Ministers plunder government

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

By Chengetai Zvauya, Staff Writer
Sunday, 14 August 2011 16:01

HARARE - Government has spent over $20 million buying top-of-the -range
luxury vehicles for government ministers, deputy ministers, permanent
secretaries and members of parliament.

This is despite the fact that Minister of Finance Tendai Biti has repeatedly
stated that the coalition government is broke.

The scandalous and reckless spending spree comes at a time when hospitals
have no medicines, running water and electricity while civil servants were
awarded a paltry $31 increment each.

The money spent on vehicles is enough to drill 5 000 boreholes, a
development which would go a long way in solving the persistent water
shortages in the country and help fight waterborne diseases like cholera.

If government had avoided buying even one car, they would have drilled 40
boreholes in an area like Budiriro which was the most affected by cholera in
2008 which killed more than 4 000 people.

Highly placed government sources told the Daily News on Sunday that a fleet
of top-of-the-range V-8 Range Rovers, Land Rovers, Prados and Jeep Cherokees
valued between $160 000 and $200 000 each had been purchased for government
ministers and their deputies and permanent secretaries for the 38
ministries.

This effectively means that while the majority of the people are living in
abject poverty, being forced to scavenge for food, the ministers are living
the lifestyles of sports superstars and Hollywood stars.

The 4x4 fancy vehicles for ministers come on top of the relatively new fleet
of cars they already have which includes Mercedes Benz vehicles. The Daily
News on Sunday has been told that Zimbabwean ministers now have at least
three luxurious cars each.

The money used to buy the luxury vehicles is also enough to feed 40 000
families for a month using calculations based on the Consumer Council of
Zimbabwe (CCZ)’s monthly bread basket.

The latest CCZ figures show that a family of six requires $500 a month for
basics.

Yet the inclusive government of President Robert Mugabe, Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai and his deputy Arthur Mutambara saw it fit to splash on
new wheels for their already pampered ministers.

The executive is also plundering treasury of millions of dollars a week
through worthless travels around the world. Tsvangirai’s spokesperson, Luke
Tamborinyoka on Friday could not justify the lavish lifestyles being led by
his ministers.

“Check with the ministers of finance and transport rather than involving the
PM in these issues,’’ said Tamborinyoka. However, Tsvangirai is said to have
raised concerns with Biti over the acquisition of the top-of-the-range
vehicles which around the world are driven by wealthy starts like David
Beckham, Tom Cruise, Christiano Ronaldo and a host of others.

Mugabe’s spokesman, George Charamba was unavailable for comment. But it has
been a norm for Mugabe to spend on his ministers ahead of more pressing
national needs before Tsvangirai’s entrance into government.

A cabinet minister who spoke to the Daily News on Sunday said they deserved
the cars.

“Ministers are supposed to have at least two cars — one a sedan and the
other a high clearance vehicle for travel to rural areas. People should not
mistake this for plunder because the cars we have been using are getting
old,” he said.

Sources also said a major car dealer with connections in government supplied
three quarters of the posh vehicles although it could not be established if
the purchase went through tender.

Last month the government announced a series of proposed cuts on foreign
travel, provision of aides to government officials and a job freeze in a
raft of austerity measures. However, the decision by government to buy the
luxury cars exposes its misplaced priorities.

Raymond Majongwe, the secretary-general of the Progressive Teachers Union
said the education sector needed a lot of money to buy text books and
building of classroom blocks and other materials needed in the teaching
profession, and payments of the civil servants.

“This money would go a long way in helping our education sector,’’  said
Majongwe whose colleagues have been on and off industrial actions clamouring
for better pay.

Several government ministers are already driving the top-of-the- range
vehicles that were bought by the treasury at the inception of the coalition
government in 2008.

MPs and senators will also receive 4x4 twin cabs vehicles, each valued at
$15 000. The purchase has also already been approved by the treasury.

MPs from all political parties requested for new vehicles last month,
arguing that their current cars were damaged during the constitutional
outreach programme.

They also argued that the vehicles would also go a long way in compensating
for the non-payment of their sitting allowances which they have not received
since the start of the Seventh session of parliament in August 2008.

The sources further told the Daily News on Sunday that Biti has already
informed the MPs that their vehicles would soon be delivered, asking the MPs
to contribute a top up amount of $2 000 towards the purchase the trucks
procured at a cost of $17 000 each.

Contacted for comment, secretary for joint parliamentary welfare committee,
Zanu PF MP for Mwenenzi East, Kudakwashe Bhasikiti confirmed that they were
had made a request for the vehicles and government had agreed to purchase
the vehicles for them.

“We agreed as parliamentarians to have new vehicles and we requested the
executive to purchase vehicles and it was accepted by the treasury and we
are still waiting for the vehicles,’’ said Bhasikiti.

Biti was not available for comment on the matter and on the purchase of the
luxury vehicles as his phone was not reachable.

HIV MP presses charges against reporter

http://www.newzimbabwe.com

14/08/2011 00:00:00
    by Staff Reporter

A MEMBER of Parliament accused of infecting a female journalist with HIV has
in turn pressed charges against the reporter for allegedly insulting him on
Facebook.

The HIV case now hangs in the balance after the High Court ruled that
Siyabonga Malandu-Ncube who represents Insiza North constituency cannot be
forced to undergo an HIV test as part of the prosecution.

