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Letter
1: Ben Norton
Dear Colin.
Very many thanks for your very welcome
reply. I certainly do appreciate the
very difficult task that has landed in
your lap, and I congratulate you for
the manner in which you are handling
that task. I certainly do not want to
intrude in the very limited time you
have to spend on has beens comments,
and before you read any further I ask
you to put this note in your pocket
and take it home with you and read it
with a whiskey in hand and sitting in
a comfortable chair and watching the
cricket, but I would ask you please to
take this Pathetic attempt in trying
to help find the right solution to the
worst tragedy that has ever befallen
commercial farming in Zimbabwe. And I
might add here that I think that
commercial farming, as we knew it is
something of the past, and can never be
resuscitated, and if that thought
proves to be true then I believe that the
same applies to the C.F.U. and
that the C.F.U of the year 1999 that was
funded and serviced the needs of
5000 farmers no longer exists and that a new
body that serves the
requirements of the 5% of farmers that remain be formed
and funded by
themselves, and that the ex C.F.U funded by the funds
accumulated in the
past should concentrate their efforts on helping the 95%
that have lost
their all and not forgetting that a large proportion of those
farmers
carved their farms out of virgin bush and spent every penny they
earned on
developing their farms and even those that inherited farms spent
all their
earnings on developing farms that are no older than 100 years, and
I
contend that a larger proportion of our Zimbabwean farms are
better
developed, by better farmers than any where else in the
world.
I also believe that many of the farms that are still being farmed
by their
rightful owners have been left there for a purpose and that most of
them
are now preparing to quit as they are unable to carry on under the
present
circumstances, and I venture to say that they realise that their
farms have
been identified by some V.I.P who want their farms protected and
not
destroyed by so called settlers. The rest I believe have bought their
farms
anew and feel quite safe and to my thinking deserve no help.
I
have also heard of a number of cases where members of the C.F.U are
carrying
on various farming operations in partnership with the new elite,
on farms
that have been illegally acquired. Although I fully support the
saying that
God only helps those who try and help themselves, this is one
time where we
should be all working together for the well being for all
commercial farmers,
and not just thinking only of our selves, am I not
right in saying that these
chaps are operating illegally and should be
discouraged by what ever means
possible.
I also believe that the C.F.U should be discouraging all
remaining farmers
from producing any crops what so ever until the rule of law
is
re-established and a comprehensive plan is formulated to resuscitate
the
production of food and tobacco.
I believe that Jag and their
activities should be looked upon as a
legitimate rightwing opposition to the
C.F.U. and not as a group of
troublemakers. I think it is true to say
that the C.F.U policy only
started changing, for the better, after Jag was
founded and I would like,
on behalf of ex farmers, to take this opportunity
to thank Jag for their
hard work on our behalf. I look forward to their
sitreps and other
informative communications.
To answer your remarks
Colin, the ex C.F.U. chairman that I suggest you
invite to a mini congress
are any ex C.F.U presidents that are available at
this time, most of these
chaps have gone a long way since they were
President and are all well
regarded by the commercial world. I feel quite
sure that the time is ripe,
notwithstanding the old idea of I am now
president or chairman Will you
please piss off I am now in the drivers seat
and I can assure you that if I
need your help or advice I will not hesitate
to ask for it, for you to accept
new ideas and help from where ever you can
obtain it.
I admit that I
was wrong in saying publish the names of those who do not
wish to
participate, because they have already contributed enormously to
the welfare
of the farming community and are fully entitled to a
peaceful
retirement.
As to your remarks about my contacts with the
minister, we are now living
in a completely different time and the relations
were far more amiable but
with the support of the late Bob Rutherford and the
ex director and fellow
farmer Dave Hasluck I did have a couple of documented
clashes with the
minister.
I quite accept that you have very limited
access to the minister but quite
frankly I do not see the need for any
discussion with Mr. Made because I do
not think he would be at all
sympathetic. In fact I do not think that he
would understand what you were
getting at and perhaps he should just be
presented with the facts and or
ultimatums and at the same time make them
available to the rest of the world
and to your ex and present members.
Surely the time is not appreciate for
talking about production of food and
Tobacco by your remaining active
members, perhaps we should rather show
more support for the opposition
parties and allow the meltdown take its
hurried course until the end and then
that would be the time to present a
plan for the future. We should now be
working on this plan taking advice
from all stakeholders and possibly from
donor countries who are going to
fund the plan.
Colin I would like to
take this opportunity to ask you to convey my very
grateful thanks to the
Kind gentleman who paid my C.F.U. subs and to
confirm that I am still a
staunch member of the family but welcome any
constructive criticism and help
that the opposition have to offer. They are
not disgruntled kids Colin but
are well-respected and worried members of
our community, who I thank for
their efforts in trying to solve our
problems.
In closing I would like
to thank you for your time, and for the very
Stirling effort you and your
team are making in trying to satisfy your
members wishes and in trying to
find a workable answer to the almost
insurmountable problems that beset Zim,
agriculture today.
Finally Colin I have just downloaded my computer and
the first two items
that caught my eye, which were also the first two items
that I opened were
the JAG P.R. Communiqué of the 20th March and the JAG
Sitrep. The first is
exactly the sort of questions that could be sorted out
at a mini congress
of ex presidents and an agreed statement could be
published. The JAG
sitrep of the 20th is what the world should know
about and what is our
right to know about, why should we have to wait for a
Jag sitrep to know
about this sort of atrocity,
Work together today
BOTH black (not ZANU PF) and white and tomorrow the sun
will shine on the
pearl of Africa.
Yours sincerely.
Ben
Norton
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JUSTICE FOR AGRICULTURE LEGAL COMMUNIQUÉ -
April 9, 2003
L.A. FORMS
Pressure continues to be exerted
from some parties to offer more land on LA
Forms. Before you do so
please bear in mind the points:
1. By giving way to the pressure you are
legalising the whole illegal
process and you will be the long-term
loser.
2. In most areas it has not helped others who have gone this route
and
there are numerous cases of continued harassment, eviction and
imprisonment
even after farmers have felt pressured to sign away
property.
3. In the vast majority of cases the State has not paid for the
property
offered and where offers have been made they have been mostly
heavily
discounted offers.
4. The State has expressly refused to pay
for "the land" even though
property owners paid for the land in their
original purchases of their
property.
5. The State has not budgeted
for this land acquisition exercise on
anything like the scale that it is
proceeding.
6. In the vast majority of cases your workers will not be
looked after,
paid or even housed once the property is acquired.
7.
Productivity has not been a feature of land that goes to the State and
by
offering land you will merely be contributing to the rapidly
declining
economy and the hunger that many Zimbabweans now face. This
is not in the
National interest!
It is always important to bear in
mind that "deals with dishonourable
people will not be honoured" in the vast
majority of cases. The current
regime has not shown itself to be of a
particularly honourable nature up to
now. If you still feel you ought
to offer land please contact JAG first
for advice. Do not do it in
isolation - we are here to help.
Email: justice@telco.co.zw; justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
Internet: www.justiceforagriculture.com
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From News24 (SA), 8 April
Zim
bribes farmworkers
Pretoria - The Zimbabwean government is
trying to bribe farm workers with
food and promises of work to return to the
farm of a member of the
Zimbabwean opposition after the workers were earlier
violently removed from
the farm. The situation on the farm of Roy Bennet, MP
of the Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC), has become an embarrassment for
the Zimbabwean
government and it is trying to convince the farm workers to
return to the
farm. This comes after a high-level delegation of
international
non-governmental organisations announced that they would be
visiting the
farm on Tuesday. Bennet said the governor of Manicaland, Oppah
Muchinguri,
drove to his farm near the Mozambique border in her luxury
vehicle on Friday
to speak to the workers and their families. The workers and
their families,
about 1 200 men, women and children, have been living in
"terrible
conditions" at a bus stop near Chimanimani, Bennet said. One of
Bennet's
workers said Muchinguri told them that they were now rid of Bennet
and could
return to the farm. The farm would be taken over by government.
"The workers
phoned me to ask whether they should accept the governor's food.
I told them
to take the food as it could do no harm." However, the workers
refused to
return to the farm unless Bennet himself came to fetch them.
Bennet said
media reports in South Africa have caused the government to "wake
up" and
that they were now trying to salvage the situation. "It has had a
huge
impact, because it now focuses attention on what is really happening
here.
The fact that ministers from the South African Development Community
(SADC)
are now asking questions, definitely plays a big role," he said.
A
delegation of SADC ministers will visit Zimbabwe this week on invitation
of
the Zimbabwean minister of foreign affairs, Stan Mudenge. "The
international
community has been aware of the situation in Zimbabwe for some
time. What we
need is for SADC countries, and especially South Africa, to
criticise the
government, then we will see a reaction." Bennet is still the
lawful owner
of the farm under a court interdict that prevents police from
setting foot
on the farm. He and his workers were threatened and assaulted
several times
during the confiscation of farms.
