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Zim prepares law to seize company stakes without paying

http://www.moneyweb.co.za/

Bloomberg|
22 April 2013 14:18

Zimbabwe’s government is preparing a law that would allow it to seize
controlling stakes in companies without compensation, according to a draft
of the legislation obtained by Bloomberg News.

The law would be an amendment to a 2007 act that compels foreign and
white-owned companies such as Rio Tinto Group, Sinosteel Corp. and Impala
Platinum Holding Ltd. to sell or cede 51% of their shares to black nationals
or state-approved agencies.

“The motivation for this position arises out of the desire to ensure that
the people of Zimbabwe benefit fully, and without cost whatsoever, from
enterprises that exploit their God-given natural resources,” according to
the draft law.

Zimbabwe, which has the world’s second-biggest platinum and chrome reserves,
endorsed a new constitution in a referendum last month, paving the way for
elections, which must be held before Oct. 31.

Anglo American Platinum Ltd. and Impala have agreed to cede stakes in their
local units. The government is in talks with banks including Barclays Plc
and Standard Chartered Plc about their compliance with the current local
ownership law.


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MDC-T demands inclusivity in organs that run elections

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Tichaona Sibanda
22 April 2013

During a meeting with the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) on Monday the
MDC-T demanded that all political parties in the country be represented in
organisations that run elections, a senior party official said.

MDC-T spokesman Douglas Mwonzora told SW Radio Africa that ZEC had called
for the meeting after their party had raised several concerns they needed
rectified before the crucial poll in a few months time.

‘We wrote to ZEC complaining about a number of issues that included the
staffing at the secretariat and the non-involvement of other parties in
organs like the accreditation committee and the national logistics
committee,’ Mwonzora said.

Instead of discussing the issues with the MDC-T alone, ZEC invited all other
political parties to the meeting in the capital. 18 parties attended and
ZANU PF was represented by the State Security Minister Sydney Sekeramayi.

The Nyanga North MP explained that their party does not have confidence in
the ZEC secretariat, that he believes has been compromised. He emphasized
that the secretariat was unilaterally appointed by ZANU PF and was therefore
partisan to the former ruling party.

‘This is the same secretariat that failed to provide Zimbabweans with
results of the Presidential elections for three weeks in 2008. It’s a
secretariat we cannot have confidence in.

‘In that regard we told ZEC we were not happy with their secretariat and
urged them to change the set up,’ Mwonzora added.

The MP reiterated that all political parties had to be represented in
important organs like the accreditation and national logistics committees,
which are currently staffed by appointees from ZANU PF.

‘If you look at the accreditation committee you have people from the
President’s office, the Foreign Affairs ministry, the Immigration
department…people appointed by ZANU PF.

‘We believe in political inclusivity and we asked ZEC to consider
appointments from other parties. An organ like the national logistics
committee is a very important one and should not only be manned by officials
from one political party.

Mwonzora said it is crucial to have ‘ears’ and ‘eyes’ in this committee as
it is the one charged with the distribution of ballot papers and boxes.

‘This is a very important organ. This is the committee that knows how many
ballot boxes and papers go where and the number of resources that are
deployed during elections. It also deals with the collation of the results
in preparation for the announcement of the results,’ he said.

There have been accusations in that the ballot counts; since the 2000
elections have been rigged in favour of President Robert Mugabe.

It has been highlighted that in some cases there were more votes than
registered voters, like the case in Uzumba Maramba Pfungwe constituency in
Mashonaland East province.

This constituency decisively handed Mugabe victory in the 2002 presidential
elections where an estimated 50,000 people cast their vote, although
subsequent elections have failed to produce close to half the number that
voted eleven years ago.


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Makoni dismisses ‘treason’ allegations by state media

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Alex Bell
22 April 2013

Mavambo.Kusile.Dawn leader Dr. Simba Makoni has dismissed allegations by the
state media that he committed ‘treason’, after comments he made on a South
African news channel about the situation in Zimbabwe.

The former Finance Minister in Robert Mugabe’s government, and now vocal
critic of the ZANU PF regime, said recently that all is not well in
Zimbabwe. He was speaking during an interview with South Africa’s eNCA news
channel, where he compared life in Rhodesia to present living in Zimbabwe.
Makoni said that Mugabe and his party were responsible for worse brutality
being suffered by Zimbabweans now, than what was experienced by Rhodesians
under the Ian Smith regime.

The state media has since reacted by accusing Makoni of ‘treason’, quoting
ZANU PF aligned commentators and ‘analysts”.

The ZBC quoted Gabriel Chaibva, a ZANU PF member and former high ranking CIO
official, as saying that Makoni is “clearly playing to the gallery of
westerners who want to see a change of government” in the country.

Another loyalist, Dr. Charity Manyeruke, who is reportedly an advisor to
Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa, is quoted as saying that Makoni’s
comments are a sign “of a frustrated man who will do anything to revive his
fading political career. “

She said people like Makoni, who leave and make ‘irresponsible’ comments
outside Zimbabwe, should be charged with treason as their actions are
“tantamount to selling out.”

Makoni on Monday dismissed the allegations and challenged the analysts to
learn “what constitutes treason.”

“Quite clearly what I said was not in the faintest idea treasonous. To
suggest I committed treason was ignoble,” Makoni told SW Radio Africa.

He then went on to repeat the comments he made during his eNCA interview:

“The key point I made (in that interview) was that in Rhodesia we lived in
fear and in Zimbabwe we still live in fear. I said in Rhodesia, the
Rhodesians did not set upon their own. There is no record of the Rhodesia
arm setting upon a community of whites in Borrowdale, in Mount Pleasant,”
Makoni said.

He continued: “In Zimbabwe we have a record of political agents setting upon
villages and townships and communities and brutalising them for holding
different political views. So these are the comments I made. Nowhere can you
suggest this is committing treason,” Makoni said.

He also said that the reaction from ZANU PF to his comments was a sign of
the party’s own inability to handle the truth.

“They are not capable of dealing with issues. When they are confronted with
harsh truths they take comfort in abuse and aggression. They call you names
and give you labels, but run away from confrontation,” Makoni said.


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PM echoes Mugabe’s peace calls

http://www.thezimbabwemail.com/

Staff Reporter 20 hours 49 minutes ago

PRIME Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has said Zimbabweans must not fight each
other in the run up to the elections expected later this year and called on
citizens to promote peace in the country.

Speaking at a peace-building event organised by churches at Chinhoyi stadium
yesterday, Tsvangirai said that it was important for Zimbabweans to draw a
line that they would never fight each other again.

“Today I endorse words spoken by President Mugabe on Independence Day in
Harare. Violence is a culture that is strengthened by impunity. If people
continue to beat each other, it becomes the political culture of the
country,” he said.

Tsvangirai expressed surprise that although Mugabe was calling for peace, it
was other departments of government that were boldly proclaiming that the
country would never be taken by the pen.

“That kind of statement is not congruent with the statements being said by
the President. Others are saying if so and so wins, we will overthrow him by
a military coup. That is not in the spirit of advancing peace and stability
in the country. Every one of us is equal before the law and God,” he said.

The PM called on citizens to register and vote in the forthcoming elections
and said it was important that the will of the people was defended.

