two Airbus
planes and is in the process of resuming domestic and regional
flights
though it still owes some creditors and workers millions of
dollars.
American General Supplies seized one of Air Zimbabwe’s planes
last December
at Gatwick International Airport in an attempt to recover a
$1.5 million
debt.
State Enterprises Minister Gorden Moyo tells
Studio 7 that the cabinet is
expected to table discussions on restructuring
Air Zimbabwe and other
parastatals next Monday.
"A cabinet committee
has so far discussed a report compiled by Ernest and
Young which was
subcontracted by government to analyze the challenges and
opportunities
surrounding Air Zimbabwe ... We have made our own
recommendations to be
presented to cabinet," said Moyo.
http://www.upi.com
Published: Oct. 25, 2012 at 3:38
PM
HARARE, Zimbabwe, Oct. 25 (UPI) -- Suspected Zanu PF activists
invaded CAPS
Holdings owner Frederick Mutanda's farm in Mutorashanga,
Zimbabwe.
CAPS is a debt-ridden Zimbabwean pharmaceutical
company.
Mutanda on Tuesday accused Zimbabwe Minister of Local Government
and
National Housing Ignatius Chombo, who is Zanu PF secretary for lands, of
sending Zanu PF militants to invade his Ravie Farm in
Mutorashanga.
Zimbabwean Mashonaland West provincial Chairman John Mafa
stated however, "I
have never spoken to anybody about Mutanda's farm but he
was told to produce
papers that prove he is the rightful owner by
(Mashonaland West governor and
resident minister) Faber
Chidarikire.
"Personally, I have nothing against Mutanda or anybody else,
so I never sent
people to go and invade his farm. What I remember is that
when I sat on the
lands committee, Mutanda was asked to produce documents
that proved his
ownership and I'm not sure he has done that yet," Newsday
news agency
reported Wednesday.
What makes the case unusual is that
land expropriation was a Zanu PF tactic
primarily utilized against
Zimbabwe's white farmer minority, rather than
against black Zimbabwean
government officials.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
26/10/2012 00:00:00
by Staff
Reporter
THE National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) has said the
draft constitution
must be rejected when it is put to a national referendum
after President
Robert Mugabe insisted that GPA principals would, between
them, determine
the content of the final document.
Mugabe drew fire
from constitutional reform activists on Monday when he told
delegates to
COPAC’s second all-stakeholders conference that he, along with
co-GPA
leaders Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and his deputy Arthur
Mutambara,
would have the final say on the new constitution.
In a statement
Thursday, the NCA, which has, over the last decade or so,
been campaigning
for a new democratic constitution dismissed the conference
as a farcical
political party event adding Mugabe’s remarks showed that the
COPAC process
had been a costly waste of time.
“For COPAC to have had the temerity to
even proceed with its political party
meeting after President Mugabe had
made it clear that it is the principals
of the GPA that would decide on the
final version of the draft is ridiculous
to say the least,” the NCA
said.
“It would have been logical for the so called All Stakeholders
Conference to
have concluded after the three principals had given their
vacuous and
patently deceptive speeches.”
COPAC co-chairs Douglas
Mwonzora (MDC-T) and Paul Mangwana (Zanu PF) however
insisted that the GPA
leaders had no roll under the process adding that
Parliament would continue
to drive the process.
The NCA said it was surprising that delegates to
the conference had taken
less than ten hours to deliberate on the draft
despite widely reported
differences between the GPA parties over various
clauses.
“It is also apparent that COPAC has, three years after it
embarked on its
undemocratic constitution making process, failed to even
meet its own low
standards,” the statement added.
“It is beyond
reason that it sought to discuss the entirety of its political
parties draft
constitution in no more than 10 hours after the principals had
departed the
Rainbow Towers.
“To claim any serious debate occurred or emerged in what
were referred to as
thematic committees is to be thoroughly dishonest to the
people of Zimbabwe.
“Any report that will emerge from such a shallow and
politically deceptive
process should not be taken seriously by any
Zimbabwean with the democratic
interests of the country at
heart.”
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights director, Irene Petras
also slammed the
conference saying there was no meaningful debate as
delegates were simply
repeating their positions of their respective
political parties.
“Incidents of coaching of party delegates by all three
delegations in a bid
to safeguard their political party aspirations were
rampant. Pamphlets
entitled key points to note at the conference were
parcelled out to some
delegates who would constantly refer to these notes
verbatim during
discussions on thematic issues,” she said.
