Zimbabwe gem sale stirs 'blood diamond' fears

Associated Press

Aug 11, 6:18 PM EDT

By MICHELLE FAUL
Associated Press Writer

JOHANNESBURG (AP) -- Zimbabwe auctioned 900,000 carats of rough gems
Wednesday from a diamond field where human rights groups say soldiers killed
200 people, raped women and enslaved children.

It was the first public sale of diamonds from the notorious Marange field in
eastern Zimbabwe since international regulators imposed a ban in November
under rules designed to screen out conflict gems.

The sale happened to coincide with the "blood diamonds" phase of the war
crimes trial of Charles Taylor, the former Liberian president. Taylor's case
and the Zimbabwe sale are unrelated, but both point to the successes and
difficulties facing the campaign to regulate the trade in diamonds that has
helped finance wars in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Angola, Congo and now Ivory
Coast.

The auction in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, went ahead after the gems
were certified as conflict-free by Abbey Chikane, a monitor for the
Kimberley Process that oversees trade in the diamonds. Chikane had
established that soldiers were gone from two fenced-off commercial mines
producing the diamonds, and that the mines were operating according to
"minimum international standards."

In the rest of the field, where Zimbabwe's military still holds sway and
abuses reportedly continue, a ban on diamonds remains in place. But there is
no guarantee its product won't infiltrate into the legitimately mined
stones.

The arrangement so angered American gem trader Martin Rapaport that in
February he quit as president of the World Diamond Council. "The tragedy of
Zimbabwe is that the Kimberley Process has started legitimizing, legalizing,
kosherizing blood diamonds," he said in a telephone interview from Israel as
the auction got under way.

He said it made Kimberley participants "liars who are telling the world that
these diamonds are legitimate."

The Kimberley Process was set up in 2002. Its members are 75
diamond-producing and diamond-trading countries, along with industry
agencies and civic and human rights bodies such as London-based Global
Witness.

Stephane Chardon, chairman of the Kimberley monitoring group, said it
deserved credit for the original ban on Marange diamonds and for ensuring
that the two fenced-off mines were being properly run.

He noted that the Kimberley rules apply only to blood diamonds mined and
sold by rebel movements or their allies to finance armed conflicts aimed at
toppling legitimate governments. It has no provision for punishing
governments.

Chardon said the system has helped. "In quite a few countries it has
contributed to changing conflict diamonds into development diamonds, in the
sense that the revenues are going to the government and are used for
development purposes and not for conflict."

The Marange field was discovered in 2006 and is believed to be the biggest
found in the world since the 19th century. It triggered a chaotic diamond
rush until police and then the army moved in.

Human Rights Watch says the Zimbabwe government still has not kept its word
to withdraw soldiers completely from the Marange fields, and that it found
conditions there "quite appalling" as recently as May.

"We found that people were still being forced to mine, to dig for diamonds
at gunpoint by the army, by soldiers," said senior researcher Tiseke
Kasambala of the area outside the two fenced off mines. "We found children
as young as 11 still working in these mines."

Buyers from Belgium, Russia, India, Israel, Lebanon and the United Arab
Emirates flew into Harare on private aircraft to inspect the stones and
present bids in sealed envelopes. They refused to speak to reporters.

"Buyers were extremely interested and the pricing was satisfactory," said
David Castle, director of Mbada Diamonds and chairman of the South African
New Reclamation Group that offered the diamonds for sale.

Global Witness campaigner Elly Harrowell said that instead of expelling
Zimbabwe from the Kimberley process as recommended last year by Kimberley
Process investigators who were sent to Marange, "What we have instead is a
weak compromise."

She said that unless Zimbabwe kept its promise to withdraw all troops and
fulfill other promised improvements, the Kimberley Process should "act very,
very quickly" to prevent Marange gems from being exported.

The compromise was reached after a Zimbabwe court released human rights
activist Farai Maguwu, who was jailed for more than a month after
publicizing abuses at the diamond fields.

Human rights groups say the deal also helped avert a crisis in the
international diamond market, since President Robert Mugabe was threatening
to sell stones without certification.

Zimbabwe's mines minister, Obert Mpofu, said Wednesday the country has 4.5
million Marange diamonds in stock, valued at up to $1.9 billion - one third
of the national debt of a country whose economy has been ruined by
corruption, mismanagement and Mugabe's campaign against the country's
white-minority farmers.

 

Mugabe thanks China for steadfast support

(AFP) - 13 hours ago

SHANGHAI - Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe Wednesday thanked China for
its steadfast support as he visited the World Expo in Shanghai and called
for help in reviving his country's shattered economy.

Mugabe expressed his deep gratitude to Beijing and called for deeper
cooperation, at a time when his country is struggling with a decade of acute
food shortages.

"China has always stood by Zimbabwe," Mugabe said as he presided over
Zimbabwe Day at the Expo.

"It is thus natural and logical for us to forge a strategic relationship
with an all-weather friend as the People's Republic of China."

China is not a party to international sanctions on Mugabe, who is the
subject of a Western travel ban and asset freeze.

He spoke a day after the United Nations' food agencies said 133,000 tonnes
of food aid would be needed to help 1.68 million Zimbabweans between now and
the next harvest in May.

Once a breadbasket of southern Africa, Zimbabwe's food shortages have been
brought on by drought and Mugabe's crippling land-reform programme.

Mugabe said his country had "immensely benefited" from China's "generosity
in several areas, including the supply of agricultural materials, and food
assistance where inclement weather has affected our harvests".

He called for Beijing to expand cooperation with Zimbabwe under the Forum on
China-Africa Cooperation, or FOCAC, through which China invests in African
countries in exchange for oil, copper and other materials it needs to fuel
its breakneck economic expansion.

China has invested billions of dollars in Africa, raising eyebrows in the
West, but many African leaders have praised China for not preaching about
human rights and corruption.

With Zimbabwe's economy crippled by widespread problems, mining is the
country's main foreign currency earner. Zimbabwe has huge coal, gold,
platinum and diamond deposits.

Zimbabwe was due to resume selling diamond stocks on Wednesday -- which
Mugabe says have the potential to revive the country -- after international
investigators confirmed the military had left the blood diamond trade.

Lack of resources hinder HIV/AIDS response

http://www.thestandard.co.zw

Wednesday, 11 August 2010 15:36

IT is 3:30am on a humid early Thursday morning at St Theresa's Mission
Hospital in Chirumhanzu District in the country's Midlands province.
Everyone in the wards and staff residences is still asleep, except for a few
night-shift nurses and a lone man puffing a cigarette at his desk in the
hospital's laboratory.

In front of him are sealed boxes inscribed PMTCT Mvuma, St Theresa's, Muonde
and Holy Cross outreach.
A desk fan that keeps him awake blows off some sheets of paper on his desk.

The man picks up the sheets and then wipes off sweat rolling down his
forehead.
He opens one of the boxes, pulls out a test tube and inserts it into a CD4
count machine.

As he monitors the machine, he pulls out yet another cigarette from a pack
on his desk while the wall clock ticks away towards yet another hectic day
ahead, which will see him going out on an outreach programme with other
members of the Anti-retroviral Therapy (ART) team.

Such is the nature of work and sacrifice that Simbarashe Chirasha, the only
laboratory scientist at the hospital, has to put up with to cope with the
increasing demand for HIV and Aids services in the district due to increased
awareness programmes.

He has had to endure sleepless nights to ensure that he determines the HIV
status of thousands of people going for tests at some health centres in the
district.

This trend is the same nationwide for personnel involved in the ART
programme who comprise of doctors, primary care counsellors, nurses,
pharmacy technicians and laboratory scientists.

It is through such sacrifice by the few health workers that 247 000 people
have been put on the ART programme nationwide, but the figure could have
been much more were it not for the acute staff shortages, inadequate
equipment, lack of incentives and fuel, among other factors.

In an interview during a recent media tour of ART sites in Chirumhanzu,
Chirasha said due to human resource constraints, he was forced to work
overtime to deliver the much expected CD4 count results.

"The district has only one CD4 count machine and I am the only scientist
expected to analyse over 250 blood samples per week.
"Our sister hospitals conduct tests and send blood samples of patients who
are waiting to be initiated on ART.

"The blood samples should be analysed within 48 hours. That's why I am
forced to work overtime for the expectant villagers to get their results on
time," said Chirasha.

Chirumhanzu district has less than 20 ART staff who cater for over 10 000
patients.
The shortage of health professionals has left the burden on a few staff
supported by the Global Fund (GF) and the Expanded Support Programme (ESP).

The GF and the ESP are supporting the programme at 22 and 16 district
hospitals respectively.
 Each health centre receives support in terms of ARV drugs, vehicles and
support salary for two doctors, laboratory scientists and two pharmacy
technicians while the rest of the supporting staff are not covered.

An ART nurse at Mvuma District Hospital, Kudzai Hoko said he was demoralised
because he was not getting any incentives.
"I am the only ART nurse at Mvuma hospital and when we conduct our community
outreach programmes for HIV patients I have to attend to nearly 200 patients
a day.