Speaking at the same occasion, businessman and Zanu PF Chinhoyi aspiring
Member of Parliament Phillip Chiyangwa called on Tsvangirai as the PM to
help create employment for the thousands of unemployed youth in the country.

“I am asking Tsvangirai to descend [to the grassroots]. For there to be no
hooligans, there must be food, there is need for jobs. Right here in
Chinhoyi, there are no factories for people to work. There are many
unemployed people as a result of that,” said Chiyangwa.

“My plea to the high official in government present here is that there
should be no hunger or else disputes will arise in light of where we are
going [elections]”.

Tsvangirai has warned President Robert Mugabe against putting much trust in
his security chiefs, saying they were “mere mortals”.

Addressing thousands of people at a peace prayer concert in Chinhoyi over
the weekend, Tsvangirai said only God had the ability to ensure political
stability.

The event was part of efforts by interdenominational churches to prepare the
nation for peaceful, free and fair elections expected later this year.

“What I am emphasising to my fellow comrade (Mugabe) is that it is folly to
bank on the might of fellow human beings, the armed forces. That is not the
power base you should be bragging about and banking on. Count on the
strength and might of the Lord, our God.”

The Prime Minister said the new draft constitution respected the supremacy
of God and viewed all humans as equals.

Tsvangirai went on to speak against utterances by security service chiefs
and other politicians who have declared that they will not allow anyone with
no liberation war credentials to assume the Presidency, in apparent
reference to him.

Several top army officials have publicly declared their allegiance to Zanu
PF and vowed not to recognise Tsvangirai as leader of this country even if
he wins the next election.

During the 33rd Independence anniversary celebrations in Harare last
Thursday, Information minister and Zanu PF political commissar Webster Shamu
reiterated the same position, saying his party would not be removed from
power through the ballot box.

“Such reckless pronouncements do not advance peace and political stability
in the country. In the upcoming polls, people should register as voters and
cast their ballots to defend their fundamental right of universal suffrage,”
Tsvangirai said.

“I want to emphasise the peace call by President Mugabe during Independence
Day celebrations in Harare. Some in Zanu PF now think Mugabe is selling out
when he says ‘peace begins with you, peace begins with me, peace begins with
all of us’.

“Peace has never been given so much attention in this country before. These
are words that build the nation. Violence is a culture, a value system which
is strengthened by impunity.

“As Zimbabweans, we are drawing the line that never again should Zimbabweans
fight each other. I have worked with Mugabe for the past four years and we
oftentimes joke saying ‘you wanted me beaten up, didn’t you?’ Politics is
counter-productive when it is violent.”

MDC-T national organising secretary Nelson Chamisa underscored the need for
peace and tranquillity in all facets of life, saying that would bring
harmony and development in the country. Chamisa, who is also Information
Communication Technology minister, said losers in the coming polls should
concede defeat and work together with victors towards nation-building.

Senior officials from Zanu PF, Welshman Ncube’s MDC and other smaller
parties did not attend the meeting.

The concert featured performances by renowned gospel musicians Charles and
Olivia Charamba and fast-rising artiste Blessing Shumba, among others.


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Tsvangirai ‘ wrong’ on Mugabe’s security sector power base

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Nomalanga Moyo
22 April 2013

Analysts have said MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai may have spoken prematurely
when he suggested that the army has no power to ‘save’ President Robert
Mugabe.

Speaking at a peace rally held in Chinhoyi over the weekend Tsvangirai
advised Mugabe not to put too much trust on “mere mortals” but rather to
count on divine strength.

The rally was organised by different churches to prepare the nation for
peaceful, free and fair elections, expected later this year.

According to the NewsDay newspaper, Tsvangirai told the gathering: “What I
am emphasising to my fellow comrade (Mugabe) is that it is folly to bank on
the might of fellow human beings, the armed forces. That is not the power
base you should be bragging about and banking on. Count on the strength and
might of the Lord, our God.”

While the utterances were a caution to Mugabe whose 33-year rule has largely
been propped up by security chiefs, some people think the PM’s statements
could be misleading, considering what has happened in the past.

Baster Magwizi, chairman of the freedom fighters ZIPRA Veterans Trust said
Tsvangirai’s statements can be misinterpreted and used against him.

He said: “Tsvangirai is making too many mistakes by issuing arbitrary
statements. The army generals have given strength to the current regime. It
is wrong to say, ‘They are mere mortals’.”

Magwizi said it is surprising that Tsvangirai thinks the generals will alter
their loyalty to Mugabe.

“I think he needs to be coached on the necessity and significance of
security sector reform. He should also demand security sector reform,”
Magwizi stated.
Political commentator Wilfred Mhanda told SW Radio Africa’s Lionel Saungweme
that rather than leaving Mugabe’s fate to God, the MDC-T leader should be
insisting on security sector reforms.

Mhanda said the PM’s statement won’t change anything because Mugabe actually
depends on the generals, who have openly stated that their allegiance lies
with Mugabe, and are on record as saying they will not salute the MDC
leader, even if he wins the presidential race.

Outspoken political analyst Rejoice Ngwenya said it is premature for
Tsvangirai to see any change in the way the army operates, and said that as
long as the reforms that were agreed to as part of the GPA were not
implemented, Zimbabweans will need to do their bit rather than leave
everything to God.

“To use high moral ground and spiritualism does not really work with ZANU
PF. As long as Mugabe is alive and as long as there is that umbilical cord
link between the regime and the military sector, we can pray all we want but
the generals can just wake up and say ‘you aren’t taking over’ to whoever
wins the next election.

“Tsvangirai should be underlining the need for reforms and for a return to
the supremacy of the law and the constitution,” Ngwenya said.

During the event the PM had also emphasised the peace call by President
Mugabe during Independence Day celebrations, saying: “Peace has never been
given so much attention in this country before. These are words that build
the nation. Violence is a culture, a value system which is strengthened by
impunity.”

However, Saungweme said it is surprising that Tsvangirai was taking Mugabe’s
call seriously, given that over the years the ZANU PF leader has clearly
demonstrated his love for violence, even declaring that “ZANU PF has degrees
in violence. He clearly never spoke about a degree in peace.”


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Tsvangirai speaks on mansion, Merc

http://www.dailynews.co.zw/

Monday, 22 April 2013 11:23

HARARE - Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has angrily rejected claims that
he has “pleaded” to purchase his Highlands mansion and official Mercedes
Benz to secure his future after the imminent expiry of the inclusive
government.

The State-run media claimed yesterday Tsvangirai has officially “pleaded”
with authorities to allow him to purchase his official Highlands mansion for
$4,5 million and his official Mercedes Benz vehicle for an undisclosed
amount.

But Tsvangirai’s spokesperson Luke Tamborinyoka described the claim
yesterday as “a desperate attempt to scandalise and soil the image of the
prime minister and equalise him with Zanu PF people known for living beyond
their means.”

Tsvangirai and his wife Elizabeth moved into the Highlands pad in April
ahead of their highly-anticipated wedding.

The mansion was renovated by government after the former trade unionist
failed to move into Zimbabwe House — President Robert Mugabe’s former
residence when he served as PM soon after independence in 1980 until 1987.

The father of six said while the Global Political Agreement specifically
indicates that the Prime Minister shares executive powers with Mugabe, “the
PM has remained modest using a second hand Mercedes Benz given to him four
years ago.”

