Zimbabwe tops Sadc agenda

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

By Nkululeko Sibanda, Senior Writer
Thursday, 11 August 2011 14:38

HARARE - Crisis-ridden Zimbabwe will once again take centre stage at the
forthcoming Sadc summit set for the Angolan capital, Luanda, this weekend as
political problems continue to haunt the country.

The country has featured “prominently” at recent Sadc summits, including
some special meetings called specifically to deal with an issue which has
since become a regional headache.

Zimbabwe’s main problem is the refusal by President Robert Mugabe to fully
implement the Global Political Agreement (GPA) which brought about the
inclusive government.

The meeting of the regional bloc, for long accused of failing to deal with
the long-drawn Zimbabwean crisis decisively, comes at a time when there is
serious discord on a proposed electoral roadmap for the country.

Although Sadc has explicitly mandated the country’s political parties to
complete a roadmap and implement the GPA in full before next week’s summit,
nothing significant has changed since the last meeting held in Johannesburg,
South Africa recently.

The three main political parties are haggling over timelines of the
electoral frameworks and whether there should be security sector reform.

The much-anticipated roadmap is a crucial ingredient towards a free and fair
election to usher in a new government in Zimbabwe.

This followed the infamous the 2008 sham election which failed to produce an
outright winner amid violent political scenes which left about 500 MDC
members dead.

In an interview, South African president, Jacob Zuma’s facilitation team
spokesperson, Lindiwe Zulu told the Daily News yesterday that Zimbabwe is
firmly on the agenda of the Luanda summit.

“The discussion will come after President Zuma presents his report on the
situation in Zimbabwe and whether there has been any headway in the
implementation of the agreed issues with regards to the roadmap and the
timelines that Sadc instructed Zimbabwe to put in place in its roadmap.”

Zulu added, “The facilitator’s report will provide the basis for discussion,
taking over from the last summit, looking at whether all things that
Zimbabwe’s negotiators and their principals were tasked to do, have been
done.

“If they have not been done, the summit is expected to hear why those things
have not been done and what challenges are being faced in the implementation
of those particular things. If they are issues that Sadc can issue
directives on, those directives will be issued so that we can move to the
next step because we cannot deal with the same issues all the time,” Zulu
said.

The facilitation, team, Zulu said, is expected to meet with the negotiators
“very soon” for the last meeting before the summit is convened in Angola.

“We intend to meet with the negotiators very soon to finalise one or two
things before we go to Angola. This is part of our regular meetings to deal
with those things that we can deal with as the facilitation team and the
negotiators."

“The outstanding issues or problem areas that we cannot deal with will have
to be dealt with at
the summit level,” Zulu highlighted.

Basing on the communiqué issued at the recent Sadc meetings, the GPA parties
appear to have failed to cover significant ground in implementing the issues
flagged by the regional body.

In Livingstone, Zambia, the Sadc Troika resolved that there must be an
immediate end to violence, intimidation, hate speech, harassment, and any
other form of action that contradicts the letter and spirit of GPA.

However, most of these vices are still the order of the day, particularly
hate speech which still characterise state media reportage.

The full implementation of the GPA, as instructed by Sadc still remains a
pipe dream as most of the agreement’s points of directive, have not been
implemented.

The resolution by the Troika on the appointment of a team of officials to
join the Facilitation Team and work with the Joint Monitoring and
Implementation Committee (Jomic) to ensure monitoring, evaluation and
implementation of the GPA, remains outstanding.

Sadc has indicated that it is still consulting on the three members although
there is a feeling that too much time has been taken to consult regional
member states on which three officials would be seconded to Jomic.
Indications were the three would come from the Troika countries.

Stakeholders and political parties believe that Sadc, amongst other things,
is expected to resolve the issue of the crisis around the reform of the
security sector, violence that continues to rock various parts of the
country, and the secondment of the three officials to join Jomic.

Macdonald Lewanika, Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition (CIZC) director said
yesterday the coalition expected Sadc to endorse the electoral roadmap
agreed to by the three parties to the coalition government.

“We hope that Sadc will endorse the agreed roadmap towards a free and fair
election,” he said.

“It is also civic society’s expectation that the summit will also follow up
on its resolutions that were made in Sandton that it would send three
officials to work with Jomic in Zimbabwe. That is a resolution that has been
pending and we believe that it is now time these three officials start
working as prescribed by the two summits held recently,” Lewanika said.

He added that Sadc would have done Zimbabwe good by taking a stance against
statements and continuous sloganeering done by members of the military.

“We are worried by the developments in the security sector, especially when
you see army officials such as Douglas Nyikayaramba making political
statements. Our expectation is that Sadc takes a clear position on these
matters.

“We have also noted the partisan approach that has been exhibited by the
police in dealing with the public. More worrisome is the fact that police
would take sides when activists from Zanu PF assault parliamentarians. It is
our view that this matter and others of such a nature will be resolved by
Sadc,” Lewanika added.

SADC urged to stand up to tyranny

http://www.zimonline.co.za/

by James Mombe     Thursday 11 August 2011

JOHANNESBURG – Southern African leaders must enforce their own protocols and
agreements on human rights and democracy under threat in five countries
where authorities have often brutally crushed dissension, civil society
groups said on Wednesday.

The non-governmental organisations (NGOs) meeting in Johannesburg, South
Africa, said the region was facing an “erosion of democracy” and urged
regional leaders to use their summit in Angola next week to show their
commitment to human rights and democracy.

Zimbabwe, where President Robert Mugabe has used loyal security forces to
crackdown on supporters of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, will top the
agenda of the 15-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC).

The summit will also discuss the political situations in Malawi and
Swaziland. A security forces crackdown on anti-government protests in Malawi
last month left 19 people dead, while Swaziland has in recent weeks
witnessed growing protests against King Mswati III, Africa's last absolute
monarch.

The August 17 and 18 summit in Luanda will also discuss Madagascar, which
plunged into crisis following the 2009 ouster of former president Marc
Ravalomanana. Strife-torn Democratic Republic of the Congo where there have
been reports of hunger, disease and mass rape of women will also come up for
discussion.

"We note with deep concern the deteriorating political situation in the
Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Malawi, Swaziland and Zimbabwe,"
Malcolm Damon, head of the Fellowship of Christian Councils in Southern
Africa, told journalists.

Damon called on the SADC to act urgently to tackle the crises in the five
countries where he said authorities have been accused of harassing and even
killing human rights defenders while also suppressing the basic rights and
freedoms of citizens.

He criticised the regional bloc’s ineffective mediation efforts in the
problem countries and urged leaders to "review the SADC conflict resolution
mechanisms to make them more effective."

Boichoko Ditlhake from the SADC Council of Non-Governmental Organisations,
which brings together NGOs working in the region, also called for a fresh
approach to crisis resolution, saying the present mechanism has allowed some
governments to evade censure.

"We need to develop a mechanism that will ensure that SADC enforces its
policies to manage these kinds of issues,” Ditlhake. “Some member states are
always choosing when to be part of SADC and when not to comply, hiding
behind the concept of sovereignty."

The SADC brokered the power-sharing agreement officially known as the global
political agreement (GPA) that gave birth to Mugabe and Tsvangirai’s unity
government.

The regional bloc last month asked Mugabe and Tsvangirai to have concluded
by next week’s summit implementing the GPA, including agreeing an elections
charter or road map that should ensure the next polls are free and fair.

Under a draft election roadmap drawn up by Mugabe’s ZANU (PF) party,
Tsvangirai’s MDC and a breakaway faction of the former opposition that is
also in the unity government, Parliament must first pass amendments to two
key electoral and security Acts, while the chaotic voters’ roll must be
cleaned up and the country adopts a new constitution before polls can take
place.