"What is demoralising is that other cadres under GF are getting paid whilst
I am not. I work without any incentive and this has also resulted in some
staff leaving these stations," said Hoko.

Senior clinical medical officers in Chirumhanzu district echoed the same
sentiments.
The acting medical superintendent at Muonde hospital Dr Ponesai Nyika said
staff running the ART programme were now suffering from burn-out.
"The shortage of nurses in this district shows what is also happening at all
ART sites countrywide and this situation has a negative impact on those
living with HIV and Aids," said Nyika.

This is confirmed in a recent report of the Mid-Term Review of the Zimbabwe
National HIV and Aids Strategic Plan (ZNASP) 2006-2010 conducted by
consultants which states that: "Critical shortages of human resources and
severe inadequate funding for the national response pose grave and present
danger to the successful implementation of the ZNASP and all efforts must be
made to immediately improve the critical shortage of human resources whilst
long term plans are developed for a sustainable human resources base for the
national response."

The report says the ZNASP target to have 75% of adults between the ages of
15-49 years counselled and tested for HIV (HCT) by 2010 is unlikely to be
met as only 15% of adult population had accessed HCT services by the end of
2007, according to the NAC estimates.

However, current (2008/09) estimates put adult coverage at 29,6 % and
children coverage at 10%.
"Both targets are very much unlikely to be met by 2010.

"This inability to meet the targets stems from an acute shortage of doctors
to initiate ART treatment," reads the report.
The reluctance by some doctors to initiate treatment based on the WHO
clinical staging alone in the absence of CD4 counts, ARVs stock-outs at some
sites, payment for non-ARVs aspects of the ART programme by patients at some
facilities, and inadequate decentralisation of the programme nearer to
communities were also cited in the report.

In Mashonaland Central Province, the shortage of staff is also affecting the
implementation of the ART programme.
The Government medical officer at Concession District Hospital, Dr Solomon
Mukungunugwa, said fuel shortages, inadequate ART trained nurses were
affecting the scale-up of the ART programme.

Dr Kwenzakwenkosi Ncube, the GMO at Karanda Mission Hospital in Mount Darwin
said that ART nurses at the health centre were working as late as midnight
to cater for over 300 ART patients per day.

"We are working as late as midnight to assess the health of our ART patients
because we are limited.
"We go out in rural areas on outreach programmes and we do not get
incentives and food allowances, leaving us stressed at the end of the day
because we have to go to work on the following day," said Dr Ncube.

A survey in Midlands and Mashonaland Central has shown that over the 50
health centres in both provinces were operating with less than five CD4
count machines, 30 ART nurses and pharmacists to cater for thousands of
people seeking treatment.

However, the few ART staff in the provinces have continued to work extra
hours to put 247 000 people on treatment.

The figure is set to double following the start of the five-year Global Fund
Round Eight grant and the extension of the ESP programme to 2011.
The recent decision by the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare to harmonise
salaries for health personnel under the Health System Strengthening (HSS)
programme should help retain and motivate junior staff involved in the ART
programme.

By Orirando Manwere

British Embassy donates an epilepsy detector machine

http://www.thestandard.co.zw

Wednesday, 11 August 2010 15:35

THE British Embassy has donated an electro-encephalogram (EEG) medical
equipment worth US$21 000 to Nicholas George Epilepsy centre in Harare.
Zimbabwe only has three working EEG machines with an old dilapidated machine
at Parirenyatwa hospital.

EEG machines are used to measure electrical activity in the brain and detect
the cause of epileptic seizures.
"Accurate and early diagnosis is essential in establishing the best
treatment and ensure a better quality of life for sufferers," British
Ambassador to Zimbabwe Mark Canning said at the handover ceremony on
Wednesday.

"The British Embassy will continue in helping Zimbabwe restore the basic
services especially in the health sector."
It is estimated that over 2% of the population is living with epilepsy in
Zimbabwe and the majority of them are not on medication or have not been
medically assessed.

"This support will improve access for the less privileged and help improve
lives of the less privileged," Canning said.
Lotto also donated a 5 000 litre storage tank and a 5.5 kilojoules generator
to the foundation.
Speaking at the donation, Lotto trustee Getrude Chikwava said, "The donation
has come just in time to cover the gap of EEG in Zimbabwe."
Britain has donated three million pounds to organisations with disabilities
in the country this year.

Over $100 million has been donated by Britain for the whole year to help in
the education and health sectors.
The British Embassy is also helping with the refurbishment of six major
hospitals while contributing with aid in the field of HIV.
Canning said, "We have provided funding for over 290 000 people with HIV for
counseling and support."

"We have received good support from the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare
and the Ministry of Education Sports Arts and Culture."
The epilepsy support foundation will use the equipment to provide free or
low cost treatment to hundreds of patients each year.

BY PERPETUA CHIKOLOLERE

Unique scheme helps poor children back into school

http://www.thestandard.co.zw

Wednesday, 11 August 2010 15:32

MASVINGO - Nyelet Makaya and Rumbidzai Marume may be young but they are
fully aware that they have been rescued from a possible life of misery.
The little girls from Rujeko primary school recently recounted how a local
non-governmental organisation rekindled their hope for a better future by
enrolling them in its "textbooks for tuition fees" scheme.

Nyelet (8) and Rumbidzai (11) are among thousands of primary school pupils
benefiting from a partnership between Dananai Children (Dachi) Care and 689
schools in the province.

Under the scheme, Dachi provides schools with textbooks and in return the
disadvantaged children are allowed to attend classes for a period determined
using the value of the books.

School authorities assist with the tallying of the value of the books
against the fee structure to determine how many children can be covered by
each consignment.

"My fees are being paid for with textbooks from Dachi," says Rumbidzai who
is in Grade VI.
"In the past, I would go for many terms without paying fees because my
mother did not have the money.
"The school authorities used to send me back home  and I would still come
back for classes without paying.

"At times, my mother would come and beg them to allow me to learn while she
looked for the money.
"In most cases, they would ask her to pay but when this did not happen I
would feel much better as I would attend classes without anyone bothering me
asking for the fees."

Rumbidzai had a similar story to tell as Nyelet and 64 other beneficiaries
from Rujeko.
The school's teacher-in-charge, Grace Mambanje, said most of the
beneficiaries could not afford to pay fees even during the Zimbabwe dollar
era.
Each pupil now pays US$20 fees per term following the dollarisation of the
economy last year.

Mambanje said the project known as the Block Grants programme was benefiting
both the school and the pupils.
She said while two pupils shared a textbook in the past, each of the 1 000
children at the school now had a textbook for all subjects.
Mambanje added that the performance of most beneficiaries had improved
significantly since the introduction of the scheme.

"Most of these pupils previously lost a lot of valuable learning time being
sent home to ask for school fees they would not get and in some cases,
others were forced to assist their parents in trying to raise the fees after
school. All these   things contributed to their poor performance in
 classes," she said.
Paul Matsime, a monitoring and evaluation officer with Dachi's implementing
partner, Family Aids Caring Trust (Fact) Masvingo, said the United Nations
Children's Fund (Unicef) provided the books for the scheme.

He said some schools had been supplied with books worth seven years of
primary school tuition fees for some beneficiaries.
Matsime also revealed that in cases where some pupils graduated from primary
schools or simply dropped out of the programme for one reason or another,
others would be taken on board to fill the gap.

Unicef chief communications officer, Micaela De Soussa, said her
organisation worked with various NGOs across the country to implement the
scheme, with some schools also receiving book cupboards, chalk, flip charts
and other education materials.

De Soussa said the Education Transition Fund (ETF) which is expected to be
launched soon, will complement the scheme.
"The Block Grants programme together with the first phase of the ETF
prioritise primary schools," she said.

"We already have 50% material for the first phase of the ETF and we are
waiting to get the remainder so we can embark on a massive distribution to
all primary schools across the country.

"At this stage, a lot of children may worry about what will happen after
primary school-level but those worries will be partly answered under the
second phase of the ETF which will cover all secondary schools."

The programme is part of a US$70 million fund approved in 2007 under Unicef's
programme of support for orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs).
The multi-donor fund was established in response to the national action plan
for OVCs aimed at reducing children's vulnerability through supporting them
in areas of education, health care, social services and household supplies.

The programme is one of the most ambitious efforts aimed at reviving the
country's tottering education sector. Teachers say it is and a step in the
right direction towards the attainment of the universal access to primary
school education as spelt out in the UN's millennium development goals.
The programme also  complements the revived Basic Education Assistance
Module (Beam) which is benefiting 60 pupils at Rujeko.

Ministers David Coltart and Paurina Mpariwa for education and social
services respectively, could not be immediately reached for comment.
But Mambanje has a piece of advice to government - improve teachers' working
conditions to complement the donors' efforts.
She said government and its partners could also offer more support to the
beneficiaries some of whom cannot afford decent clothing and come to school
on empty stomachs.

