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South
Africa's Zuma Due in Zimbabwe to Mediate Unity Government
Disputes
http://www.voanews.com
By Blessing Zulu & Ntungamili Nkomo
Washington
12 August 2009
South African President Jacob
Zuma, who remains chairman of the Southern
African Development Community
until a SADC summit in September, is expected
in Harare late this month to
try to resolve the simmering disputes within
the unity
government.
Sources in the government and in the ZANU-PF party of
President Robert
Mugabe say Mr. Mugabe on Wednesday called for an urgent
meeting with his
fellow principals, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and
Deputy Prime
Minister Arthur Mutambara, to discuss the agenda of the meeting
with Mr.
Zuma which has tentatively been set for August 27.
But Zuma
spokesman Vincent Mangwenya professed ignorance about the meeting
saying the
details will be released in due course.
Not only is Mr. Zuma the SADC
chairman, but his predecessors in Pretoria -
Thabo Mbeki and Kgalema
Motlanthe, now his deputy president- were
instrumental in bringing about the
formation six months ago of the so-called
inclusive government in
Harare.
Mr Tsvangirai sought Mr. Zuma's help early this month in
unblocking the
political logjam in Harare over issues such as the leadership
of the Reserve
Bank of Zimbabwe and the Office of the Attorney General.
Following that
meeting with Mr. Tsvangirai, Mr. Zuma reached out to
President Mugabe and
Mutambara to bring them into the process.
Mr.
Tsvangirai's formation of the Movement for Democratic Change - Mutambara
is
the head of a smaller MDC grouping - is also up in arms about the number
of
its lawmakers who face criminal charges or or in some cases have been
convicted and sentenced to prison terms longer than six months, potentially
costing them their seats in parliament.
The MDC accuses ZANU-PF of
manipulating the judicial system to dilute the
majority that the former
opposition party secured in the general election
held in March
2008.
The meeting between Mr. Zuma and the three Harare principals could
provide
an indication as to how firmly the South African leader will tread
on
Zimbabwe.
But London based international affairs expert Innocent
Sithole told reporter
Blessing Zulu of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that it
is early days to reach
any conclusions.
Lutah Shaba, executive
director of the Women's Trust, told reporter
Ntungamili Nkomo that Mr. Zuma
must take a firm line with Mr. Mugabe if he
is to make progress in the
talks.
More infighting after Zimbabwe vice-president's death
http://www.businessday.co.za
DUMISANI MULEYA
Published: 2009/08/13 06:55:23 AM
THE competition to replace
Zimbabwe's vice-president, the late Joseph Msika,
has intensified in
President Robert Mugabe's deeply divided Zanu (PF) which
faces an uncertain
future if the problem remains unresolved.
The urgent need to find a
suitable candidate to replace Msika has caused
another wave of political
infighting in Zanu (PF), guaranteeing a fresh
power struggle likely to
weaken further the already unstable former
liberation movement, sources
said.
Msika's death had fuelled a succession
battle between party chairman John
Nkomo, politburo member Obert Mpofu and
Bulawayo governor Cain Mathema,
sources said. Zimbabwe's ambassador to SA
Simon Khaya Moyo is also in the
running
. There are also
behind-the-scenes efforts in Zanu (PF) to bring back former
senior politburo
member Dumiso Dabengwa, who quit the party last year, in
protest against
Mugabe's overstaying his time in power and his failed
29-year
rule.
Mugabe, 85, has been at the helm of his party for 32
years and is poised to
extend his leadership by another five years at the
party's elective congress
in December. Calls for Mugabe to quit have
resurfaced.
But Zanu (PF) is unlikely to survive Mugabe's
departure.
Sources said Nkomo, a key member of the Zanu (PF)
praesidium, was the
frontrunner to replace Msika. Mpofu and Mathema were
relative lightweights
and Moyo is seen as a long shot. Dabengwa would have
been the frontrunner
had he not left the party, but he could bounce back if
continuing talks
succeed.
Campaigns for Msika's position
and the chairmanship, which could become
vacant if Nkomo moves up, were
evident at the weekend.
Nkomo and Mpofu featured in media
interviews where they clearly advertised
their credentials, while Mathema
and Moyo wrote newspaper articles in
self-praise.
