VOA
By Peta Thornycroft
Johannesburg
07 October
2006
Zimbabwe's parliament has passed a new land law that allows
eviction of
remaining white farmers. This is the latest chapter in a
six-year
controversial land-redistribution program.
Only a few
hundred of more than 4,000 white farmers remain on their land in
Zimbabwe.
Under the land redistribution program announced by President
Robert Mugabe
in 2000, commercial farms were seized, ostensibly for the
resettlement of
landless blacks.
For six years, hundreds of white Zimbabwean farmers have
been to court to
try to avoid losing their farms, the businesses on their
land and their
homes.
Under a 2005 constitutional amendment,
ownership of all white-owned land
reverted to the state. However, the
government did not have the power to
evict farmers from state land they
occupied, without lengthy legal battles.
Now, under the new law, white
farmers have 90 days from the date President
Mugabe rubber stamps the law to
leave their homes and businesses, without
recourse to the
courts.
However, not all in the ruling ZANU-PF administration want the
last white
farmers to leave. The governor of the central bank, Gideon Gono,
has been
lending those still on their land money to grow crops.
The
two vice presidents, Joyce Mujuru and Joseph Msika, have repeatedly said
recently that they want productive white farmers to remain.
However,
Lands Minister Didymus Mutasa told VOA last week that only he
controls what
happens to land, and he has made it clear to western diplomats
in recent
months he wants all white farmers off Zimbabwe's land.
Before the
land-reform program, Zimbabwe was not only able to feed itself,
but was a
net exporter of food to the region, and commercial agriculture was
the
largest foreign currency earner and the largest employer.
Now, Zimbabwe
is bankrupt. It depends on food imports, and, last week, the
United Nations
World Food Program said it had run out of money to continue
to feed
hundreds-of-thousands of people in need.
Zim Standard
By
Foster Dongozi
RETIRED General Solomon Mujuru, believed
to be the brains behind
the meteoric rise of his spouse, Joice, has
reportedly lined up former
Finance Minister Simba Makoni as a possible
successor to President Robert
Mugabe.
Zanu PF insiders
said the move followed realisation by Mujuru
and members of his faction that
Joice had failed to present herself as a
political heavyweight capable of
stamping her authority on the deeply
divided Zanu PF.
Sources said Makoni would be presented as an alternative
candidate in the
event that Emmerson Mnangagwa, another leading contender,
emerged as the
favourite in the race to succeed Mugabe.
A Harare-based
member of the ruling party's supreme organ, the
Politburo said: "Since her
elevation to the position of Vice President, the
state media was instructed
to keep the spotlight on Joice to portray her as
a rising star but her
handlers now fear she lacks the charisma and intellect
to lead an
organisation like Zanu PF."
Even more exasperating for her
handlers was the fact that she
has failed to portray herself as a serious
contender to lead the divided
party.
"Joice has regularly
officiated at functions to open fowl runs
of all things and in the eyes of
the very patriarchal ruling party
stalwarts, that is not being 'serious',"
said the Politburo member.
As a result, Mujuru's faction is
now courting Makoni as an
alternative candidate ahead of Joice, said the
sources.
"In Makoni, the General's faction now sees a lot of
advantages
including the fact that he obviously has more intellectual
stamina than
Joice and that in addition to having more connections
internationally, he
can bring a face of sanity to Zanu PF," added the
politburo member.
The behind the scenes moves to push Makoni
as a possible
replacement for Joice have already caught the attention of the
business
community which is following closely the succession
race.
In a recent commentary on the economic and political
situation
in all African countries, Standard Bank International quoted a
report of the
Institute of War and Peace Reporting (IWPR), which in part
reads:
"There's been a new development in the struggle to
succeed
Robert Mugabe, with reports that powerful retired army commander
General
Solomon Mujuru has ditched his wife, Vice President Joice Mujuru, as
his
ideal successor and is now opting for former finance minister Simba
Makoni."
Makoni who has been media-friendly in the past was
surprisingly
hostile when asked by The Standard to comment on reports on the
latest
succession developments, saying "I have no response to your
questions".
When asked if he had presidential ambitions he
said: "Ndati
handina mhinduro (I have no response)."
Despite repeated efforts General Mujuru and Joice were not
reachable for
comment.
However, sources in the ruling party said the
divisions on the
succession issue had prompted officials to press for a
postponement of the
presidential election.
Recently,
party spokesman, Nathan Shamuyarira was quoted saying
presidential elections
would be postponed from 2008 to 2010. He later
claimed he was
misquoted.
A source said although Mugabe had encouraged
aspirants to openly
debate the succession, many were terrified to do
so.
"Emmerson Mnangagwa and Thenjiwe Lesabe who aspired to be
vice
presidents learnt the hard way in 2004 after they publicly declared
their
intentions and were subsequently elbowed out of the race although they
had
more support among the grassroots."
According to Zanu
PF senior officials, the Mujuru faction is
still wary of the challenge posed
by Mnangagwa and is pushing for the
postponement of the presidential
elections while they put their house in
order.
Zim Standard
BY
caiphas chimhete
SENIOR officers at Connemara Open
Prison, 30 kilometres outside
Kwekwe, have turned prisoners into gold
panners, reaping millions of
dollars, The Standard can
reveal.
An investigation by this newspaper last week revealed
that
prisoners at the country's sole open prison spend most of their time
gold
panning at the now closed Chase Mine and surrounding areas. They in
turn
give the gold to officers for sale in the Midlands mining town of
Kwekwe.
The inmates, who perform non-tiring jobs for a few
hours a day,
spend the rest of their time digging for gold at the two
disused mines in
the vicinity of the prison.
Sources at
the prison said after selling the gold, the prison
officers bring
cigarettes, rubber slip-ons, milk and other commodities
considered luxuries
in prison.
A prison officer, who spoke to The Standard last
week on
condition of anonymity, said: "It's very common here. They do the
gold
panning during their spare time. We sell the gold on their behalf and
share
the proceeds. At times, we buy certain items they want or give some of
the
money to their relatives."
Some officers, he said,
make as much as $100 000 a month after
sharing the proceeds with the
prisoners. This, he said, depended largely on
how often the prisoners go out
gold-panning a month.
One ex-convict, who served at Connemara
after being transferred
from Hwahwa Prison in 2003, also confirmed the
gold-for-cigarettes scam. The
ex-prisoner said it has now become difficult
for the prison guards to
discipline mischievous inmates because of their
involvement in the
activities.
"These prison officers are
so corrupt that inmates can tell them
to go to hell without any fear of
being exposed," said the ex-convict, who
was transferred from
Hwahwa.
Some students at Kaguvi Training Centre said it was
common
knowledge in the area that prison officers at Connemara Open Prison,
which
accommodates about 100 convicts at a time, were involved in gold
dealings.
"Apart from using prisoners for gold-panning, the
officers also
buy gold from panners less than one kilometre from here," said
one of the
students, who requested anonymity.
The
training centre, which is under the Ministry of Youth
Development and
Employment Creation, offers courses in agriculture, hotel
and tourism
management, welding and carpentry. It works closely with the
prison.
