Zimbabwe Parliament May Tap Outsider To Head Constitutional Reform Panel

http://www.voanews.com

By Ntungamili Nkomo
Washington
15 April 2009

Zimbabwean Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Eric Matinenga
said Wednesday that the country's parliament is considering appointing a
non-lawmaker to head the select committee that will lead the process of
drafting a new constitution.

Matinenga told reporter Ntungamili Nkomo of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that
the process should extend beyond parliament, noting that appointing a
parliamentary outsider to the key position would reinforce inclusiveness in
formulating a new basic document.

The so-called Global Political Agreement entered into by the former ruling
ZANU-PF party and the now-majority Movement for Democratic Change, of which
Matinenga is a member, states that constitutional revision is to be led by
parliament in consultation with civil society.

But civil society organizations led by the National Constitutional Assembly
have fiercely opposed this arrangement, arguing that the process should not
be led by parliament but by an independent commission constituted so as to
represent all viewpoints.

Non-governmental sources said however that internal divisions have sprung up
in a number of civic organizations as to whether to participate in a process
led by parliament or to line up behind the National Constitutional Assembly
as many have already done.

Students Solidarity Trust Coordinator Masimba Nyamanhindi said Wednesday
that his group has decided to support the NCA position on constitutional
reform.

Elsewhere, however, the Christian Alliance, an inter-denominational church
group constituted in 2005 to provide humanitarian aid, has endorsed the
parliament-led process.

NCA Chairman Lovemore Madhuku told a press conference in Harare on Wednesday
that his organization will campaign for a "No" vote in a constitutional
referendum likely to be held next year should the government not come around
on a greater role for civil society

Tsvangirai to confront Mugabe over Bennett, Chamisa and farm invasions

http://www.nehandaradio.com/

16 April 2009

By Staff Reporters

A showdown loomed large between Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and
President Robert on Thursday over several violations by Zanu PF of a unity
deal that created the current coalition government.

Tsvangirai is said to be particularly furious about the ongoing violent
farms invasions, the unilateral attempt to take away the telecommunications
companies from Information, Communication and Technology Minister Nelson
Chamisa and the unwarranted delay in the swearing in of Deputy Agriculture
Minister designate Roy Bennett.

Sources told Nehanda Radio that Tsvangirai will be meeting Mugabe on
Thursday and Deputy Prime Minister's Thokozani Khupe, Arthur Mutambara and
Vice President's Joice Mujuru and Joseph Msika would also be in attendance.

'This is basically a meeting of the Presidium and Premiership,' the source
said.

Other issues expected to be discussed include the appointment of Provincial
Governors, ambassadors and permanent secretaries.

Despite a formula being agreed to share the governorships according to which
party won the most seats in a particular province Mugabe is said to be under
pressure from the Masvingo province of Zanu PF not to concede the province
to the MDC-T.

Meanwhile cabinet ministers met on Wednesday for their weekly meeting. It
was not clear yet what was discussed.

Zimbabwe Parties call for unity ahead of Independence day

http://www.zimtelegraph.com

By MIKE MAKOMO
Published: Thursday, April 16, 2009

ZANU-PF and the two MDC formations yesterday urged Zimbabweans to turn out
en masse for this year's Independence Day celebrations nationwide but
without party regalia.

Addressing a joint media briefing chaired by Media, Information and
Publicity Minister Webster Shamu, the three parties urged all Zimbabweans to
come in their numbers to mark the country's 29th Independence anniversary.

Zanu-PF was represented by party deputy spokesperson Cde Ephraim Masawi,
MDC-T by Deputy Minister of Media, Information and Publicity Jameson Timba
while MDC was represented by party spokesperson Mr Edwin Mushoriwa.

Minister Shamu said it was important for the parties in the inclusive
Government to have a media briefing on preparations for the commemoration of
the historic day.

He said the celebrations would be held throughout the country at designated
centres in both urban and rural areas. The main event would be at the
National Sports Stadium.

Before Saturday's main event, Minister Shamu said, there would be the
traditional children's party at the City Sports Centre drawing children from
all the country's 10 provinces.

A total of 477 children were invited through their respective schools.

"The main event marking our 29th anniversary will be led by President
Mugabe.

"Government has lined up an entertainment programme which will include
performances by leading artistes, as well as matches for the Independence
Soccer Trophy, which will take place in Harare and Bulawayo," said Minister
Shamu.

Cde Masawi urged all to attend the national event but warned against wearing
party regalia.

"No party regalia will be allowed at the National Sports Stadium. We want
people to look inclusive. So come in civilian clothes. We don't want
problems. No violence. It should be a peaceful celebration," he said.

He said the Local Government Minister would announce the pick-up points for
those going to attend the celebrations at the stadium. Deputy Minister Timba
said April 18 is a national day and urged people to respect this event.

"I urge all Zanu-PF and MDC members to come to this event in numbers," he
said.

He said people would celebrate the birth of the country as Zimbabweans
irrespective of race, colour or political affiliation.

Mr Mushoriwa said the MDC saw Independence Day as a national event and this
year's event was more important than the inclusive Government itself.

"This should be a momentous occasion we should all cherish," he said.

Secretary for Media, Information and Publicity George Charamba said the
Government would not be able to hold a gala as usual because of financial
constraints.

McGee leaves Zimbabwe in July

http://www.zimonline.co.za

by Cuthbert Nzou Thursday 16 April 2009

HARARE - United States ambassador to Zimbabwe and an outspoken critic of
President Robert Mugabe's rule, James McGee, is leaving the embattled
southern African nation in July amid reports that he is going into
retirement after 28 years in diplomatic service.

McGee confirmed to journalists in Harare during the Easter Holiday that he
was leaving the country, but declined to discuss the matter.

Sources at the US embassy in Harare said McGee, who once served as
ambassador to Swaziland, Madagascar, and the Comoros, was retiring from
diplomatic service.

"He wanted to retire during the (George) Bush administration, but was asked
to continue in office," one of the sources said. "The ambassador has seen
the coming in of the new president (Barack Obama) to retire."

McGee, who was posted to Zimbabwe in 2007, was critical of Mugabe's style of
management and recently said the country's inclusive government made up of
ZANU PF and the two MDC formations was imperfect.

During his posting in the country, he saw the tightening of targeted
sanctions.

Last month, McGee said the US would not give Zimbabwe financial aid to
jumpstart its comatose economy until the full restoration of the rule of law
and upholding of human rights.

He said the US government wanted the inclusive government to craft a new
constitution in the next two years leading to free and fair elections.

In a roundtable meeting with journalists during the Easter Holiday, McGee
called for the prosecution of perpetrators of political violence during the
countdown to the June 27 2008 presidential election run-off.

He said the perpetrators should be brought to book.

According to Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai-led MDC, over 200 of its
supporters were killed during the bloody campaign.

"Those behind the March post-election human rights abuses of last year
should face trial. They must be brought before the courts of law and tried,
to allow for the nation to move forward," McGee said.

McGee said while there had been an improvement on the economic front
following the formation of the inclusive government, the US was still
worried about the continued abuse of human rights and lack of the rule of
law.?

"But other things such as the rule of law, respect for human rights those
things are not moving in as nearly a rapid pace to satisfy us," he said.
"But again this government has only been operational for six weeks so we
want to give them the opportunity, the leg room, the political space to do
what is right and show what they can do." - ZimOnline

'Zimbabwe needs broad surgical approach to ICT challenges'

http://www.zimonline.co.za

by Robert Ndlovu Thursday 16 April 2009

OPINION: Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is an umbrella term
that includes all technologies for the manipulation and communication of
information.

Recently the Minister of ICT, Nelson Chamisa announced a need for a national
website, in order to put Zimbabwe back on the global map.

It was an important stance by the Hon Minister in so far as it showed
top-level awareness that something needs to be done to bridge the digital
divide in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe already has thousands of websites that are either hosted locally or
outside the country. So it's not so much about the need of a national
website per se but rather a broader surgical approach to the ICT challenges
that we face.

The digital divide or gap is set to widen even further if we do not take it
upon ourselves to come up with specific solutions for our specific
challenges.

Problem resolution at this level, calls for a sober, firm and accurate
understanding the variance between what is on the ground and what needs to
be achieved.

Any half-baked attempts to address the digital divide or gap will not only
waste resources and opportunities but also literally take the nation a few
decades backwards in terms of development.