“As we speak, the car is in the garage and the PM has never sought to insist
on material demands even of those things that he is entitled to,” Luke
Tamborinyoka, the PM’s spokesperson told the Daily News yesterday.

Tsvangirai has a right as a sitting tenant to buy the house but he has not
indicated his intention to do so, Tamborinyoka clarified.

He said the PM’s Highlands house was valued at $790 000 before improvement
and its value is nowhere near the $4.5 million being peddled in the
State-run media.

“The PM has right to buy the house but is yet to do that because he does not
have the money which amount is far less than the $5 million being peddled by
the public media,” Tamborinyoka said.

While the State media claimed Tsvangirai has written to Public Works
Minister Joel Gabuza Gabbuza asking to buy the mansion, the minister said
yesterday he had not received any such communication from the PM’s office.

“We have not received such a request,” Gabbuza told the Daily News
yesterday. “We only said in the contract of occupation that if he so wishes
to buy, he has a right of first refusal, he can approach us and we will be
able to give him. For now he has not approached us.”

Tamborinyoka said as Zimbabwe hurtles towards fresh elections, there was
escalating and consistent maligning of the person of the Prime Minister “to
put him on equal footing with those known for pillaging the country’s
resources.”

“The public media has not said a word about those that own mansions in
Borrowdale,” Tamborinyoka said. “They have not talked about those that
claimed over a 100 percent disability to abuse the War Victims Compensation
Fund but still hold high offices in government.”

The State media claimed Tsvangirai was scared of losing elections, hence his
attempt to negotiate an exit package.

“Mugabe lost elections in 2008 and a few months before the country’s biggest
electoral fight our opponents are quacking in their boots,” the PM‘s
spokesperson said.

“They have stalled security sector and media reforms. When even their
president is calling for a free, fair and credible peaceful poll, the likes
of (Webster) Shamu (Media, Information and Publicity minister) are declaring
that a vote cannot precipitate a change of power in Zimbabwe.

“Our people must then ask, who is petrified of the elections? They know
their removal from power through the ballot is imminent.”


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'Axe Mudede before polls'

http://www.dailynews.co.zw/

By Richard Chidza, Staff Writer
Monday, 22 April 2013 11:21
HARARE - Knives are out for Registrar General Tobaiwa Mudede ahead of a
crucial Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) meeting slated for today, with
ruling MDC parties calling for his removal before elections.

Fireworks are expected at today’s Zec meeting when the electoral commission
gleans views of ruling and opposition political parties.

Zec chief elections officer, Lovemore Sekeramayi, confirmed the electoral
body will meet political parties at its offices today.

“I can confirm we will be meeting representatives of all political parties
in the country tomorrow (today),” Sekeramayi told the Daily News yesterday.
“We would like to hear the concerns of the political parties and at the
moment I cannot tell what kind of issue they will bring to the table. Zec is
willing to listen.”

According to the meeting’s agenda, Zec wants to do a post-mortem of the
constitutional referendum as well as discuss the voters’ roll.

Zanu PF spokesperson Rugare Gumbo was unavailable for comment, and
administration secretary Didymus Mutasa declined to comment.

“Handisi kudaba kutaura nePress mazuva ano (I am not talking to the Press
these days),” Mutasa said.

While Douglas Mwonzora, spokesperson of  Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s
MDC was unavailable for comment, a top party official who requested
anonymity said they will demand Mudede’s ouster.

“Mudede’s hands are dirty,” said the senior MDC Standing Committee member.

“He has been complicit in the rigging of all previous elections and it is
time he takes no part in our electoral processes if we are serious about a
credible poll.

“We will also raise the issue of the voters’ roll, partisan registration of
voters in favour of Zanu PF and of course the emotive issue of the Zec
secretariat.”

He said Zec officials with a military and intelligence background were not
welcome to preside over the crucial poll.

“Most of them are compromised and would never be impartial in their conduct.
The availability of the voters’ roll to the generality of the people as well
as political parties is also a prominent issue we would like discussed as
well as the difficulties citizens are facing when trying to register as
voters.”

Qhubani Moyo, Welshman Ncube’s MDC policy director said they will push for
the removal of Mudede.

“Mudede must go given his not so rosy history of rigging elections on behalf
of Zanu PF,” Moyo told the Daily News.

“He has become a national liability. We cannot have such partisan officials
manning our electoral processes. Our people have been arrested while trying
to register as voters in Lupane two weeks ago and we have a record and
police report of that. In Bulawayo and at the United Bulawayo Hospitals,
there is a mobile registration centre preserved for the security services
only. We have complained about this with Zec.”

However, Sekeramayi said: “We have not received such reports. In fact that
is why we have convened this meeting and we can only comment as and when we
are officially notified.”

Moyo said: “At Nketa, our supporters were also denied registration last week
and there has been systematic denial of citizens viewed to be hostile to
Zanu PF when they intend to register as voters.”

But Mudede  told a news conference last week that he does not ask for anyone’s
political affiliation when it comes to voter registration.

“That’s rubbish, no one is asked his or her political party when we are
dealing with voter registration,” Mudede said.

The smaller MDC policy director complained that the $30 000 charged for a
party to get a copy of the voters’ roll was extortionate and meant to deny
some parties access to the voter register.

Opposition Zapu spokesperson Mjobisa Noko said: “We want an immediate
clean-up of the roll and removal of individuals who have become part of the
fixtures and fittings at the Registrar General’s office. These have ceased
to be professional because their jobs are tied to certain political
establishments.”

Opposition Mavambo/Kusile/Dawn (MKD) has also been invited to the meeting.

MDC-99 president Job Sikhala said they were yet to receive the Zec
invitation.


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Harare grapples with typhoid

http://www.dailynews.co.zw/

Monday, 22 April 2013 11:10
HARARE - Zimbabwe is fretting over the resurgence of typhoid, cholera and
other diarrhoeal diseases, five years after a similar outbreak killed over 4
000 people.

At least four people have died in the fresh typhoid outbreak, and aid groups
are rushing in medicine and other supplies to combat Zimbabwe’s deadliest
health problem.

The outbreak of typhoid in the squalid tarp capital of Harare, where crammed
residents are vulnerable to disease because of poor sanitation, has been
coupled with a cholera outbreak in the rural south eastern region of
Chikombedzi which has infected scores and killed one person so far,
according to the ministry of Health and Child Welfare.

To date, health authorities have recorded over 3 600 suspected typhoid cases
and four deaths — in the City of Harare alone.

The outbreak has sickened hundreds more who have rushed to a crowded
infectious diseases hospital seeking treatment.

The number of unrecorded cases might likely be higher than what is reported
and treated to-date.

“The outbreak has spread over four suburbs (of Harare) so far,” says
Shakeman Mapuranga, the emergency coordinator for Médecins Sans Frontieres
(MSF) or Doctors Without Borders. Most recently, first cases have been
coming from Mbare, one of the high density suburbs in Harare and major food
market and transport hub for the rest of the country. If the epidemic is not
contained here, it can easily spread further.”

Typhoid is a bacterial, water-borne disease transmitted by the ingestion of
food or water contaminated with faeces of an infected person.

This happens in conditions of poor sanitation, and poor supply of clean
water.