Villagers in Chiundura communal lands are aware
of the gold
dealings at Connemara. Jonas Mapanzure of Chief Chiundura's area
said:
"Everyone who hails from the western side of Chief Chiundura's knows
that
because it's closeby."
The open prison system was
introduced in 2000.
But Connemara Open Prison principal
prison officer, Peter
Kudzotsa, professed ignorance of the gold
scam.
"I don't know about that. You should go and talk to the
Officer
Commanding Midlands province, (Rhodes) Moyo," Kudzotsa
said.
Moyo could not be reached for comment. ZPS
spokesperson,
Elizabeth Banda, was also not available for
comment.
Under the open prison system, convicts are not
subjected to hard
labour and enjoy the luxury of watching television and
engaging in various
activities.
Zim Standard
BY OUR
STAFF
INFIGHTING by the top Zanu PF leadership in Kadoma
has resulted
in the ruling party fielding two candidates a ward for this
month's Rural
District Council elections, The Standard has
established.
Zanu PF sources in Kadoma last week said serious
clashes between
the Minister of State Enterprises, Anti-Monopolies and
Anti-Corruption, Paul
Mangwana, and the deputy minister of Information and
Publicity, Bright
Matonga, were to blame for the fiasco.
The Nomination Court sitting in Kadoma duly nominated 10 Zanu PF
candidates
to compete in five wards for the Rural District Council elections
at the end
of this month. This was the first time the ruling party had
fielded
competing candidates in one election. All along people who were
disgruntled
contested as independents.
Sources in Kadoma said there were
serious differences between
Matonga and Mangwana which are threatening to
split the party in the area.
The sources said the differences emanated from
the Parliamentary elections
held last year.
They said
Mangwana is reportedly still bitter with the way he
was elbowed out of the
race while Matonga was keen to remain the Zanu PF
candidate come 2010.
Sources said as a result, the two leaders fielded
candidates loyal to
them.
As acting minister of Information and Publicity
Mangwana is
Matonga's boss.
Zanu PF Mashonaland West
Provincial chairperson John Mafa said
the party had sanctioned Raicha
Madhiri, London Zijena, Samuel Femberai,
Plaxedes Zezai and Spiwe Mhungu to
stand as the ruling party
representatives.
"There is no
way the two ministers could have clashed because
the final decision was made
by the provincial political commissar. We have
decided that the other guys
should withdraw their candidature," Mafa said.
Provincial
political commissar Phillip Muguti said failure to
withdraw will result in
all of them being expelled from the party. "I am
just coming from a meeting
in Kadoma and all those who were not sanctioned
by the party will have to
withdraw," said Muguti. It was not clear yesterday
if the candidates had
withdrawn.
Contacted for comment Mangwana declined to comment
referring all
questions to the provincial executive.
"Those are party issues and you should talk to the party
spokesperson. I am
simply a party executive from Kadoma and I should think
the people who
conducted those elections are best positioned to comment,"
Mangwana
said.
Matonga could not be reached for
comment.
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission chief elections
officer, Lovemore
Sekeramayi, last week refused to furnish this paper with
the names of Zanu
PF candidates who were nominated in
Kadoma.
"Full results of the nomination courts which sat on
20 September
2006 including those of Kadoma, will be published in the media
once
verification and tabulation of same is completed. Currently
verification and
tabulation is underway," Sekeramayi said.
Zim Standard
By Our Staff
AS hardships
mount, traffic police officers in Harare have
improvised ways of fleecing
money from commuter bus operators.
Operators who spoke to The
Standard said police officers were
always finding reasons to get money from
them, while at the same time
prejudicing the State.
In
one such incident witnessed by The Standard recently, a
driver, Mike Manhuwa
who plies the City-Highfield route, lost $3 000 at one
roadblock.
He was booked during the morning rush hour for
failing to issue
tickets to passengers. Manhuwa gave a $1 000 note to a
traffic police
officer along Rotten Row but was not given
change.
As he was leaving, the driver realised that his fine
written on
the ticket was $250 and not the $1 000 he had
given.
"Upon noticing the irregularity, I went back to the
police
officer and asked him to explain why he had not given me change. The
officer
became very angry and wrote another ticket for $750 for the same
offence,"
said Manhuwa.
But that was not the end of his
misfortunes.
The police officer he identified as Constable
Vengai booked him
again. He pointed out that he was not wearing a badge and
ordered him to pay
an additional $2 000 for operating without
badges.
"The $2 000 was for myself and the conductor, Hugh
Pachena,
because he said we didn't have badges. The police officer said he
wanted to
teach us how to operate in the city," added
Manhuwa.
Again, the errant policeman did not write the
correct fines
after receiving the amount. He issued two tickets for $250 and
did not give
any change.
Manhuwa, who could not afford
yet another round of extortion
decided to leave with four tickets: numbers
3589959, 3589960, 3589961 and
3589962.
"I have been
operating as a commuter bus driver for more than
two years now but I have
never come across such things. If the policeman
does this for 10 people it
means he will be going home with more than his
salary a day," he
said.
Assistant Commissioner Douglas Nyakutsikwa of the
Traffic
section deplored the conduct of the officers and said they would
investigate
the incident.
Zim Standard
By Nqobani Ndlovu
BULAWAYO - Obert
Mpofu, the Minister of Industry and
International Trade, was recently
summoned before a Zanu-PF Matabeleland
North provincial disciplinary
committee to answer charges of "undermining"
senior party leaders in the
region, The Standard has learnt.
Mpofu, who is also the MP
for Bubi-Mguza, was also accused of
fomenting divisions in the party
structures in Matabeleland but party
insiders say the disciplinary hearing
was a spirited attempt to elbow the
minister out of the race to succeed
ageing Vice President Joseph Msika, when
he retires.
Msika, who has been in and out of hospital this year, is
expected to retire
in 2008.
Sources in the ruling party said jockeying for
Msika's job in
Matabeleland has seen potential contenders engaging in smear
campaigns to
discredit each other, a development that could negatively
impact the party
in future elections.
Among the potential
contenders for Msika's post are Zanu-PF
national chairman and Speaker of
Parliament John Nkomo, politburo member
Dumiso Dabengwa, Zimbabwean
Ambassador to South Africa, Simon Khaya-Moyo and
Mpofu.
They said Zanu PF was fraught with serious divisions in
Matabeleland as the
battle to succeed the 82-old nationalist intensifies.
The
recent disciplinary meeting - which was chaired by Zanu PF
provincial
chairman Headman Moyo - was attended by Nkomo, Matabeleland North
governor
Thokozile Mathuthu, and Senators Lot Mbambo, Grace Dube and
Josephine
Moyo.
The disciplinary meeting came barely two weeks after
close to 50
women in Lupane from the Zanu PF women's league staged a
demonstration
against Mpofu for allegedly "undermining senior party leaders
and members in
the province".
Authoritative party
members, however, say the protests were
instigated by senior politicians in
the region who have teamed up against
Mpofu.
The other
potential candidates, said the members, were not
pleased with Mpofu's
growing influence in the Matabeleland.
Mpofu is widely seen
as President Robert Mugabe's "blue-eyed
boy" in Matabeleland and his
adversaries fear that he could use his
closeness to the President to grab
the post.