A sound ICT policy impacts all sectors of the country - from the economy
through health right up to mining and farming.

Here I would like to offer a bird's eye view of key issues that impact and
affect digitalisation efforts. Hopefully this will help the ICT leadership
clarify, categorise and prioritise delivery mechanisms.

Zimbabwe, just like most African countries basically faces a number of
hurdles in order to roll out effective computing technologies to the general
population.

Rollout issues and challenges do include but are not limited to cost of
computers and equipment, inadequate access technologies (data & voice),
inadequate electricity, poor national and international bandwidth,
regulation and licensing, censorship and control, brain drain and lack of
skilled manpower and IT certifications, poorly designed and optimised
websites, and e-governnace.

In this article I address some key elements that affect Internet penetration
and telephone usage. You will note that the main factors that affect
telephony also affect data communications.

ICT has challenges in both the data and voice arenas. When we talk about
bridging the digital divide we seek to reduce or eliminate entry barriers
that the people face in both data and voice.

A number of terms will be used loosely in both areas. It is important
however, for the ICT ministry to be able to dissect and separate common
issues and independent issues that affect data and voice.

This approach is necessary so that the issues are addressed at root cause
level. We seek to deal with the root problem like inadequate infrastructure
manifested symptomatically as congestion or slow connections.

Voice and data networks are fast converging and this calls for a smart
unified communications approach whose success hinges on reliable, fast and
robust network infrastructure.

In Zimbabwe, just like in many African countries most people who access the
Internet do so via cyber cafes, colleges, varsities, work place and quite a
few do so at home.

The limiting factors are basically cost and unavailability. Most urban
dwellers either cannot afford it or the Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
serving them are out of capacity as discussed further below.

There are people who own farms who could easily afford it, but cannot do so
from where they are because there is no network coverage of one form or the
other in their area.

As a result Internet penetration is very low due to a number of issues. One
of ICT's core tasks is to help present operators unclog their stuffed
networks and also adopting the concept of cyber cafes for many communities
whose chance of using a computer or accessing the internet are next to none.

Donating computers to schools is great. More could be done in the form of
setting up computer centres at libraries, district offices and all colleges
using the cyber café approach.

This has the advantage of also spinning some business to the struggling
ISPs. Hopes are hinged on the 3G data access. All I can say for now is that
we hope Econet will not make it an elite service for the business brass.

Last year when I was in South Africa I was pretty impressed about how easy
it is to connect to the Internet through MTN's 3G using a USB dongle with a
3G capable SIM card.

Because right now in Zimbabwe before we even have 3G, is it possible to walk
to a distribution shop and buy a SIM card?

Telephone access

Teledensity is a metric that is used to broadly estimate the number of
telephone lines per 100 individuals.

Presently, Zimbabwe has a teledensity of about 3. This means that there are
about 3 telephone lines per 100 people in Zimbabwe.

This figure heavily depends on the accuracy of the actual number of
telephone lines divided by the total population. Now this is a very tricky
estimation as millions of Zimbabweans have left the country while mobile
operators have availed more lines.

The teledensity metric has been used as an indicator of economic development
or governance.

Current voice providers include TelOne, NetOne, Econet and Telecel.

Now wireless usage in Zimbabwe has indeed enabled many people a means of
communication. Wireless growth rate is highest in Africa because cellular
phones offer any one within coverage range an equal opportunity to
communicate.

At this stage Zimbabwe has serious complications that basically point to a
collapsed economy. Cellular operators have managed just to stay afloat in a
very un-business like environment. This has made it impossible for the
operators to increase both capacity and coverage at a time when spares and
maintenance were made in hard currency whilst end users were paying in a
currency that had long lost its value.

Stabilisation of the economy should allow cellular companies to increase
their coverage to more areas.

Cost of computers, equipment and software

Computer and Internet penetration is very low in Zimbabwe due to the cost of
owning a PC or MAC and the cost of having an Internet connection.

What is needed in this area is for the stakeholders to identify equipment
manufactures that can supply the Zimbabwean market with PCs in bulk and at
competitive rates.

Secondly, in most developed nations people throw away their PCs just to get
a new one. Most of these PCs are recyclable and the ministry can set up
collection centres in the United States and United Kingdom to pick these
PCs - clean them up and store them in a container before shipping them to
Zimbabwe. This is already being done in Kenya and Ghana.

Thirdly, the ministry should encourage local companies to team up with PC
manufactures and open up assembly plants in Zimbabwe. This should be one of
ICT's long-term plan and has bankable off shoot benefits like job creation,
local availability of PCs, generation of forex through exports and
generation of revenue for the state via the taxman.

The more people have access to PCs whether publicly via schools, libraries
or Internet cafes the better.

One way of doing this is availing mobile digital libraries. Take an old
ZUPCO bus. Refurbish it, install say 30 computers in the bus and pull a
diesel-powered generator at the back.

These mobile libraries are used in Rwanda to visit remote areas with no PC
access.

Windows based software is generally pricy because of licensing fees. The ICT
ministry must encourage and even fund open source software initiatives in
Zimbabwe.

This literally means that refurbished computers that are shipped into
Zimbabwe can run on free but extremely loaded Linux based like uBuntu.

uBuntu is a community developed operating system that is perfect for
laptops, desktops and servers. uBuntu comes loaded with thousands of FREE
open software applications like word processing, spreadsheets,
presentations, databases, web servers, email servers, fax servers, call
centres, phone billing, internet café billing, hotel reservation, project
management, programming tools, educational and scientific software and many
more.

The cost of software cannot be a stumbling block in ICT development.

Electricity

All ICT gadgets use electricity to function. Inadequate power generation and
unreliable transmission and distribution capacity has a direct impact on ICT
development strategies.

This means that there can be no meaningful digital revolution if there is no
electricity, full stop.

This calls for an elevated sense of urgency to resuscitate and improve power
generation, transmission and distribution capacity.

It is too obvious that Zimbabwe has to explore and improve the present forms
of power generation methods that may include but NOT limited to water,
solar, wind, biogas and even nuclear energy.

Mail servers, web servers, routers, switches, base stations etc all need
electricity to operate. So before we even worry about creation of a national
website, it is necessary that we have adequate electricity to power the
servers that will serve the web pages!

If people can not access the website because the hosting ISP has experienced
a power outage, then our problems are a lot wider and complex to be solved
by having a national website.

Now erratic power supplies has made life horrible for ALL telcos or ISPs as
they are forced to install alternative power sources, mainly diesel-powered
generators.

This has pushed up operation costs for all companies. Not withstanding that
the diesel in question was at one stage scarce and only available via the
black market. This is one of the many problems that have pushed the price of
the service as soon as use of forex was officially approved.

Access technologies

Lack or unavailability of telecommunications infrastructure makes it
difficult for remote areas to access e-services like the Internet or even
basic email. Some farmers can afford PCs but they cannot access the Internet
because either the telephone infrastructure is nonexistent, broken down or
unreliable in their areas.

This points back directly to telco providers TelOne, Econet, NetOne,
Telecel, Transmedia, Powertel, Africom, Ecoweb, ZOL, Mweb and Telecontract
just to mention the main players.

It is very tough for these fellows to maintain their network infrastructure
because of overheads like electricity for plants and base stations.

That aside, there is need for Zimbabwe to pursue more rigorous wireless last
mile connection technologies like Wi-Max, Wi-Fi, 3G, CDMA etc. Already
Powertel and TelOne are involved in CDMA rollouts in and around Harare.

National & International Bandwidth

Not withstanding the limited access technologies available by remote
stations to access e-resources, there is the question of available national
and international bandwidth.

Your connection speed to you ISP might be 56k but the speed with which you
access local and international websites will solely depend on the available
capacity on the network you are connecting to.

It means that to pull a page from Harare ISP will depend on the traffic
congestion between your access point to the web server which heavily relies
on the number of connections made to that site.

Failure to connect to your ISP might be caused by total capacity of the
access network to handle your call.

This is a national bandwidth issue. Zimbabwe has limited access points and
this literally means a lot of people are competing to gain access to a thin
pipe.

I am sure you know how frustrating it is to try and drive your new BMW in a
very congested road with potholes!

To access emails from the web you will send a request via your ISP who will
in turn forward your request to your email hosting service.