More support is needed to assist deserving children who could not make it to
either the Block Grants or the Beam schemes, she said.

BY JENNIFER DUBE

US moves to repeal sanctions law

http://www.thestandard.co.zw

Wednesday, 11 August 2010 15:30

A United States senator, Jim Inhofe, who is also a member of the Senate's
Foreign Relations Committee, on Thursday introduced a bill to repeal
sanctions imposed on President Robert Mugabe and his cronies.

The new bill called the Zimbabwe Sanctions Repeal Act of 2010 seeks to lift
the sanctions imposed in 2001 to stop alleged human rights violations by the
Zanu PF government.

It also seeks to restore economic prosperity and aid the nation's transition
to democracy, according to a draft seen by The Standard.
Inhofe said he commended the efforts of the power-sharing government in
reducing inflation and improving the GDP and basic government services like
health care, education and transportation.

"It is my hope that my legislation will help Zimbabwe return to being called
the "Breadbasket of Africa" and continue on the road to democracy." he said.

The bill says the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001 was
burdening the government of national unity (GNU) and must be repealed in
order to fully restore economic vibrancy and help Zimbabwe's transition to
democracy.

The US economic sanctions were imposed against Zimbabwe as a result of
Mugabe's oppressive leadership and fiscally irresponsible programmes that
caused the collapse of the economy.

The sanctions directed the US to oppose and vote against any extension of
loans, credit, or guarantees to the Zimbabwe government as well as
cancellation of Harare's debts to the US or any international financial
institution.

Inhofe says the formation of the inclusive government in 2008 by Mugabe's
Zanu PF and the two MDC formations has seen the economy recovering and
democratic freedoms re-emerging in the southern African country.

He said since the appointment of Finance minister Tendai Biti, the country's
economy had seen remarkable recovery characterised by the reduction of
inflation from a high of 15 trillion percent in 2008 to 5,1% one year later.

Since the formation of the inclusive government the country's GDP improved,
increasing from 14,4% in 2008 to 3,7% in 2009.
The country also adopted multiple currencies to ensure easy economic
transitions.

Mugabe is accused of causing Zimbabwe's economic collapse after his
supporters and war veterans led the invasion of productive white-owned
farms, where most of the foreign currency was being generated.

Information Minister Webster Shamu welcomed the US Senator's move saying the
sanctions were not supposed to be there in the first place.
He said the sanctions were illegal, not targeted and caused a lot of
suffering to ordinary Zimbabweans.

"I have not seen the text of the bill but what I can say is that there was
no justification for imposing them in the first place because they are not
smart nor are they targeted," said Shamu.

"We are in our current problems because of sanctions imposed on us by the
West."
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's spokesperson James Maridadi said their
position on the sanctions would be made known after they study the bill.
"We have heard about its existence and only after we have seen and studied
it can we give an informed comment," said Maridadi.

After being debated in the Senate, the bill is expected go to the House of
Representatives, where it will go through three reading stages. After
passing through both the Senate and Congress it will be sent to the American
president for his signature.

Political analyst John Makumbe said chances that the bill will be passed
through both houses were very high.
"Its changes are very good because it started with 36 senators supporting
it," said Makumbe, a University of Zimbabwe political science lecturer.
"Normally, a bill starts with three or four supporters and gains support
with time which is different from this one."

He expected the bill to pass both houses in a period of one month.

The Southern African Development Community and the African Union (AU) have
also called for an end to the restrictions imposed by the European Union and
US.

BY CAIPHAS CHIMHETE
 

MDC-T pins hopes on Sadc summit

http://www.thestandard.co.zw

Wednesday, 11 August 2010 15:29

PRIME Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's (pictured below) MDC has said it will
push for the resolution of all outstanding issues at this week's regional
summit but President Robert Mugabe's spokesperson yesterday said the
Zimbabwean crisis will not be an issue.

The Southern African Development Community (Sadc) Summit will be held in
Windhoek, Namibia on August 16.
The MDC-T wants President Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF censured for failing to
honour and implement outstanding issues of the Global Political Agreement
(GPA) signed in September 2008.

Nelson Chamisa, the MDC-T spokesperson, said his party was tired of Mugabe's
reluctance to honour and implement provisions of the GPA signed.
"We are definitely expecting resolution of all issues that have been
outstanding at the summit because Zimbabwe will feature prominently at the
meeting," said Chamisa.

"We cannot continue like this when our partner in the inclusive government
is wantonly flouting the agreement."
But Mugabe's spokesperson George Charamba said Zimbabwe will not be
discussed at the summit.

"It (Zimbabwe) will not be an issue at the summit," said Charamba. "What
will happen is that the facilitator (South African President Jacob Zuma)
will give an update to the troika (peace and security) which will brief the
summit as a point of information and not of discussion."
He said of the 27 outstanding issues, 24 had been agreed upon.

Charamba accused Chamisa of peddling lies about the summit saying the MDC-T
spokesperson wanted to create unnecessary conflict in the inclusive
government.

"There are some conflict entrepreneurs in MDC," said Charamba, "thriving on
peddling of conflict where it does not exist."
But Chamisa, who described Charamba as a "factory of falsehoods", chronicled
a raft of issues that he said had not been agreed upon and those that have
not been implemented.

Among them is the unilateral appointment of central bank governor Gideon
Gono and Attorney-General Johannes Tomana by Mugabe as well as his refusal
to swear-in deputy minister of agriculture designate, Roy Bennett.

Mugabe has refused to swear-in Bennett saying he had pending charges of
terrorism and banditry. Bennett has since been cleared of the charges but is
yet to be sworn-in.

The MDC-T spokesperson said Zanu PF was throwing spanners in the works
regarding the implementation of reforms in the media, security forces, human
rights and resolving ministerial mandate related conflicts.

Electoral reforms are not moving fast enough to ensure the holding of
national elections next year as planned, said Chamisa.
"There is lethargy when it comes to implementation," said Chamisa. "Then
there are toxic and corrosive issues such as the hateful jingles they
continue to play and non-consultation on major issues."

Last week, Mugabe made last minute spirited efforts to remove Zimbabwe from
the agenda of the summit when he visited Malawi.
However, Sadc executive secretary Tomaz Salomao was quoted as saying the
country will be discussed under the review of the political situation in the
region.

Efforts to get a comment from Salomao this week were fruitless.
Zuma has been piling pressure on Mugabe, Tsvangirai and his deputy Arthur
Mutambara to have the outstanding issues concluded without much success.

Despite agreeing to collectively determine as a coalition government who
must be conferred hero or heroine status, Zanu PF single-handedly conferred
heroine status on Mugabe's sister, Sabina, who passed away a fortnight ago.

BY CAIPHAS CHIMHETE

Outreach suspended over war vets’ terror in Masvingo

http://www.thestandard.co.zw

Wednesday, 11 August 2010 15:27

WAR veterans leader Jabulani Sibanda allegedly brewed violence in Bikita
South on Friday, stalling the constitution outreach process.
MDC-T officials said 10 meetings to gather villagers’ views on the
constitution had to be suspended following Sibanda’s activities in the area.

“Jabulani Sibanda addressed a meeting in the morning at Mashoko centre where
he used inflammatory language including threats that the country can go back
to June 27, 2008,” MDC-T Zaka legislator Harrison Mudzuri said.

“Later in the evening, the homestead of MDC-T youth chairman David Hollman
was burnt down.”
The violence unleashed by the war veterans ahead of the ill-fated
presidential runoff left about 200 MDC-T supporters dead and thousands
displaced.
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai was forced to pull-out of the election
leaving President Robert Mugabe to run alone.

Sibanda is alleged to have told Bikita villagers that the MDC-T must be
punished for calling for sanctions.
MDC-T spokesperson Nelson Chamisa yesterday said Sibanda should be arrested.

“The police should immediately arrest Jabulani,” he said. “They should not
sit back and watch such elements committing crimes with impunity,” Chamisa
said.
“Fighting in the liberation struggle is not a licence to persecute
villagers.”
But a laughing Sibanda yesterday said he was shocked that anyone would link
his activities to criminality.
He said the meetings held in Bikita were part of a war veterans’ programme
to engage citizens which has been going on for a long time now.

 “We never intimidate anyone in the meetings and we have no hand whatsoever
in the burning down of homesteads,” he said. “Our meetings are for unity as
they bring together people from various parties.

“Nobody in this country is uniting the people like us and at the meeting
which is now being linked to violence, we had two MDC-T MPs who sat through
the meeting and left after the closing prayer without any intimidation.
They even gave a lift to some of the participants.”
He said the war veterans’ meetings were for uniting the people against
colonialists.

The meetings were put on hold on Friday because of the Heroes’ holidays and
will resume this week, he said.
The incident followed another in which the process was shelved in Manicaland
after a Zanu PF outreach team leader caused the arrest of an MDC-M
rapporteur following a disagreement.