“The
coalition government needs to be reminded that the Constitution is not
written merely for the generation that exists at the time of its being
authored but for unlimited and perpetual posterity and not for rulers who
would be intoxicated with excessive power.”
The NCA said it had since
launched a nationwide campaign for the rejection
of the COPAC draft when it
is put to a referendum, possibly in January.
“The NCA strongly urges all
Zimbabweans to reject the national deception
that is COPAC and Article 6 of
the GPA by voting ‘No’ to the Principals
draft constitution when the
referendum is held,” the organisation said.
“Once this draft is rejected,
it remains the right of Zimbabweans to embark
on a democratic, people driven
process that transcends the political
interests of narrow minded political
parties and their political leaders.
“The NCA shall continue its outreach
and awareness public meetings (whose)
central message will be that of
emphasizing the urgent need to bring to
finality the national deception that
has been the undemocratic COPAC
constitution making process.”
http://www.voazimbabwe.com
Blessing Zulu,
Thomas Chiripasi
25.10.2012
WASHINGTON/HARARE — Crisis in Zimbabwe
Coalition has embarked on a
mobilization campaign urging local people to
unite against President Robert
Mugabe’s bid to usurp the powers of the
select committee writing the country’s
new constitution.
Mr. Mugabe
on Monday said unity government principals will have the final
say on the
draft charter before it is submitted to parliament.
The select committee
was expected to compile a final draft and a national
report following the
second all stakeholders’ conference that ended Tuesday.
But in what legal
experts are calling a violation of the global political
agreement, which led
to the formation of the unity government, the president
is digging in and
asking the parliamentary constitution select committee to
handover the
process.
Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition is urging local people to
collectively engage
in what the civic groups have dubbed a ‘Save the
Constitution Campaign’ in a
bid to stop the president from taking over the
proccess.
The move has been endorsed by another coalition of civic groups
comprising
the Zimbabwe Election Support Network and the Zimbabwe Lawyers
for Human
Rights.
Mr. Mugabe is allegedly under pressure from some of
his own party members,
notably his chief negotiators in the management
committee of the
constitution-making process, who want the parliamentary
committee to hand
over the charter to parliament and not the
principals.
Regional coordinator Phillan Zamchiya of the Crisis in
Zimbabwe Coalition
tells VOA it is important for Zimbabweans to unite in
order to halt Mr.
Mugabe’s overtures.
Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai is reported to have made a u-turn after
agreeing earlier with Mr.
Mugabe that the principals will have the final say
on the draft constitution
before it goes to parliament.
Mr. Tsvangirai now wants the draft charter
to go straight to parliament.
Meanwhile, a coalition of civic society
organizations monitoring the
constitution revision process, the Zimbabwe
Independent Constitution
Monitoring Project (ZICOMP), says the second all
stakeholders' conference
was marred by several irregularities.
They
organizations claim that the conference ended without clarity, a
situation
the group says has increased tension in the unity government and
opportunities for political manipulation.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
COPAC has set aside a staggering $2
million dollars to be used for publicity
and civic education regarding the
draft document, MDC-T Co-chairperson of
the parliamentary committee, Douglas
Mwonzora, has said.
26.10.12
by Regerai
Tututuku
Addressing a report back meeting in Masvingo on Thursday,
Mwonzora said the
draft document would be availed in several languages,
adding that it would
also be written in simplified English for people to
understand it.
“We have set aside $2 million for publicity and civic
education”, said
Mwonzora. “We are going to write the draft in several
languages spoken in
the country to ensure that everyone understands
it.”
Mwonzora said COPAC would soon meet to consider submissions made by
different thematic committees during the Second All-Stakeholders’ Conference
that ended on Tuesday. He said the phase to consider conference feedback
would be completed soon.
“I have briefly gone through the submissions
made at the Second
All-Stakeholders’ Conference and I have discovered that
we are not going to
take much time on this stage,” Mwonzora
Zanu (PF)
COPAC Co- chairperson, Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana, said the select
committee
would the hold constitutional referendum before 15 January next
year.
COPAC is currently holding report back meetings following the
holding of the
stakeholders’ conference.
http://nehandaradio.com
October 26, 2012 at 4:31 pm
By
Lance Guma
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai will this Saturday revisit
the scene of a
gruesome massacre committed by Zanu PF militants aided by
rogue army units
in the Chaona area of Chiweshe in the Mashonaland Central
province.