He is accused of infecting B-Metro newspaper reporter Simiso Mlevu with HIV,
the virus which causes AIDS.
However, Malandu-Ncube says he has now reported the journalist to the police
for allegedly insulting him on Facebook.

“I have pressed charges against Mlevu she insulted me on Facebook last week
saying that I am a man of lose morals who goes around bedding women and
infecting them with HIV virus. Police said they will pick her anytime,”
Malandu-Ncube told Radio VOP.
The legislator was arrested in June after Mlevu accused him of deliberately
infecting her with the virus.

A magistrate’s court ordered that the MP undergo an HIV test but
Malandu-Ncube successfully challenged the order in the High Court.

Mlevu claims she tested negative for the virus at the start of their
relationship on 2009 but later discovered she was infected while still
seeing the MP.
The legislator denies the allegations but faces a 20 year jail term if
convicted.

Police, AG Shield Violence Perpetrators- ZLHR

http://www.radiovop.com

Harare, August 13, 2011- Zimbabwean police and the Attorney General are
under fire for selective arrests on political violence perpetrators,
according to the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR).

Irene Petras, the ZLHR Executive Director told reporters here that the
police force is using the law selectively against the perpetrators. She said
they have court cases records to prove it that some of perpetrators of
political violence have not been brought to book.

The Attorney General Johannes Tomana has openly said he support Zanu (PF)
and is biased of not prosecuting Zanu PF suspects perpetrators who have
political connections.

‘‘It’s an impunity as there are no arrests yet on some political violence
cases in the country'' said Petras. She added that there must be political
will from all political parties to eradicate violence.

"There must be political will from all parties at grassroots level for the
positive shift to end political violence'' added Petras.

She said ZLHR has assisted 878 individuals from 1 January up to 9 August
this year. The workshop was organised by ZLHR for journalists on court,
human rights and election reporting in Harare to capacititate them ahead of
referendum and possible elections in Zimbabwe.

President Robert Mugabe's Zanu (PF) party has come under fire for political
violence since 2000. In 2008, MDC claim nearly 200 supporters were killed in
the June presidential run off that President Mugabe won in a man race after
Morgan Tsvangirai withdrew after his were killed, though Zanu PF denies the
allegations.

Import restrictions to hit Zimbabwe's economy

http://www.businesslive.co.za

14 August, 2011 15:24
Tawanda Karombo
BusinessLIVE

Import restrictions and an increase in the import duty on finished and
processed goods are likely to hit Zimbabwe's economy while economic analysts
fear that this could also lead to shortages of basic goods and commodities
in shops as Zimbabwe's industry and manufacturing sector do not have the
capacity to meet rising demand.

The move, outlined in the Medium Term Plan (MTP) economic blue-print and in
Finance Minister Tendai Biti's mid-term budget review delivered last month,
is mainly aimed at protecting local industry from stiff competition from
often cheap foreign products from neighbouring countries such as SA,
Botswana and Mozambique. Officials at the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra)
confirmed the new measures and said these were being put in place to protect
local industry.

Products under categories such as shoes; groceries; processed goods such as
maize meal and cooking oil; clothing, blankets and textiles; electrical
goods such as stoves and fridges and agricultural products such as tomatoes,
potatoes and onions among others are being charged import duty of upto 40%.
Most goods under many of these categories now also no longer qualify for the
monthly $300 duty free import that is given to Zimbabwean cross-border
travelers.

Zimra is also holding goods for which duty would not have been paid, a
situation that had hit businesses, individuals and traders who were caught
off-guard by the latest measures.

Zimbabwean economists and analysts said Zimbabwe's manufacturing and
industry sectors were still constrained at below 45% capacity and that
demand would ultimately outrun local supply and production capacity,
resulting in shortages of goods and commodities. "I don't think the economy
is ready as the import duties would want us to believe," said economic
analyst, Masimba Kuchera.

According to a recent survey, Zimbabwe's manufacturing sector is still
dogged by "high levels of idle capacity" while Biti said recently that the
major challenges affecting this sector included "lack of affordable working
capital" and an environment of domestic liquidity constraints characterised
by short-term expensive loans.

This is likely to further highlight and heighten concerns that the
government's move to restrict imports will lead to shortages of commodities
and goods in shops. Most Zimbabwean businesses procure their goods from SA
for resale locally.

Biti last week warned local businesses against raising prices of consumer
goods after instances of price increases were reported in some parts of
Harare and Bulawayo, the second largest city. The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade
Unions (ZCTU) deputy secretary general Japhet Moyo said his organisation was
opposed to the price increases as this was likely to "hurt low-paid"
Zimbabwean workers while the Retailers Association of Zimbabwe refuted
reports that some of its members were increasing prices.

Sources at Unilever Zimbabwe told BusinessLIVE that the household products
maker was facing severe constraints and that it was importing some of its
products from outside the country for repackaging and re-selling on the
Zimbabwean market.

"The company is no-longer producing its washing powder products and is
concentrating on scouring powder production. Production of margarine and
some soaps and other products has been shelved."

Statistics at hand indicate that goods and products produced outside
Zimbabwe constitute more than 40% of stock in shops and retail outlets.
Cheap Chinese imports account for about half of the foreign goods and
products in Zimbabwean shops, although there have been complaints about the
quality of Chinese manufactured goods.

However, in their outlook report on ZSE counters in the fast moving and
consumer groups for the month of August, analysts at IH Securities are
projecting a boon for companies such as OK Zimbabwe, Delta and Dairiboard,
on the back of increased trading volumes in locally produced goods following
the introduction of import restrictions.

