http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Alex
Bell
4 April 2013
There are growing calls for the government to
intervene in the worsening
persecution of High Court Justice Charles Hungwe,
who could be suspended by
the Chief Justice.
The Judge has been
vilified by the state media in recent weeks and is facing
a potential
suspension, pending the completion of a commission of inquiry
headed by
Godfrey Chidyausiku.
Justice Hungwe, who is accused of being sympathetic
to the MDC, was heavily
reprimanded in the state controlled media when he
initially ordered the
release of human rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa,
shortly after her arrest
last month. The Judge came under fire for allegedly
hearing the Mtetwa’s
bail application at night at his Darwendale farm,
instead of in court.
He also came under attack for granting search
warrants to the Zimbabwe
Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) to investigate
the offices of some ZANU PF
ministers.
Legal groups in the country,
including the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights
(ZLHR) and the Law Society
of Zimbabwe have called for intervention to stop
the persecution of the
judge.
The ZLHR said in a statement that the persecution of Justice
Hungwe affects
not only the independence and integrity of the judiciary, but
also that of
the legal profession. The group called in the Chief Justice,
the Judge
President of the High Court George Chiweshe and the Judicial
Service
Commission, together with the Law Society of Zimbabwe, to take
decisive
action.
“This is not only a measure to protect the judicial
officer concerned, but
also one that is vital to reassure the entire bench
at every level, as well
as the legal profession in the public and private
sector, that they will be
free to undertake their professional and
constitutional duties without fear
or favour and not be victimized as a
result of non-legal concerns and
motives,” the ZLHR said.
The Law
Society’s President Lloyd Mhishi also moved to defend Justice Hungwe
this
week, saying in a statement that the group is disturbed by this
‘onslaught’.
“The LSZ does not entertain the view that the judiciary
and judicial actions
are beyond scrutiny. We, however hold the view that any
criticism of the
judiciary should be measured, tempered, based on fact and
law. Any attack on
the judiciary should not be actuated by malice and
calculated to bring the
institution into disrepute,” Mhishi said, saying the
media attacks have
“mischievous intent.”
McDonald Lewanika, the
director of the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition said on
Thursday that the
persecution of Justice Hungwe “sends out a clear message
that there are
people who are not interested in the independence of the
judiciary and they
are not interested in judges who operate independently
without following the
whims of certain political actors.”
“We believe this is the reason why
Justice Hungwe is being vilified. Because
he is doing what is right,”
Lewanika told SW Radio Africa.
Lewanika said this is all part of a plan
to “clean” the judges’ bench before
the next elections, something ZANU PF
has successfully done in the past to
maintain its control of the
country.
“If you look at the past, in 2002, we had a series of judges
forced off the
bench in a similar situation as we seen now with Justice
Hungwe. They were
perceived to be independent and impartial. Whereas those
presiding over the
state are only comfortable with a judiciary that is
malleable to the wishes
of the state,” Lewanika said.
He added:
“There is now a clearly an attempt to ensure the bench is fully
controlled
by people who are fully amiable to the President.”
Meanwhile ZACC’s chief
executive officer Ngonidzashe Gumbo, who is facing
charges of fraud, has
been granted bail by the High Court after his arrest
last month. His arrest
has formed part of the backlash against the group for
attempting to launch
corruption investigations into ZANU PF run parastatals,
as well as the
alleged abuse of community development funds.
Other ZACC officials have
also been harassed and questioned in the fallout
of the ZACC probes. One of
the Commissioners Emmanuel Chimwanda faces
charges of impersonation, illegal
possession of articles for criminal use
and breaching the Official Secrets
Act. He is accused of supplying
information to staffers in the Prime
Ministers Office, who have also been
charged allegedly for attempting to
compile a corruption dossier.
http://nehandaradio.com/
on April 4, 2013 at 8:36 am
By Everson
Mushava and Moses Matenga
HARARE – A suspected plot to force High Court
judge Justice Charles Hungwe
out of office has intensified. The embattled
judge was reportedly summoned
to appear before Chief Justice Godfrey
Chidyausiku twice this week over his
alleged misconduct.
NewsDay is
reliably informed that Justice Hungwe appeared before Chief
Justice
Chidyausiku on Tuesday and yesterday and sources in the judiciary
said plans
to set up a tribunal to investigate him were in the pipeline.
“Justice
Hungwe has been summoned twice this week to appear before the Chief
Justice,” a source said.
“The Chief Justice could recommend to
President Mugabe to set up a tribunal
to probe his conduct if he is
approached by the Judicial Service Commission
(JSC). The judge could be
forced to resign if found guilty.”
JSC deputy secretary Rex Shana,
however, said he was unaware of the
developments, while both Chief Justice
Chidyausiku and Judge President
George Chiweshe could not be reached for
comment.
“The issue will never come to us, it will be between the Chief
Justice and
the Judge President,” Shana said.
Of late, Justice Hungwe
has been subjected to a barrage of attacks in the
State media over his
alleged professional misconduct, including missing
court records and failure
to sentence a murder convict who has been waiting
sentence since
2003.
He has also been attacked over the manner he allegedly handled the
bail
application of prominent human rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa and a
civil
matter over ownership of a house.
Justice Hungwe had previously
come under fire from Zanu PF and the State
media after he granted a search
warrant to the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption
Commission to investigate three Zanu
PF Cabinet ministers over corruption.
According to Section 87 of the
Zimbabwean Constitution, the President can
set-up a tribunal of at least
three members to investigate the conduct of a
sitting judge on the
recommendation of the JSC.
