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Crisis
government talks postponed amid reports of tensions
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Alex Bell
27 April
2009
Crisis talks between Zimbabwe's government leaders were postponed
after a
brief meeting on Monday, amid reports of a tense atmosphere brewing
between
the country's three main principals.
Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara
have been locked in
discussion with Robert Mugabe over key outstanding
issues, such as the
appointment of governors, permanent secretaries and the
recent attempts to
weaken the power of Nelson Chamisa's Information
Communication Technology
Ministry. Last week's round of talks all proved
inconclusive, with the
meeting being rescheduled to Monday.
The Prime Minister's spokesperson
James Maridadi explained on Monday that
the meeting to discuss the
outstanding issues convened as planned, but was
adjourned later in the day,
until Tuesday. But a source close to the talks
has told SW Radio Africa that
Monday's meeting was 'tense', a likely cause
of the yet unexplained
postponement.
The tensions are in direct contrast to public statements made
by the Prime
Minister over the weekend, where he said there was no going
back on the
unity government. He was addressing supporters at a rally in
Chinoyi, where
he called for reconciliation among the country's political
opponents.
Tsvangirai expressed satisfaction with the progress of the
inclusive
government so far, as well as his dealings with Mugabe, saying:
"There is
nothing Mugabe does without me approving. There is nothing I do
without
Mugabe approving."
His statements came a day after his MDC party
on Friday said the failure by
the government's leaders to resolve the
outstanding issues is threatening
the viability of the unity government. In
a sign of growing frustration at
the talks, the MDC said the delays to
resolve the outstanding issues and
several other problems had left the
country with a "handicapped government"
that was not fully
functional.
Tsvangirai's 'satisfaction' with the government will therefore
likely need
explaining, as will the apparent relationship of approval that
Tsvangirai
has said he maintains with Mugabe.
If the Prime Minister's
approval is sought over various violations of the
Global Political
Agreement, this would have serious negative implications,
as so far they
have all been attributed to Mugabe.
Zimbabwe Inclusive Government Watch : Issue 4
Sokwanele - Enough is
Enough - Zimbabwe
PROMOTING NON-VIOLENT PRINCIPLES TO ACHIEVE DEMOCRACY
Zimbabwe Inclusive Government Watch : Issue
4
Sokwanele : 27 April 2009
Zimbabwe Inclusive Government Watch (ZIG Watch) is
tracking articles and reports which provide examples of violations of the
agreement between Zanu PF and the two Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
Formations signed in Harare on 15 September 2008. This report reflects a small
sample of breaches identified through comprehensive logging and monitoring of
media articles. Many more breaches are viewable on our website: www.sokwanele.com/zigwatch
As March drew to a close amid ongoing reports of lawlessness across the
country, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai warned those engaged in unlawful
activities that they would be brought to justice. "Of particular importance is
restoring the rule of law, without which we will not make progress on any front.
I have tasked the Ministers of Home Affairs to ensure that all crimes are acted
upon and the perpetrators arrested and charged. For too long a culture of
entitlement and impunity has stained our society, but after the signing of the
Global Political Agreement no crime will go unpunished," he said.
However, as Zimbabwe Inclusive Government (ZIG) Watch has demonstrated since
its inception, the Rule of Law is violated daily by corrupt Zanu PF ministers
who have enriched themselves ruthlessly at the expense of the entire population
- and continue to do so.
As South Africa's Business Day commented on 31 March: "The party (MDC) has
assumed token responsibility for critical aspects of the country's governance
such as the running of the economy, but does not have the political power or
access to resources to turn things around. Meanwhile, an unrepentant Mugabe has
been given a new lease on life and Zanu PF thugs continue to run rampant,
grabbing land from the few remaining white farmers and preventing free political
activity…."
The Rule of Law is the principle that no one is above the law. Its most
important application is the principle that governmental authority is
legitimately exercised only in accordance with written, publicly disclosed laws
adopted and enforced in accordance with established procedural steps that are
referred to as due process. The principle is intended to be a safeguard against
arbitrary governance, whether by a totalitarian leader or by mob rule. Thus, the
rule of law is hostile both to dictatorship and to anarchy.
For Mugabe and his Zanu PF cronies, who have relied on the power of a
dictatorship and strategically engineered anarchy to achieve unlimited power and
fabulous wealth, a return to the rule of law is not only undesirable but could
see them facing charges at the International Criminal Court.
One of the thorns in their flesh is respected lawyer Tendai Biti in his new
role as Finance Minister who has already made significant changes in his short
tenure. Of the Mugabe appointees most at risk from Biti's reforms, Reserve Bank
Governor Gideon Gono - widely blamed for the collapsed economy - heads the pack.
On 8 April, the Zimbabwe Telegraph reported drama at the offices of the
Ministry of Finance when Zanu PF MPs stormed the office of Minister Biti and
threatened to beat him up. The spark that ignited their vitriol was his
denouncement of Gono's move to parcel out expensive Mercedes vehicles to MPs.
Sources said Gono had whipped up emotions in order to stage a mutiny.
The transitional government faced another challenge with President Mugabe's
unilateral decision to strip the Information Communication Technology Ministry
of its control over the contested communication portfolio. The key issue
regarding this Ministry, headed by MDC spokesperson Nelson Chamisa, is that the
Interception of Communications Act, crafted to ensure the state security
apparatus can spy on citizens, falls under it.
Other MDC officials targeted were Head of Security, Chris Dhlamini and Gandhi
Mudzwinga, formerly Tsvangirai's personal assistant. On 25 November, Dhlamini
was abducted by gunmen from his home. Together with Mudzingwa, he was brutally
tortured and arraigned on charges ranging from terrorism and banditry to
sabotage. They were finally released from detention on 17 April and have been
recovering from extensive injuries in hospital. On 20 April their security was
once again threatened when they were paid a visit by three of the detectives
responsible for illegally locking them up.
Three days previously, Zimbabweans were shocked to learn that a High Court
Judge granted the Attorney General's office permission to appeal against the
granting of bail to Dhlamini, Mudzingwa and Shadreck Manyere, a freelance
photojournalist. Manyere was held in the notorious Chikurubi Maximum Security
Prison for nearly four months, also accused of terrorism.
The inhumane conditions under which prisoners are incarcerated, the scale of
starvation and escalating prison death rate were highlighted by an SABC Special
Assignment documentary broadcast on 31 March. It caused an international outcry
and demands for the resignation of prisons head Paradzai Zimondi. However,
within three days, three prison officers suspected of collaborating with Special
Assignment were arrested and charged with breaching the Official Secrets
Act.
Minister of Justice Patrick Chinamasa continues to operate above the law.
This time he allegedly ordered the release of Zanu PF activist Edmore Hwarare
from police custody behind the backs of court officials. Hwarare was arrested
for fraud involving a consignment of sugar worth over US$132 000.
In pre-Global Political Agreement mould, police reversed clearance of an MDC
rally scheduled for Independence Day on 18 April after Zanu PF politicians
insisted it was cancelled.
Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara (MDC-M) drew significant criticism
when he announced that the coalition government had resolved to divert
humanitarian aid, chiefly for paying the salaries of the civil service.
Farm evictions continued to escalate and on 8 April President Mugabe told
party stalwarts at Zanu PF headquarters that his land "redistribution" programme
was "irreversible". His remarks came in the wake of reports that Tsvangirai was
pressing for the end of the agricultural disruptions.
On Stockdale farm in the Chegutu district, a man was murdered, allegedly by
farm guards working for Edna Madzongwe, the Senate President, who is occupying
the farm illegally. The man was tortured and killed for taking a few oranges
from the orchards which belong to the Etheredge family, the legal owners of the
farm.
The suffering of farm workers and their families throughout the chaotic land
invasions has been immense, devastating the entire sector. Masori Range
plantation farm in the Headlands area was "acquired" by the government from
commercial farmer Johan Hains. The workers were then bundled into army trucks
and dumped 30km away in an area with soils unsuitable for agriculture and
without housing or amenities. In stark contrast, senior council officials from
the Makoni Rural District Council and politicians are growing rich from timber
sales from the farm's plantations.
Chinamasa
ordered prisoner released
Zimbabwe
Times, The (ZW): 17/04/2009
MASVINGO –
Sources within the Ministry of Justice have indicated that minister Patrick
Chinamasa allegedly ordered the recent release of Zanu-PF activist Edmore
Hwarare from police custody behind the backs of court officials in Chiredzi and
also cautioned prosecutors over the way they had handled the case. Hwarare, a
former Zanu-PF provincial political commissar in Masvingo, was arrested for
fraud involving a large quantity of processed sugar worth over US $132 000.
Chinamasa allegedly ordered prison officials to release the self proclaimed
chairman of the Zimbabwe Sugar Milling Workers Union after he was remanded in
custody. Prosecutors at the Chiredzi magistrate courts promptly boycotted their
duties in protest at the irregular handling of Hwarare’s case and what now turns
out to have been Chinamasa’s action. Sources close to the case say Hwarare’s
loyalty to Zanu-PF is unquestionable. He is well-known for his generous
donations of money and goods at major party functions in Chiredzi and is said to
enjoy a special relationship with Chinamasa. Masvingo area prosecutor Mirirai
Shumba said Hwarare was released from custody after the state had failed to
launch an appeal against the granting of bail. Chinamasa refused to comment on
the issue on Friday.