"This will aid local manufacturers who were struggling to compete with
cheaper imported goods. Benefactors are likely to include stocks like
National Foods, Innscor, and AICO."

Industries performing badly are mostly those in the textiles, wood
processing, leather and metals sub-sectors, while only 160 out of 217
companies in the paper printing and packaging sector are still operational,
with the rest having closed shop owing to increased competition from imports
and working capital constraints.

UK's new envoy to Harare aims to improve relations

http://www.timeslive.co.za/

Sunday Times writer | 14 August, 2011 05:05

The United Kingdom has a new ambassador in Harare.

Deborah Bronnert, who saw the start of the Arab uprisings in North Africa
and the Middle East, says she is excited to be taking up her new post in
Zimbabwe, and has pledged to improve relations between the two countries.

"I am honoured and delighted to be taking up this post at such an important
time for Zimbabwe, as the parties in the inclusive government work towards
greater reform and free and fair elections.

"The UK has long been a friend to the Zimbabwean people and I look forward
to ensuring that that commitment remains as strong as ever," said Bronnert
in the UK Foreign Office magazine.

Harare and London have had frosty relations since the start of the chaotic
land reform programme in 2000. Bronnert, who is yet to present her
credentials to President Mugabe as per diplomatic norms, takes over from
Mark Canning, who has been reassigned to the Far East.

Zanu PF must resolve Gukurahundi: Moyo

http://www.newzimbabwe.com

14/08/2011 00:00:00
    by Gilbert Nyambabvu

ZANU PF must lead efforts to resolve the Gukurahundi issue or risk having
“charlatans and vile opportunists” exploit the explosive subject for cheap
political advantage, politburo member and former information minister
Jonathan Moyo has said.

Moyo said recent remarks by senior party officials suggesting that the
Gukurahundi scourge was a “closed chapter” were “irresponsible and
unacceptable”.

Rights groups claim some 20 000 innocent civilians were killed in the
Matebeleland and Midlands regions when the then Prime Minister Robert Mugabe
deployed a North Korean-trained army taskforce to hunt down a few dozen
dissident supporters of rival Joshua Nkomo.

Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa recently triggered a storm over the
issue after suggesting that the 1987 unity accord between Mugabe and Nkomo
should be the last word on the emotive subject.

Mnangagwa’s remarks followed a similar intervention by Vice President John
Nkomo who said the country needed to move beyond what he described as
“irreversible history”.

"We have to accept that where there are human tribulations, such things
happen. Let's engage to build a better present and a better future and
always remember that what happened is history and we can't reverse it,”
Nkomo said.

Mnangagwa and Nkomo said revisiting the atrocities risked re-opening “healed
wounds” and undermining unity in the country.

But in an interview with the Zanu PF-leaning Sunday Mail newspaper, Moyo
said “it cannot be true that the wounds were ever closed” and urged the
party to lead efforts to resolve the issue.
“The Gukurahundi issue is not a closed chapter,” Moyo said.

“(But) calls from some destructive quarters for a fresh probe on this matter
are as irresponsible and unacceptable as the claims from our own ranks that
the matter is now a closed chapter whose discussion will open old wounds.”

Moyo said the atrocities were a dark point in the country’s history adding
the state’s reponse to the dissident problem in the two regions was
“outrageously disproportionate”.

“(Gukurahundi) was a dark point in our history as an independent nation
which not only involved dissidents who committed atrocities and wantonly
destroyed property but also the State whose response to the dissident
menace … was so outrageously disproportionate as to cause unnecessary
suffering among ordinary people which could have otherwise been avoided,” he
said.

President Mugabe has not directly apologised for the atrocities only
describing them as a “moment of madness that was regrettable”.

Moyo said Mugabe’s remarks were “paradigmatic” and should direct new efforts
to address the issue.

“President Mugabe made a paradigmatic statement in 2000 when he described it
as a moment of madness, which it indeed was, but there’s nothing that has
been done since 2000 to use that very important statement by the President
to bring the matter to finality or closure,” Moyo said.

“I strongly believe that only Zanu-PF can lead the process of bringing that
matter to closure building on what President Mugabe said in 2000. And the
party can do that by being willing to publicly engage the issue in an open,
honest and non-defensive way, which has characterised our attitude thus
 far.”

Human rights and opposition groups have demanded a new probe into the
atrocities leading to the prosecution of those responsible and compensation
for the victims.

However, Moyo said all the facts about Gukurahundi were known and there was
no need for a new probe.

In 1983, Mugabe commissioned an inquiry into the attrocities led by
Simplisius Chihambakwe but refused to make public its findings and it
remains unclear whether the government acted on any of its recommendations.

“Quite clearly, those who have called for a fresh probe are pursuing cheap
politics in the hope of winning cheap votes,” Moyo said.

“The facts are that there’s nothing about the Gukurahundi period which we do
not know to warrant a fresh probe … Therefore, the only outstanding issue
about Gukurahundi is not to probe some more but to close the wounds and
close the chapter in a responsible manner once and for all.”

Cholera claims more victims

http://www.timeslive.co.za/

VLADIMIR MZACA | 14 August, 2011 05:04

The cholera that has claimed 57 children under five years of age so far this
year is linked to the 2008 cholera epidemic, health officials say.

More than 100000 cases of cholera have been recorded so far this year.

A cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe began in August 2008, swept across the
country, and spread to Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa and Zambia.

By January 10 last year, there had been 98741 reported cases and 4293
deaths, making it the deadliest cholera outbreak in Africa in the last 15
years.

The government declared the outbreak a national emergency and requested
international aid as the country was incapacitated because of the economic
meltdown.

The principal cause of the outbreak was lack of access to safe water in
urban areas and communities.

The head of epidemiology and disease control in the Ministry of Health, Dr
Portia Manangazira, said the recent outbreak had a direct link to that of
2008.

"So far we have recorded 64 deaths out of 11040 cases in July. It has been
discovered that the major cause of this is poor sanitation and water
treatment," she said.

Diarrhoea has been severe in areas such as Chimanimani, Chipinge, Chiredzi
and Masvingo, Chisumbanje, Bikita, Buhera, Murewa, Mutare and Mutasa.

These areas constitute the bulk of Zimbabwe's irrigation system - and, as a
result, water-borne diseases are prevalent there. "Sanitation in the east
and southern part of the country is the lowest at 11%. This is very bad and
under such conditions disease outbreaks are high," said Manangazira.

Research done at the University of Florida in the US revealed that the
2008-9 outbreak could have been dealt with through massive vaccination to
prevent future epidemics.

According to the research, the cholera bacterium is not native to Zimbabwe.
Researchers think it was imported from neighbouring nations during the
1970s.

During the 2008-2009 cholera epidemic, nearly 100000 people fell ill and
4300 died. Researchers estimate the majority of those cases were the result
of human-to-human transmission.

Researchers looked closely at cultural and other practices that might
contribute to the spread of the epidemic.

In order to account for regional differences, the researchers tracked weekly
cholera incidence rates for each of the country's 10 provinces.

One practice that stood out was funeral feasts, which are common in Zimbabwe
and other African countries. At these feasts, people often eat in a communal
fashion, and it is customary to shake hands with the bereaved, who may have
been infected as they cared for the deceased under unsanitary conditions.

"The bodies are often transported from towns and cities for burial in the
rural areas. Cholera transmission through these types of direct contacts
among people accounted for much of the observed illness and also through
untreated water," reads the report.

Manangazira said the government was working with a number of partners to
contain and treat the cholera.

The US researchers warn that their results indicate that there should be a
systematic, regionally based way of dealing with the epidemic.

"The differences observed among provinces suggest that approaches to disease
control should be tailored to specific regional characteristics. For
example, different areas may require different rates of vaccination to
control the disease, potentially resulting in cost savings in less severely
affected regions," reads the report.

The Red Cross is involved in delivering immediate assistance in the Chipinge
district. Proposed interventions are focused on water and sanitation, health
and hygiene in a target population of 30000 beneficiaries.

More than 500 still missing after 2008 poll violence

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

By Godfrey Mtimba
Sunday, 14 August 2011 16:31

HARARE - Over 500 victims of the June 2008 political violence are still
unaccounted for in Masvingo province alone, according to a local human
rights group.

Speaking during a rights group workshop in the city recently, Community
Tolerance and Reconciliation Development (Cotard), Director, Gamuchirai
Mukura said his organisation was undertaking research to ascertain the
actual number of people missing as a result of the political violence.

He said there could be over 1000 missing people in the province but so far
they have managed to identify about 500 people who are still missing with
their relatives having no clue as to what could have happened to them.

Mukura said some of the missing people were abducted by Zanu PF militia who
with the assistance of state apparatus waged an orgy of violence across the
country, which eventually forced MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, to pull out
of a presidential runoff.

“We have been compiling the statistics and the exercise is still on. What we
have established in areas we have covered so far are about 500 missing
victims most of them MDC activists,” Mukura said.

He said his organisation was moving around the province’s seven districts
interviewing the missing victim’s relatives.

Some of them are believed to have been abducted and murdered and dumped in
the wild life infested Gonarezhou National Park while some could have been
dumped in the province’s major dams.

Others are believed to have crossed the border to neighbouring South Africa
to seek political asylum.

MDC claims that over 200 of its members were killed during the violent
period.

Mukura said the process will help deal with tensions that still linger in
the communities.

“If you speak to the ones who lost their relatives, they are still in pain
although it’s now three years after the atrocities were committed. The
perpetrators should be brought to book”, he said.

The organisation called on the largely moribund national healing and
reconciliation organ to speed up efforts to resolve the issue of violence
before the country’s next election.

“This toothless national healing organ should start doing something to
resolve tension between the victims, relatives and the perpetrators. People
out there are not ready for elections. They still have fresh wounds and
memories of the barbaric activities of violence in 2008,” Mukura added.

Consumers in duty panic

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

By Taurai Mangudhla, Business
Sunday, 14 August 2011 14:19

HARARE - Panic buying has gripped consumers following the government's
decision to restore a 40 percent import duty on household goods and other
commodities.

According to snap survey by dailybusiness, there has been a sudden surge in
demand for imported appliances.

Shop owners say speculative buyers stormed reasonably priced grocery shops
in Harare in the past week  to purchase imported electricals and  food items
in anticipation of a price surge following the restoration of import duty by
Finance Minister Tendai Biti last month.

“People have been buying a lot since last Friday and I must say it’s out of
the ordinary,” said one shop worker.

Consumers, emerging from a rough time at the height of Zimbabwe's
hyperinflation in 2008, said it was a means of preserving value.