Early this month Tsvangirai and wife Elizabeth visited
victims of Zanu PF
political violence in Zaka. Zanu PF members in army
uniforms petrol bombed
MDC-T offices at Jerera Growth Point killing two
party activists Crison
Mbano and Washington Nyangwa.
Three days after
Mugabe’s regime finally released the official results of
the March 2008
presidential election, in which Tsvangirai beat Mugabe, over
200 Zanu PF
militias rampaged through the village killing 14 MDC-T
supporters.
Tsvangirai will join hundreds of MDC-T members and
families at a memorial
rally to be held at Chaona Business Centre to
remember those who were
killed. The Zanu PF mob was led by Major Cairo
Mhandu and Major Maravadza.
Women were stripped and beaten so viciously
that whole sections of flesh
fell away from their buttocks. The militias
also resorted to genital
mutilation in their attacks. One post-mortem
listed, ‘crushed genitals’ as
one of the causes of death.
Killed in
the attacks were: Gibbs Tayengwa Chironga, Joel Ngowani, Joel
Lewis Musiiwa,
Chironga Hama, Dofo Fushirayi, Godfrey Jemedze, Remember
Kanyemba, David
Mapuranga Tachiwa and Doreen Marufu.
Also killed were Arthur Matombo,
Partson Madzuramhende, Rumbidzai Samhu,
Runyararo Mugauri, Runyararo Musoni
and Fungisai Ziome. The 14 are part of
nearly 500 opposition supporters
killed by the regime in 2008.
In 2009 the MDC-T compiled a list of the
perpetrators and handed it over to
the Attorney General Johannes Tomana and
Police Commissioner General,
Augustine Chihuri but no arrests or
prosecutions were made.
Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) agent
Elias Kanengoni is also
accused of leading the Chiweshe Massacres. In the
1990 elections Kanengoni
shot then opposition candidate Patrick Kombayi
before getting a presidential
pardon.
Meanwhile the memorial in
Chiweshe by Tsvangirai follows a similar memorial
rally held in Zaka this
month when the PM was accompanied by his new wife
Elizabeth
Macheka.
Both listened to victims narrating their harrowing stories of
how Zanu PF
members in army uniforms petrol bombed MDC-T offices at Jerera
Growth Point
killing two party activists Crison Mbano and Washington
Nyangwa.
Those who survived the attack like Edson Gwenhure, Kudakwashe
Tsumele and
Isaac Mbanje met the PM and his wife and narrated their horror
stories.
A truckload of Zanu PF thugs besieged the offices at midnight
and first shot
the victims before bombing their offices. Also housed in the
building were
some victims of political violence in the area who had sought
refuge there.
Soon after the attack the charred remains of 2 bodies lay
on the floor in
the burnt out MDC-T office and all had bullet wounds.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tererai
Karimakwenda
26 October 2012
The lawyer representing two youth leaders
from the MDC-T, accused of
murdering officer Petros Mutedza last year, has
alleged that the state is
delaying their case in the same manner they have
delayed the other 29
accused activists.
Gift Mtisi from Zimbabwe
Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), said Jackson
Mabota and Tarisai Kusotera
were remanded in custody until November 23rd
when they appeared at the
magistrates’ court on Friday. This was because the
state claimed they were
not ready to proceed.
The lawyer was also frustrated at the High Court
last week. He had lodged a
bail application last Thursday and a hearing was
scheduled for Friday. But
this was also delayed by the state.
“The
state allocated the case to an officer who was off duty, sick. They
gave the
file to someone who is sick so I think this was a dilatory tactic.
The bail
hearing is now set for Monday, October 29th,” Mtisi explained.
The lawyer
was referring to state prosecutor EdmoreNyazamba, who last week
told the
court he was not well and needed to see a doctor. He sent a
representative
from his office the next day, claiming the doctor had ordered
a 5-day bed
rest.
Mabota and Kusotera were arrested last Tuesday, more than a year
after Glen
View cop Petros Mutedza was murdered at a local pub. A total of
29 other
MDC-T officials and activists are already on trial for the same
murder.
Explaining the police delay in arresting his clients, Mtisi said:
“From
state papers they are alleging that about 50 MDC-T members
participated in
the murder of the officer. They are alleging that these two
have been on the
run since the commission of the crime, going in and out of
the country
avoiding arrest.”