Now the issue of contentions comes into the picture again with
internationally hosted sites. You have to compete with other users from your
ISP and other ISPs to access websites via the international gateway that
maybe a satellite dish in Mazowe!

So international access bottlenecks add to the other national bandwidth woes
caused by few POPs (point of presence).

What is needed then is an increase in access points and using thicker
bandwidth pipes between these POPs. Between main centres Zimbabwe uses fibre
optics as the backbone. Also satellite alone cannot meet Zimbabwe's
bandwidth needs.

ICT must look into ways of connecting via fibre to the undersea cable in the
Indian Ocean. The cables at the sea connect to the rest of the world at
lightning speed. Why fibre? Fibre has a higher carrying capacity. A fair
comparison between using copper wires and fibre would be comparing a
wheelbarrow to a haulage truck to carry 100 tons of sand.

In a nutshell ICT needs to do some audit of both the national and
international bandwidth info. This audit will point out major bottlenecks
that choke Internet usage in Zimbabwe.

The solution after the audit should include amongst other things the
following fibre network links: - Harare to Mutare to provide a link the
Indian Ocean under sea cables in Beira. I am reliably informed that AfriCom
is doing this project already.

- Bulawayo to Beitbridge to provide high-speed link to SA fibre network.
South Africa is Zimbabwe's largest trading partner. Having multiple gateways
will assure and ensure that Zimbabwe does not experience total black out
associated with network failure.

Investing in fibre optics today is not an option but a must.

Broadband Access

To address the slow speed and low bandwidth challenges that Zimbabwe faces,
all efforts MUST point into the availing of broadband access.

The term broadband commonly refers to high-speed Internet access.
Technically this refers to data transmission rates of at least 200 kilobits
per second.

When you connect to your ISP you have two values that you deal with,
download speed (down stream) and upload speed (up stream). As the names
suggest, down streams refers to the data transfer rate when you are pulling
resources from the Internet to you PC like downloading email, downloading
software, listening to music or watching a video from Youtube.

Up stream refers to the data transfer rates when you are pushing or
publishing content from you PC to the Internet. Examples here include
sending email, posting your profile to Facebook and publishing your website.

Pull and push

In general most Internet users pull rather than push to the Internet and as
a result the rates of downstream rates are higher than up stream rates.
Broadband allows a higher data transfer rates than dial up rates.

An interesting comparison would be that of trying to empty a 200l drum of
water using a hosepipe or a drinking straw!

Types of broadband technologies

The term broadband describes the data transfer rates but does not describe
the underlying technology (physical and data link layer) used to achieve
high data transfer rates.

The main broadband technologies are briefly summarised below. - DSL (Digital
Subscriber Line) is a wireline transmission technology that transmits data
faster over traditional copper telephone lines already installed to homes
and businesses.

- Coaxial cable makes use of cable modem service, enabling cable operators
to provide broadband using the same coaxial cables that provide cable TV

- Fibre optic technology converts electrical signals carrying data to light
and sends the light through transparent glass fibres about the diameter of a
human hair.

- Wi-Max , Worldwide Inter-operability for Microwave Access, is a
telecommunications technology that provides wireless transmission of data
using a variety of transmission modes, from point-to-multipoint links to
portable and fully mobile Internet access.

The technology provides up to 72 Mbit/s symmetric broadband speeds without
the need for cables. This is the way to go especially for metropolitans. The
technology is based on the IEEE 802.16 standard (also called Broadband
Wireless Access).

- 3G networks are wide-area cellular telephone networks that evolved to
incorporate high-speed Internet access. Theoretically data rates approach
14.4 Mbps downstream and 5.8Mbps upstream.

Econet already has the 3G licence in Zimbabwe and we await its delivery. The
other 3G licence was granted to Powertel using CDMA. This service is only
limited to Harare.

- CDMA - Wireless landlines using Wireless Local Loop 450 MHz system used as
last mile connection by TelOne in the wake of copper cable thefts and
shortage. Only available in Harare, Chitungwiza & Ruwa.

- Satellite broadband is another form of wireless broadband, also useful for
serving remote or sparsely populated areas. This technology basically uses
satellite dishes pointed to the sky to connect to a geo-stationery satellite
orbiting above the earth.

- Broadband over Powerline (BPL) is the delivery of broadband over the
existing low and medium voltage electric power distribution network.

Broadband is always on, does not block phone lines and there is no need to
reconnect to network after logging off.

Summarily connection bottlenecks exist at an access level, national
bandwidth level before you even look at the international portion of the
game. What we need is a bottom up approach and not top to bottom approach.

So after rolling broadband access architecture, the national network
connecting to the international network MUST not act as a bottleneck.

A typical scenario in most African countries is that you can use Wi-Fi to
connect your laptop to your access point at 54 Mbps! WOW that's a lot!

Nope. If the connection from your ISP to the Internet is 56kbps then your
broadband connection speed to your access point is NULL & VOID.

Regulation/Monopoly/Licensing

Most African governments really put a tight lid when it comes to regulation
of telecommunications and media. That alone is a major obstacle in reducing
the digital divide. For some strange reason or another most African
governments, via the regulatory bodies, tend to become an obstacle to
innovation and development.

Part of the fear is unfounded in that some authorities fear that opening up
the telecommunications will either threaten government owned establishments
or also fear of not being able to control information flow.

Of course this is insane. Only those who do evil stuff should be worried
about a liberal telecommunications environment.

Naturally national security is a top priority for the regulation body. I
must mention that of late POTRAZ has indeed tried to catch up with reality
as I am aware that a few more companies have been granted different licences
to operate different technologies in data, voice and wireless arenas like
Econet doing 3G and AfriCom getting engaged in VoIP.

Considering that some of the operators who have monopolies have failed to
meet their service obligations to provide reliable and affordable
communications, the ICT ministry should explore ways of allowing smart
partnerships between ISPs with local authorities/communities to provide
telco service for their areas.

For instance, if the wireless company cannot afford to put a base station in
my home area in Jambezi or Lower Gweru, smaller operators must be allowed to
run and own base stations in such areas and share the profit with the
backbone operator.

What I mean is at a district centre, small operators will install a base
station, a data link and a power generator if need be. Then connect to the
big operators switch via Wi-Max or microwave.

These small operators can't afford to do a national rollout so they can
manage to setup their own base stations for their respective areas and then
connect to the main carrier. How the revenue from that base station is
shared can then be worked out.

These are the ideas that ICT should be researching and establishing their
viability potential.

TelOne, Powertel and Transmedia

These three companies enjoy unmatched monopolies based on their origins or
parenting company namely PTC, ZESA and ZBC. These three companies have a
combined capacity to reach all corners of Zimbabwe by virtue of their
infrastructural inheritance for both data and voice.

The ICT ministry must carry out very thorough performance audits of these
companies. It is an open secret that their failure is mainly due to
political meddling and interference, which makes them operate more like
social clubs than companies.

Despite their failure for years to provide adequate telephone services,
electricity, radio and TV services these companies have moved into the
Internet market with remarkable speed.

It is not clear why National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) has not conceived a
telco business unit based on their own data network for the rail system.
Well Transtel would be a great idea but likely to be plagued by the same
virus that affects its other three cousins.

Licensing and external investment

The issue of regulation will not be complete if no mention is made of the
prohibitive nature of the licensing fees in the range of several million US
dollars.

What makes it even more complicated is that should one wish to partner with
a foreign investor, the imposition of fixed percentages for local ownership
stake makes this really look like a circus.

Which sane investor is interested in investing in an environment where
he/she is expected to invest more dollars but get the minority share?
Fifty-one percent local stake sounds really attractive and nationally
correct since indigenisation is the core agenda of empowering locals.

That however does not mean replacing common sense with hollow pride which
has so far worked negatively against Zimbabwe. Pride alone has never fed any
nation.

- Wi-Fi

It appears that the ruling in the 90s to ban or restrict use of ISM
frequencies 2.4 GHz and 5Hgz was not meant to protect scientific equipment
used in hospitals from interference but a strategic move to monopolise the
bandwidth to Transmedia.

It is the national broadcaster of television, radio and Internet access
services in Zimbabwe on the afore mentioned frequencies. So one wonders what
suddenly happened to hospital equipment protection.

Transmedia owns and operates all terrestrial broadcast infrastructures and
as a new strategic business unit of ZBC it bridged VHF and IP so as to tap
into wireless access.