From The
New York Times, 8 April
Bill would ban trade in conflict
diamonds
Washington (AP) - Diamonds that finance and fan African
civil wars would be
banned from U.S. import and export under a bill passed by
the House on
Tuesday. "It makes a step in the right direction to wage war on
the
international trade nexus of money, diamonds and weapons, which help
fuel
conflicts in Africa," said Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y. The bill, passed 419-2
with
one member voting present, enters the United States into an
international
agreement that bans trade in so-called conflict diamonds. The
Senate Finance
Committee approved a similar bill last week. The international
agreement,
known as the Kimberley Process, includes representatives of the
diamond
industry, human rights groups and dozens of other nations. The
group
requires that traded diamonds come with certification that they were
mined
from legitimate sources. Conflict diamonds have been linked to civil
wars in
Sierra Leone and Angola. The rebels use forced labor to mine
diamonds, then
use the proceeds to purchase weapons and finance military
action. The U.S.
Customs Service will monitor the diamond trade and fine
anyone who violates
the ban. Rep. Christopher Smith, R-N.J., asked the agency
to look into
whether several countries participating in the Kimberley
Process, including
Zimbabwe and the Central African Republic, still trade in
conflict diamonds.
It is estimated that trade in conflict or "blood''
diamonds makes up less
than 4 percent of the annual global diamond trade.
Lawmakers also argued
that blocking trade in illegitimate diamonds will cut
off financing to
international terrorist groups. The Treasury Department
suspects terrorists
are moving their assets into commodities like diamonds as
they are forced
out of the traditional banking system. "Drying up the cash
that supports
terrorism is a very, very important part of the war on
terrorism,'' said Vic
Snyder, D-Ark. "If somebody can just take a sock full
of illegal diamonds,
put it in their pocket, walk onto a plane, they have an
ability to move
wealth all over the world to bribe, to buy weaponry, to buy
explosives.''
Farmers Dissatisfied With Compensation Offers
UN
Integrated Regional Information Networks
April 9, 2003
Posted to the
web April 9, 2003
Johannesburg
Commercial farmers in Zimbabwe on
Wednesday criticised as insufficient the
government's purchase offers for
their farms, acquired under the
controversial land reform
programme.
Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) president, Colin Cloete, told
IRIN that on
average, the authorities were willing to pay less than 50
percent of
anticipated compensation figures.
"The government is not
serious about compensating farmers. There has been a
case where an
independent valuation pegged a farm at Zim $250 million but
the government
offered the farmer a mere Zim $20 million. We understand that
the government
does not have the necessary finance to meet all the
compensation needs, but
we do expect some kind of reasonable compromise,"
Cloete said.
He
added that the offers were not being made in writing, but by
verbal
agreement.
Under the terms of Zimbabwe's land law, some 290
white farmers have been
offered compensation for improvements to their land,
but not for the seized
land itself. Of an original 4,500 white farmers, only
600 are estimated to
be on their farms as a result of the government's
fast-track land
redistribution programme.
Cloete said the CFU was in
dialogue with the government in an attempt to
reach an agreement on "fair
compensation".
IRIN was unable to get comment from the government on
Wednesday.
MSNBC
Women beat Zimbabwe official over land
seizures
HARARE, April 9 - A Zimbabwe government official jumped
out of a third floor
window to escape beating by angry women war veterans
demanding ownership
papers for land they seized from white farmers, police
said on Wednesday.
A police official
told Reuters the acting provincial administrator
for Zimbabwe's Mashonaland
West Province had been injured and admitted to
hospital after being assaulted
with clubs, an iron bar and fists in his
office in
Chinhoyi.
He said his assailants were
women who turned on him when he said he
had no authority to issue new
occupation papers for land they had taken
during President Robert Mugabe's
controversial and violent land
seizures
programme.
The police
official confirmed five women had been arrested over the
attack, which one
local newspaper said the government official had been
lucky to
survive.
Mugabe's government has seized
almost three-quarters of farms owned
by Zimbabwe's 4,500 white commercial
farmers, a policy blamed for plunging
the southern African country into its
worst political and economic crisis
since independence from Britain in
1980.
Critics say Mugabe's top officials
have taken over most of the farms,
but the government dismisses this as
propaganda by its domestic and foreign
opponents, saying the land has been
distributed to landless blacks.
Opponents say Mugabe's security forces have arrested hundreds of
people in a
crackdown on critics since one of the biggest protests against
his 23-year
rule last month.
oneworld.net
Zimbabwe: Human Rights Concerns Not a
Diversion, LCHR Says
NEW YORK- The Lawyers Committee for Human
Rights welcomes the announcement
made Thursday that the Southern African
Development Community (SADC) will
send a task force to Zimbabwe to have
discussions with various groups about
the current crisis in the country.
Following a meeting of SADC foreign
ministers, held in Harare on April 3, the
foreign minister of Mozambique,
Leonardo Simao, told reporters that the task
force would visit Zimbabwe this
week. Simao is reported to have said that
"all different stakeholders will
be invited to voice their opinions about the
current situation."
While Simao expressed concern about the absence of
"peace, stability and
harmony" in Zimbabwe, the official communiqué released
at the end of the
SADC meeting made no reference to the political and human
rights crisis in
Zimbabwe. Rather, the communiqué notes that "those opposed
to Zimbabwe have
tried to shift the agenda from the core issue of land by
selective diversion
of attention on governance and human rights
issues."
"Severe violations of human rights and systematic undermining of
the rule of
law in Zimbabwe are not a diversion," said Lorna Davidson, Senior
Associate
with the New York based Lawyers Committee for Human Rights who
recently
visited the country. "The only way to tackle the many political
and
humanitarian challenges facing the country is to restore respect for
the
rule of law, and to uphold the rights of all Zimbabweans.
The
Lawyers Committee is concerned that the SADC communiqué fails to
fully
acknowledge the severity of the human rights crisis in Zimbabwe, and
the
obstacle that these systematic violations place in the way of any
resolution
of the political, humanitarian and economic crises that
increasingly
threaten the country and the surrounding region.
Human
rights abuses are reported daily by reliable local and international
sources.
Indeed, the South African government has itself recently expressed
concern
about violations of freedom of expression and the repression of
peaceful
political dissent in Zimbabwe. The South African Chamber of
Business also
this week condemned the lack of concerted regional efforts to
address the
crisis in Zimbabwe. A spokesman for the organization stated that
the
situation in Zimbabwe had a negative impact on the entire region and
on
African initiatives such as the New Partnership for Africa's
Development.
The sending of a SADC task force to Zimbabwe is an important
step in
reaching a regional solution to the crisis. In order to be effective,
the
task force should visit both urban and rural areas and ensure that
it
gathers information independently. Its members must meet and have an
open
discussion with a range of civil society actors, including human
rights
organisations, church leaders, trade union representatives and
agricultural
workers.
One of the Principles stated in the Declaration
and Treaty of SADC, which
governs the organisation's operation, is that its
members act in accordance
with human rights, democracy and the rule of law.
It is therefore incumbent
upon the SADC task force and the organs to which it
reports to seek
solutions to the crisis in Zimbabwe that are in full
accordance with
international and regional human rights
standards.
The
Swedish Parliament
PRESS
RELEASE
TUESDAY 8 APRIL
2003
Swedish protests against
Zimbabwe
In an address during the
General Debate at the ongoing conference of
the Inter-Parliamentary Union
(IPU) in Santiago de Chile, the leader of the
Swedish delegation, Second
Deputy Speaker Kerstin Heinemann, criticised the
attacks perpetrated on
parliamentarians in Zimbabwe. In her address she also
expressed the energetic
protests of the Riksdag against the wave of violence
and torture occurring in
Zimbabwe.
The 108th Conference of the
Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), which is
being held in Santiago de Chile on
6-12 April 2003, is being attended by
almost 600 parliamentarians from 116
countries.
Christina
Green
Press Officer, tel. +46-8-786 40 54,
+46-70-609 64 48
Macedonian Press Agency, Greece
EU PRESIDENCY STATEMENT ON RESTRICTIVE MEASURES AGAINST
ZIMBABWE
Athens, 9 April 2003 (17:58
UTC+2)
A declaration was issued by the EU
Presidency, the Acceding Countries
Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia,
Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta,
Poland, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia,
the Associated Countries Bulgaria
and Romania, and the EFTA country
Liechtenstein, member of the European
Economic Area, concerning restrictive
measures against Zimbabwe.