Dabengwa, now interim opposition (PF) Zapu
leader, has been
characteristically quiet, but senior Zanu (PF) officials
have approached him
to return as vice-president.
The
sources said while there was fierce competition for the posts, Nkomo was
likely to eventually become vice-president, while Moyo would be the
chairman.
The vacancies are supposed to be open to former
(PF) Zapu members who are
now part of Zanu (PF). (PF) Zapu and Zanu (PF)
merged in 1987.
However, Dabengwa has been agitating for the
dissolution of the pact,
accusing Mugabe of clinging to power and failing to
fulfil development needs
in Dabengwa's Matabeleland home
province.
Most former (PF) Zapu members are opposed to Dabengwa's bid
to revive the
party but want him to return to Zanu (PF) as
vice-president.
Sources said Nkomo, Mpofu, Mathema and Moyo
had been lobbying party
stalwarts and war veterans to boost their bids.
Dabengwa has taken a
wait-and-see stance.
Six years on, residents have no water or toilets
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
11
August 2009
By ZWANAI
SITHOLE
BULAWAYO - A health time-bomb is ticking in Cowdray Park
high-density
suburb.
Residents of the government's controversial
Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle housing
scheme are living in filthy conditions almost
six years after the programme
was launched.
Close to 300 people were
allocated houses in the suburb without proper
toilet and washing facilities,
due to bickering between the city council and
the government over the
implementation of the programme.
The city council argued that under existing
bylaws, the houses could not be
occupied without proper sanitation, but the
government was determined to
fast-track the scheme.
Almost six years
later, the council has not yet provided water, sewage
services or
roads.
"We do not understand why the council is failing to provide these
essential
services to us. We are paying our monthly instalments, but right
now we do
not have water, proper toilets as well sewage facilities. We feel
someone is
out to sabotage this programme." Said resident Machel
Ncube.
Misheck Dube said most of the residents in the area had now resorted
to bush
toilets and fetching water from unprotected water sources because
there was
no running water.
At the inception of the programme, the
minister of local government and
national housing, Ignatius Chombo, openly
clashed with the then Bulawayo
executive mayor, Japhet Ndabeni Ncube, over
the criteria used in allocating
stands in the suburb.
Go-slow at border
affects business
MUSINA - A go-slow by South Africa's disgruntled home
affairs officers at
the Limpopo border-post has caused chaos for
travellers.
Traffic jams and long, winding queues mean crossing the border
can take as
long as 24 hours - a situation that traders say is losing their
businesses
millions of US dollars.
The problems started last Wednesday,
but have spilled over to this week as
more and more cross-border buses and
commercial haulage trucks join the
queues. Some have been there for three
days.
"What matters most is the fact that travellers are forced to incur lots
of
unnecessary expenses in food purchasing. This untimely go-slow has
brought
lots of suffering and we demand some respect," said Munaye Virimayi
of
Hatfield, Harare.
Virimayi claimed that he has been at the
Musina/Beitbridge border-post for
two days and had already lost his clients,
who travelled from Lumbumbashi in
the Democratic Republic of Congo to buy
water treatment chemicals from him.
Judith Muzokomba also said she had been
made to stay at the South African
border side for more than 24 hours.
"On
the Zimbabwean side, business is quite normal and the Zimra officers are
very efficient. We only get worried when we are on the other side of the
border, which is the South African part. Sometimes you see only two
immigration officers attending to a queue of more than 3,000 people," said
Muzokomba.
Home Affairs officials said their action was a way of sending
a clear
message that hey wanted better salaries and working
conditions.
"We are doing this in order to have food on our tables. Our
government is
insensitive to our plight," said one immigration officer. -
CAJ News
No Water,
Just a Bill
http://www.ipsnews.net
By Ntandoyenkosi Ncube
HARARE, Aug 12 (IPS) - City council
turns off the water. National minister
in charge says turn it back on.
Domestic and commercial users alike dispute
their unpaid bills. The shadow
of a cholera epidemic looms over it all. Must
be Harare.
"We are not
going to pay. We will boycott paying." Netsai Mutongi has a
letter from the
council demanding 230 dollars for unpaid water bills, just
part of the 22
million dollars Harare City Council says it is owed in
outstanding water
bills.