Constitution Parliament Committee (Copac) co-chairperson Douglas Mwonzora
(MDC-T) confirmed receiving both reports and said the police and Zanu PF
should intervene and stop the new wave of political criminality threatening
to destabilise the process.

“I have discussed this issue with my co-chairpersons and we are agreed that
Sibanda should be unconditionally removed from Masvingo as his presence in
the province is not helping the programme,” Mwonzora said.

“The teams on the ground feel that the atmosphere obtaining at the moment
because of Sibanda’s presence is not conducive for them to get free and
voluntary comments from the villagers.”

BY JENNIFER DUBE

 

Gender activists attack Mugabe

http://www.thestandard.co.zw

Wednesday, 11 August 2010 15:26

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe's recent sentiments about polygamy have ruffled
feathers among women's rights groups who have described them as unfortunate
especially in light of the ongoing constitution-making process.

Mugabe last month urged members of the Johanne Marange Apostolic sect to
push for a constitution that denounces homosexuality.
But he said he had no problems with those who practiced polygamy because it
was approved of in the bible.

Last week, women rights activists said Mugabe's sentiments were outdated and
dangerous.
They added that the age of enlightenment encourages mutual respect between
men and women and thus should encourage monogamy instead.
"It is amazing that in this day and age of emancipating women, we have other
people calling for the infringement on women's rights," one activist said.
"Marriage is about rights and although we respect that the issue of polygamy
goes down to choice; we are also aware that women want exclusive
relationships with men and very few want to share their men with other
women."

The activists said since it encouraged multiple sexual partners, polygamy
was also likely to worsen the spread of HIV and Aids.
They said the issue of many wives would also contribute to psychological
problems for women and children, adding that it also usually results in
messy relations when it comes to family property.

Some participants on the Mai Chisamba show screened on ZTV last week said
polygamy belonged to the past where women were socialised to think that they
can only succeed in life by leaning on a man.

They also attributed it to lack of education.
Activists said instead of agitating for the infringement of women's rights
through polygamy, politicians should preach tolerance.
"We should not be wasting our time and energy discussing what two people,
men or women, agree to do behind closed doors," Luta Shaba, the executive
director of the Women's Trust said.

"Instead, we should be looking at how rapists should be sentenced and also
how men who kill their wives should be dealt with."

BY OUR STAFF

 

Court briefs: Murerwa saves white farmer

http://www.thestandard.co.zw

Wednesday, 11 August 2010 15:24

A Beatrice white farmer was last week acquitted of charges that he was
illegally occupying gazetted land after a cabinet minister testified in his
favour.
Harare magistrate Archie Wochiunga found Grant Paterson of Roslin Farm not
guilty of unlawfully occupying gazetted land without lawful authority after
Lands and Rural Resettlement minister, Herbert Murerwa, testified as a
defence witness.

Murerwa admitted that he had allowed Paterson to stay on the farm as
government was in the process of subdividing the farm, an exercise that
might see the original farmer being given a piece of land alongside the new
owner. Paterson had pleaded not guilty.

He submitted that he had been told by Murerwa "directly and indirectly" that
a land re-planning exercise was going on and that he would be one of the
beneficiaries.

Murerwa confirmed his ministry was devising a method that will see Paterson
co-existing with other beneficiaries. But he was quick to point out that his
office and not him in his personal capacity wrote the letters to Paterson.

Wochiunga ruled that Murerwa's arguments confirmed Paterson's submissions.

Juvenile charged with rape

A 15-year-old Glen View boy on Friday appeared in court accused of raping
his 15-year-old girlfriend from the same suburb.
It is the state's case that on March 10, the two lovers who go to the same
school in the city waited for everyone to leave the school premises after
lessons ended at 5 pm.They allegedly went into a classroom with no doors and
window panes.

While there, the boy allegedly undressed the girl who was in her school
uniform before pushing herto the ground.

He allegedly raped her once. A security guard spotted the two in a
compromising position. The boy escaped through the window and the following
day they were suspended by the headmaster.
The girl's father then made a  report to police.

Constitution outreach provides comic relief

http://www.thestandard.co.zw

Wednesday, 11 August 2010 15:21

WHILE the writing of the constitution is serious business that must shape
the country's destiny, outreach meetings in full swing since late June have
not been without their fair share of humour.

The stories about what transpires at the meetings have mainly been about the
violence perpetrated by pockets of Zanu PF hardliners and logistical
problems but there is also a lighter side to the process.

Rapporteurs last week told how they were having difficulties in restraining
themselves from bursting into laughter, each time the rural folk stood up to
air their views.

In Gwanda, a woman is reported to have stood up and said she wanted a
minimum age limit on when children could be raped.
"I ask that in the constitution our children (girls) should not be raped
before they are 24 years," she said, in a recorded statement, drawing much
laughter from the crowd.

It was not clear what she meant, but speculation was that she was referring
to the legal age of sexual consent, presently pegged at 16 for girls.
An elderly man, in agreement with the lady, said they should review the age
of majority and put it at 33 years, since Jesus died at that age, instead of
"(President Robert) Mugabe's majority age of 18, which was responsible for
the youth becoming disrespectful".

Another woman spoke of the need to ensure that a popular radio cookery
programme was reintroduced.
She said since it was taken off air, many women were failing to cook
satisfactorily for their husbands and this had resulted in many families
breaking up.
It seemed women were the most vocal, with another one saying she wanted a
strong constitution that would stop girls from visiting a certain rural
business centre.

"We want strong laws, that will see our girls being stopped from going to
Nkwidze Business Centre, as they become prostitutes or are abused," the
woman said.

An elderly man, later identified as a headman, said women should be banned
from wearing trousers, as this was "unAfrican" and had given rise to
incidents of homosexuality in the country.

"If a woman wears the trousers, she is like a man, so if I propose to her or
to a man what would be the difference, since they are both the same?" he
questioned, drawing bouts of laughter and applause from the crowd.

Despite rumours and allegations of political parties coaching their
supporters about what to say, this has not stopped communities from going
over the top in their statements to the outreach teams.

Asked about whether the president should be allowed to select
non-constituency parliamentarians, the Copac team was shocked when villagers
in Mazowe were unanimous that the president should have that power.

"The president should be allowed to select people like (Arthur) Mutambara
and members of his party to parliament because they are educated but are
unfortunate because they never win elections," one man said.

However, the same question elicited a different response from Filabusi in
Matabeleland South.
Probably due to language barriers, the villagers seemed to miss the point of
the question altogether.
They were asked if chiefs and others should be allocated seats and the
response from the crowd was unanimous:  that no-one should be given a free
seat.

"If they want to be allocated seats they should bring their own," the
villagers answered in unison, thinking the seats in question were the chairs
being sat on during the outreach meetings.

Jonathan Moyo, who led the Constitutional Commission a decade ago, said
while it was important that ordinary people be consulted in drafting a
constitution, ultimately the responsibility lay with lawyers and judges.

"You do not expect a constitution to be written by simple villagers under
trees, but rather it is written by respected lawyers and judges," he said.
Copac co-chairman, Paul Mangwana was dismissive on the silly ideas raised
during outreach sessions laying the blame on the media.
"We feel hard done by the media and we have set up our bulletin to fill the
void," he said.

Zimbabwe must have a new constitution by early next year leading to fresh
elections.
A referendum in Kenya last week approved a new constitution that is a
combination of a previous draft and recommendations by parliament.
Zimbabwe has a draft constitution that was rejected in 2000 and there are
some who feel that experts should have been roped in to perfect the document
before it is taken to referendum.

People against the outreach say the country is too broke to carry out such
an elaborate programme.
Government and the United Nations Development Programme are sinking in US$8
million and the outreach meetings must be concluded by next month.

BY NQABA MATSHAZI

Zanu PF invaders leave a trail of destruction

http://www.thestandard.co.zw

Wednesday, 11 August 2010 15:20

ONCE a haven of international tourists, Denlynian and Tamari Wildlife
sanctuary in Beitbridge is now desolate - most of the game poached and
equipment looted.

Zebra carcasses are strewn around and the antelope population is badly
depleted.
This was once a prime wildlife conservancy with the highest density of game
per kilometre, not only in Matabeleland South but in the whole country.
And it is not only the wildlife that has been destroyed.

Window and door frames of a luxurious safari hotel which was under
construction in the conservancy have been ripped out and stolen while broken
water pipes are scattered everywhere.

Solar panels, water pumps and a 7-km strand game fence, among other
equipment, have also been looted.
Conservancy owner Ian Ferguson blames the collapse of his multi-million
dollar project on an invasion by landless blacks, mostly Zanu PF supporters
and war veterans in the area.

Sources said most land invasions in Matabeleland South were at the
instigation of greedy senior Zanu PF officials in the province who wanted to
take over the well-maintained conservancies.

In a letter to former Co-Minister of Home Affairs Giles Mutsekwa on June 9,
Ferguson begged the minister to urgently intervene to stop the poaching and
looting of equipment warning this could soon result in an ecological
disaster.