The plot would see Justice Hungwe suspended
from his duties while he faces a
probe from a tribunal to be set by
Mugabe.
Meanwhile, several local and international legal organisations
and civil
society groups have condemned the “persecution” of Justice Hungwe,
describing this as interfering with the judicial delivery system.
In
a statement, the organisations said: Pan-African Lawyers Union, Sadc
Lawyers’ Association and Southern Africa Litigation Centre call on the
Zimbabwean State to desist in their attacks on Judge Hungwe and to respect
and protect the independence of the courts.”
Deputy Minister of
Justice and Legal Affairs Obert Gutu (MDC-T) also
condemned the attacks,
saying this was part of a Zanu PF plot to force the
bench to toe its line.
“The office of a judge is a sacrosanct judicial
office that has to be held
in high esteem by all right-thinking people in
society,” said
Gutu.
“We cannot and, indeed, we should not accept a situation whereby
certain
scandalous, notorious and dubious characters with sinister agendas
are
permitted to publicly ridicule, lampoon and slander any of our judicial
officers.”
“We should never allow a situation where every Tom, Dick
and Harry is given
an opportunity to publicly slander and savage members of
the judiciary.”
The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) said the
attack “constitutes a
professional and personal attack on a well-respected
judge of the High Court
as well as a broader and more disturbing assault on
the independence and
integrity of the judiciary and legal profession in
Zimbabwe”.
“The principle of separation of powers is key in any
democratic society. The
independence and integrity of the judiciary is
essential as a check on the
vast powers of the executive and legislative
arms of the State,” said the
ZLHR in a statement.
Crisis in Zimbabwe
Coalition director Macdonald Lewanika said: “If you look
at the pattern,
there are some judges who have been treated the same – all
to force them out
of the bench and that is exactly what is happening to him.
There have no
case, but are just there to force him out because they are not
happy with
the good work that he is doing.”
Law Society of Zimbabwe president Lloyd
Mhishi said his organisation was
disturbed by the onslaught on Justice
Hungwe. NewsDay
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com/
By Everson Mushava/ Moses Matenga 12 hours
17 minutes ago
HARARE - As political pressure mounts on the
Judicial system, President
Mugabe's party Zanu PF has finally got its man;
High Court judge Charles
Hungwe has been suspended, sources said this
morning.
He is the judge who ordered the release of lawyer Beatrice
Mtetwa after her
arrest by police while representing her clients. He also
issued a search
warrant to the Anti-Corruption Commission authorising the
search of NIEEB
and the offices of several ministers with big
stomachs
The embattled judge was reportedly summoned to appear before
Chief Justice
Godfrey Chidyausiku twice this week over his alleged
misconduct.
NewsDay is reliably informed that Justice Hungwe appeared
before Chief
Justice Chidyausiku on Tuesday and yesterday and sources in the
judiciary
said plans to set up a tribunal to investigate him were in the
pipeline.
“Justice Hungwe has been summoned twice this week to appear
before the Chief
Justice,” a source said.
“The Chief Justice could
recommend to President Mugabe to set up a tribunal
to probe his conduct if
he is approached by the Judicial Service Commission
(JSC). The judge could
be forced to resign if found guilty.”
JSC deputy secretary Rex Shana,
however, said he was unaware of the
developments, while both Chief Justice
Chidyausiku and Judge President
George Chiweshe could not be reached for
comment.
“The issue will never come to us, it will be between the Chief
Justice and
the Judge President,” Shana said.
Of late, Justice Hungwe
has been subjected to a barrage of attacks in the
State media over his
alleged professional misconduct, including missing
court records and failure
to sentence a murder convict who has been waiting
sentence since
2003.
He has also been attacked over the manner he allegedly handled the
bail
application of prominent human rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa and a
civil
matter over ownership of a house.
Justice Hungwe had previously
come under fire from Zanu PF and the State
media after he granted a search
warrant to the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption
Commission to investigate three Zanu
PF Cabinet ministers over corruption.
According to Section 87 of the
Zimbabwean Constitution, the President can
set-up a tribunal of at least
three members to investigate the conduct of a
sitting judge on the
recommendation of the JSC.
The plot would see Justice Hungwe suspended
from his duties while he faces a
probe from a tribunal to be set by
Mugabe.
Meanwhile, several local and international legal organisations
and civil
society groups have condemned the “persecution” of Justice Hungwe,
describing this as interfering with the judicial delivery system.
In
a statement, the organisations said: Pan-African Lawyers Union, Sadc
Lawyers’ Association and Southern Africa Litigation Centre call on the
Zimbabwean State to desist in their attacks on Judge Hungwe and to respect
and protect the independence of the courts.”
Deputy Minister of
Justice and Legal Affairs Obert Gutu (MDC-T) also
condemned the attacks,
saying this was part of a Zanu PF plot to force the
bench to toe its
line.
“The office of a judge is a sacrosanct judicial office that has to
be held
in high esteem by all right-thinking people in society,” said
Gutu.
“We cannot and, indeed, we should not accept a situation whereby
certain
scandalous, notorious and dubious characters with sinister agendas
are
permitted to publicly ridicule, lampoon and slander any of our judicial
officers.”
“We should never allow a situation where every Tom, Dick
and Harry is given
an opportunity to publicly slander and savage members of
the judiciary.”
The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) said the
attack “constitutes a
professional and personal attack on a well-respected
judge of the High Court
as well as a broader and more disturbing assault on
the independence and
integrity of the judiciary and legal profession in
Zimbabwe”.