But she says she's not paying because she never even saw the
water. "Our
argument is that the amount of money being ordered by the City
of Harare is
inflated and we are paying for leaking water. The money (that
the council
is) demanding is not proportionate to the value and amount of
water that is
being supplied to us."
The water crisis in Harare's
high density suburbs and satellite cities is
getting worse. Harare requires
1,200 megalitres per day for domestic and
industrial consumption; the Morton
Jeffrey treatment plant has a maximum
production capacity of 614 megalitres,
and is actually pumping out between
400 and 500 megalitres per
day.
Engineers say Harare is losing more than 40 percent of the water
pumped out
into the system due to pipe leakages.
"Pipes and equipment
at the Morton Jeffrey are outlived; conveyor belts have
since stopped
working. We are losing hundreds of megalitres per day through
incessant pipe
leakages in our dilapidated infrastructure," says water
engineer Albert
Nhongomhema.
Residents say they have been forced to share water with
"donkeys and wild
animals," resorting to fetching water from open sources,
possibly exposing
themselves to water-borne diseases. Others buy water from
neighbours with
back yard wells.
"You can't drill a borehole in
high-density suburbs unless it is on church
or school grounds. Churches
usually sell or supply water to their members.
We can only get water from
those with illegal wells in their back yards,"
Roslyn Matarutse told IPS. "A
bucket of water costs two dollars U.S.,
sometimes three
dollars."
People note that boreholes have been drilled at the official
residences of
vice presidents, ministers and permanent secretaries and other
senior
government officials - and the president's
residence.
Residents in Harare's humbler homes fear continued
disconnections will
result in disease. Water shortages last year contributed
to a cholera
epidemic in Zimbabwe, that the World Health Organisation
labelled the worst
outbreak of the disease in Africa in 15 years. A hundred
thousand people
fell sick across the country; four thousand died.
The
national minister for water resources and development, Sam Sipepa Nkomo,
is
concerned. "Water is life, because everything that we do revolves around
water. If clean water is cut off, then it will force residents to look for
alternative sources, which will obviously be dirty. Disconnecting water is
like cutting off life," Nkomo told IPS.
"The residents cannot be
expected to pay for water which they did not
receive or use. Instead of
disconnecting water supplies to residents and
commercial interests with
genuine outstanding bills, the Harare authorities
should negotiate easy
payment methods; otherwise we will have another
cholera
disaster."
According to Nkomo, government recently disbursed 17 million
dollars for
repairs to Harare's dilapidated water and sewage infrastructure,
but
admitted that fully addressing the problems is beyond government's
capabilities at present.
(END/2009)
Zim security chiefs split over Tsvangirai
http://www.zimonline.co.za/
by Cuthbert Nzou
Thursday 13 August 2009
HARARE - The move by the commanders
of Zimbabwe's army and air force to
salute Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai
has brought to the fore divisions
among the country's powerful security
chiefs on how to handle the former
opposition leader who they had previously
vowed not to salute, analysts
said.
Air Force commander Perence Shiri
and National Army commander Phillip
Sibanda on Tuesday broke ranks with
fellow top commanders to salute
Tsvangirai during the Defence Forces Day
ceremony, in what analysts said was
proof that there was never agreement
within the security establishment not
to recognise the Premier -- despite
public perceptions to the contrary.
"There was never a common position on
Tsvangirai in the security forces of
the country," University of Zimbabwe
political scientist Eldred Masunungure
told ZimOnline
Wednesday.
General Constantine Chiwenga, who as commander of the Zimbabwe
Defence
Forces is overall in charge of the army and air force, last year led
senior
military and security commanders in pledging allegiance to President
Robert
Mugabe and vowing never to salute Tsvangirai should he win power
because he
was a "stooge of the West".
Army chief of staff Martin
Chedondo, police commissioner general Augustine
Chihuri, Central
Intelligence Organisation deputy director general Maynard
Muzariri all
promised never to salute Tsvangirai.
Prisons commissioner Paradzai
Zimondi declared he would quit his job to take
up arms to "defend the
revolution" should Tsvangirai win a second round
presidential election held
in June last year and that the former trade union
leader had looked poised
to take after defeating Mugabe in the first round
ballot.
The MDC
leader later pulled out of the election because of violence against
his
supporters allegedly masterminded by top army and police
officers.