He said the remains of zebras, which are killed for their hides, are lying
all over the farm while antelope, eland, kudus, impala and the crocodile
population have been seriously depleted by poachers. The conservancy also
has animals such as bushbucks, cheetahs, baboons, springhares, wildebeest
and warthog, among others.

White commercial farmers in central and south-west Zimbabwe were being
hounded off their farms, said Ferguson.
Their families are being humiliated and arrested for no apparent reason, he
said. "I am appealing to you as the custodian of the rule of law in Zimbabwe
to use your office to urgently intervene to put a stop to ethnic cleansing
which is rampant across the central, and in our case, the south-west of
Zimbabwe," he said.

Mutsekwa, who has since been replaced by Theresa Makone as MDC-T's Co-Home
Affairs Minister, left his post before he could look into the matter.
Officials at the farm say the conservancy has lost an estimated US$630 000
through the cancellation of tourism and hunting quotas, theft of equipment
and rampant poaching in the past few months.

They said revenue lost amounted to an estimated US$1,9 million over the past
eight years.
Ferguson said the wildlife conservancy was being invaded and looted in
defiance of High Court orders and rulings by the South African Development
Community (Sadc) Windhoek Tribunal.

The court order was issued in 2007 and shortly afterwards a spoliation order
was applied for and granted.
But local police have not been of any help either.

"The police, obviously following instructions from higher authority are
ignoring court orders. . . they refused to give the deputy messenger of the
High Court escort to carry out his duties," said Ferguson in the letter.

Repeated efforts to get reactions from Makone and Co-Home Affairs Minister
Kembo Mohadi, who hails from Matabeleland South, were fruitless as their
mobile phones were not reachable.

But Commercial Farmers' Union (CFU) president Deon Theron said what is
happening at the conservancy was a good example of looting underway on
commercial farms being seized from their owners.

"We have brought this issue to authorities several times but it seems the
care about productivity, animal welfare and natural resources is last on the
minds of politicians," he said.

Theron said the police were reluctant to act against the people accused of
looting because they get protection from a senior politician who works in
collusion with South African nationals to smuggle their loot.

He said over 100 Zebras have been killed in the past few months "for their
hides which are a valuable trophy".
Ferguson said besides being deprived of their homes and livelihoods the
farmers, their families and workers were extremely traumatised by the
treatment they got from the land invaders.

"This whole barbaric and uncivilised exercise that has been going on for 10
years now is no more or less than ethnic cleansing of white Zimbabweans and
any other white nationals," he wrote.

Ferguson bought the Denlynian and Tamari farms in the Zhove Dam area from
Lemco Ranch some 24 years ago after the government, on three separate
occasions, issued letters of no interest because it was deemed unsuitable
for cattle ranching purposes.

Then, the property comprising 17 500 hectares, was derelict and devoid of
any animals.
But today it boasts seven boreholes, water is pumped for many kilometres to
natural pans, there are roads, an electrified perimeter game fence as well
as a Zesa power grid to provide electricity to the hunting camp.

Land invasions, which began in 2000 and were spearheaded by former freedom
fighters.

BY CAIPHAS CHIMHETE

Simba Makoni: is he the best president Zimbabwe never had?

http://www.thestandard.co.zw

Wednesday, 11 August 2010 15:17

FROM Independence until February 2008, Simba Makoni's name featured
prominently in the shortlist of those who were likely to succeed President
Robert Mugabe.

The fluid Zanu PF succession debate got into gear sometime in 1995 and the
former Southern African Development Community (Sadc) was seen as the best
compromise between entrenched faction leaders, retired army general Solomon
Mujuru and Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Makoni was seen as intelligent, level headed and was among the crop of young
leaders with strong anti-colonial credentials who could offer Zimbabwe the
best transition from the nationalist old guard.

It was in the context of the stalemate that emerged after the tightly fought
2008 presidential election that two respected research specialists asked the
provocative question: is Makoni the best president that Zimbabwe never had?

Makoni came third in the presidential race behind Mugabe (43,2%) and
Tsvangirai (47,9%).
An influential constituency including African leaders, favoured the former
Finance minister to lead a transitional government that will organise fresh
elections with the hope of producing a clear winner.

However, Zanu PF and the two MDC formations went on to form a unity
government that left Mugabe still firmly in charge.
Makoni admits the chance to take over from Mugabe presented itself from a
very early stage in his political career saying: "I don't mean to brag but
my name started being mentioned in the 1980s."

"Whether I become Zimbabwe's next president will depend on a number of
factors, which includes whether one has the support of the people and I will
say we do.

"It will also depend on whether the country holds free and fair elections."
He attributes his inability to win the presidential vote two years ago to a
lack of transparency and the fact that he only joined the race about 29 days
before the polls.

Makoni also ran as an independent candidate, which meant he depended on a
team of volunteers to push his campaign.
"The election wasn't free and fair," he said. "Most people believe votes
were stolen from us and given to the other candidates and that is why it
took that long for (the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission chairman George)
Chiweshe to release the results.

The results of the polls were released after almost a month sparking fears
that the figures were falsified to force a runoff after Mugabe had performed
dismally.

"There were also genuine and justifiable reasons for my coming into the race
late," he siad. "Some people were asking if I was for real or I was thrown
in by Zanu PF to confuse people.

"Considering that I campaigned alone I think I made a very good showing in
the elections."
But he does not believe the length of time he took to dump Zanu PF had a
bearing on his performance in the elections.
The December 2007 Zanu PF congress, which endorsed Mugabe as the party
candidate broke the hopes of those who had tried to work from within the
party to bring change.

A year ago, Makoni survived attempts to kick him out of the MKD by some of
the key figures behind his campaign and went on to transform the movement
into a fully fledged party.

Dumiso Dabengwa, the only Zanu PF politburo member to openly back his
presidential bid also ditched the charismatic politician soon after the
elections to revive Zapu.

Makoni believes MKD has attracted the youth, professionals as well as
businesspeople and that  his profile cuts across the rural and urban divide.
"The party is growing, we are enrolling and we see a definite pattern of
growth."

He sees himself having an edge over both Mugabe and Tsvangirai on the back
of the two's performance in the inclusive government.
Zimbabweans have long stopped believing anything will come out of a Zanu PF
administration and there has been growing frustrations over the performance
of MDC-T ministers in the inclusive government, Makoni says.

Analysts say new MDC-T ministers have failed to distinguish themselves from
the previous Zanu PF leaders, breeding discontent among Zimbabweans yearning
for change.

"We are preparing not just to participate in the elections but to win them,"
Makoni says with a beaming smile.
"At the moment there is no denying that the MDC-T enjoys popular support but
in my interactions with people at various levels I have a sense that people
are getting disgruntled with the party's component in the inclusive
government."

With an impressive academic record and outstanding political career, there
is no doubt that the MKD leader presents the best crop of leaders Zimbabwe
has at the moment.

Born on March 22, 1950 Makoni attained a BSC (Hons) in Chemistry and Zoology
from Leeds University in the UK before attaining a PHD in Medicinal
Chemistry at the Leicester Polytechnic.

At the age of 30, he became one of independent Zimbabwe's youngest ministers
after he was appointed deputy agriculture minister before rising to head the
Industry and Energy Development portfolio.

In 1984, Makoni was minister of Youth, Sport and Culture before he left to
join Sadcc (as it was then) the following year and served for nine years.
Between 1994 and 1997, he was managing director of Zimbabwe Newspapers
(1980)

After some years in the private sector, Makoni was in 2000 brought back into
government by Mugabe, among a host of so-called technocrats that included
Jonathan Moyo, to become Minister of Finance and Economic Development.

For a living Makoni runs Makonsult, a consultancy he established in 1997.

The business development consultancy focuses on regional investment and
trade, strategic policy, commercial and political risk analysis, regional
and international development cooperation and localisation of business.

BY KHOLWANI NYATHI

More Zanu PF jingles coming

http://www.thestandard.co.zw

Wednesday, 11 August 2010 15:02

A fresh row is looming in the shaky inclusive government as it has emerged
that Zanu PF is set to launch a new wave of partisan jingles.

Already there is a storm brewing over a set of jingles by the Mbare
Chimurenga Choir that are receiving more than their fair share of airplay on
all Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) radio and television stations.

The choir is back in the studio working on a 10-track follow-up album, while
another outfit, Asambeni Theatre Club, is producing more jingles in
Bulawayo.

"We are recording an album with 10 songs that are similar to the ones we
produced before," Elizabeth Bwanya, leader of Mbare Chimurenga Choir
confirmed last week.

Zanu PF commissar, Webster Shamu, who doubles as Media, Information and
Publicity minister, is reportedly coordinating both projects.
Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara last week said Shamu was going to be
instructed by cabinet to issue a statement on the jingles, which are played
every 30 minutes by the country's sole broadcaster.

A defiant Shamu on the other hand told The Standard last Friday that it was
not his role to say which songs should be played on television and radio.
"That will be setting a precedent and I will be accused of stifling the same
freedom of expression that you are all crying for," said Shamu.

