The ZIMBABWE Situation Our thoughts and prayers are with Zimbabwe
- may peace, truth and justice prevail.

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JAG SITREP 3rd October 2002-10-03

MATABELELAND

Matabeleland has been through a torrid time in the last 24 hours. The
number of farmers who have been warned to leave their farms immediately
or within the next 24 hours has increased to 45, and the police have
been taking action throughout the area to evict farmers, regardless of
their legal position. The Member in Charge of Nyamandhlovu police
station went round last night checking that people had left their farms,
and informing them that anything left behind was now property of the
state and would be auctioned off as such. 13 farmers have so far been
evicted, and although the three who were arrested last night were
released either with no charges or on bail with no conditions, they have
not been allowed back on their farms. Leefie Cahill has sever bruising
from being carried in the back of an open truck, and is badly sunburnt
(Errata: The other two arrestees reported yesterday as J. and E.
Rosenthal are actually J. and E. Rosenfels. Apologies.)

Jimmy & Ruth Chatham (a 76 year old couple) were manhandled and
handcuffed by the police, who had broken into the yard, and then into
the house. The police (only four of whom were in uniform) removed three
rifles from the house, and discharged one of them. The Chathams were
driven away in the back of a vehicle, then returned and told to pack
suitcases, before being escorted off the farm. Both have bruised and
bleeding arms as a consequence. They were allowed back on to the farm
today to pack up their house.

Many of the labour on the farms have been beaten or abused when they
attempted to assist the owners. In one case, several of the labour were
barricaded into a fenced enclosure until the farm owners handed over the
keys for the house. Another man, Elias Mlilo (65) was beaten up by war
veterans who demanded he hand over a hand held radio, whilst a pump
attendant on the same farm was beaten up for the radio he held. In most
cases, the workers have been told that they must collect their packages
and leave within the next few days.

Furthermore, a number of foreign nationals have been caught up in the
violence. On Thys de Vries' property in Lion's Den, two German hunting
clients were warned to vacate the premises yesterday. They did not wish
to do so, but in the face of verbal abuse and threats by armed police
support unit, left for Victoria Falls today. Two Australian nationals
holidaying on the same property are now in Bulawayo, and stated that
they were sincerely afraid for their lives. The de Vries have since been
forced to leave the property. This morning, the ZRP broke into the
homestead of Pier van Wyk, and threatened him and his Australian hunting
client, John Hahn. Pier advised John to take his vehicle and drive to
Victoria Falls. The police then demanded that van Wyk produce the keys
to his gun cabinet, but he informed them that the keys had gone his
client.

Current information indicates that this campaign is being directed from
as high up as the Governor (Obert Mpofu)'s office, and certain police
were informed to use force to get rid of the farmers "court papers mean
nothing".

_____________________________________________________________

OPEN LETTER FORUM: if you have any views or opinions that you would like
to air, please send them to
justice@telco.co.zw headed JAG Open Letter
Forum. We hope to have this facility available for anyone to voice their
opinions.

THE JAG TEAM

Hotlines:
(091) 317 264 If you are in trouble or need advice,
        (011) 205 374 please don't hesitate to contact us -
        (011) 863 354 we're here to help
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Natal Witness

More Zim brutality

76-year-old woman's hand broken by police

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

PORT ELIZABETH - Janet Nienaber of Jeffrey's Bay in the Eastern Cape was on
Thursday still in the dark about her elderly parents' fate after they were
forcibly removed from their farm in Zimbabwe on Wednesday.

Nienaber told Radio Algoa News that her parents, both 76, were arrested on
Wednesday on their farm between Bulawayo and Victoria Falls.

She said the Zimbabwean police planned to jail her parents but allowed them,
after prolonged arguments, to stay in a local hotel.

Nienaber still does not know where her parents are and if they are safe.

"The last I heard was from a cousin who was on her way to Bulawayo to pick
up my mother," Nienaber said.

She said her parents were served with an eviction order in December, but the
order was reversed recently. Her parents' farm borders a nature reserve and
is part of a conservancy.

"They have hunting rights and bring in a lot of forex.

The police arrived on the farm on Wednesday to arrest the couple.

Nienaber's mother, Ruth Chatam, was dragged from the house and shackled to a
police vehicle. She broke a hand in the process.

"She is 76 years old. Why did they have to shackle her?"

The police then returned to the house for Nienaber's father, Jim Chatam.

"My dad has a heart condition and my mum fought desperately to keep them
from harming him."

She said her mother begged the police not to put them in jail, because her
father regularly has to take medication after meals.

"They don't get food in jail. My brother was in jail and he didn't get a
scrap."

The police told Mrs Chatam that she could buy her own food in prison.

"She asked them what she would use; washers? He told her she could use her
watch to get money."

Nienaber said the police eventually relented and escorted her parents to a
hotel.

She said it is not only her parents she is worried about. Farmworkers are
suffering as a result of the evictions.

"I find it disgusting that so many farmworkers become homeless and
unemployed due to the evictions. The human rights violations are absolutely
gross.

She said chances are slim that her parents will come to South Africa.

"They're old, they want to stay in Zimbabwe."

She said they should be safe in a town.

"But for how long we don't know. At the moment it is the white farmers, when
will they turn on the white businessmen? We just don't know."
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Natal Witness

No Rubicons for Mbeki

Under Mbeki's flaccid leadership, a political split is unlikely

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

For President Thabo Mbeki to encounter a Rubicon, let alone to cross it, is
as unlikely as a split occurring in the ANC. Speculation about the formation
of a new left wing party is, therefore, difficult to credit.

This week's headlines about Mbeki taking a hard line towards the ANC's
alliance partners, Cosatu and the SACP, and the suggestion by Independent
Newspapers' group editor John Battersby that the whole political spotlight
is "swinging to the left", is fanciful. It should have long been apparent
that the main plank of Mbeki's policy platform is that of drift and
vacillation. As the head of Africa's most powerful economy, he enjoys
prominence and his statements are seen as authoritative. His excessive
overseas travels have added to his profile. Actions, however, speak louder
than words and credibility derives from actions.

In November 1998 Mbeki stated that he was firmly committed to stamping out
corruption and the abuse of public trust. He repeated that line a year later
in October 1999 at the International Anti-Corruption Conference in Durban.
Yet from bankrupt municipalities and provincial governments that fail to
deliver welfare grants to the arms deal, corruption and the redeployment of
those involved has virtually become the norm. The way in which Judge Willem
Heath's war on corruption was marginalised and eventually hobbled speaks
volumes for Mbeki's commitment on this issue. The role and efficacy of the
Public Protector in the deterrence of corruption, as the arms scandal
showed, leaves much to be desired. So for all his "get tough" hype, Mbeki's
track record on good governance, one of Nepad's key requirements, is little
better than that of a rudderless ship.

Denial, confusion and constitutional court cases about the administering of
anti-retroviral drugs characterise Mbeki's HIV/Aids odyssey. In what Tony
Leon has described as "inspired madness", Mbeki has stubbornly refused to
acknowledge the scientific diagnosis of the link between HIV and Aids. The
price Aids victims have paid for his dithering is incalculable and still
mounting.

As regards Zimbabwe, Mbeki's policy has mutated from quiet diplomacy to
quiet complicity. Since February 2000 when Robert Mugabe lost a referendum
on constitutional change and began unleashing state-sponsored terrorism on
Zimbabwean citizens, Mbeki has failed comprehensively to bring the tyrant to
heel. Even as millions of Zimbabweans starve and jackboot tyranny reigns,
Mbeki has refused to support the Australian government's view that sanctions
be applied to the Mugabe regime.

Although "Africa's Chamberlain", as this column once described Mbeki because
of his appeasement of Mugabe, talks loftily about democracy and good
governance as the vital components of Nepad and the African Renaissance, he
shies away from applying them to Zimbabwe. In failing to do so, Mbeki
himself has sabotaged Nepad. What credibility can it have overseas when its
primary author condones Stalinist tyranny on his borders ?