Masunungure said it was important to note that when Chiwenga
and other top
commanders publicly voiced their dislike of the MDC leader,
Shiri and
Sibanda had not done so.
He said: "When Chiwenga and
Chedondo vowed never to salute Tsvangirai, Shiri
never made a public
statement, while Sibanda went on record to say the army
should remain
apolitical."
The respected Masunungure said it was also likely that Shiri
and Sibanda
could have been nudged to finally break ranks with their fellow
commanders
out of a realisation that Zimbabwe needed to move forward and
that the only
platform to do so was the inclusive government between
Tsvangirai and
Mugabe.
"This might also be out of pressure they are
getting from their juniors in
the army and the air force who want a change
in the country's socio-economic
affairs. The two commanders operate on the
ground and could have gauged the
mood of the soldiers," he added.
But
whatever may have been the motive of Shiri and Sibanda in saluting
Tsvangirai, clearly they did not share it with their top commander,
Chiwenga.
The ZDF chief saluted Mugabe and other top government
leaders as they
departed Gwanzura stadium at the end of the ceremony. But he
did not salute
Tsvangirai.
Chihuru and Zimondi also did not salute
the Premier, with state protocol
officials saying the two were not obliged
to do so because they were in
civillian attire.
But army and
government insiders insisted that there were widening divisions
within the
military and security establishment over whether to support the
unity
government and recognise Tsvangirai's authority as Prime Minister.
Shiri,
Sibanda and CIO director general Happyton Bonyongwe were in support
of the
inclusive government, while Chiwenga, Chihuri, Muzariri and Zimondi
remained
firmly opposed to it, according to sources.
The divisions in the security
forces, the sources said, were the reason
behind the delay in the inaugural
convention of the National Security
Council (NSC).
The council, which
replaced the Joint Military Command (JOC), met for the
first time only a
fortnight ago. The NSC is the new security think tank of
the country. JOC
was allegedly behind the bloody run-off election campaign
last year to
retain Mugabe.
John Makumbe, a political scientist and long time critic
of Mugabe's regime,
said the move by Shiri and Sibanda to salute Mugabe was
positive although it
was a "shame" that they did it six months after
formation of the inclusive
government.
"It is a shame they have only
done this six months after the inauguration of
the inclusive government. But
he (Tsvangirai) has respected them by showing
up at the Heroes celebrations
and the burial of Vice President Msika, and
today at the Defence Forces Day
and so they should reciprocate," Makumbe
said.
Zimbabwe's coalition
government -- that Mugabe and Tsvangirai agreed to form
only because of
pressure from southern African leaders -- has done well to
stabilize the
economy and end inflation that private economists at one time
estimated at
more than a trillion percent at the height of the country's
economic
meltdown last year.
But analysts remain skeptical about the government's
long-term
effectiveness, citing unending squabbles between ZANU PF and the
MDC,
refusal by rich Western countries to provide financial support and the
administration's failure to win full backing from all security commanders
who are critical to its ability to run the country. - ZimOnline.
Zimbabwe food basket goes up
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
12
August 2009
By Zimbabwe
Mail
HARARE - A monthly cost of a food basket in Zimbabwe for a family of
six has
increased owing to the shortage of foreign cash and distortions over
the
international exchange rates.
A food basket for a family of six
went up to US$148.30 from last month's
figure of US$138.05, a quick reminder
that the country's ten year economic
nightmares are still not out of the
woods despite a unity government formed
February. This also highlights that
the majority of Zimbabweans are still
going hungry and cannot afford food
basics since they earn less than US$200.
The firming rand means food
basics imported from S A become expensive for
local consumers since most
shops and supermarkets would be pegging their
goods using various US$ to
rand exchange rates.
"In June, the food section for a family of six was
US$138, 05 and in July it
rose to US$148, 30, owing to the firming of the
South African rand and
distortions that characterized the fuel market," said
Consumer Council of
Zimbabwe (CCZ) Executive Director, Rosemary
Siyachitema.
The rent, water, education, clothing and footwear basket
experienced a
reduction from $349 to $344 as a result of the introduction of
actual usage
bills and continued supply of imports on clothing and footwear,
bringing
competition resulting in low prices.
Siyachitema applauded
service providers for re-introducing actual usage
bills.
Meanwhile, CCZ
has begun conducting surveys in major retail outlets to help
consumers make
rational decisions when buying products.