“The principle of separation of powers is key in any
democratic society. The
independence and integrity of the judiciary is
essential as a check on the
vast powers of the executive and legislative
arms of the State,” said the
ZLHR in a statement.
Crisis in Zimbabwe
Coalition director Macdonald Lewanika said: “If you look
at the pattern,
there are some judges who have been treated the same – all
to force them out
of the bench and that is exactly what is happening to him.
There have no
case, but are just there to force him out because they are not
happy with
the good work that he is doing.”
Law Society of Zimbabwe president Lloyd
Mhishi said his organisation was
disturbed by the onslaught on Justice
Hungwe. - NewsDay
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Alex Bell
4 April
2013
The State’s case against two staffers in the Prime Minister’s
communications
office, and two others also charged in the same case, has
been postponed
until next week Monday.
The four, including three
former public prosecutors, Thabani Mpofu, Felix
Matsinde and Mehluli Tshuma,
as well as a Harare City councillor Warship
Dumba, were arrested the day
after the constitutional referendum last month
and then held behind bars for
over a week. They were finally granted bail
late last month and a trial date
for the four was meant to be set on
Thursday.
But according to their
lawyer, Chris Mhike, this will now only be announced
next
Monday.
“The State indicated that a trial date would be allocated. But
today
(Thursday) the State said it is still not ready. The Prosecutor was
absent
and wasn’t in court. So we requested that the matter be further
remanded,”
Mhike told SW Radio Africa.
Mpofu and Matsinde are members
of staff in the research division of the
Prime Minister’s office. Tshuma and
Dumba are believed to have been
assisting the research team. It is
understood the group was compiling a
dossier of large scale corruption
involving high ranking ZANU PF ministers
in government.
The four were
arrested last month after a police blitz that included
unwarranted searches
of their homes and of the home of a fourth member of
staff in the Prime
Minister’s office, Anna Muzvidziwa. The Avondale based
communications office
of the Prime Minister was also later searched by
police.
The arrested
group was held and questioned for several hours at Harare
Central Police
station. Anna Muzvidziwa was later released into the custody
of her lawyer
and will be called on as a state witness in the case against
her
colleagues.
Mpofu, Matsinde, Tshuma and Dumba have been formally charged
for allegedly
impersonating police, possession of articles for criminal use
and breaching
the Official Secrets Act.
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Nomalanga
Moyo
4 April 2013
The High Court reserved to Friday its ruling on the
by-election dispute
between President Robert Mugabe and three former
parliamentarians, whose
seats fell vacant when they were expelled from their
party in 2009.
Last year, Mugabe was ordered by the courts to set
by-election dates for
three Matabeleland constituencies, Nkayi South,
Bulilima East and Lupane
East by March 31st.
This followed an
application by Abednico Bhebhe, Njabuliso Mguni and Norman
Mpofu, all former
MDC legislators for the constituencies in question.
The two parties had
to go back to court Thursday after Justice George
Chiweshe indicated that he
could not decide on the dispute on Wednesday,
following Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai’s inclusion as a fourth
respondent in the
matter.
Postponing the matter to Thursday, Justice Chiweshe on Wednesday
ruled that
the dispute was not about harmonised elections – which the PM was
concerned
about – but by-elections.
Lawyer Tawanda Zhuwarara, who is
representing the three former legislators,
told SW Radio Africa that their
submissions Thursday were restricted to the
holding of by-elections in three
specific constituencies, as advised by
Justice Chiweshe.
Mugabe,
through his lawyers wants the March 31st deadline extended to around
June
29th, arguing that holding of by-elections and then harmonised
elections a
few months later is neither economical nor practical.
Zhuwarara said his
team challenged Mugabe’s argument.
He said: “We submitted that the
President’s argument does not excuse him
from complying with a court order
that was confirmed by the Supreme Court.
We also questioned whether it was
competent for someone to ask to be excused
from complying with a court
order. We also submitted that the High Court
itself does not have the
jurisdiction to deal with this matter.”
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By
Violet Gonda
4 April 2013
1200 people applied to contest in this
year’s general elections on an MDC-T
ticket but 200 of those were
disqualified, after a vetting process for
primary elections was conducted by
the party’s national executive and
national council in Harare on
Wednesday.
Party spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora said the party also
decided that sitting
female legislators will only have other women
contesting in that
constituency, “so as not to reduce the women’s
representation in
parliament.”
Mwonzora told SW Radio Africa the
party will follow the quota system that is
in line with the new
constitution, which gives 60 seats to women.
To encourage women
participation, and so that they are able to campaign, the
MDC-T says it will
provide special facilities and more funds to female
candidates who make it
past the primaries.
The 200 disqualified aspirants were barred for a
number of reasons including
not having been a party member for at least five
years, even though the
MDC-T approved Tracy Mutinhiri’s application.
Mutinhiri joined the MDC-T in
2011 after she was expelled from ZANU
PF.
MDC-T members are unhappy with Mutinhiri’s selection and sources said
the
party’s provincial leadership for Mashonaland East gave the National
Executive a damning dossier of her alleged role in the violence that took
place in that province when she was the ZANU PF Member of Parliament for
Marondera East. They accused the party of showing double standards by
approving an application from a person who had not been a member of the
party for five years.
Mwonzora denied any double standards on the
part of his party claiming the
former ZANU PF deputy minister was closely
associated with the MDC.