Admittedly Mbeki's posturing on Zimbabwe is little different from that of so
many other so-called leaders. Nonetheless, their hypocrisy is highlighted
when compared with the way the world once clamped sanctions on Rhodesia.
Although food was cheap and plentiful, education and medical facilities
often better than those in South Africa, tourism flourished and property was
secure, Rhodesia's crime was that it refused to agree to immediate majority
rule. Yet while Mugabe has systematically destroyed Zimbabwe, the world
remains indifferent.

The issue of privatisation of state assets over which Cosatu has been
striking, and which press reports suggest could split the tripartite
alliance, is not new. Since 1996 when the Gear policy was adopted by the ANC
government, the latterday Luddites of the SACP/Cosatu wing have opposed it.
Mbeki himself confidently predicted that by 2000 economic growth under Gear
would have reached 6,1% per annum. It should have and it would have if the
policy had been properly implemented. But each year since 1996 the
projections of growth failed to materialise as Cosatu and the SACP were
allowed to apply the handbrake while rigid and restrictive labour
legislation did the rest. Instead of unemployment being reduced, it has now
reached 42% while the economy has shed two million jobs since 1994.

In a milestone statement in the Sunday Independent on January 9, 2000,
finance minister Trevor Manuel boldly rejected socialist economics as having
the potential to grow the economy. Yet Mbeki failed to run that ball and its
logical line. Once again the policy of drift was preferred. So now, when the
Luddites claim Gear has failed, ostensibly they have a point. But, in fact,
it is Mbeki who has failed to see that Gear was given a chance to get to
work; in fact he has presided over the undermining of Gear. Yet he should
know, given his extensive travels, that neither socialism nor crony
capitalism attracts foreign investment.

So as Cosatu and the SACP flex their muscles with impunity, South Africa
under Mbeki's flaccid leadership can expect more of the same. And since the
ANC and its tripartite partners are all comfortably ensconced at the same
feeding trough, a political split is unlikely. Besides, with distinctions
between the party and the state having become so blurred, forming a new
political grouping would serve no purpose. Instead, among the great dangers
endemic to weak leadership is the flourishing of political fiefdoms and the
cronyism and corruption associated therewith.


a.. Duncan Du Bois is a DA Durban Metro ward councillor. He writes in his
personal capacity.
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Independent (UK)

Southern African leaders shut Mugabe out of senior regional role
By Basildon Peta
04 October 2002
Southern African leaders have barred the Zimbabwean President, Robert
Mugabe, from assuming a senior role in their 13-nation regional alliance.
Diplomatic sources said yesterday that they had feared his leadership would
destroy the organisation's reputation.

Mr Mugabe was scheduled to assume the rotating deputy chairmanship of the
Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), a post that would
automatically lead to him becoming its chairman a year later. Harare would
also have become the scheduled venue for next year's meeting. Instead, the
Tanzanian President, Benjamin Mkapa, was appointed to the post. Next year's
heads of state meeting will now be held in Tanzania.

Although regional leaders have refrained from directly attacking Mr Mugabe
over his drive to confiscate white-owned farms, diplomats said that in
behind-the-scenes discussions the leaders have persistently tried to rein in
the Zimbabwean leader.

The new SADC chairman, the Angolan President, Jose Eduardo dos Santos, his
predecessor, the Malawian President, Bakili Muluzi, and the body's executive
secretary, Prega Ramsamy, all emphasised the need for regional stability
during the summit's opening ceremony this week.

An official privy to the SADC's deliberations said: "The SADC leaders have
been criticised by Europe for turning a blind eye to Mugabe's excesses. By
keeping him away from the leadership of SADC, they hope they can
diplomatically make the world understand that they disagree with his
policies."

Zimbabwe's state media had this week celebrated the country's impending
assumption of the deputy chairmanship. TheHerald newspaper quoted officials
saying they were excited about the appointment. However, the state media
said yesterday that Mr Mugabe had chosen not to take the post owing to other
"pressing commitments" at home. The Herald said Zimbabwe was happy to pass
on the post so it could concentrate on its land seizures.

An unnamed diplomat said: "The whole reorganisation of the SADC bureau was
unscheduled and is meant to send a message to Zimbabwe that the region
values peace, security, stability and respect for greater democratisation."

Another diplomat said: "The heads of state and government did not have to
discuss Zimbabwe's land reform directly. Their actions sent the right
signal."

Mr Mugabe is widely seen as a liability in the region, which is faced with a
devastating famine and is desperate to attract Western investment.
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Environmental News Network

Namibia says it may expropriate white farms

Friday, October 04, 2002
By Zoe Eisenstein, Reuters


LUANDA, Namibia - Namibia may expropriate white-owned farms for
redistribution to landless blacks if white farmers continue to resist land
reform, a senior minister said on Thursday.
Against the backdrop of Zimbabwe's controversial land drive, Foreign
Minister Hidipo Hamutenya said his government was frustrated at the slow
pace of land transfers under Namibia's official willing-seller,
willing-buyer policy. He blamed the delays on reluctant white farmers.

"There is a (provision) in our constitution that private assets can be
expropriated in the public interest," he said. "Fair and just compensation
must be provided to those who had laid claim to that property before."

He said no decision had been taken yet on expropriation, but farmers would
be compensated for their land, and he did not foresee Zimbabwe-style land
seizures in his country. Zimbabwe's often violent land seizures have helped
to plunge the region's second largest economy into crisis.

"So the government might go for expropriation. We may not have to see it if
people can be reasonable," said Hamutenya, who was speaking on the sidelines
of a regional summit in Angola.

Indigenous Namibian tribal groups lost almost all their property during the
1904-07 colonial war with Germany. Namibia, formerly South West Africa,
became a South African protectorate when Germany lost World War I, and it
won independence in 1990. White farmers currently own about 30 million
hectares (75 million acres) of the land in Namibia, while blacks hold 2.2
million hectares (5.4 million acres).

Hamutenya said 192 farms owned by absentee landlords would be first on the
list if expropriation became government policy.

ALARM BELLS

Namibian President Sam Nujoma raised alarm bells last month when he backed
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's program to acquire without compensation
2,900 of the country's 4,500 white-owned commercial farms for black
resettlement.

Nujoma said last month the willing-buyer, willing-seller policy was "too
slow, cumbersome, and very costly" and his government may look at other
legal means to acquire land.

Foreign investors want to see orderly land reform in the region but are
worried that illegal land grabs could spread. Those concerns have helped
undermine the value of the South African rand, to which the Namibian dollar
is pegged.

Hamutenya said his government had appealed to the European Union to help
fund land reform in Namibia. The government sets aside 20 million Namibian
dollars (US$1.9 million) annually for land purchases, but white farmers say
its not enough. Last year, they offered the government 171 farms, but only
20 farms were bought.

"We want the E.U. to make a contribution, to give us money for those
reforms. Once they've agreed to the principle that they will contribute,
then we'll talk about the figures," he said.

Namibia was not among the six southern African countries listed by the
United Nations as facing the threat of famine this year. But some 300,000
Namibians will need food aid this year. Hamutenya said his government had
set aside 100 million Namibian dollars to handle emergencies such as the
drought this year, and he did not foresee the need for foreign aid.

Southern African leaders urged foreign donors on Wednesday to speed up food
and debt relief for the region, where more than 14 million people in
Zimbabwe, Zambia, Lesotho, Malawi, Swaziland, and Mozambique face
starvation.

(Additional reporting by Manoah Esipisu)
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News24

SADC leaders rally round Mugabe


Luanda - Leaders from the 14 nations of the Southern African Development
Community (SADC) again rallied behind Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe on
Thursday, after a two-day summit that ended with few concrete decisions.

Zimbabwe's neighbours have largely remained mute on the ongoing crisis in a
once vibrant nation that now needs international aid to feed its population.

A final declaration said "the summit pledged continued support" for Mugabe,
who briefed the delegates on his controversial land reform programmes. The
reforms, and Mugabe's controversial re-election in March, have been slammed
by some Western governments, which have slapped sanctions on his regime.

"We are convinced that the ongoing land reform in that country is aimed at
the rational, fair and equitable distribution of land to be used for the
benefit of the people of Zimbabwe," Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa said
at the summit's closing ceremony.

"We in SADC remain united in appreciating the need for, and supporting, land
reform in Zimbabwe," he said.