- ARTICLE XI : RULE OF LAW, RESPECT FOR THE CONSTITUTION AND OTHER
LAWS
- ARTICLE XIII : STATE ORGANS AND INSTITUTIONS
ZANU PF MPs
threaten Zimbabwe Finance Minister Biti
Zimbabwe
Telegraph, The (ZW): 08/04/2009
There was
drama yesterday afternoon at the offices of the Ministry of Finance when Zanu PF
MPs stormed the office of Tendai Biti threatening to beat him up as long as the
vehicles that were promised by central bank governor Gideon Gono were not handed
over to them. They are said to have th reatened to seek audience with President
Robert Mugabe to cow Biti into giving them their vehicles, arguing they are
elected public figures who should be respected accordingly. Sources say Gono
whipped up emotions of the Zanu PF MPs to stage a mutiny against his boss Tendai
Biti.
- ARTICLE VII : PROMOTION OF EQUALITY, NATIONAL HEALING, COHESION AND
UNITY
- ARTICLE XI : RULE OF LAW, RESPECT FOR THE CONSTITUTION AND OTHER
LAWS
- ARTICLE XVIII : SECURITY OF PERSONS AND PREVENTION OF
VIOLENCE
Chamisa
Dismisses Annexing of Ministry's Functions
RadioVOP:
10/04/2009
Information
Communication Technology Minister Nelson Chamisa has described the annexing of
functions under his ministry and hand over to an expanded Ministry of Transport
and Infrastructure Development led by Nicholas Goche as a joke, indicating that
President Robert Mugabe does not have the mandate to do so. A Herald newspaper
report indicated that President Mugabe had expanded the Ministry of Transport
and Infrastructure Development to include the Department of Communications and
that the new portfolio would now become the Ministry of Transport, Communication
and Infrastructural Development under Minister Nicholas Goche. Chamisa said he
was awaiting the decision of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai on the
matter.
- ARTICLE II: DECLARATION OF COMMITMENT
- ARTICLE VII : PROMOTION OF EQUALITY, NATIONAL HEALING, COHESION AND
UNITY
- ARTICLE XI : RULE OF LAW, RESPECT FOR THE CONSTITUTION AND OTHER
LAWS
- ARTICLE XX : FRAMEWORK FOR A NEW GOVERNMENT
State agents
pay intimidatory visits to Mudzingwa and Dhlamini in their hospital
beds
Sokwanele.com:
20/04/2009
Chris
Dhlamini and Gandhi Mudzingwa were paid a visit in their hospital ward by three
of the people instrumental in illegally locking them up in Chikurubi Maximum
Security Prison. The three men walked in and walked around but took nothing.
They were Detective Chief Inspector Ntini (the boss), Detective Inspector
Muchada and Detective Assistant Inspector Mukwaira.
- ARTICLE XI : RULE OF LAW, RESPECT FOR THE CONSTITUTION AND OTHER
LAWS
- ARTICLE XIII : STATE ORGANS AND INSTITUTIONS
- ARTICLE XVIII : SECURITY OF PERSONS AND PREVENTION OF
VIOLENCE
Prisons
Scandal: Officers Arrested Over SABC Report
Zimbabwe
Standard, The (ZW): 04/04/2009
Three prison
officers suspected of smuggling investigative reporters from the South African
Broadcasting Corporation (SABC)’s Special Assi gnment programme into Beit Bridge
Prison were arrested on Friday. Thabiso Nyathi (35), Siyai Muchechedzi (35) and
Thembinkosi Nkomo (28) were arrested in Gwanda. The trio is being charged with
breaching the Official Secrets Act. The SABC recently screened the documentary
exposing the sorry state of prisoners in the country’s filthy jails, showing
sickly inmates who appeared to be deprived of food and medical care. The SABC
crew worked with some wardens and officers over three months with cameras
smuggled into the prisons. Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa was quoted as
saying the documentary, which shocked many Zimbabweans due to its horrifying
pictures of gravely ill inmates, was “a fraud”.
- ARTICLE XI : RULE OF LAW, RESPECT FOR THE CONSTITUTION AND OTHER
LAWS
Murder on
Stockdale Farm
SW
Radio Africa (ZW): 15/04/2009
A
man was murdered in Chegutu, allegedly by farm guards working for Edna
Madzongwe, the Senate President. A Justice for Agriculture (JAG) spokesperson
said the man had been caught stealing oranges at Stockdale Farm, owned by the
Etheredge family but taken illegally by Mrs Madzongwe. JAG said the Senate
President, who has been an illegal resident at the farm since 5 March, was in
residence when the murder took place. It is believed the man was just an ord
inary member of the public who probably got hungry. He was taken to the citrus
pack shed where he was tortured for most of the night. At around 05:00 he was
released by the guards (no police report was made of the theft), and the body
was found near the entrance to the farm. A report was made to the Chegutu police
and three of Madzongwe’s guards, plus two Stockdale former employees, were
picked up by the police and taken to the police station. No arrests have so far
been made.
- ARTICLE III : RESTORATION OF ECONOMIC STABILITY AND GROWTH
- ARTICLE VII : PROMOTION OF EQUALITY, NATIONAL HEALING, COHESION AND
UNITY
- ARTICLE XI : RULE OF LAW, RESPECT FOR THE CONSTITUTION AND OTHER
LAWS
- ARTICLE XIII : STATE ORGANS AND INSTITUTIONS
- ARTICLE XVIII : SECURITY OF PERSONS AND PREVENTION OF
VIOLENCE
Officials
‘reaping where they did not sow’
Zimbabwe
Standard, The (ZW): 18/04/2009
Masori Range
plantation farm was acquired by the government from commercial farmer Johan
Hains and the farm was later given to Makoni Rural District Council to manage.
Without no income, resident farm workers were stranded, and were later bundled
into army trucks and dumped 30km away from Headlands at Gudo where loose sandy
soils are not suitable for agriculture. But while they are struggling, senior
council officials from Makoni Rural District Council and politicians are growing
rich from timber sales from the plantation at Masori Range.
- ARTICLE V: LAND QUESTION
- ARTICLE VII : PROMOTION OF EQUALITY, NATIONAL HEALING, COHESION AND
UNITY
- ARTICLE XI : RULE OF LAW, RESPECT FOR THE CONSTITUTION AND OTHER
LAWS
We have a
fundamental right to freedom of expression!
Zimbabwe
assets face seizure after tribunal rules for farmers
http://www.telegraph.co.uk
Air Zimbabwe's passenger
jets could be seized at Gatwick airport after an
international tribunal
ruled that the country's assets could be confiscated
and sold in order to
compensate farmers whose land has been seized.
By Peta Thornycroft in
Harare
Last Updated: 8:21PM BST 27 Apr 2009
The decision by the
Washington-based International Centre for the Settlement
of Investment
Disputes (ICSID) came after a six-year legal battle between a
group of Dutch
farmers and President Robert Mugabe's government.
It finally ruled last
week that Mr Mugabe's government had broken a
bilateral investment treaty
with the Netherlands and awarded the group more
than £14 million in
compensation.
The ICSID is part of the World Bank and the judgment
can be enforced by
seizing Zimbabwean state assets - such as Air Zimbabwe's
aircraft - in any
of its more than 100 member countries, which include both
Britain and
America. Embassy buildings, though, are excluded from seizure
under the
Vienna conventions.
At a hearing in Paris, which was closed
to both the public and media,
Zimbabwean officials defended the eviction of
more than 4,000 farmers saying
the best agricultural land was taken by white
"settlers", mostly British,
during the colonial era.
One of the
farmers, Ben Funnekotter, 49, born of Dutch parents in Zimbabwe
and who now
lives in Australia, was one of the first forced off by Mr
Mugabe's thugs in
2000.
"We need to see if the award will be paid," he said. "If it is not,
then I
will start proceedings to impound any assets belonging to the
Zimbabwe
government."
Matthew Coleman, a British lawyer who
represented the farmers in Paris,
said: "We hope this encourages others to
come forward and bring claims under
the bilateral investment treaties."
Coltart
admits school fees unaffordable
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=15831
April 27, 2009
By Ray
Matikinye
BULAWAYO - Government is considering reducing the amount of
school fees
charged in primary schools as "hardly any parent can afford"
those announced
recently although the cutback will not be dramatic,
Education, Sport and
Culture minister, Senator David Coltart
says.
Coltart told parents and party supporters at a constituency meeting
at
Mahatshula Primary school in the city on Saturday that the level of fees
announced in March was arrived at after consultation with experts who set
the figures as the amounts needed to educate a child a term.
There
has been growing outrage from parents who say they cannot afford the
US$150
fee announced when most of the civil servants are paid a US$100
monthly
allowance.
But Coltart said his ministry had put in place a new policy
where parents
would apply for relief through a Means Test Application
(MTA).
The MTA requires parents who cannot afford the fees to apply at
every school
through the school head who, together with the parents
committee, will
assess the level of fees they can pay. MTA is unlike the
Basic Education
Assistance Module (BEAM) which was administered in Harare
but had
discontinued giving assistance to pupils without means to pay fees
due to
lack of funds.
