http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=20666
August 5, 2009
By Our
Correspondent
HARARE - Parliament has set aside the results of interviews
conducted with
potential candidates for eventual appointment to the
statutory Zimbabwe
Media Commission (ZMC), the Media Institute of Southern
Africa (MISA)
reports.
MISA said this was a shock development that
could seriously undermine the
principle of separation of powers between the
executive, legislature and
judiciary.
"According to the
state-controlled national daily The Herald of 4 August
2009 the process hit
a snag after Zanu-PF officials led by Munyaradzi Paul
Mangwana allegedly
"realised" that the interviews were allegedly fraudulent
and biased against
candidates perceived as sympathisers of Zanu PF," MISA
said.
It is
reported that parties to the agreement had then resolved that all the
names
of the 27 candidates interviewed be forwarded to the President without
ranking them. In terms of Constitutional Amendment No 19 the envisaged
Commission shall consist of a chairperson and eight other members appointed
by the President from a list of not fewer than twelve nominees submitted by
the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders.
It is on the basis of
that constitutional provision that the interviews were
conducted on Monday,
August 3, by the Standing Rules and Orders Committee
(SROC).
"To act
otherwise by submitting the list of candidates wholesale to the
President
would be a serious breach and abdication of responsibility on the
part of
Parliament pertaining to a process that is protected by a
constitutional
provision," the statement by MISA said.
"Also in contention, and of which
the public is also owed an explanation,
relates to how SROC also bundled the
ZMC interviews with those for BAZ when
the advertisements placed for
application to be submitted for interviews by
the Committee were
specifically for the ZMC and made no mention of the
possibilities of those
so short listed being also considered and short
listed for BAZ
appointments."
A five-member interviewing panel comprising members of
SROC interviewed a
total of 27 potential candidates who will be short listed
for appointment to
the ZMC and the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe
(BAZ).
A four-member panel of experts also participated to determine the
final list
of candidates that will be short-listed for appointment by the
President.
http://www.herald.co.zw
Wednesday,
August 05, 2009
Herald
Reporters
Parliament's Standing Rules and Orders Committee yesterday came
under fire
over Monday's interviews for appointments to the Zimbabwe Media
Commission
with the Government and observers accusing the body of
outsourcing a key
constitutional function to a "mysterious panel of
experts".
This comes in the wake of reports that one of the "experts"
vowed to fail
"people like (Dr Tafataona) Mahoso and (Ambassador
Christopher) Mutsvangwa".
Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa yesterday
said the entire process was
flawed because the hiring of a "panel of
experts" was done against the
dictates of the Constitution.
House of
Assembly Speaker Lovemore Moyo, however, defended the process.
The SROC
engaged the "experts" to sift through the 85 submitted applications
without
the State's knowledge.
"For a start, the list of people to be interviewed
should have originated
from the SROC. In all, 85 people applied for the
posts.
"This number was whittled down to 27 who were to be interviewed.
However, we
don't know how they managed to bring that number down. We were
never told
what criteria were used.
"We understand that the SROC
recruited a 'panel of experts' to carry out
this exercise without any real
oversight from anyone.
"It would be interesting to know how these
'experts' were selected and who
exactly selected them to carry out this
task.
"The process was hijacked by the 'experts' and the SROC abdicated
its
constitutional mandate to carry out the selection of commissioners," he
said.
A source with Parliament's administration yesterday said one of
the
"experts" openly declared: "How am I supposed to pass people like Mahoso
and
Mutsvangwa?"
Minister Chinamasa said the "panel of experts" would
have carried out the
entire selection process without any oversight had
legislators not
intervened and demanded to be part of the
process.
Even then, the minister said, the MPs still demonstrated as much
bias as the
"panel of experts".
"That being the case," he said, "the
proper route will be for the SROC to
deliberate and negotiate on the basis
of the political realities that are in
this nation. The reality is that we
are polarised and we should confront the
issue of bias squarely for us to
agree on a way forward.
"It serves nobody to pretend to objectivity when
we are - through and
through - political animals with political
biases."