“Mrs. Mutinhiri worked with the MDC for a very
long time. In fact at the
commencement of the inclusive government she was
in trouble with Zanu PF for
working with the Prime Minister,” Mwonzora
said.
The MDC-T official said there are also some members of civil
society who
have worked closely with the MDC-T who have been approved to
contest in the
primary elections, even though they were not
members.
Other approved candidates include Abednico Bhebhe, Norman Mpofu
and
Njabuliso Mguni, the three former legislators fired by the MDC led by
Professor Welshman Ncube, who are currently challenging President Robert
Mugabe in the High Court to hold by-elections in their vacant
constituencies
A police officer in the United Kingdom Taurayi Chamboko,
radio disc-jockeys
Ezra Sibanda and Eric Knight, and former journalist Grace
Kwinjeh are among
Zimbabweans living in the Diaspora who have been
shortlisted to participate
in the primaries. Also included is the former
Daily News editor Geoffrey
Nyarota.
Mwonzora said primaries are expected
to start shortly after Independence Day
on April 18th.
ZANU PF
spokesperson Rugare Gumbo meanwhile said his party is still in the
process
of vetting people for their primaries and will “probably know by
next week,”
the candidates selected for the internal elections.
MDC-N spokesman
Nhlanhla Dube said his party is also in the process of
receiving
applications from the provinces.
http://www.voazimbabwe.com/
Jonga
Kandemiri
03.04.2013
WASHINGTON DC — Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic
Change national executive and national
council met in Harare on Wednesday
and approved 1,000 candidates to contest
in the party’s primary elections
expected any time this month.
Party
spokesman Douglas Mwonzora said approved candidates include former
Zanu-PF
member Tracey Mutinhiri, former Daily News editor Geoffrey Nyarota,
journalist Grace Kwinjeh and radio disc-jockeys Eric Knight and Ezra
Sibanda.
Others are former Members of Parliament Abednico Bhebhe,
Norman Mpofu and
Njabuliso Mguni, who were fired from the MDC formation of
Industry Minister
Welshman Ncube.
The criteria used for choosing
candidates has been a contentious issue not
only in the MDC-T, but also in
Zanu-PF, where sources say the party has
already come up with some
requirements, including having five Ordinary Level
passes.
Zanu0PF
spokesman Rugare Gumbo told VOA Studio 7 they are still fine-tuning
the
requirements and promised to make them public as soon as they are
done.
Some critics have accused both parties of trying to protect sitting
lawmakers at the expense of other aspiring candidates.
Not all
applications were approved. Mr. Mwonzora said about 200 applicants
were
turned down because they were not in the party for five or more years
as
required.
Mwonzora said the committees also discussed other issues that
include the
just held constitutional referendum, the continued harassment of
civil
society organisations and the general elections.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
Thursday, 04 April 2013 11:03
HARARE
- President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF yesterday cancelled a highly
anticipated
politburo meeting expected to set rules for primary elections
which have
sharply divided his party.
Zanu PF secretary for administration Didymus
Mutasa told the Daily News
yesterday that the politburo meeting was off. He
refused to divulge reasons
for the postponement.
The politburo
meeting was coming on the back of serious jockeying in the
party, where
members are jostling to be nominated as parliamentary and
council
candidates.
Mugabe’s party ticket as a presidential candidate was
unopposed.
“We have postponed the meeting to a later date and we shall we
inform you
when we are going to hold meeting. But it is going to be very
soon,” said
Mutasa.
As the election season heats up, Zanu PF members
in the country’s 10
provinces have been busy canvassing for
support.
The meeting was expected to discuss the rules and regulations to
be used for
the primary elections.
Aspiring candidates will then
submit their applications for vetting and
approval and only then can primary
election campaigns start, according to
Zanu PF officials.
The Daily
News understands the meeting was also expected to brainstorm on
the party’s
election manifesto that includes land, indigenisation and
empowerment
programmes expected to anchor Zanu PF’s election campaign.
A team led by
serial political flip-flopper Jonathan Moyo has reportedly
been busy working
on the election manifesto.
A new electronic membership card is expected
to be officially unveiled, as
the former liberation war movement moves to
align with current trends.
But it is the divisive primaries that were set
to take centre stage at the
postponed politburo meeting.
Critics say
Zimbabwe’s security sector is trying to strengthen its grip on
power by
contesting the next election on the Zanu PF ticket.
This has seen several
serving and retired commanders as well as mid-ranking
officers battling it
out with Zanu PF members for the party ticket.
The politburo, when it
next meets, is also expected to flesh out a proposal
by a cabal of so-called
“Young Turks” calling themselves “Generation 40” who
have cobbled a strategy
to retire the old guard.
http://www.financialgazette.co.zw/
Wednesday, 03 April 2013 18:00
Njabulo Ncube, Assistant
Editor
PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe has snubbed civil society leaders that had
sought an
audience with him over what has been viewed as the deteriorating
political
environment in the wake of a state onslaught against
non-governmental
organisations (NGOs) and human rights
defenders.
Civil society organisations under the Crisis in Zimbabwe
Coalition banner,
recently wrote to the four principals in the coalition
government —
President Mugabe, Prime Minister (PM) Morgan Tsvangirai, Deputy
Prime
Minister (DPM) Arthur Mutambara and Welshman Ncube, the leader of the
other
faction of the Movement for Democratic Change — expressing their
concerns
over the resurgence of political violence and harassment of human
rights
defenders.
They requested to meet with the principals fearing a
repeat of a violent
crackdown reminiscent of the run-up to the 2008 polls
that saw some civil
society leaders being arrested, for instance Jestina
Mukoko, the director of
the Zimbabwe Peace Project, who was kept
incommunicado for nearly a month.