Harare City Council director of Health Services Prosper Chonzi said people
must be vigilant about hygiene and wash their hands frequently to slow the
spread of the disease.

He said “many fresh cases” were being recorded in Mbare, a populous high
density suburb.

“Our biggest fear is a cholera outbreak in the city and we hope with support
from partners such as ministry of Health, World Health Organisation, MSF and
the WASH cluster we can avert this,” Chonzi said.

“We have new cases mainly from Mbare due to poor sanitation especially in
the hostels as well as erratic supply of water.”

Zimbabwe’s political crisis, economic collapse and civil unrest have had a
major impact on public health.

Once, the country was considered a breadbasket for southern Africa, and now
nearly half of the population suffers from malnutrition and life expectancy
is about 33 years, according to the UN.

With the disintegration of the health care system, there are few medical
resources except those donated by charitable organisations to deal with the
many critical health issues.

The latest cholera and typhoid outbreaks have coincided with the rainy
season.

Chonzi said health education and hygiene promotion activities are ongoing
around Harare, especially in areas which have not been affected by the
outbreak.

Harare faces a critical water shortage because of collapsing infrastructure,
and town clerk Tendai Mahachi said council did not have enough money to
replace all the old water pipes. Many of Harare’s suburbs go for days
without water that is lost mainly due to leaks.

Mahachi says once the leakages were attended to, the city could adequately
supply 80 percent of the 2,2 million Harare residents with clean water
daily.

He added that the city’s water quality had deteriorated due to domestic,
agricultural and industrial activities with Chitungwiza, Ruwa and Epworth
being blamed for upstream pollution.

“Sewage works in these local authorities are dysfunctional, resulting in raw
sewage flowing into the dams since they are located downstream of the
settlements,” he said.

The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has dispatched a
multi-disciplinary team to Harare to support the ministry of Health and the
city of Harare response team with epidemiologic investigation, improved
surveillance, water testing, and provision of laboratory supplies.

“We have some additional studies that we are doing, including helping
evaluate the distribution of non-food items that were given out by NGO
partners in response to the outbreak,” said CDC’s Rachel Slayton.

“We are hoping to see what the coverage of those items was, what worked, and
what can be improved upon for the next time, so that we can help direct
those donations moving forward.”

Slayton is part of a seven member multi-disciplinary team involving two
microbiologists from Kenya and South Africa that arrived in Zimbabwe last
month as part of efforts by the Atlanta-based global health agency to assist
Zimbabwe to contain the typhoid outbreak.

“We have also been looking at the value of the diagnostic test to see how
well it performs in the field. If the test works well, it allows doctors to
diagnose patients more quickly than traditional methods which could help
improve patient outcomes,” said Slayton.

She said they have enough treatments for now but stocks will need to be
replenished.

“We brought supplies for blood cultures, which are the gold standard
diagnoses of typhoid fever; rapid test kits that we are validating; and the
necessary susceptibility testing supplies, so that patients’ samples can be
fully worked up,” said Slayton.

Harare officials, including mayor Muchadeyi Masunda, have been pointing to
the lack of severe disease outbreaks as a success of the 2008 cholera
response.

With more than 2 million people with intermittent access to clean water,
however, experts have warned that conditions are ripe for disease to strike
in areas with limited access to clean water.

At the hospital, some patients including 65-year-old Joshua Moyo said they
got sick after drinking water from a borehole drilled by aid agencies during
the 2008 cholera outbreak that killed more than 4 000 people, according to
the UN.

“I have been having continuous diarrhoea, and visited the toilet six times
last night,” Moyo said.

The sick come from across the dirty and poor ghettos of Harare. Doctors at
the hospital said they also needed more personnel to handle the flood of
patients. The government has issued an advisory urging people to drink only
boiled water or water treated with “aqua tablets” and eat only food that has
been thoroughly cooked.

Government has admitted it has no capacity to contain the outbreak.

“Its really a function of the public health infrastructure that has really
broken down, here we are referring to safe water supply, which include
sewerage management as well,” said Portia Manangazira, Epidemiology and
Disease Control director in the ministry of Health and Child Welfare.

“This is really the first line of defence for the people in terms of
diarhheal diseases. For now those things are not in place and looking at the
environment it may take another three and four years to achieve the required
coverage in terms of safe water and sanitation in most of our urban areas.”

MSF is working in collaboration with the Harare city’s health department in
the provision of safe drinking water, setting up of mini-water treatment
sites in affected areas as well as rehabilitation of existing boreholes.

“We have targeted 12 institutions such as clinics, schools, churches and
Mosque,” said Huggins Madondo, an MSF coordinator who is over seeing the
water and sanitation component of the intervention.

“We are doing this in collaboration with Harare City Council aiming at
providing safe drinking water to the general community especially in typhoid
prone areas where water supply is irregular.

“We are providing these institutions with 20mc water tanks, in-line feeder
with slow releasing chlorine tablets, 4,5KVA generators for power back-up,
submersible pumps and water taps which are installed outside the premises to
minimise interruption of activities in these institutions.” - Gift Phiri,
Political Editor


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Zanu PF youths hijack grain loan scheme

http://www.dailynews.co.zw/

By Jeffrey Muvundusi, Own Correspondent
Monday, 22 April 2013 11:00
MATOBO - A group of Zanu PF youths led by war veteran Soul Ndlovu on Friday
allegedly hijacked the government’s grain loan scheme and barred non- Zanu
PF members from getting anything.

The incident took place at Bidi Business Centre under Chief Bidi  in Matopo
South, Matabeleland South.

Gabriel Ndebele the MDC Member of Parliament for Matobo South told the Daily
News Ndlovu, who is also the Zanu PF Ward 8 chairperson, led a group of 10
party youths who seized the distribution of bags of maize and rice.

“When they arrived they openly told villagers who had gathered for the maize
and rice which was being distributed, that only Zanu PF members will
benefit,” Ndebele said.

“They actually had a list of the Zanu PF members who were supposed to
benefit and were also demanding party cards.”

During the incident, the MDC legislator claimed he called Matobo district
administrator Doreen Molife to get an explanation, but she reportedly told
him to get an answer from the President’s office.

When contacted for comment Zanu PF chairperson for Matabeleland South
Province Andrew Langa said: “I have not received the report yet but I will
have to gather the facts.

“But in any case it’s not proper for people to be denied food on political
grounds. There is no political party which is supposed to interfere with the
grain loan scheme”.


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Grain reserves ‘severely’ depleted: AfDB

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/

21/04/2013 00:00:00
     by Roman Moyo

POOR harvest and lack of fertilizer in the last season left the country with
severely depleted grain reserves African Development Bank (AfDB) said in its
Zimbabwe monthly economic review for March.

According to the report released this week, the Grain Marketing Board (GMB)
had 92,000 tonnes of maize in its reserves and has since stopped selling to
millers, reserving the grain for the grain loan scheme.

Millers require 150 000 tonnes to meet the consumer demand before the new
harvest lands on the market.
“This grain shortage has pushed up maize-meal prices. The supply of grain
under the grain loan scheme is erratic and inconsistent. This is because the
reserved grain is insufficient and transporters are not willing to move it
to the affected areas, as they are not paid on time,” said AfDB.