Minister Chinamasa said it had been agreed that the leaders of
Zanu-PF,
MDC-T and MDC would go ahead and look at the shortlist of 27
candidates.
On the issue of the Broadcasting Authority of
Zimbabwe,
Minister Chinamasa said the SROC had also failed to discharge
its mandate by
not properly advertising vacancies for that body.
"The
advertisements flighted were for the ZMC. People applied to be ZMC
commissioners.
"But we were suddenly informed that some of the
applicants would be
interviewed for BAZ appointments.
"The filling of
any entity should be made clear through the placement of
proper adverts.
People should know what they are applying for."
House of Assembly Speaker
Mr Moyo said he could not divulge who sat on the
"panel of experts" because
this could leave the people open to
victimisation.
He, however, said
they had finalised the list of candidates and would be
forwarded to
President Mugabe soon, while another list of six would go to
Media,
Information and Publicity Minister Webster Shamu for consideration
for
appointment to BAZ.
"I'm happy to say we have finally concluded the
matter with 12 names to be
sent to His Excellency and six to be sent to the
Minister of Media,
Information and Publicity anytime from now," he
said.
"There was no deadlock (on Monday). It is normal that people would
voice
concern if their preferred candidate received low marks.
"But
the matter has been finalised. Parliament's presiding officers (Mr
Moyo,
Senate President Edna Madzongwe and her deputy Naison Ndlovu) met.
"The
panel of experts and the SROC's adjudication panel had nine names in
common.
The presiding officers then considered the remaining three names for
the
commission before coming up with the full list."
But a Government
official who spoke on condition of anonymity said
Parliament had ironically
"trashed the Constitution that it is a custodian
of".
"Right now, we
are being told that President Mugabe should decide from the
shortlist of 27
who should go into the ZMC and who should go to BAZ.
"This is against the
Constitution. Parliament's SROC can only give the
Minister of Information a
six-name list of recommendations. The minister
then takes three of those
names to the President who then has the
prerogative to appoint the selected
people to the broadcasting authority.
"In the event that the minister is
not pleased with the SROC's
recommendations, he writes to the organ and
informs them as such."
While Media, Information and Publicity Minister
Webster Shamu could not be
reached for comment on the matter last night, it
is understood that he wrote
to the SROC rejecting a list they had sent him
sometime back.
According to the law, the SROC is supposed to respond
within 30 days after
which it is assumed that they have failed to discharge
this duty and the
minister can proceed to take his own three-person
shortlist to the President
for appointment to BAZ.
Media, Information
and Publicity Ministry sources yesterday said the 30-day
period had already
lapsed without any response from the SROC.
A human resources consultant
with a Harare firm last night said using a
shortlist compiled by an
unconstitutional body to come up with appointments
to the ZMC and BAZ was a
"highly irregular practice".
"I don't know what the law says about how
these people should be appointed
but what I do know is that the posts that
were advertised were for media
commissioners and not for the broadcasting
authority.
"To then say that the political leadership must appoint
broadcasting
authority commissioners from those applications is a highly
irregular
practice, to say the least.
"There are people out there who
did not apply because they were waiting for
an advert for BAZ and now they
are being told that selection has been closed
because there are people who
applied for the ZMC.
"They are saying BAZ will be staffed by the
leftovers from the ZMC selection
process.
"Secondly, I have a problem
with the fact that they seem to want media
professionals only to fill the
ZMC. When it comes to appointing people to
the Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission, are they going to say they only want
experienced voters to
apply?
"There should be a balancing of interests. The ZMC is not a
journalists'
union inasmuch as ZEC is not a voters' club. Appointments
should be made
from a cross-section of society because the media represent a
diverse
society.
"In my assessment, this is flawed by definition in
legal terms, flawed in
operationalisation and will be flawed in
outcome."
He said the SROC should also make available the list of people
who did not
make the "panel of experts" shortlist so that "Zimbabweans could
decide for
themselves if the people left out deserved to be cast
aside".