"Accusations are being levelled against Mpofu
because it is
believed that he has the President's backing because he was
among the first
members of Zapu to defect to Zanu PF. He is also believed to
have strong
backing from the Zanu PF old guard but lacks trust from the Zapu
old guard
that backs other candidates," said one of the
sources.
Mpofu was no longer a member of PF-Zapu when the
Unity Accord
was signed in 1987.
Headman Moyo confirmed
that Mpofu had appeared before the party's
provincial disciplinary committee
but said it had nothing to do with the
succession issue.
"We did have such a meeting last Saturday in Lupane but
everything that was
raised and had been raised was solved amicably.
"Abadala
babuya bazomkhuza njalo bakhuza abomama (Top officials
came to warn everyone
against causing divisions in the party). The Speaker
of Parliament, who is
the most senior person in the region and the party
said proper channels have
to be followed if there are problems," said
Headman Moyo, who chaired the
meeting.
He said the party decided to hold the meeting
following
demonstrations against Mpofu by members of Zanu PF women's league
in Lupane.
"The women had demonstrated against Mpofu saying
he was causing
discontent in the area and that was also the reason why we
had such a
meeting in a bid to iron out any differences," he
said.
Nkomo confirmed the meeting took place but added that
he had no
interest in the succession debate.
"You can
talk to the provincial chairman (Headman Moyo) on what
was discussed at that
meeting as he was the chair. I have no interest in the
whole succession
talk."
Mpofu, Senator Moyo and Mathuthu refused to comment
referring
all questions to Headman Moyo.
"Can you talk to
the provincial chairman about the meeting,"
said Mpofu before cutting off
the conversation.
Soon after the meeting, Nkomo called for
unity among the party's
leadership. He was quoted in the public media
saying: "I am against rumour
mongers. There are some people who peddle lies
and in so doing contribute
towards the division of the
party.
Let us resolve our differences amicably."
Zim Standard
By Nqobani
Ndlovu
BULAWAYO - The Tsholotsho Rural District Council
(RDC)
nomination court was forced to extend its sitting by five hours after
top
Zanu PF officials allegedly opposed the rejection of nomination forms of
a
party candidate, it has been learnt.
The court was
forced to close after 9PM after Zanu-PF Senator
for Tsholotsho-Hwange,
Josephine Moyo, and John Nkomo, the Speaker of
Parliament, intervened to
plead with the presiding officer to accept
rejected nomination papers of
Velaphi Mlingo.
Mlingo, a Zanu-PF candidate for Ward 12, was
seeking
re-election. The nomination court sat recently for the October 28
elections.
Moyo and Nkomo intervened after presiding officer,
G Mloshwa,
rejected Mlingo's nomination forms on the basis that he had
failed to
produce a clearance letter from the Ministry of Education Sport
and Culture.
The revelations are contained in a report
prepared by the
presiding officer and sent to the Chief Elections Officer at
the Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission.
The report notes that
Mlingo, a civil servant, was disqualified
after failing to produce a
clearance letter from the Public Service
Commission (PSC), in line with the
regulations.
The report noted that while the rejection of the
nomination
forms was a normal procedure, it attracted the attention of the
Speaker of
Parliament, senator and the entire Zanu PF leadership in the
area.
Senator Moyo and Nkomo confirmed the chaos that marred
the
nomination sitting in Tsholotsho.
"We expressed our
displeasure after the presiding officer
indicated that they wanted to close
the nomination court while we were
waiting for the clearance letter," Moyo
said. "It was going to be unfair
since we had told them that the letter was
coming."
Nkomo said: "There was confusion after they said
Mlingo needed a
clearance letter whilst we contended that he needed no such
letter as he was
a sitting councillor. Nobody can say I interfered as I am
the Zanu PF
chairman."
Utoile Silaigwana, the ZEC
spokesperson, when contacted for
comment said he was not notified of the
incident.
Zim Standard
by our staff
THE two factions
of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) are
challenging the
disqualification of more than 400 candidates as rural
district council
candidates, The Standard has learnt.
Both factions have cried
foul over the disqualification of their
candidates who intended to contest
the elections, set to be held on 28
October in Zimbabwe's rural
areas.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) announced
recently that
the ruling Zanu PF party won over 400 seats after opposition
parties failed
to field candidates.
But the MDC said
there were numerous and deliberate obstructions
which prevented their
candidates from taking part in the poll.
More than 100
candidates from the pro-Senate faction were
disqualified on the basis that
they failed to meet the new stringent
registration
requirements.
Some of these requirements included obtaining
clearance letters
from village headmen and police in the rural areas. The
MDC says most
headmen are aligned to the ruling party. The nomination courts
also
disqualified 300 candidates from the Morgan Tsvangirai-led MDC
faction.
Paul Themba Nyathi, who is in charge of the
pro-Senate faction's
electoral affairs, confirmed that they were challenging
the disqualification
of their candidates.
"We have
compiled all the irregularities that resulted in the
disqualification of our
candidates nationwide. Our lawyers will take up the
issue," Nyathi
said.
Nicholas Mathonsi of Coghlan & Welsh in Bulawayo
confirmed that
he was one the lawyers approached to represent the Mutambara
faction.
He said: "We have got a band of people from the MDC
that were
disqualified and want to file election
petitions."
However, Mathonsi noted that there were legal
complications in
the court challenge. "We are not sure which court to go to
as there are no
judges appointed to the electoral court to hear the appeals
in terms of the
Electoral Act.
"We are likely to face
difficulties if we proceed to the High
Court because it is not an Electoral
court. However, as things stand, we may
be forced to go to the High
Court."
Nelson Chamisa, the spokesperson of the Tsvangirai
faction said
while going to court remained an option; the problem required a
political
solution.
"We have written to the Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission (ZEC)
registering our concerns but they have not
replied. The real solution lies
with constitution," said Chamisa. ZEC
spokesperson Utloile Silaigwana said
he had been out of office for "some
days" and was not aware of the issue.
Zim Standard
BY WALTER
MARWIZI
SWEDISH Ambassador to Zimbabwe Sten Rylander has
admitted he now
has little enthusiasm to "build bridges" between Zimbabwe
and the European
Union (EU).
When he arrived earlier this
year, the envoy was optimistic that
he could influence normalisation of
strained relations between the two
parties.
The basis of
his optimism was a long conversation with President
Robert Mugabe on 16
February when he presented his credentials.
Rylander said the
President had indicated he wanted to build
bridges with the West and had
asked him to play a key role in this plan.
Rylander said he
emerged from State House convinced that Mugabe
was ready to adopt policies
that would help improve relations with the EU.
The EU accuses
Mugabe of human rights abuses and has imposed
travel sanctions on him and
his colleagues in the leadership.
While other diplomats
played golf, Rylander spoke to government
officials, taking advantage of
Sweden's relationship with Zanu PF and PF
Zapu during the liberation
struggle.
On Sweden's national day, an upbeat Rylander
toasted to Mugabe's
good health, hoping to reaffirm his commitment to
working with Mugabe.
He stressed the need for change in
Zimbabwe through dialogue and
tolerance.
But seven months
down the line, Rylander appears to have learnt
what other envoys in Zimbabwe
already knew: that it is difficult to persuade
Mugabe to abandon policies
which have undermined human rights and economic
revival.