The parties say they have already reached agreement on most of the issues.
But they remain bitterly divided on security reforms, especially MDC demands
to keep the military out of elections and the withdrawal of the army from
the countryside where Tsvangirai’s party made significant gains in the March
2008 general election. – ZimOnline

Mugabe’s party insists Zuma must quit as mediator ahead of summit

http://www.nation.co.ke/

By KITSEPILE NYATHI, NATION Correspondent, HARARE
Posted  Thursday, August 11  2011 at  18:40

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe’s party has reiterated its calls for
South African President Jacob Zuma to be relieved of his duties as the
country’s mediator.

Zanu PF wants the facilitator’s role discussed at the forthcoming Southern
African Development Community (SADC) summit.

President Zuma will assume the chairmanship of the SADC Organ on Defence,
Politics and Secuirty Cooperation at the Heads of State summit set for
Luanda, Angola next week.

Zanu PF, which formed a unity government with the former opposition Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC) formations in 2009, says the South African
leader cannot be facilitator and chairman of the organ at the same time.

The facilitator reports to the organ on the Zimbabwe political talks now
aimed at creating an environment for free and fair elections.

SADC executive secretary Mr Tomaz Salamao had appeared to be dismissing the
Zanu PF argument last week saying President Zuma’s role will not be
discussed at the summit because he still had the mandate to facilitate the
Zimbabwe talks.

But on Thursday, state media, which represents the Zanu PF line of thinking
in the unity government, criticised Mr Salamao saying he cannot speak on
behalf of SADC because he was just an employee of the regional body.

“Mr Salamo is just an executive secretary and he does not make authoritative
decisions on behalf of the bloc,” the official Herald newspaper said quoting
an unnamed government official.

“The issue of Zimbabwe’s facilitator is for Heads of State to decide on and
he should stop causing unnecessary confusion.

“The whole mediation role in Zimbabwe has got a historical anomaly that is
inconsistent with SADC practices when it comes to facilitation roles.

“The SADC norm on facilitation is to rely on a former Head of State and not
a sitting president. It is only the Zimbabwe case that been subjected to a
sitting president.”

President Zuma’s successor, Mr Thabo Mbeki was the previous facilitator in
the Zimbabwe talks and brokered the power sharing agreement signed in
September 2008, while still South African president.

The spokesman of President Zuma’s facilitation team Ms Lindiwe Zulu has said
there would be no problem with Mr Zuma doubling as the facilitator and
chairman of the SADC organ.

Former Zimbabwe Information Minister Professor Jonathan Moyo, a close ally
of President Mugabe said if SADC insisted that President Zuma takes the two
responsibilities “they will be inviting a clear conclusion that there is a
sinister agenda.”

Prof Moyo precipitated a major diplomatic fallout between Zimbabwe and South
Africa in April when he used the state media to attack President Zuma and
his facilitation team.

This was after President Zuma had tabled a report at a meeting of the SADC
troika in Livingstone, Zambia blaming President Mugabe for the political
violence rocking Zimbabwe and the selective application of the law.

Prof Moyo accused the South African facilitation team of playing to the
whims of Western governments that wanted regime change in Zimbabwe.

“To say President Zuma should execute the two duties is utter nonsense,” the
former minister said.

“Things must be right because of their inherent rationality.

“He should choose one of the two hats because either way he will still be
seized with the Zimbabwe issue.

“The question is which hat he should wear because he cannot wear two because
he does not have two heads.”

President Zuma’s facilitation team has been hailed for refusing to be
intimidated by President Mugabe.

The Zimbabwe crisis has been on top of SADC’s agenda since 2002 and it is
expected to dominate the Angola summit.

Zimbabwe considers dumping US Dollar for Chinese Yuan

http://www.theafricareport.com/

Thursday, 11 August 2011 14:11

Zimbabwe is considering adopting the Chinese Yuan or the South African rand
in the wake of the United State’s debt problems.

The southern African country adopted the use of multiple currencies in 2009
after its dollar was rendered unusable by hyperinflation.

However, the US dollar has been the biggest circulating currency in the
country followed by the rand.

Following the downgrading of the debt of the US last week by the Standard &
Poor (S&P) rating agency, Zimbabwean officials have been calling for a
rethink on the use of the dollar.

S&P dropped the US’s rating to AA+ from the top rating, AAA, based on a lack
of confidence that Congress and President Barack Obama will resolve their
stalemate on how to address America’s worsening debt situation.

Zimbabwean officials say this will have an effect on the US dollar which
will in turn negatively impact the country’s economy.

Killer Zivhu, president of the Zimbabwe Cross Border Association, said if
the Yaun was adopted it will come as a big relief to members of his
association who buy most of their merchandise from China.

“We would rather officially adopt the Yuan or South African rand. The′
dollar is exposing us to unfair business practices,” Zivhu said.

Last September, Vice President Joice Mujuru said Zimbabwe should′ consider
adopting the Chinese Yuan, in line with the country’s policy′ of using
multiple currencies to tackle hyperinflation.′′

Mujuru said adopting the Yuan would be a "natural progression and′ offshoot
of the Look East policy,”

China has already called for a new global reserve currency to avert a
catastrophe caused by any single country.′′

China is the U.S. government’s largest single creditor, with over
$1′trillion locked in treasury bonds as well as more than a trillion in
other′ dollar-denominated assets.

But Tony Hawkins, a professor of economics at the graduate School of
Management at the University of Zimbabwe said “there is no ′obvious
alternative to the US dollar.”

“There is no such thing as a stable currency in the markets,” Hawkins said.

“At present the Euro, British Pound and Chinese Yuan are also shaky.′

“Unfortunately for Zimbabwe we are caught up in the financial mess and′ we
have to live with it”.

Activist of Zimbabwe's Movement for Democratic Change Found Murdered

http://www.voanews.com

10 August 2011

The MDC suspects the murder could be connected with an attack on Ncube
during the 2008 elections by ZANU-PF militants who according to sources in
the party were spotted at the Zhombe shopping center on Friday

Chris Gande | Washington

Elsewhere, a Harare magistrate ruled on Wednesday that seven activists of
the MDC formation of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai being held on charges
of murdering a police official in Glen View in May should be attended to by
government doctors

The Movement for Democratic Change formation of Zimbabwean Industry Minister
Welshman Ncube said Wednesday that its director of elections in Midlands
province, abducted on Friday in Zhombe district, was found murdered on
Tuesday with the body half buried in a shallow grave and his head covered
with a sack.

The MDC said Maxwell Ncube was abducted late on Friday on his way home from
a nearby shopping center in Malamulela village in Zhombe. His wife said she
raised the alarm immediately after his abduction, but a follow-up by
villagers with the assistance of the police did not yield anything until the
discovery of his body.

Party spokesman Nhlanhla Dube tells VOA Studio 7 reporter Jonga Kandemiiri
it is too early to point blame at anyone. But the party suspects the murder
could be connected with an attack on Ncube during the 2008 elections by
ZANU-PF militants. Sources said those ZANU-PF militants were seen at the
Zhombe shopping center Friday.

A close friend and party colleague of the late Ncube, Nduna Nyoni, said the
victim had received a number of threatening phone calls earlier. He said
they suspect that he was killed because of his efforts to galvanize
villagers against ZANU-PF rule.

Police spokesman Oliver Mandipaka said the force had received reports of a
murdered village head in Zhombe, though not an MDC member. He could not be
drawn to say whether the murder was politically-motivated saying
investigations are under way.

Elsewhere, a Harare magistrate ruled on Wednesday that seven activists of
the MDC formation of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai being held on charges
of murdering a police official in Glen View in May should be attended to by
government doctors.

A magistrate last week ordered the state to produce medical affidavits for
the activists, who alleged that they had been battered while in police
custody.

Attorney Jeremiah Bhamu of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights,
representing the MDC activists, said the state once again failed to produce
the affidavits, prompting the magistrate to give the prosecution until
August 17 to do so.