Information obtained by this newspaper
indicates the civil society leaders
were unable to meet President Mugabe but
managed to have audience with PM
Tsvangirai, DPM Mutambara and Ncube as
uncertainty gripped the NGOs ahead of
the general elections likely to be
held later this year.
Presidential spokesperson, George Charamba, was not
imm-ediately available
to comment why President Mugabe apparently snubbed
civil society
organisations that went on an overdrive when police arrested
human rights
lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa.
ZANU-PF however, views the bulk of
the country’s 2000 civil society
organisations as appendages of PM
Tsvangirai’s formation of the MDC that
have been drumming up support for the
former trade unionist.
McDonald Lewanika, the national director of the Crisis
in Zimbabwe
Coalition, confirmed that civil society organisations failed to
have an
audience with President Mugabe despite repe-ated attempts to meet
with the
ZANU-PF leader. He also confirmed that civil society leaders
managed to meet
with the other principals.
“It is true that we had sought
a meeting with the Global Political Agreement
principals,” said Lewanika.
“We were able to meet all except President
Mugabe,” he said.
He said
despite failing to meet President Mugabe over a myriad a of
political
problems ahead of general elections, the civil society did get a
response to
a letter petitioning the principals to allow civil society
organisations to
observe the referendum held on March 16.
The civil society organisations have
already made it known to the Southern
African Develo-pment Community (SADC)
and South African President Jacob Zuma’s
facilitation team in the Harare
crisis that the country was still not yet
ready to hold fresh elections
whose outcome would be universally accepted,
citing a number of human rights
violations, including the resurgence of
political violence.
“We have
informed SADC about the political state of affairs in Zimbabwe
especially
with regards to the political environment and the criminalisation
of
non-government organisations. These are issues that we have raised with
the
facilitation team, the SADC observer mission that was here for the
referendum and the SADC organ on Politics, Defence and Security
Coope-ration,” said Lewanika.
“Our approach has been that the
perpetrators of selective application of the
law, merchants of intimidation
and political malfeasance are in Zimbabwe and
the bulk of the responsibility
to deal with these issues has to be in
Zimbabwe. We will thus continue
pushing both our local holders of powers and
regional peddlers of influence
in pursuit of democratic reforms that can
lead to a salubrious political
environment and free and fair elections,” he
said.
Ncube, the leader of
the other MDC faction, last week formally appealed to
the SADC Troika
chairperson Jakaya Kikwete, to dissuade President Mugabe and
PM Tsvangirai
from unilaterally calling for elections in June or July.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/
04.04.13
by Gladys
Ncube
There was chaos in Umguza district in the outskirts of Bulawayo
on Wednesday
as Umguza Rural District Council (URDC) started evicting 300
families and
demolishing their houses at Reigate DDF Compound after the land
was sold to
Bulawayo residents as housing stands.
The families
are resisting eviction saying they had also bought the houses
and the land
from URDC some years back ,and some had stayed at that compound
for over
30years and have nowhere to go.
URDC want to turn Reigate area into a
residential suburb and had already
sold that land to some Bulawayo residents
as housing stands. On Wednesday a
group of URDC workers clashed with Reigate
Compound residents as they tried
to evict them and demolish their houses
following instructions from council
chief executive officer, Colleen
Moyo.
“We are shocked by this move we have stayed here for morethan 30
years and
we are now the really owners of these houses, but the council has
suddenly
turned against us and want to demolish our houses , we can’t allow
that
because we have nowhere to go,” said Mark Ndlovu a 59 year-old Reigate
Compound residents In a letter in The Zimbabwean possession written to the
residents by Moyo, he said: “You are instructed to vacate the premises by 31
March as the council has sold that piece of land and it will be developed
into housing and commercial stands”.
However when contacted for
comment URDC council chairperson Sikhanyisiwe
Mpofu distanced herself from
the eviction of these families saying what Moyo
is doing is illegal since
the council had not approved the evictions.
“I am shocked about this,
because the council has not approved that.
Whatever is happening there is
illegal because as the council chairperson I
was not informed about the
eviction of these families, we can’t allow such
things to happen," said
Mpofu.
http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/
By:
Natalie Greve
4th April 2013
Zimbabwe Economic Planning and
Investment Promotion Minister Dr Tapiwa
Mashakada has confirmed that the
country would not return to the use of its
national currency in the near
term.
“Government has a Medium Term Plan that outlines the continued use
of the US
dollar until 2016; however, we see the continuance of a multiple
currency
even beyond this,” he said, adding that there was Cabinet consensus
in this
regard.
The Southern African country replaced the Zimbabwe
dollar with the US dollar
and the South African rand as its official
currencies through a
‘dollarisation’ process in early 2009.
This came
as one US dollar traded above 300-trillion Zimbabwe dollars during
a period
of hyperinflation of 231-million per cent – a world record.
Mashakada
explained that, as long as the country could not guarantee that
its
historical national currency could be backed by true value and
production
capability, it would maintain its current multicurrency economy.
This
decision was further supported by an enduring lack of population
confidence
in the African State’s national currency following periods of
acute
hyperinflation in the last few years of its use, added Business
Council of
Zimbabwe chairperson George Guvamatanga.
“People are simply not prepared
to revert, in fear of this situation
repeating itself,” he
commented.
Mashakada explained that the terms of trade would also promote
the continued
use of the current currency system as long as the value of its
imports
outweighed its export value.