Under BEAM some schools that had applied for
funds have not received what
they had applied for, for the past three years
before the program was
discontinued.
"We know that people are
suffering, businesses are closing and financial
assistance from donors is
not forthcoming as fast as we would have
anticipated. Parents will have to
play an active role in making sure the
schools are kept open by contributing
whatever they can afford," Coltart
said.
Zimbabwe's education system
is on a knife's edge and risks disintegration
unless government finds donors
willing to bankroll salary demands by an
estimated 80 000 teachers to
persuade them to remain on their jobs up to a
time when the country can
start to generate foreign currency of its own
through sustainable economic
activities.
Since January teachers, who form the bulk of the civil
service, have not
received any salaries.
Instead, they have received
monthly allowances that can hardly cater for
their housing, transport and
other basic needs such as school fees for their
own children. Most of the
schools are in a state of decline because
government has not put enough
money into the education sector.
Last year's Grade Seven and "O" Level
examination results have not been
released because funds provided by donors,
particularly UNICEF, have run
out.
Coltart said most potential donors
had no confidence in the Global Political
Agreement which they say has not
been implemented properly.
"We might get just enough funds to get the
education system going. We are
looking at incentives to keep teachers on the
job and this alone required
US$4, 5 million assuming we increase teachers'
allowances to US$150 a
month," Coltart said.
Teachers' unions have
threatened that their members will not report for work
when schools open in
May unless they are paid proper salaries, and not the
allowances which they
are receiving at the moment.
All public servants regardless of seniority
or grade receive the same amount
and this has riled professionals who feel
the practice does not reward
professionalism and academic qualification.
Student
leader still in custody 6 days on
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Lance Guma
27 April 2009
The
Zimbabwe National Students Union has issued a statement slamming the
continued incarceration of Courage Ngwarai, their secretary for legal
affairs who was arrested 6 days ago. On the 21st April Ngwarai and 22 other
students were arrested in Masvingo, following a demonstration at the Great
Zimbabwe University. Students were protesting against the exorbitant fee
structure which has been pegged in foreign currency.
Although the
other 22 students were released on Friday, ZINASU is worried
that the state
has opened fresh charges against Ngwarai, dating back to 2007
when he led
previous student demonstrations. The students union called for
his release
and urged, 'the inclusive government to loosen the primitive
measures which
the police have traditionally taken against innocent and
peaceful students'
protests. The arrest and detention of Ngwarai flies in
the face of the
spirit of the Global Political Agreement and is a violation
of human rights
and academic freedoms.'
Meanwhile 3 students from the Midlands State
University in Gweru, who were
suspended indefinitely for leading protests
against the dollarization of
fees, are expected to appear before a
disciplinary hearing on Tuesday. Obert
Masaraure, Prince Ncube and Arthur
Maboshe were suspended in February this
year. Lawyer Brian Dube will be
representing them.
Makumbe:
Tsvangirai covering up for Mugabe's misdemeanours
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Violet Gonda
27 April
2009
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has been making statements that
people find
hard to reconcile with events on the ground. There is
speculation as to
whether he is trying too hard to make this controversial
unity government
work.
This weekend he told thousands of party
supporters: "We respect each other,
although we may disagree. There's
nothing (Robert) Mugabe does without me
approving and there is nothing I do
without him approving."
People are questioning what could have made the Prime
Minister make such a
statement, at a time when his own Director of Security,
Chris Dhlamini, and
former aide Gandhi Mudzingwa, are being hounded by the
police and are under
an illegal arrest. And to what extent has the Prime
Minister been consulted
on the ZANU PF led violent farm invasions
campaign?
Observers say the trouble is by saying such things Tsvangirai
makes himself
equally responsible or accepting liability for ZANU PF's
wrongdoings. If it
is the case that the two leaders respect and consult each
other, did Mugabe
consult Tsvangirai when he appointed his own governors and
permanent
secretaries? If it is true that there's nothing Mugabe does
without
Tsvangirai approval, why are the political rivals locked in a
stalemate over
issues to do with appointments of the Reserve Bank Governor
and the Attorney
General?
Political commentator Professor John
Makumbe said: "I think it's an
exaggeration of the reality on the ground in
the sense that there are things
that Mugabe has done without consulting
either Morgan or Arthur (Mutambara)
and these things have been challenged by
Tsvangirai and Mutambara. So I
think he is really covering for Mugabe's
misdemeanours - which is really not
necessary. He should tell it like it is,
that it is a daily battle and that
Mugabe would like to run the country as
if the MDC or the GNU do not exist."
To some extent it is natural for a
politician to put a spin on government
policies, to remain consistent with
the principle of collective
responsibility. Makumbe also believes that to
some extent the Prime
Minister is left with little choice, saying a
collapsed government of
national unity could mean going straight back to
violence.
But the commentator added that Tsvangirai does not have to try
so hard to
sanitise Mugabe's appalling behaviour.
International
donors are not fooled by this inclusive arrangement and have
repeatedly said
they will only increase the flow of aid to Zimbabwe when the
government
respects the rule of law and property rights.
Mutambara
MDC deny suspending former MP Sikhala
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Lance Guma
27 April
2009
The MDC faction led by Arthur Mutambara has denied suspending its
Secretary
for Defence and Security, Job Sikhala, for organizing an
'unsanctioned'
rally at which he attacked the party president. The maverick
former St Mary's
MP has so far held 3 rallies in which he has accused
Mutambara of being too
close to Mugabe, to the detriment of the party's
image. Sikhala claims that
when Mutambara praised Robert Mugabe as
the'Father of Africa' and also 'the
best leader Africa has ever produced'
the party members were ashamed to move
in the streets and the MDC-M suffered
irreparable damage.
Speaking to Newsreel on Monday deputy party spokesman
Renson Gasela denied
any knowledge of a decision being made to suspend
Sikhala. Several online
websites have covered a story claiming Sikhala had
been suspended and that,
'an announcement will be made on Monday or
Tuesday.' They claimed Sikhala
will be 'on suspension pending a disciplinary
hearing that would be
conducted within a certain period of time according to
the party's
constitution.' All quoted an unnamed party source, claiming the
decision was
reached during a meeting chaired by Lyson Mlambo, the party's
Secretary for
Disciplinary Affairs.
But Sikhala told Newsreel on
Monday that the story had been planted in the
media by party officials
'trying to test the waters' and gauge the reaction
to a possible suspension.
He also said he had not received any letter
notifying him of the reported
suspension, as claimed in the story. Pressed
on whether reports linking him
and Nkayi South legislator Abednico Bhebhe to
the formation of a breakaway
faction of the Mutambara MDC were true, Sikhala
denied this. Instead he said
they were seeking, 'a process of purification
to get rid of ZANU PF moles
who are trying to yoke the party to Mugabe.'
Meanwhile there are reports
that the planned transformation of Dr Simba
Makoni's Mavambo Movement, into
a full fledged political party, has been put
on ice. A report in The
Zimbabwean newspaper quotes Makoni's spokesman
Godfrey Chanetsa saying;
'Makoni didn't see it fit to launch the party when
there is bickering in the
movement. New dates for the launch will be decided
once there is peace in
the movement.' Problems erupted last year in October
when several provincial
executives sought to topple Makoni, demanding among
other things that he
account for financial resources donated to the party.
30
000 turn up for MDC rally in Chinhoyi
http://www.swradioafrica.com
27 April,
2009
MDC President, Hon. Morgan Tsvangirai on Saturday raised
concerns over
outstanding issues that are affecting the inclusive government
formed in
February.
He was addressing over 30 000 MDC supporters
gathered at Chinhoyi Stadium in
Chinhoyi, Mashonaland West province to
commemorate the MDC's 10th
anniversary celebrations.
Although the
President gave a commitment that there was no going back on the
inclusive
government, he was deeply concerned that the inclusive government
was facing
a number of teething problems that were affecting its day-to-day
operations.
"There's no reverse on the inclusive government. There
will be insults, but
we will get there. We have one project, which is the
inclusive government.
It has specific policies and specific targets, which
is to pull this country
out of the quagmire," Hon. Tsvangirai
said.
"We respect each other, although we may disagree. There's nothing
Mugabe
does without me approving and there is nothing I do without him
approving,"
he said.
However, Hon. Tsvangirai said some of the
challenges the government was
facing included the appointments of the
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor,
the Attorney-General, ambassadors,
permanent secretaries and the swearing of
Senator Roy Bennett, the MDC
national treasurer as deputy Agriculture
minister.
He also called for
the immediate release of all political prisoners such as,
Gandhi Mudzingwa,
his former personal aide and Chris Dhlamini, the MDC head
of
security.
Hon. Tsvangirai also raised concerns over the lawlessness that
was taking
place in some farms.
"Let's not take the law into our
hands. We should be able to distinguish
between land issues and criminality.
We will not tolerate violence and chaos
that is taking place in some farms
especially here in Mashonaland West
province," he warned.
"The issue
that we all should speak with one voice is the land," Hon.
Tsvangirai
said.
He explained that under the Global Political Agreement (GPA) there
was no
room for taking the law into one's hands.