Usually, traders import maize from Malawi, South Africa and Zambia, but
transport costs involved in moving the grain from these countries to
Zimbabwe make it expensive compared to buying it from the GMB.

In addition, Zambia is currently facing food shortages and has imposed a
temporary export restriction on grain.
“The crop situation in the current season, particularly in the southern
parts of the country, is poor due to recurring droughts. Seventy-five
percent of the crop in Masvingo was written off last season due to the dry
spell,” said AfDB.

The government estimated that at least 1,6 million people would face food
insecurities between January and March 2013.
The Famine and Early Warning Systems Network revealed this represents a 60
percent increase in the number of people in need of food compared to the
same period last year.

AfDB said government needs to come up with strategies to ensure that grain
reserves are well stocked and that transporters are paid on time so as to
avoid unnecessary food shortages in some parts of the country.

“Government needs to not only intensify the presence of extension service
officers but also their interaction with farmers in drier areas to encourage
them to grow drought resistant crops, such as small grains,” AfDB.

AfDB said there was need to invest in research and development to come up
with new drought resistant crops that adapt well to the changing weather
conditions in these drier parts of the country.

“There is further need for long-term solutions to deal with food insecurity
problems in these parts of the country. These could be the resuscitation of
silted dams and construction of new ones, investment in community gardens,
revamping irrigation schemes and livestock dip tanks, improving livestock
practice and promoting conservation agriculture,” the bank said.


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Elections on June 30: Parly Clerk

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/

21/04/2013 00:00:00
     by Staff Reporter

THE Clerk of Parliament, Austin Zvoma, has insisted that, under the current
Constitution, fresh elections must be held by June 30 and dismissed as
“logistical or political but unconstitutional” claims that the polls can be
delayed by up to four months.

Parties to the coalition administration remain divided over the exact timing
of the vote which will elect a substantive government with President Robert
Mugabe’s Zanu PF saying the polls must be held at the end of June while the
MDC formations argue that the ballot can and should be delayed.

Mugabe, still livid at being compelled to share power with long-term rival
and current Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, is anxious to end the
arrangement and has argued that new elections must be held at the end of the
life of the current Parliament on June 29.

But the MDC formations say the polls can be delayed by up to four months
after that date and want the option exercised in order to force the
implementation of reforms they believe are needed help ensure a credible
vote.

Zvoma weighed into the debate at the weekend, and essentially backed Mugabe
by insisting that there cannot be a gap between the dissolution of
Parliament and the holding of new elections.

Writing in the Sunday Mail, Zvoma said: “In view of the fact that Mugabe was
sworn in as President on  . . . June 29 2008, the five years of Parliament
shall expire on 29 June 2013 after which, unless he sooner dissolves it,
Parliament shall stand dissolved.

“In terms of section 63(7) of the Constitution, that dissolution is the ‘day
preceding the day or first day’ of a general election which must take place
the next day on 30 June 2013.

“In other words, there cannot be a gap between dissolution and the holding
of a general election. Such a gap beyond the normal (five years) or extended
life (up to a maximum of five years or up to a maximum of one year) would be
unconstitutional.”

Zvoma said claims the elections could be delayed by up to four months were
based on “mischievous” interpretations of the relevant provisions in the
Constitution.

“Section 58(1) of the Constitution … unequivocally states that a general
election ‘shall be held on the day or days within a period not exceeding
four months after the issue of a proclamation dissolving Parliament’,” he
said.

“(but this) has been mischievously interpreted even by some prominent
lawyers as meaning that a general election can be held within a period not
exceeding four months ‘after dissolution of Parliament’.

“To read section 58(1) as allowing a period of up to four months to hold a
general election after the dissolution of Parliament is to attempt to create
circumstances for a third extension of the life of Parliament, which would
be unconstitutional.”

He said the current Constitution only provided for the extension of
Parliament if the country was at war or in a state of emergency adding an
amendment would be required to provide for a third exceptional circumstance
since these two conditions did not currently obtain.

“The question is whether there is a constitutional option to hold a general
election later than end of June 2013,” Zvoma added.

“The simple answer is “Yes”, provided Parliament amends the Constitution to
create a third exceptional circumstance for the extension of the life of
Parliament after the expiry of the five-year life of the Seventh
 Parliament.”

A Cabinet committee comprising Constitutional Affairs Minister Eric
Matinenga (MDC-T) and his Justice counterpart, Patrick Chinamasa (Zanu PF)
has since been established to help bridge differences between the parties
over the timing of the polls.

“(We must) consider the legal and political issues surrounding that roadmap.
There are legal issues which include the fact that the (new) Constitution
has to be signed by the President,” Tsvangirai said when announcing the
establishment of the committee.

“We (also) need one month (for) voter registration and one month (for) voter
inspection and we have to consider the last day of Parliament.”

The development however, precipitated even further controversy with the MDC
formation led by Welshman Ncube saying it would disregard the committee’s
recommendations after being excluded from deliberations that led to its
formation.


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Zimbabweans ‘go home to die’ because of cost of dying in SA

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Alex Bell
22 April 2013

A growing number of Zimbabweans living across the border are choosing to
return home when they are critically ill, despite the lack of medical care
they can receive there, just to escape the exorbitant costs of dying in
South Africa.

A new report by the South African Mail & Guardian newspaper has revealed the
extreme costs facing Zimbabwean families when a loved one in South Africa
passes away. The report said that the costs of repatriating a body back home
can be anywhere between R10,000 to R20,000.

The report says that as a result of the large number of Zimbabweans now
permanently living in South Africa, a growing number of Zimbabwean-based
funeral parlours have opened branches in South Africa “to tap into the
emerging market.”

“Falakhe Funeral Parlour and Kings and Queens Real Funeral Services are both
headquartered in Bulawayo. They have been operating satellite offices in
Johannesburg for the past three years to cater for their Zimbabwean
 clients,” the report states.

But with the repatriation costs still far more than what most Zimbabweans
can afford, the reality is that many families are either left in debt, or
choosing to send their loved ones home to die.

Diana Zimbundzana from the Zimbabwe Exiles Forum in Johannesburg told SW
Radio Africa that “more people are now opting to go home, rather than
leaving their families with the costs.”

“It is a situation where people are in a quagmire, but what can they do?”
Zimbudzana said.

She explained that some Zimbabweans are choosing cremation as an alternative
to repatriation, but the costs are still an estimated R3,000.

“Unless a person is popular and people donate money, families are left with
very large costs,” Zimbudzana said.

She explained that many Zimbabweans in South Africa are now starting funeral
societies, which people pay monthly fee towards. But she added that these
initiatives are still too new to help the many people faced with
repatriation costs.


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Zim refugees in SA demand real independence

http://www.dailynews.co.zw/

Monday, 22 April 2013 11:23

Zimbabwean refugees in South Africa.
MUSINA - There are more Zimbabweans than South Africans in this town
according to the last official census in South Africa.

Infact Musina, the busy border town between Zimbabwe and South Africa has
assumed a Zimbabwean face.

Several churches in the town have been turned into shelters for desperate
and homeless Zimbabweans.

Many of these Zimbabweans first trooped into South Africa in 2008 fleeing
political violence that engulfed the country following a disputed
presidential poll.