"It is important, after the chaos on Monday, for these things to
be made
public so that we can determine for ourselves whether or not this
so-called
panel of experts discharged this important national duty without
bias," he
said.
http://www.zimonline.co.za
by Lizwe Sebatha
Wednesday 05 August 2009
BULAWAYO - Bulawayo High
Court judge, Justice Nicholas Ndou today
begins hearing an application by
legislators expelled from the Arthur
Mutambara-led MDC faction seeking an
order barring Parliament from ejecting
them from the House.
The
three - Abednico Bhebhe (Member of Parliament for Nkayi South);
Njabuliso
Mguni (Lupane East) and Norman Mpofu (Bulilima East) - who were
ejected from
the party three weeks ago, also want the court to bar
by-elections in their
constituencies.
Justice Ndou set Wednesday as the hearing date for
a High Court
application filed last Thursday by the expelled legislators,
seeking an
interdict stopping Parliament from declaring their seats
vacant.
In a court application through their lawyer, Thamsanqa
Khumalo, the
three legislators sought to be granted an order staying and
suspending their
expulsion from their party in a bid to retain their
Parliament seats.
Khumalo confirmed to ZimOnline that the hearing
date for the expelled
legislators begins today.
"High Court
Judge, Justice Ndou, has set Wednesday as the hearing date
where all the
parties involved are expected to attend the hearing and file
their
arguments," Khumalo said.
In court papers filed last week, Khumalo
cited the MDC-M national
disciplinary committee chairman Lyson Mlambo, the
MDC-M party, House of
Assembly Speaker Lovemore Moyo and Clerk of Parliament
Austin Zvoma as the
first, second, third and fourth respondents
respectively.
Bhebhe, Mguni and Mpofu were expelled over charges of
indiscipline and
disrespecting the party leadership. Alex Goosen, a member
of the executive
council was also expelled over the same
charges.
The expelled legislators deny the charges.
After their dismissal, party secretary general Welshman Ncube advised
the
Speaker of Parliament of the vacant seats to pave way for by-elections.
Ncube added that pending the holding of by-elections, the expelled
legislators should be ejected from Parliament or stopped from attending
parliamentary sessions under the party name.
According to the
country's Electoral Act, a presidential proclamation
should be gazetted
within 14 days after Parliament has notified the
President of a vacant seat
to pave way for the by-elections.
About 10 by-elections are due at
various constituencies following the
arrest of former opposition legislators
on various charges or due to their
death. - ZimOnline
http://www.voanews.com
By Blessing Zulu, Brenda Moyo & Taurai
Shava
Washington
04 August 2009
Zimbabwean Prime
minister Morgan Tsvangirai on Tuesday stepped up regional
diplomacy on
Tuesday meeting Botswanan President Ian Khama in Gaborone
following talks
Monday with South African President Jacob Zuma on issues
troubling Harare's
unity government.
Sources in Mr. Tsvangirai's office said that in the
days ahead he will be
meeting other leaders of the Southern African
Development Community, of
which Mr. Zuma is now chairman. They said Mr.
Tsvangirai hopes to resolve
outstanding issues before Mr. Zuma's tenure ends
in September, when he will
hand off the chairmanship at a SADC
summit.
Current SADC Vice Chairman Joseph Kabila, president of the
Democratic
Republic of Congo and a close ally of President Robert Mugabe, is
in line to
takeover the chairmanship.
But sources in SADC say this
succession is not entirely automatic, and in
light of conflict in the
eastern Congo, some might urge Kabila to recuse
himself or be passed
over.
Tsvangirai spokesman James Maridadi told reporter Blessing Zulu of
VOA's
Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that the prime minister updated Mr. Khama on
conditions in the unity government and is likely to widen consultations with
other SADC leaders.
Some of the outstanding issues dividing
Zimbabwe's governing partners - Mr.
Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic
Change, Mr. Mugabe's ZANU-PF and a
smaller formation of the MDC headed by
Deputy Prime Minister Arthur
Mutambara - have been resolved, for instance
the naming of MDC provincial
governors and ambassadors, breaking a ZANU-PF
monopoly.