The frustrated lawyer said he agrees
with his clients and the MDC-T that the
delays in both cases have been
deliberate and meant to prolong their stay in
jail. The MDC-T activists have
been denied bail as flight risks on several
occasions.
The MDC-T
insist officer Mutedza was killed by unknown revellers at the Glen
View pub.
http://www.voazimbabwe.com
Violet Gonda,
Irwin Chifera
25.10.2012
Consultations ahead of Zimbabwe’s 2013
national budget continued Thursday
with the Deposit Protection Corporation
calling for legislation to control
mobile phone companies that have ventured
into banking operations to
safeguard ordinary people from losing their
hard-earned cash.
The corporation’s acting chief executive, Vusa Vuma,
told a budget
consultation meeting in Harare that banking operations by
mobile phone
companies are not regulated.
Vuma said: “Most of these
operations have come into the banking system and
yet there is no legislative
framework for supervising mobile banking. We may
in the long run face
serious fraud issues if this situation continues.”
Vuma told the
Parliamentary Budget, Finance and Investment Promotion
Committee which
hosted the meeting that at least $4 billion is circulating
in the informal
sector because people have lost confidence in the banking
sector.
David Govere of the Business Council of Zimbabwe said the
treasury should
ensure that money realized from the sale of Marange diamonds
benefits the
nation.
He suggested that $30 million should be set
aside for small and medium
enterprises.
“Imagine what it will mean
when we go to a Kimberley Process meeting and say
$30 million of the diamond
revenue has assisted a person in Dotito, Plumtree
and Dulibadzimu,” Govere
said.
Other organizations that made submissions to the committee were the
Zimbabwe
National Chamber of Commerce and Buy Zimbabwe.
The two said
the budgetary process must include a mandatory local
procurement
policy.
Others organizations called for the lowering of interest rates
and
protection of the local industry from cheap imports that have flooded
the
local market.
Parliamentary budget committee chairman Paddy
Zhanda said the submissions
would be useful in the drafting of the 2013
budget.
Prosper Chitambara, an economist with the Labor and Economic
Development
Research Institute of Zimbabwe, said these consultations are a
positive
development as they promote stakeholders’ interest in budgeting
processes.
Chitambara said: “There is need to make sure that the budget
is pro-poor and
inclusive by allocating more resources to social
sectors.”
The public meetings are designed to provide Finance Minister
Tendai Biti
with many options of formulating the national
budget.
Such consultations have been done in the past but some critics
say they have
not benefited taxpayers.
Biti is scheduled to present
the 2013 budget in parliament on November 15.
In a related development,
Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs Minister
Eric Matinenga is quoted
in the Herald newspaper as saying the controversial
Constituency Development
Fund (CDF), allegedly abused by some legislators,
would not be accessible to
lawmakers even if the money is contained in the
2013 national
budget.
Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs Secretary Virginia
Mabhiza is
quoted as saying: “For accountability purposes, we would rather
advise to
wait for the elections and start on a fresh slate. Some people may
get away
with murder if they are to receive CDF funds now and lose the next
elections.”
Zhanda, who is also a Zanu PF’s Goromonzi legislator,
believes that this is
a bad move. “The CDF represented the fairest way of
distributing capital
throughout the country.”
He said only a tiny
fraction of the 210 parliamentarians abused the funds
and that there is a
system that exposes such issues.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Construction of the Women's
University in Africa main campus in Marondera
has been halted due to serious
financial constraints, it has emerged.
26.10.12
by Tarisai
Jangara
Speaking at WUA's eighth graduation ceremony in Harare on
Friday, the
university's Vice Chancellor, Hope Sadza, said progress towards
the
construction of the main campus had been slowed down due to lack of
funding.
"We are a private university and we rely mainly on student's
tuition fees
and charges. The money collected is not enough for both
operational and
capital expenditure," she said.
She added that the
university was in need of more land to expand the Harare
campus which was
currently accommodating 2 795 non-resident students.
"We need to build
the Harare campus which will constitute 40 percent of our
students when the
main campus in Marondera finally becomes operational. We
will continue
pushing the government for the allocation of land," she said.
The
institution's Chairperson of Council, Lynn Mukonoweshuro, said there was
need to accelerate efforts aimed at constructing the main campus so as to
bring down rentals costs.
Despite the challenges faced by the
university, Sadza said WUA had made
great strides in academically empowering
women, regardless of age and
cultural backgrounds.