The minister said he was not aware that cabinet had directed him to issue a
statement on the jingles, saying he had been in China all along.
Asked whether he had coordinated the jingles projects, Shamu was evasive,
claiming that he was the patron of all musicians.

"I want to promote our musicians and want to see Zimbabwean music that
promotes our values being played," he said.
The new set of jingles reportedly ridicule the inclusive government, saying
Zanu PF leader President Robert Mugabe should rule till "donkeys grow horns".

Both formations of the MDC have not hidden their displeasure at the current
set of jingles and have raised the issue at cabinet meetings.
ZBC was reportedly ordered to stop playing the jingles, but the state
broadcaster has so far defied that directive.

MDC-T spokesman, Nelson Chamisa was livid at the reports, arguing that ZBC
was allowing itself to be used for partisan and parochial interests.
"We took our own jingles to ZBC and they started jumping around and they
refused to play them," he said.

"Sometimes we wonder whether they are broadcasting from Zanu PF headquarters
or from Pockets Hill."
Chamisa said the jingles were in contravention of broadcasting laws,
political practice and the Global Political Agreement.

Efforts to get a comment from MDC-M spokesmen, Edwin Mshoriwa and Nhlanhla
Dube were fruitless as their mobile phones were switched off.

 BY NQABA MATSHAZI

Sundayopinion: Zimbabwe, the land of chutzpah

http://www.thestandard.co.zw

Wednesday, 11 August 2010 17:19

SOMETIME ago I stumbled upon a term which captures rather eloquently the
extraordinary culture of arrogance, impunity and stubborn pride of
Zimbabwean politicians and some of their overzealous defenders and followers
when confronted with awkward or inconvenient realities.
The term is "chutzpah", thanks to Barry Ronge, a South African journalist
and columnist with the Sunday Times, who used it in an article to describe
some of the outlandish behaviour of Zimbabwe's rulers. For those who, like
myself, were unfamiliar with the word's meaning Ronge explains: "Chutzpah
though not an African word, comes in useful when surveying events on the
(African) continent. It's actually a Hebrew word, pronounced "hootspar" and
loosely defined, means 'impudent audacity'."
For example, Ronge says, chutzpah can also refer to those rather intrusive
or confrontational questions likely to irritate other people but frequently
asked all the same depending on prevailing circumstances. Questions like
"Why should I care what you think or do? What business is it of yours what I
think or do? Who do you think you are to question my decision? - the list
can go on and on.
But, according to Ronge, there's a famous definition, created, he believes,
for Leo Rosten's very funny book, The Joys of Yiddish. Which he quotes:
"Chutzpah is when a man on trial for murdering his parents pleads for
lenience on the basis that he is now an orphan."
Although none is likely to admit it, African politicians, and especially
those of the Zimbabwean ilk, are masters of chutzpah. Reading through Ronge's
article, I suddenly realised how contrived perception management and control
by the state propaganda machinery can obfuscate reality on the ground
leaving citizens in a sort of ideological limbo or socio-political
confusion.
Last week witnessed a remarkable example of the Zimbabwean brand of
chutzpah.  Foreign Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi rebuked Western diplomats
for " disrespectful and unacceptable" conduct after they walked out of the
burial ceremony of President Robert Mugabe's sister Sabina at Heroes Acre
last Sunday. Ambassadors of US and Germany, Charles Ray and Albrecht Conze
respectively and the European Union Charge d'affaires, Barbara Plinkett,
later told a press conference they reacted the way they did after President
Mugabe's outburst in which he told them to go to hell
In fairness to the diplomats, if someone invited you to their house and then
proceeded to insult you and tell you to go to hell, the decent thing to do
is to leave. What is amazing is the fact that Mumbengegwi, a diplomat who
should know better, saw nothing amiss with President Mugabe making his
undiplomatic remarks and instead, expected them to apologise for reacting
the way they did. If the Government of Zimbabwe was disappointed by the
conduct of the diplomats, so were the envoys themselves at being attacked
and being told "To hell with them. Hell, hell, hell with them."
In the same vein, Zimbabweans have consistently been bombarded with claims
by the government that "illegal sanctions" imposed by Britain, US and their
allies were entirely to blame for the country's economic collapse, a claim
that blithely ignores the mountains of evidence of greed, corruption and
incompetence to which the country's woes can largely be traced.  There is a
large measure of chutzpah in what, in Shona parlance, would be described as
trying to hide behind a finger (kuhwanda nomunwe).
Although no one questioned the temerity of it at the time, soon after his
appointment, Gideon Gono embarked on an extensive junket to persuade
Zimbabweans in the Diaspora to remit their earnings to Zimbabwe through the
RBZ Homelink scheme. This, according to Ronge, was an act of chutzpah in
that Gono completely ignored the irony that many of those living in Diaspora
were economic refugees forced to flee their homeland by the same government
that was now clamouring for their remittances home.
There are many examples, infact too many to enumerate in Zimbabwe, which
should be crowned the land of chutzpah. Remember the reaction of Zanu PF top
officials to the visit to France by a MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, then
without a passport, shortly before the formation of the inclusive
government. Ignoring the potentially embarrassing question why the
Prime-Minister-designate of Zimbabwe was without a passport because his own
government would not issue him one, a senior Zanu PF official said he hoped
the MDC leader was directing his efforts towards the normalisation of
Zimbabwe's relations with the European Union.
At the same time state media was at full throttle in trying to portray
Tsvangirai as a puppet of the West obstructing efforts to establish the
inclusive government.
When the true history of Zimbabwe is finally written, a dominant feature
must be the culture of chutzpah that has characterized Zanu PF rule.

DESMOND KUMBUKA

War vets’ power struggles

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/

Written by Gift Phiri
Tuesday, 10 August 2010 10:54

HARARE - Veterans of Zimbabwe's liberation struggle have been caught up in
Zanu (PF) power dynamics and the convoluted succession struggle, stalling
the holding of a highly anticipated elective national congress of the
Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA).
Incumbent ZNLWVA chairman, Jabulani Sibanda, an abrasive war veteran who was
suspended from Zanu (PF) in 2004 but later reinstated, has clashed with
Joseph Chinotimba, who led thousands of war veterans and their supporters to
invade about 4000 white-owned farms since 2000, in an often-violent campaign
marked by killings, beatings, kidnappings and other forms of intimidation.
Sibanda says his candidacy was confirmed in March at a congress boycotted by
Chinotimba and his crew. Chinotimba said Sunday Sibanda had been voted out
at a recent meeting of the association by 11 out of 16 executive members,
accusing him of running the organisation "like a dictator".
But Sibanda has refused to accept the decision, saying the meeting did not
follow procedure. He accused Chinotimba of attempting to mount a coup. Amid
the chaos is a third splinter war veterans faction dubbed Mwana Wevhu which
is led by Retired Colonel Basten Beta, who says the faction's patron is
Grace Mugabe. The faction is also girding its loins to seize power. It
demanded a congress "yesterday".
The incumbent chairman Sibanda is said to be teaming up with Emmerson
Mnangagwa, the leader of a Zanu (PF) faction which is battling for control
against Vice President Joice Mujuru, to consolidate power over the war
veterans body. The energetic Sibanda was suspended in 2004 as punishment by
Mugabe for allegedly participating in an "illegal" meeting in Tsholotsho
which was said to have been called to install Mnangagwa as Mugabe's deputy
ahead of Mujuru. He was later reinstated, and led the so-called million men
march in Harare in support of Mugabe.
War veterans have become a factor in the contentious issue of choosing
Mugabe's successor, with aspiring candidates already using the former
combatants to campaign for them in the lower ranks of the party. War veteran
sources said Zanu (PF) heavyweights had developed a direct interest in the
affairs of the war veterans grouping. Senior officials admitted the staging
of the war veterans’ congress could open a can of worms. "The congress can
divide the association. It happened after the one held in Umzingwane (1998)
when chaos erupted as people fought over the outcome," said a senior Central
Committee member.

Children doing time with their mothers

Photo: decade_null/Flickr

A life in prison

HARARE, 11 August 2010 (IRIN) - Sarah Moyo, 24 - not her real name - clasps her stunted one-year-old child to her chest as she talks to her visiting husband through a chain-link fence at the Central Remand Prison, on the eastern fringe of Zimbabwe's capital, Harare.

Moyo has spent three months awaiting trial for throwing scalding water on her husband's lover, and she forces a smile at him and the two female friends accompanying him on the lunchtime visit.

Ignoring his two friends she fixes her gaze on her husband and says: "The child tends to vomit all the time I give him the food from prison. It would be better if the prison officials allowed you to bring along good food for the baby, because he could get sick any time and I wouldn't know what to do with him."

Zimbabwean jails have not escaped the country's decade-long economic malaise and food is in short supply. A prison official who declined to be identified told IRIN that diseases such as tuberculosis and kwashiorkor, which affects mainly children and is caused by severe protein malnutrition, and pellagra, a vitamin deficiency disease, were prevalent.