One shopper at a grocery store said: “We don’t know how much these products
will cost at the end of the moth so it’s better I use the little money that
I have to buy food.”

Other less conventional suppliers, mainly run by small scale cross boarder
traders, have increased their prices by up to 15 percent since beginning of
last week with a Defy 621 stove now going for around $650 from $570, before
the duty was effected.

Recently, Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) commissioner general Gershem
Pasi announced that the tax collector was reinstituting duty on all goods
exceeding the $300 duty free exemption.

Biti announced in his mid-term fiscal policy that amounts ranging between 10
to 15 percent of commodities’ cost would be collected on food imports
starting this month on the basis that there was need to protect local
industry.

He also set aside a $40 million fund to help resuscitate distressed and
marginalised areas of local industry and an additional $20 million
specifically for Small to Medium Enterprises support.

However, economist John Roberstson said the decision by government to
restore duty as a means to protect local industry was conflicting with
common sense.

Roberston said the move was going to result in unprecedented price hikes,
subsequently increasing the consumer index to unsustainable levels.

“People are prepared to pay more for these  imports because the local
industry lacks variety and it  normally doesn’t meet quality expectations.
If anything people will start demanding higher salaries so that they are
able to buy these foreign products,” he said.

Robertson said there was need for government policy to be coherent if the
country was to sustainably resuscitate the economy.

“Government policies are in serious conflict, I know the motive to promote
local production comes with the need for job creation but government should
instead be able to attract investment so that we produce quality products at
a competitive cost and then export them, but they instead scare away
investment with indigenisation,” said Robertson.//

Fury at proposal of alcohol ban

http://www.eyewitnessnews.co.za/

Eyewitness News | 6 Hour(s) Ago

Zimbabweans are angry about a proposed ban on late-night and weekend beer
sales.

On Sunday, President Robert Mugabe's health advisor said there should be no
sales of alcohol after seven in the evening and on Sunday afternoons.

The proposals come from Dr Timothy Stamps, the ministry of health officials
say they are in line with World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines.

Many of Zimbabwe's road accidents and a fair amount of domestic violence are
linked to the consumption of alcohol.

Under the proposals, supermarkets would only be allowed to sell beer between
six in the morning and seven at night.

Sunday afternoon beer sales will be totally banned.

Meanwhile, editorials said the ban will only drive drinkers to the black
market and that Zimbabweans have much bigger things to think about like the
shaky coalition deal.

Man fined $600 for helping border-jumpers

http://www.timeslive.co.za/

VLADIMIR MZACA | 14 August, 2011 05:05

Kenias Mhlanga, 32, the illegal cross-border transporter nabbed during the
week for human trafficking and charged under the Immigration Act, has
escaped with a $600 fine or five months' imprisonment.

In passing the judgment, Beitbridge Magistrate Carrington Karidzagundi
warned him not to engage in a similar offence for five years.

The state case, presented by prosecutor Reason Mutimba, was that on August 9
at midnight Mhlanga drove a minibus to Beitbridge from Bulawayo.

The vehicle was carrying a group of border-jumpers, among them 21 children.

On arrival in Beitbridge town, he helped the border-jumpers cross the border
into South Africa through an undesignated entry point along the Limpopo
River.

The court heard that Mhlanga later drove to the South African side, where he
picked them up.

He was spotted by South African police while loading the border-jumpers into
his vehicle leading to his arrest.

The illegal immigrants were taken to the South African Home Affairs
Department before they were handed over to the Zimbabwean authorities.

Among the illegal immigrants were seven adults and they were taken to the
Beitbridge Police Station while the children were ferried to Save the
Children (UK) centre in the border town where they were offered temporary
shelter.

Mhlanga admitted to the offence, saying that he was acting as an agent hired
by the children's parents to bring them to South Africa, where most of them
are working.

No formal charges were laid against the parents and guardians who had
confirmed hiring Mhlanga.

Despite the South African government's effort to regularise the flow of
Zimbabweans, more are trickling in as illegal immigrants.

US plot to discredit Zim security sector, claims state media

http://www.bulawayo24.com/

by Ndou Paul
2011 August 14 08:57:41

On Sunday the state controlled newspaper 'The Sunday Mail' reported that the
US Embassy in Harare through its new military attaché, Lieutenant-Colonel
Ronald Miller, is allegedly planning to cause alarm in Sadc by using a South
African-produced television news programme, Carte Blanche, to discredit the
Zimbabwe Republic Police and the Zimbabwe Defence Forces by falsely alleging
that the security sector in the country is illegally selling firearms
allegedly stolen from former white farmers to African conflict spots in the
DRC, Sudan and Uganda, it has been unearthed.

This is part of the on-going regime change intrigues by the US, UK and EU
governments and their allies to try to weaken the country's national
security under the cover of the Global Political Agreement process.

Detailed documents including email correspondence exclusively obtained by
The Sunday Mail from authoritative diplomatic sources close to the US
Embassy reveal an alarming determination by Lieutenant-Colonel Miller, who
joined the US Embassy in June, and who is working with his local contacts,
who include one Chris Dhlamini, to force the so-called security sector
reform in Zimbabwe "by any means possible".

Lieutenant-Colonel Miller's network includes "activists among NGOs and in
the media in and outside Zimbabwe" to mobilise opinion against Zimbabwe in
Sadc, AU and the UN. Apparently, Lieutenant-Colonel Miller's major brief is
"to find and do anything by working with NGOs and media actors to unravel
and bring to book Zimbabwe's security sector" ahead of the country's next
elections".