"It is never too
late to learn. We will continue to educate mature women who
have been
sidelined from tertiary education by social and cultural
constraints.
"Women who have graduated today should go out there and
transform the
country by claiming influential positions in various
organisations," said
Sadza.
More than 500 graduates from the WUA were
conferred with degrees drawn from
the faculties of Agriculture, Management
and Entrepreneurial Development
Studies, Information Technology, Psychology,
Social Sciences and Gender
Studies.
Among those receiving degrees was
popular gospel artist, Fungisai
Zvakavapano-Mashavave who attained a degree
in Sociology and Gender
Development Studies.
Sadza said the
university had transformed over the past years by linking and
collaborating
with international university.
"We managed to collaborate with
international universities and have already
signed a Memoranda of
Understanding with the South Korea and Indonesia
Universities. This shows
that our presence is being felt throughout the
continent," she said.
PRESS STATEMENT
HARARE, 25 October 2012-After
observing the proceedings in the run-up to,
and during, the just ended
Constitution Select Committee COPAC) Second All
Stakeholders’ Conference of
22-23 October 2012, the Zimbabwe Peace Project
(ZPP), Zimbabwe Election
Support Network (ZESN) and Zimbabwe Lawyers for
Human Rights (ZLHR)
Independent Constitution Monitoring Project (ZZZICOMP)
considers it
appropriate to express its preliminary observations on this
national
process.
ZZZICOMP notes that accreditation of delegates was decentralised
to the
provinces, and this assisted in speeding up the process of
registering
participants. Whilst there did not seem to be challenges with
the
accreditation of political party delegates from the parties to the
Global
Political Agreement (GPA), inclusivity of other political parties was
questionable. In addition, a high level of political interference from all
three political parties to the GPA was observed in the accreditation of
civil society participants. Although this was eventually (although not
fairly) resolved, this adversely affected the ability of the civil society
to adequately and independently prepare for and participate in the
Conference in a non-politicised and non-partisan manner. It is necessary for
both the political parties and the broad civil society to disentangle
themselves and understand their roles as this constitution-making process
continues, failing which they will continue to do a disservice to the
broader population who have issues which may be peripheral to the objectives
and priorities of the three political parties in government.
The
accreditation of observers was centralised to Harare, however. Whilst
international observers experienced no challenges with accreditation, local
observation groups experienced considerable challenges, including a
restriction on numbers of observers and an atmosphere of distrust and lack
of cooperation by COPAC staff which was only resolved after the intervention
of the three COPAC co-chairpersons. Whilst ZZZICOMP had 420 observers
registered during previous stages of the constitution-making process, this
was reduced to 2 initially, and after negotiations was raised to a mere 10
observers. This proved to be a challenge for detailed observation of each
thematic breakaway session and the general rollout of the Second
All-Stakeholders’ Conference.
The Second All Stakeholders’ Conference
was held in a generally peaceful
environment and ZZZICOMP commends COPAC and
delegates for generally
conducting themselves in a courteous manner that was
free from the violence
which characterised the First All Stakeholders
Conference held in 2009 in
which some delegates and observers were assaulted
resulting in a premature
adjournment of proceedings.
However,
ZZZICOMP still recorded incidences where some delegates resorted to
intimidation, harassment, heckling and issuing verbal threats against other
delegates as they squabbled during the thematic breakaway sessions and for
expressing dissenting views. Such an environment is hardly conducive to the
expression of citizens’ voices and choices since it involuntarily induces
fear. Whether real or perceived, fear muzzles freedom of
expression.
ZZZICOMP acknowledges the role played by the Principals to
the GPA, who
through their remarks denounced violence and emphasised
tolerance during the
process. This attitude could have had a bearing in
exorcising the demons of
violence out of some delegates. ZZZICOMP regrets
the initial boycott of the
proceedings by Professor Welshman Ncube’s party,
as a critical constituency
of this national process, but commends the SADC
facilitation team for its
interventions to ensure their participation in the
thematic breakaway
sessions. We urge all political players to put aside
personal differences
for the good of the nation as we proceed to the final
stages of the
constitution-making process.
ZZZICOMP observers and
those from other civil society organisations were
subjected to some form of
discriminatory screening by security teams manning
the entrances before they
could access the main Harare International
Conference Centre (HICC)
auditorium despite presenting their accreditation
tags to COPAC personnel.