The Acceding
Countries Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary,
Latvia, Lithuania,
Malta, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia, the
Associated Countries
Bulgaria and Romania, and the EFTA country
Liechtenstein, member of the
European Economic Area, declare that they share
the objectives of Council
Common Position 2003/115/CFSP of February 18, 2003
amending and extending
Common Position 2002/145/CFSP concerning restrictive
measures against
Zimbabwe. They will ensure that their national policies
conform to that
common position.
The European Union takes
note of this commitment and welcomes it.
World Bank
Africa's progress, challenges
Bank Releases
Comprehensive Collection of Development Data Covering
the Regions's Last Two
Decades
April 9, 2003-With tables on HIV/AIDS, communications,
transportation,
household welfare and hundreds of other development
indicators from more than
50 African countries, new edition of the African
Development Indicators (ADI)
2003 released this week provides the most
detailed collection of development
data on Africa in one
volume.
Drawn from the World Bank Africa Database and covering a period
of 21 years,
the African Development Indicators (ADI) 2003 aims at assisting
practitioners
and policy makers to better understand today's regional
economic, social and
environmental trends and
issues.
"Africa urgently needs rich nations to deliver on their promises
of more
generous aid and wider trade opportunities to reverse the cruel
effects of
the HIV/AIDS pandemic, civil wars, and persistent low growth
rates," explains
Alan Gelb, World Bank Chief Economist for the
Africa
Region.
"The World Bank's latest annual report African Development
Indicators (ADI)
2003 sounds a clear warning that the rapid spread of
HIV/AIDS, anemic aid and
investment flows, and weak commodity prices
threaten to undo the hard-fought
gains of recent years," he
adds.
The ADI 2003 presents data from 53 African countries and five
regional
country groups, arranged in separate tables or matrices for more
than 500
indicators of
development.
The ADI report provides data from 1980-2001 with a wealth of
indicators,
grouped into 16 chapters: background data; national accounts;
prices and
exchange rates; money and banking; external sector; external debt
and related
flows; government finance; agriculture; power, communications,
and
transportation; public enterprises; labor force and employment; aid
flows;
social indicators; environmental indicators; Household Welfare
Indicators;
and HIPC debt
initiative.
Each chapter begins with a brief introduction on the nature of
the data and
their limitations, followed by a set of statistical tables,
charts, and
technical notes that define the indicators and identify their
specific
source. Included this year are new tables on HIV/AIDS,
communications and
transportation, the HIPC debt initiative, and household
welfare
indicators.
The publication is designed to provide all those interested in
Africa with a
focused and convenient set of data to monitor development
programs and aid
flows in the
region.
"This publication brings together in one place the best
statistical picture
of Africa available. In it you will find evidence of
Africa's progress, and
Africa's challenges --and throughout the complexity
of the African scene,"
says Jeff Katz, the Manager of Africa Partnerships
and External
Affairs.
08 APRIL 2003
I keep hoping that the next report I write will be
to let everyone know that things have taken a turn for the better.
Regrettably, in this report we can only let you know that the situation has
taken a further turn for the worse. Meryl and the rescue team bravely and
determinedly battle on but there just does not appear to be any end in
sight.
Following the mass civil action on 18 and 19 March,
there have been wholesale violent acts of retribution meted out
to any and all perceived government opponents. The level of
brutality has left us all completely stunned and shocked.
Inevitably innocent animals are 'caught in the
crossfire'. Many of you will have seen footage of the young
female opposition supporter who was raped with the barrel of an automatic
weapon and had her arm slashed resulting in permanent nerve damage.
Despite her horrific experience, this brave soul provided information
to Meryl about a dog which had been badly injured during the violent
reprisals.
The rescue team recovered 'Shumba' from a house in
Mabvuka, Harare. The owners had been hospitalised due to the
extent of their injuries. It is reported that 8 men in army uniform
arrived at their home late at night and before beating the
occupants, they first beat 'Shumba', a female Collie cross who had tried to
protect her owners. They beat her with rubber batons and neighbours said
they had heard the dog 'screaming' during the attack. The team
rescued Shumba and took her straight to a vet who reported that although
completely covered in injuries, her thick coat had probably saved her from
any permanent injury. She is recovering well although still not able to
walk properly.
The eviction of 1000 farm workers from MDC MP Roy
Bennett's farm in the Chimanimani area has also been reported in the
media.
Meryl received a report from Mr Bennett that cattle
on the farm had been slashed with axes. When the team arrived at the farm, they found 15 head, mainly calves and
weaners (which are easy targets) that had been attacked. Most had
serious gaping wounds. One young bull had a shoulder wound about 15cm
deep. One weaner had received a spinal injury and could no longer walk and
had to be euthanaised. All other animals have been treated and are
recovering.
The most distressing part of the report is that
following the team's visit, the few remaining workers on the farm who
co-operated with the rescue team were subjected to a vicious beating, in
particular one farm guard, who had to be hospitalised, having been beaten
with a truncheon encased in a metal pipe. The beating was
reportedly carried out by one Joseph Mwale of the CIO and the Officer
in Charge of ZRP Chimanimani. The farm worker said that he finally
begged them to shoot him as he was in such unbearable pain but was
told by Mwale that he had to suffer. 5 other workers received
treatment at the local clinic.
These scenes are obviously becoming more and more
difficult for Meryl and the team to cope with. We have reinforced the
rescue team, but the emotional stress is obviously taking its toll. They
battle on and we all hope and pray that we will not have to hang on too much
longer. Surely the international community can no longer stand by and
ignore the worsening situation.
We must also unhappily report that 5 more
black rhino have been killed in Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwe Conservation
Task Force reports that 6 black rhino were caught in poachers' snares on the
Bubiyana Conservancy. One was saved and one broke free with the snare
still imbedded in its flesh - the remaining 4 died. The 5th rhino was
reported dead at the hands of poachers on Gourlays Ranch. No further
details are yet known.
As always, we strenuously commend the many
wonderful people and organisations who continue to rally round us in our
efforts to protect the animals of Zimbabwe. There are so many who have
assisted in so many ways and we are always reluctant to name them in case
we exclude any of the special people who have contributed in any way,
but I am compelled to name those who have been such a tower of strength when the
situation has seemed so hopeless and who have given us the encouragement
and strength necessary to keep going: Organisations we must commend
are the NSPCA in South Africa, IFAW, RSPCA, Vizara Ridgebacks, Zimbabwe Pet
Rescue Project, WSPA, Mafikeng SPCA, the Zimbabwe Blue Cross, SPANA, Motorsport
SA, the South African Animal Anti Cruelty League, Sims Black Trust, National
Horse Trust, SAfm, SW Radio, the Zimbabwe Animal Support Group and the Hugg
Foundation.
Individuals who need special mention are
Marcelle Meredith, Chris Kuch, Val Wise, Mary Pringle, Estelle Walters, Ann
Kempen, Roger Matthews, Timmy Ralfe, Sherri Williamson, Mariette van der Veer,
Tracey Clarke, Beaulah Schoeman, Lisa Haylett, Patricia Glyn, Nadine Da Silva,
Anne Bosman, Christine Baseotto, Linda Costa, Jimmy Bass, Pat Sessi and
Howard and Jane Why.
There are many other individuals, companies and
organisations who have been supporting us with regular donations and kind
messages of commendation or who have been disseminated our
reports. In all the chaos and pressure we are working under, I know
you will fully understand if we have omitted you from our messages.
We thank each and every one of you. We
really could not do it without you.
Should any individuals, especially
ex-Zimbabweans, wish to receive copies of other reports relating
to the situation in Zimbabwe, please let me know.
Best regards
Bernice
09 April 2003 19:22
Update on Paul Themba
Nyathi
Dear Friends,
Paul Themba Nyathi, MDC Publicity and Information
Secretary is spending his third night in detention. The lawyer had failed to
secure a court hearing within 48 hours and had put in an urgent application to
the High Court compelling the Police to bring Nyathi to court. The party
spokesperson will appear in court tomorrow at 11 am. Hopefully no further dirty
tricks will be employed and he will make bail tomorrow. Paul is the member of
parliament representing me in my rural home - Gwanda North in Matabeleland.
Meanwhile some Law and Order officers visited my offices today, I was not
available at the time. I am informed that they wanted to know where I operate
from, a question they obviously knew the answer to when they set out to visit my
office. Should they manage to find me I will gladly appraise them of my
activities exercising my constitutional and human rights.
I watched the Iraqis dance on the felled statue of Saddam Hussein. For over
an hour several men with determination, but few resources they attempted to fell
the statue. They took it in turns to hammer at the plinth and at the feet and
finally they requested the assistance of an American tank crew. As the statue
fell they rushed forward to dance on it and pelt it with their shoes in insult.
Others then triumphantly placed the Iraqi flag on the plinth signaling that
Iraqis had triumphed over Saddam the Dictator. I remember vividly the night the
Rhodes statue was brought down after Independence.