Arrest Ncube’s murderers

Zapu recruits army officers, Zanu (PF), MDC officials

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

Zapu has claimed that senior local officials of Zanu (PF) and the MDCs have
for months been in secret talks to join the Dumiso Dabengwa-led party. But
they were told to stay put until the election date was known.
10.08.1112:31pm
by John Chimunhu

Now Zapu has told The Zimbabwean exclusively that its recent call for
candidates had raked senior retired army officers, war veterans, civil
servants and professionals into the ranks of candidates for the next local
and national elections tentatively scheduled for 2012, but which could be
delayed until 2013.

Zapu spokesperson Methuseli Moyo confirmed the presence of the high-profile
defectors but withheld their identities.

“It is pleasing to note that there are some Zanu (PF), MDC and MDC-T
incumbents, especially councillors, who all along have been itching to join
Zapu. But we advised them to stay where they are until we are certain when
elections would be. We are glad to announce that some of them have made
concrete moves to join the people's party. We will disclose their identities
when it is right for them and the party," Moyo said.

The party recently launched a global call for members willing to represent
the party as electoral candidates to submit their details.

"The response has been overwhelming,” Moyo said. “CVs and applications are
arriving by email from around the country and from the SADC region and from
overseas; some by hand, and others by buses from the hinterland. We are
excited and humbled by the faith shown by the daughters and sons of
Zimbabwe, at home and abroad, in Zapu. This party is the founding and
authentic liberation movement and fighter for human rights and democracy in
Zimbabwe.”

The spokesman said among the prospective candidates were “ordinary citizens,
teachers, doctors, nurses, ex-soldiers, freedom fighters, doctors,
professors, engineers, lawyers, businesspeople”.

He said Zapu had designed a comprehensive 'vetting form' in which candidates
declare all the relevant data about themselves. Provincial vetting
committees had also been set up to go through the applicants and short-list
possible candidates.

These will then be presented to the respective constituencies or wards to
explain themselves and their vision to party members at meetings to be
convened at wards and constituencies.

The final candidates would be chosen by consensus after the presentations,
he added.

More CIO agents revealed in supplementary list (Part One)

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Lance Guma
11 August 2011

Apologies - Due to technical error the list will only be available Friday

After six weeks serializing the leaked 2001 list of CIO agents working in
and outside Zimbabwe, SW Radio Africa will begin publishing a supplementary
list of agents who, for various reasons, might not have been on the previous
document.

Andrew Muzonzini reported to be a Director (Internal) in the CIO hit the
headlines in 2008. Filippo Marucchi-Chierro, a farmer originally from Italy
and owner of a farm in Trelawney, recounted how Muzonzini, “describing
himself as the Political Commissar of the CIO” drove onto his property on
the 12th September 2008.

Andrew, a younger brother to ex-CIO Director-General retired Brigadier
Elisha Muzonzini, demanded that Marucchi-Chierro leave the farm even though
it had not been listed for acquisition. It was during an argument over this
illegal eviction that he produced an AK-47 rifle, pointed it at the farmer
and shouted: "The only thing you guys (white farmers) will understand is if
we use this."

Also on the list is Innocent Chibaya. In January 2005 it was reported that
Chibaya, then chief of the CIO in Matabeleland, was transferred to Mutare by
the now late Vice President Joseph Msika. Chibaya and the head of police in
Bulawayo, Charles Mufandaidze, were accused of torturing ZANU PF youths who
were arrested for supporting a ZANU PF faction opposed to notorious war vets
leader Jabulani Sibanda.

Four of the ZANU PF youths are reported to have approached Msika at his home
and narrated their torture ordeal at the hands of Chibaya and his fellow CIO
agents. Mandlenkosi Sibanda, Tisunge Botomani, Nkosinathi Gama and
Mandlenkosi Luphahla, all removed their clothes to reveal serious injuries
to their private parts and bruises all over their bodies.

Even in Manicaland where he is now the head of the CIO, Chibaya is a
notorious operative. In May 2007 it was reported that Chibaya and Denford
Masiya, a senior intelligence agent in Rusape, were meant to stand trial on
charges of intimidating witnesses into withdrawing violence charges against
supporters of the then State Security Minister Didymus Mutasa. The case was
later swept under the carpet.

Another agent in Chipinge, Joseph Chiminya, led a gang which stormed Ashanti
Farm in 2005. Chiminya and five others savagely attacked farm manager Allen
Warner with hoses and steel pipes. Chiminya wielded an Uzi light machine gun
and pointed it at Warner, but when he tried to fire, the gun jammed. Warner
subsequently attempted to escape on a motorbike but was caught and beaten
up.

On our list this week are also the four CIO agents who took part in the
abduction of former ZBC TV presenter and human rights activist Jestina
Mukoko. In December 2009 Marasike Chitate (alias Chigure), Ndambakuwa,
Maganga and Mhlanga were part of a 7 member gang that abducted Mukoko from
her Norton home around 5am. They pushed her into the back of a truck and
sped off.

Mukoko said they took her to an interrogation room: "First, I was assaulted
underneath my feet with a rubber-like object which was at least one metre
long. Later, I was informed to raise my feet on to a table, and the other
people in the room started to assault me underneath my feet. This assault
lasted for at least five to six minutes. They took a break and then
continued again with the beatings."

No weeks one knew where Mukoko was being held. It was only after 21 days
that she was able briefly, in the presence of police, to see her family.
Without warning she was brought to court on Christmas Eve, alongside other
detainees who had been abducted and held for over 76 days. The detainees
included a 72-year-old man and a two-year-old boy, all facing dubious
terrorism and banditry charges.

Another state security agent in Chimanimani is Brighton Mashopeka Muchuwa.
On Christmas Eve in 2007 he beat to death a Christmas reveler, after
accusing him of showing off with ‘MDC money.’ Muchuwa, a sidekick of wanted
murderer and fellow CIO agent Joseph Mwale, assaulted Charles Sigauke and
his father at their home on Christmas Eve.

Sigauke worked in South Africa and had come back to spend the holidays with
his dad. He died the day after the beating, on Christmas day. Muchuwa
accused Sigauke of being an MDC-T member and spending money given to him by
the MDC-T. Witnesses say at one point Muchuwa lifted Sigauke and slammed him
onto the bonnet of a nearby vehicle.

Both Sigauke and his father were hospitalized in Chimanimani before the son
succumbed to his injuries. Post-mortem results confirmed he died from
internal bleeding. Some reports say Muchuwa was arrested, detained by
police, but then released. At the time SW Radio Africa reported how the
police were reluctant to pursue the matter any further, given he was from
the CIO.

In January 2008 we also reported on how Daniel Romeo Mutsunguma, a CIO agent
who was based at the Zimbabwean embassy in the United States, shot and
killed female MDC activist Tabitha Marume in Rusape. The MDC-T named
Mutsunguma as the man who pulled the trigger and shot the woman in the
stomach. She died on her way to Mutare General Hospital.

Marume was part of a group of seven MDC-T activists who walked to a torture
camp at Manonga School, demanding the release of their colleagues who had
been abducted by soldiers. Pishai Mucharauya, who then was the newly elected
MDC-T MP for Makoni South, said their investigations had revealed that
Mutsunguma’s wife also worked at the Zimbabwe embassy in Washington as a
receptionist.

Next Thursday we focus on more agents on our supplementary list, including
the most notorious, Joseph Mwale.

'Smuggled' Zimbabwean children taken home

http://www.timeslive.co.za

Sapa | 11 August, 2011 10:18

A group of 21 children who were allegedly smuggled into South Africa from
Zimbabwe on Wednesday have been taken home by the Department of Home
Affairs.

Limpopo police spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Mohale Ramatseba said on
Thursday that a 32-year-old Bulawayo man had allegedly helped the children
to cross the Limpopo River into South Africa on Wednesday morning.

"The children were referred to Home Affairs and taken back to Zimbabwe,"
Ramatseba said.