Zanu
thugs in gruesome murder
12 August 2009
The villager said the assailants tied up Mosterd with ropes, cut his chin
with a knife and pierced his stomach with redhot iron bars before carrying the
dead body in a wheelbarrow. They dumped it on the Harare-Mutare road where they
hoped it would be run over and the murder covered up. The bloodstained barrow
and ropes are being held as evidence. The body was spotted by a school child a
day later.
Police advised Mosterd’s relatives not to visit the village. as they could be
attacked by the thugs. Police officers revealed that Mosterd was the fifth
person to be murdered at village 19 since the outbreak of violence in June 2008.
Two months ago, an unidentified body was found in the Mucheke River. The body
had an iron rod pierced through the stomach.
Following Deadly Bus Crashes, Zimbabwe Eyes Tolls to Fund Highway
Safety
http://www.voanews.com
By Patience Rusere
Washington
12
August 2009
Following two deadly bus crashes on Zimbabwean highways
that claimed the
lives of nearly 60 people in recent weeks, the Harare
government is moving
ahead to introduce toll roads that will generate the
revenue needed to make
the country's roadways safer.
Sesio Moyo,
transport secretary for the Movement for Democratic Change
formation of
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, said measures are in place to
set up toll
gates very soon.
Forty people died after a bus collided with a truck on
the road from Harare
to Masvingo Aug. 2, and another 17 were killed in
another bus crash the
following Sunday.
Following the latest highway
tragedy, Transport Minister Nicholas Goche told
the state-run Herald
newspaper that the government is opening an
investigation into transport
operators which will focus among other points
on whether they are hiring
qualified bus drivers.
But MDC Transport Secretary Moyo told reporter
Patience Rusere of VOA's
Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that the underlying cause is
the decade-long collapse
of the economy.
A World Health Organization
report on road safety based on 2007 data shows
Zimbabwe with some 27.5
traffic deaths per 100,000 population, compared with
33.2 in neighboring
South Africa but just 13.9 in the United States and 5.4
in
Britain.
Consumer Council of Zimbabwe Matabeleland Regional Officer
Comfort Muchekeza
said most major accidents involve public transport
operators on the
highways, suggesting that such accidents could be
attributed to poor working
conditions.
Invasions
will further harm economy - CFU
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=21066
August 13, 2009
By Our
Correspondent
HARARE - The new President of the Commercial Farmers Union
(CFU) says
Zimbabwe's economy will not recover until the government puts a
hold to
continuing farm invasions.
Deon Theron who took over the
reigns at the CFU at the just ended CFU annual
general meeting told The
Zimbabwe Times in an interview Wednesday that
sanity in the agricultural
sector remains key to the recovery of the
economy.
"There is need to
try and put a stop to the continuing evictions because
they are threatening
the economic recovery of the country, there is no way
the economy is going
to improve without stability in the agricultural
sector," said
Theron.
"This sector remains absolutely critical to attracting investor's
confidence. There is need to urgently find a way to solve the problems
because if we don't do it is the economy which will continue to
suffer."
He chronicled the continuing disturbances on the farms, citing a
case in
which a senior army officer, one Justin Mujaji, is making attempts
to take
over tobacco farmer, Charles Lock's Karori Farm in
Headlands.
Theron said there was a group of armed soldiers camped on the
farm and
intimidating Lock to leave his farm.
"The disturbances at
the farm are continuing," said Theron. "The soldiers
have stopped production
at the farm and are preventing Lock from taking his
produce to the market.
They say he should leave the farm first before he can
sell his
produce."
CFU's immediate past President Trevor Gifford said the
organisation was
pushing for a face to face meeting with President Robert
Mugabe to ask him
to put a stop to farm invasions.
"We are trying to
push for a meeting with the President but he has agreed to
one but we are
using various channels through different offices to get this
meeting, "said
Gifford.
Gifford last month took the opportunity to ask Mugabe a question
at an
investment conference held in Harare. Gifford asked the President if
the
government was going to compensate farmers for the loss of property.
Mugabe
said that responsibility should be shouldered by the British
government.
Members of the CFU have taken their case to the SADC Tribunal
court which
ruled that the government's chaotic and often violent land
reform programme
violated the SADC treaty. The ruling provided immunity for
the farmers from
the further acquisition of their farms.