I long for the day that Zimbabweans will dance with joy and their victory.
We have Independence but desire freedom. 18 April is Independence day, an
appropriate day for us to begin the struggle for freedom. Be ready, willing and
able to do your bit on that day!
''Whatever you vividly imagine, ardently desire, sincerely believe and
enthusiastically act upon..must inevitably come to pass''
Paul J. Meyer - founder of SMI
As always,
Jenni Williams
Contact Jenni Williams on Mobile
(+263) 91 300456 or 11213 885 Or on email
jennipr@mweb.co.zwor Fax (+2639) 63978
Office email
prnews@mweb.co.zwA
member of the International Association of Business Communicators. Visit
the
IABC website
www.iabc.com
globalpolicy.org
Alien Tort Claims Act Proceeding Against
Robert Mugabe
By Frederic L. Kirgis
American Society of
International Law
September 2000
According to news reports,
Robert Mugabe, the head of state of Zimbabwe,
was served with process while
he was in New York City for the United Nations
Millennium Summit, in a suit
brought by Zimbabwean nationals seeking civil
damages under the U.S. Alien
Tort Claims Act (ATCA). The suit alleges that
Mugabe orchestrated violence by
his political party against its opponents,
including beating and burning the
plaintiffs or, in one case, the husband of
a plaintiff, in order to stay in
power at the time of Zimbabwe's
parliamentary elections in
June.
The ATCA gives federal courts in the United States
jurisdiction over "any
civil action by an alien for a tort only, committed in
violation of the law
of nations or a treaty of the United States."(1) The
violence alleged in the
suit, if proved and if committed by state officials
acting as such, or if
committed under color of law, would almost certainly be
a tort (i.e. a civil
wrong) in violation of the law of nations. International
law prohibits
torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment at the hands
of public
officials, even when the victims are citizens of the state in which
the
treatment occurs.(2) The definition of torture in the
international
Convention Against Torture includes not only the infliction of
severe pain
or suffering for purposes of eliciting information, but also for
purposes of
intimidating or coercing an individual or a third person for some
other
reason.(3) Torture, however, would not necessarily have to be proved,
since
cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment would also suffice for
potential
liability.
Nevertheless, Mugabe could assert in
defense to the suit that, as the
current head of state of Zimbabwe, he is
entitled to head-of-state immunity
from suit in a U.S. court. In 1994 a
federal court held that Jean-Bertrand
Aristide, then the recognized head of
state of Haiti, was immune from suit
in a U.S. court in a case involving an
alleged political assassination.(4)
In 1995 an ATCA suit against Radovan
Karadi, the president of the
self-proclaimed republic of Srpska in
Bosnia-Herzegovina, was allowed to
proceed, but the United States had never
recognized the legitimacy of a
state of Srpska and the case thus would be
distinguishable from the current
one.(5) In 1999 the British House of Lords
denied head-of-state immunity to
Augusto Pinochet of Chile, but he was no
longer the head of state at the
time of the British proceedings, so his case
could be distinguished as
well.(6)
Some cases in federal courts
also allow individual high-ranking foreign
government officials to claim
sovereign immunity from suit.(7) Sovereign
immunity is based on a federal
statute, the Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act
(FSIA),(8) which applies
primarily to governments themselves and their
instrumentalities, rather than
to heads of state. It is not clear that all
federal courts would consider
someone like Mugabe eligible for sovereign
immunity (as distinguished from
head-of-state immunity). If the court in the
Mugabe case did so, it would
probably provide Mugabe with another successful
defense. Even though the FSIA
contains a limited exception to immunity for
cases involving torture, it
applies only to sovereigns that are on the U.S.
State Department's terrorist
list (Zimbabwe is not) and it applies only in
favor of persons who were U.S.
nationals at the time of the alleged
torture.(9)
Mugabe could
also argue that the alleged violence was not "official,"
since it was
conducted by a political party or persons in the service of a
political
party, rather than by the government as such. If it was not
official, there
would be doubt whether it constituted a violation of
international law. An
answer could be that if Mugabe, the head of state,
orchestrated the violence
for purposes of remaining in power, that would
supply the "official"
element.
Mugabe might argue, further, that international law is
not incorporated
into federal law in the United States in the absence of a
specific
Congressional act adopting a particular rule of international law as
a rule
of federal law, so a federal court relying on the constitutional grant
of
jurisdiction over federal questions could not constitutionally
exercise
jurisdiction over an international law claim without such a
Congressional
statute. The ATCA, however, is a Congressional act. Most
federal courts that
have applied the ATCA have treated it as incorporating
rules of
international law as federal rules of decision on which plaintiffs
may base
their claims for monetary damages. In addition, there is a line of
federal
cases to the effect that some rules of customary international law
have the
status of federal common law in the United States. The rules most
likely to
have that status would be specific rules protecting basic human
rights, such
as the rule against torture of the rule against cruel, inhuman
or degrading
treatment.(10)
Another argument might be based on
the federal act of state doctrine,
which precludes courts in this country
from inquiring into the validity of
the public acts of a recognized foreign
sovereign committed within its own
territory. There is a question, mentioned
above, whether the acts of a
political party, even one in power, are the acts
of the sovereign. Even if
they are, one Supreme Court precedent on the act of
state doctrine suggests
that U.S. courts may review acts of foreign
sovereigns when there is a great
degree of codification or consensus
concerning a particular area of
international law.(11) There is a high degree
of consensus regarding the
international law prohibition of torture and other
cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment of individuals by government officials
(leaving aside
procedural defenses such as head-of-state immunity which could
apply in a
domestic court, though not in an international criminal
court).
Questions could be raised about the propriety of serving
process on Mugabe
while he was in New York for a U.N. meeting. The Convention
on the
Privileges and Immunities of the U.N., a multilateral treaty to which
the
United States is a party, gives "representatives" to the U.N. immunity
from
arrest (Mugabe was not arrested) and from legal process of any kind
"in
respect of words spoken or written and all acts done by them in
their
capacity as representatives."(12) Mugabe probably would be considered
a
representative of Zimbabwe to the U.N. during his brief visit to New
York,
but the legal process served on him did not relate to anything done by
him
in that capacity. Under the Convention, he would also be entitled to
"such
other privileges, immunities and facilities not inconsistent with
the
foregoing as diplomatic envoys enjoy."(13) This could give him immunity
from
suit (just as head-of-state immunity would), but would not
necessarily
invalidate the service of process on him.
There is
also a Headquarters Agreement between the United States and the
United
Nations. It gives diplomatic immunity to "resident representatives"
of
members to the U.N. But Mugabe would not be a
"resident"
representative.(14)
The strongest defense, judging
from the facts available so far, would
appear to be head-of-state
immunity.
FinGaz
Effecting regime
change in Zimbabwe
4/10/03
1:12:04 AM (GMT +2)
About a decade or so
ago, I was a student at a mission school whose
most famous alumni now
presides over the anarchy in Zimbabwe.
As
students, one of the few highlights of our calendar that we eagerly
looked
forward to was the annual Kutama Old Boys Association (KOBA) meeting
which
was sure to also come with a change of diet for that special
day.
We called it "special meat" long
before Zimbabweans sang along to that
meaningless but catchy song with the
same title. On the day, the old boys
would come, often fronted by the
President and speechify on end, promising a
bus for the school, new computers
or such other pie in the sky that never
materialised. We always thought they
came merely to show off their new cars,
to bask in the glow of their famous
school-mate as well as try to impress
him with oratory which might open doors
to important government positions
and
appointments.
On one such occasion they
came as usual, their shiny cars gleaming in
the morning sunshine. The
headmaster's shrill blast of the whistle soon
assembled us at the usual
assembly point.
We loved our "Jachi" as
James Chinamasa, a towering, industrious and
at once authoritarian
schoolmaster from the old school was
affectionally
known.
That day, he
organised us into seated and orderly rows on the hard
surface in front of the
science block and in the shadow of the statue of
Justicia, the blindfolded
Greek goddess of justice.
The meeting
began. The speeches flowed. One distinguished old boy
after another spoke
glowingly about the famous and ancient school and how it
had produced a most
important old boy who happened to be the guest of honour
that day. Robert
Mugabe listened, smiling indulgently all the while, like
Lewis Carol's
Cheshire Cat as the speakers droned on and
on.
One Washington Mbizvo impressed as
master of ceremonies and did the
occasional praise-singing. He became a
permanent secretary in the government
shortly afterwards for his efforts.
Ignatius Chombo was there too. He
pontificated as usual. A few years later he
too was to be invited into the
government of the famous old boy. So did one
Jewel Kufandada, now late. He
became a deputy minister in due course. It
appeared to us then as it does
now that PhD's tickle Mugabe's
fancy.