President Tsvangirai
also called for the training of the police and army in
human rights issues
in order for them to conduct their duties
professionally, without being
partisan.
The president also paid tribute to several MDC supporters from
Mashonaland
West province and Senator Bennett who were recently released
from remand
prison on trumped-up charges of banditry, terrorism and
insurgency.
Those who were abducted by the State security agents and
spent at least
three months in remand are; MDC Mashonaland West provincial
chairperson,
Concilia Chinanzvavana, and her husband, Manuel Chinanzvavana,
Violet
Mupfuranhewe and her husband Collen Mutemangau and their two year-old
son,
Nigel Mutemangau.
"They are the true cadres of the nation. We
salute you because without your
sacrifices, the MDC would not be what it is
today," said President
Tsvangirai.
The President was accompanied by
senior MDC leaders who included, the
national chairman, Hon. Lovemore Moyo,
Senator Bennett, national organising
secretary, Hon. Elias Mudzuri and the
secretary for information and
publicity, Hon. Nelson
Chamisa.
Meanwhile, Hon. Chamisa, who is also the MP for Kuwadzana East
in Harare on
Sunday, told a report back rally in the constituency that the
inclusive
government was trying to solve problems bedevilling
residents.
"We want to make sure that residents have affordable water and
electricity
while those areas that have no electricity we will make sure
that something
is done as a matter of urgency," Hon. Chamisa told over 10
000 MDC
supporters gathered at the rally.
Speaking at the same rally
Senator Bennett said was humbled by the support
he had received from the
people during his incarceration in Mutare but said
there was an unstoppable
winds of change engulfing the country.
"All the persecution I have
suffered is unwarranted and an attempt to stop
the winds of change. When I
was in prison you prayed for me. And I want to
thank you all the people of
Zimbabwe for remaining resolute in the face of
such harassment and terror,"
he said.
Bennett said nothing could stop the winds of change adding the
persecution
he had suffered was nothing as compared to the violence endured
by many
Zimbabweans across the country during election-related violence last
year.
He said many paid the ultimate prize.
"Zanu PF is scared of the
people going to vote. The only thing that can
defeat Zanu PF is the X. No
amount of persecution can stop an idea whose
time has come. These people
think they can stop change by refusing to swear
me into office. But no one
can ever go against the people and God and hope
to succeed," said Senator
Bennett.
Bennett
receives rousing welcomes
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=15827
April 27, 2009
By Our
Correspondent
HARARE - Persecuted MDC treasurer-general Roy Bennett
received rousing
welcomes at two rallies in Chegutu East and Harare on
Sunday, with thousands
openly showing empathy for a man who has endured a
sustained harassment
campaign by Zanu-PF hardliners.
Bennett
addressed a rally attended by over 2 000 people at Neuso Township in
Ward 2
of the Chegutu East constituency together with MDC spokesman Nelson
Chamisa
and deputy national organising secretary Morgan Komichi. The rally
was also
attended by Chegutu Mayor Francis Dlakama and Chegutu West MP
Takalani
Matibe.
Neuso Township is under the jurisdiction of Zanu-PF MP Webster
Shamu, who is
also Media, Information and Publicity minister.
There
was deafening applause as Bennett alighted from his vehicle at Neuso.
The
rousing reception was a ringing endorsement for a man whom President
Mugabe's key allies have fiercely campaigned to push out of
government.
But the deafening applause at both rallies as Bennett was
introduced bore
testimony to the widespread support he commands even in
remote parts of the
country.
At Kuwadzana 4 Open Space in Harare
where over 5 000 thronged the grounds
for a constituency feedback rally
organised by Chamisa, Bennett was asked to
return to the podium by public
demand at the end of his address.
A simple and deeply religious man,
Bennett moved the thousands as he spoke
about his persecution, his stints in
jail and what he called the unstoppable
winds of change.
"Leaders are
installed by God and removed by God," he said to applause. "All
the
persecution I have suffered is unwarranted and an attempt to stop the
winds
of change. When I was in prison you prayed for me. And I want to thank
you
all the people of Zimbabwe for remaining resolute in the face of such
harassment and terror," he said, speaking in fluent Shona.
Bennett
said he was born in Zimbabwe, his father was bon in Zimbabwe, and
there was
no other home he knew.
"This is my home, I am from Karoi where I was born
but I relocated to
Chimanimani in 1993 where I bought a farm called
Charleswood from (business
tycoon) Tiny Rowland," he said.
Bennett
said nothing could stop the winds of change adding the persecution
he had
suffered was nothing as compared to the violence endured by many
Zimbabweans
across the country during election related violence last year.
He said many
paid the ultimate prize.
"They are scared of the X," he said. "The only
thing that can defeat them is
the X. No amount of persecution can stop an
idea whose time has come. These
people think they can stop change by
refusing to swear me into office. But
no one can ever go against the people
and God and succeed."
Bennett, who was nominated deputy minister of
Agriculture by the MDC, has
not been sworn to office because President
Robert Mugabe will not swear him
in, ostensibly because he is facing serious
charges. He is facing charges of
attempting to assassinate Mugabe in
2006.
Bennett, who in 2005 had been jailed for one year for shoving
Justice
Minister Patrick Chinamasa in Parliament, fled in 2006 to South
Africa after
the charges to assassinate Mugabe were brought against
him.
He returned home in February just before the formation of the
inclusive
government, after he had been nominated by the MDC as an MDC
representative
in government.
Bennett said he was humbled by the
support shown to him by Zimbabweans when
he was in prison in February. He
said the MDC was now in government but the
job was not yet
done.
Chamisa told the rally that leadership renewal was healthy for
democracy.
"Leaders are like nappies, if they are not changed, they can
cause harm to
babies," he said. "Leaders need to be regularly
changed."
Chamisa told the rally in Neuso that the MDC was working out a
compensation
package for those who lost their livestock and property due to
Zanu-PF
violence last year. He spoke of national healing and the government
programmes to bury the hatchet and build a new Zimbabwe.
Chamisa
explained to the rural people why the MDC decided to partner Zanu-PF
in the
inclusive government.
He said the party wanted a new Constitution that
will define term limits for
leaders. He rubbished reports that Mugabe was
still in charge.
"Don't be fooled that Mugabe is still in charge," he
said. "There are now
two centres of power, one occupied by Mugabe and the
other by Tsvangirai.
Mugabe is the head of State and Tsvangirai is the head
of government," he
said.
Chamisa said Zanu-PF had apparently
indoctrinated rural folk that Mugabe was
still in charge. He said the MDC
also decided to partner Mugabe to end the
economic ruin that had exacted an
enormous toll on the people.
He said the party also wanted a reform of
institutions, especially the
electoral machinery and said the present
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission had
contaminated and polluted the integrity of
Zimbabwe's elections.
"ZEC chairman George) Chiweshe cannot even run a
burial society," Chamisa
said to applause. "We want an independent electoral
commission to run
elections in two years time."
Chamisa, who is now
minister of Information Communication Technology,
received a rousing
response when he told the Neuso rally that as minister
responsible for
telecommunications, he wanted greater penetration of cell
phones into the
rural areas.
"You must be able to call your fellow herdsman with a cell
phone to look for
your cattle if they have gone astray," he said to
applause.
He said there were spirited attempts to strip him of powers by
switching the
telecommunications functions from his ministry to the
Transport ministry but
said he had rejected these attempts.
He said
the principals were dealing with the issue "but in the meantime, I
retain
all functions of my ministry until the principals decide otherwise,"
he
said.
Chamisa told the rally at Kuwadzana 4 that all outstanding
political issues
were being addressed by the three principals.
He
said the issue of provincial governors, ambassadors, the Reserve Bank
governor Gideon Gono and Attorney General Johannes Tomana would be dealt
with this week, adding that three meetings held last week had, however,
failed to resolve the issues.
Chamisa also revealed that change in
reporting by the State-controlled
Herald newspaper and radio and television
was also one of the outstanding
issues.
The Kuwadzana rally was also
attended by MDC organising secretary, Elias
Mudzuri, the Energy Minister who
explained that the intermittent power cuts
were caused by a shortage of
power imports as Mozambique had slashed power
supplies to Zimbabwe from 300
megawatts to 100 megawatts. He said there was
need to boost power generation
capacity.
Judge
reserves ruling over political detainees' re-arrest
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Violet Gonda
27
April 2009
Two MDC officials and a freelance journalist continue to fight
for their
freedom in the courts, even though they were lawfully released out
of police
custody more than a week ago. On Monday their lawyers made an
urgent High
Court application to remove the armed police guards at the
hospital, where
Chris Dhlamini and Gandhi Mudzingwa are receiving
treatment.
The police are also searching for freelance journalist
Shadreck Andrison
Manyere and have been looking for him at his house to
re-arrest him, but
they have failed to locate him. Lawyer Alex Muchadehama
said his bail
condition merely stipulated that he must reside at his place
but did not say
he must always be there.
Muchadehama said despite the
fact that the three were lawfully released on
bail on April 17, armed police
are illegally guarding his clients - Dhlamini
and Mudzingwa - at the Avenues
Clinic. He said the police are continuing
with their unlawful actions even
though they "have no court order which
allows them to continue guarding them
and they have not re-arrested them for
any new charges."