In addition our observers also noted that the
venues where the breakaway
sessions were held were not easily accessible, as
physically challenged
persons could not access the first floor of the HICC
to participate in the
thematic deliberations.
Language barriers were noted as all the material
used during the conference
deliberations were in English and no provision
was made for -local
languages. Administrative and logistical hitches were
recorded as some
electronic equipment was not availed on time during
thematic deliberations
leading to some protests by some delegates who
insisted on such tools being
made available. In addition, some groups
experienced delays in commencing
their work as the materials were not
readily available.
Incidents of coaching of party delegates by all three
political parties in a
bid to safeguard their political party aspirations
were rampant. For
example, pamphlets entitled “Keypoints to note at the
conference” were
parceled out to some delegates and they constantly referred
to or read from
these notes verbatim during discussions on thematic issues.
Worryingly, our
observers noted racial intolerance after some ZANU PF
delegates, who were
evaluating the Agricultural Land thematic chapter
ejected a diplomat from
one of the local embassies, who had been accredited
to observe the process.
Disputes tended to follow the lines of previously
publicised amendments for
which ZANU PF has been advocating.
It is
our view that President Robert Mugabe’s comments dismissing COPAC’s
consideration of qualitative data at the expense of quantitative data and
slamming the constitutional reform body’s co-chairs for allegedly wielding
excessive power and declaring that the Principals to the GPA will have the
ultimate authority on the outcome of the governance charter is likely to
skew the process’ outcome. This scenario, which breaches the principle of
constitutionalism, is of utmost concern as party interests usually have a
short-term perspective rather than the inter-generational and non-partisan
focus expected in a constitution-making process. Such utterances reinforce
the already existing high risk of producing a constitution that panders to
the short-term interests of political parties and individuals. The coalition
government needs to be reminded that the Constitution is not written merely
for the generation that exists at the time of its being authored but for
unlimited and perpetual posterity and not for rulers who would be
intoxicated with excessive power.
ZZZICOMP notes that the Conference
ended without clarity as to the immediate
next steps that will be taken to
finalise the draft. It is critical for
COPAC to provide clarity in this
regard so as to reduce tensions and
opportunities for political
manipulation. Mindful of the provision in
Article VI of the GPA, that the
constitution-making process is not a
political process but a process for
citizens of Zimbabwe, ZZZICOMP appeals
to COPAC to increase
confidence-building measures in the process and
publicly outline the roadmap
that should finally lead to a referendum. We
also urge the Executive to
refrain from interfering in the process and
ensure that they strictly comply
with provisions of Article VI. Given the
issues noted by ZZZICOMP, it is now
up to Zimbabweans to decide on the
acceptability of a governance charter
that emanates from this process
through the referendum held in a conducive
environment.
In conclusion, we urge COPAC to move swiftly to conclude the
process as
continued delays have the effect of taking attention and energy
away from
other key institutional and legislative reform processes which are
necessary
to proceed to an election which is free, fair and whose outcome
will not be
disputed. SADC should also continue to remain invested in its
oversight of
the processes to ensure that it is not further manipulated.
ENDS//
Background
The Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP), Zimbabwe
Election Support Network (ZESN)
and Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR)
Independent Constitution
Monitoring Project (ZZZICOMP) has been shadowing
the COPAC process in order
to adjudge how democratic and transparent the
constitution-making process
is, and if it accurately reflects the input of
broad and diverse popular
participation. ZZZICOMP is a non-partisan,
independent and professional
partnership whose main functions are to promote
peace, democratic elections
and to foster a culture of human rights and
constitutionalism in Zimbabwe.
For further information and comments
please contact ZZZICOMP on Email:
info@zesn.org.zw / info@zlhr.org.zw / zppinfo@gmail.com
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/
We cannot allow ZANU (PF) to continue the lie, that they
only are the
rightful custodians and protectors of the ideals and objectives
of the
liberation struggle.
26.10.12
by Vince
Musewe
I have a brilliant idea! I am going to make a movie titled;
“The Great
Betrayal”. In this movie, an oppressed people decide to go to war
with the
oppressor. Many people take the risk of leaving the country to go
and get
trained to fight the oppressor. During the terrible war that
follows,
thousands go into the battle field, into direct combat with the
enemy and
suffer great loss. Others administer the war effort from afar
while some of
them go and become educated overseas. Those that do not join
the war remain
behind at home, but do all they can and risk their lives to
assist those
executing the war in the battle field. Many die during that
war, others get
maimed for life while some, through sheer providence,
survive.