But one speaker stood out. He was
introduced as George Kahari. I
remember an articulate and scholarly looking
man, tallish and on the elderly
side with a distinctive bald pate and funny
suspenders - the scholar indeed.
I remember that he too spoke of his love for
the school but that he did not
pontificate. He quoted a poet in his
speech:
"Gather ye rosebuds whilst ye
may
Old time is still
flying
And this same flower that smiles
today
Tomorrow will be
a-dying".
It was a warning to us all
he said, to make the most of the time
available because we had this one
chance in a life time to be young, to
learn and to move on to more challenges
facing our nation. Years after that
day, I have met many who remember that
speech. Mugabe might not. He is said
to love only the speeches that he
himself makes.
When I began to read more
books with the passing years, I realised
that Kahari had that day quoted a
16th century English poet called Robert
Herrick to express in very simple
terms an idea neatly captured in the Latin
phrase 'carpe
diem'.
Scholars say it means to "seize the
day". Perhaps the phrase "make hay
whilst the sun shines" which expresses the
same idea, is more familiar to
readers. All the same, Robert Herrick might
have been writing to the people
of Zimbabwe, brutalised as they are by a
regime that excels in rigging the
vote, concentrating state power and
repressing all manner of dissent.
The
message from the poet to us would be: do not put off what must be
done today
no matter how difficult and dirty and unsavoury. Rather, proceed
to implement
immediate effort and energy to the vital task at hand;
effecting regime
change in Zimbabwe.
And yet that task is
formidable, so formidable in fact that Morgan
Tsvangirai, that doyen of
reformists, appeared to shirk from it when he
recently told supporters that
he was no saviour and that Zimbabweans must go
to the streets themselves and
fight for their liberty.
Some in despair
have called for foreign power intervention
"Bush-in-Baghdad style". They
argue that even though Mugabe might not have
weapons of mass destruction to
threaten his neighbours with like his friend
in Baghdad, the spill-over from
his violent agrarian reform are nevertheless
similarly devastating to the
southern Africa region.
There are however,
many good reasons why we must not allow a foreign
power to intervene directly
in our struggle, not least being the fact that
the West is duplicitous and
double-headed like the proverbial snake.
There should be a worse word than hypocrisy to describe how the
Reagan-Bush
administration for instance, authorised the sale of poisonous
chemicals and
deadly biological viruses, from anthrax to bubonic plague,
throughout the
80's to Saddam's regime in flagrant violation of the Geneva
Protocol of 1925,
which outlaws chemical warfare.
History
will forever tell us how the then special envoy for the
administration,
Donald Rumsfeld who now runs the war on Iraq, met face to
face with Saddam
Hussein in December of 1983 to offer US support and
military backing in
Iraq's brutal war against Iran, during which millions of
civilians were
slaughtered.
To this end, the US armed
Saddam Hussein with a terrifying arsenal of
fighter planes, helicopters,
tanks, cluster bombs, germs and lethal
chemicals. During this period too,
Saddam stashed away blood money estimated
at US$30 billion in a web of
accounts and shareholdings across Europe and
the Middle
East.
The Americans and others in the West
conveniently turned a blind eye
to all this. Only after Saddam mis-stepped
and began to threaten Western
access to Persian Gulf oil, which at 20 million
barrels a day accounts for a
staggering one-quarter of world supply, did he
become the "butcher of
Baghdad" and the father of
terrorism.
Similarly, in Zimbabwe, no
Western voice was heard to rebuke Mugabe's
government for the gukurahundi
atrocities which lasted for almost a decade,
beginning in the early 1980's
and in which thousands of Ndebeles were
systemically killed and maimed during
what was purportedly a war
against
insurrection.
Throughout that
period and beyond in which Mugabe was promiscuous in
the use of violence, he
continued to be the darling of the West and was
dined and wined across the
breadth of the Western world, collecting an
impressive array of awards and
citations for leadership and economic
stewardship from their governments and
institutions. Back then he was in
tandem with the West's strategic aims. In
fact as Robin Cook, then the
United Kingdom's Foreign Secretary, pointed out
in a debate in the House of
Commons, "Lady Thatcher increased aid by £10
million at the time of the
massacres". (Hansard - Commons, March 27
2001).
Only when Mugabe began to seize
white-owned land did he become the
evil one, the dictator and the brutal
Marxist. Then the aid dried up, the
adulations ceased and some even called
for a revocation of the awards heaped
on him. It became apparent that the
West is a fair-weather friend.
Apart from
this disquiet with the West's double standards, there is no
gainsaying the
fact that allowing the West to intervene directly will play
directly into
Mugabe's hands. It will be the evidence that he needs to prove
the existence
of an imperialist agenda by the West.
His
legacy as the modern day defender of Pan-Africanism would be
secure forever.
Witness how the African elites such as Thabo Mbeki and
others who ironically
are the architects of NEPAD, the African renaissance's
blueprint which
emphasises the importance of good governance as a
prerequisite to African
prosperity based on development partnership with the
West, have failed to
criticise their comrade. They seem to have bought
Mugabe's cheap propaganda
to consistently depict the Zimbabwean crisis as a
colonial
issue.
The fear of a Western agenda would
not be without cause. Those that
propagate it point to the current war
against Iraq and in particular to the
possible post-conflict scenario. There
is growing alarm, especially in the
Arab world, at plans to appoint a host of
Americans to top administrative
jobs to run oil-rich Iraq after the war,
albeit for a transitional period.
Apart from that, there is the American plan
to foist upon the Iraqis the
pro-American Ahmed Chalabi as leader in the same
manner that Hamid Karzai
was installed in
Afghanistan.
Then there are the lucrative
contracts for reconstruction work in Iraq
which have long been dished out to
predominantly American companies. The
United Nations will apparently have a
very limited role in this set-up. This
reinforces the fear that Americans
harbour neo-colonial tendencies and have
little commitment to
multi-lateralism and the United Nations.
Whatever the real motives of the Americans, we must not desire, or
indeed
expect salvation from outsiders. Western and indeed the entire
international
community's support, would be ideal, but not direct
intervention unless a
multi-lateral effort spearheaded by the United Nations
were to be launched.
Outside that, we as Zimbabweans will have to master the
will power to deliver
our own 'shock and awe' to Robert Mugabe.
But we will need a coherent plan of action based on wider consensus
and a
concerted mobilisation effort. The struggle to unseat an ugly regime,
like
any thing indeed, is half won on the drawing table. The diagnosis
first, then
the painful surgery. Here is my own contribution to the market
of ideas on
the way forward. I call it the Six-Point Plan of
Immediate
Action.
a..
First, form a loose, supra-party alliance of all Zimbabweans
committed to
regime change and group under an Alliance for Change. To this
end, business,
the student movement and Zimbabweans in the diaspora must be
courted as
strategic partners in the alliance. Only those who imagine
themselves to be
bigger than Zimbabwe and who seek to build their own
empires within their
MDC, NCA, Crisis Zimbabwe or such other organisations
might remain
un-persuaded.
b.. Secondly, as
individual members of this alliance, boycott all
manner of taxes (including
income and corporate taxes and levies);
government businesses and media and
refrain from advertising therein. I for
one cannot understand anyone who
still places an advert in the
Herald.
c.. Thirdly, as a wider
alliance, mobilise for a more sustained
programme of mass stayaways and
demonstrations. Things must never be done in
half measures. Something must
give before we pause. As Martin Luther King
would say, "This is no time to
engage in the luxury of cooling off or to
take the tranquilising drug of
gradualism".
d.. Fourth, to the
extent that the role of the international
community must be that of
supporting Zimbabweans in their just struggle and
not to actively intervene,
the services of leading authors, politicians,
intellectuals and celebrities
must be enlisted to publicise the plight of
Zimbabwe, especially now that
world attention is elsewhere.
e..
At the same time, the campaign for the sustainance and increase
of targeted
sanctions which impact on the regime itself and not the ordinary
Zimbabweans
must move a notch higher. The international community must also
be invited to
support home grown institutions that foster a culture of
participatory
democracy as well as play a part in capacity
building.
f.. Fifth, initiate the
appointment of a United Nations Special
Rapporteur to visit Zimbabwe and
investigate and make a report of the gross
abuses of human rights that take
place daily with a view to tabling same
before the United Nations in order to
bring pressure to bear on the
regime.
g.. Sixth, come up with a
post-Mugabe plan of action that addresses
the problems of neo-patrimonialism
and the privatisation of state power as
well as an economic blueprint that
acknowledges that good macro-economic
governance is a parallel and essential
component of development and change.
Removing Mugabe must be a means to that
end otherwise the legitimate
discontent of Zimbabweans will not
pass.