"The Bulawayo man paid a R2000 admission of guilt fine for smuggling
illegally."

Ramatseba said the man had "apparently" been hired by children's parents.

He was to have transported the children, aged between one and 16, to
Johannesburg from Bulawayo.

He was apprehended in South Africa at around 6am on Wednesday while loading
the children into a car in a bushy area between the South African side of
the border and Musina.

The man paid a fine and was handed over to the Zimbabwean police.

"More charges will be preferred against him upon completion of
investigations," Zimbabwean police officer commanding Beitbridge Chief
Superintendent Lawrence Chinhengo told the country's Herald Online
newspaper.

The children were taken under the care of Save the Children Centre in
Zimbabwe while investigations continued.

"We are yet to verify the suspect's claim that he was taking them to their
parents," Chinhengo said.

"The suspect will soon be sent to court and we want to strongly warn all
those involved in such criminal acts that their days are numbered."

Seven other men who were travelling in the same vehicle were also arrested
for contravening the Immigration Act.

Among them, five had valid travel passports though they had opted to leave
the country through an illegal crossing point, said Chinhengo.

Zim children still risking SA border crossing

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Alex Bell
11 August 2011

Zimbabwean children continue to risk crossing the South African border
illegally, with concerns rising that the ongoing crisis back home is leaving
them very vulnerable.

Bishop Paul Verryn from the Central Methodist Church in Johannesburg told SW
Radio Africa on Thursday that in most cases unaccompanied Zim children are
taking the risk for the chance of receiving an education. The church has
been a safe haven to thousands of Zim exiles for a number of years,
including many unaccompanied minors. Verryn explained that education back
home is now out of reach for the majority of children but the option of
schooling is possible in South Africa.

“It’s an amazing phenomenon that youngsters are risking the journey to get
schooling in South Africa,” Verryn said. “It is indicative that there is
definitely a serious problem in Zimbabwe.”

But he warned that seeking education in South Africa carried with it the
risk of falling victim to human trafficking and crime. Verryn was responding
to reports that 21 Zimbabwean children were sent back home this week, after
they were allegedly ‘smuggled’ across the border by a Bulawayo man. The man
was arrested on the South African side of the border on Wednesday, while he
was loading the children into his car. He claims that he was taking them to
their parents in Johannesburg, but this has not yet been verified. He now
faces human trafficking charges, along with seven other men.

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has recently raised
concern that the current economic and employment situation in Zimbabwe has
left young women, men and children vulnerable to human traffickers, who
offer money or better lives. IOM research has found that internal
trafficking of young women and children, for commercial sexual exploitation,
is now a growing problem especially from rural to urban areas.

The IOM’s concerns came on the back of the release of a US report on global
trafficking, which identified Zimbabwe as a “source, transit and
 destination” country for women and children trafficked for the purposes of
forced labour and sexual exploitation in the region. The report said the
unity government has “demonstrated minimal efforts to prevent trafficking.”

Verryn said that everyone “must keep very vigilant, as children on their own
fall victim all the time and they are very vulnerable in South Africa.”

Lawyers for Human Rights meanwhile last month urged the South African
authorities to protect the thousands of Zimbabwean children still entering
the country. Immigration lawyer Samantha Mundeta said the current asylum
system in South Africa does not offer any protection to children, and
instead renders them more vulnerable.

“Foreign unaccompanied children are a voiceless, disenfranchised group who
need greater intervention from civil society actors and policy makers in
order for their plight to be adequately addressed by government officials
who should assume this responsibility for these children,” she said.

 

Mutare based NGO ‘campaigns’ for ZANU PF governor

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Tichaona Sibanda
11 August 2011

Plan International, an NGO that works to promote the rights of children
while trying to lift them out of poverty, has come under fire for ‘wilfully’
letting ZANU PF hijack its projects in Mutare.

MDC-T MP for Mutare West, Shuwa Mudiwa, blasted the NGO for working to
enhance the ‘public face’ of ZANU PF, particularly the governor of the
province, Chris Mushowe.

Mudiwa defeated Mushowe in the 2008 parliamentary elections for Mutare West
and now accuses Plan International of openly campaigning for the governor in
the same constituency.

The MP claimed that Plan International has for years worked with the poor
and the vulnerable in Manicaland without looking at political affiliations,
but that has changed in recent months.

‘Two years ago the NGO built a classroom block at Karirwi secondary school
in ward 18 of Mutare West and the same block was named after Mushowe,’
Mudiwa said.

On Wednesday Plan International handed over an income generating poultry
project to the same school and the MP was not even invited to the ceremony,
despite the fact he lives less than a kilometre from the school. The
governor, Mushowe was the guest of honour. This forced the MP to gatecrash
the function. The NGO donated 2,500 chicks to the school.

‘It’s true I gate crashed the function. I’m the MP for the area and I find
it disturbing that you had the entire ZANU PF leadership in Manicaland
province present and I was not invited. The military too, represented by
Brigadier-General Douglas Nyikayaramba, was there in full force.

‘I confronted Plan International’s Mutare coordinator, Garikayi Nyakudyara,
to explain why I was being excluded from such gatherings. His excuse was
that it was not their responsibility to invite me to such functions but the
community’s prerogative. This was laughable to say the least,’ Mudiwa said.

MDC-T spokesman for Manicaland, Pishai Muchauraya waded into the controversy
by claiming that the NGO’s Mutare coordinator was a ZANU PF functionary.

‘We know Nyakudyara has a position in the ZANU PF provincial leadership. In
fact he works in the security department of ZANU PF. I can repeat this
allegation straight to his face if he wants me to,’ Muchauraya said.

He continued: ‘Where in the world have you seen NGO’s working with the
military. It only happens in war torn countries like Somalia but here in
Zimbabwe, Mutare to be specific you have Plan, an NGO working with ZANU PF
and its military for political purposes. It is clear they are now sponsoring
ZANU PF through the back door.’

SW Radio Africa contacted Plan International Zimbabwe at their Milton Park
office in Harare for comment, but we were referred to their Mutare office
where Nyakudyara is based. A secretary there told us he was not in the
office but promised to phone us back.

Some of the countries who provide funds for Plan International are the UK,
Belgium, Germany, Japan, Canada, the US, Australia, the Netherlands, France,
Norway, Finland, Denmark, Sweden and South Korea.

MDC-T ordered to close down office in Chimanimani

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Tichaona Sibanda
11 August 2011

The Chimanimani Rural District Council has ordered the MDC-T to close down
its office in the area because their operations there ‘contravened planning
statutes, governing land issues.’

A letter signed by the district chief executive officer, P. Deure, advises
the MDC-T to stop operations with immediate effect. The letter adds that
failure to comply with the order will see legal action being taken against
the party.

The office had been donated by farming couple Shane and Birgit Kidd to the
MDC-T MP for Chimanimani, Roy Bennett, following his parliamentary triumph
in 2000.

The couple have for years suffered all manner of assaults, intimidation and
unlawful imprisonments from ZANU PF militia for this gesture to the MDC-T.
Birgit, originally from Finland, told SW Radio Africa on Thursday that the
MDC-T are going to seek legal advice over the matter.

The same office was defaced on Tuesday night by a ZANU PF mob, led by Joshua
Sacco, the deputy national secretary for production in the ZANU PF youth
wing.

Sacco, described by Robert Mugabe as being the last white man standing in
ZANU PF, led a group that sprayed the office block with white paint. Despite
the incident being witnessed by dozens of locals, no one has been arrested.

Several times in the past ZANU PF thugs have seized this property and
attempted to burn it down. They have on occasions painted their own party
insignia over the MDC name. On each of these occasions Shane and Birgit have
gone on to repaint the building and painted over the war vets and ZANU PF
slogans.