In this movie, at the end of the war, those that were being
educated during
the war return become the new rulers, while those that
actually fought in
the war, are mostly sidelined and left broken to fend for
themselves. The
families that remained behind and assisted in the execution
of the war are
all but forgotten.
The new rulers then insist that,
they are the only ones entitled to
political power and effectively take over
the land and the assets of the
country. They also persist that only “they”
are the heroes of the war, and
will not respect (or salute) anyone else who
did not “participate” in the
war against the oppressor. They plunder the
resources of the country;
millions leave in disgust while most tolerate the
whims of their new rulers.
However, at the end of my movie, the people rise
up but only after thirty
three years of lies and oppression by the war
“heroes” and democracy is
restored. The millions, who had the country
return, apply their experience
and the country becomes the most advanced
economies in Africa.
A happy ending I guess, but sadly, this is not a
movie nor is it fiction.
This is the state of affairs in a country called
Zimbabwe, my motherland. A
country that the likes of the late Herbert
Chitepo sacrificed for and gave
up all they had going, in order to help
create. He truly believed, as Bob
Markey sang, that every man has got the
right to decide his own destiny.
Unfortunately he paid the ultimate price
for this belief. A country where
the late Josiah Tongogara and many others
dreamt that one day, they would
return to, and would see little black boys
and little white boys playing
together., without the color of their skin
having anything to do with whom
and what they may become They imagined a
country where all would have equal
opportunity to pursue their dreams. They
must have seen in their
imagination, a new society where only talent and
hard work would become the
only decisive factors in how far all of its
citizens can go. They saw a
country full of potential, whose vast land is so
fertile and pregnant with
mineral resources; a country, whose fruits are
shared fairly amongst all who
labor in it, black and
white.
Unfortunately this grand dream has been betrayed. It has been
betrayed by
ZANU (PF) whose greed and selfishness have resulted in the
suppression of
all potentials and the stifling of public debate and
progressive voices of
reason. Their actions have effectively rubbished the
sacrifice of blood and
sweat of many Zimbabweans who fought in the war. They
have claimed the
unchallengeable right to power and the benefits thereof at
the expense of
the ideals and aspirations of our true heroes.
You
see, if by any chance Zimbabwe and its resources were being managed
efficiently and in the interest of all, in line with the objectives of the
founders of the liberation struggle, it would be unnecessary to amplify some
of these truths because; it would be pointless and unprofitable to do so.
But the mere fact that the incumbents have failed to execute this
responsibility, compels us to closely re-examine our history.
My
conclusion is that, unfortunately, the realization of this grand vision
of a
new Zimbabwe will not be possible if we continue on the path that we
are
now. This country will not lift itself out of the difficulties that it
has,
as long a small group of men and women hold onto power and continue to
usurp
a responsibility which they have clearly failed to fulfill. It is time
for a
change.
We cannot endorse entitlement to power, nor can we allow a
unitary state
with centralized power that only acts in the economic
interests of the few
to continue. If we have learnt our lesson from the
recent past, we cannot
afford to give too much political power and
discretion to one man or a few,
who could then use it to dictate to us what
we can and cannot become.
More important, we cannot allow ZANU (PF) to
continue the lie, that they are
the only rightful custodians and protectors
of the ideals and objectives of
the liberation struggle when their behavior
and actions in the last thirty
two years have shown us otherwise and
actually sabotaged the honorable
intentions of the founders of
ZANU.
In my opinion, all Zimbabweans contributed to the war effort
somehow and
somewhere and they too, must enjoy the honor and the
responsibility it
places upon them to work towards fulfillment its ideals.
This responsibility
does not belong to one individual or a select group, but
to all of us.
I want to believe that we are truly at the cusp of
meaningful change, where
we can begin to do those things that will allow us
to achieve this dream. I
trust that my happy ending in the “imagined” movie
above, will come to pass,
as millions upon millions of us realize that we
have been unwilling
accomplices in this great betrayal.
Our country
needs to fundamentally shift direction. It needs a new value
system, new
thinking and new authentic leaders. We must see the beginning of
a new
political dispensation based on the freedoms that our heroes imagined.
A
dispensation based on liberty, peace and prosperity for all. Zimbabwe
belongs to all who were born in it, black and white. Only then, can history
judge us and truly say that, this generation of Zimbabweans did the
necessary and did not betray the ideals of those who gave up so much for so
little.