High Court
judge Justice Bharat Patel reserved judgment on this matter to
Thursday.
The three are among a group of people accused of plotting
to destabilise the
Mugabe regime through acts of banditry and sabotage.
Scores of activists
have been released on bail but there appears to be a
concerted effort to
single out Dhlamini, Mudzingwa and Manyere in
particular.
Prior to Monday's hearing the State had also made a court
application on
Saturday in which it argued that the three accused persons
were improperly
released and should be sent back to Chikurubi Maximum
Security Prison. But
the defence counsel said the State was approaching the
court with dirty
hands as they had already incarcerated the MDC officials
without any court
order and without following any legal
procedures.
The matter was heard by Justice Chinembiri Bhunu - the judge
who initially
granted the State the right to appeal to the Supreme Court
against a
decision granting bail to three on the 17th. But the accused
persons were on
that same day released because the State had been granted
leave to appeal
outside the seven day period.
Muchadehama asked for
the judge to recuse himself in the latest matter,
because he had already
ruled in favour of the State and also argued that the
application was
supposed to have been heard by Justice Hungwe, the High
Court judge who had
initially heard the bail application. Eventually Justice
Bhunu recused
himself and is expected to refer this matter to another judge.
The court
battles continue and the State maintains the police will remain
guarding the
MDC officials and will continue looking for the journalist, to
re-arrest
him.
Wounded
Chegutu farm worker arrested
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Alex Bell
27 April 2009
A Chegutu
farm worker who was wounded after police opened fire on Stockdale
citrus
farm last week, has been arrested and is being held and questioned by
police.
The farm worker and a colleague were both struck in the legs
when police
fired random shots at the vehicle the workers were travelling in
on the farm
property last Tuesday. They had accompanied the farm's owner,
Peter
Etheredge to inspect the farm that has been forcibly taken over by the
President of the Senate, Edna Madzongwe. Madzongwe has refused to leave the
land that most of Stockdale's employees and the Etheredge family have been
forced to flee. The Senate President, who has timed her invasion to coincide
with the profitable orange harvest season, has since enlisted the assistance
of the Chegutu police to guard the farm.
Peter Etheredge was arrested
after the police attack on Tuesday and spent
almost four days behind bars.
He was released on Friday, but the harassment
has continued this weekend
with one of his wounded employees being arrested.
The worker now joins
another seven Chegutu farm workers who have been hauled
behind bars in
recent weeks, as part of the ongoing offensive against the
commercial
farming community. The other seven detained staff, all from
Chegutu's Mount
Carmel farm, were arrested more than two weeks ago and are
being held on
trumped up kidnapping charges. The rest of Mount Carmel's
staff is in hiding
for fear of their lives, as invaders have almost
completely taken over the
land.
No effort is being made by the police to stop the illegal
takeovers, and in
most cases the police have been wholly supportive of the
sometimes violent
activities. In Chegutu, which has been worst hit by the
fresh wave of
attacks, the farming community has been left with little
option but to wait
and see what the government's decision on land reform
will be. It follows a
visit by a ministerial delegation more than a week ago
that was tasked to
probe the farm attacks. The delegation, led by Deputy
Prime Minister Arthur
Mutambara, called for an end to the invasions, and
ordered the invaders to
stop preventing critical farming activities. But the
orders have been
ignored, in a clear sign that the MDC still has no power in
the unity
government, with Robert Mugabe still firmly in
charge.
Meanwhile, thirteen commercial farmers in Guruve have been
granted 'offer
letters' and are now being allowed to stay on the land that
is legally
theirs. It is being reported in the state's mouthpiece
publication, The
Herald, that the farmers have been "complying with all the
terms of the Land
Reform Programme" and were "co-operative and hardworking."
The move has
prompted an angry response from observers, as the farmers do
not require any
form of permission to stay on their own land.
Zimbabwe
allocates land to 13 white farmers
http://www.apanews.net
APA-Harare (Zimbabwe) Zimbabwe has offered
farms to 13 white farmers as the
government moves to conclude a land reform
programme which has been branded
as racist and has cost the country crucial
economic aid, APA learnt here
Monday.
The official Herald daily
reported that the 13, from the rich agricultural
belt of Guruve to the
northeast of Zimbabwe, were part of the first group of
commercial farmers to
be given government offer letters to enable them to
retain their
farms.
The government has said in the past it would allow only 300 of the
original
4,500 white farmers to retain their properties under a
controversial land
reform programme that has alienated Zimbabwe from
international donors who
accuse the country of failing to protect property
rights.
The move to allocate land to white farmers is an attempt by the
Zimbabwean
government to dispel the notion that the land acquisition
programme is
biased and discriminates landowners on the basis on
race.
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Tribunal last
year ruled
in favour of 78 Zimbabwean commercial farmers who were contesting
the land
reform programme on the grounds that it discriminated them on the
basis of
race.
JN/nm/APA 2009-04-27
The Cost of the Farm Invasions
In the late 90's the Government of
Zimbabwe held a conference on land reform
in Zimbabwe. Broad agreement was
reached between the State, the stakeholders
and international aid agencies
but the agreement was never implemented. Two
years later, in an attempt to
destroy the opposition base on commercial
farms, the State began what it
eventually called the 'Fast Track Land
Reform' exercise.
They
justified this programme to the rest of the world by arguing that they
were
redressing historical injustices and racial imbalances in the ownership
of
the land. The reform programme ignored the legal situation prevailing in
respect to farm ownership and it also ignored the issue of fair and
reasonable compensation for assets taken over by the State.
The legal
position was quite straight forward - commercial farmers held full
freehold
title and in over 80 per cent of cases, also held a 'certificate of
no
interest' issued by the Zimbabwe government allowing them to buy the
farms
on the open market after 1980. Such a requirement was mandatory - in
order
to enable the State to acquire the farms if they so wished, on a
willing
seller, willing buyer basis. Some 3,8 million hectares of farmland
was in
fact acquired in this way since 1980.
Farmers holding both the title and
the certificates held an unassailable
legal right to the land and all
improvements. By so doing they held the
right to receive in full, the market
value of such assets when they were
sold, less any bond obligations to
banks.
In the following 8 years, thousands of farms were 'acquired' with
the regime
changing the law every time a farmer or group of farmers secured
legal
judgements in their favour. Eventually a group of farmers took their
case to
the SADC Legal Tribunal in Windhoek, Namibia where they initially
obtained a
decision saying that they had the right to go to the Tribunal on
the issue
(the State had apposed the action) and subsequently secured a
ruling in
favour of the farmers - instructing the Government of Zimbabwe to
protect
the farmers legal rights.
One small group of affected farmers
also enjoyed the protection of a
'Bilateral Investment Protection Agreement'
signed between the Government of
Zimbabwe and the farmers home Government. A
group of farmers of Dutch origin
who had invested after Independence and
were protected by the BIPA took
their case to the international Courts in
the Hague. Last week the highest
legal tribunal in the world ruled in favour
of the Dutch investors and
granted them nearly 22 million dollars in
compensation, payable in 90 days.
The attitude of the regime towards the
farm acquisitions was quite straight
forward. They were 'taking the farms'
from their owners. They simply went to
a nominated agency or individual and
obtained an 'offer letter' which then
allowed the 'beneficiary' the right to
take occupation. No protection was
afforded to the owner or his staff and no
interference was permitted, as the
operation was considered 'political'. In
the majority of cases force was
used - mainly in the form of groups of
young, politically motivated thugs
who acted on behalf of the 'beneficiary'.
Once the owners and their senior
staff had been evicted, the new farmers
took occupation and took advantage
of the assets and even standing crops and
livestock on the farms.
Many elderly and outstanding farmers were evicted
in this way - leaving some
of them so traumatised that they never recovered.
One such farmer, Keith
Harvey, was evicted from his cattle ranch in the
midlands and subsequently
went into a cationic coma for two years before he
eventually died. He was a
former chairman of the Natural Resources Board and
a life long
conservationist. A fine cattleman and a person of great
integrity and
commitment to the country of his birth.
But no estimate
has yet been made of just what the disruption of commercial
farms has cost
us and I asked economists in the farming industry to let me
have the
numbers. Even I was shocked by the statistics. In 2000 the total
output of
the agricultural industry in Zimbabwe was 4,3 million tonnes of
agricultural
products worth at today's prices US$3,347 billion. This has
declined to just
over 1,348 million tonnes of products in 2009 worth US$1
billion - a decline
of 69 per cent in volume and a decline of 70 per cent in
value.
What
is often not appreciated is that smallholder farmers have been just as
badly
affected by the collapse of the industry as the large scale commercial
farmers. Their production in the past season is estimated to have decline by
73 per cent over that achieved in the year 2000. This is on top of the
forced displacement and loss of employment for 250 000 people and their 1,3
million dependents on commercial farms.
Despite these stunning
figures the farm invasions have continued with 480
incidents on remaining
farms recorded since the GPA was signed in September
last year. Even those
farms that were granted legal protection by the SADC
Tribunal have been
specifically targeted on a punitive basis by the elements
that are carrying
on with this illegal activity and in fact are openly
defying the SADC
decisions. The international decision is enforceable and
creates very
significant challenges for the new Transitional Government.