Revelations of the sinister media plot come in the wake of a related
campaign by the British Embassy channelled through the discredited BBC's
Panorama programme which falsely claimed in a report broadcast last week
that the Zimbabwe National Army is running torture camps in Chiadzwa, in a
failed two-pronged bid to prevent the now irreversible selling of Chiadzwa
diamonds and to implicate Zimbabwe's security sector in false human rights
violations in the hope that the allegations would attract UN sanctions.

These media smear campaigns are consistent with the launch in May of a £3
million DFID programme coordinated by the British Embassy in Harare to pay
NGOs and media actors to tarnish the image of national institutions in
Zimbabwe in the hope of influencing the outcome of the forthcoming
harmonised general elections. The DFID programme is being complemented by a
similar multimillion-dollar initiative funded by Usaid and being used by
Lieutenant-Colonel Miller at the US Embassy.

According to evidence gleaned from some of the written questions seen by The
Sunday Mail and which the Carte Blanche news team has been hoping to pursue
with Zimbabwean authorities at the instigation of Lieutenant-Colonel Miller,
the US Embassy is seeking to contrive false links to implicate the Zimbabwe
Defence Industries (ZDI) in deals that involve alleged illegal exports of
firearms to the DRC, Sudan and Uganda through National Cartridge Company, a
South African-based business concern which trades as Suburban Guns based in
Cape Town and run by Charles Montgomery, who has become a major player in
the US Embassy plot. Suburban Guns also represents Holts Auctioneers, a
leading British gun auctioneer, and trades as Holts Africa.

Working closely with Ian Rowbotham, a Zimbabwean whose father's gun, a
William Evans double barrel shotgun 470 serial number 10098, was bought from
Holts Auctioneers by an American, Thad Scott, Montgomery and
Lieutenant-Colonel Miller's US Embassy officials and their local Zimbabwean
contacts — who include former white farmers and some retired ZRP officials —
have been desperate to trace back the gun to ZDI in the hope of building a
case of alleged illegal exportation of guns by the company and to use that
link to tarnish the image of Zimbabwe's security sector.

Communication between Montgomery and the Carte Blanche news team in
possession of The Sunday Mail shows clear acknowledgement by the news team
that its investigations have come to grief because it has failed to
establish a prima facie case of illegality by the ZDI, ZRP and the security
sector in general or even the Zimbabwe Government itself.

Correspondence at hand shows that Montgomery, who claims to have seen with
his own eyes some 20 000 small arms of all sorts allegedly taken from former
white farmers, has come under immense pressure from Lieutenant-Colonel
Miller at the US Embassy in Harare to insist without any proof that, "there
are other ways to kill the cat" by building a false case to expose the ZRP
and the ZDF in the alleged illegal selling of arms. In one of the
correspondences on the matter sent on May 31, 2011 seen by The Sunday Mail,
Montgomery wrote that "I have a very sad tale but really hope you can
assist. In 2007, I was invited to go to Zimbabwe to inspect +/- 20 000
[guns] that were in the hands of the Zimbabwe Government.

"After inspection, I found about 1 000 guns that were of HOLTS quality to
export to London. In amongst this lot was the Williams Evans .470, serial
number 10098.  The gun was shipped to the UK in March 2008 and sold in the
June sale of 2008 to Thad Scott. A year ago, I was approached by the
original owner of the rifle who traced me down and showed me proof that he
is still the rightful owner of the gun (still currently licensed in his
name). Sadly, in 2004 he and his family were evicted from his farm by
Zimbabwean land grabbers (Mugabe's Mob) and was given 24 hours to vacate his
home and 10 000-hectare farm and what was a lifetime's work. He put his 5
guns (one of which is the W. Evans) into storage at a police station for
safe- keeping. When he went to get his guns in 2008, he was told that the
Zimbabwean

Government had seized all the firearms at the police stations and sent them
to a central area. That's where I inspected them . . . he had heard that I
had been in Zimbabwe and followed up and found the gun has been sold on
Holts sale in 2008."

While correspondence in the possession of this paper shows that Montgomery
and his local contacts have been misleading Lieutenant-Colonel Miller into
believing that "as far as the farmers weapons are concerned, they are stolen
property the purchase of which is a crime", Susan Puren of Carte Blanche has
had problems with that claim prompting her to write to one of Montgomery's
contacts last week pointing out that: "I've got legal opinion that says
Zimbabwe gun licenses are valid for one year, so if guns were handed in to
police for safekeeping and the owner does not renew (his) licence after year
then he is no longer the legitimate owner so it's not stolen. While it's
morally wrong it may be all above board."

In one of her e-mails, Susan went on to admit that she would have wanted to
do the story "but the facts on the ground do not add up".

Asked to comment on these developments last week, an African diplomat based
in Windhoek, Namibia, where he observed a historic summit of the region's
liberation movements from South Africa's ANC, Namibia's Swapo, Mozambique's
Frelimo, Angola's MPLA, Tanzania's Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) and Zimbabwe's
Zanu-PF said that "nobody should be surprised to hear that the American and
British embassies in Harare are working with former white farmers and gun
merchants to cause confusion in Zimbabwe by seeking to destabilise the
security system".