The opportunity for change, so palpable
in the air now, must not pass
us by. It has been many years since Professor
George Kahari taught us that
vital idea at Kutama Mission. I hear he recently
opposed Mugabe's "scorched
earth" policies. It must be difficult to openly
oppose a fellow alumni. But
that would be like the man who introduced me and
my peers to the world of
Robert Herrick, the poet. And long dead as that poet
might be, he speaks to
us yet, "Gather ye rosebuds while ye
may".
Tapfumanei Nyawanza is a
Zimbabwean lawyer studying in the UK. He can
be reached at T.Nyawanza@warwick.ac.uk
FinGaz
Million dollar
ticket racket at Air Zim
By Luke
Tamborinyoka News Editor
4/10/03 3:49:13 AM
(GMT +2)
THE police's Criminal
Investigations Department (CID) is investigating
a ticket scam run by a
syndicate of officials at Air Zimbabwe, which could
have prejudiced the
financially troubled national airline of over $35
million, the Financial
Gazette has established.
Sources at the
company said officials in the reservations section and
other departments
involved in ticket purchasing had taken advantage of
loopholes in the
ticketing system, resulting in Air Zimbabwe flying
passengers to London for
free while employees pocketed millions of
dollars.
According to information made
available to the Financial Gazette, the
officials would create the impression
that airfares for passengers flying to
and from London had been paid in
foreign currency at the parastatal's
offices in the British
capital.
Because of the large number of
Zimbabweans living abroad, especially
in the United Kingdom, it has become
common for passengers to fly from
Zimbabwe using tickets purchased by their
relatives overseas.
The airfares are cheaper
when paid in foreign currency, but run into
millions of dollars when
converted into the local currency.
But sources
said in some cases where passengers were said to have paid
for air travel in
London, Air Zimbabwe would not receive the foreign
currency supposedly paid
for tickets.
Passengers would instead have
paid a fee to the company's employees,
resulting in the airline flying them
for free, the sources added.
They said the
syndicate involved in the ticketing scam would create
fictitious documents
and pass them on to the airline's finance department
for accounting purposes,
even though no money had been paid for
tickets.
"What it means is that Air Zimbabwe
carried these passengers for free,
at the same time leaving fully-paid
passengers for lack of space," a source
told the Financial
Gazette.
"The London office was not aware, but
if proper procedures were
followed, coupled with a proper monitoring
mechanism, the scam would have
been discovered a long time ago," the source
added.
Zimbabwe Republic Police spokesman
Wayne Bvudzijena said the fraud
squad of the CID was investigating the ticket
scam.
He said one person had already been
arrested in connection with a
potential prejudice of $5 million after falsely
claiming that nine tickets
had been paid for in the United
Kingdom.
"We are completing our investigations
and we will soon be handing over
the docket to the attorney-general,"
Bvudzijena said. "I cannot say much
about the issue because that may
prejudice the case."
Air Zimbabwe insiders
however said millions of dollars had changed
hands as part of the scam,
especially between September and October last
year, when the airline planned
to introduce new measures to tighten the
ticketing system in its reservations
department.
Air Zimbabwe's managing director
Rambai Chingwena yesterday confirmed
that the ticketing system had been
abused by employees in the reservations
department and that the scam also
involved two travel agents.
But he said the
company had taken corrective measures by introducing a
new
system.
"I can confirm that we are changing
our airline booking system, not
because of these problems, but because we
want to improve our service to
passengers," he said, adding that the matter
was still under investigation
by the
police.
The Financial Gazette has a list of 18
passengers who travelled from
Harare to London between October 23 and
November 28 2002, but who allegedly
obtained their tickets fraudulently and
prejudiced the troubled parastatal
of over $12
million.
The fraud allegedly took place at the
passenger services desk at
Harare International Airport, where employees at
the traffic section were
working with those in the airline's selling offices
at Eastgate and Travel
Plaza in Harare and with some travel
agents.
They said the syndicate would issue
tickets that had not been paid
for.
But Air
Zimbabwe insiders said investigations into the scam had to be
widened to
include those responsible for accounting for daily ticket
transactions, their
supervisors, sales department staff and
internal
auditors.
They said failure to do
so could leave several corrupt officials in
the system, who would continue to
fleece the debt-ridden company.
The airline
has a debt of US$10 million that management expects to hit
US$21 million
before the end of this year. The company made a profit of $100
million last
year, but company executives say the airline could post a loss
in 2002
because its salary bill has shot up by 300
percent.
Air Zimbabwe has been hit by the
sharp decline in foreign tourists
travelling to Zimbabwe, while domestic air
travel has also fallen because of
rising airfares and the drop in disposable
incomes.
The national airline is operating
below capacity, and has been reduced
to flying only five aircraft that
require constant maintenance.
The company has
reportedly lost billions of dollars in foreign
currency through the payment
of bonus fees, intermediaries, travel
allowances and kickbacks to management
in a botched deal to acquire two
50-seater aircraft from
France.
Air Zimbabwe management has however
denied the charges.
FinGaz
ZESA offered 25%
stake in Mozambique power utility
By Godfrey Marawanyika Senior Reporter
4/10/03
3:50:47 AM (GMT +2)
THE Zimbabwe
Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) has been invited to
take up a 25 percent
stake in Mozambican power utility Hydro Electrica
Cahorra Bassa (HCB)'s main
power station, in a deal that could provide a
respite for ZESA, under
pressure to settle arrears to regional
power
suppliers.
According to a
Ministry of Energy and Power Development document dated
March 26 2003, a copy
of which is in the possession of the Financial
Gazette, the offer was made
with the support of the Mozambican government.
The Energy Ministry document said ZESA has been invited to take up 25
percent
equity in Cahorra Bassa Power Station, the Mozambican power utility'
s main
electricity generation facility.
The
Zimbabwean power utility has also been invited to take up a stake
in the
development of Cahorra Bassa North Bank Power Station and the "second
400kv
(kilovolt) transmission line from Cahorra Bassa to Zimbabwe via
Bindura and
Dema," according to the document.
The report
added: "A draft memorandum of understanding between the
government of
Zimbabwe and the government of Mozambique is under
consideration by the
Cabinet committee on legislation."
Sources
close to the matter said the offer would soon be presented to
Zimbabwe's
Cabinet for consideration.
It was not possible
to ascertain from Energy Minister Amos Midzi when
the proposal might be
submitted to Cabinet. The minister was said to be in a
meeting and was not
reachable on his mobile phone.
The offer from
HCB comes in the wake of failure by ZESA to service
debts owed to regional
power suppliers from who it imports electricity to
supplement the power
generated by its stations at Kariba, Hwange, Bulawayo,
Harare and
Munyati.
HCB last month reduced supplies to
ZESA because of debt repayment
arrears, while South Africa's Eskom has also
been pressing for payment.
The company has
been classified as an interruptible customer by
suppliers because of debt
arrears, the result of Zimbabwe's severe foreign
currency
shortages.
ZESA, which has been forced to
introduce load-shedding because of the
reduction of supplies, needs at least
US$165 million to pay arrears to the
World Bank, European Investment Bank,
Africa Development Bank and suppliers
of imported power and spare
parts.
Because of foreign currency constraints
that could affect ZESA's
ability to take up HCB's offer, the Energy and Power
Development Ministry
recommends in its March 26 document that the Mozambican
company should be
given the opportunity to take up equity in the Zimbabwean
parastatal.
"To avert foreign currency
constraints in such investment,
consideration must be given to HCB taking up
equity in our power plants,"
the document
says.
It added: "Such equity would be matched
with equity ZESA would take in
HCB. Equity in regional utilities would enable
Zimbabwe to diversify its
sources of power and thereby enhance security of
supply."
The ministry recommended that if the
government and ZESA failed to
raise foreign currency for the proposed deal,
any "Zimbabwean organisation
with the ability to do so would be asked" to
assist.
But industrialists this week said the
loss-making ZESA might face
difficulties in convincing local companies to
participate in such an
initiative.
Officials from the power utility and from the Energy and Power
Development
Ministry on Tuesday failed to secure promises from industry
representatives
that they would assist ZESA to raise hard cash to import
power and pay debt
arrears.
Sources privy to the discussions said
ZESA wanted to know whether
companies would be interested in raising foreign
currency and selling it to
the power utility at an exchange rate still to be
decided.
They said the parastatal had sent
letters to companies in the last
week of March, asking for their assistance
in raising forex.
Industry representatives
said ZESA had been told at Tuesday's meeting
that companies had not yet
committed themselves to the scheme.
"ZESA did
not get the commitment and foreign currency pledges it had
sought and the
situation is not likely to improve any time soon," a source
told the
Financial Gazette.