Zimbabwe denies charges that the scheme to expropriate white-owned farms and
turn them over to the black majority has contributed to the food crisis by
slashing production.

Harvests of maize, the staple grain, have fallen by more than 70% since
Mugabe's land reforms began two years ago.

Starvation

Almost half of the nearly 13 million people currently at risk of starvation
in drought-stricken southern Africa live in Zimbabwe, according to UN
statistics.

The country, once an exporter of grains, suffered a 1.8 million ton
shortfall during the last harvest, which has contributed to the shortages in
neighbouring countries.

The effects of Zimbabwe's isolation by Western countries burst into the
discussions in the Angolan capital Luanda.

Diplomats said bitter debates took place among SADC leaders over a US
decision not to take part in an annual meeting with SADC if a Zimbabwean
delegation attends.

The SADC-US Forum is an annual meeting to review US development projects and
other affairs in the region.

The United States did not recognise Mugabe's re-election in March, citing
widespread political violence and claims of vote fraud, and considers his
government illegitimate.

Delegates at the summit debated how to continue the meetings, possibly at a
less formal level with a SADC team from a few nations representing the
interests the region. SADC officials had wanted the meeting to take place in
Malawi before the year ends.

Angola praised

While the summit did not agree to take any specific action on the regional
famine, Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos urged the region to "lead
a true crusade against famine" and "to reduce the suffering" of people
affected by the food shortages.

"We should give a collective response to the great challenges of poverty,
education, health, food security and combatting terrorism," he said.

The statement also thanked the UN World Food Programme and South Africa for
their efforts to combat the famine and severe drought affecting six SADC
nations.

The two-day meeting was the first among SADC heads of state and government
to take place in Angola, which ended a 27-year civil war with a ceasefire on
April 4.

The summit repeatedly praised Angola for making its ceasefire stick and
declared support for recent peace efforts in the neighbouring Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC).

A final declaration voiced support for Angola's "ongoing efforts aimed at
providing assistance to demobilised soldiers, orphans, internally displaced
people and the population affected" by the civil war.

The SADC nations are Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo,
Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, the Seychelles, South
Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. - Sapa-AFP
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Globe and Mail (Canada)

White MP vows to fight Mugabe

Fourth generation Zimbabwean told to go
back to Britain after he released damaging video


      By COLIN FREEZE




      Friday, October 4, 2002 - Page A11


      The only place in Zimbabwe for Roy Bennett is jail, according to
President Robert Mugabe, but the farmer-turned-parliamentarian is unbowed
after spending last weekend in that very place.

      Mr. Bennett, who visited Canada in August in an effort to drum up
opposition to the Mugabe government's controversial land-distribution
policies, was arrested during last weekend's local council elections after
the ruling ZANU-PF party tried to buy voters off with corn.

      Mr. Mugabe maintains that the land program, meant to put white
Zimbabweans' farmland in the hands of poor blacks, will reverse a
decades-old legacy of British colonialism.

      Critics say the policy mainly benefits his cronies and makes the land
less productive, wreaking havoc in a region already hit hard by drought and
sickness.

      "Food is being used as a political weapon," Mr. Bennett said. The
government "is in full control of the food distribution."

      He vowed to keep fighting against what he called "a total police
state, where there is no rule of law."

      Now free on bail, Mr. Bennett described how his jailers made racist
taunts as three uniformed police officers stomped on his legs and feet for
half an hour.

      "They said things like, 'You're a white pig; get out of Zimbabwe,' and
'We don't want any whites in Zimbabwe,' " said Mr. Bennett, whose family has
been in the country for four generations.

      Mr. Bennett clearly has a powerful enemy in Mr. Mugabe, who was quoted
in the British press last month saying that Mr. Bennett and his family
members "are not part of our society. They belong to Britain, and let them
go there. If they want to stay here, we will say, 'Stay here, but your place
is in jail.' "

      The jailing of one white MP -- a member of Zimbabwe's main opposition
party, the Movement for Democratic Change -- was only one aspect of the
elections that the U.S. State Department and other foreign observers say was
neither fair nor credible.

      Citing Mr. Mugabe's election tactics and land policy, Canadian
Alliance MP Keith Martin held a press conference in Ottawa yesterday, urging
the government to expel Zimbabwe's high commissioner and lead an
international movement to have the Zimbabwean leader tried for crimes
against humanity.

      "Thirteen million people are going to die, and it's not on anybody's
radar screen," Mr. Martin said earlier this week.

      Mr. Bennett, meanwhile, said widespread intimidation prevented his
party from fielding candidates in about half the ridings on the weekend.
Reports of police violence against MDC members continue to emerge, including
a story of five teenaged MDC activists who were allegedly beaten by police,
then charged with inciting violence.

      Making matters worse, Mr. Bennett said, ZANU-PF threatened to withhold
food aid from people planning to vote against Mr. Mugabe's party.

      He recounted how during Saturday's trip to a rural polling station, he
saw "a whole crowd of people congregated around a bag of maize" dropped off
by a ZANU-PF truck.

      At midday Sunday, after releasing his videotape to the local news
media, Mr. Bennett and two supporters were stopped by police and
intelligence officers who blocked their path with a Land Rover and a Toyota
pickup, he said.

      Threatened with a gun, they were tossed in a cell holding several
other men who complained of not having eaten for four days. Despite stifling
heat of 42 degrees Celsius, they had no access to water.

      After being beaten, they were released on bail the next evening, Mr.
Bennett said.

      He said he was initially arrested for contravening the Land
Acquisition Act. Then the charges switched to violating the country's access
to information act because he filmed the elections.

      Chief police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena told the Reuters News Agency
that Mr. Bennett was arrested for "practising as a journalist without
accreditation."
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East London Dispatch

Investment in farmer relocation questioned

Zim scheme faces EC probe

Investigation by Daily Dispatch Business Editor Eddie Botha

EAST LONDON -- Police here have been asked to investigate an investment
scheme which claims that it aims to relocate white Zimbabwe farmers to
Mozambique with British government funds.

But when contacted by the Daily Dispatch the British High Commission in
Pretoria denied that its government is involved in an R800million
agricultural development project to relocate white Zimbabwean farmers, as
claimed by the scheme organisers.

In a sworn statement to the Gonubie police, businessman Steve Audie said
that on June 24 he had met an agent for the scheme, Ian Inch, who told him
he was involved with a project to relocate the Zimbabwe farmers.

Audie said Inch told him the British government had made R800m (£50m)
available for the project, but that the farmers had to go to Britain to sign
contracts and needed money for that purpose.

At the centre of the scheme is Edward George Christopher Ryan, whose address
was given as Edgeview Road, Beacon Bay.

According to the contract, which Audie signed with Ryan, Audie would receive
10 times his investment amount after six to seven weeks. Audie said this
week he had not received any of the promised funds.

On the same day that he signed the contract, Inch also signed a sworn
statement in which he acknowledged to personally be indebted to Audie for
the investment amount payable in monthly installments of R1000 should Audie
not receive his original investment and returns within two months.

Meanwhile the owner of a cash loan business, Andre Linde, confirmed that
both Ryan and another of his agents, Paul Zietsman, who is supposed to
handle Ryan's affairs in South Africa, had been renting office space at his
East London business premises.

According to the contract which investors concluded with Ryan, investments
will be paid "at the completion of the first phase for the Zimbabwe Farmers
Relocation project".

Ryan, who is now in London, told the Dispatch that he was finalising the
project. "This is not the smallest of projects that I have handled in my
life. It is a major achievement," said Ryan.

"We worked with the British government. I had meetings with British Members
of Parliament and different major banks to put the transaction together."

Ryan said he had already spoken to major institutions which had agreed to
sign surety for the project.

British High Commission spokesman Nick Sheppard said the Foreign Office's
Zimbabwe desk was not aware of such a project. "It certainly does not have
the British government's backing. We are still concerned with land reform in
Zimbabwe but not with the intent to relocate farmers to Mozambique."

Sheppard said even if private funds were being used for such a project, the
British government would not endorse it.

Ryan said his project, which was aimed at the development of agriculture in
Mozambique, was being supported by farmers all over the world. Despite the
wording of the contract, which specifically referred to the relocation of
Zimbabwean farmers, Ryan said: "Don't even mention Zimbabwean farmers."