Because of monopoly of this frequency band, wireless broadband has not grown
as expected. I doubt if Transmedia has more than 800 customers with their
tower located at Pockets Hill with no line of sight complication.

The ICT ministry together with POTRAZ must revisit the maximum power levels
for Access Points to allow other players to beam data and voice over using
2.4 GHz and 5 GHz (Wi-Fi).

This will go a long way in enabling ISPs to connect more people using
wireless broadband. Right now ISPs are trapped between a rock and a hard
place as their last mile connection solution is limited mainly to twisted
copper wires since both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz are locked down to one provider,
Transmedia.

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)

Voice over IP is still a grey area in Zimbabwe. Obviously its success
depends on reliable network infrastructure. With 3G on its way, POTRAZ
should allow people to connect over IP and make calls.

Also a smart combination of wi-max and wi-fi can bring voice to many people
that presently have NO hope of getting a TelOne line via copper or wireless
CDMA. Businesses and organisations might be forced to install satellite
dishes and then use their IP connectivity for both data and voice and bypass
the national operators because they can't get service from them!

Besides the obvious use of VoIP for voice, other spin offs can be realised
in Zimbabwe like the deployment of call centres. This allows local companies
to generate employment for the local community, generate scarce forex and
revenue for the state in taxes.

Presently most favored call centre destinations are India, Malasyia,
Philiphines and of late Kenya and South Africa - thanks to their open VoIP
policy.

VoIP opens so many avenues of communication between end users. For instance
through use of open source PBX like Freeswitch, one can easily provide free
voicemail mail service.

This is how it works. A Linux server running a PBX is a capability of
creating infinite user extensions. So a particular user can sign up and be
assigned an extension say 600244 and a PIN code - 9561. Now this user will
have to call an access number say 011 800 600 to check and or send
voicemails. If he does NOT have a personal phone this user can still use any
phone just to retrieve his messages from the system.

So in short this person can advertise whatever business he is in and then
specify his details as "Please call me on 011 800 600 ext 600244". Callers
will be greeted by an interactive voice response system that will ask them
if they want (1) to check messages or (2) to send a message to another user.

Brain Drain & Skilled Manpower

The effect of brain drain on the digital revolution is obvious. As the
country continues to lose more and more skilled and trained personnel, it
becomes difficult for the nation to move forward in an attempt to turn
around the economy. This applies to all sectors of the economy and not just
ICT.

The GNU should be creative enough and try and lure skilled personnel back by
coming up with well thought out "come back home schemes". I am talking about
highly trained professionals from all walks of life.

Trust me there are thousands of Zimbabweans in and outside the country
prepared to help rebuild the country. The question of patriotism comes up.
Ask what you can do for Zimbabwe and not what Zimbabwe can do for you? That's
fair enough.

Trust me most skilled professionals would not mind an incentive in the form
of some small piece of land somewhere in Mvurwi or Insiza, if we expect to
lure patriotic professionals to leave their well paying jobs at Cisco or
Microsoft or BT and join the ICT in Zimbabwe. Patriotism is a two-headed
beast.

ICT training & Certification

ICT training and development has not been spared the economic wrath that
affects the whole country. As part of a long-term plan Zimbabwe's ICT
ministry must look into establishing more ICT-based institutes and academies
as part of the digital empowerment plan.

Software programming is particularly one area in which ICT must look.
Writing a computer code requires very few resources other than a computer
and programming knowledge of certain languages like C++, Java, Python, Perl
etc.

What is needed is that the ministry of ICT at a government level must travel
to India and strike deals to have Indian programmers come and train students
at various training academies in the country.

Software is a great product that is easily exported. This is where the Hon
Minister should be setting his eyes as a long-term plan.

There is need to promote establishment of MORE academies that can provide
ICT certifications that include but NOT limited to A +, N+, Security +,
Linux +, Cisco etc.

Web Presence, Promotion and Optimisation

Designing and placing a website on the Internet is very simple and
straightforward. But what matters is whether the website has been designed
properly and optimised well so that it is searchable on the Internet. People
use search engines to look for information, products and services.

A poorly developed website will affect that website's visibility on the
Internet. Most search engines like Google, Yahoo, MSN and Dogpile use
various algorithms to rank websites.

The key in making our website visible includes search engine optimisation.
This involves items like: - using certain key words in your website title
and header and also depends on the number and quality of links on your web
page, the actual content and relevance of your web pages, registering your
website with different search engines.

Linking out to other websites and have them linked back to you is useful in
making your website visible on the Internet.

A good website must be able to retain visitors and even encourage future
visits. A good website must not only disseminate information to its visitors
but must be able to call the visitors to action. Like "click here to
subscribe for free reports" or "click here to place a donation" or "click
here to get a call back from us" or "enter your cellphone number here to
receive promotional info via SMS" etc.

This makes the website interactive and not static.

Website Standards

Zimbabweans are a very tech-savvy people. You don't need to look far.
Zimbabweans based both in Zimbabwe and outside run fairly successful
websites ranging from news and media through money and shipping services
right up to digital telephony services.

News websites dominate the number of websites run by Zimbabweans on the
Internet. Since Zimbabwe government ministries and departments already have
dozens of websites that are hardly searchable on the web, the ICT ministry
must come up with a minimum standard guideline for website deployment.

Different ministries and departments do run their different websites, but
some minimum quality standard or benchmark MUST be created by the ICT
ministry.

If you look at the different Zimbabwe government websites, you will see
varying designs which are not up to scratch, if I could be generous with my
comments.

What is needed is a compliance standard that is set up by the ICT ministry.

Hats off to the webmasters who have managed to setup theses websites with
little or NO training and resources. What needs to be done is to come up
with a government website policy that clearly sets standards of design
technique, layout, interactivity, promotion and optimisation.

e-Government

In 2005 an ICT Steering committee produced a detailed 124-page e-Readiness
report. This report, sponsored by UNDP, covered almost all aspects of
e-readiness like: - eAgriculture, eCommerce, eEducation, eMining, eHealth,
eGovernance, eGovernment, eManufacturing and eTourism.

The ICT ministry must start by studying the eReadiness survey report (2005)
and use it as a springboard to kick-start the digital dream. The report is
detailed and thorough but might need to be updated in order to keep abreast
with current ICT realities on the ground.

Then the ICT ministry must put together a team/board by pooling together
highly skilled, competent and experienced individuals just as the Education
Ministry did.

The Hon Education Minister David Coltart is a lawyer by profession and made
a smart decision of putting together a board of education experts to execute
the technical aspects of the challenges facing education in Zimbabwe.

This approach could be used by all GNU ministers so that the best brains,
hands and hearts are pooled together to achieve a common purpose.

I must mention here that I deliberately did NOT discuss previous efforts by
the government to censor, control and intercept Internet and voice traffic
in the spirit of the inclusive government. Comments, corrections, questions
and requests are most welcome. - ZimOnline

Tourism industry suffers 24 percent revenue loss

http://www.zimonline.co.za

by Andrew Moyo Thursday 16 April 2009

HARARE - Revenue from Zimbabwe's troubled tourism industry declined by 24
percent last year after the flurry of election-induced violence, a cholera
outbreak and the effects of the global recession led to massive
cancellations by potential tourists, the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA)
has said.

"Tourism receipts fell from US$365 million in 2007 to US$294 million in
2008," the ZTA said in the Tourism Trends and statistics Annual Report that
has just been released.

The report said arrivals in 2008 had declined by 22 percent to 1,9 million
from 2,5 million in 2007.

"The adverse performance was partly due to harsh media reports citing
political violence in the country, especially after the March harmonised
elections and also the cholera outbreak in the country during the second
half of the year," the ZTA said.

Zimbabwe witnessed its worst political violence after Morgan Tsvangirai and
his then opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party defeated
President Robert Mugabe and his ZANU PF party in parliamentary and
presidential elections in March last year although Tsvangirai just fell
short of the required threshold to avoid a run-off poll.

The MDC leader eventually withdrew from the run-off against Mugabe citing
state-orchestrated violence against his supporters. Mugabe went on to claim
victory in a one-candidate election but was forced to negotiate a
power-sharing government with Tsvangirai, resulting in the formation of a
unity government in February.

"To an extent the global financial crisis also affected the overseas
 market," the ZTA added.

Africa remained the biggest market for Zimbabwe in 2008, accounting for 1,7
million of the arrivals with South Africa providing 937 000.