This see-saw of events came to a head in 2004 when an angry ZANU PF mob,
wielding rocks and iron bars, attacked the Kidds. They were left with
horrendous injuries with Birgit needing 15 stiches to a head wound.

‘This is a ZANU PF idea to stop the MDC working in Chimanimani. Everything
started fine in 2000 when Roy (Bennett) needed an office. Everything started
to change when they accused Roy of different things,’ Birgit said.

Despite living in exile now, Bennett still enjoys massive local support in
the community, even after he was forced to flee his Charleswood Estate when
the property was violently and unlawfully seized from him by retired army
Major General Mike Nyambuya.

Pardon Maguta, the organizing secretary for the MDC-T in Chimanimani said
since ZANU PF has failed to physically evict them from the property using
violence, they’ve resorted to using another route.

‘ZANU PF is now using the district council to evict us from the area and
stop us doing our work. This will not work and we have on many occasions won
court orders to use this office, so basically nothing has changed,’ Maguta
said.

Suspected Zanu (PF) Hooligans Ransack MDC Offices

http://www.radiovop.com

Mutare, August 11, 2011- Suspected Zanu (PF) supporters on Tuesday night
defaced the Morgan Tsvangirai led Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T)
Chimanimani district offices, ahead of the Chimanimani Arts festival which
starts in the resort town on Friday.

The suspected Zanu (PF) supporters descended on the building at night and
broke window panes before scrapping off the party logo and name from the
walls.

The building which is owned by the Kidd family is located about 500 metres
from the venue of the festival.

Birgit Kidd , a member of the family who is also the MDC-T ‘s Manicaland
Provincial Secretary for Policy and Research told Radio VOP in an interview
that she suspected the defacing of the building  was meant to prevent
festival revellers from admiring and viewing the party name ,logo and
slogans which were inscribed on the building.

“It appears the culprits were many because they used sharp objects to scrap
the walls.  In some instances they used white pant to rub the words. Some
even climbed the roof to rub the inscriptions. This is real desperation,”
said Birgit.

Birgit said the family has already made a formal police report about the
incident.

“We have made a formal police report this morning. We have information that
a senior Zanu (PF) official was involved in this barbaric operation. The
police have promised to investigate the issue,” said Birgit.

Zanu (PF) has on numerous occasions threatened to take over the building and
the family’s Saw mill, accusing the family of supporting the MDC. The Kidd
family which is close to Roy Bennett, arrived in the area more than 40 years
ago and has been assisting the local people.

Zim bank robber in SA escape

http://www.zimonline.co.za

by Own Corespondent     Thursday 11 August 2011

JOHANNESBURG – Zimbabwean bank robber Bongani Moyo escaped from a Pretoria
court on Wednesday, the second time the notorious criminal who is allegedly
linked to more than 30 bank robberies here has escaped from custody.

Police said they had launched a manhunt for Moyo, who is on crutches but
managed to escape after he was left apparently unattended while awaiting his
appearance in court.

"It is alleged that Moyo, who is on crutches, was not locked up inside the
cell and or in shackles. He was sitting between court 16 and 17 and escaped
through court 16," said police Captain Katlego Mogale.

Police were also investigating possible negligence that could have afforded
Moyo, who previously escaped from Boksburg prison last March, his second
chance to make it for freedom.

Moyo, who when arrested will face an additional charge of escaping from
lawful custody, was re-arrested in May near the Beitbridge border post after
returning to South Africa to seek medical treatment.

The police, who did not disclose Moyo’s ailment, said they believed he had
fled to Zimbabwe to avoid capture but was forced to return to South Africa
because he needed "urgent medical attention".  -- ZimOline

Zimbabwe reduces penalties on ownership transfer law

http://af.reuters.com

Thu Aug 11, 2011 4:00pm GMT

By Nelson Banya

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe has reduced penalties for foreign companies that
violate a government mandate to sell a majority of their shares to locals,
according to a government notice obtained on Thursday.

Penalties for offences including falsifying shareholdings and company
valuations will range from three to twelve months in jail, down from the
previous five years imprisonment, the notice said.

Zimbabwe has given foreign-owned mines up to September 30 to transfer a
majority shareholding to local blacks under a 2008 law driven by President
Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF party.

Impoverished Zimbabwe does not have the money to pay for majority stakes in
the mining firms and is likely using the ownership laws as a way to extract
concessions and cash from foreign companies looking to tap into the
resource-rich country's mineral wealth, analysts have said.

The world's two leading platinum miners, AngloPlat and Implats, have
operations in Zimbabwe, while Rio Tinto runs a diamond mine in the country.

Mugabe's uneasy partner in a power-sharing government set up two years ago
after a disputed 2008 election, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, has
criticised the law, saying it threatens the country's fragile economic
recovery.

Court orders medical treatment for Glen View activists

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Tererai Karimakwenda
11 August, 2011

A Harare court ruled on Wednesday that the 7 MDC-T activists, still detained
in the case of the murdered policeman in Glen View, must be allowed to have
urgent medical treatment.

This is the second time a court has ordered prison officials to allow them
to see an independent doctor, after they sustained injuries from alleged
police torture while in detention. The first ruling was issued by the court
last month, but arrangements were blocked by the prison officials.

The seven are part of a group of 24 MDC-T members who were rounded up
randomly by the police after officer Petros Mutedza was killed in Glen View.
The other 17 were bailed last month. Witnesses say the cop was killed by
unknown assailants at a pub.

The activists, detained at Harare Remand and Chikurubi prisons, have been
receiving only pain killers for their injuries for at least 2 months now as
prison officials continue to ignore the court order. Defense lawyer Jeremiah
Bamu described the injuries as “quite severe” and progressively getting
worse.

“The delay can be attributed to a reluctance by prison officials to allow
private doctors to come in, even though they have inadequate facilities
there,” lawyer Bamu told SW Radio Africa on Thursday. He added that the
order granted Wednesday was more specific than the previous ruling.

Regarding the injuries, Bamu said Glen View Councillor Tungamirai Madzokera
sustained a broken left hand that is still in a plaster. Stanford Maengahama
has a loose tooth that a nurse said had needed to be removed in June and
Yvonne Musarurwa has a fractured right hand.

“From the date of arrest on May 29th up till now they were seen by a doctor
only once and he did not examine them. He only came to record medical
affidavits for the court,” the lawyer explained. The affidavits have still
not been delivered to the court and this is causing more delays in the case.

Bamu said the state has also delayed processing indictment papers that are
needed by the defense in order to assess the evidence against their clients.

“This is an indication that they have no evidence and they are seeking to
prolong their stay in detention for as long as they possibly can”, he said.

The MDC-T said those still in custody are Councillor Madzokera, Rebecca
Mafukeni, Yvonne Musarurwa, brothers Stanford and Lazarus Maengahama, Lloyd
Chitanda and Phineas Nhatarikwa.

All 24 activists are due in court again on August 19th.

Meanwhile the MDC Youth Assembly issued a statement on Thursday demanding
the release of the Glen View activists. “Justice delayed is justice denied.
Free them now,” the youth said.

They also accused the state of “dragging” the case because “it has no
evidence of the actual sequence of events” that occurred on the day in
question.

Britain Donates US$1 Million To Avert Cholera in Zimbabwe

http://www.radiovop.com

Harare, August 11, 2011 - Britain has come to the aid of Zimbabwe’s
struggling councils by providing US$1 million for the procurement of water
treatment chemicals

The money to be provided through Department of International Development
(DFID) will help sustain a programme where UNICEF was buying water treatment
chemicals on behalf of the local authorities to avert cholera outbreaks.

The chemicals will be provided through the water and sanitation programme
that will directly benefit four million Zimbabweans, the British embassy
announced on Wednesday two days after President Robert Mugabe's vitriolic
attack on country's former colonial master.

“Britain will provide over US$130 million in development support for health,
water and sanitation, education and improved livelihoods for the ordinary
Zimbabwean,” said Dave Fish, the head of DFID in Zimbabwe in a statement.