Importantly, the use of the
dollar also provided a greater degree of
investment security and eliminated
certain risks associated with the
potentially volatile Zimbabwe dollar.
http://www.bdlive.co.za/
BY RAY NDLOVU, APRIL 04 2013,
08:56
RESERVE Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono has
rebuked the country on its
over-reliance on finished goods from South
Africa, which account for nearly
65% of all imports into Zimbabwe.
Mr
Gono on Tuesday warned that should the trade imbalance between South
Africa
and Zimbabwe persist, the country’s hopes of reviving its ailing
manufacturing sector were futile.
The governor’s comments came as a
two-day investment summit opened in
Johannesburg on Wednesday. The summit is
also aimed at dispelling fear over
the country’s looming
elections.
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai was also expected to give the
keynote
address.
Trade between South Africa and Zimbabwe increased
last year to $5.9bn from
$4.6bn in 2011; with a breakdown of the figures
indicating that Zimbabwe
imported goods worth $3.2bn from South Africa,
while exports accounted for
$2.7bn last year.
"We are seeing the
growth in our exports but we remain very worried by the
extent and level to
which we are depending on imports, particularly of
finished products. We
cannot build a strong economy by exporting jobs," Mr
Gono said.
"We
need to strengthen and capacitate our local industries, that is the only
way
we can stop the haemorrhaging of foreign exchange that is unnecessarily
going out of the country; that is the only way we can reduce
unemployment".
According to the industry and commerce ministry, the
factory capacity
utilisation for the manufacturing sector is at
44%.
While this represents a marked improvement from the 10% level
recorded in
2008 during the height of Zimbabwe’s economic meltdown, attempts
to improve
have been weighed down by the South Africa imports, which are
much cheaper.
Last month, milk manufacturing giant Dairibord Zimbabwe
announced it would
shut down its two milk plants in Bulawayo and Mutare in
Manicaland, a move
it said was meant "to align its cost structure with its
volumes".
Dairibord’s closure of its two key plants signals the continued
wave of
de-industrialisation that has resulted in the closure of about 100
companies
since 2010.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
Thursday, 04 April 2013 10:51
HARARE - Harare
residents have slammed power firm Zesa Holdings (Zesa) for
its snail paced
implementation of a prepaid meter project expected to ease
electricity
woes.
From being kept in the dark because of constant blackouts to being
disconnected as a result of huge debts, residents say the power utility is
short-changing them.
Reports say only 100 000 prepaid meters have
been installed since August
last year when it was launched.
Precious
Shumba, coordinator of the Harare Residents Trust, said Zesa is
getting
millions of dollars from consumers and the money should go towards
bankrolling the project.
“Zesa is getting money from unrealistic
electricity charges lumped on
clients still on fixed meters. They are
raising money but that is not
translating into progress,” said
Shumba.
Shumba said most residents who are using the fixed meter system
doubt Zesa’s
sincerity to install the prepaid meters in all
households.
“The fixed meter billing system is chaotic and confusing.
Some are still
being forced to pay estimated charges and this has created
inconsistency,”
said Shumba.
A bulk of the prepaid meters was
installed in Harare’s Avenues area and a
few households in Highfield and
Kuwadzana suburbs.
Combined Harare Residents Association chief executive
Mfundo Mlilo said the
group was receiving “numerous” queries from members
who wanted to know the
criterion Zesa was using to install the prepaid
meters. - Bridget Mananavire
BY YOLANDA
NDLOVU
Harare, April 4,
2013: A Zimbabwean NGO has accused local media of ‘taking the sting out of
humanitarian stories’ to protect politicians from public scrutiny. Virginia
Muwanigwa, a veteran journalist and director of the Humanitarian Information
Facilitation Centre (HIFC) said this development has trivialized pertinent
issues affecting the general population, and affects the country’s preparedness
for humanitarian disasters.
“Most stories do not
connect what prominent people say to our everyday life,” said Muwanigwa. She
defined humanitarian reporting as stories on issues and situations that threaten
the health, safety, security or well- being of a community. “When the
humanitarian issues are covered, the stories are divorced from the statements of
politicians and how they connect to development and affect the general public,”
she said, noting that when adequately reported these stories should and could
support preparedness of future crises.
During her
presentation on the politics of humanitarian reporting in Zimbabwe at a Food for
Thought discussion session at the United States Embassy’s Public Affairs Section
on Tuesday, Muwanigwa discussed the importance of highlighting ordinary people's
issues and ways to improve their situations. “Humanitarian reporting is not
seen as important because it starts to challenge the power of prominent people
over ordinary people, it also looks at analyzing people’s power to demand
certain things and looks at how people can make those in authority accountable.”
HIFC was established
in 2009 to address an urgent need to streamline the flow of information from the
humanitarian sector to the general public and decision makers. Muwanigwa
outlined the experience of her four-year old organization working to encourage
journalists to write more stories on humanitarian issues. She said there was
inadequate understanding of humanitarian stories in the media and a lack of
skills in development reporting; she noted journalists often opt for event-based
stories with little to no background.
“A lot of the times
when people hear humanitarian reporting, they are thinking of crisis –
Muzarabani floods and other natural disasters. But as HIFC we are looking at a
continuum, not just crisis… our objective is to see journalists start to talk
about certain things that could become crises in the future in a way that
enables people to make relevant decisions,” said Muwanigwa.