"My optimism is less now than it was when I came. I can't point
to any major
decision by the government in the right direction," Rylander
told The
Standard last week.
The Ambassador said he was disappointed
that Zimbabwe Congress
of Trade Unions (ZCTU) leaders were thoroughly beaten
by security agents
while in detention.
He said the
beatings were "unnecessary and negative" and sent
the wrong signals to the
outside world.
Rylander said he was also disappointed with
the conduct of
Didymus Mutasa, the Minister of State for Security, who
threatened the ZCTU
leaders, a few days before the planned
protests.
"Mutasa was a man of peace when he was at Cold
Comfort Farm. He
was a good guy. I wonder why he seems to be proud of
beating up people," the
envoy said.
Rylander said he had
hoped government would do "something" to
convince the EU of its sincerity in
building bridges.
"My options (for bridge-building) are less
now than they were
when I arrived but as a good bridge-builder I will
continue with my work,"
he said.
Rylander said he has
since maintained a low profile, preferring
to work mainly with organisations
assisting the needy.
Zim Standard
BY OUR STAFF
EIGHT tractors bought
from China by the commission running
Harare are lying idle after they failed
to pull refuse trailers due to their
limited horse power, it has been
established.
Sources from Town House last week also revealed
that the
commission has already cancelled an order for an additional 14
tractors from
the same undisclosed supplier in China.
The
tractors, which were meant for use in refuse collection
around the city's
suburbs, were purchased at an estimated cost of $30
billion in March.
Council also purchased 20 trailers for use by the tractors
in refuse
collection. However the equipment is now parked at the Harare City
Council's
Kelvin Road Depot in Graniteside while rubbish goes uncollected in
the
city.
"The tractors are a major disappointment. Ever since
they came,
we are failing to use them," said a source. "They are too small
and they don't
have the required pulling capacity. The issue is very hot now
because
someone might have made money out of the deal."
The source said the tractors do not have the required horsepower
to pull
refuse trailers and have already developed mechanical
problems.
Another source added that senior members of
management were very
angry with the performance of the tractors. "Most of
these believe they were
not properly acquired," added the
source.
Director of waste management, Leslie Gwindi, on
Friday confirmed
the tractors were going through
maintenance.
"We have had some problems with those tractors
and we are
currently carrying out comprehensive tests on them. Hopefully by
next week
we would have found a solution," Gwindi said.
He would not discuss possible agreements with the same company
for the
supply of a batch of similar tractors.
City spokesman, Percy
Toriro, yesterday confirmed there were
some problems with the
tractors.
"Yes, that issue is being looked into. It's very
difficult to
give a comment now but I think people from the relevant
department would be
able to give you a better answer," Toriro
said.
Harare residents have, in recent months, complained of
paying
for refuse collection when this was not being done.
Zim Standard
BY VALENTINE MAPONGA
THE early
rains that have been received during the past few days
could damage the bulk
of the late planted wheat crop, farmers have warned.
The
government has projected a wheat crop of 220 000 tonnes, a
little more than
half the country's requirements.
There are indications that
the target may not be met owing to
combination of labour, input and
equipment shortages.
While the winter wheat harvesting has
picked up in some parts of
the country, some farmers, mainly beneficiaries
of the controversial land
reform exercise still have crops which are yet to
mature. Others are still
struggling to get combine harvesters to harvest
their crop.
Agriculture Minister, Joseph Made, said that the
rains came a
little earlier than expected and may have caused damage to the
wheat crop in
some parts of the country.
"In some parts
of the country the rains came with a lot of hail
storm and the extent of the
damage to crops is still being investigated. We
however don't see any major
changes on our initial projections because if
farmers work we would not have
problems," Made said.
Farmers interviewed by Standardbusiness
said wheat planted under
the government's ambitious programme, Operation
Maguta, in Chinhoyi could
also be affected.
In addition,
they noted that the shortages of combine harvesters
in the country could
also worsen the situation.
"The bulk of the crop that was
planted under Maguta is most
likely to be affected since it was planted well
after the normal planting
season. Because of the delays, the crops may only
be due for harvesting
around the end of November or early December," said
one farmer.
Former president of the Indigenous Commercial
Farmers' Union and
agronomist, Thomas Nherera, told Standardbusiness that if
the rains continue
for a week, without stopping, the wheat crop would be
badly affected.
"In the meantime the rains that have started
falling in some
parts of the country are not enough to cause any adverse
damage to the
crops. It can only become a problem when there is overcast
weather and the
rains are continuous for close to a week," Nherera
said.
Commercial Farmers' Union (CFU) vice president, Trevor
Gifford
said farmers who planted their crop early are not going to be
affected by
the rains.
"With the experience we have had
over the years, it is very
obvious that if you don't plant on time, you are
bound to have problems. Now
it is very worrying that the anticipation of a
good harvest will not come to
fruition due to poor planning," Gifford
said.
He added that if farmers don't conform to the proper
planting
dates the country would never realise a good harvest.
Zim Standard
BY OUR
STAFF
HARARE is yet to give International Monetary Fund
(IMF) a date
for the global lender's Annual Article IV
Consultations.
The consultation is an annual meeting IMF
holds with member
countries. During the mission's stay, IMF holds meeting
with all
stakeholders that include government ministries, Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe
(RBZ), labour and business.
Frances Hardin, IMF
senior press officer told Standardbusiness
last week that the date for the
mission had not yet been agreed with the
Zimbabwean authorities although the
leader of the mission is "most likely to
be Ms Sharmini
Coorey".
The IMF was scheduled to arrive into the country in
July but
could not make it as both the Ministry of Finance and RBZ were busy
preparing the fiscal and monetary policies respectively.
Contacted for comment, the Minister of Finance, Dr Herbert
Murerwa said: "I
don't know a date yet. We are in the process of consulting
to fix a
date."
Zimbabwe has been in continuous arrears since February
2001 and
is the only case of protracted arrears to the PRGF-ESF Trust, which
currently amount to about US$119 million.
Although Harare
settled arrears under the General Resources
Account (GRA), Washington is
insisting on the source of funds. At the
Executive Board meeting on Zimbabwe
in March, IMF resolved not to restore
Zimbabwe's voting and related
privileges.
Zim Standard
BY
NDAMU SANDU
THERE is a shroud surrounding the existence
and whereabouts of a
report detailing rampant corruption at the
government-owned steel maker,
Ziscosteel amid revelations of
behind-the-scenes manoeuvres to sweep it
under the
carpet.
Impeccable sources told Standardbusiness last week
that the
report by the National Economic Conduct Inspectorate (NECI) was
elusive as
Industry and International Trade Minister Obert Mpofu had not
availed the
said document to the portfolio committee.
The
portfolio committee wanted to use the report in compiling
its findings on
the fate of Zisco to be presented to Parliament.
Last month
Mpofu told a portfolio committee on Foreign Affairs,
Industry and
International Trade that there was a report by NECI that
detailed high-level
looting of Zisco coffers by ministers and MPs. Mpofu
said that he had
requested Anti-Corruption Minister Paul Mangwana not to
prosecute the
alleged looters, as the move would drive away investors.