“None of this will be more important that the contribution to the prevention
of water borne diseases.”

The programme that is being implemented by UNICEF will meet the water
purification of 20 local authorities across the country, the embassy said.

“It will help curb the outbreak of diseases such as cholera, which is
threatening again due to the deterioration in the water and sanitation
facilities in the country,” the statement added.

Apart from the United Kingdom, AusAid, the European Union and the United
Nations are also supporting the UNICEF programme.

In May, government announced that it had reached a new arrangement with
UNICEF that will see the UN agency extending the assistance for a further
nine months within which period it will cut its support by 10 percent each
month.

UNICEF would supply the water treatment chemicals until March next year
where it is expected the local authorities would have recovered from the
collapse spawned by the economic problems that preceded the unity
government.

Despite slapping targeted sanctions on President Robert Mugabe and his inner
circle as a member of the EU, Britain has remained one of Zimbabwe’s biggest
donors.

Heroes Day Woes For MDC Supporters

http://www.radiovop.com/

Masvingo, August 10, 2011-Six Morgan Tsvangirai led Movement for Democratic
Change youths were brutalised by Zanu (PF) supporters suspected to be war
veterans while two female supporters were stripped naked for allegedly
wearing their party regalia at Heroes day celebrations at Bhasera business
centre on Monday.

Villagers and shoppers at the business centre were left shell shocked after
the two ladies, Grace Mtungwa and Lillian Gwangudza were left in total
nudeness after their MDC clothes were torn to pieces by the war veterans who
accused them of putting on regalia from sell outs and puppets as districts
celebrations were being held.

The other youths who were assaulted said they sustained serious injuries
from the beatings and were accused of defying a long time order not to wear
MDC regalia in their district by the boisterous war
veterans led by Cde Admire Mufara.

“We were approached by a group of war veterans led by Mufara who led the
2008 violence here and accused us of defying their order. He accused us
undermining and showing disrespect to war
veterans who died in the liberation struggle by wearing MDC T/shirts on the
day their lives was being commemorated”.
“They beat us up very hard we sustained injuries some were even referred to
Masvingo General Hospital but they couldn’t go there because of cash
constraints,” said Taurai Makonese one of the victims.

The other youths who were assaulted are Tangai Makamure, Joseph Nyemba, Mike
Madambi, Jotam Masiyambiri and Trouble Matambura.

MDC Gutu east constituency, Youth Chairman, Tichivangani Gonese condemned
the assaults.

“We totally condemn the beating of our youths by Zanu (PF) war veterans for
wearing their party regalia. This shows that Zanu (PF) has a history of
violence. But we want to warn them that if they continue to beat our youths
we will mobilise and fight back to defend our selves, we will not continue
to fold our hands and watch them beat us,” said Gonese.

MDC supporters in Gutu were also chased from the Heroes celebrations by the
war veterans who labeled them sell-outs. Gonese said although their youths
reported the case to the police no arrests has been made and Police
spokesperson here, Inspector Tinaye Matake declined to comment.

PTUZ warns govt over teachers’ salaries

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

By Godfrey Mtimba
Thursday, 11 August 2011 15:45

MASVINGO - Militant teachers’ body, Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe
(PTUZ), has warned government to increase their salaries to levels above the
Poverty Datum Line (PDL) or face a “massive” strike when schools open for
the final term next month.

PTUZ president Takavafira Zhou told the Daily News that his union was
already mobilising and consulting its membership in preparation for the
strike that he said would paralyse the education sector ahead of public
examinations.

Zhou said his organisation was not amused by the recent salary increment
which he described as an “insult”.

Teachers are getting just about half of the poverty datum line, which hovers
around $500 after the salary increment.

Previous PTUZ efforts to strike over pay have largely been unsuccessful as
teachers chose to attend classes rather than miss out on incentives paid by
parents.

“Teachers have resolved to embark on a shattering strike next term,” Zhou
said, adding that coalition government partners were not taking the matter
of salaries seriously.

“The strike will be the mother of all strikes as this time all teachers are
in agreement and those who have a habit of disturbing such activities will
be caught in the cross fire. We are seriously warning of an impending danger
to the education sector,” Zhou said.

PTUZ has in the past accused larger teachers’ body Zimta of sabotaging
attempts by teachers to strike. Zimta has been calling for dialogue as a way
forward. Most teachers are surviving on extra lessons and incentives by
parents hence would rather continue to report for work and salvage these
perks.

Zhou warned political parties who use youth militia to terrorise teachers
during such job actions that PTUZ would be preparing defence mechanisms to
ensure that the strike succeeded.

“PTUZ is also warning political parties to tame their rogue youth militia
who are terrorising teachers in schools,” he said.

“Schools are no go areas for such unemployable political malcontents. We
will not stand and watch our colleagues harassed and tortured for no
apparent reason.

Threats and harassment to one is to every teacher everywhere in the
 country,” he added.

Chipangano feeds on Mbare vagrant prophetess

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

By Own Correspondent
Thursday, 11 August 2011 15:43

HARARE - They usually hang around Mbare getting high on marijuana and cheap
alcohol while waiting for the next assignment from their political handlers.

Members of Zanu PF vigilante group, Chipangano, make a living from paltry
handouts doled by party officials every time they are deployed to cause
violence on behalf of their party.

They are a vicious lot and have become the face of Zanu PF’s violent
campaigns in Harare.

But they have found a new pre-occupation in recent days.

A vagrant drawing huge crowds because of her claims to be a wonder miracle
worker near the Mbare main bus terminus has become Chipangano’s new source
of income.

Youthful members of the militia have taken over “security” at the open space
where the vagrant prophetess is based.

They control the large crowd and charge as much as $20 as bribe to
facilitate desperate salvation seekers’ access to the prophetess, whose
healing powers have become talk of the town.

The Daily News witnessed Chipangano members fleecing people flocking to the
shrine before spending the money on booze.

Mai Praise, as the vagrant prophetess is known, started off by staying at
the open space with her family before turning into a crowd puller after
“exhibiting magical powers”.

Her “home and shrine” is an open ground two metres away from a public
toilet.

A constant stream of raw stinking sewer flows half a metre away while a few
blankets and clothes, her only earthly possessions, are piled nearby.

Yet hundreds of people flock there to have a feel of her “miracles”.
Witnesses claim she has healed the blind and ordered the lame to walk.

For Chipangano, the vagrant prophetess has come as manna from heaven.

Those fleeced include dozens of people on wheelchairs who flock to the
“shrine” hoping for salvation.

Mean looking militia from Chipangano were drinking beer as early as eight in
the morning next to where the vagrant prophetess’ belongings were piled when
the Daily News visited the area this week.

Some were taking charge of queues that were forming while the vagrant woman
prepared to begin her work for the day.
Two police officers chatted away with some members of the public, seemingly
oblivious to the public drinking crime happening right under their noses.

Because some people seeking deliverance from the vagrant prophetess are
opting to sleep in the open at the “shrine” to enhance their chances of
accessing her, Chipangano members have to work from very early in the
morning.

“They charge as much as $20 for one to jump the queue,” said one woman
identifying herself as Mai Tonderai.
So rife was Chipangano’s extortion of “patients” that the vagrant prophetess
had at one time threatened to direct evil spirits she would have cased from
patients to them, people who have been following the vagrant prophetess’
work said.

After the warning the group relented but only for a while.

“These people (Chipangano) think money grows on trees. They have become a
law unto themselves and do not even give a hoot about the police who are
actually here as you can see,” said a man who claimed to have spent close to
a week at the “shrine”.

While being clearly the dominant force, Chipangano members are not the only
ones feeding off the vagrant prophetess, who charges only $1 for her
services.

Already, there are two more people claiming to part of the vagrant
prophetess’ crew, resulting in the formation of two separate queues
meandering for about fifty metres.