Ryan said he had forwarded documents to local attorney Hannes Schoeman which
were "for his eyes only".

He warned that any negative publicity about the project would "jeopardise
the opportunities for 500000 starving people in Mozambique, the creation of
jobs and the new agricultural development in Mozambique".

When asked why, in the case of one investor, no returns had been paid
despite a seven-week guarantee period, he said: "Well let's be honest, when
you start a big business, things sometimes do not happen on time."

Schoeman said he knew about the project and had received a call from Ryan on
Tuesday to say that someone would come and see him about it.

He said other than that he had no involvement and he had made it clear to
Ryan that he needed written proof about the project from him.
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Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe
September 23 - September 29 2002
Media Update # 2002-35

CONTENTS
*   General comment
*   Local government elections coverage
*   International relations- Troika attacked


1. GENERAL COMMENT

The recent local government and Hurungwe West elections pitting mainly
ZANU PF candidates against those of the opposition Movement for
Democratic Change further exposed the public media's unwavering support
for the ruling party.
Admittedly, the Commonwealth Troika's meeting on Zimbabwe was an
important story but should not have eclipsed the media's educational role in
providing basic voter education. Instead, the media provided scant
information on the voters' roll, how people were to vote and where they were
to cast their ballots.
While the private media focused on the violence and anomalies that
characterized the electoral process, the public media carried stories that
qualified as public relations for Zanu PF masquerading as news.
For example, ZTV had about 12 stories related to the elections in the
monitored main bulletins. These included donations and "official" launches
of
rural development programmes such as an irrigation scheme in Tsholotsho.
Of the 12 stories, 10 (83%) portrayed ZANU PF positively with the remainder
(17%) denigrating the MDC.  A total of 31 minutes and 25 seconds were
allocated to stories related to the elections. Of these, 22 minutes and 45
seconds (72%) was used for positive coverage of ZANU PF, while eight
minutes and 45 seconds (28%) were spent on discrediting the MDC.
Radio 3FM had 13 reports related to the elections. ZANU PF was positively
portrayed in eight (62%) of the stories, while five stories (38%) were used
to
malign the MDC.
Radio Zimbabwe's four reports on the elections denounced the MDC as well
as favouring ZANU PF and its policies.
Part VIII of the Broadcasting Services Act (2001), which relates to the
public service obligations of licencees, states: "Every licensee shall,
when providing an information service, provide a fair, balanced,
accurate and complete service." The Fourth Schedule (Standard
Conditions of Licences) of the same Act 2(1) states: "If, during an election
period, a broadcaster broadcasts election matter, the broadcaster
shall give reasonable and equal opportunities for the broadcasting of
election matter to all parties contesting the election."
ZBC remains the country's sole licensed national free to air broadcaster in
Zimbabwe. However, more than a year after the enactment of the
Broadcasting Services Act, the broadcaster has shown no signs of moving
towards compliance with the law. It is this failure to abide by these
regulations that reveals an urgent need for alternative broadcasters in the
country.
Sadly, the licensing of the only other national broadcasting service, as
required by law, remains a pipe dream.


2. LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS COVERAGE

In its coverage of the elections, ZBC failed to inform the electorate on how
to
vote and most importantly where to vote. The broadcaster merely quoted the
Electoral Supervisory Commission (ESC) commending the progress on
preparations for the elections and the voting process itself. For example,
ZTV
(27/09, 8pm) quoted ESC spokesman Thomas Bvuma expressing satisfaction
with "the general electoral process" adding that "there may be some
problems here and there but they are not to the extent that the ESC
would want to make a big deal out of it".
There was no attempt to investigate the problems referred to.
Bvuma made similar remarks earlier in the week in The Herald (24/9) article
"All areas peaceful ahead of polls".
Similarly, 3FM (27/09, 8pm) vaguely reported that the ESC had conducted
voter education before the elections with no further information.

Furthermore, ZTV (27/09, 8pm) merely quoted the Registrar General Tobaiwa
Mudede stating that a "national voters' roll.based on the wards" would be
used adding that "people have to go and vote in the wards in which they
stay, in which they live and in the wards in which they registered".
Just like ZBC, the public Press carried piecemeal information on the
electoral
process as illustrated by The Herald (24/9), (26/9) and (27/9), The Sunday
Mail and The Sunday News (29/9).
While Bvuma insisted, in the public media, that the ESC had not received
reports of violence, The Standard (29/9) quoted him saying: "The ESC
received reports from monitors of incidents of politically motivated
violence. Most of the cases involved mutual accusations by political
parties. They included skirmishes between MDC and ZANU PF. Some
cases were corroborated by the police, others were not."
ZBC (ZTV, Radio Zimbabwe, 29/09, 8pm) quoted Bvuma alleging the paper
had mutilated the statement to suit its editorial slant.

However, The Standard reported the axing to death of MDC activist Nikoniari
Chabvamudeve by suspected ZANU PF supporters in Hurungwe West and
quoted a police spokesperson (Bothwell Mugariri) confirming the incident.
The
paper also reported that a teacher in the same province who was forced into
hiding by ZANU PF youths after they found him with MDC cards.
Meanwhile, The Daily News (23/9) reported that more than 300 ZANU PF
supporters had attacked residents of Trojan Nickel Mine Village, Bindura,
after the residents failed to attend a ZANU PF rally held at the mine's
stadium.
The village is regarded as an MDC stronghold.
Although the paper allegedly failed to access comments from the police or
ZANU PF, it quoted MDC officials and one victim of the violence, five-month
pregnant Eunice Levi saying she had been "prodded in the stomach by
some of the (ZANU PF) youths who accused her of faking her
pregnancy".
Similar stories were carried in The Daily News (27/9), The Daily Mirror
(27/9),
The Financial Gazette (26/9) and SW Radio Africa. SW Radio Africa carried
over 12 incidents of political violence allegedly perpetrated by ZANU PF
supporters. The station also reported in its bulletins that ZANU PF was
allegedly bribing the electorate with food.
Conversely, the only stories on politically motivated violence carried in
the
public media were those allegedly committed against ZANU PF supporters by
the MDC.
Even then, such stories as illustrated by, Police deployed as MDC youths go
on the rampage in Chitungwiza, The Herald (27/9) were vague and lacked
detailed information.
Nowhere in the story were readers told specifically in which part of the
town
the violence took place. Neither were the victims of the violence named.
A police spokesperson was quoted vaguely saying after the attack in "the
area" the MDC youths "proceeded with their violent nature in Unit D,
Seke".
Likewise, ZBC suffocated reports on violence prior to the elections and
restricted itself to official comments denying allegations. However, police
spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena's (ZBC, 29/09, 8pm) let the cat out of the bag:
"Yes, there have been some murders but it is not as reported in the
Standard. If there is anyone who has substantive information that can
assist us in any way we appeal to such individuals to come forward so
that they can assist us in our investigations".
His admission that there was violence was allowed to pass without being
asked to give further details on the "murders".
Only readers of the private Press, for instance, learnt about calls by the
Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) on the international
community to reject the outcome of the council elections because of, among
other accusations, government's "too profound" and "too pervasive.
repressive campaign against the opposition parties", The Zimbabwe
Independent (27/9).
However, both the public and private media reported on the MDC's High Court
petition seeking the postponement of the elections, citing widespread
violence
and intimidation resulting in the opposition failing to field 700 candidates
in
the 1,397 contested wards.
Nonetheless, on the day the judgment was due, the public media led by The
Herald (27/9) gave prominence to government propaganda, "deriding the
MDC for again going to the courts to postpone its certain
embarrassment at the polls".
ZBC (all stations, 27/09, 8pm) picked up the story and reported that the
High
Court judge, Justice Benjamin Paradza had thrown out an MDC court
application saying the matter was "not urgent". The public broadcaster did
not even bother to give a critical analysis of the ruling. Instead, Radio
Zimbabwe (28/09, 6am) trivialised the MDC's case saying the party was "well
known for going to courts over election issues".
Similarly, the Chronicle (28/9) conveniently used the High Court ruling to
campaign for ZANU PF and malign the MDC. The paper tried to present the
MDC as a party that had no support. It referred to two court cases in which
MDC aspiring candidates were allegedly arrested for forging signatures after
they failed to get enough people to nominate them.
While ZBC ridiculed the MDC for going to court, SW Radio Africa (26/09 &
27/09) highlighted flaws within the electoral process, which forced the MDC
to
seek legal recourse. The short wave station quoted (26/09) MDC's David
Coltart stating that the electoral playing field was completely subverted
adding
that the MDC had not received the voters' roll, among other issues.
After the ruling, The Daily News (28/09) quoted MDC secretary-general
Welshman Ncube echoing Coltart's earlier sentiments on SW Radio Africa
(27/09). Ncube stated that the judgment confirmed their "worst fears about
the judiciary". Responding to Justice Paradza's assertion that the MDC's
case was not urgent as the party knew about the dates of the elections well
in
advance, Ncube observed: "The nomination courts took place two to three
weeks ago.to get all the facts in respect of the 700 wards spread
across the country, you need more than a few days or a week. You need
all the 700 candidates to give evidence on what happened in their
wards."


3. INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS: TROIKA ATTACKED

The public media took a racial stance in celebrating the decision by the
Commonwealth Troika not to expel Zimbabwe from the Commonwealth and
described the outcome as "another diplomatic victory" for the country. The
Australian Prime Minister John Howard, who chairs the troika, was accused
(ZTV and 3FM, 23/09, 8pm) of "peddling Britain's interest on the land
issue in Zimbabwe".
Dividing the troika on racial lines, ZTV (23/09, 8pm) news reader stated:
"Analysts say the Commonwealth troika meeting on Zimbabwe in Abuja
Nigeria smacks of racism and hypocrisy as evidenced by attempts to
shift the problem from land to other areas such as the rule of law and
good governance".
In addition, the reporter stated: "Analysts are questioning the sincerity of
the Commonwealth troika. Many are asking whether this is not an
extension of the British plan to recover from its humiliation (sic) defeat
at the just ended Earth summit in Johannesburg and the 57th UN general
assembly when the land question was explicitly explained by President
Mugabe."
No analysts were quoted.
However, more startling was ZTV's attempt, in the same bulletin, to link the
Zimbabwean crisis with the Middle East conflict, saying the two were "indeed
similar and bring to the fore the double standards of the western
imperialist forces of paying a blind eye to any conflict in which no white
man falls victim".
The Foreign Affairs Minister Stan Mudenge, who was quoted inviting the
troika
to Zimbabwe to "get the correct picture", attacked the Commonwealth
secretary general Don McKinnon whom he accused of misrepresenting facts
on Zimbabwe describing him as the "hatchet man of British imperialism
and machinations".
One of ZTV's favourite commentators, the Southern African Institute for
Democracy and Good Governance Executive Director, William Nhara
repeatedly described Howard as "the coward" saying the troika decision
"illustrates that the issue of the so-called crisis in Zimbabwe is nothing
more than a racist attempt to manipulate the on-going land reform in
Zimbabwe".
The stance was not different in the public Press. The papers (24/09)
preoccupied themselves with defending Mugabe for not attending the Abuja
meeting and allocated space to Minister Mudenge to spew his vitriolic attack
on Howard and McKinnon.
In its follow-up, The Herald (25/9) parroted government's attempts to
present
its feud with the Commonwealth as that between African and white members
of the Club. In fact, its front-page headline Africans make a stand
eloquently
captured the paper's thrust.
To reinforce the notion that Zimbabwe has cordial relations with African
countries, The Sunday Mail (29/09) published a letter Mugabe wrote to Mbeki
congratulating him for successfully hosting the recent Earth Summit.
However, The Zimbabwe Independent belied such observations when it
quoted Botswana's ruling party, the Botswana Democratic Party (BDH),
saying the Zimbabwean crisis has had negative effects on their country's
economy.
BDP official Ponatshego Kedikilwe was quoted castigating Zimbabwe's land
reform programme saying: "It is important for the State to be in control.
But an impression has been created that the government in Zimbabwe
has lost control of the situation, which is just as dangerous as the
situation of a driver who has lost control of his vehicle".
Nonetheless, the public Press - echoing government sentiments - still
maintained that the "white Commonwealth," as personified by Britain,
Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, is the author of Zimbabwe's problems.
Howard particularly came under government fire for insisting that the
situation
in Zimbabwe had worsened.
Information Minister Jonathan Moyo, in a Reuter's report carried in The
Daily
News (24/9), cynically observed: "Howard comes from a country where
there are plenty of Kangaroos, but it is disgraceful of him to try to turn
the Commonwealth into a Kangaroo court".
The Sunday Mail (29/9) was similarly uncharitable in its racist and foul-
mouthed feature: Who is this timid Howard?
In fact, the paper's quest to blame the West for the Zimbabwean crisis was
demonstrated by its sensational front-page story Danes strike again. Besides
the use of a dramatised headline, the story subjectively accused the Danish
government of "pouring in" millions of dollars in support of an anti-land
reform programme organisation, the Zimbabwe Farmers' Union Development
Trust (ZFUDT).
The private media interpreted these developments differently.
For example, SW Radio Africa (23/09 & 25/09) quoted MDC leader Morgan
Tsvangirai expressing his disappointment with Obasanjo and Mbeki whom he
accused of "giving Mugabe sufficient time to destroy the opposition and
the farming community".
The Financial Gazette (26/09) dismissed the notion that the outcome of the
Abuja meeting was a victory. Instead, it predicted that more countries were
likely to isolate Zimbabwe while the political and economic crisis
deteriorated.
Political analyst Masipula Sithole stated: "Those in the government who are
euphoric about Mbeki and Obasanjo's stance in Abuja are better advised
to watch the events of the next six months."
The paper also carried a report in which former US president Bill Clinton
described the Zimbabwe crisis as a "burden" to Africa. The same story was
also carried by The Daily News of the same day.
In addition, The Financial Gazette ran an unconfirmed report that Mbeki and
Obasanjo were pushing for the resumption of reconciliation talks between the
MDC and ZANU PF in a bid to resolve the Zimbabwean crisis.
Similarly, The Daily News (27/9) also reported on mounting international
pressure against Zimbabwe.
Notwithstanding these factors, the public Press maintained there was no
crisis
in Zimbabwe. The Herald (24/9) used the visiting Belgian Davis Cup team to
underscore the fact. The paper stated, while in the country, the team was
"charmed by the hospitality of the people" despite "unsubstantiated
allegations" by the European Union and the Western media about "an
unstable economic and political climate" in Zimbabwe.
Ends

The MEDIA UPDATE was produced by the Media Monitoring Project
Zimbabwe, 15 Duthie Avenue, Alexandra Park, Harare, Tel/fax: 263 4 703702,
E-mail:
monitors@mweb.co.zw
Feel free to write to MMPZ. We may not be able to respond to everything but
we will look at each letter.
For previous reports and more information about MMPZ, please visit our
website at http://www.mmpz.org.zw
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Daily News

      MPs walk out of Parliament

      10/4/02 9:19:51 AM (GMT +2)


      Staff Reporter

      MDC MPs stormed out of Parliament on Wednesday, demanding an immediate
stop to the intimidation, violence and arrest of ordinary citizens and
elected MPs.


      The MPs demanded the restoration of the rule of law and the setting up
of a commission of inquiry into allegations of torture against the police,
the army and the CIO. The MPs immediately walked out after their chief whip,
Innocent Gonese, was ejected from the House after he tried to read the
petition.

      The Speaker, Emmerson Mnangagwa, would not allow Gonese to read the
petition. The MPs headed for the Police General Headquarters (PGHQ) to hand
the petition to Chihuri. They streamed out to the jeers and shouts of
"Shame!" from the government benches. The MDC spokesman, Paul Themba-Nyathi,
said later: "The business of the House cannot continue as usual when elected
MPs and their supporters are everyday being subjected to violence and
torture."

      Gonese said several opposition MPs had been arrested on "spurious
allegations" in the last few weeks. He cited Roy Bennet, the MP for
Chimanimani, arrested and allegedly beaten up by the police in the rural
district elections held at the weekend.