Confederation of Zimbabwe
Industries acting chief executive Farai
Zizhou, who attended Tuesday's
meeting, had not responded to questions from
this paper at the time of going
to print.
ZESA requires US$17 million per
month for power payments and is unable
to secure sufficient hard cash from
the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.
Regional supply
agreements that have sustained the company in the last
few years are expected
to expire in 2007, forcing the parastatal to consider
upgrading its existing
power stations and building new ones.
But
analysts say such projects will be hampered by funding
constraints, adding
that HCB's offer would provide a respite for ZESA,
guaranteeing electricity
supplies for some time.
FinGaz
ZESA uses parallel
market rates for bills
Staff
Reporter
4/10/03 1:13:44 AM (GMT
+2)
THE Zimbabwe Electricity Supply
Authority (ZESA) is using parallel
market rates of up to $1 600 to the United
States dollar to charge tariffs
for its industrial consumers, who are paid a
rate of $824:US$1 for their
export earnings, according to the Confederation
of Zimbabwe Industries
(CZI).
Exporters
said ZESA had begun sending them bills denominated in United
States dollars
even though it had been denied permission by the Reserve Bank
of Zimbabwe to
demand payment from exporting companies in foreign
currency.
Zimbabwe's power utility, which
imports 35 percent of its electricity
needs from regional suppliers to meet
domestic demand, wanted payment in
foreign currency so that it could settle
arrears owed on its debts with
suppliers and continue importing
power.
The exporters said they had been
receiving bills denominated in United
States dollars since February, but were
paying the tariffs in local
currency.
CZI acting chief executive Farai Zizhou said exporting companies were
being
charged US8 cents a kilowatt hour (Kwh), which was converted at a
rate
between $1 400 to $1 600 against the American
greenback.
ZESA however insists that it is
charging US3.2 cents/kwh at the
official mid-rate of
$824:US$1.
Zizhou said as a result, there
was now a huge difference between
tariffs charged to non-exporting companies
and to exporters. Non-exporters
are charged $1 945/kwh, compared to between
$11 200 and $12 800/kwh for
exporting
companies.
"The tariff rate being applied
seems inconsistent as it differs from
company to company with some companies
reporting US8 cents per kwh, compared
with the US3.2 cents per kwh that ZESA
said it was using," Zizhou said in
the CZI's monthly newsletter for
March.
"The Zimbabwe dollar tariff given
as an alternative is based on an
exchange rate of between 1 400 and 1 600
Zimbabwe dollars to the US dollar.
Exporters are getting 824 Zimbabwe dollars
per US dollar."
Exporters are required to
remit half of their earnings to the central
bank at a rate of $824 against
the United States dollar, with the remainder
of their proceeds also being
lodged with the Reserve Bank to be held on
their
behalf.
Previously, exporting companies
had to remit 40 percent of their
proceeds and could exchange the remaining 60
percent on the parallel market,
which is offering more lucrative exchange
rates.
Analysts this week said by using
parallel market rates to convert its
tariffs into Zimbabwe dollars, ZESA was
pushing up operating costs for
exporting companies, whose earnings are
exchanged at $824.
They said this could
worsen the operating environment for firms,
already hard hit by soaring
inflation as well as raw material
shortages.
Meanwhile, Zizhou said
industrialists were also concerned that there
was no evidence that the
government was treating recent power cuts by
regional suppliers as an issue
that had to be urgently resolved.
Mozambique last month reduced supplies because of arrears, while ZESA
is also
under pressure from South Africa's Eskom to settle outstanding
payments on
its debt. The reduction of imported supplies resulted in ZESA
load-shedding
for both domestic and industrial
consumers.
Zizhou said the private sector
had called for an emergency meeting of
the government-business-labour
Tripartite Negotiating Forum to discuss the
problems affecting
ZESA.
It was not however possible to
immediately establish when the meeting
would take
place.
The CZI's acting chief executive
said power cuts would continue in the
meantime and that ZESA was now working
with the government to come up with a
load-shedding
schedule.
"Some business people feel there
is no evidence of government treating
the power cuts as an emergency and have
decided to call for an emergency
meeting of the Tripartite Negotiating Forum
to find an all inclusive
solution," Zizhou
said.
"Power cuts are going to continue
and ZESA is working with government
to work out a schedule," he
added.
He said it was also not clear how
the government was utilising the 50
percent of export proceeds that is
surrendered to the Reserve Bank, from
which ZESA is supposed to
benefit.
"It is unclear as to what is
happening to the 50 percent of foreign
currency earnings surrendered to the
RBZ. Part of it is supposed to be used
to pay for electricity but this has
not happened so far," said Zizhou.
FinGaz
Govt bid to crush
MDC intensifies
By Luke
Tamborinyoka News Editor
4/10/03 2:08:25 AM
(GMT +2)
THE opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) has come under
fresh siege, in what analysts say is
an attempt by the government to
intimidate the party's top leadership and
instil fear in the nation ahead of
mass action to press for a resolution of
Zimbabwe's political and
economic
crises.
Since the MDC called
for a job stayaway that shut down industry for
two days in the middle of last
month, the party says several of its
supporters and top officials have been
arrested or harassed.
The opposition party
says about 500 of its supporters have been
detained in the past two weeks, as
have been its vice president, Gibson
Sibanda, and spokesman Paul Themba
Nyathi.
Sibanda has been charged with
contravening the Public Order and
Security Act (POSA) by organising a mass
action, while Nyathi is also due to
be charged under
POSA.
"The arrest of Nyathi adds to a growing
list of MDC leaders and party
activists who have become victims of (President
Robert) Mugabe's incited
crackdown on the opposition, aimed at crushing the
MDC," the opposition
party's secretary-general Welshman Ncube said in a
statement after Nyathi's
arrest on Monday.
"This crackdown, which involves the militia, the army, state agents
and the
police, has resulted in torture in police custody, rape (and) broken
limbs.
At least 500 MDC supporters and leaders have been arrested and
tortured in
the last two weeks. One MDC supporter, Steven Tonera, has died
as a result of
torture in the last two weeks while at least 100 supporters
are in hospital
today."
MDC officials say several party
supporters have fallen victim to a
campaign of retribution perpetrated by
state security agents after the
ruling ZANU PF lost parliamentary
by-elections in the Harare high-density
suburbs of Highfield and Kuwadzana at
the end of last month.
The government has
denied the charges, with the army announcing this
week that 23 army deserters
had confessed to conniving with the MDC to
commit acts of terror during last
month's stayaway and to brutalise members
of the public to discredit ZANU
PF.
MDC presidential spokesman William Bango
this week denied the
allegations, dismissing the alleged deserters as "ZANU
PF thugs" and
accusing the government of attempting to destroy the opposition
party in the
high-density suburbs, where it enjoys significant
support.
University of Zimbabwe lecturer
Lovemore Madhuku told the Financial
Gazette: "The intention is obviously to
cow the opposition leaders, send
fear right across the ordinary people and
spread the message that if people
proceed with any action detrimental to the
government, the security forces
will deal with
them."
Political analyst John Makumbe added:
"They want to show Zimbabweans
that the government will deal with them if
they dare attempt to unseat it."
The MDC gave
Mugabe a two-week ultimatum at the conclusion of last
month's stayaway to
agree to a negotiated political solution or face mass
protests that would
involve marches to his Munhumutapa building offices and
his residence at
State House.
Party officials have indicated
that the mass protests are still on the
cards since Mugabe had not responded
to the MDC's demands by the expiry of
the ultimatum's deadline on March
31.
Political commentators said mounting
public pressure on the MDC to
announce a date for the protests and not to
lose the momentum of last month'
s overwhelmingly supported stayaway had
contributed to the latest crackdown
against the
opposition.
"The important thing is that these
signs of panic and repression must
not cow the opposition because there is no
struggle without casualties,"
Madhuku said. "This repression must make them
overcome fear and get
emboldened in their struggle for democracy in this
country."
Analysts said the latest siege
against the opposition was in line with
Mugabe's terse warning to the MDC at
the burial of Higher Education Minister
Swithun Mombeshora in March, and was
aimed not at merely intimidating the
party but in completely crushing
it.
Mugabe warned that "dangerous
mischief-makers" abusing freedom of
expression to promote violence and
terrorism would be dealt with "promptly
and with
vigour".
"Let the MDC be warned that those who
play with fire will not only be
burnt but consumed by that fire," he
said.
Commentators said the government's
objective was to cripple the MDC's
structures from the top to ensure that
once destroyed, it would not be able
to resurrect
itself.
They pointed out that three of the
party's top leaders, president
Morgan Tsvangirai, secretary-general Welshman
Ncube and shadow minister for
agriculture Renson Gasela, were already on
trial for treason.
The three are accused of
plotting to assassinate Mugabe in the run-up
to last year's presidential
poll, charges that they deny.