Asia reported an 11 percent increase but arrivals from the European market
declined by one percent while at 3 400 arrivals, the Middle East had the
biggest fall.

"The SADC region contributed 1,6 million arrivals into the country, down
from 2,1 million arrivals in 2007. This represents a 23 percent decline in
SADC arrivals into Zimbabwe.

"Other African countries contributed 48 179 arrivals in 2008 as compared to
94 578 in 2007, a 49 percent decline," the report added.

Zimbabwe's new unity government has placed the tourism industry at the core
of its efforts to turnaround the economy after years of a political
stalemate and economic decline affected arrivals from Western countries.

The government has projected that the tourism industry could be transformed
into a US$1 billion industry in five years but at the current rate of
arrivals the US$1 billion can only be reached after a period of more than a
decade.

The recent spate of farm invasions could further derail this effort as
investor confidence and the appetite by tourists will be affected.

The country faces major challenges in refurbishing airports, roads,
telecommunications, hotels and other related infrastructure, as well as
repairing the tainted image before arrivals can hit South Africa's levels of
11 million. - ZimOnline

Zimbabwe's Evicted Commercial Farmers Seek US$20 Billion Compensation

http://www.voanews.com

By Patience Rusere
Washington
15 April 2009

Zimbabwe's Commercial Farmers Union, which represents mainly white
commercial farmers turned off their properties under land reform since 2000,
said it has opened negotiations with the government seeking more than US$20
billion compensation for their losses.

CFU President Trevor Gifford said his organization decided to take this
stance in view of the continuing farm invasions and harassment of the few
hundred white farmers who continue to cultivate crops out of more than 4,000
before land redistribution began.

The CFU said 150 white commercial farmers have become entangled in legal
pursuits in recent months while dozens have seen their property taken over
or been assaulted.

Gifford told reporter Patience Rusere of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that
US$20 billion is a reasonable demand for compensation under international
law.

Mutsekwa promises review of passport fees

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk


Wednesday, 15 April 2009

BULAWAYO- Zimbabwe's co-Home Affairs Minister, Giles Mutsekwa, says
the government has worked out new measures that will allow an ordinary
passport to be processed in a day, with a delayed passport taking less than
two weeks to issue.
Mutsekwa also told The Zimbabwean that the exorbitant ordinary
passport fees of US$675, the most expensive in the world, will be reviewed
downwards "drastically".
Most Zimbabweans are failing to access passports because of the
exorbitant fees.
"The ordinary passport fees are exorbitant and will be reviewed
downwards by the government. Every Zimbabwean has a right to a passport -
not just a select few with money," Mutsekwa said.
"At the same time, the government has worked out new measures that
will see a passport taking less than a day to process while a passport which
takes long to issue will not exceed two weeks. All the new measures relating
to the issuing of passports will be announced this week."
The registry office announced the new fees after it had stopped
issuing identification cards, passports and other crucial documents to
citizens because of an acute shortage of foreign currency required to import
production material.
The Registrar General's office said it suspended the issuing of
identity cards and passports altogether because there was no hard cash to
pay foreign suppliers of the special ink and films used to produce the
documents.
A passport is a much sought after document among Zimbabweans who
regularly t

Zimbabwe police use POSA to ban an MDC rally in Masvingo

http://www.hararetribune.com

Thursday, 16 April 2009 00:36

A Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) rally which was scheduled for
Saturday this week on Independence Day has been cancelled after the police
denied the Morgan Tsvangirai-led party clearance, an official said.

MDC provincial spokesperson Wilstuff Sitemere said that the police reversed
a decision which had allowed them to stage a rally at Nemanwa Growth Point,
South of Masvingo town.

"The police just made an about turn and informed us today (Tuesday)  that we
can no longer go ahead with the rally. They said it was not inthe interests
of the Public Order and Security Act (POSA)," Sitemere said.

He said the police, under the instruction of ZANU PF politicians, accused
the MDC of trying to 'sabotage the independence' celebrations as they knew
many people would rather turn up for an MDC rally than go for the
celebrations where the same old Robert Mugabe rhetoric might be the order of
the day.

"They accused us of sabotage, arguing that people may snub the Independence
celebrations, which are 'very important for the country's history as it is
the day that we finally liberated ourselves from the York of imperialism',"
said the MDC provincial chairperson.Sitemere blasted the actions by the
police, saying it is not in the best interests of the inclusive government
formed two months ago, as well as the interests of the Zimbabweans.

"This is against the spirit of togetherness and national healing as espoused
in the unity government. We wonder where the police got their orders from,"
he said.Acting provincial police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Tinaye
Matake said the rally had not been banned but re-scheduled.

"We did not ban their rally. What we just said was that the 18th of April is
a national day, not a party day, hence they have to findanother day.

We put the interests of the nation above party interests. Furthermore,
supporters may get drunk resulting in disorderly behavior that may disturb
public order and peace," Ass Insp Matake said.

Radio VOP could not get a comment from Giles Mutsekwa, MDC Home Affairs
Minister who is co-chairing with ZANU PF's Kembo Mohadi. Mutsekwa was
involved in a car accident at the weekend, but escaped unhurt.

Court reserves judgement on Mudzingwa

http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=15194

April 16, 2009

By Our Correspondent

HARARE - The High Court on Wednesday deferred its ruling in a matter in
which the state is seeking permission to block the release on bail of Gandhi
Mudzingwa, a former aide to Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and two other
accused persons.

Justice Charles Hungwe last week granted US$1 000 bail each to Mudzingwa,
who is jailed together with his two alleged accomplices Kisimusi Dhlamini,
the MDC director for security and freelance photo-journalist, Andrison
Manyere.

This was after he had listened to submissions presented by both the state
and the defence relating to the eligibility of the three to being granted
bail.

The state quickly invoked Section 121 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence
Act which automatically suspends the effect of a court ruling pending a
formal request by the state for the court to appeal to a higher court.

The invocation is only valid for seven days.

Wednesday's application to seek leave to appeal by the state was heard by
Justice Muchineripi Bhunu who deferred his ruling to this Thursday.

The three political prisoners have been languishing in remand prison for the
past five months.

They stand accused of an alleged plot to overthrow President Robert Mugabe's
government through acts of banditry, insurgency and terrorism. They deny the
charges.

The charges arise out of five bombing incidents in two Harare police
stations and a railway line in Harare's satellite town of Norton, 40km west
of the city.

Mudzingwa and Dhlamini are currently detained under police guard at Harare's
Avenues Clinic where they are being treated for injuries sustained during
weeks of torture by state security agents while in secret detention.

Manyere meanwhile continues to languish in Chikurubi's Remand Prison.

Together with four other alleged accomplices, they are due to appear at the
Harare magistrate's court on April 30, 2009 on routine remand.

Their continued detention and the prosecution of other alleged coup plotters
continue to negatively affect a power sharing agreement reached between
President Mugabe's Zanu-PF and the MDC.

The MDC maintains that the abduction of the accused men and the allegations
levelled against them are all acts calculated to punish them for their
political affiliation.

Most government revenue goes to salaries

http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=15187

April 16, 2009

By Our Correspondent

BULAWAYO - The government is currently spending US$23 million a month on
salaries for ministers and allowances for civil servants, leaving very
little to finance national programmes, a cabinet minister has said.

Welshman Ncube, the Minister of Industry and Commerce, told a meeting in
Bulawayo that government was able to raise only US$30 million through taxes
and other sources. A remainder of only US$7 million was being used for
national programmes.

The more than 70 ministers along with the civil servants are reportedly
chewing up US$23 million, he said.

Ncube was addressing stakeholders at a meeting called to try to salvage this
year's edition of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF), which is
faced with collapse through lack of support by traditional exhibitors.

Trade Fair 2009 is scheduled to open its gates to the public on Tuesday,
April 28, and run until May 2 in the city of Bulawayo.

Ncube said it was difficult for the government to meet all its financial
obligations, given the amount of money remaining in hand after it fulfilled
its salary and allowance obligations for the ministers and the civil
service.

Most civil servants are currently paid US$100 allowances. The government
hopes civil servants will be paid proper salaries once funding is secured
for the purpose.

"This inclusive government that is in place has found the going tough in
many respects," Ncube told the meeting.

"As a minister in the same cabinet, I will be among the first people to
admit that things have not been going well for us.