While many Zimbabweans where celebrating independence on Thursday, April 18,
2013, a Daily News team spent the day with the Zimbabwean refugees and
asylum seekers.

At the Roman Catholic Church Shelter for homeless Zimbabweans in Nancefield
suburb located next to the busy N1 highway to Johannesburg, we found a group
of women gathered waiting for the arrival of food handouts from local
well-wishers.

While many Zimbabweans around the world were celebrating 33rd independence,
for these women, it was just another day.

“I don’t know what is happening today,” the women said collectively when
asked what was happening back home on April 18.

They were visibly not interested in the subject.

“I don’t care what is happening because I have forgotten about Zimbabwe at
the moment and concentrating on my life here,” said Selina Chimoyo, a
teenage mother holding her toddler. It was as if she was cradling her baby
sister.

We asked another group of women at the shelter what independence day meant
to them?

“Independence day is the day that the country was won. It was the day that
we got our sovereignty and self-rule,” one of the women said.

But others were of a different view.

“There is no self-rule because we have no money, we have no jobs, life is
tough,” said an elderly woman.
But why do you say there is no self-rule, we asked them?

“There is no self-rule at all because we are just suffering and the country
is doing nothing to help us.

Here in South Africa when they celebrate their Independence day, you could
see that they are really independent. Women in this country give birth to
children and those children receive State-funding but there is nothing like
that in Zimbabwe,” said Dudzai Chireshe from Epworth, who first moved to
Musina in 2008 with her husband and children fleeing violence. The couple
went back home in 2010 but are now back in Musina ahead of another election.

“This time around we can’t risk because we are afraid we could be attacked
again, so it’s better to stay here until those elections are done,” Chireshe
said.

Another woman said independence means nothing to her because she can’t find
a job to look after her children back home.

“I have been looking for a job. I want to look after my two children but
there are no jobs in Zimbabwe yet here in South Africa I can easily get a
job. We also want a good life and to be told that its Independence Day it
doesn’t help us at all because it’s like a 33-year-old mother who can’t look
after her children, ” said Priscilla Chatikobo from Mashenjere in
Masvingo -— a mother of two who came to South Africa to look for a job after
she was left by her husband.

On the day of the visit to the Roman Catholic Church Women’s Shelter, there
was a hive of activity. Several women walked in and out of the centre.

Others tended to their toddlers. Almost everyone here was either pregnant or
nursing a toddler.

“Most of these women came here without travelling documents. They travel
through the bush and the Limpopo River to get here and they are raped on
their way here. Others are raped when they decide to prostitute themselves
to get some money,” said a Roman Catholic nun who is in charge of the Musina
centre.

These women have a long list of things that they want addressed before they
can consider Zimbabwe a truly independent country.

“Schools and hospitals must be for free like here in South Africa, that’s
what we want. We want to give birth for free,” said Mashenjere.

Gladys Chino, a 24-year-old mother told the Daily News that she was HIV
positive but her life changed when she arrived in Musina.

“Life is totally different here than at home. I am HIV positive and I don’t
look like I am sick because I got tested and get ARVs for free. If I was in
Zimbabwe I would have died because you have to pay for everything. I feel
more at home in South Africa than in Zimbabwe,” said Chino.

“I would like to send a message to Baba Mugabe and say we are suffering and
we need real independence that will allow us to look after our families. If
I had opportunity I would like to meet the president and tell him that he
should look after us but the problem is we have no access. I wish the
president could be accessible like here in South Africa.”

Our interview with the women was interrupted when some well-wishers arrived
with foodstuffs.

But as we left the shelter, one thing was clear, no one among the women is
ready to go back home to the so-called independent Zimbabwe.

The Roman Catholic Church nun said many of these women hardly get by.

“They have gone through a lot. Some of them have been raped. They eat
porridge in the morning and only get supper in the evening. Many of them are
not willing to go back home because they say they won’t have any work and
life will be difficult so they prefer to stay here, walk through the streets
looking for piece jobs,” said the nun.

Lazarus Chidumwa, aged 15, says independence should be a day of celebration
but he could not do so in a foreign country.

“The country is independent from colonialism but there is no real
independence because people are running away from Zimbabwe, coming here to
look for jobs and that means there is no freedom,” said Chidumwa who came to
South Africa in search of an education. He does not see himself going back
home anytime soon.

“The fact that we are now using foreign money means the country is not
stable and the country has problems.”

Chidumwa stays at the Christian Women Ministries (CWM) in Matswale — a
sprawling high density suburb in Musina. More than 80 young Zimbabwean boys
who came to South African mostly without identity documents are kept at this
centre, funded by the South African government’s department of Social
Development, other international and local non-governmental organisations as
well as other well-wishers.

Believe in Jesus, is a shelter for men just a stone’s throw away from CWM.
It is home to several homeless men from Zimbabwe.

This is a dusty outfit with no proper rooms. The men sleep in tents and
hardly get food.

Albert Nyoni is a resident of the shelter. He believes 33 years into
independence, there is still a lot that still needs to be done for
celebrations to start.

“Zimbabwe is independent but things are still tough, we want to go back home
but there are no jobs, we want jobs. The politicians must get their act
together for us to be truly independent,” said Nyoni who had just returned
from a day job sorting out bricks at a local brick factory where he earns $6
a day. - Own Correspondent


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Dealers in Mercedes Hail Zimbabwe Dollar’s Demise

http://www.businessweek.com/

By Brian Latham
April 22, 2013

Benson Mahenya makes as much as $10,000 a month as he drives around Harare
in a white Mercedes- Benz dealing in the five currencies that Zimbabwe
recognizes as legal tender.

Selling South African rand to Harare’s car-part dealers, he receives dollars
in return and uses them to buy euros from the city’s hotels. He then sells
the European currency to liquor stores so they can import French and
Portuguese wine.

“Different customers want different currencies, depending on the business
they’re in,” Mahenya, 46, said in an interview in Harare last month. “On a
good month I make an excellent living.”

Mahenya, and traders like him, have sprung up since Finance Minister Tendai
Biti abandoned the Zimbabwe dollar in 2009 following hyperinflation that the
International Monetary Fund estimates hit 500 billion percent. Under Biti,
Zimbabwe stopped printing money and adopted the U.S. dollar, the euro, the
South African rand, the Botswana pula and the British pound as legal
currencies.

While the country is still mired in political crisis 33 years into President
Robert Mugabe’s rule, the move helped end an economic collapse that
decimated the country’s tobacco and rose export industries and shrank the
economy by 40 percent between 2000 and 2007, according to an IMF estimate.

It also created huge arbitrage opportunities for a new breed of currency
trader.

“I’ll always better the banks,” says Jackson Jere, sitting on a wooden crate
as he haggles with customers ranging from shop owners to tourists at Harare’s
Road Port international bus terminus.

Dollar Economy
Harare, the capital in the north of the country, has largely become a dollar
economy while in the south, the second city, Bulawayo, uses rand because of
its proximity to South Africa. In Harare supermarket goods are often paid
for in dollars while retailers give out change in rand and minibus taxis
also charge in the South African currency. Speculators profit from arbitrage
between the different rates in the cities.

“Bulawayo is closer to the South Africa border, so rand are both more
popular there and cheaper,” said Jere, who deals in amounts as high as
$30,000. “I can buy rand there and sell the rand for a better price in
Harare. I’ll always better the banks.”