MDC treasurer
Fletcher Dulini-Ncube is also facing murder charges
relating to the abduction
and killing of war veterans' leader Cain Nkala,
while several of the party's
members of Parliament also have cases pending
in the
courts.
The analysts said the detention of MDC
leaders and supporters was
likely to escalate in the next few weeks following
the arrest of alleged
army deserters who claim to have links with an alleged
underground military
wing of the opposition
party.
The so-called deserters allege that
they were recruited by the MDC to
bomb service stations, among other
terrorist acts, during last month's
stayaway and to pose as soldiers to
terrorise members of the public and
discredit the
army.
Police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena
indicated this week that more people
accused of participating in the terror
campaign would be arrested in a
countrywide
operation.
"It (confession of alleged
deserters) provides the appropriate excuse
to justify repression and to send
everyone scurrying for cover," Madhuku
said. "It's a systematic way of
diverting the MDC's focus from the national
crisis and get it bogged down in
a litany of court cases battling for its
own survival and its
leaders'."
Commentators said the growing
repression would test the resolve of the
MDC, but could also ultimately work
against the government by forcing
Zimbabweans to rally around the opposition
party.
Madhuku said: "If they (MDC) buckle
because of these arrests, they
will allow this regime to proclaim victory
from this repression.
"The arrests are a
testing point because they must feel emboldened
rather than intimidated by
this clampdown on dissenting voices which is a
prime characteristic of a
regime living its last days."
Makumbe said the
arrests would attract the attention of the
international community, which is
focused on attempts to unseat Iraqi leader
Saddam Hussein by a United
States-led coalition.
"The arrests make the
MDC leaders popular among the people and are a
meaningful prize to carry for
the opposition," Makumbe told the Financial
Gazette. "For ZANU PF, they have
the effect of bringing Zimbabwe back in the
net of conflict-ridden areas
deserving international attention.
"This
desperate party is definitely shooting itself in the foot and
the knee as
well," he added.
But political analyst Heneri
Dzinotyiwei said ordinary Zimbabweans
were likely to be the worst affected by
the stand-off between the country's
two main political parties, which could
result in a violent confrontation.
He urged
dialogue, which some analysts say is Zimbabwe's best chance
of overcoming the
political impasse.
He said: "We have two
parties obsessed with the issue of power. One is
so worried about getting
into power while the other is prepared to use
whatever means to maintain it,
including repression.
"We definitely have to
move away from this kind of politics because we
are likely to see a bloody
confrontation which benefits no-one. There must
be a paradigm shift from this
to a more dialogical approach between the
two
parties."
FinGaz
'Green Bombers'using
rape as political weapon
By
Mercedes Sayagues
4/10/03 2:09:09 AM (GMT
+2)
JOHANNESBURG - "In a Dark Time", a
documentary film about sexual abuse
in Zimbabwe perpetrated by pro-government
militia, premiered last week at
Witwatersrand University, one of South
Africa's most respected
tertiary
institutions.
In the film,
16-year-old Sarudzai recalled how she was alone in the
family home with three
younger siblings when militiamen surrounded
it.
Her father was at a funeral. Her mother
was in the bush, hiding from
the militia. Fearing they would set the hut on
fire, Sarudzai stepped out.
She was raped right there, she said, to punish
her mother for supporting
Zimbabwe's opposition
party.
Sarudzai and other women featured in
the documentary said their
attackers were militiamen known as the "Green
Bombers", a government-created
youth brigade often accused of human rights
abuse.
For protection, the film maker and
women interviewed have remained
anonymous.
The event, organised by Wits Institute for Social and Economic
Research,
sought to alert academics and human rights activists about
gender-based human
rights abuses, like gang rape and sexual torture,
reportedly taking place in
Zimbabwe.
"We need to break the silence of
academia and human rights
institutions in South Africa about what is
happening in our neighbourhood,"
said Sheila Meintes, a member of South
Africa's Commission on Gender
Equality and a lecturer in political studies at
Witwatersrand University.
International human
rights watchdogs like Amnesty International, Human
Rights Watch, the
International Crisis Group and Physicians for Human Rights
have documented
systematic rape and sexual torture of women during Zimbabwe'
s political
violence since 2000.
Last year, Amnesty
International warned about "mounting reports of
rape and sexual torture by
the militia, continuing the pattern seen before
presidential elections in
March 2002".
Tony Reeler, regional human
rights defender with the Institute for
Democracy in South Africa, described
what he said was a new pattern of
sexual violence in
Zimbabwe.
During 2000 and early 2001, human
rights watchdogs documented
widespread torture of opposition supporters.
About 40 percent of these were
women. They were beaten up, stripped naked and
humiliated, but few were
raped or sexually
abused.
After June 2001, rape and sexual
torture of women became more
prevalent and brutal. It allegedly happened in
front of family and
neighbours. As a result, the whole community experienced
the psychological
impact.
"One individual's
physical torture becomes a mass psychological
torture," explained
Reeler.
The Zimbabwean government has
dismissed reports by local and
international human rights groups that rape is
used as a political weapon.
"Yes, we have seen
the allegations, but I don't need to tell you that
definitely these are
fabrications," Betty Dimbi, an official in the
Department of Information
said.
No further comment could be obtained
this week from the Zimbabwean
government.
Rape remains the least condemned war crime, concluded the United
Nations
Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, referring to Rwanda
and other
civil wars in the late 1990s.
The tide,
though, is turning. In 2001, in a historic decision to
acknowledge rape as a
war crime, the International Criminal Tribunal for the
former Yugoslavia
began prosecuting rapists.
This, says Amnesty
International, "challenges the widespread
acceptance that torture of women is
an intrinsic part of war."
The Rwanda Tribunal
is explicitly empowered to prosecute rape as a
crime against humanity and a
violation of the Geneva Conventions.
South
African judge Richard Goldstone, a former prosecutor for the
Rwanda Tribunal,
found that sexual assault can constitute torture and be
prosecuted as a
transgression of international humanitarian
law.
International law condemns rape and other
forms of sexual violence as
war crimes. The Geneva Conventions of 1949 were
later strengthened by
Protocol II, which extends protection to victims of
rape, enforced
prostitution or indecent assault during
conflict.
Broadly, four kinds of rape can be
identified in conflict.
Genocidal rape, as in
Rwanda and the Balkans, seeks to destroy an
ethnic or political group
perceived as being the enemy.
Political rape
punishes individuals, families or communities who hold
different political
views.
Opportunistic rape takes place when
combatants run amok, assured of
impunity in a lawless
context.
Forced concubinage involves the
conscription or kidnapping of young
girls to wash, cook, porter and have sex
with soldiers and militiamen. The
Zimbabwe Women Lawyers Association
estimated that some 1 000 women were held
in militia camps in
2002.
The last three forms of rape are found
in Zimbabwe, said Reeler.
Tina Sideris, a
South African researcher and activist on gender-based
violence, noted the
general invisibility of sexual abuse of women during
conflicts in Southern
Africa.
Rape and forced concubinage were
frequent during the long-running
civil wars in Mozambique and Angola, but
ignored in South African media and
political circles, she
said.
Even in South Africa, the Truth and
Reconciliation Commission (TRC)
"didn't deal with rape as a gross human
rights abuse. Women were raped in
detention and in guerrilla bases, raped by
the enemy and by comrades," she
noted.
The
TRC devoted a great deal of time to the murder and torture of
freedom
fighters, but only one day to listen to abused
women.
"Awareness of the gender dimension in
human rights abuses is missing,"
said
Meintes.
In conflicts throughout the world,
sexual violence is routinely
directed at females as a conscious strategy,
although commanders and
politicians may dismiss it as isolated incidents by
rogue soldiers.
"Rape in conflict is a weapon
to terrorise and degrade a particular
community and to achieve a specific
political end," said a Human Rights
Watch
report.
"The rape of one person is translated
into an assault upon the
community through the emphasis placed in every
culture on women's sexual
virtue. The shame of the rape humiliates the family
and all those associated
with the
survivor."
"I act, I feel differently from the
other girls," Sarudzai said in the
documentary. "I am not a virgin any more.
It happened against my will. Maybe
I have HIV. I wish I'd die. Then I'd feel
no pain."
Sideris points out that
post-conflict program-mes don't deal
adequately with gender
violence.
One reason is underreporting. Out of
shame, economic vulnerability and
powerlessness, women keep quiet about
sexual abuse.
In Zimbabwe, "the most
vulnerable, the poorest, uneducated, unemployed
rural women like Sarudzai . .
. are abused, which makes it all the more
sinister," said
Reeler.
"We have a responsibility to speak out
against human rights abuses and
the time has come to do so," concluded
Meintes. - Irin