The question is; what are YOU doing to make this dream a
reality?
Vince Musewe is an independent economist in Harare and you may
contact him
on vtmusewe@gmail.com
http://www.cathybuckle.com/
October 26, 2012, 1:42 pm
There
are so many contradictory stories coming out of the country that it’s
sometimes difficult for people in the diaspora to get an exact picture of
life in Zimbabwe these days. Take Harare for example, the capital once known
as the ‘Sunshine city’. There was a report in The Standard last week that
said Harare was in a ‘terrible mess’ with piles of stinking refuse on street
corners right in the middle of the city. At the same time we are told that
there is a 16% increase in tourist numbers, so either the tourists don’t
mind wading through garbage when they arrive in Harare or some over-eager
journalist is exaggerating the city’s refuse problem!
In Mutare, the
capital of the stunningly beautiful Eastern Districts and a
‘must’ for
tourists, we read that industries are collapsing. Collapsing
industries mean
desperate unemployed workers roaming the streets - not an
attractive
prospect for tourists either. Not all tourists stick to big
cities, however,
some of them want to see how ordinary people live. Epworth
is a
working-class suburb and not so far out of the capital that tourists
can’t
find it. The report this week that people in Epworth are living out in
the
open after a government-owned company demolished their homes hardly
gives
tourists the impression of a compassionate government.
Christmas is
coming and for tourists entering Zimbabwe by road their
first sight of the
country is the Beit Bridge border post. The number of
people going through
the border post can rise to as many as 3.500 a day over
the festive season
apparently and the immigration manager is on record this
week calling for an
upgrade of the border post. “It is dilapidated and in
urgent need of
restoration” he said in an appeal to the Minister of Finance
to make funds
available for this vital task. No shortage of funds for the
First Lady,
Grace Mugabe, though. Her Gushungo Dairy Estate markets its
products under
the brand name Alpha Omega and there are rumours that Dairy
Marketing Board
products have disappeared from the shelves to be replaced by
Alpha Omega.
With 2000 cows to milk every day, Grace Mugabe claims that her
dairy is the
second biggest in Africa. For a country with an avowedly
socialist
president, such an obviously capitalist First Lady seems something
of a
contradiction.
It could be argued that tourists are not concerned
with these adverse
reports about life in Zimbabwe. Their objective is to
have a good holiday in
what must be one of the best tourist destinations in
Africa. For Zimbabweans
in the diaspora who are thinking perhaps of ending
their long exile and
returning home, they are more concerned with the
realities of life. No
denying, things have improved, the days of wild
inflation are over and the
economy appears to have stabilised. Agriculture
may no longer be the
principal earner but minerals, excluding the fabulous
diamond wealth, have
generated 1.36 billion dollars; between January and
September, gold output
was up 22%. The ‘new’ farmers who have taken over the
highly lucrative
tobacco crop have exported over $40 million worth of the
crop to China.
Politically too, there has been a period of relative
quiet which might
encourage the potential returnees to start packing. All of
these apparently
positive developments have led Robert Mugabe and Morgan
Tsvangirai to claim
that Zimbabwe is, to use Tsvangirai’s phrase, “on the
upswing” as he said at
his party’s 13th anniversary. After all, the 2nd
Stakeholders’ Conference
has just passed off without the violent disruptions
we have seen before. On
the surface, everything looks rosy but dig a little
deeper and you stumble
against the potential dynamite of the forthcoming
election. Zanu PF are
already busy buying people’s votes with people in
Goromonzi being offered
building plots on unapproved land – providing they
have a Zanu PF party card
and $150. But first, the country must hold a
referendum on the constitution;
that will be in January at the earliest we
are told. Meanwhile, Robert
Mugabe insists that the ‘leadership’ ie. Mugabe
himself, Tsvangirai and
Mutambara will decide on the constitution. “You
should know where power
resides” Mugabe told COPAC members. His speech at
the opening of the Second
Stakeholders’ Conference made it very clear that
parliament is not the
deciding voice in the issue of the constitution. “The
three of us wrote that
thing you call the GPA…Parliament thinks it is so
sovereign that it should
control the actions of the Principals…it’s not
it…we cannot do everything
but we are the executive and we are the ones who
caused this process.”
Perhaps I’m missing something but that statement is
surely profoundly undemo
[ends here...]