On March 22 Barclays Plc’s Zimbabwe unit was selling 100 rand for $11 at its
Borrowdale branch in northern Harare. Across town in the central suburb of
Avondale a branch of Standard Chartered Plc’s local unit was selling the
same 100 rand for $10.43.

Empty Shelves
Officially there are three exchange rates in Zimbabwe, Dave Mills, managing
director of Meikles Africa Ltd.-owned TM Supermarkets (PVT) Ltd., said in a
March 21 telephone interview from Harare. TM competes with OK Zimbabwe (OKZ)
Ltd. as the country’s biggest retailer.

Banks sell currency to general customers at rates set at a daily level based
on international markets while giving their corporate customers, such as
retailers, a range within which they can trade. Customs rates are set weekly
by the government for import duty purposes.

It’s an “incomparable” improvement from trading before Zimbabwe dollar was
abolished, said Mills, whose company competes with OK Zimbabwe Ltd. to be
the country’s biggest supermarket chain, said. “Back then shelves were empty
and retail was at a standstill.”

Stores and taxi drivers convert the rand at 10-to-the- dollar for ease
rather than using a market-related rate.

Coalition Government
“Until recently we were using old Zimbabwe dollar notes, even though they
weren’t legal tender. It was like a voucher or ticket system,” Mike
Muparutsa, a minibus taxi-driver, said. “Now it’s rand coins, but the
consumer loses on the exchange rate.”

The currency reform has brought some semblance of stability to a country
bearing the scars of Mugabe’s economic mismanagement. Zimbabwe’s central
bank began printing money in 2006 to pay a debt to the IMF to stave off
expulsion and continued the practice to meet expenses including
infrastructure payments.

Biti was then brought in as finance minister in 2009 after the 15-nation
Southern African Development Community forced Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai,
who is now prime minister, to form a coalition. Tsvangirai’s Movement for
Democratic Change won control of the economic ministries as part of that
agreement and Biti was one of his appointments.

That agreement ended a decade-long recession and political dispute after a
series of violent elections won by Mugabe’s Zimbabwe African National
Union-Patriotic Front.

‘My Benz’
“Having a multi-currency economy with no Zimbabwe dollars is primarily good
news for Zimbabwe because government can’t print its way out of a deficit,”
said John Robertson, an independent economist, in an interview from Harare.
“They can’t just print more if they need it, as was happening in 2008.”

The economy is expanding and most shortages have abated. Economic growth of
5 percent is being targeted this year, Biti told reporters in Harare on
April 16. Biti and Tsvangirai have said a return to the Zimbabwe dollar isn’t
likely soon.

Still, with no control over the currencies, commerce can be stymied when
enough of the right currency can’t be gathered for a transaction, said
Robertson.

“It boils down to scarcity and extremely tight liquidity, which has created
a very skewed economy,” Robertson said. When a particular currency is short
the buyer has to “pay a premium.”

That’s a boon to the Mercedes-driving Mahenya, who says he has no plans to
take his currency-trading prowess to the trading floor.

“The bank would be making fortunes, not me,” said Mahenya, explaining that
he was able to walk into a dealership and pay cash for his car. “You saw me,
you saw my Benz. $33,000 walk-in, drive-out cash.”


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LETTER: Mugabe needs new challenger

http://www.bdlive.co.za/

April 22 2013, 00:00

I FOUND your coverage of Zimbabwe and the impending elections a sad reminder
of just how big a waste this past decade has been in my birth country’s
history.

It beggars belief that, in the face of such overwhelming evidence of
corruption, economic incompetence and political repression, Zanu (PF) is
still able to attract a big following.

Almost every Zimbabwean family has a member who has either been the victim
of political violence, had their livelihood destroyed by Zanu (PF) policies
or has left the country for better prospects. Vote-rigging has played a role
in keeping Zanu (PF) in power, but even in a fair vote the party would have
still probably have received the backing of more than 40% of the populace.

Perhaps it goes to show that literacy and education, which remain remarkably
high in Zimbabwe despite the economic collapse, do not translate into basic
common sense.

Both factions of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) have allowed
themselves to become part of the charade by being subordinate partners in
the far from equal "unity" government.

I believe there is only one course of action left that will show the people
of Zimbabwe that they are different from Zanu (PF) – Morgan Tsvangirai must
decline to run for the presidency when elections are held this year and the
two factions should hold a joint primary for a new presidential candidate.

Despite his flaws, Tsvangirai is a decent man. He has endured suffering,
imprisonment, humiliation and personal tragedy since the MDC’s formation.
When liberation-fuelled nationalism is finally discarded, he will be
accorded his rightful place amongst the country’s greatest personalities.

But after 13 years at the helm of the MDC, two failed attempts at the
presidency and five years of being outwitted in a coalition government, it
is time for a different actor to take Mugabe on. Nothing would cement his
legacy as someone who stood up to oppression and the "presidency for life"
mantra of Zanu (PF) than to concede that his time is up.

Suhail Suleman

Newlands


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Cricket World Player Of The Week - Brendan Taylor

http://www.cricketworld.com/
 
 
22 APRIL 2013
 
Cricket World Player Of The Week - Brendan Taylor
Cricket World Player Of The Week - Brendan Taylor
©Action Images
 
There can be only one winner of this week’s Cricket World Player of the Week award. Zimbabwe’s captain Brendan Taylor almost single-handedly led his side’s batting in the Test win over Bangladesh in Harare, becoming the first Zimbabwe captain to score a century in each innings of a Test match.
 
In all, he scored 273 of his side’s 616 runs (44.32%) - a total that was only seven less than Bangladesh’s aggregate for all 20 wickets. His average for the match was 273, with the remainder of Zimbabwe’s top seven managing to average just 13.58 with only one half-century. They were only his third and fourth Test centuries and couldn’t have come at a better time for him, his team and his country.
 
Following a dismal tour of the West Indies, both personally and on a team level, Taylor was facing plenty of questions over not only his future as captain but more importantly the future of Zimbabwe as a Full Member of the ICC. The dissenting voices that had been arguing that Ireland, and perhaps even Afghanistan, could to a better job at cricket’s top table were growing even louder, while Bangladesh seemed to be improving quickly and a gulf between them in ninth and Zimbabwe in 10th appeared to be opening.
 
However, thanks to Taylor and Zimbabwe’s seam bowlers - Kyle Jarvis and Shingi Masakadza in particular - when Zimbabwe re-enter the ICC’s ranking list following the second Test, they should do so ahead of Bangladesh.
 
Not only were their questions about the future of Zimbabwe as a Test nation heading into the match, but Taylor also had to deal with the continuing financial difficulties that the board, Zimbabwe Cricket, faces. Some argue that the pitiful state of their finances is ZC’s fault through a combination of ineptitude, overstaffing of administrative positions, and even corruption - claims which have not been substantiated it must be stressed - while others point the finger of blame at the lack of big-name teams willing to tour there and the resulting lack of TV and sponsorship money. Whatever the reason, the result was that the week before the first Test Taylor and caretaker coach Stephen Mangongo had a player strike on their hands.
 