Moyo told IRIN that the three months of incarceration were taking their toll on her and the child. "I just wish I could have a good lawyer who will successfully apply for bail for me - raising a child in this situation is like living in hell," she said.

Inside the high walls crowned with razor wire, prison officers keenly watch the visitors and inmates; a woman in the compound sits and prays beside her coughing child of about two years, another woman prisoner breastfeeds her daughter while talking in hushed tones to a man.

Five mothers did not come out to meet their relatives today because they are in the prison hospital, since they or their children are seriously ill

Adults, juveniles and mothers with babies share the same jail, awaiting trial for crimes ranging from murder to pick-pocketing. "There are about 15 mothers with children whose ages range from just-born babies to five-year-olds," the prison official told IRIN.

"Five mothers did not come out to meet their relatives today because they are in the prison hospital, since they or their children are seriously ill."

One of the "longest serving" child inmates is a four-year-old, born within days of the mother being remanded; the prison officer said she was awaiting trial in the overcrowded prison for murder.

"The prison tries as much as possible to provide baby food to the children living with their mothers, and some well-wishers have stepped in to supply the food, but it quickly runs out and there is a general shortage. In some cases, the mothers feed on their babies' food because they are also starving," the official said.

"I have worked at several prisons in the last seven years and the situation is pretty much the same in all jails. Children living with their imprisoned mothers are in a sorry state; they are serving sentences for crimes they never committed."

In nearby Harare Prison, where those convicted of their crimes serve their sentences, infants share crowded cells with their mothers until they are four years old; they are then placed in a juvenile section and regularly visit their mothers, a prison officer at the jail, who declined to be identified, told IRIN.

HIV-positive mothers

"The mothers do their laundry and sometimes feed those in the juvenile section, but there are cases where the fathers successfully apply to have the children under their custody," the prison officer said.

"Where fathers do not come forward to claim their children, some foster homes accept the children, and we are more than ready to let them go because there are no resources to sustain them here."

There are also no educational facilities for the children and the official admitted that when they fell ill, prison doctors sometimes failed to react quickly enough. "I have a feeling that most of the children who die here could have survived if they enjoyed better health facilities," the official commented.

Most of the children who died in prison were given pauper burials, either because their next of kin was not known, or families did not offer to pay for their burial.

Sebastian Chenhaire, of the Zimbabwe Network of People Living with AIDS (ZNNP+), told IRIN that AIDS activists viewed the plight of children jailed with their mothers as a "serious problem" because their living conditions made it difficult for those who were HIV positive to obtain treatment.

"We are extremely concerned because it is a known fact that some of the children are born in prison to [HIV-]positive mothers and they also have the virus, while others go into the prisons already sick."

"Many positive children are dying in prison because they are failing to access treatment, and it is the responsibility of the government to make antiretroviral therapy accessible to them," Chenhaire said.

"It is also desirable to place jailed mothers on community service for offences that are not serious, and to consider putting others in open prisons where they can access treatment and other facilities more easily."

Security forces boycott Heroes Acre

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/

Written by Itai Mabasa
Tuesday, 10 August 2010 11:34

HARARE - Junior members of the Zimbabwe uniformed forces on Heroes holiday
resisted their call to attend the celebrations at the country's National
Heroes shrine.
Impeccable sources in the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) said the junior ranks
protested against the "Zanufication" of the country's national heroes. "It
is an insult to our intelligence that we attend Zanu (PF) rallies in the
name of national events. What the President always says at such gatherings
does not reflect a sense of nationality, but reduces the whole events to his
party rallies," he said.
Another source in the Zimbabwe Prison Service (ZPS) echoed the same
sentiments adding that it was not mandatory to attend the Heroes day
celebrations.

SADC needs more courage to deal with Mugabe

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/

11/08/2010 00:00:00
by Psychology Maziwisa

COMOURFLAGED as a compromise undertaken in the national interest, the
so-called Unity Government has proven to be yet another cunning and
evil-intentioned scheme by Zanu PF calculated to buy time for Robert Mugabe.
The whole project has been a ruse. With few exceptions, Zanu PF
parliamentarians and officials are power hungry thugs motivated by greed and
consumed by evil.

This is precisely why the changes brought by the inclusive government,
although helpful, have been largely cosmetic. For the most part, Zimbabwe
remains in crisis and there are ominous signs of it worsening as Zanu PF
starts electioneering.

Anyone who might still be naive enough to give Mugabe the benefit of the
doubt regarding the inclusive government belongs in the Garden of Eden.
Crocodiles cannot fly.

And SADC countries cannot escape blame. They have failed us. Rather than
send a clear and stern message to Mugabe, they have in fact propped him up.
Zimbabweans are starved, terrorised and tortured while SADC whistles in the
wind.

Compromised, fatigued, and with more pressing issues to deal with back home,
Jacob Zuma has hardly been able to give the crisis in Zimbabwe the attention
it deserves. As a consequence, his efforts to resolve it have been
ineffectual.

Thanks to his arguably deliberate lack of urgency and clout, our country
continues its fall into ruin and ordinary Zimbabweans continue to suffer.

Tyranny has become the default form of governance. Our economy remains in
peril. Our people perennially live in fear. A nation that rightfully belongs
to over 12 million people has been hijacked by a handful of cutthroats who
have as much money in their pockets as they have blood on their hands.
Despotism has eclipsed the legacy of our liberation struggle.

Meanwhile Zanu PF toadies like Jonathan Moyo -- who survives in public life
more by his ability to sniff the wind than by courage, character or any
discernible conviction -- have promised that more hearts will be broken and
that concerned people like United States President Barack Obama are nothing
more than malevolent imperialists. Unable to play the race card, the toadies
promptly produce the joker.

Our fallen heroes sacrificed their lives for this country to be free -- free
from oppression, free for its people to determine who should lead them and
free to make choices about their respective lives. To be fair to Mugabe,
that freedom includes guarding against external forces bent on imposing
regime change simply in order to satisfy their longstanding agendas.Yes, it also includes guarding against rampant, lamentable and intransigent
racism that makes international headlines when 'seven white farmers have
been killed in Zimbabwe' while deliberately ignoring the fact that in the
same period and in similar circumstances hundreds of locals also lost their
lives.

But intimidating critics is another issue. Betraying the efforts of our
liberation struggle is another issue. Mismanaging and plundering state
resources is another issue. Controlling the courts, military and police as a
means to intimidating opponents is another issue. Pouncing mercilessly upon
those courageous enough to defy tyranny is another issue. Subverting the
will of the people and so on and so forth - all the awful methods of the
all-powerful state is another issue. That is not guarding against
colonialism. It is authoritarianism. It is unacceptable.

Cunning to the core, Mugabe knows how to play his cards. He is a clever
propagandist who raises the spectre of colonialism when it suits him.
Detracting from the real issues he constantly dwells on largely unfounded
anti-colonial sloganeering while he continues to deny us human rights and
democracy.

Meanwhile, the MDC, a party with a plethora of suspect white sympathisers,
characterised by Mugabe as a 'sponsored surrogate force' and publicly backed
by the irresponsible Milibands of this world, has played into Mugabe's hands
by sometimes appearing to be a front for disgruntled whites.

The reality is that such institutions seldom work in Africa let alone in
Zimbabwe. In fairness to Tsvangirai - a man I have extraordinary admiration
for, a pragmatist who is in politics in order to get the job done and not
just for its own sake, a man who is to Zimbabwe now what Mugabe seemed to be
around 1980 - he realises he faces insurmountable challenges if his party is
not seen as a genuine people's movement.

He has worked extremely hard to shape MDC as a truly African institution.
One example serves to illustrate this fact and it is that, contrary to the
wishes of outside regime-change proponents and against overwhelming odds,
Tsvangirai elected to join forces with Mugabe in a coalition government.

At the time it seemed the only means by which to ameliorate a Mugabe
engineered crisis. In hindsight it was a foolish thing to do because, as
events have shown, Zanu PF never had any intention of sharing power and the
crooks that ran Zimbabwe prior to the inclusive government continue to run
amok.

But the imperfections and limitations of the MDC are hardly the problem. MDC
is not the enemy. Zanu PF is. The continual violent disruption of the
constitution-making process by Zanu PF supporters even in the face of an
inclusive government is appalling. But more than that, it is an unequivocal
indication of just how unprepared and unwilling they are to relinquish
power. It is a state of affairs ludicrous to anyone who cares about
democracy.

Doubtless we have reached a point where taking decisive action must now be
made a priority. In the first instance, SADC must be convinced to stop
tiptoeing around our situation. Our situation is dire and now urgently
requires a conclusive solution. Our people should help to draw attention to
this situation through, among other things, massive public protest against
the ineffectiveness to date of Jacob Zuma in particular and SADC in general.