Muwanigwa, whose
experience with media nongovernmental organizations spans 19 years, noted that
the reason there was a poor understanding of humanitarian issues by the media
was because of a general mistrust between NGOs and the media. But this can
change, she explained,“Media and NGOs both have a role to play in development
and HIFC works to link the media and NGOs facilitating information sharing. NGOs
have the primary information that media cannot get, but there has been fear of
how that information might be used by the media once
provided.”
She stressed the need
to encourage humanitarian desks that can report and analyze development issues
such as climate change, water and sanitation issues, as well as health.
Since its
establishment, HIFC says it has assisted humanitarian nongovernmental
organizations in developing effective communication strategies to increase the
flow of humanitarian information to journalists through consultative stakeholder
meetings and knowledge briefs. In addition, HIFC has provided grants to
journalists to investigate and write stories coupled with a robust mentoring
program designed to transfer skills and sustain reporting on humanitarian
issues.
However, the
organization regretted not including journalism training institutions at the
beginning, a challenge she said they were now addressing by working with the
Harare Polytechnic School of Journalism and other journalism training
institutions through development of training modules.- ZimPAS © April 3,
2013
#
# #
ZimPAS
is a product of the U.S. Embassy Public Affairs Section. Comments and queries
should be directed to Jillian Bonnardeaux, Acting Public Affairs Officer,
hararepas@state.gov,
Url: http://harare.usembassy
Ray Ndlovu
VILLIFIED by political figures and adored in
civic society circles, human rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa (BM) who was described by
High Court Judge Joseph Musakwa as “feisty, a commando . . . and unlikely to
take any prisoners”, during her bail hearing last week, has broken the silence
over her arrest and detention in police cells. Mtetwa spoke exclusively to The
Financial Gazette’s Assistant Bureau Chief, Ray Ndlovu (RN) on a wide-range of
issues, among these; her incarceration, assessment of the unity government, the
recently completed referendum on a new constitution and the looming elections.
Below are excerpts of the interview:
RN: Your arrest for slightly over a week sparked an
international outcry. What were the lessons, if any to be gleaned from your
incarceration?
BM: I am
not sure if there are any positive lessons that could be drawn from my time in
prison. However, more crucially, my arrest exposed the lie that change has taken
place in Zimbabwe. The more things change; the more things remain the same. We
might have had a government of national unity and adopted a new constitution,
but nothing has really changed up to now.
RN: How were you treated
during your stay in prison? What of the living conditions in prison, were they
humane?
BM: Prison was
much better than the police cells; I was given professional treatment by the
warders. Whereas, when I was in police custody, the police wanted to show me who
was in charge. In prison, I was put in a cell which had 17 women and included a
17 year-old Congolese girl. There were no ablution facilities and the ladies had
a small container to relieve themselves in during the night. The floor is very
hard and I shudder to think how cold it is during winter, as all the inmates
sleep on the floor. The blankets are lice-infested and the conditions in the
cells are not the most welcoming. I was fortunate in that, I was allowed meals
from home; but the diet in prison consisted of sadza, green vegetables and on
one occasion, beans. What disturbed me the most during my incarceration was a
little boy who was also locked up with his mother; being in jail at such a small
age meant that his rights to education were being denied.
RN: What is your assessment
of the unity government on the eve of an all-important election?
BM: What country arrests
people for unearthing corruption? The establishment should be commending them
(four Movement for Democratic Change officials) for the work that they did. The
people, who are the voters are looking at all this and can see the true tenets
of the unity government and its partners; that it is not sincere with cracking
down on corruption and other vices.
RN: Prime Minister (PM)
Morgan Tsvangirai unsuccessfully tried to secure your release while you were in
prison. Is there a case to be made of the MDC-T failing to stand up for human
rights defenders and civic society organisations through the
PM’s failure?
BM: The MDC-T are speaking
in whispered tones; they find themselves in a difficult position as it is a
government that they are a part of that is arresting its own people. Hence, they
are speaking in muted tones and civic society organisations are not getting the
protection that they used to get in 2008. It is an absolute and total shame, and
I am disappointed in the MDC-T’s performance, as it is their own members who
bear the brunt of the crackdown by the state security apparatus. Who do they
(MDC-T) expect to speak out for their own members? They must speak out more
forcefully against abuses.
RN: Do you think PM
Tsvangirai has a chance of winning the elections?
BM: I am not a politician
and I can’t predict anything. My affiliation with the MDC-T is on a purely
professional basis as I offer legal services to them. I just happen to be a
lawyer that the MDC-T prefers to use often.
RN: As Zimbabwe heads to an
election; what fears, hopes, expectations do you have over the looming polls?
BM: We are exactly where we
were five years ago, the same people rule over us and are the decision makers.
As we go towards elections one party controls everything. My arrest clearly was
meant to be a lesson to the younger lawyers, not to rush in when they are called
by activists. I find this scary as we go towards elections given that the last
memory of polls we all have is of 2008. Human rights defenders will start
turning a blind eye to injustices fearing for their own safety. As we enter into
election mode, it is clear that the plan is to curtail civic society
organisations from carrying out their normal activities.
RN: The country recently
adopted a new draft constitution, is the new constitution a step in the right
direction for the country?
BM: I am aware of the hype
around the new constitution, but what will it change? Who will interpret the law
if there is no political change? How will this new constitution change anything
at all, as it will be used by people who have no will for any change? The draft
constitution will not change anything for the ordinary people.
RN: Is there any faith to
be held out for the country’s justice system, in light of police defiance of a
High Court order instructing for your release?