But the
government has largely ignored the ruling. A full SADC summit which
is
supposed to act on the matter is yet to do so.
The Commercial Farmers
Union (CFU) blames the government of folding its
hands while farm
disruptions continue.
Last Minister Deputy Prime Minister, Arthur
Mutambara, said the two MDC
parties in coalition with Zanu-PF in a coalition
government have no power to
stop these disruptions.
The CFU has now
resorted to compiling a blacklist of known land invaders as
part of an
effort to force justice through the national healing process.
The list
was revealed in a CFU report unveiled at the group's annual general
meeting
in Harare last week. The report follows the government's continued
refusal
to protect farmers from ongoing attacks and harassment by powerful
army
generals, government officials and Zanu-PF loyalists.
The CFU says it has
recorded more than 1 800 incidents on farms between
August 2008 and June
this year, including violent attacks, vandalism and
looting of property,
assaults on farm workers, burning of crops and other
incidents in which the
police have flatly refused to assist farmers.
According to the CFU, only
400 white commercial farmers remain on the farms,
and of these, up to 170
are currently facing prosecution for defying
government's order to vacate
their farms, which have been designated for
reallocation. A total of 66
farmers have been convicted and these include
their workers.
ZBC ignores more than half population
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
11
August 2009
By The
Zimbabwean
EDITOR - Many Zimbabweans do not want to renew their
listeners' licences for
the following reasons: ZBC/ZTV have acknowledged
that they serve the
interests of their major shareholder, Zanu (PF). ZBC/ZTV
refused to flight
campaign messages from the MDC during the recent
presidential run-off
elections. ZBC/ZTV acts as a propaganda tool for Zanu
(PF) and presents
biased and untruthful programmes.
The quality of
services to outlying areas such as Marondera is extremely
poor.
Zimbabweans demand a democratic broadcasting service. The election
results
confirmed that more than half the people of Zimbabwe support change
in this
country and have a different point of view from that expressed by
ZBC/ZTV.
They cannot afford to ignore more than half the population.
We
demand that ZBC/ZTV agrees to allow all political parties and social
justice
organisations free, equal and fair access to the broadcasting media,
thereby
encouraging open political debate in Zimbabwe.
We demand that news programmes
are presented in an unbiased manner, and that
comment is sought from all
representative voices of the population in
documentaries and current affairs
programmes.
We demand an immediate investigation into the poor service
currently being
experienced by viewers outside of capital cities
We hope
that they will treat these concerns with the importance that they
deserve
and that they will work with us to develop a broadcasting service
that
serves the people rather than an unpopular and incompetent party.
ANON, by
email
New airline to start next month
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
11
August 2009
By STAFF
REPORTER
BULAWAYO - Struggling state-owned airline, Air Zimbabwe, is to
face stiff
competition from a privately-owned airline to be launched next
month.
Reeling from decades of government abuse and corruption, the airline
has
been struggling for survival and recently retrenched 420
workers.
A new local airline, Fly Kumba, is to be launched in September.
The new
airline says its thrust will be on ensuring that flying is both
affordable
and convenient and is geared to cater for the burgeoning
travelling
population plying the Harare-Johannesburg and
Bulawayo-Johannesburg routes.
Chief Executive Officer, Lloyd Muchaka,
said the airline's vision and
mission was centred on ensuring that flying
was affordable to everyone. "We
intend to become Zimbabwe's preferred
low-cost airline, delivering the
cheapest air fares with the highest
consumer value and offering world-class
service to the price sensitive
consumer. Fly Kumba intends to fulfil
everyone's dream of flying based on
very low fares," said Machaka.
He added: "The new airline seeks to
complement the tourist sector and sees
ongoing efforts to rebrand the
country as an opportunity for the airline to
play its part in enhancing the
image of the country to the outside world."
Fly Kumba has acquired a new
generation fleet of Boeing 737-200 backed by
cutting edge technology and
infrastructure to ensure the highest standards
in operating efficiency.
Zim mine's gold output rises
http://www.zimonline.co.za/
by Cuthbert Nzou Thursday 13
August 2009
HARARE - One of Zimbabwe's leading gold
producers, Turk Mine, has increased
production by 8.4 percent following the
country's liberalisation of gold
trading and marketing early this year, a
company executive has said.