Mpofu said then: "There is a report which we sent to the Anti-
Corruption
ministry involving some influential people involved in underhand
dealings at
Zisco. Some of them are my colleagues in Parliament."
Mpofu
was giving oral evidence on the fate of the US$400 million
management
contract between Zisco and an Indian firm, Global Steel Holdings
Limited
(GSHL).
Sources said last week that Mpofu had told the
portfolio
committee his office did not have the report but it was at
Mangwana's
office. Mangwana is alleged to have told the committee that his
office does
not have the said report.
Committee
chairperson, Enock Porusingazi, promised to return the
calls from
Standardbusiness "as soon as possible". He had not done so at the
time of
going to print.
Contacted for comment Mangwana said NECI is a
unit under the
Ministry of Finance.
"They (portfolio
committee) asked me and I told them that they
should ask the Ministry of
Finance who are the official custodians of that
document. Whatever I receive
is intelligence information," Mangwana said.
Standardbusiness
contacted Finance Minister, Herbert Murerwa,
and he said: "I have not seen
the document and therefore I have no comment."
Mpofu is
currently out of the country and only expected back on
Friday.
Observers said last week that Zisco's case is a
litmus test for
the government's anti-corruption drive. Others posit that
making the report
public will seriously dent politicians' ambitions in the
battle to succeed
Mugabe.
As Zimbabweans digest the shady
dealings that have been swept
under the carpet the question that remains
unanswered is:
Why is Mpofu suddenly unable to produce the report
when he had
already condemned his colleagues in government?
Zim Standard
BY
GODFREY MUTIMBA
MASVINGO residents should brace for yet
another tough year after
the city council approved a staggering 500% tariff
hike. The approval will
see all rates and services provided by the council
skyrocketing beyond the
reach of poor residents.
These
include water, refuse and rentals of council-owned
properties.
Presenting the budget at Town House last
week, Acting Mayor,
Vitus Hakutangwi said council was operating under very
difficult conditions
due to continued economic meltdown in the country and
had no other option
but to approve a $7,8 billion budget.
He said council was forced to increase rates by 500% because the
hyper-inflationary environment was making life difficult for the council in
their day-to-day operations.
"The 2007 budget has been
necessitated by the current rate of
inflation which is around 100% with no
evidence that it will recede.
Although the rate of inflation is officially
over 100%, your council has
factored an inflation rate of 800% into the
draft budget with the sole
desire of lessening the burden on rate payers"
Hakutangwi said.
Lack of funds, he added, had forced the
local authority to
suspend vital projects as the volatile economic situation
in the country
continues to deteriorate.
Hakutangwi said
the budget would among other things finance
council projects, which include
servicing of stands, public lighting and the
construction of the Flamboyant
Hotel roundabout, which is intended to reduce
accidents along the
Harare-Beitbridge road.
"The only reliable source of funding
for capital projects is
long-term loans from government under the Public
Sector Investment Programme
but sometimes it is difficult to access such
loans," he said.
Zim Standard
Comment
THE number of people who
perished in the Dibangombe train
disaster last month remains indeterminate
despite assertions by the National
Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) that put the
total figure below 10. But it is
precisely because of doubts about the exact
death toll in the horrendous
inferno that the report of the inquiry into the
tragedy should be made
public.
If the NRZ embraces
transparency, it will value the need to
place the report in the public
domain. Innocent lives were lost in the
tragedy and there are relatives who
are still uncertain whether or not their
loved ones were among those who
died when the carriages were engulfed in an
inferno following an
accident.
Disclosure of the findings is important for
relatives who lost,
or suspect their relatives perished, in the disaster
because such an act
will provide a sense of closure to their
loss.
NRZ's general manager, retired Air Commodore Mike
Karakadzai,
contends that the findings of the inquiry are strictly for
internal use.
That is remarkable and supports the suspicion that the
increasing
militarisation of public institutions is intended to prevent
public scrutiny
of such organisations.
NRZ's stance is
also unfortunate in that it creates the
suspicion that it has something to
hide, yet in other respects disclosure of
the findings could compel the
government to prevent further loss of lives -
for example addressing the
perennial malfunctioning of signalling equipment
and opening up the railways
to more players.
The findings should not be restricted to NRZ
because the
parastatal has an unacceptably high accident rate and it is
about time the
public is informed why there are so many train accidents and
why they
continue to escalate.
Whenever there is an
aircraft accident, a commission of inquiry
is instituted and the findings
are made public. We do not see what's so
special about the NRZ that it
should keep under wraps findings of such a
tragedy. The NRZ could only be
reticent if it was negligent. But it cannot
cover up its negligence
indefinitely. Too many lives are being lost in train
accidents and the
public is entitled to know why such a situation should
continue to be
tolerated and what specific measures have been instituted to
prevent a
recurrence of similar tragedies.
It is doubtful that less
than 10 people perished in the
Dibangombe train disaster. The extent of the
disaster and the NRZ's
subsequent attempts to prevent publication of the
findings suggest that more
died in the inferno.
In order
for the NRZ to proffer a more convincing explanation,
it needs to explain
how many people were on that train to Victoria Falls
when it left Bulawayo,
how many boarded along the way to the tourist resort,
how many were destined
for Zambia and then how many were accounted for after
the
disaster.
It was some time before help arrived and during the
intervening
period it is possible that passengers who were not injured
disembarked and
proceeded by other means. But that's just an assumption. One
of the reasons
why people prefer travelling by train is because of its
affordability. This
assumption would suggest therefore that very few
passengers found
alternative transport after the tragedy. In fact, they
would have been too
dazed and shocked to proceed with their
journey.
There are a lot of unanswered questions surrounding
the recent
train disaster and they will not be allayed by mere declarations
that the
inquiry findings are for internal consumption. That only fuels
suspicion.
The causes of perennial problems at NRZ will not
be resolved by
sweeping the findings of the inquiry under the carpet. Full
disclosure is
required now, not later.
Zim Standard
Sunday View By Wilbert Mandinde
ON 28
September, the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA)
joined a global
coalition of free expression advocates in commemorating the
International
Right to Know Day. On this day our global efforts are focussed
on promoting
the right of access to information for all people and the
benefits of open,
transparent and accountable governments.
The right to
information can only be effectively exercised and
implemented on the basis
of laws, regulating this right in accordance with
international standards.
While in southern Africa, South Africa is the only
country which has a law
that enables its citizens to access public held
information, MISA
acknowledges the advances being made in other countries of
the region to
formulate such laws.
From the onset we wish to state that
Zimbabwe's ironically named
Access to Information and Protection of Privacy
Act (AIPPA), in fact, does
not promote the right of citizens to access
information. On the contrary,
the law introduces such extensive limitations
to this right that it makes it
near impossible for citizens to access
information. Many governments,
non-governmental organisations, media
organisations and the United Nations
Special Rapporteur on Freedom of
Opinion and Expression have condemned this
law for the extreme restrictions
it places on freedom of expression.
Misa celebrates this day
reflecting on the past achievements and
failures of the right to information
in Southern Africa:
It is worth noting that the right to
information has gained
considerable importance in recent years among
governments and is on the
agendas of media law reform in many countries, and
this, is worth
celebrating. There is also a growing awareness and interest
among civil
society to join alliances on the call for freedom of information
legislation.