      He said Tichaona Munyanyi, the MP for Mbare East, was in police
custody after being picked up at his home on Tuesday night. He said the MP
was being accused of involvement in the murder of Ali Khan Manjengwa, a Zanu
PF activist killed last month.

      At the PGHQ, the MPs could not see Chihuri. Welshman Ncube and Gonese,
said a senior police official told them to take their petition to Kembo
Mohadi, the Minister of Home Affairs.

      Part of their petition reads: "The Zanu PF government has promoted
lawlessness, the abuse and misuse of the rule of law, the systematic
politically motivated arrests of members of the opposition, the severe
torture of those placed in police custody by both the police and the CIO and
the increasing incidents of indiscriminate beatings and assaults on members
of the public and particularly members of the opposition by the army or
persons dressed in army uniform."
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Daily News

      Land allocation corrupt, say war vets

      10/4/02 9:26:22 AM (GMT +2)


      By Precious Shumba

      THE war veterans' movement yesterday said the government's land
resettlement programme is riddled with corruption and nepotism.


      They alleged district administrators (DAs) and provincial
administrators (PAs) were accepting bribes to allocate land.

      They warned of serious problems if the exercise was not carried out
transparently.

      Patrick Nyaruwata, the chairman of the Zimbabwe National Liberation
War Veterans' Association (ZNLWVA), told journalists in Harare his
association supported President Mugabe's land initiative.

      "But we are unhappy with the allocation," he said. "The government
should value those brave war veterans who led the farm invasions and assist
them. We will ask why we fought for the land if it is not transparent.

      "Those people who were given the job to administer the land exercise
at district and provincial levels have not done so." Nyaruwata said there
had been an increase in complaints from war veterans across the country.

      Endy Mhlanga, the Znlwva secretary-general, said the DAs and PAs were
promoting corruption by accepting bribes. He said the association would
carry out a national land audit to expose the corruption of the land
committees.

      Mhlanga said the audit would be completed by the end of this month or
early November.
      A national executive meeting of the ZNLWVA would be held on 12 October
in Harare to assess progress of the land reform.

      Agrippa Gava, the association's national director, said the Ministry
of Lands, Agriculture and Rural Resettlement had done its best to fulfil the
land agenda, but the war veterans were unhappy with the land committees.

      Gava alleged that several war veterans had been evicted from the
farms, including 10 in Selous, near Chegutu, evicted from a farm formerly
owned by Colin Cloete, the Commercial Farmers' Union president. Gava said
war veterans and other settlers living at some farms since 2000 were being
removed by the district and provincial land committees under unclear
circumstances.

      "If there is no bribery, how have whites become so special? Cloete was
ordered to leave, but he remains on the farm. The DAs and PAs are
frustrating the land reform programme."

      Nyaruwata said the government should ensure that tractors, irrigation
equipment and combine harvesters were not sold.

      He said the government should buy the equipment so that it remained on
the farms to be used by the new farmers.
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Daily News

      MP remanded for Manjengwa murder

      10/4/02 9:26:53 AM (GMT +2)


      Staff Reporter

      Harare magistrate Wilbert Mandinde yesterday remanded Tichaona Jefter
Munyanyi, the Mbare East MP, in custody on a charge of murdering Zanu PF
activist Ali Khan Manjengwa in Mbare on 22 August.


      Mandinde remanded him to 25 October and advised him to apply to the
High Court for bail.

      Munyanyi is the fourth member of the MDC to be remanded in connection
with the murder of Manjengwa in Nenyere flats in Mbare.

      Solomon Chikowero, 38, and Linos Mushonga, 36, are out on bail of $15
000 each granted by the High Court on 13 September, while Joshua Rusere, 36,
was remanded in custody to 16 October.

      Ralph Maganga, Munyanyi's lawyer, said he expected the application for
bail to be heard in the High Court by Tuesday next week.
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Daily News

      Two inmates die in overcrowded prison

      10/4/02 9:27:37 AM (GMT +2)


      From Brian Mangwende in Mutare

      OVERCROWDING at Rusape Prison is reported to have led to the death of
two inmates on Tuesday and the admission of two others to Rusape General
Hospital.


      Joseph Musakwa, the Director of Public Prosecutions, confirmed
yesterday he had received reports of the incident but said he was waiting
for specific details of the tragedy. He said: "I have heard about it, but I
have yet to receive details on the matter."

      Other sources at the prison said the holding capacity of the jail was
100 people yet over 325 prisoners were detained there.

      While the deceased were yet to be identified, those hospitalised were
named only as Blessed and Muchemeyi.

      As a result of the tragedy, the source said at least 30 inmates had
been transferred from Rusape to Mutare Prison in an effort to reduce the
overcrowding. A Rusape magistrate immediately remanded out of custody at
least 20 others held for petty crimes.

      But Rusape's chief prison officer who identified himself only as
Muzariwetu, emphatically denied any knowledge of the incident and referred
all questions to the prison headquarters in Harare. He said: "I am unaware
of what you are talking about."

      Frankie Meki, the Zimbabwe Prison Services' spokesman, could not be
reached for comment yesterday.

      Meanwhile, Police in Manicaland last week said crime in the province
had increased owing to economic hardship.

      An officer at the police stand at the Mutare Agricultural Show which
ended last Sunday said crimes such as rape, indecent assault, sexual
harassment, incest and trafficking in contraband were on the increase.

      The officer said: "The general increase in crime is caused by the
prevalent economic hardships."
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Daily News

      Fuel still in short supply

      10/4/02 9:29:05 AM (GMT +2)


      Staff Reporters

      MOST service stations in Harare and Bulawayo have not received fuel
supplies
      during the past four days, causing severe shortages which have left
most workers stranded as hundreds of commuter omnibuses remain grounded.


      Several filling stations in Harare said they had very little supplies
of petrol and no diesel at all. There were long queues at the few stations
with fuel.

      A service station attendant in Bulawayo who declined to be named said
the station last received supplies on Friday and it ran out by Saturday
afternoon as motorists rushed to buy it.

      He said the supplies were arriving by road and not by rail as is the
usual.

      "We have been receiving fuel from trucks and this is obviously a
slower process than if it comes by rail. It takes longer to unload it from
trucks than from rail wagons," said the attendant.

      The Government claims the fuel shortage is being caused only by
panic-buying.

      Another attendant at a filling station along Bulawayo's Jason Moyo
Avenue said they have been receiving lesser supplier than what they normally
require because the fuel is coming by road.

      Most of the affected service stations are those within the city centre
while those that are outside the city had limited supplies.

      The latest shortages are contrary to government assurance that there
is enough fuel in the country.

      The newly appointed Minister of Energy and Power Development Amos
Midzi said recently that the country had enough fuel supplies.
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Daily News

      State land grab officers not paid for six months

      10/4/02 9:29:51 AM (GMT +2)


      From Our Correspondent in Gweru

      THE government has still not paid the salaries and allowances of more
than
      4 500 agricultural extension workers hurriedly recruited six months
ago for the fast-track resettlement programme.


      Officials at the provincial offices of the Department of Agricultural
Technical and Extension Services in Gweru confirmed on Wednesday that all
the hastily recruited extension workers throughout the country had not been
paid since May because the government had no money.

      Some of the workers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, claimed Dr
Joseph Made, the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, and Rural Resettlement, had
declined to address them over the issue of their unpaid salaries.

      The department falls under Made's ministry. "We have resolved to
petition the minister and probably get a written undertaking from him
indicating when we will get paid all the outstanding salaries and allowances
for the last six months," said a spokesman for the workers.

      The workers were promised salaries and allowances ranging between $25
000 and $30 000 a month. To complicate their plight, the workers have not
been formally registered with the Public Service Commission and are still to
receive their confirmation letters from the ministry.

      Hudson Mabika, the chief agricultural extension officer for the
Midlands province, declined to comment, pleading for the issue not to be
published.

      "Are you publishing that information? Please don't," Mabika said. Made
could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.

      In April, the government recruited thousands of agricultural extension
officers to help the newly-resettled farmers in all the provinces.