Estimates put
the total value of potential legal claims at US$5 billion
dollars, some 30
per cent more than current GDP.
It is quite clear that the reform
programme pursued by the Zanu PF led
regime since 1998 has been a costly
failure. This is demonstrated when it is
appreciated that over 90 per cent
of all production from commercial farms in
the past season has emanated from
the remaining large scale farmers who are
now being disrupted. There are
reports that over half of all the farms taken
over are in fact now derelict
and abandoned. Many of the individuals now
'taking' farms are doing so for
the third or fourth time. The fact that
sugar production in the lowveld, on
highly developed irrigation estates, has
declined by 35 per cent - almost
all of the decline outside of the control
of the core Estates of Triangle
and Hippo is due to illegal land
occupations.
It is time to accept
that the past policies on land have been a failure and
that it is time to
rethink and to put policies in place that will give all
farmers security and
enable then to finance their operations properly. Such
policies cannot be
implemented until the issue of the rights of farm owners
is resolved and the
issue of compensation addressed. The combined costs of
the folly of the land
invasions are staggering - they include US$2,8 billion
in international food
aid on an emergency basis, nearly US$12 billion in
lost agricultural
production over 10 years and now a potential bill for US$5
billion in
compensation - a total of US$20 billion dollars.
And now we are asking
for billions of dollars to fix this self-inflicted
damage - its
bizarre.
Eddie Cross
Bulawayo, 28th April 2009
Zesa slashes workers salaries
http://www.sundaynews.co.zw
Monday,
April 27, 2009
By Tafadzwa
Chiremba
THE Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (Zesa) has slashed its
workers'
salaries in line with the downward review of the tariff
structure.
The reduced wage bill has resulted in workers earning 35
percent less than
what they had been receiving since the introduction of the
multiple currency
system.
Zesa spokesperson Mr Fullard Gwasira confirmed
the development yesterday
saying the company was in the process of reviewing
all operational costs
following the reduction of the tariff
regime.
"Following the review of the tariffs in support of the Short Term
Economic
Recovery Programme (Sterp), Zesa is in the process of reviewing all
its
operational costs including salaries and allowances," said Mr
Gwasira.
The move is, however, likely to trigger industrial action from
workers who
feel hard done.
Zesa Technical Employees Association general
secretary, Mr Thomas Masvingwe,
yesterday said the workers were angered by
the employer's move to reduce
salaries, adding that they had since written
to their employer indicating
their intention to go on strike.
"We have
given notice to the employer on our intention to resort to
collective job
action in defence of the Union," reads part of the letter
signed by Mr
Masvingwe.
Get the children back to school
Monday, 27 April 2009 |
Summary:
The education system in Zimbabwe collapsed almost entirely in
2008 and the right to education continues not to be realised by Zimbabweans in
2009. This campaign outlines the state of the education system in Zimbabwe and
calls on AI sections and structures to implement a twofold campaign targeting
both the Zimbabwean authorities and the donor countries to ensure that the right
to education is respected, protected and fulfilled in Zimbabwe. Timing: Start:
immediate End: 31 July 2009. The
issue: failure to realise the right to education As a result of
economic and political instability in Zimbabwe, the country’s education system
ground to a complete halt in 2008, denying millions of children their
internationally guaranteed right to free primary education for all. In
February 2009 UNICEF reported that 94 per cent of Zimbabwean rural schools were
closed. Examinations from 2008 remain unmarked. An Amnesty International
delegation which visited Zimbabwe in March 2009 received reports from parents
and teachers that very little teaching or learning was taking place in most
schools except a few elite schools.
Economic crisis – teachers and parents
affected In 2008, hyper inflation rendered the salaries of the
teachers so meagre that in December 2008 they could buy just one loaf of bread
with a whole month’s wage. For those who had to travel to work, the cost of
transport far outweighed their salaries. The teachers went on strike for
extended periods of time throughout the year, stopping work altogether from
around September 2008 to January 2009. Parents of school-going children were
and still are unable to pay the tuition fees, levies and top-up fees demanded
from them for their children at both primary and secondary school. Communities
in rural Zimbabwe are particularly vulnerable as they bear the burden of caring
for the bulk of Zimbabwe’s more than one million children orphaned by the AIDS
pandemic. Many are dependent on food aid and were also exposed to state
sponsored violence in the run up to the 27 June Presidential election in 2008.
State-sponsored torture and
ill-treatment of teachers during elections 2008 Between the March
and June elections in 2008 teachers were targeted in a wave of state-sponsored
torture and other ill-treatment directed at perceived supporters of the MDC or
as a result of their affiliation to the Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe
(PTUZ).The PTUZ recorded the deaths of seven of its members and the harassment,
intimidation and even torture of more than 60 others during this time. Many
teachers left the country, preferring to do menial work in neighbouring
countries. Those who stayed earned a living by trading informally or finding
other ways to make money. In December 2008, Amnesty International interviewed
teachers and other professionals who had fled to South Africa, who had been
harassed and driven from their communities by war veterans and other ZANU-PF
supporters. Professionals such as teachers and health workers from rural areas
appear to have been particularly targeted because of the suspicion that they
were influential in their communities and were thought to be likely to
sympathise with the MDC. As a result, Zimbabwean children’s education was
severely disrupted.
Measures taken
by the inclusive government The strike ended in February 2009 and
the teachers went back to work in late February and early March. The inclusive
government has gone some way to ensure that the teachers remain at work by
paying them, as well as all other civil servants, US$100 a month as an
allowance. An amnesty was also granted by the government to those teachers
who had stopped teaching or left the country. In conjunction with the $100
allowances, the amnesty proved to be an incentive which has resulted in about 80
per cent of teachers coming back to the classroom. Despite the amnesty granted
in order to provide an incentive for teachers to come back to the classroom, the
Public Service Commission, which is technically the employer of all civil
servants, has been accused of putting in place excessive measures which many
teachers cannot meet in order for them to get their jobs back. For example,
teachers report having to pay approximately US$23 in photocopying charges and to
get certified copies of their teaching certificates and other documentation
demanded from them by the Public Service Commission. This is unaffordable for
most.
Remaining challenges to
realisation of the right to education Serious problems remain in
Zimbabwe’s schools. The fees are unaffordable for the majority of families,
including teachers themselves who have children of their own who need to be
educated. Even though some rural schools were charging as little as US$1 per
term for levies, in a country of 94 per cent formal unemployment even US$1 is
unaffordable for many. A parent in rural Bindura district, who is also a member
of School Development Association in charge of setting the levies, told Amnesty
International that 75 per cent of parents at her school were unable to pay the
$1 development levy because they had no source of income. The government,
which is crippled by the lack of funds in its coffers, is unable to pay the
salaries being demanded to Zimbabwe’s approximately 80,000 teachers and unable
to reach its minimum core obligations to fulfil the right to education.
Absenteeism among teachers is high as they are forced to find other ways of
earning a living in addition to teaching. Zimbabwean schools are in dire
need of teaching materials, text books, exercise books, chalk, desks and other
furniture. Many schools were looted or vandalised while they were not
operational. One teacher interviewed by Amnesty International in Harare said
that she now had just nine text books to share between the 40 children in her
class, some of whom were forced to stand during lessons because of the lack of
chairs and desks. Parents are also being asked to buy teaching materials in
addition to the tuition fees and levies that they have to pay. Amnesty
International has received reports of continued intimidation of returning
teachers by the people responsible for the beatings and torture of teachers in
2008, particularly in Mashonaland Central province. Children in Zimbabwe lost
out on their education during 2008 and the same risks happening again in 2009
unless urgent measures are taken by the government, with the support of the
international community, to restore the education sector.
International law and the right to
education Under international law, primary education should be
available free to all. Zimbabwe is a state party to the African Charter on Human
and Peoples’ Rights (African Charter) as well as the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) both of which recognise and
guarantee the right of every individual to education.
The role of the international community in
supporting the right to education in Zimbabwe: While the primary
obligation clearly lies with the Zimbabwean authorities to ensure that the right
to education is realised, the international community also has an important role
to play. The donor countries have expressed reservations about providing
funding to assist the government to realise its minimum core obligations with
respect to the right to education, concerned about insufficient guarantees from
the government that money would not be diverted to other issues or misused.
The government of Zimbabwe urgently needs to put in place a mechanism that
ensures that resources allocated by the international donor community to
education are fully accounted for in a transparent manner and reach the intended
beneficiaries. The absence of such mechanisms is a barrier to international
support to the education sector, among others. However, donors have found
ways of funding the health system in Zimbabwe in a way in which both the donors
and the government of Zimbabwe were satisfied with the safeguards employed to
ensure accountability. Donors have opted to fund health directly through an
independent organisation Crown Agents or international organisations such as
UNICEF. This indicates that it should be possible to find ways of supporting the
funding of the education system in the short term, while the government
establishes robust and effective accountability mechanisms for international
donor funding.
Strategy: In order to ensure that
the right to education is realised in Zimbabwe, Amnesty International’s strategy
is twofold: on the one hand, AI is putting pressure on the government of
Zimbabwe to ensure that the right to education is realised in Zimbabwe; and on
the other hand AI is putting pressure on donor countries to support the
government of Zimbabwe to fulfil its minimum core obligations on the right to
education.