The Bulawayo mine, which was re-opened in
March, saw gold production in July
increasing to 1 016 ounces or 31.6kg
compared to 937 ounces or 29.15kg
produced in June.
Gold sales for
the month of July totalled US$1 037 000 compared to US$780
000 in June 2009,
an increase of 32.9 percent.
In line with the liberalisation of the
trading and marketing of gold, the
mine was paid in hard currency for all
its gold sales.
"Production at the Turk Mine has increased steadily for
the past four months
and we are well on our way to realising our first
production target of 1 200
ounces of gold per month by October-November
2009," commented Ian Saunders,
the president and chief executive officer of
the mine.
"We are also evaluating opportunities to realise cost
efficiencies to reduce
overall cash costs where ever possible. New Dawn (the
parent company of the
mine) is well positioned to take advantage of
opportunities in Zimbabwe,
with a highly competitive capital and operating
cost structure and a team of
professionals focused on building shareholder
value through internal and
external growth."
New Dawn owns and
operates Turk and Angelus mines in the upper southwest
area of Zimbabwe that
has the potential to produce an estimated 35 000 to 50
000 ounces of gold
per annum.
Currently, a production facility capable of processing up to
400 tonnes per
day or 12 000 tonnes per month is in place and
operating.
Zimbabwe's gold mining sector has witnessed a slide in
production over the
years owing to shortages of foreign currency to import
machinery and
chemicals, electricity cuts and lower prices paid by the
RBZ.
The southern African country is reviewing a Bill forcing foreign
companies
to sell controlling stake to local blacks in order to encourage
companies to
start exploiting the country's mineral deposits and revive the
country's
once vibrant mining sector which had fallen victim to an acute
economic
meltdown over the last decade. - ZimOnline
Supermarket rakes in big profits
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
11
August 2009
By PAUL
NDLOVU
HARARE - The supermarket business seems to be back on its feet,
with the
news that retail giant OK Zimbabwe made US$31.2 million in the
three months
up to June. Chairman Eric Kahari told shareholders that OK's
revenue was in
line with the expectations of the
company.
Chief executive Willard Zireva added that the group was
forecasting a better
performance for July in terms of revenue, which was
increasing monthly as
more stock became available. In the first two months
of the group's
financial year, sales totalled US$19m.
The CEO said the
company was aware of competition from the small
independent
retailers.
"We have a comprehensive brand with a fuller range when compared
to the
other stores," he said.
Since the dollarisation of the economy
last year, many new stores have
opened, some as a result of other businesses
closing and then converting
into supermarkets.
Zireva said the group had
78,000 square metres in trading floor.
"We have more space than any other
retailer, even though rival TM has got
more outlets," said Kahari.
A new
store has opened in Chipinge and the group is looking at funding
options for
the Masvingo store.
Zireva said the group would be moving on to advertising,
as margins had now
stabilised.
Zimbabwe
Business Watch : Week 33
http://www.sokwanele.com/thisiszimbabwe/
August 12th, 2009
The political stalemate
continues to frustrate business that hopes to tap
into the GDP growth
forecast to be up to 3,7% this year.
Forex liquidity remains the primary
concern and constraining factor and
again, media reports continue to make
mention of the linkage between
stability and reform and promised funding for
the financial sector and the
functions of government. Over 1800 farm attacks
have been documented in the
last 12 months and 15 MDC MPS are either in jail
or face incarceration.
In the meantime commerce and industry live on a
pittance in a brave
endeavour to survive. Manufacturing, in particular,
suffers from lack of
finance as a relatively large investment is required to
restore operations
to viable levels. Interest rates have been excessive and
almost prohibitive
although there are signs that they are beginning to
drop.
At street level, cash change is becoming even more scarce because
there are
no credit cards or cheque books and the Reserve Bank has no
authority to
print money to support the growth that is taking
place.
Forex cash can now be purchased for a premium so the cycle
continues which
in itself is creating renewed inflation albeit in measurable
figures.
Nevertheless this phenomenon is adversely affecting the competitive
ability
of business either as exporters or as local traders. Stocks continue
to be
traded at reduced levels but at higher values.
Inflation has
seen it first rise in months as supply is not meeting demand
once more no
matter what the product or service.