The diplomat added: "But if anyone really believes that they (Americans and
the British governments) can still get away with their usual lies about
Zimbabwe after what we have seen in Ivory Coast, Libya and Malawi against
the background of the hypocrisy displayed in the handling of the violent
demonstrations in Britain last week, then they should have been here in
Windhoek.

"The African message to the Western world from Windhoek is very clear and
very loud and it is that enough games have been played over Zimbabwe. The
time has come for the nonsense to stop

PM Tours Mthabezi Dam, Promises To End Matabeleland Water Woes

http://www.radiovop.com/

Bulawayo, August 14, 2011- The Prime Minister, Morgan Tsvangirai Friday,
toured the Mtshabezi pipe line project in Matabeleland South and pledged
government’s commitment to solve Matabeleland’s perennial water woes which
have seen the closure of some companies in the province.

Addressing journalists soon after touring the 42 kilometre  pipeline, Prime
Minister Tsvangirai said the pipeline  which will link the Mtshabezi and
Ncema dams is set to transform the lives of villagers along the pipe line
corridor as well as alleviate Bulawayo’s water shortages upon its completion
before the end of this year.

“I have been informed that this project will be completed before the end of
this year. This is a very important project for the people of Matabeleland
and Bulawayo. Water shortage among other factors such as liquidity and
recapitalisation problems were some of the reasons why industries were
closing in the province.   The most affected industries are textile. The
agenda for Zimbabwe now is for reconstruction. Our industries are using very
old and dilapidated machinery,” said the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister who was accompanied by Samuel Sipepa Nkomo, the Minister
of Water Resources and Development, the Mayor of Bulawayo and the permanent
secretary in the Ministry of Water, Ringson Chistiko during the tour said
government through the Ministry of Finance has set aside funds to assist
depressed companies in the country.
He said the local people will also be able to use the water from the
Mtshabezi dam for irrigation purposes.

“Matabeleland is a drought area and we hope the local will be able also to
use the water for irrigation purposes,” he said. It is also in the national
interest that the state should compensate those families affected by the
construction of the pipeline,” said Tsvangirai

The Mtshabezi pipeline project is a short term measure meant to address the
city’s perennial water shortages that have seen some suburbs going for weeks
without water and industries operating at a low capacity Work on the project
stopped in the year 2007 due to lack of funds.

The project was mooted in 1994 but the Bulawayo city council turned down the
offer saying council could not afford to fund the pipeline.  Over the years,
Bulawayo has been facing perennial water shortages which have been
attributed to the increasing high water demand in the city. The city’s
population currently stands at about 1, 5 million and the last dam to be
built was commissioned in 1976.

Since that period no single dam has been built to correspond the city’s
increasingly population. Bulawayo draws water from five dams, namely Upper
and Lower Ncema, Inyankuni, Umzingwane and Insiza dams are also heavily
silted due to upstream gold panning.

The deputy minister of Local Government Sisal Zvidzai also attended the
tour.

Rampant Zimbabwe crush Bangladesh

http://www.sbs.com.au/

15 August 2011 | 02:31:03 AM | Source: AAP

Rampant Zimbabwe defeated hapless Bangladesh by seven wickets on Sunday to
win the second one-day international with Brian Vitori taking five wickets
and Vusi Sibanda and Tatenda Taibu both hitting half-centuries.

The win at Harare Sports Club gave Zimbabwe a 2-0 lead in the five-match
series to follow victory in the one-off Test last week.

Bangladesh were bowled out for just 188 in 47.3 overs with Zimbabwe replying
with 3-191 and 35 balls remaining.

Opening batsman Sibanda top-scored with 67 off 96 balls with seven fours -- 
to follow his 96 in the first game -- as he also passed the 2,000 runs mark
in one-day internationals.

Former skipper Taibu was unbeaten on 61 off 74 balls having hit four
boundaries and two sixes.

Vitori starred with the ball after Zimbabwe won the toss and he took full
advantage of the conditions, finishing with 5-20 to follow his 5-30 in the
first match, the 21-year-old seamer's debut.

Vitori removed Bangladesh openers Tamim Iqbal (three), playing in his 100th
ODI, and Imrul Kayes (eight) before the tourists slumped to 58-6 in the 19th
over.

Captain Shakib Al Hassan (26) and 19-year-old debutant Nasir Hossain (63),
who had never previously played a first class match, put on 53 for the
seventh wicket.

But Vitori removed Shakib, Hossain and Abdur Razzak (35) to put his team
firmly in the driving seat.

Zimbabwe lost opener and captain Brendan Taylor for just three in the third
over with the total on four before Sibanda and Hamilton Masakadza, who hit
38 off 51 balls, put on 83 for the second wicket.

Sibanda was out, stumped off Mohammad Ashraful, with the total on 146-3 in
the 35th over having made his 15th ODI half-century before Taibu made amends
for his first match duck with a bright 61 not out.

It was his 19th ODI half-century and he, along with Craig Ervine, saw
Zimbabwe home.

Aid begins at home? – Zimbabwe Vigil Diary: 13th August 2011

There was much talk at the Vigil about the riots in England and what lay behind them. Many people pointed to a lack of discipline for children: apparently half of those arrested in London were under 18. We know something about the difficulties facing parents here: one of our supporters served a jail term for disciplining his wayward son in traditional Zimbabwean fashion.

We were glad to be joined by Vigil management team member Patson Mazuwa, who brought a group from Leicester, about 90 miles away. He said there had been trouble there too and his group was appalled at the behaviour.