      An advertisement published in the State-owned newspapers invited
agricultural graduates and retired trained agricultural practitioners under
70 years of age to apply and attend interviews at district offices.
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Daily News

      Farm invaders defy court order

      10/4/02 9:30:33 AM (GMT +2)


      From Our Correspondent in Masvingo

      SCORES of villagers who invaded a former Zanu PF MP's farm near
Mashava in Masvingo have defied a High Court order to vacate the property.


      The invaders had until Tuesday to move off Albert Chamwadoro's
property following a High Court order issued by Justice Charles Hungwe. By
Wednesday afternoon, the 23 families were still on the property, arguing
they were given the land by the Masvingo provincial governor, Josaya Hungwe.

      Justice Hungwe last week ordered Augustine Chihuri, the Police
Commissioner, to remove all the invaders from Chimwadoro's farm. The
chairman of the farm invaders, Stephen Zibako said on Wednesday: "We suspect
the High Court order was not authentic. After all, we were given this land
by the land committee and not the High Court."

      Officials from the Messenger of Court in Masvingo said on Wednesday
they were mobilising manpower to evict the settlers.

      An official said: "We have been instructed to remove them but they are
violent. We will only be able to evict them once we have sought enough
manpower."

      On Wednesday, Kenneth Kondo, the officer-in-charge of Mashava police
station said: "We will act once the messenger of court has approached us to
effect the evictions."

      In an act of vandalism, the illegal farm occupiers on Saturday
destroyed fencing and drove out all the livestock off the property and
threatened to beat up the former MP, after they had received the High Court
order.

      The farm, Lot 1 of Allanvale farm, was bought by Chamwadoro from the
Shabanie-Mashava Mines in 1999.

      In a surprise move, the Masvingo provincial land committee chaired by
Governor Hungwe acquired the property for resettlement, despite government
policy that all black-owned farms would not be acquired.
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Daily News

      Police accused of not arresting wanted senior Zanu PF official

      10/4/02 9:36:14 AM (GMT +2)


      From our Correspondent in Bulawayo

      LUPANE police are allegedly delayed the arrest of a senior Zanu PF
official on a charge of raping a minor so he could run the party's campaign
in last weekend's rural district council elections.


      The rape allegations against Cliford Sibanda, the provincial secretary
for Lupane, came to light on Tuesday last week.

      The police, acting on orders from "above", allegedly refused to arrest
Sibanda until Monday this week after the elections, won easily by Zanu PF.
Lupane police yesterday refused to comment on the matter.

      Sibanda, 41, on Tuesday appeared for initial remand before Lupane
magistrate, Felix Ndlovu, facing one count of rape. He was not asked to
plead.

      Allegations against Sibanda were that on 29 September at a house at
the Lupane district administrator's compound, he grabbed the girl, aged 14,
and dragged her to a room in the house. The girl was described as a maid at
the compound and was sweeping a room when the alleged offence took place.

      Sibanda was then alleged to have raped her once and then tried to buy
her silence with $310. The offence only came to light when the young girl
was asked about the money.

      She spilled the beans and the matter was reported to the police who
reportedly reacted only a week later.
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Daily News

      Chamisa slams ANC youth league for backing Mugabe

      10/4/02 9:37:03 AM (GMT +2)


      Staff Reporter

      NELSON Chamisa has attacked the youth league of South Africa's ruling
African National Congress (ANC) for supporting President Mugabe's government
under the pretext of offering solidarity to liberation movements.


      Chamisa, the national youth chairman of the MDC, was addressing youths
from the Namibian Democratic Alliance, a coalition of opposition political
parties, in Windhoek last Sunday. He said the ANC youths were ignorant of
Mugabe's abuse of power.

      He said: "Some comrades, for example the ANC youth league, continue to
offer solidarity with dictatorship and fascism under the guise of solidarity
with the liberation war comrades.

      "Mugabe, once a comrade, is creating a de facto one-party state and
legislating dictatorship, thus selling out the very many gains of Zimbabwe's
liberation struggle."

      Chamisa said Zimbabwe faced an economic meltdown because of Mugabe's
hypocritical policies.

      He said youths in the region must protect the gains of the liberation
struggle by speaking out loudly against corruption, bad governance and lack
of transparency in the administration of national affairs.

      "'We must refuse to be abused to prop up collapsing, degenerate
regimes such
      as Kamuzu Banda's Young Pioneers, Milton Obote's militias and Mugabe's
military-trained youth brigades."
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Daily News

      $96 million looted from Aids levy

      10/4/02 9:17:47 AM (GMT +2)


      By Chris Mhike Business Reporter

      ABOUT $96 million of taxpayers' money was embezzled from the Aids Levy
Fund, a
      report by Eric Harid, the Comptroller and Auditor-General, says.


      The money had been disbursed to the Zimbabwe National Network of
People Living with Aids (ZNNP+).

      The report, released on Tuesday, was produced following the
Comptroller and Auditor-General's investigations into the use of funds set
aside by the National Aids Council for use by ZNNP+.

      Harid said: "I observed that there were no internal control mechanisms
put in place by the National Aids Council to ensure that the funds reached
the intended beneficiaries."

      He said the disbursement of funds was shrouded in procedural
impropriety. There was no proof that those receiving help were either
infected or relatives of those suffering from Aids.

      Some people received assistance through payment of school fees, but
for reasons unrelated to the scourge. Wide-ranging reasons, such as "parents
cannot afford because of poverty", were given.

      Managers of the fund responded to the anomaly and said: "Above 50
percent of our members were not given their results because that is seen as
a violation of human rights and protection for people living with HIV/Aids,
hence the reason of lack of evidence."

      Harid said administrators of the fund failed to account for huge sums
of money, such as the $5 million spent on the ZNNP+ Millennium Congress,
held at Gokomere High School in Masvingo from 9 to 12 April last year.

      Two individuals collected $74 397,42 and $9 975 for use at the
congress, but did not account for the money. Funds were used for the
purchase of luxury goods and properties and for the enrichment of officers.
"I noted that cheques . . . were used to purchase a refrigerator for $41
480, and a computer for $183 500," said Harid.

      In Harare, two houses bought by ZNNP+, purportedly for business
purposes in Milton Park.

      One Mr Guni bought the two houses with funds from UN-AIDS, and the
ZNNP+ respectively. However, there were no supporting documents to confirm
the purchase prices and ownership of the properties.

      Co-ordinators A Juake, T Shonhiwa, J Mxotswa, D Nkomo and S Mahlangu
shared $200 000 between themselves in allowances for the month of October
2001 alone.
      Most employed Zimbabweans contribute three percent of their monthly
income to the Aids Levy Fund.

      Allegations have been levelled against the government for allowing,
and in certain cases, participating in the abuse of Aids levy funds.

      The latest row involved the Department of Information and Publicity in
the President's office's request for $65 million from the Aids levy fund, to
sponsor the Miss Malaika beauty pageant.

      But David Parirenyatwa, then the deputy Minister of Health and Child
Welfare refused to part with the money.
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Daily News

Leader Page


      Once elected, does government cease to be accountable?

      10/4/02 8:57:29 AM (GMT +2)



      THE West African country of Ivory Coast (Cote d'Ivoire) has been
gripped, yet again, by political crises since 19 September. Despite
high-level mediation efforts by the sub-regional organisation Economic
Community for West African States (Ecowas) there are no indications that the
current crisis will be over soon.


      On Tuesday the Ecowas executive secretary, Dr Mohammed Ibn Chambas,
led a mediation team to Abidjan to speak to both the rebels and the
government. There is no other hope beyond a promise that talks will
continue. In diplomatic terms that in itself is some success because the
initial posture of President Laurent Gbagbo was that his government was
facing a coup and, as an elected government it needed help to put down an
unconstitutional attempt to overthrow it.

      Under the new African Union his government had a right to expect
protection, including, military intervention, to put down the coup attempt.
But the issue is not that clear-cut.

      In the last two weeks it has become clear that the rebellion is an
unusual one and the usual suspicions may not apply. The first suspect was
General Robert Guei, former head of Ivory Coast's first and only military
junta but he was dead (allegedly killed by pro-government security agents)
along with his former Minister for the Interior, within 48 hours of the
rebellion starting.