The fringe players were unhappy that they stood to earn less by remaining in Zimbabwe to be available for selection for the winter’s international program than they would by playing club cricket in Europe. They wanted a winter contract and several refused to turn up for practice with some centrally-contracted players allegedly walking out in sympathy. Eventually ZC awarded a winter contract, but the amount of money was still relatively insignificant leading Craig Ervine to skip the series and play club cricket in Ireland.
 
The fact that Taylor not only had to deal with poor personal form and skipper a struggling side, but also deal with player unrest shows the magnitude of what he achieved in Harare. He could quite easily soon be considered as Zimbabwe’s best ever captain.


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Zimbabwe Wall of Shame: Aqualinah Katsande

http://nehandaradio.com/
 
 
 
on April 22, 2013 at 2:25 pm
 
By Lance Guma
 

The Zanu PF MP for Mudzi West, Aqualinah Katsande easily goes onto the Zimbabwe Wall of Shame. Between April and June 2008 she orchestrated a reign of terror that left many people with terrible stories to tell about her brutality.

Aqualinah Katsande

Aqualinah Katsande

According to a detailed dossier Katsande moved around the entire Mudzi district hunting for her victims. “She was present when most heart wrenching punishments were meted out on MDC activists in her constituency.”

Most of her victims either died instantly or a few days later.

After Morgan Tsvangirai’s presidential election victory over Robert Mugabe in March 2008, a run-off was engineered by ZANU PF. Tsvangirai withdrew citing violence and the murder of his supporters.

The one-man run off went ahead anyway and in the build up to that election many opposition activist were targeted.

In Mudzi West Aquilinah and her son George Katsande rose to notoriety.

They teamed up with Bramwell Katsvairo, described by many in the area as a ‘known killer’. On the 6th April 2008 Aqualinah Katsande and Peter Nyakuba, the local ZANU PF councillor, held a rally at Bensen Mine.

Katsande openly declared that all the MDC-T supporters who had campaigned for Tsvangirai in the March 29 election should be assaulted to force them to change allegiance.

“If any of the MDC supporters foolishly resist, kill them all. We have been granted authority by the president to kill MDC supporters,” she said.

According to witnesses, immediately after this rally Zanu PF youths and war vets went on the war path, many MDC supporters were brutally assaulted, homes were destroyed and livestock forcibly taken for food, to feed comrades at the torture bases.

On the 1st June 2008 George Katsande and Tawanda Mazunze, leading a gang of ZANU PF militia, abducted Fianda Katiyo. They took him to Nyahondo torture base using a vehicle provided by Katsande. Katiyo was subjected to terrible torture throughout the night and only released the following morning.

The torture was so serious Katiyo died a week after his release.

Again on the 1st June 2008 Bramwell Katsvairo, in the company of George Katsande and three unknown people, hunted down Tafadzwa Meza after accusing him of transporting MDC-T supporters to rallies using his pickup truck.

After several days they caught up with him at Nyamuyaruka Business centre near Kotwa.

“Meza tried to flee but Katsvairo shot him in the leg. Meza jumped off his truck to hide under some bushes close by as it was getting dark, probably hoping that the killers would not find him. George and the band of killers set Meza’s truck on fire and the resultant light from the flames betrayed his hiding spot,” the dossier says.

The gang dragged Meza’s to their vehicle then took him to the Broken Bridge in the Nyamanyora area. His body was recovered there the following morning. Witnesses reported that George Katsande, using his mother’s gun, had shot Meza at close range, killing him instantly.

Not only did George boast about killing Meza but his mother, Aqualinah Katsande the MP, is said to always use this murder as an example at all her meetings and rallies in Mudzi.

Meza’s mother, who survived a stroke in 2009, said that she is reminded of her son’s murder every time the Katsande’s hold a rally in the area.

On the 6th June 2008 an MDC-T ward official, identified only as DK, was abducted from his home. He was bundled into Katsande’s truck and taken to Nyamanyora base. The people who took part in assaulting him were identified as Nyamaromo, Mangwende, George Katsande and other ZANU PF supporters.

According to the dossier, “They kept on assaulting him for several days before releasing him, he never recovered from the injuries inflicted on him and passed away at his home on the 28th June 2008.”

On the 5th of July 2008 Aqualinah Katsande, in the company of Peter Nyakuba, caught up with Gwindiri Mutadza, an MDC-T activist they had tried to capture before the 27 June elections but had failed.

Witnesses say Mutadza had returned from hiding on the assumption elections were now over and peace would return. But:

‘Katsande’s gang had other plans for him and quickly descended on him in full view of all the people who had gathered at Chimukoko Business Centre. Aqualinah Katsande, and Peter Nyakuba, assisted by two other unknown men, heavily assaulted Mutadza with fists and booted feet they bashed him all over the body.”

Mutadza passed out and died on the spot. On realizing that he was dead, Aqualinah Katsande and gang jumped into their double-cab truck and sped off from the murder scene.

On the 8th August 2008 MDC-T activist Winnet Makaza was assaulted on the instructions of Katsande. The MP mentioned Makaza as being on a list of MDC-activists on her ‘wanted list’. Carrying out the assault on behalf of the MP was Tambadzi Gombe.

The assault was so severe that Makaza is reported to have screamed only once, then collapsed and died. Relatives reported the incident to the police but nothing was done. The police did not even bother to take the body to the mortuary. Tambadzi Gombe is still a free man in Makaza village.

Later on Aqualinah Katsande issued an order forcing the Makaza family to bury Winnet without delay, or they would also meet with the same fate.

More recently on the 1st January 2010 George Katsande; “Now a seasoned killer was roaming the area armed with a gun”.

Along with his gang he attacked Bennizah Nyapfunde Mutize at Rukonde School in Mudzi. Mutize’s children were also not spared.

Members of the gang included Asmore Simoko, Tichafa Kativhu, Josiah Nyamuda, Punzu Charles, Martin Mutaundi, Daniel Chitedega, Misheck Pengapenga, Dinga David, Solomon Chingwete, Tonde Chipwanya and four other unknown men.

As part of a new terror campaign in 2010 the group was:

“Revisiting their victims at night and many MDC activists are sleeping in the bush and going back to their homes in the morning. Aqualinah through her son George is sponsoring this new wave of terror; George has vowed to shoot all MDC supporters in Mudzi West.”

In May 2012 Katsande along with fellow Zanu PF MP Newton Kachepa were implicated in the murder of 67-year old MDC-T Ward chairman Cephas Magura who was assaulted by ZANU PF youths.

Sekuru Magura, fell down after he was hit with a stone and was severely assaulted as he lay on the ground. The gang, led by ZANU PF councillor for Ward 3, David Chimukoko, then dragged him to the roadside and left him there.

Zanu PF Mudzi North MP Newten (Newton) Kachepa, allegedly drove the violent youths to Chimukoko in his truck.

Also implicated in the attack were the Zanu PF Mudzi North youth chairperson, Graciano Kazingizi, Gerald Nyatsinde, Patrick Mutepeya, Clement Simendi, John Karonga, Ward 2 councillor Jevas Chiutsa and George Katsande, son of the Mudzi West MP Aqualinah Katsande.

Many of Aqualinah Katsande’s victims have reported their cases to the police and despite the glaring evidence linking her to these terrible crimes she has remained untouchable and continues to sit in parliament.

 


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