The Vigil suggests that Zimbabwe might learn much from these ‘incapable’ policemen. Within a few days 800 people had appeared in courts around the country after being identified by closed circuit television and other means. Interestingly, none of them said they had been tortured – unlike in ‘Marvellous Zimbabwe’. Indeed, despite their violent behaviour, no looters were killed or seriously injured by the police. If anyone other than Zanu PF thugs were allowed to riot in Zimbabwe the police and army would fire on them with live ammunition. All those arrested would be thrown into overcrowded filthy jails to rot indefinitely.

We – the people in Britain including Zimbabweans – turned out with brooms and cleared up the debris and by the end of the week attention had turned to a beach ball which had found its way onto the field during the test match at Birmingham against India which saw England become the leading cricket nation in the world.

Whatever the causes of the rioting in the UK, they would certainly be eased by reversing the government cutbacks affecting the police and local services. We at the Vigil are grateful to the UK for offering us a home along with countless other asylum seekers from all over the world. We understand why the British people are beginning to wonder whether the £7-8 billion spent this year on foreign aid could not be spent more fruitfully on local services here.

Talking about foreign aid, a former Foreign Office minister Kim Howells has raised the possibility of cutting off British aid to Zimbabwe – now running at about £100 million a year. He was speaking on a BBC radio programme about CIO attempts to intimidate Zimbabweans in the UK. Mr Howells said foreign aid should be cut off to Zimbabwe and other countries if they threatened people in Britain. (see: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b012wjdc and http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/fileon4_02_08_11_exilesinfear.pdf).

Other points

·         Flowers were laid at the door of the Embassy and a candle was lit by Martin Chinyanga in tribute to MDC activist Maxwell Ncube. A notice said he was abducted and killed by CIO agents and that Mugabe must be charged at the Hague with human rights abuses.

·         Please note that the UK performances of the play Rituals, scheduled this month, have been cancelled because the cast were not able to get visas.

For latest Vigil pictures check: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zimbabwevigil/. Please note: Vigil photos can only be downloaded from our Flickr website – they cannot be downloaded from the slideshow on the front page of the Zimvigil website.

FOR THE RECORD: 77 signed the register.

EVENTS AND NOTICES:

·         The Restoration of Human Rights in Zimbabwe (ROHR) is the Vigil’s partner organisation based in Zimbabwe. ROHR grew out of the need for the Vigil to have an organisation on the ground in Zimbabwe which reflected the Vigil’s mission statement in a practical way. ROHR in the UK actively fundraises through membership subscriptions, events, sales etc to support the activities of ROHR in Zimbabwe.

·         ZBN News. The Vigil management team wishes to make it clear that the Zimbabwe Vigil is not responsible for Zimbabwe Broadcasting Network News (ZBN News). We are happy that they attend our activities and provide television coverage but we have no control over them. All enquiries about ZBN News should be addressed to ZBN News.

·         The Zim Vigil band (Farai Marema and Dumi Tutani) has launched its theme song ‘Vigil Yedu (our Vigil)’ to raise awareness through music. To download this single, visit: www.imusicafrica.com and to watch the video check: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QukqctWc3XE.

·         ROHR Manchester Vigil. Saturday 27^th August from 2 – 5 pm. Venue: Cathedral Gardens, Manchester City Centre (subject to change to Piccadilly Gardens). Contact; Delina Tafadzwa Mutyambizi 07775313637, Chamunorwa Chihota 07799446404, Panyika Karimanzira 07551062161, Artwell Pfende 07886839353. Future demonstrations: 4^th September, 29^th October 26^th November, 31^st December. Same time and venue.

·          ROHR Woking General Meeting. Saturday 3rd September from 2 – 6 pm, Venue: Woking Homes, Oriental Road, Woking, GU22 7BE. Contact, Isaac Mudzamiri 07774044873, Sithokozile Hlokana 07886203113, Saziso Zulu 07861028280 or P.Mapfumo 07915926323/07932216070.

·         ROHR Manchester Meetings. Saturday 10^th September (committee meeting from 11 am – 1 pm, general meeting from 2 – 5 pm). Venue: The Salvation Army Citadel, 71 Grosvenor Road, Manchester M13 9UB. Contact; Delina Tafadzwa Mutyambizi 07775313637, Chamunorwa Chihota 07799446404, Panyika Karimanzira 07551062161, Artwell Pfende 07886839353. Future meetings:  8^th October, 12^th November, 10^th December. Same times / venue.

·         Vigil Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=8157345519&ref=ts.

·         Vigil Myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/zimbabwevigil.

·         ‘Through the Darkness’, Judith Todd’s acclaimed account of the rise of Mugabe.  To receive a copy by post in the UK please email confirmation of your order and postal address to ngwenyasr@yahoo.co.uk and send a cheque for £10 payable to “Budiriro Trust” to Emily Chadburn, 15 Burners Close, Burgess Hill, West Sussex RH15 0QA. All proceeds go to the Budiriro Trust which provides bursaries to needy A Level students in Zimbabwe.

Vigil co-ordinators

The Vigil, outside the Zimbabwe Embassy, 429 Strand, London, takes place every Saturday from 14.00 to 18.00 to protest against gross violations of human rights in Zimbabwe. The Vigil which started in October 2002 will continue until internationally-monitored, free and fair elections are held in Zimbabwe. http://www.zimghvigil.co.uk.