"There have been many problems with the implementation of a lot of things
and we are currently grappling with the issue of financing the government's
operations and obligations."

Ncube said the major problem was that the government had so far failed to
attract meaningful financial aid from other countries.

This, he said, had forced Zimbabwe to find ways of generating its own funds
to finance major programmes.

"We have so many national programmes that need to be funded from the
national fiscus," he said.

"What is, however, evident is the fact that we need more resources to fund
these programmes. At the moment, I can tell you that as a nation, we are
relying on merely US$7 million to finance national operations.

"This comes after the civil service and government officials and ministers
bill would have been deducted, a bill that amounts to as much as US$23
million dollars."

Ncube said the government had plans to treble its resource base to US$100
million to enable it to finance essential programmes to ensure stability.

"What we hope for is a situation when we will be able to raise about US$100
million (a month) that will help us finance our obligations," said Ncube.
"Should we do that, then we are guaranteed better fortunes for the people of
this country."

Meanwhile, Ncube has appealed to the business community to support this year's
Trade Fair. The fair could be a flop exhibitors have indicated they might
not participate due to the exorbitant tariffs demanded by the organisers.

Ncube has pleaded to the business community not to let down the government
down by ensuring the success of the exhibition.

Mugabe will stand solidly by Gono

http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=15161

April 16, 2009

By Our Correspondent

HARARE - President Robert Mugabe is reported to be adamant he will not
disappoint Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor, Gideon Gono, despite the
pressure exerted by the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) on him to
sideline his loyal ally from a strategic position at the central bank.

The MDC has pushed for Gono's removal from the helm at the RBZ on the basis
that his recent re-appointment was irregular, as it was made outside the
agreed consultative agreement as enshrined in the Global Political Agreement
(GPA) signed by Zanu-PF and the two MDCs.

Mugabe signed the agreement as Zanu-PF leader, while Morgan Tsvangirai
signed as president of the mainstream MDC and Professor Arthur Mutambara
weighed in as leader of the smaller faction of the MDC.

Finance Minister, Tendai Biti, the chief architect of the push for Gono's
removal, once described the central bank governor as "the country's Number
One enemy" and also as an economic saboteur.

Sources say recent efforts to heal the rift between Gono and Biti have
yielded very little as the MDC secretary-general has insisted that Gono
should go.

The two held a press briefing recently where they attempted to feed the
media the line that they were "two sides of the same coin" and to dismiss
reports that they were fighting as "mere media speculation aimed at fitting
into the matrix of establishing a rift between us".

There were few takers, given the well-documented litany of exchanges between
the two officials, mainly emanating from the office of the minister.

Sources close to the cabinet say Mugabe was expected to put up a spirited
defence of Gono during a meeting to discuss the outstanding issues in
relation to the implementation of the Global Political Agreement.

Gorden Moyo, the Minister of State in Prime Minister Tsvangirai's office
told The Zimbabwe Times yesterday the issue of Gono was regarded as one of
the issues still outstanding.

"The issue of the governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has been set
aside for discussion by the three principals. It was not a matter for
discussion in the cabinet meeting today (Wednesday) as previously
speculated.

"There is a meeting of the principals that will be convened soon where Gono's
issue, the Attorney General, and that of the appointment of permanent
secretaries, ambassadors and other appointments will be discussed."

The sources said Mugabe would stick to his well defined stance because Gono
is viewed as Mugabe and Zanu-PF's only pillar of strength financially
through diverting funds from core RBZ activities to Mugabe's party.

"It is going to be a rough ride between Mugabe and Tsvangirai. Gono's
removal will be difficult because the President calls on him time and again
to help Zanu-PF with funding," said one source close to cabinet.

"He is likely to defend him to the last and ensure that the MDC fizzles out
in its war against Gono."

Another source said Mugabe would put his foot down on the matter, relying on
the argument that it would be costly to reverse Gono's appointment
contractually. He would suggest that the governor should be allowed to
remain in office for the lifespan of his contract following which a
replacement would then be appointed.

The source said the proposal would not go down well with the MDC which is
currently trying to raise funds to foot the civil service salary bill. Some
potential donors have stated unequivocally that Gono must depart before they
can open their purse-strings.

The salary bill in question currently stands at US$23 million per month.

"We understand the President has asked the MDC whether it has the financial
resources to underwrite the termination of Gono's contract, given that it
still has about three to four years to run. The answer has not been
forthcoming given that there is no money in the treasury to foot such an
expensive project," the source added.

Although Gono has come under fire from MDC parliamentarians for his
quasi-fiscal operations, he has apparently endeared himself to the same
parliamentarians who were criticizing him.

Two weeks ago, he held a briefing where he explained his position on the
quasi-fiscal operations - explanations this newspaper understands were not
opposed by a single legislator.

It is understood most of the legislators concurred with Gono that his
activities were aimed at saving Zimbabwe's collapsed economy.

Last week, Gono announced that the Reserve Bank had offered vehicles to
legislators for use while they waited for Parliament to procure its own
fleet.

It is alleged that the vehicles created serious division within the MDC,
with some of the legislators rushing to grab one despite warnings from the
MDC leadership that the party would expel any legislator who took possession
of any RBZ vehicle.

Teachers seeking repatriation detained

http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=15180

April 16, 2009

By Mxolisi Ncube

JOHANNESBURG - Fifteen teachers spent the Easter holidays detained at
Lindela Repatriation Centre after leaving Johannesburg's Central Methodist
Mission at the behest of a South African man who claimed he would help them
return to Zimbabwe.

The man, believed to be in his late 40s, has offices in a building adjacent
to the church.

Two of the teachers, who were released Tuesday after spending six days in
detention, told The Zimbabwe Times Wednesday that they approached the South
African on Monday last week, seeking assistance with repatriation.

The teachers had heard rumours that he had previously facilitated the
repatriation of other Zimbabweans.

"We were told by fellow refugees at the church that the man had assisted
some Zimbabweans with repatriation, and thought that he would also help us,"
said Michael Mawere (48), a former primary school teacher.

Mawere is one of the 300 professionals desperately seeking to return to
Zimbabwe after failing to secure employment in South Africa.

"We have waited for too long to be repatriated, despite having filled in our
Voluntary Repatriation Forms about a month ago and  we thought that this
could be the answer we were praying for," he said.

The teachers say that they approached the South African Monday morning; he
took down their names and told them to come back two days later.

"He told us that he had already facilitated four trips of Zimbabweans," said
another Zimbabwean, 60-year-old Frank Jonasi. "He castigated Zimbabwe's
leaders for failing to take care of their people who are desperate here."

On Wednesday, the 15 Zimbabweans returned to the man's offices, where he
took their repatriation forms and walked with them to Park Station to board
a Roodpoort-bound train.

"He paid our train fare and told us that he had arranged transport that
would take us to Zimbabwe upon alighting from the train," said Jonasi

"However, when we reached Roodpoort, he took us to the Home Affairs
Department's offices there. He then handed us over and vanished.

"We were made to sign some forms and had our fingerprints taken, before
being taken in two trucks to Lindela Repatriation Centre, where we were
detained for six days."

Lindela is a privately owned deportation centre outside Krugersdorp in South
Africa. The complex is a former mining hostel building which is now owned by
the ANC Women's League. It has gained notoriety for human rights abuses
against suspected 'illegal' immigrants and for bribery of the facility's
officials.

Every Wednesday the Department of Home Affairs and South African Border
Police deport thousands of immigrants from Lindela Repatriation Centre back
to neighbouring Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

The Zimbabwean detainees, who claim that they lost some of their belongings
while detained at Lindela, said that they were only released Tuesday
afternoon.

"When we arrived there, we were told that Zimbabweans are only deported on
Thursdays and Fridays, and it seemed that the man wanted us to be deported,
instead of being repatriated as he had promised us," added Mawere.

However, on Tuesday, the authorities at Lindela told the detainees that
Zimbabweans were no longer supposed to be deported, according to recent
directions from the Home Affairs Department.

"Only two of us were released though, as the authorities said that we were
very old, while our 13 colleagues are still detained there, as the
authorities say that they are not yet due for release," said Mawere.

The two men say the authorities took away their repatriation forms. They
displayed forms which advised them to go for interviews before the Home
Affairs Director General's office on or before May 9, 2009, and apply for
Special Exemption Certificates.

The letters were stamped at Lindela Repatriation Centre on February 14.