In many countries the public is increasingly
getting aware and
joining discussions on the issue of freedom of
information, a development
which was hardly the case five years ago.
Therefore the biggest achievement
in southern Africa has been the acceptance
and growing awareness of the
importance and indispensability of freedom of
information to democracy.
However, there is still much to be
done in creating mass
awareness which will translate into social
action.
The biggest challenge to freedom of information in
southern
Africa is governments' leisurely pace towards media law
reform.
While all SADC countries guarantee freedom of
expression as a
fundamental right and acknowledge the need for the right to
information,
they seem to be in no particular hurry in passing access to
information
laws. SADC Heads of State have signed international and regional
treaties
committing to freedom of information but have failed to translate
it into
meaningful actions that make this right a reality for the people of
our
region.
Perhaps we need to explain what exactly we
mean by the right to
know, also referred to as the right to information or
freedom of
information.
The right to know is simply the
call to make information held by
public institutions available and
accessible to the public. The right to
information is not a mere call for
government records, but a call for a more
transparent and accountable
governance process, if democracy has to be
meaningful.
A freedom of information law sets out
guidelines, procedures and
parameters on how the public can access
information from public and/or
private institutions.
MISA
believes that the right to information must be guaranteed
by a strong
legislation and the process of law-making must be participatory
and
consultative. For the effective participation of citizens in the
governance
and development of their country, they should be enabled to have
easy and
timely access to critical information.
The right to
information is a global issue of importance, with
more than 60 countries
with laws on right to information, hailed as a basis
for effective
participation in governance as well as a potentially powerful
tool for
countering corruption.
In southern Africa where more than 70%
of underdevelopment and
poverty is directly linked to corruption, the right
to know laws could have
taken more prominence and priority in law
reform.
MISA believes that corruption can never be truly
fought without
freedom of information legislation. In fact there is a
correlation between
highly corrupt countries with the absence of right to
information laws.
The reluctance or perhaps the failure of
governments to enact
and pass legislation leaves more questions than
answers; what could
governments possibly be hiding from its citizens? Why
are there so many
delays in as far as right to information laws are
concerned? Do our
governments have something to hide which such a law will
bring to the light?
In the absence of answers there are two
schools of thought on
this matter: either that our governments are highly
corrupt or that they are
genuinely ignorant on the merits of such a
law.
The former is not totally presumptuous given the many
cases and
evidence of corruption and abuse of power in the higher and lower
places of
government. Clearly if these abuses of power and mismanagement of
resources
are to the benefit of policy makers then such a law is not in
their interest
and they will do anything in their power to block
it.
The latter assumption is that perhaps there is a genuine
ignorance and lack of understanding of the merits and needs of such a law.
In a recent study by MISA, two SADC members of parliament were interviewed
on the need for the right to information law.
They
doubted the relevance of a right to information law citing
that it would
interfere with the privacy act. "Why would we pass such a law
if it will be
in conflict with the privacy Act?"
Such views are
ill-informed and an obstacle to the passing of
right to know laws which are
designed for the greater good of society.
Obviously there are limitations to
information that can be accessed under
such a law. Nonetheless, in an open,
transparent and democratic society we
should avail ourselves to
scrutiny.
MISA believes that the right to information is
fundamental to
the realisation of social and economic
rights.
MISA calls on the people of southern Africa to join
the long
overdue call for freedom of information law, because the right to
information is not just about the media - it is about the right to
live:
Without the right to information you will never know
what
happened to the money allocated in your community to build a clinic, to
buy
medicine, to build a school, to dig a borehole. You will never know how
many
government tenders where allocated to whom and why, without information
you
will never know why your children are unemployed.
Crucially, the right to information is envisioned as the
cornerstone of all
freedoms - in effect, one cannot fully enjoy or exercise
the right to vote,
self-determination or to a clean and healthy environment
or make informed
choices without the information that would make those
rights or choices
worthwhile. The enjoyment of the other rights and the
choices to be made as
to the effective means and ways of doing so will
inherently depend on the
availability of information.
* MISA calls on civil society:
trade unions, the churches to
join in the campaign for the right to know,
which ultimately is a fight
against corruption and social
injustice.
* MISA is ready and willing to work with SADC
governments in
providing technical expertise in drafting the right to
information.
* MISA strongly condemns unjustified delays from
SADC
governments and calls for speeding-up processes of passing laws on
freedom
of information to information.
Zim Standard
Sunday Opinion By Jelousy Mawarire
LISTENING to Zanu PF political commissar, Elliot Manyika,
telling party
supporters that there should be no talk on President Robert
Mugabe's
successor, purportedly on the grounds that it is unAfrican,
reminded me of
the many instances when Mugabe's cronies have tried to outdo
each other in
misleading the ageing statesman that he is an indispensable
part of the
political landscape in this country.
Lately, we have been
getting excessive doses of typical
bootlicking speeches by Zanu PF members
who owe their political lives,
economic statuses and general personal
achievements to their proximity to
Mugabe. They have told us all sorts of
fallacies for their support of Mugabe's
continued tenure, which, ironically,
has driven the average Zimbabwean into
destitution.
Some
of Mugabe's henchmen have been rewarded with cabinet posts
for uttering
blasphemous statements. Some have equated Mugabe to Jesus and
they have been
rewarded while others were promoted for simply telling the
old man that he
was Zimbabwe's Moses. While these were personal opinions
which are
permissible in a democratic society, statements such as those by
Manyika are
obscenely dangerous, especially when they are directed at, and
said within
earshot of someone desperately trying to entrench himself as a
life
president.
Such statements are also an insult to
intelligence, especially
when Manyika tries to drag tradition into his
bootlicking antics.
Constitutional governments are not African thus there is
no basis for
Manyika to try to stifle discourse and efforts to succeed
Mugabe on the
grounds of Africanness or tradition, unless Manyika wants to
tell us that
Zimbabwe is an absolute monarchy and that Mugabe will be
succeeded by his
children. If we inherited constitutional institutions, then
we should be
prepared to live with the dictates and requirements concomitant
with the
operations of such political institutions.
If
Mugabe owes his legitimacy to elections, never mind the
blatant cases of
electoral frauds since 1980, then it is not criminal for
anyone to start
talking of succeeding him now considering that we are only
16 months away
from the presidential election. Mugabe's current term expires
in March 2008.
Surely any serious would-be president would want to endear
himself with the
county's electorate early and now is the time to start
doing
so.
It is sad that dog-like devotion to Mugabe by his cronies
have
led Mugabe into some self-indulgence leading him to believe he is the
God-given ruler of this country. More often than not, a lot of dissuading
tradition and moral reasoning has been thrown around to stifle efforts to
replace him. Mugabe himself has tried to bring in issues of morality in
trying to disqualify potential candidates to succeed him.
In July, he went ballistic on how some people who wanted to be
presidents
are "immoral" and have a lot of mistresses in the Avenues area.
But are such
personal traits really important if a man knows how to govern,
how to listen
to the needs of the people he is leading, if that person can
ensure foreign
direct investment, if that person can restore investor
confidence and deal
with all our economic woes and restore some semblance of
order and dignity
to the way the general citizen is living?