ZCTU invites Vavi

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

By Chengetai Zvauya, Senior Writer
Thursday, 11 August 2011 15:33

HARARE - The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Union (ZCTU) has invited firebrand
South African labour and social activist, Zwelinzima Vavi, to officiate at
its elective congress to be held in Bulawayo next week.

ZCTU secretary-general Wellington Chibebe told the Daily News that it would
be happy to have Vavi as the guest of honour. The invitation was sent
through the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu).

“We sent a letter to Cosatu, and they acknowledged that they will be sending
their representative to our congress. It might be Vavi if he is not busy. We
hope he will be able to attend our congress and if he fails to come they
have told us they will send one of their leaders,’’ said Chibebe.

Vavi, a known critic of President Robert Mugabe, has had a run in with the
country’s law enforcement agents before.
He was deported on two occasions in 2005 and 2006 by Mugabe’s government.

The first time in 2005 he led a fact finding mission to assess conditions
for holding fair and free elections. He was summarily deported in a border
jumper style after he was locked up in a van and driven to Beitbridge border
post where he was dumped in no man’s land between South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Vavi was again deported at the Harare International Airport in 2006 after he
was invited to be the guest of honour at ZCTU’s 2006 congress.

Vavi and other Cosatu trade unionists were also barred from entering
Zimbabwe in 2006 to attend the ZCTU congress where Vavi was to be the guest
honour.

Chibebe said several other international and continental trade union
movements have also been invited.

“The trade unions from Malawi and Zambia have  confirmed that they are going
to send their delegations and we are also going to have trade unions from
Britain, Norway, Netherlands,Sweden and USA who have confirmed their
attendance at the congress,’’ said outgoing ZCTU secretary general.

The labour movement, which gave birth to the mainstream MDC party, has
invited Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, who is its former secretary
general and other officials from his party who horned their political
careers with the labour movement.

“The PM indicated that he will be coming if he is not caught up in other
programmes as I understand that he is going to Angola for the Sadc Summit."

“If he is free, he will be amongst of our senior honorary members who
include Deputy Prime Minister Thokhozani Khupe and the minister of Labour
and Social Welfare Paurina Mpariwa,’’said Chibebe.

ZCTU will have its elective congress next week, in which the new ZCTU
leaders will be chosen.

The new leadership is expected to lead the once popular labour movement for
the next five years.

The Congress will be held under the theme  Respect our Rights Protect our
Jobs and Economy.

Parliament To Hold Public Hearings On Electoral Amendment Bill

http://www.voanews.com

10 August 2011

Douglas Mwonzora, chairman of the committee on constitutional affairs, said
public meetings will begin August 24 in major urban centers and smaller
towns like Beitbridge, Rusape, Chiredzi, Gokwe, Plumtree and Mutoko

Irwin Chifera & Sandra Nyaira | Washington

Deputy Prime Minister Thokozani Khupe said Zimbabwean women should reject
the draft constitution in the referendum expected early next year if it does
not set a 50 percent quota for women for parliamentary seats

Officials on the Zimbabwe Parliament's committee on justice, legal and
constitutional affairs say they will hold national public hearings on the
Electoral Amendment Bill despite disruptions of similar meetings on the
Human Rights Commission Bill last month.

Committee Chairman Douglas Mwonzora of the Movement for Democratic Change
formation of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said it is very important for
members of the public to participate in the hearings on the new electoral
dispensation.

Mwonzora said public meetings will begin August 24 in major urban centers
and smaller towns such as Beitbridge, Rusape, Chiredzi, Gokwe, Plumtree and
Mutoko.

Security is an issue, and Mwonzora said that Clerk of Parliament Austin
Zvoma will be communicating with Police Commissioner General Augustine
Chihuri to ask that the Zimbabwe Republic Police protect legislators and
citizens taking part.

Last month suspected ZANU-PF youth activists burst into Parliament and beat
legislators and journalists during a hearing on the Zimbabwe Human Rights
Commission Bill.

No arrests were made at the time, however, as police stood by during the
incident.

Mwonzora warned that those who choose to sing or otherwise to disrupt
meetings such as happened during parliamentary hearings on the Zimbabwe
Human Rights Commission Bill run the risk that their views will not be taken
into account.

Irene Petras, executive director of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights,
said the question of violence during parliamentary meetings must be urgently
addressed.

Petras said authorities must take action against the police if they continue
to stand by without moving to arrest the perpetrators of such disturbances.

The Electoral Amendment Bill proposes a number of changes to the existing
electoral law with a view to promoting free and fair elections.

Elsewhere, Deputy Prime Minister Thokozani Khupe said Zimbabwean women
should reject the draft constitution in the referendum expected to be held
early next year if it does not provide for a 50 percent quota for women for
seats in Parliament.

Khupe said she will campaign for a “No” vote on the constitution by women if
their demand for what is termed 50-50 representation is not met. She was
speaking at the relaunch in Harare this week of the 50-50 Campaign, first
launched in 2006, before the Southern African Development Community adopted
a similar protocol on gender.

Spokeswoman Tsitsi Mhlanga of the Women in Politics Support Unit, heading
the drive to put more women in decision-making positions, told VOA reporter
Sandra Nyaira that efforts to put a 50-50 policy in place are being
frustrated by political parties.

Gukurahundi probe on, 'We want proper investigations'

http://www.bulawayo24.com/

by Hon Severino Tall Chambati
2011 August 11 18:25:13

Parliamentarians are pushing for the establishment of a special committee to
look into the 1980s mass killings that left over 20 000 people dead in
Matebeleland and Midlands provinces.

This follows a motion on national healing, cohesion and respect of victims
of pre and post independence political conflicts that was moved by Hon.
Severino Tall Chambati, the MP for Hurungwe East in the House of Assembly
last week.

"The people in Matebeleland have never asked for money for compensation.
They have only demanded for time and opportunity to be heard.

"A time to meet face to face with the perpetrators of the Gukurahundi era
saying, 'my friend I am sorry' and genuinely" Mbizo MP, Hon. Settlement
Chikwinya said.

The legislator said the country could not afford to rubbish this moment and
say it was a moment of madness when the person who was mad is still in
office.

"Here is a person who says this was a moment of madness, but Mr. Madman you
are still in office administering this country. This person can still be mad
anytime," said Hon. Chikwinya.

"In the, NewsDay, one Cabinet minister (Samuel Sipepa Nkomo) came out
actually highlighting or articulating his experience of the Gukurahundi era.
"If you can see a senior member of our community at the level of a Cabinet
minister still being haunted by these moments, then the nation is not
healed," he said.

As a party, the MDC has been calling for the establishment of a Truth and
Reconciliation Commission (TRC) over the mass killings that took place
during the Gukurahundi period.

This week, the Speaker of the House of Parliament and MDC National
Chairperson, Hon. Lovemore Moyo said he fully backed the issue of setting up
a new special committee to deal with the massacres.

"This issue really touches my heart, and MPs who move this motion will have
my full support. We want proper investigations on Gukurahundi, we want to
know who killed people during this period and why the people were killed.

"The results of this committee will be made public unlike previous
investigations where results are still not known up to now," he said.

In 1984, the Simplicius Chihambakwe Commission of Inquiry was tasked to
investigate the Gukurahundi atrocities, but its findings were never made
public after Zanu PF blocked them.

Hon. Chikwinya said Zanu PF continued to fail in showing any political will
as the people of Zimbabwe pursued for an environment where they can live
peacefully without harming each other.

"(Robert) Mugabe was calling for people to shun violence at the New Zim
Steel formerly Zisco Steel in Redcliff.

"There is no political will in Zimbabwe especially from the part of Zanu PF.
As I speak right now the (MDC) district youth chairperson for Mbare (Ayaya
Kassim) has been defaced by political youths identified to be from Zanu PF.