Pastor Tobias Chatindo, a social worker for the Southern African Women for
Immigration Affairs (SAWIMA), where the teachers were seeking help after
losing their belongings, confirmed the incident Wednesday.

"We suspect that this man is a bogus local who is out to exploit the
Zimbabweans," said Pastor Chatindo.

"He knows they are desperate to go back home. If he was a genuinely
concerned well-wisher, he would have spoken to us, as the organization that
is handling the teachers' case, or dealt with the IOM (International
Organisation for Migration) or the Zimbabwean Consulate."

Bishop Paul Verryn, who runs the Central Methodist Mission, said that he
knew nothing about the existence of well-wishers transporting Zimbabweans
back home.

"So far, there has been no such assistance that has come to our knowledge,"
he said.

Know Your Ministers: Sylvester Nguni

The Power of One

http://www.zimtelegraph.com

By EDDIE CROSS
Published: Thursday, April 16, 2009

All of us have at sometime been faced with a task or obstacle that seems so
big that we are threatened with being overwhelmed.

When that happens it's good to be reminded of three truths: How do you eat
an elephant?
One bite at a time; never underestimate the power of one person determined
not to be overawed or intimidated who simply gets down to work and then
plugs away until its done; and, we are never alone in these things, God is
with us when we are doing what He approves of and if that is the case - we
are the majority, even if we are only one.

Anyone who studies world history will know of countless examples of
individuals who have made a difference.

President Ronald Reagan, during his time in the White House tried to
identify such people and he called them "stars" in the heavens of life.

In the long struggle for decent government and freedom in Zimbabwe I know of
many who would fit that description.

An elderly retired couple who, after visiting a hospital in Bulawayo,
started to foster babies who had lost both their parents. We have 1,5
million orphans - perhaps the highest ratio of orphans to population in the
world.

That is just a statistic until you encounter a tiny baby whose mother has
just died in childbirth and who has nobody.

This couple have fostered dozens and the older children are now in school
and being fostered as a family by another couple who have taken this on as a
personal mission.

Cecil John Rhodes is another astonishing figure. He lived just 49 years,
spent 23 of those in Africa and yet in that short space of time he drew the
boundaries of 7 countries, started 70 companies, two of which stand today as
among the largest companies on the earth, became Prime Minister of the Cape,
built thousands of kilometres of railway track, started and stopped at least
two wars.

All without a telephone or Internet or the benefit of air travel. All based
on 6 000 English pounds borrowed from a maiden aunt and all the while
suffering from poor health.

We have just celebrated Easter and with it the story of one man who stood
against time, spent just three years tutoring a small group of men and was
then condemned by a corrupt and inept Court and executed on a cross.

"Well that's that!", the authorities must have felt. 300 years later the
Empire that carried out the execution bowed to his memory and worshiped him
as God.

No man in history has had such an impact on the globe.

But we do not have to be Christ or a Rhodes to make an impact on our world.
All it takes very often is a small gesture or act and you can help change
the world.

I used to take 60 small boys out to camp twice a year when I was younger. We
did that for nearly 10 years and many of those kids can remember those camps
as if they were yesterday.

What fun we had! I have no idea how many lives we changed but I know it was
many as they still write and call to say that those camps had a deep impact.

I think that had more significance for me than winning "businessman of the
year" when I was 40 years old and the CEO of a major local corporate.

You also need to be careful.

It was the action of a Deacon in a Methodist Church in South Africa who
denied Ghandi the right to worship there when he was looking for answers to
the deepest questions in life.

He probably never realised what an impact he had on the world just at that
moment.

Never underestimate the impact of your words when you are dealing with a
child.

I have known many whose sense of self has been destroyed by a careless
adult.

We have to constantly strive to reinforce people's sense of worth and being.

I remember being on a plane coming back from an overseas trip with a number
of young people who had been to the Special Olympics.

What an experience that was to see these teenagers with such disabilities
yet such confidence and behind it all the power and influence of a handful
of people who made it all happen.

One of the images of the Bush era that will always remain with me was when
George Bush senior was introducing his family to the Republican Convention,
he had on the stage with him a young boy who was handicapped - what
impressed itself on me was that the boy showed no sense that he was in any
way different or not special and I thought what a testimony that was to the
Bush family.

When the MDC set out on this journey in 1999, we had no money, no army or
police, no weapons except our pens and our votes and our capacity to speak
for the have not's.

The wealthy despised us and the powerful dismissed us as being
insignificant. Yet the powerful unassailable Zanu PF has been forced over
time to accept that they cannot run the country without us.

The region has been forced to acknowledge that we cannot be ignored and the
people have remained faithful to our pledge to work for them without
violence or terror, simply using the power of one - one person's right to
speak, one persons right to associate with another, one persons right to
vote in secret.

In many respects this is the achievement of one man - Morgan Tsvangirai. He
would never say that because it's also true that we are many, but the MDC
was his vision and its basic tenants have been his and in many cases he has
taken decisions alone and then stood by them in the face of severe
criticism.

The power of one.

It is tough and lonely when you are at the top of an organisation. Your have
to make decisions that are subject to scrutiny and criticism.

It is especially tough when those decisions affect the lives of your
colleagues and friends and you are in rough waters.

Yet even there never forget the power of one.

The capacity of one person to make a difference when it matters.

We all need to ensure that if the ball falls into our hands at a time like
that, that we do our part and help the team win the move that might lead to
victory.

We are in a tough spot right now, cannot do much of what is demanded of us
and facing almost insurmountable odds.

Our enemies and many of our friends are demanding that we quit the race. We
do not agree, no matter what it takes we are in this deal to make it work
and if that is not enough, to then to go on to fight another election in two
years when hopefully there will be a more democratic dispensation.

You can help us by simply exercising the power of one. Eddie Cross

Constitution Watch 2 of 14th April 2009 [Parliamentary Select Committee for New Constitution]

Zimbabwe Unity Govt is "not a solid base to relaunch the country to normalcy." - Makoni

http://www.thezimbabweobserver.com

 The Global Political Agreement between ZANU PF and the MDC was "not a solid
base for relaunch of the country to normalcy." Dr Makoni told a panel of
Ambassadors in Harare.
"There was and still is to much emphasis on "sharing power", hence the
result is that we have way too many ministers, with the contest for power
continuing over provincial governors, diplomatic postings, permanent
secretaries, RBZ governor and Attorney General, amongst many others" he
said. Dr Makoni was addressing Commonwealth Ambassadors at a luncheon in
Harare, who had invited him to hear his thoughts on the current situation in
Zimbabwe, the prospects of the Coalition Government and his plans for the
future of Zimbabwe.

Dr Makoni also said he was worried that mannerisms of ZANU PF are emerging
amongst the new MDC ministers, seeing, for instance the issuing of
directives and orders to business to slash tariffs and prices. This, he
said, signalled that there was no paradigm shift in the thinking of the new
government, which appeared to still want to dictate to the country instead
of consulting it.

He called Tendai Biti's revised budget, STERP (Short Term Economic Recovery
Programme) and the so-called 100-day plan, "ill-considered and hurried". The
revised budget of the MDC, for instance, he said, was as damaging as ZANU
PF's because it stripped away all provision for infrastructure
rehabilitation, leaving only consumptive expenditure - the payment of
salaries and perks.

The entire budget, therefore, was simply for recurrent expenditure, whereas
what Zimbabwe needed now was the proven route of a "New Deal" of public
works to rehabilitate the infrastructure, thereby creating thousands, if not
hundreds of thousands of job.

This would have required political will to trim the public service, save
money and then channel the saved money towards these sustainable
infrastructure projects.

He said he was certain that if this was done, the world would notice that
Zimbabwe was using the little revenue it had to kick-start its own
development and would be more inclined to help. Right now, though, the world
sees that Zimbabwe politicians' first priority if to fill their own stomachs
first.

Makoni highlighted the following:

Too much emphasis on raising money, without rational and prioritised
programmes and plans

Too many public stunts - stakeholder gatherings, for example, that are
without strategic focus

No evidence yet that a Team is emerging - currently we have just a
collection of individuals projecting different messages and priorities (e.g.
PM/President over the farm invasions)

Much talk about inclusion, but reality is that there is limited or no space
for other civic or political actors

Initial indications on the constitution-making and national healing do not
signify adequate and substantive inclusion

"For the sake of the people, we genuinely wish the Inclusive government to
succeed. Part of the requirement for such success is there continues to be
an alternative view and voice to national affairs. In this

connection, preparations to transform MKD into a fully-fledged political
party are advancing well," he said

We believe that in the new Zimbabwe, the following principles should guide
our national systems, especially state functions:

Supremacy of the constitution;

Separation of responsibilities of state institutions;

Separation of party and state;

Limitation of terms of office of both party and state officers; and
separation of religion and state.