People like Mugabe
and Manyika should just stop fooling the
majority of Zimbabweans by
referring to tradition and morality as ways of
dissuading debate on Mugabe's
succession. Zimbabwe needs vibrant debate,
wider consultations and intensive
brainstorming if we are to find someone
who will repair the damage that
Mugabe's misrule has visited on the country.
We are tired of lies aimed at
keeping Mugabe in power.
Everything is in shambles yet people
like Manyika want to tell
us tradition bars us from openly endeavouring to
rectify the situation by
removing the architect of our problems. Those of us
who have had the
opportunity to live outside the country have been lucky
enough because we
have learnt to discern misinformation from people like
Manyika.
We should be courageous enough to compare all the
losses against
the gains of the early 1980s because of Mugabe's insistence
that he alone is
the man up to the task in Zimbabwe and that wisdom was born
with his
ascension to power in 1980 and will die with his departure from
power.
We can only do our people a favour by telling them the
truth,
which is that Mugabe has out-lived his relevance to this
country.
Disgusted by Shamuyarira's utterances on Gukurahundi
I was
greatly disturbed by the reckless and careless utterances
of Nathan
Shamuyarira in The Standard of 1 October 2006 on the sensitive
issue of
Gukurahundi.
Shamuyarira should not downplay the atrocities
and justify the
killings by implying that there was a war situation in the
country. If so,
can he tell us which Act of Parliament and when it was
debated to pronounce
the country was in a state of war.
Gukurahundi was conceived in President Robert Mugabe's mind long
before
independence as a way of consolidating his power. Six months (October
1980)
after attaining independence Mugabe signed an agreement with Kim II
Sung of
North Korea to train a crack unit that would not fall under army
structures
and would report directly to him.
Enos Nkala followed a month
later (November 1980) at rallies in
Bulawayo promising Zapu supporters that
Zanu would deliver blows to them. In
August 1981 some 106 North Koreans came
to train 3 500 recruits at the
Tongogara Camp which was mainly
Zanla-dominated. Zipra recruits were not
allowed to join this crack
unit.
Its formation was questioned by the late Vice President
Joshua
Nkomo but was told in a burst of fury to his shock that it was there
to
destroy him and his supporters if they ever dared challenge his
(Mugabe's)
rule.
With this background, it's evident that
Gukurahundi had long
been in Mugabe's evil deck of cards as Professor
Jonathan Moyo would rightly
put it. All he was looking for was an excuse to
unleash his killing machine
in Matabeleland and the Midlands which were a
threat to his one party state
agenda. This excuse he got by "discovering"
two arms caches at Zapu-owned
farms. Like all the other caches to date, this
was blown out of proportion
and exaggerated by the State
media.
Repeated efforts by Nkomo to see and confirm the
nature and
magnitude of the weapons were in vain, remember Zipra was Russian
sponsored
so their weapons would have been easily identified. Arms that
couldn't even
fill a pick-up truck were pronounced as enough to take on a
whole country
with all its different units.
Dissidents in
the three provinces were a reality, but what I
fail to understand is the
fact that a crack unit of 3 500, the ZNA, the CIO
headed by Emmerson
Mnangagwa, the Police Support Unit, the Youth Brigade and
the Police failed
to contain about 100 (122 surrendered after the Unity
Accord) or so
dissidents who didn't have that much resources besides their
hand guns. My
reasoning is that they were not after the dissidents in the
first place.
Their real agenda was Mugabe's plot to wipe out the Ndebeles.
This, Mugabe
clearly stated in April 1983 when he said: "We eradicate them,
we don't
differentiate when we fight because we can't tell who is a
dissident and who
is not."
Shamuyarira tries to neutralise and portray the
situation as
having been a war between the Ndebeles and the Shonas by saying
that, "it
was not the Ndebeles only who were killed in this genocide, but
also some
Shona-speaking and European farmers".
The fact
is that more than 90% of the estimated 20 000 people
murdered were innocent
Ndebele civilians. Shamuyarira hypocritically tries
to hide behind the fact
of protecting the white farmers in the area. How
convenient! Where are those
farmers they were protecting then?
Shamuyarira also misleads
us with the lies that, "we killed vana
Gwesela in my province". Richard
Gwesela or Otshad as we knew him when he
was a grinding mill attendant in
Zhombe in his earlier years is alive and
well down south, and does
occasionally visit. Killing one of the many
innocent young men and parading
him as Gwesela is not only misleading but
also criminal.
Shamuyarira further says that, "they were doing their job to
protect the
people". What a skewed way of doing it - pregnant girls having
their wombs
ripped open in Neshango line in Nyamandlovu area, on 3 February
1983 at
Khumbula School in Phumula 5km north-east of Phumula Mission, and
then
forcing seven individuals to dig their own grave before shooting them
and
burying some of them while they were still alive. As if that was enough,
those that remained were forced to dance on top of the grave chanting Zanu
PF praise songs. What about the massacre at Cewale River of 62 innocent
civilians? Did I mention Bheligwe concentration camp? Who exactly were
Shamuyarira and the government protecting?
Shamuyarira
said there is no need for compensation for the
victims. Can I draw his
attention to the government's commitment to the UN
in 1996:"Pursuant to the
signing of the Unity Accord in 1987, (the
government) has decided to
compensate all families with missing relatives
regardless of whether there
were court proceedings concerning the
disappearance . .
."
Why is the government backtracking on this initiative
especially
considering the War Victims' Compensation Act was there for those
who
suffered in the 70s war? There are some who couldn't get death
certificates
for their breadwinners, meaning that they couldn't claim
benefits from
various institutions because the system would not allow them
to state the
cause of death. I'm disgusted by Shamuyarira's
insensitivity.
Mandlenkosi Ncube
Bulawayo
------
Racism, tribalism: two sides of
the same coin
A recent article described the plight of
blacks abroad and
how the author was attacked and left for dead. It was very
saddening and
shows us how racism still thrives and how far it goes to
justify
discrimination, social discrimination, racial segregation and
violence.
The effects of racism are the same as those
of tribalism
which has divided Zimbabwe for a long time and therefore this
article may be
viewed as simultaneously addressing both these social
evils.
Tribalism as we know, always sticks out its ugly
head in
politics and development issues in Zimbabwe, the highlight being the
disturbances in the opposition MDC.
I would start
by stating that racism is a choice, people
decide to be racist, there is no
scientific evidence that shows a
predisposition to be racist. It is simply a
belief in the moral or
biological superiority of one race or ethnic group
over another or others.
Racism is destructive. It
disempowers people by devaluing
their identity. It destroys community
cohesion and creates divisions in
society. It is the opposite of the
democratic principle of equality and the
right of all people to be treated
fairly.
Racist attitudes and beliefs are misconceptions
about
people based on perceived racial lines and are often founded on the
fear of
difference, including differences in customs, values, religion,
physical
appearance and ways of living and viewing the world. This includes
negative
attitudes towards the use of different
languages.
Racism affects everyone. It damages
communities by
limiting the contributions of its members and disrupts
peaceful co-existence
and co-operation between groups. It damages
individuals by destroying
self-confidence and preventing them from achieving
their potential. It is
particularly damaging for children as it hampers
social development and
limits educational opportunities. The consequences of
racism - social
injustice, a less productive economy and a divided community
- are clearly
detrimental, not only for its victims but to society as a
whole.