      With Guei's death the government must have hoped that the rebellion
thus orphaned, would die out. But it did not. Rather, it spread beyond Guei'
s ethnic and regional base to the constituency of President Gbagbo's main
Democratic opponent, former Prime Minister, Alassane Ouattara, in the north
of the country.

      He had to escape from his unprotected house in Abidjan to the French
embassy.
      Soon the rebels took control of key northern areas of the country.

      Then the government shifted its blame to neighbouring countries,
principally Burkina Faso and Liberia. Burkina Faso has about 3 million
migrants in Ivory Coast and northern Ivory Coast has both ethnic and
religious affinity with Burkina Faso. Indeed the main opposition leader,
Ouattara, has been excluded from standing as presidential candidate on the
grounds of being Burkinabe.

      On the other hand Liberia is a failing state from which "soldiers of
fortune" can easily be recruited for any purpose as long as the price is
right. The Prime Minister of Ivory Coast on 26 September alleged the leaders
of the rebellion were foreign mercenaries who spoke both English and French.
Sierra Leone is also a source of mercenaries.

      Up to now it is not clear who the leader of the rebels is. It is
possible that they do not really have one leader but are a manifestation of
deep frustration in the army and wider populace.

      Only one Corporal Kwasi has emerged as a spokesperson for the rebels.
He has denied plans for a coup and pointed out that they did not attack
radio or television stations, which would have given them easy access to lay
out their political demands. Instead they went for military targets.

      He claims they were rebelling against "dictatorship" (nothing new
about that - every coup plotter says that). President Abdoulaye Wade of
Senegal seemed to agree with this when he declared at the Accra emergency
meeting of the Ecowas leaders that: "it was not a coup . . . It was not a
mutiny of the military or former military. It is a group, including
officers, who have taken up arms to make a number of demands".

      And what are these demands? According to Corporal Kwasi, in a BBC
interview he claimed, his colleagues and himself felt "used like slaves" for
the past three years and now dumped by Gbagbo's government.

      Soldiers engaged in the rebellion were part of those recruited into
the army by General Guei in 1999-2000. Gbagbo has now made them redundant.
This point is very relevant for countries engaged in the DRC conflict who
are now withdrawing. These soldiers have made an alliance with northerners,
predominantly Muslims, other West African migrants resident in Ivory Coast
who have been the victims of xenophobia in the country. On the logic of "my
enemy's enemy is my friend" the soldiers have unwittingly democratised the
instruments of violence by giving weapons to these disadvantaged groups who
now feel newly empowered to protect their rights as Ivorians.

      This is what is making the situation more dangerous for the country
and the region. They will consider an intervention on the side of the
government as an attack on their rights as citizens.

      The root of the rebellion has to be located in the xenophobic policies
of successive Ivorian governments since the death of its founder-President,
Houphoet Boigny, from Henri Conan Bedie through Guei to Gbagbo. It is not
acceptable that a government can disenfranchise and continue to victimise
the majority of its citizens and residents. It has no right or hope for
political stability. The policy of "Ivorite" ("pure" Ivorians) has to be
reversed if the country is to return to normalcy. The Ivorian crisis also
raises questions about the democratisation process in Africa.

      Firstly, is it just that a government should do whatever it likes,
simply because it has been elected?

      Secondly, are elections (no matter how many citizens participated or
are disenfranchised) the only basis of legitimacy? President Gbagbo became
president by default in 2000 because the popular opposition candidate,
Ouattara, was prevented from standing. He was a candidate who benefited from
the lack of democracy.

      Thirdly, what are the appropriate means of redressing injustices and
naked iniquities when an elected government is behaving autocratically?
These questions are by no means limited to Ivory Coast even if they are
playing out there more tragically now.

      They are issues about citizenship and the right of Africans to live,
settle and enjoy full democratic rights anywhere, from Cape to Cairo.
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Daily News

      Mutasa wants $36m limo as Zimpapers makes $48m loss

      10/4/02 8:40:13 AM (GMT +2)


      Business Reporter

      Justin Mutasa, the newly appointed Zimbabwe Newspapers (Zimpapers)
chief executive officer, is allegedly demanding a $36 million Mercedes Benz
vehicle despite the fact the company recorded a staggering $48 million loss
in the first half of the year.


      The move has left workers at the troubled company angry.

      Contacted for comment, Mutasa, who responded through his secretary,
said: "I don't discuss Zimpapers' issues with strangers from The Daily
 News."

      Staff at Herald House who spoke to The Daily News on condition of
anonymity, said Mutasa's demands were outrageous considering the company's
financial position.

      Employees said if Zimpapers were a private company it could have long
been liquidated.

      Since year 2000, when Professor Jonathan Moyo was appointed Minister
of State for Information and Publicity, a chairman, a chief executive
officer and six editors have left Zimpapers unceremoniously.

      Out went Herald editor Bornwell Chakaodza and his successor Ray
Mungoshi, and editors of The Sunday Mail, Pascal Mukondiwa and Funny
Mushava, respectively, Chronicle editor Steve Mpofu and his replacement,
Edna Machirori. All left after Moyo's appointment.

      Tommy Sithole, the longest-serving editor of The Herald, who bounced
back as chairman in September 1999, also left in March 2000.

      Barely two years down the line, another chief executive officer,
Bramwell Kamudyariwa, resigned from the organisation well after short-lived
editors Chakaodza, Mungoshi, Mukondiwa and Mushava had left.

      Each editor and chief executive departed Zimpapers with a company car
and millions in cash as part of their terminal benefits, which only served
to push the cash-strapped company deeper into the financial abyss..

      Commenting on Zimpapers' poor performance, board chairman, Enock
Kamushinda, attributed the loss to the escalating cost of newsprint. He,
however, made no direct reference to the flagging fortunes of most of its
newspaper titles.

      Zimpapers publishes The Herald, The Sunday Mail and the vernacular
Kwayedza in Harare, The Chronicle and The Sunday News in Bulawayo, and The
Manica Post in Mutare.

      The Zimbabwe All Media and Products Survey report released a fortnight
ago by the Zimbabwe Advertising Research Foundation showed that The Herald's
readership fell from 2 387 000 last year to 1 948 000, while The Sunday Mail
recorded a 336 000 drop in readership. The Sunday News lost marginally,
recording a 3 000 drop in readership from 569 000 to 566 000, while on a
rather positive note, The Chronicle's readership rose by 63 000, but
Kwayedza shed half of its readership.
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Times of India

Zimbabwe police evict more white farmers

AFP  [ FRIDAY, OCTOBER 04, 2002 09:44:17 PM ]

HARARE: At least 45 white farmers in Zimbabwe have been ordered off their
land in the last few days, as police step up evictions of land owners in the
west of the country, a farmers' group said on Friday.


Farming crisis group Justice for Agriculture (JAG) said in a statement that
45 farmers "have been warned to leave their farms immediately or within the
next 24 hours".


The police in some cases were armed, the statement said. Contacted for
comment, police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena said he was not aware of the
police action but said he would look into it.


Some 2,900 white farmers were ordered off their land on August 8 under a
contentious land reform programme aimed at handing over white-owned land to
new black farmers.


Around 350 farmers who defied the deadline were arrested. Scores of farmers
have successfully challenged their evictions in the courts, but police did
not seem to be taking any notice of that, JAG said.
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From The Danish Presidency of the European Union, 3 October

Brussels, 3 October 2002

12630/02 (Presse 301)

P 139/02


Declaration by the Presidency on behalf of the European Union, the Central
and Eastern European countries associated with the European Union, the
associated countries Cyprus and Malta, and the EFTA country Liechtenstein,
member of the European Economic Area, concerning restrictive measures
against Zimbabwe.

The Central and Eastern European countries associated with the European
Union, the associated countries Cyprus and Malta, and the EFTA country
Liechtenstein, member of the European Economic Area, declare that they share
the objectives of the Council decision of 13 September 2002 implementing
Council Common Position 2002/145/CFSP concerning restrictive measures
against Zimbabwe. They will ensure that their national policies conform to
that Council decision.

The European Union takes note of this commitment and welcomes it.
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