We believe that the country is ready for another force in national politics.
One that does not only articulate what we are against, but more so, what we
are for. A political force that offers a vision of the future,

rather than remain prisoners of the past. A force that recognises and values
the past, as a foundation and stepping stone to the future, not as the
destination.

The country needs a leadership that understands and accepts the strength of
diversity in a united nation.

A leadership that recognizes that there is more that unites us than divides
us, and embraces each one of us into the family of Zimbabwe.

A leadership that understands and accepts that our strength, as a country,
is assured when we belong to the family of nations; than when we remain in
isolation.

Land grab spreads to South Africa as mob seizes farm

http://www.timesonline.co.uk

April 16, 2009

Jonathan Clayton in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
An armed mob, angered over the slow pace of land reform benefits, has
launched a Zimbabwean-style invasion of one of South Africa's new
multi-million pound showpiece agricultural reform projects, the biggest yet
in value instituted by the post-apartheid government.

Government sources said a mob, armed with knives and machetes, had seized
control of Forana farm in the rich farming area of Mpumalanga province over
the Easter weekend after threatening and driving off local managers and
staff employed by the new owners, a black-run farming cooperative.

The 3200 hectare farm is part of Tenbosch estate, a Rand 10 billion (£740
million) land-restitution project. It is made up of several farms handed
back to four local communities who progressively lost their historic land
under apartheid legislation since 1923.

Invaders, mirroring complaints in rural communities across the country, are
angry over the few benefits they have seen from the much-heralded land
transfer although the new owners made clear it would take several years to
turn around land which although originally seized from locals, has been
abandoned and neglected for years.

Agribusiness Umlimi, which controls the joint-venture farm management
company Makhombo for the Lugedlane community condemned the action as
irresponsible and said it compromised farming operations and jeopardised the
ultimate flow of benefits to the community.

Fifteen years after the end of apartheid, land reform remains one of the
country's most sensitive issues. Government attempts to redress an imbalance
which saw whites holding some 83 percent of all land, have largely failed,
angering all sides.

Critics say the programme has simply contributed to destroying viable
commercial farming sector by drastically reducing the amount of land
available for commercial agriculture without bringing any benefit to rural
communities.

"I would say that 95 percent of land transferred under the scheme so far has
simply resulted in once productive farms being turned over to subsistence
farming," Chris van Zyl, deputy general manager of the Transvaal
Agricultural Union told The Times.

He said the situation had not been helped because the new owners were
frequently denied title deeds without which they found it difficult to raise
the necessary investment. In addition, white farmers who are keen to sell
sometimes have to wait more than two years to receive promised funds from
the government. In the meantime they make no investment on the land.

The land bank which organizes such purchases under the current "willing
buyer, willing seller" scheme is bankrupt after successive corruption
scandals.

"All this has led to a decrease in production and a crisis of food
 security," Mr van Zyl added. "You can't just take land away from one group
and hand it to others and expect it to stay productive. The issue is far
more complex. Unfortunately it is a very sensitive issue and needs to be
handled with care but politicians take advantage of that and whip up
expectations which cannot be met." Emotions are currently running high in
South Africa as the country is in the midst of the most closely contested
election campaign since democracy in 1994. Opposition parties are
highlighting the failure of the ANC to deliver on previous pledges to end
poverty and improve life for the black majority - some 85 percent of the
population.

Land, land reform and agricultural production are some of the areas where
the current government has failed most dramatically to the extent it
recently warned black farmers they risked losing the land again under a new
"use it or lose it" policy.

Farm invasions stoke fears that South Africa could go the same way as
Zimbabwe where a "fast track" programme, aimed at meeting local people's
frustrations, saw white farmers losing farms violently without compensation
with disastrous consequences for the broader economy.

Attorney Richard Spoor, who acted for a group of concerned members of the
Tenbosch beneficiary community, told the Business Day newspaper the Tenbosch
project was a shambles because certain of the new trustees had abused the
trust of the community.

Through Makhombo, Umlimi has disbursed hundreds of thousands of pounds to
the Lugedlane community in the past three years, but none of the income was
passed on to the community, according to the group behind the "invasion".

Rights groups laud residents' permits for Zimbabweans

http://www.businessday.co.za

16 April 2009

There are a number of details about the scheme that need to be clarified,
writes Wilson Johwa

A COMBINATION of economic, political and security considerations, along with
humanitarian concerns, account for SA's decision to grant special residency
status to Zimbabweans.

Earlier this month SA announced that Zimbabweans would soon qualify for
special residents' permits entitling them to a six-month renewable stay in
the country with the right to work as well as access to healthcare and
education. A lot still needs to be clarified, however.

"It is unclear if this will be for new arrivals or only those already in the
country," says the head of the Forced Migration Studies Programme, Loren
Landau. Visa-free entry for Zimbabweans is also not a long way off,
dependent partly on Zimbabwe's capacity to meet its citizens' demand for
passports.

Rights groups welcomed the proposals. Zimbabwean Exiles Forum director
Gabriel Shumba is particularly pleased by SA's "tacit admission that the
human rights and humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe continues to be of
concern" despite the formation of a government of national unity.

The head of the Institute for Global Dialogue, Garth le Pere, says in
dropping the visa requirement SA is merely seeking to correct the prevailing
"asymmetrical relationship" that violates the principle of reciprocity since
South Africans do not need visas to enter Zimbabwe.

Le Pere feels SA is also keen on easing the administrative burden in the
Department of Home Affairs' refugee office and SA's consulate in Harare.

However, the timing of the announcement has bemused many. It is "either to
ensure some kind of legacy for (Home Affairs Minister Nosiviwe)
Mapisa-Nqakula or simply to encourage or force the incoming minister to
address this issue," Landau says.

Once SA's largest trade partner in Africa, Zimbabwe's economy is all but
dependent on imported goods, priced mainly in rands and US dollars.
Extending rights to those illegally in SA will ensure their remittances keep
the home fires burning. However, as the recession bites and demand slows, SA
will need as many buyers of its products as it can get, even if they are
from Zimbabwe.

Enoch Moyo, a Harare-based economist, says high on the list for discussions
between the two countries is the use of the rand as official tender in
Zimbabwe. The slide in the value of the US dollar against the rand is
causing losses for Zimbabwean producers whose prices are in US dollars.
"There has been an urgency among the business sector to move to the rand,"
Moyo says.

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), many of whose members
will lose their jobs this year, is unfazed by the prospect of foreign
workers legitimately competing with unionised labour. "Cosatu has always had
an internationalist approach. Provided the workers are fully legal there
should be no discrimination," says spokesman Patrick Craven.

The head of Johannesburg's Central Methodist Church, Bishop Paul Verryn,
hopes the special resident's permit will be the beginning of long-term
engagement, leading to the eventual elimination of borders. Verryn, who for
a long time has been one of the only providers of sanctuary for Zimbabweans
fleeing violence and joblessness, worries that the Department of Home
Affairs may not have the capacity to deal with the permit efficiently.

The department expects the special residency permit to be finalised in a few
weeks upon the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the two
countries. "It is important from a security point of view to know who is in
the country; we can only do that if we give them the option to enter
legally," says home affairs spokeswoman Siobhan McCarthy.

Removing the stigma of illegitimacy from most Zimbabweans would also counter
xenophobia, blamed on the previous government policy which criminalised
desperate migrants and made them targets for the wrath of locals, especially
the police.

"Anything that begins to say to South Africans they (Zimbabweans) are
legitimate, the better," Verryn says.

SA is expected to become the biggest investor in Zimbabwe. Last week's
business delegation led by billionaire miner Patrice Motsepe is expected to
be the first of many . With Zimbabwe in a weakened bargaining position, the
two countries are due to sign a long-standing investment protection
agreement.

"What SA is trying to do is position itself vis-a-vis trade links, if these
can be resuscitated," says Le Pere.

johwaw@bdfm.co.za