BM: The law is completely
irrelevant, especially in light of the crime I was accused of. My arrest had
nothing to do with any crime, but was an attempt at trying to correct and punish
me. The entire proceedings at the Magistrate’s court were made to ensure that I
would stay there for as long as possible. The only chance of moving forward is
for the full restoration of law and only then will Zimbabweans believe in the
justice system.
Sokwanele : 4 April 2013
Yesterday, 3 April, The Herald published an article titled 'Sokwanele predicts Zanu-PF victory in harmonised polls' (http://bit.ly/12hGYFc). The article is factually inaccurate on several levels. So much so, we wonder what the objective of the piece really is?
Featured as a 'Top Story' on its website, The Herald's item begins by describing Sokwanele as an "MDC-T-aligned pressure group". In fact, Sokwanele is a non-partisan group campaigning non-violently for freedom and democracy in Zimbabwe. This is the article's first factual inaccuracy.
The second factual inaccuracy is extraordinary: The Herald attributes its entire argument to a report that they claim was written by Sokwanele titled '“Miracle Votes” – An analysis of the March 2013 Referendum'. In fact, this report was written by the Election Resource Centre (ERC). Sokwanele disseminated this report on the 28 March 2013, as we do for many reports published by civic organisations, in line with our mission statement which is "civic action support". The opening line of our website post introducing the report begins: "This report by the ERC ..." and it is accompanied by a picture of the ERC logo (as depicted above). How The Herald came to the view that the report was authored by Sokwanele is bafflin g.
The Herald's argument that Sokwanele has predicted a Zanu PF victory centers on one paragraph they selectively extract from the report and which they cite in their article - but not in full and only after they have re-ordered the sentences to infer a different meaning (a third inaccuracy). The Herald 'quotes':
"This high voter turnout could be attributed to the coercive capacities of the political parties, especially Zanu-PF . . . This thinking is motivated by the belief that Zanu-PF was using the referendum as a test case for the forthcoming general election slated for this year".
In fact, the full context of that paragraph, taken from the ERC report (page 10) reads as follows (emphasis added):
There are fears from other sections of society such as the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) and those who campaigned for a no vote that the referendum result could have been rigged and that the high voter turnout was manipulated through ballot stuffing. This thinking is motivated by the belief that ZANU PF was using the referendum as a test case for the forthcoming General elections slated for this year, and that the results reflect on ZANU PFs test run of its rigging machinery and its coercive machinery of systematically driving out its supporters especially in the rural areas to vote en’masse.
Whilst we cannot be able to authenticate claims of rigging, this high voter turnout could be attributed to the coercive capacities of the political parties, especially ZANU PF to drive out their supporters in a systematic manner to vote in a block. There were reports of voters being given cards before voting in the rural areas as well as registering their names with party officials before voting. Such coercive and intimidatory practices could be replicated in the next elections.
The fourth factual inaccuracy is that The Herald argues that these words amount to a prediction by the report writers that Zanu PF will "romp to victory" in the harmonised polls. If Zanu PF does indeed 'romp to victory', then a more accurate assessment based on the report's words would be to interrogate whether the party's 'romping success' was possibly based on ballot stuffing, on a highly evolved rigging system, and on its traditional employment of coercive and intimidatory practices.
Is this article simply an example of completely incompetent journalism, or are articles like these also part of a broader Zanu PF election agenda?
Perhaps The Herald's article is a further example of Zanu PF testing its complex rigging machinery, where the state controlled media functions as a key cog in the rigging machine.
Why else would it be important for the state-controlled mouthpiece of Zanu PF to use its pages to falsely and inaccurately argue that critics of its rigging practices have suddenly predicted that Zanu PF will be victors in the harmonised polls? Is this an effort to calculatedly build a perception among the populace that everyone - including groups that campaign hard for truth and accountability in electoral practices - have come around to the view that Zanu PF will be legitimate victors? Is this an attempt to provide Zanu PF with the means, in a few month's time after a problematic election, to defend themselves by saying 'look, even our former critics have been saying for months that we would be the inevitable winner - just look at these articles in the media...'.
Or is it an attempt to undermine the criticisms they know in advance will emerge over the next few months via the election monitoring projects Sokwanele routinely carries out, and which generally expose a gamut of troubling 'rigging practices' mostly carried out by the Zanu PF party. These Sokwanele projects include Zimbabwe Election Watch and Zimbabwe Referendum Watch.
The Herald, and Zanu PF, should heed a warning that the common populace are not stupid, and that calculated misreporting may actually backfire on their overall agenda. We point them towards one Zimbabwean citizen who commented to one of our activists that she was planning to vote 'No' in the referendum. When asked why the citizen guilelessly responded,
"Because The Herald keeps telling us to vote 'Yes' and everyone knows that The Herald lies".
The Election Resource Centre report can be downloaded from this link: http://bit.ly/10tWopy
Last month Zimbabwe's people endorsed a new constitution in a referendum, paving the way for elections which are due to take place later this year.
In a sign of a thaw in relations between Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu-PF party and some Western countries - which had imposed sanctions against Zimbabwe - the country's Justice Minister, Patrick Chinamasa, became the first senior Zanu-PF figure to make an official visit to the UK in more than a decade.
Mr Chinamasa told HARDtalk's Stephen Sackur that countries imposing sanctions against Zimbabwe should lift them and "stop the regime change agenda".
He added he wanted to "re-engage" with the UK over the "outstanding decolonisation issue" connected with land.
You can watch this programme on BBC World News at 1430, 2030 GMT on Thursday 4 April and on BBC News Channel at 0030 on Friday April 5 2013.