Of SADC we need to urgently demand that minimum requirements for the holding
of free and fair elections be agreed upon as soon as possible. As a means to
giving effect to the minimum requirements, SADC must deploy a contingent of
armed forces across Zimbabwe with a view to maintaining peace and security
three months before the election as well as three months after the election.

Additionally, special courts presided over by impartial judges from within
the SADC region must be established to harshly and decisively deal with any
acts of subversion.

Meanwhile no one should be under any illusion about the extent of
culpability attributable to the wider international community. The argument
that they lack the leverage necessary to bring effective pressure to bear is
absolute hogwash. If the nations of this world stood firmly against
apartheid in South Africa, they must stand equally firmly against the
tyranny of Mugabe and Zanu PF in this country.
Psychology Maziwisa is interim leader of the Union for Sustainable
Democracy. E-mail him: leader@usd.org.zw

Nothing to expect from SADC summit

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

Written by John Makumbe
Tuesday, 10 August 2010 13:09

Zimbabweans should not expect any meaningful reaction to the prevailing
crisis in Zimbabwe from the forthcoming SADC Summit in Windhoek, Namibia.
The SADC has persistently been reluctant to resolve the critical issues
resulting from Mugabe and Zanu (PF)'s reluctance to share power with the
MDC.

There is nothing on the ground to indicate that this dubious stance will
change at the next Summit. It has already been indicated that all that can
be expected to happen is that President Jacob Zuma of South Africa will
brief or update the SADC heads of state on the little progress that has been
made so far. The SADC is very likely to just tell Zuma to continue to
facilitate the stagnant process.
The MDC are expecting too much from the toothless SADC by hoping that the
club of ruling elites will rap Mugabe's fingers for the numerous sins the
old man has committed in violation of the Global political Agreement (GPA)
signed by him and the MDC leaders.
Meanwhile, the constitution making process continues to be infested by
numerous incidents of intimidation and disruptions as fake war veterans and
Zanu (PF) militia seek to ensure that the ridiculous Kariba Draft is adopted
as the basis of the new foundation law for this country.
Reports of the disruptions of Copac outreach meetings are clearly indicative
of the people's resistance to the Zanu (PF) machinations aimed at derailing
the noble process. In East Africa, Kenya has set a tough standard for
Zimbabwe to emulate, and that nation is now on course in the transition to
democracy. We still have a long way to go before we can say we are even half
way home in this regard.
The gallant members of Copac must, however, be saluted for holding onto
their mandate and continuing to hold outreach meetings with the people in
various parts of the country. A new and democratic constitution for this
country must and will be written regardless of the fears and wishes of
Mugabe and his decaying political party.
It is for this reason that the MDC has little choice but to swallow its
pride when the SADC Summit fails to deliver anything sensible in a few days'
time, and continue in the government of national unity (GNU) until that new
constitution is adopted. The fact that Joseph Kabila will be handing over
the chair of the SADC to Namibia's Pohamba makes Zimbabwe's situation even
direr, indeed.
President Pohamba of Namibia is good old Sam Nunjoma's puppet, and he wields
no meaningful power except that which his master allows him to wield. We all
know that Nunjoma is a self-dedicated worshipper of Robert Mugabe, and that
to him, there is no crisis in Zimbabwe. In fact, Namibia has consistently
denied Zimbabweans living in that lovely country refugee status no matter
what their individual circumstances were. It will therefore be naivety of
the highest order to expect Namibia, as new chair of the SADC, to do any
better in resolving the prolonged crisis than the DRC did - nothing.
Zimbabwe must not be allowed to assume the chair of the SADC Troika at this
time since the local crisis is one of the issues that remain unresolved as a
result of the poor work of that SADC organ. Civil society in both Zimbabwe
and Namibia should lobby the SADC effectively to ensure that the Troika
chairmanship is not handed to Zimbabwe until the crisis is resolved. That
essentially means until after the next national and presidential elections.
It may be too late for civil society to lobby the SADC on this matter, if
they have not already done so.

Is MDC losing focus?

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/

Written by TONDERAI KWIDINI
Wednesday, 11 August 2010 07:08

HARARE - There are increasing concerns that the new members of Government of
National Unity (GNU) have become comfortable with their new found positions
in Government - forgetting their mandate of transforming Zimbabwe into a
democratic state.
Eighteen months since the formation of the GNU, hope is evaporating as
Zimbabweans become accustomed to what has been described as the "new normal".
Many say there is no difference between new government officials from the
MDC and those from Zanu (PF).
Continuing greed, corruption and callousness among government officials is
cause for deep concern. Critics believe the new players have become more
focused on politics as a "profession" or "station with perks" - rather than
focusing on objectives such as good governance and a transformation of the
country's policies.
"To some extent we have this new equilibrium," said Zimbabwe Congress of
Trade Unions (ZCTU) Secretary General, Wellington Chibhebhe. "When they got
into government they were falling over each other to get cars and perks.
They fitted well into existing conditions of service, power game and culture
of chiefdom."
The MDC has been criticised for concentrating on wresting power from Zanu
(PF) rather than reforming institutions of governance.  For example, some
say the MDC has put all its energies into firing Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
(RBZ) Gideon Gono and Attorney General Johannes Tomana, rather than
concentrating on democratising the institutions behind these names.
University of Zimbabwe Economics Professor, Tony Hawkins, said he was not
surprised by the current status quo.
"People in this country get into politics to make money - unfortunately
there is no professionalism in politics," said Hawkins.
Bulawayo-based businessman, Eric Bloch said the MDC had done quite a lot in
2009 to restore confidence in the country, but these gains were being eroded
by events of 2010.
"We saw a number of positive changes in 2009 when the MDC joined government,
but these are being eroded by the controversial indigenisation law as well
as the continued attacks on the west by Zanu (PF) officials," said Bloc. "It's
a matter of Zanu (PF) not prepared to do away with its old and retrogressive
policies forcing the MDC to compromise."
Zanu (PF) chief whip, Jorum Gumbo, said (without answering the question):
"The MDC and Zanu (PF) are in the same government, it's one government which
makes the same decision so why should you want to separate them?"
But the MDC spokesperson Thabitha Khumalo argued that the comparison was
unfair.  "There is no way you can compare us with Zanu (PF). We are
different, we might be in an inclusive government but the similarities stop
there," she said.
The leader of Mavambo/Kusile/Dawn (MKD), Simba Makoni, said the two parties
were sides of the same coin. "It's the continuation of the gravy train. Some
of us now call it the MDC PF and the only way to stop these trends is to
have a new election," said Makoni.

Peter Chingoka obstacle to England playing Zimbabwe again, says UK Sports Minister

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

England will be discouraged from playing Zimbabwe until its board has
severed ties with the Robert Mugabe regime.

By Nick Hoult
Published: 7:00AM BST 12 Aug 2010

Moves to reintegrate Zimbabwe into mainstream international cricket have
raised the prospect of them touring this country again but Hugh Robertson,
the sports minister, has said a thawing of relations is impossible while
Peter Chingoka remains president of Zimbabwe Cricket.

"The problem is simple," he said. "Zimbabwe cricket is headed by a man who
sits on the EU banned list and he sits on that list for good reasons. As
long as he is in charge of Zimbabwe cricket it is extremely difficult for
them to be fully integrated into the global cricketing community. Officially
government advice remains we discourage teams from playing. England will be
discouraged from travelling over there and it is difficult for them to come
here while their chairman remains on the banned list. It is very difficult
to welcome a team here if the chairman cannot get a visa to enter this
country."

The stance of the coalition government echoes the line taken during the
final years of the Labour government under Gordon Brown, although the
identification of Chingoka as a specific problem does at least provide a
clear solution.

The fact he is denied entry into this country forced the International
Cricket Council to move its annual general meeting in June to Singapore and
the Zimbabwe team voluntarily pulled out of the 2009 World Twenty20 once it
became clear they too would not be given British visas.

But over the past six months there has been a reorganisation of cricket in
Zimbabwe and this summer Andy Flower, the England coach, urged the MCC's
world cricket committee to send a fact-finding mission there.

His brother Grant is now involved in the national set up, while Alistair
Campbell, Flower's predecessor as captain, was appointed chairman of
selectors last October and stated the board's aim to resume playing Test
cricket within two years.

Former England batsman and Surrey coach Alan Butcher is now Zimbabwe coach
while another ex-Surrey star, Monte Lynch, is in charge of first-class
outfit Southern Rocks.

Ireland announced on Wednesday they will play three one-day internationals
in Harare in October but England have not played in the country for six
years.

Timeline

1995 - England, the only country to vote against Zimbabwe gaining Test
status, finish the first Test one run short of victory, prompting the then
England coach, David Lloyd, to claim "we flipping murdered 'em."

2003 - England refuse to visit Zimbabwe in the 2003 World Cup, so missing a
place in the quarter-finals.

2009 - Zimbabwe pull out of the World Twenty20 in England.

2010 - The International Cricket Council's annual conference is moved from
London to Singapore, avoiding visa problems for Zimbabwe officials coming to
Britain.