I rest my case.
Asher Tarivona-Mutsengi
University of Texas at
Austin
US
---------
Mugabe has completely lost his
'Ubuntu'
I have listened to former US President Bill
Clinton
speak at numerous forums but as an African I will always remember
his recent
speech at Britain's Labour Party Conference in Manchester on the
27
September 2006.
Clinton, being human like
anyone else, was never
perfect as President of the US, but today, along with
other international
luminaries such as Nelson Mandela or Mikhail Gorbachev,
he is among the most
respected and revered former heads of State in the
world.
In his closing remarks to the speech at
the Labour
Party's Conference, soon after speaking about the need to work
towards
global equity and eradication of poverty in poor countries such as
those in
Africa, Clinton invoked the timeless southern African philosophy of
"Ubuntu".
Denouncing global inequity in all
its forms, Clinton
urged Labour Conference delegates to meditate upon the
meaning of the word
"Ubuntu", which he directly translated to mean, "I am,
because you are".
It was his plea to the Western
world to realise that
for the global North to have all its wealth it's
because of other global
citizens, who, albeit, are not sharing the same
wealth and well-being
enjoyed in the Western
world.
I thought long and hard about the
applicability of
this philosophy to Zimbabwe. I thought about the nature of
a President who
unashamedly declares war on his own people as evidenced by
sanctioning of
police brutality upon defenceless workers protesting because
they are
hungry.
I thought long and hard
about a President who
publicly insults his own people calling them all sorts
of names (e.g.
"totemless", ugly", "mazitumbu", etc). I thought about the
nature of a
President who has no heart or empathy for the plight of his own
people.
I came to the conclusion that Mugabe is
the most
unAfrican person, to have led an African country. He forgets the
fact that
for him to be, it's because we are. He thinks his regime is a law
unto
itself that the international community must "shut up" and leave
Zimbabwe
alone as if we are an island unto
ourselves.
Robert Mugabe has virtually no
"Ubuntu", and neither
does he remotely understand what that philosophy
means. Shame on Mugabe!
Disgusted
Minnesota
USA
------------
Getting real on food
security
ZIMBABWE's has over the last five years gone
through a
massive agrarian reform exercise. The revolution saw previously
marginalised
"black" farmers being moved from their arid soils onto prime
farmland.
One critical element lacking in Africa which
Zimbabwe has
now adopted is an "agrarian policy framework". Such a framework
is important
for coming up with proper plans for farming seasons, resource
allocation,
and political support for agriculture and technical support for
those in
agriculture.
If we are to empower African
farmers, we need to start by
giving them access to good
land.
The media can play a pivotal role in improving skills
of
farmers through radio and TV broadcasts. Also of importance are farmer
organisations which mobilise resources on behalf of their
members.
Governments also must play a major role in
ensuring that
farmers get funding for their
projects.
Without a proper operating framework, the
eradication of
poverty in Africa will remain a pipe dream and unless we can
accord the
black farmer the status befitting him/her, Africa will remain a
net food
importer.
Munyaradzi
Chimwara
Harare
------------------
Mugabe's 'storm troopers'
cannot escape retribution
WITH the President's
declaration that the
police were only doing their job, the police have
effectively become his
storm troopers.
We are now effectively a Police State.
But what these foot soldiers do not know is
that they are being used by a
regime that is on its last legs. Mugabe is
merely using them as a buffer
zone so that Zimbabweans become too scared to
oppose
him.
He gives them the green light because
he knows
that they are blindly loyal to him. Some of the police officers
perpetrating
violence do so reluctantly, but this will not save them from
jail when the
day of reckoning arrives, as it surely
will.
They can run, but they can't hide.
Their
devotion to Mugabe will cost them dearly one day. There shall be
gnashing of
teeth!
They can escape to
other countries but they
will be hunted down
eventually.
What they don't know too, is
that when the day
of reckoning comes, they are the ones who will be
arrested, tried, and
jailed, and not Mugabe, who will likely get
amnesty.
No amount of "we were only doing
our job" will
save them. What they should know now is that their actions are
not escaping
notice. They are committing crimes but are being told they are
only doing
their duty. The victims of police brutality know the names of the
perpetrators. With the help of witnesses and other victims, their time shall
come as surely as the sun rises from the
East.
The perpetrators need to be disabused
of the
notion that it is a faint possibility that they will be tried. Make
no
mistake, they WILL be tried! The dates, names of victims are being
systematically recorded and kept.
One
more thing, the police have a lot of
informers who know full well who their
fellow perpetrators of violence are,
and they are keen to distance
themselves by providing information. So to the
police I say, enjoy
yourselves while you can . . .
We shall
overcome!
Mwana
Wevhu
Harare
---------
Exposing Zanu PF falsehoods about
Gwesela,
dissidents
I was a BBC
correspondent in Matabeleland in
1987 when the army announced that it had
killed notorious dissident Richard
Gwesela during a clash in Lower Gweru
area.
As most of us now know, it turned
out that
the person the army claimed to have killed was not the real Gwesela
but an
impersonator. When I heard that Gwesela's body was being displayed at
Gweru
Police station, I rushed there to see for
myself.
I had asked a former Zipra cadre
to
accompany me because he knew Gwesela since they came from the same
village
in Chief Gwesela's area. The first thing the former Zipra man said
to me
when he saw the body of the alleged Gwesela was: "This is not Gwesela.
They
killed the wrong guy."
I also
interviewed people from Lower Gweru,
who knew Gwesela and they all told me
the dead dissident was not the
troublesome
Gwesela.
A few months after the signing
of the Unity
Accord between Dr Joshua Nkomo and then Prime Minister Robert
Mugabe in
December 1987, Gwesela's relatives spotted him strolling in the
streets of
Johannesburg.
Every now
and then, there are people who say
Gwesela is still alive and living in
South Africa.
Shamuyarira also lied when
he claimed
Gwesela operated in Mashonaland West province and killed
Shona-speaking
people living there.
According to Max Mkandla, a former Zipra
cadre, Gwesela never operated in
Mashonaland although Zipra guerrillas
controlled most of the areas in
Mashonaland West province during the war.
The Zanu PF so-called dissidents only
operated in Matabeleland and the
Midlands because they wanted to give the
impression that they were Ndebeles
who wanted to overthrow the government.
My fellow countrymen and women, dissidents
existed only in the imagination
of Zanu PF leaders and commanders such as
Perrence Shiri and others who were
blinded by their hatred of the Ndebele
people.
The people of Matabeleland
were massacred
not because they backed the non-existent dissidents but
because Zanu PF had
planned the massacres in Mozambique before
independence.
I hope my letter clarifies
the confusion
especially in Mashonaland where many people were misled by
Zanu PF leaders
about the political situation in Matabeleland. It's not all
Shonas who hated
the Ndebeles.
In
fact, there are many Shona-speaking
Gukurahundi soldiers who saved the
villagers by asking them to flee into the
bush to avoid being killed by some
of their colleagues. It happened in the
area where I come from. Some 5
Brigade soldiers risked their own lives in
order to save
villagers.
Thabo
Kunene
Port
Elizabeth
South Africa