Aim and
objectives: Aim: to ensure that the right to education in Zimbabwe
is realised Objectives: 1. The Public Service Commission creates an
enabling environment for teachers to return to work. 2. International
donor countries assist the government of Zimbabwe to fulfil its minimum core
obligations on the right to education. 3. To show solidarity with
teachers in Zimbabwe
Amy Agnew, Africa Programme, Zimbabwe
team |
Elephant exodus reported
from troubled Zimbabwe
Associated Press
Apr 27, 3:26 PM EDT
By ANGUS SHAW
Associated Press
Writer
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) -- Growing pressure from
poaching and human
encroachment in Zimbabwe has driven hundreds of elephants
to migrate from
the country and at least one leopard to stalk an upmarket
Harare suburb,
conservationists said Monday.
The independent Zimbabwe
Conservation Task Force appealed in its latest
monthly bulletin for more
action - and money - to preserve the troubled
nation's wildlife.
In
Zimbabwe's economic meltdown, "humans are encroaching more and more into
areas previously reserved for wildlife," the task force said.
As many
as 400 elephants have crossed the Zambezi River, which separates
Zambia from
northern Zimbabwe, in recent months, said Johnny Rodrigues, head
of the task
force.
Three elephants also roamed into the eastern border city of Mutare
this
month and state wildlife authorities "want to shoot them before they
kill
somebody," he said.
The task force and a Zimbabwe animal group
received official authority to
capture and transport the elephants to
Chipinda Pools, believed to be their
original home area 125 miles (200
kilometers) to the south.
"The problem is funding for the relocation,"
Rodrigues said. State game
rangers "won't wait much longer before destroying
the elephants."
In northern Harare, rangers also wanted to track and kill
at least one
leopard, which also is suspected of having a cub. Rodrigues
said the task
force set up drugged, baited traps for predators so they could
be returned
to the wild, but none has been caught since a guard dog was
attacked earlier
this month.
Tourism and photographic safaris have
dropped sharply during years of
political and economic turmoil since the
often violent seizures of thousands
of white-owned farms began in 2000,
disrupting the agriculture-based economy
in the former regional
breadbasket.
Longtime ruler President Robert Mugabe blames Western
sanctions for the
economic crisis that has led to acute shortages of food,
gasoline and the
most basic goods.
Poaching of small animals has
intensified, with villagers torching the bush
to drive even rodents and rock
rabbits into traps for food, conservationists
say.
Rodrigues said
more animal fencing was needed at wildlife preserves to
combat poaching and
the escape of animals from their natural habitat after
being made skittish
by gunfire.
Conservationists already have raised the alarm for Zimbabwe's
rare rhinos
after a sharp increase in poaching over the past year because of
a breakdown
of law enforcement in the country.
The head of the state
Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, Morris
Mtsambiwa, told state media
Monday that his nation faced censure from CITES,
which regulates trade in
endangered species, for the surge in rhino poaching
blamed on
"well-coordinated local, regional and international syndicates."
He said
one rhino poacher, identified as a former Zimbabwean army officer
equipped
with a heavy caliber rifle, was shot and killed by rangers in
southern
Zimbabwe last week. The poacher's accomplices escaped.
"Rhino poaching is
now becoming a very serious problem for us. We now have
to answer serious
questions at CITES," he said.
Zimbabweans
asked to forgive and forget
http://www.viewlondon.co.uk
Ministers in Zimbabwe are calling on victims of
politically-motivated
violence to forgive its perpetrators to stabilise the
power-sharing deal
between Robert Mugabe and Morgan
Tsvangirai.
Zimbabwe's coalition government is set to hold a healing and
reconciliation
summit next month as it moves to unite Zimbabweans that have
faced political
violence and intimidation for the past decade.
The
country was last year plunged into political chaos ahead of the
presidential
June 27th run-off following the inconclusive March polls.
Current prime
minister Mr Tsvangirai was forced to pull out of the race due
to
intimidation and violence that left over 200 Movement for Democratic
Change
(MDC) supporters dead, thousands injured and displaced.
Victims of
political violence have demanded compensation and the prosecution
of the
perpetrators.
However, political leaders are calling on reconciliation
and forgiveness so
as not to jeopardise the shaky power sharing deal between
President Mugabe
and Mr Tsvangirai.
Gorden Moyo, the minister of
state in the prime minister's office said
ministers charged with leading the
national healing and reconciliation
process are meeting and consulting
various stakeholders to build a framework
for the process.
"The
ministers will also hold a summit next month to be attended by various
stakeholders to discuss and prepare a framework for undertaking national
healing and reconciliation.
"The whole process is sensitive and has
to be handled with care that is why
they have to come up with an agreed
framework," Mr Moyo said in an
interview.
John Nkomo, the Zanu-PF
chairman, Gibson Sibanda, the vice president of the
Arthur Mutambara
breakaway MDC and Sekai Holland, a top official of the
Tsvangirai-led MDC
are the three ministers of state charged with leading the
national healing
and reconciliation process.
"It's part of their mandate to hear the best
way forward to lead the
process. Once they have a draft framework they will
present it to the
council of Ministers for debate, ratification and
approval," Mr Moyo added.
Human rights organisations have called on the
joint transitional government
to implement a clear programme of action on
past human rights abuses to
avoid a repeat of human rights violations in
future.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) in a report released last moth said
perpetrators of
human rights violations should be prosecuted as part of
human rights reforms
to avoid violations in future.
"The authorities
have not provided victims of abuses with effective
remedies, as required by
international law, including judicial redress and
other forms of
reparation.
"Zimbabwe's political situation remains precarious, but
unless the new
power-sharing government promptly brings perpetrators of
abuses to account
and makes clear that no further abuses will be tolerated,
the country risks
sliding back to possibly even greater political turmoil,"
HRW noted
President Mugabe's Zanu-PF party has since 2000 attracted
international
censure over its human rights record. A bid to maintain a grip
on power saw
the party unleash a wave of violence on defenceless opposition
supporters,
to cow them into voting for Zanu-PF.
However, Mr
Tsvangirai and President Mugabe at the swearing in of the former
extended an
olive branch to each other, promising to bury the past as the
nation surges
forward with the implementation of a power sharing deal.
© Adfero Ltd
27
April 2009 12:24 GMT
Time to trust Zimbabwe’s new government?
By Louise Dunne
27-04-2009
Senior Zimbabwean politicians are on a charm offensive, trying to
persuade donor countries that the new unity government is stable and deserves
support. Progress has already been made since the government was formed in
February they say - and what the country needs now is a little help from its
friends.
Zimbabwe's Finance Minister Tendai Biti met senior US
officials in Washington last Friday - but came away empty handed, with the White
House insisting that more progress was needed before the flow of aid could be
resumed.
Progress
Two other Zimbabwean Ministers were in the
Netherlands over the weekend, with the message that yes, the country is damaged
- but recovery is already underway. According to Industry and Commerce Minister
Welshman Ncube:
"So far [the new unity government] has made tremendous
progress in the short life it has had. It has brought back hope to the people of
Zimbabwe, started on some democratic reforms, started on economic reforms.
Things are now on the right track."
His colleague Elton Mangoma, Minister for Economic Planning and Investment,
agreed:
"We have started well. There are of course
challenges, there are still farm invasions taking place. We have now had all the
political prisoners released, which is a huge plus on the side of the inclusive
government. There's still a lot of work to be done but much of the foundation
work has already been done."
Show of faith
As a result, Minister Ncube believes its
time for donor countries to show faith in the new government. Zimbabwe is
fragile he says, and needs urgent assistance.
Minister Mangoma is also keen to point out that despite the problems,
Zimbabwe is in a good position to recover quickly, if help from investors and
donors is forthcoming.
"It's not totally dysfunctional...the
infrastructure is there, the infrastructure is there. With the sound economic
policies we have put in place, with a little money by way of credit lines, a
little support for the utilities, we can be on our way very
quickly."
Looking ahead
And while there's considerable concern
abroad about the long-term stability of the unity government, both men are
upbeat about the future. What Zimbabwe needs now, says Mr Mangoma, is a little
help from its friends.
"We will succeed with or without international
support. But without it, it will be painful, it will be slow it will be long.
But with international support we will move very quickly to a different
Zimbabwe. A democratic, prosperous Zimbabwe, which respects human rights, which
respects the rule of law... And we are saying to the international community,
help us achieve this, by giving us the capacity to do the things we have
committed ourselves to do."
Who Speaks
for the People on New Constitution?
http://www.ipsnews.net
By Stanley Kwenda
HARARE, Apr 27
(IPS) - "Are you still unemployed? Take charge and complete
the change. We
the people shall write our own constitution," read the many
bright posters
now adorning street walls, lampposts and rubbish bins in
Zimbabwe's capital,
Harare.
The messages are part of a campaign launched by the National
Constitutional
Assembly (NCA) to oppose the constitution-making process
proposed by the
coalition government.
Zimbabwe currently operates
under the 1979 Lancaster House Constitution
inherited from the
British-backed colonial government at independence. It
has been amended 19
times since 1980.