"They poured hot cooking oil on his face and he is currently being treated.

You can see that all the political violence which has happened in Mbare is
being led by Chipangano, there is no political will on the part of Zanu PF
to achieve national healing," said Hon. Chikwinya.

Kassim was left seriously injured after his face was scalded with hot
cooking oil and is admitted in hospital.

Hon Chikwinya said at the New Zim Steel official opening, Mugabe had spoken
against any form of violence.

"What is disturbing is that while the head of Zanu PF is softening up and
preaching the message of non-violence, the body is stiff, hard and
ejaculating violence on the other hand," he said.

Hon. Chikwinya said because of Zanu PF's grandstanding, Zimbabwe had not yet
healed and there was need to create a process where the people are given a
platform to air their views.

He called for a review of the annual budget of the Organ on National Healing
and Reconciliation which received less than US$4 million this year.

"This means that it is less than one trip of Mugabe to the UN in a month.
Mugabe spends US$4 million for him to travel with 60 people to New York to
attend a Gender Youth Conference which money amounting to more than the
budget for the organ of national healing.

Hon. Willard Chimbetete, Nyanga North MP said Zanu PF should practice what
they preach.

In 1984, the Simplicius Chihambakwe Commission of Inquiry was tasked to
investigate the Gukurahundi atrocities, but its findings were never made
public after Zanu PF blocked them

"They should change the way they do things so that everyone will live in
peace and harmony. National healing should be found in rural areas as well
to encourage proper representation," Hon. Chimbetete said.

He said one Mr Nyamutowa, aCopac member was evicted from his Stockdale farm
in Nyanga North by a group of Zanu PF members led by one Bande who were
jealousy of the potato yield Nyamutowa had produced.

'We are no longer going to ask for the land', Mugabe's memorable quotes

http://www.bulawayo24.com

by Matthews Estell
2011 August 11 16:03:11

Mugabe has once again come out with his legendary outbursts amid political,
financial and social disorder being experienced in the west. "Britain I
understand is on fire, London especially and we hope they can extinguish
their fire, pay attention to their internal problems and to that fire which
is now blazing all over, and leave us alone." he said.

Here are some of his unforgettable quotes

No .1 We are not hungry... Why foist this food upon us? We don't want to be
choked. We have enough.

No .2 We don't mind having sanctions banning us from Europe. We are not
Europeans.

No .3 If the choice were made, one for us to lose our sovereignty and become
a member of the Commonwealth or remain with our sovereignty and lose the
membership of the Commonwealth, I would say let the Commonwealth go.

No .4 In most recent times, as the West started being hostile to us, we
deliberately declared a Look East policy.

No .5 It may be necessary to use methods other than constitutional ones.

No .6 Our party must continue to strike fear in the heart of the white man,
our real enemy!

No .7 Our votes must go together with our guns. After all, any vote we shall
have, shall have been the product of the gun. The gun which produces the
vote should remain its security officer - its guarantor. The people's votes
and the people's guns are always inseparable twins.

No .8 People are free to campaign and they will be free to vote. There won't
be any soldiers, you know, at the queues. Anyone who has the right to vote
is free to go and cast his vote anywhere in his own area, in his own
constituency.

No .9 So, Blair keep your England, and let me keep my Zimbabwe.

No .10 Some people are contriving ways and means of making us collapse.

No .11 Stay with us, please remain in this country and constitute a nation
based on national unity.

No .12 The land is ours. It's not European and we have taken it, we have
given it to the rightful people... Those of white extraction who happen to
be in the country and are farming are welcome to do so, but they must do so
on the basis of equality.

No .13 The only white man you can trust is a dead white man.

No .14 The white man is not indigenous to Africa. Africa is for Africans.
Zimbabwe is for Zimbabweans.

No .15 True, some land was bought by a few Cabinet Ministers. They bought
the land. No minister, to my knowledge acquired land which was meant for
resettlement.

No .16 Was it not enough punishment and suffering in history that we were
uprooted and made helpless slaves not only in new colonial outposts but also
domestically.

No .17 We are no longer going to ask for the land, but we are going to take
it without negotiating.

No .18 Countries such as the U.S. and Britain have taken it upon themselves
to decide for us in the developing world, even to interfere in our domestic
affairs and to bring about what they call regime change.

No .19 I wish to assure you that there can never be any return to the state
of armed conflict which existed before our commitment to peace and the
democratic process of election under the Lancaster House agreement.

No .20 We have said the first step was to designate the land, inform the
owners. And the second would be to get the responses from the owners. And
this will be openly done.

No .21 We of Africa protest that, in this day and age, we should continue to
be treated as lesser human beings than other races.

No .22 We pride ourselves as being top, really, on the African ladder... We
feel that we have actually been advancing rather than going backwards.

No .23 "...genetically modified because of their criminal ancestry."

No .24 Although independence had come, it had come to us only political
terms, some other people continued and still continue to deprive us of our
economic independence.

Is the EU trivialising human rights abuse in Zimbabwe?

By Clifford Chitupa Mashiri, 11/08/11

News reports that the European Union is to lift its ban on Zimbabwe’s ‘blood
diamonds’ despite torture claims (Telegraph.co.uk, 08/08/11) are very
disturbing and could have serious implications.

Zimbabwe’s diamond civil society will be justified to feel betrayed by the
European Union and its partners if the ban is lifted without a serious
commitment by Zimbabwe to demilitarise Marange diamond fields and probe the
massacres of 2008 and the torture camps.

According to the BBC panorama programme broadcast worldwide on Monday 8th
August 2011, ‘victims spoke of massacre in Zimbabwe diamond fields’. One of
the torture camps the BBC identified, called Diamond Base, is about a mile
from Mbada mine.

Most shocking is the claim by the British Minister for Africa, Henry
Bellingham that his country supports exports from two Marange mines that met
Kimberley standards, ‘subject to ongoing monitoring’ (New York Times,
08/08/11).

Amazingly, one of the two mines is Mbada run by Robert Mhlanga, a Mugabe
ally who is on the EU and US sanctions list. Similarly The Zimbabwe Mining
and Development Corporation which partners Mbada is also on the EU and US
sanctions list.

Any premature lifting of the Marange gems ban would be a big slap in the
face of human rights organisations which are calling for justice and the
upholding of the rule of law as a pre-condition for exports from the
controversial sites.

One of the serious implications of lifting the ban on ‘blood diamonds’ is
its threat to the ethical jewellery trade as echoed by Annie Dunnebacke of
Global Witness when she said: “At this point, the consumer has no idea what
they’re getting at jewellery stores. And retailers have no way of telling
consumers if a diamond has been produced without human rights abuses”
(theecologist.org, 08/08/11).

As a result, there is now a risk of the Kimberley Process splitting into
‘the ethical and the non ethical trading blocs’ with big consequences for
the world diamond industry. A notable development is the launch Wednesday 10
August by the Rapaport Group of “three important initiatives” (Diamonds.net,
10/08/11).

The initiatives comprise a Diamond Price Index (RAPI), the Rapaport Diamond
Fund to provide ‘investment grade diamonds’ and the Rapaport Ethical
Certification. In a statement the Group said:

“The Rapaport Group will be introducing and implementing a certification
system for ethical diamonds. The system will track diamonds from the source
to polished diamonds and then on to finished jewellery.”

Zimbabweans would like to see the whole country benefiting from the
lucrative proceeds from the Marange diamond fields which up-to now have been
shrouded in secrecy amidst on-going rights abuses.

However, the next few months are critical to the survival of the Kimbeley
Process whose credibility has been severely dented by disclosures of torture
camps at Marange diamond fields. People will keep asking: Is the EU
trivialising human rights abuse in Zimbabwe?

Clifford Chitupa Mashiri, Political Analyst, London,
zimanalysis2009@gmail.com

Bill Watch 32/2011 of 10th August [Parliament Adjourns for End of Session]