Tomana must go
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
11
August 2009
By The Editor
The horrific murder
story on the front page of this week's issue is a clear
illustration of how
Zanu (PF) has tragically perverted the course of justice
in our country. A
well-known Zanu (PF) official has ordered the murder of a
16-year-old boy
and his henchmen have carried it out in the most gruesome
fashion. The boy's
crime was to demand wages for the work he had done for
the official. But he
could not be murdered for that. So he was branded an
MDC supporter - and
thereby became fair game for murderous thugs.
Although the police moved
swiftly - and most uncharacteristically - to
apprehend the suspects, we
understand they have now been released, on the
instructions of Didymus
Mutasa, Zanu (PF) secretary for administration.
Even more alarmingly, the
attorney general's office has simply turned a
blind eye to this miscarriage
of justice. Yet we remember how quick the AG
was to invoke the all-powerful
legislation at his command to refuse bail to
the deputy minister who had
been arrested on a trumped-up charge of stealing
a cell phone from war
veterans leader Joseph Chinotimba. The charge has
since been withdrawn and
no evidence whatsoever has emerged to substantiate
the allegation.
Yet
here we have a brutal murder case and named suspects. And nothing is
done
about it. How utterly appalling.
If ever any evidence was needed to
substantiate calls for the removal of
attorney general Johannes Tomana for
his blatant bias and abrogation of his
constitutional duty - here it
is.
Tomana must go.
C.G. Tracey's death marks the end of an era
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
10
August 2009
By TREVOR
GRUNDY
LONDON - The distinguished Zimbabwean businessman, C.G. Tracey,
died at the
home of one of his daughters on 22 July at the age of 86. The
finest
obituary for this extraordinary man is his life's work, his love for
his
family and fellow Zimbabweans and all of those great qualities is
contained
in a new book, which the late great 'C.G.' saw published in his
lifetime.
{Picture: Trevor Grundy (African Forum News
Services)}
It is now on sale in paperback form in Africa, the UK and
United States, All
for Nothing - My Life Remembered by C.G. Tracey (Weaver
Press, Zimbabwe).
"His death marks the end of an era," said the Zimbabwean
writer, historian
and businessman Lawrence Vambe when told of C.G's death.
"He was such a
highly intelligent, clever and articulate man whose great
interest and love
was Zimbabwe and the people of Zimbabwe."
A
spokesperson for Weaver Press said: "C.G.Tracey became a farmer at 16 at
the beginning of the Second World War. Entrepreneur, businessman,
plant-breeder, sanctions-buster, chairman and director of many companies,
husband, father and gentleman, 'C.G.' was active and involved through the
many unsettled years of Zimbabwe's history."
Despite having been a
strong supporter of Rhodesia before 1980 (he was the
Chairman of the
Rhodesia Promotion Council in Salisbury), 'C.G.'
whole-heartedly welcomed
and assisted the new Mugabe-led government and
became Chairman of the
Zimbabwe Promotion Council.
Added the Weaver Press spokesperson: "Having
had considerable influence in
the development of our still fledgling nation,
in the closing years of his
long life he suffered the loss of his own farm
in a period in which his
brother, sister and children were all tragically
affected and his
sister-in-law was murdered."
Judge Paddington Garwe
seized Mount Lothian farm in 2003. It was owned by
'C.G.' who was one of the
first white farmers to embrace Zimbabwe's
Independence. Tracey was both
heartbroken and confused about being forced
from his home and his life's
work.
The "Sydney Morning Herald" reported in April 2003 that neighbours
of 'C.G.'
said he refused to discuss his eviction, fearing reprisals. A
neighbour
explained that Tracey was forced off the farm by violent ruling
party
members posing as "landless peasants".
Garwe was appointed
Judge President in 2001 after Robert Mugabe purged the
judiciary which,
until that time, had ruled against illegal land grabs and
evictions.
Professor Ray Roberts of the University of Zimbabwe said
of the late C.G and
his book: "Tracey's career is remarkable if not unique
in its diversity and
the many sidelights that it throws on the history of
this country make it an
important document. When a more balanced view of our
history comes to be
made, these memoirs will become a much quoted source." -
("All for Nothing -
My life Remembered" by C.G. Tracey will be reviewed by
Trevor Grundy in a
forthcoming edition of The Zimbabwean.)