A new constitution was a key demand of the MDC on
joining the unity
government with Zanu-PF and President Robert Mugabe whom
critics have
accused of using the constitution to retain power. Article 6 of
the Global
Political Agreement (GPA) between the two parties spells out that
a
parliamentary select committee of legislators and representatives of civil
society would be entrusted with crafting a new constitution.
But
civil society has objected to a process led by politicians and are
demanding
that an independent commission take charge.
"The reason why we are saying
we are rejecting that process is because it is
now heavy with the influence
of parliamentarians. This means that Parliament
has closed its doors on very
effective participation of the citizens and the
process is going to produce
a predictable outcome," Lovemore Madhuku the NCA
chairperson told
IPS.
"We say no to a defective constitution born out of a defective
process. We
will repeat what happened in 1999. We are campaigning for a no
vote."
The NCA brings together civic groups, women's organisations,
churches,
opposition political parties, labour and student movements. In
1999 it
worked with the MDC to reject a government draft constitution in a
referendum handing President Mugabe his only defeat at the ballot
box.
"The whole process has to be transparent enough. It has to be opened
to all
members of the society. We have our own specific needs as labour and
we will
need those to be included and that can only happen if we are part of
the
process," Lovemore Matombo, president of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade
Unions told IPS."
The NCA has also rejected the plan to use a draft
constitution agreed upon
by the two MDC parties and Zanu-PF in power-sharing
negotiations in
September 2007 as a starting point for consultations.
Negotiated in the
resort town of Kariba in northern Zimbabwe the "Kariba
Draft" has yet to be
made public.
"They cannot try and impose a
document of their own compromise on the people
of Zimbabwe. We will soon
launch street demonstrations to reject the whole
process," Madhuku told
IPS.
Civil society groups' outrage comes shortly after Speaker of
Parliament,
Lovemore Moyo, announced the setting up of a 25-member
parliamentary
committee to lead the constitution-writing process. According
to Moyo
consultations will be held throughout the country culminating in a
national
referendum in July next year. Civil society is however adamant that
the
"social conditions" in Zimbabwe are not conducive to an "inclusive"
process.
"Repressive laws which makes it impossible for people to meet
and discuss
freely issues of national importance are still there making it
difficult to
engage on a people-centred constitution-making process,"
remarked Fambai
Ngirande of the National Association of Non-Governmental
Organisations
(NANGO). "A properly people-driven process would include an
independent
commission of a broad spectrum of the Zimbabwean society
including those in
the diaspora."
The government has defended its
stance by drawing parallels with South
Africa's constitution-making process
where parliament acted as a constituent
assembly. "Who has the monopoly to
say I represent the people when the same
people you say do not represent the
people were elected by the very same
people," Eric Matinenga, Constitutional
and Parliamentary Affairs Minister
told IPS.
But Madhuku refuses to
budge. "Politicians cannot play referee in their own
game because this is a
crucial issue which should govern even the way
politicians do their work and
for them to be at the centre of crafting the
rules that becomes
dangerous."
Harare-based political analyst John Makumbe told IPS that
"The process is
not written in stone. Civil society groups can lobby the
politicians to
amend the political agreement's article six to include
everyone in the
process. Once that happens then the process would be
people-driven," he
said.
The absence of a democratic constitution is
seen by many as the cause of
Zimbabwe's political paralysis. The current
constitution has no presidential
term limits. Although the government is
forging ahead despite civil society
protests, it still has a huge hurdle to
climb.
The process will require funding and the government is broke and
struggling
to pay civil servants. It has appealed to international donor
agencies to
fund the drafting of its first post-independence constitution
that will lead
to new elections as outlined in the unity deal signed last
September.
Daily cholera update and alerts, 25 Apr 2009
* Please note that
daily information collection is a challenge due to communication and staff
constraints. On-going data cleaning may result in an increase or decrease in the
numbers.
Any change will then be explained.
** Daily information on new deaths should not imply that these deaths
occurred in cases reported that day. Therefore daily CFRs >100% may
occasionally result
A. Highlights of the day:
- 18 Cases and 0 deaths added today (in comparison with 48 cases and 5 deaths
yesterday)
- Cumulative cases 97 185
- Cumulative deaths 4 244 of which 2 606 are community deaths
- 63.3.0 % of the reporting centres affected have reported today 38 out of 60
affected reporting centres
- Cumulative Institutional Case Fatality Rate = 1.7%
- Daily Institutional CFR = 0.0 %.
- Data Cleaning
- Chitungwiza data was adjusted after data cleaning exercise from the 10th to
25 th April
HIFA
kicks off today
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Novell Zwangendaba, Leonard Matsa
& Kim Mbunga
The premier Harare International Festival of the Arts
(HIFA) opens today
with several international artists billed to perform
alongside their
resilient local talent. Dubbed Enli'ten'ment, the organisers
of the annual
Zimbabwean festival say they are 'striving for and achievement
of greater
knowledge and understanding, the process through which we 'see
the light'.
According to wikipedia, the principles of 'enlightenment' are
'intellectual
and philosophical developments of that age (and their impact
in moral,
social, and political reform) aspired toward more freedom for
common people
based on self-governance, natural rights, natural law, central
emphasis on
liberty, individual rights, reason, common sense, and the
principles of
deism. These principles were a revolutionary departure from
theocracy,
oligarchy, aristocracy, and the divine right of kings. The
Enlightenment
marks a principled departure from the Middle Ages of religious
authority,
guild-based economic systems, and censorship of ideas toward an
era of
rational discourse and personal judgment, republicanism, liberalism,
naturalism, scientific method, and modernity.'
The National Arts
Merit Awards, NAMA 2009 Arts Service Award-Winners say,
"The evolution of
HIFA over the last 10 years has been a shared journey of
progressive
enlightenment, a varied road trip in pursuit of
thought-provoking creative
endeavour, offering escape as well as empathy,
fantasy as well as reason,
beauty as well as realism. Our 2009 Festival is a
snapshot from an important
destination along the way. "
Hifa celebrates ten years of constistant
service save for 2002.
"This year we ask you to consider different forms
of enlightenment. We
invite you to be part of diverse creative perspectives
that bring to light
ideas about where we are and where we are going. We urge
you to come
together in a spirit of blazing communal solidarity and to revel
in the
vibrant power of the arts to engage feelings in us that that are
often
beyond rational explanation and yet are powerfully illuminating.
"
A lot of people interviewed by zimgreats.com say HIFA 2009 comes at a
very
challenging time. Paradzai Makosi a graphic designer who runs the
BrandActiv
advertising studio says, "...this year, the anticipation for
greater
perfomances and influence is not promising. for the majority of
zimbabweans,
the expenses of HIFA shows is too high, especialy now more than
ever. The
feeling of detachment is still very much alive. the elitist
mentality does
not allow for many prominent Zimbabwean artists to feel
strong and have a
clear sense of equality in terms of free expression and a
greater pride in
the artistic fairness, trading the beauty of different
cultures, traditions
and complex sounds with a unprejudiced and open minded
exploration."
Major highlights at this year's edition are; the Premier
Banking Corporation
National Gallery Exhibitions, the Global Quarter Craft
and Design Market, In
Living Colour at The Standard Theatre Rute Mbangwa at
the Coca-Cola
Green,Thank you for the Music (and flowers) at the North
Gallery, National
Gallery of Zimbabwe, Funk Fusion Fashion Show at Global
Quarter Platform ,
Light Special at theReps Theatre, Big Ass BBQ at Global
Quarter Platform,
the Victoria falls based Music Crossroads champions,
Makoomba at African
Banking Corporation Global Stage, Matthew Reid
(Clarinet) Pieter Van Zyl
(Piano) at Recital at The Recital Room, Capture at
HIVOS Poetry Cafe, Kraft
at Reps Theatre, Oedipus at The Standard Theatre,
A Spring of Rosemary at 7
Arts Theatre, Broz Piano Quartet Programme at The
Recital Room, La Brass
Banda at African Banking Corporation Global Stage,
Out of Darkness - A Rite
of Passage at African Sun Main Stage , African
Destiny at Coca-Cola Green,
Spitfire at The Standard Theatre, Possible
Insolite at Reps Theatre, and the
mouthwatering HIFA Bira Ceremony at
African Banking Corporation Global
Stage.
Performing together once
more at HIFA this year, Sam Mtukudzi (son to the
legendary Oliver Mtukudzi)
and Max Wild (son to the world famous Flora-Veit
Wild whose synonymous with
the Zimbabwean genious poet, Dambudzo Marechera)
joined by the Toyi Toyi
poet Comrade Fatso are set to electrify the Global
Quarter with their highly
charged stage presence. Sam Mtukudzi who jetted
into the country yesterday
from South Africa -Malawi Tour says, " HIFA comes
at a very significant time
for Zimbabwe, and myself , Max and the others
cant wait to be on stage. For
me personally its a time for the emerging
artists."
So, at a time
when all Zimbabweans are seeking 'a light at the end of the
tunnel', the
lightening of our individual burdens and an ethos of reason,
clarity and
resolution, HIFA presents the largest and most luminous Festival
yet. HIFA
plan to prominently celebrate their 10th anniversary but also to
turn a
spotlight on all of us - our fears, our sadness, our joys and
ultimately on
our hope for a brighter future