But other issues have been intractable and new issues have come
to the for.
The MDC has long sought the replacement of Reserve Bank
Governor Gideon Gono
and Attorney General Johannes Tomana, reappointed or
appointed for the first
time by Mr. Mugabe in late 2008 without consulting
the MDC despite a
power-sharing pact.
More recently, however, the MDC
focus has shifted to the increasing number
of the party's lawmakers
arrested, prosecuted, and in a number of cases
convicted and sentenced to
prison terms in excess of six months, putting
their parliamentary seats at
risk.
London-based human rights lawyer and political analyst Dewa
Mavhinga said
engaging regional leaders is a sound strategic move by
Mr.Tsvangirai.
In other political developments, Deputy Youth minister
Thamsanqa Mahlangu,
arrested last week on charges that he stole a cellphone
from war veterans
leader Joseph Chinotimba, was released late Monday on
US$50 bail after state
prosecutors lowered objections. His assistant,
Malvern Chadamoyo, accused in
the same alleged theft, was also
released.
Attorney Charles Kwaramba told reporter Brenda Moyo of VOA's
Studio 7 for
Zimbabwe that the case will be back in court on August
12.
Elsewhere, a trial date of September 7th was set in the case of
Kwekwe
lawmaker Blessing Chebundo, who faces accusations he raped a
13-year-old
girl.
Gweru Magistrate William Bhila set the date after
Chebundo's lawyers agreed
witnesses in the case could not be brought before
the court in the three
days left this week.
Prosecutors concurred,
disclosing that the state and the defense had agreed
to a "marathon trial,"
meaning the case would be heard over the course of a
full
week.
Regional magistrate Bhila took over the case after the originally
assigned
magistrate recused himself at the request of the defense team for
reasons
not disclosed.
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=20687
August 5, 2009
By
Our Correspondent
HARARE - As Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai
met Southern African
Development Community (SADC) chairman Jacob Zuma in
South Africa over the
weekend, President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF stands
accused of taking
"unilateral and unlawful" decisions in the latest farm
acquisitions in
Zimbabwe, starting June.
This, observers said, was
one of the key issues that the Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) and its
smaller faction wanted resolved because the
former ruling party was
"plodding ahead" with a farm acquisition programme
and notices - under the
guise of government - when the necessary Cabinet
approvals over the matter
had not been sought.
Under a tripartite September 2008 power-sharing
agreement, Zimbabwe's
political principals agreed to a coalition government
under which all State
and national decisions would be made, and implemented
by consensus and this
followed the passing of Constitutional Amendment (CA)
Number 19, which gave
birth to the new dispensation.
However, Zanu-PF
appointed Lands and Rural Resettlement Minister Herbert
Murerwa has been
accused of listing at least 20 farms for resettlement since
early June,
without garnering unanimous cabinet ratification over the land
takeovers.
While CA number 19 is quite explicit "on the exercise of
power and sharing
of executive authority" between Mugabe, and Tsvangirai's
parties, sources
said the ageing President has virtually violated the unity
government's
power sharing protocol or mechanism by ignoring MDC
ministers.
A number of party representatives and analysts contacted by
the Zimbabwe
Times expressed dismay over Murerwa's handling of the issue,
and remained
adamant that there was no cabinet debate over the latest farm
grabs.
Nelson Chamisa, spokesman of the main MDC and cabinet member
himself, said
while he could not comment on cabinet proceedings, his party's
view was that
the global political agreement's (GPA's) tenets on land
distribution, use
and other facets must be respected.
"As the MDC,
our position is that whatever is being done, it must be
implemented
according to the global political agreement's (GPA's) provisions
on land.
This obviously includes the undertaking of an already agreed land
audit and
halting of disruptive actions on farms, so we expect nothing but a
respect
of the GPA," he said.
On the other hand, a member of the splinter MDC led
by Arthur Mutambara said
in the absence of official spokesperson Phineas
Mushoriwa that they were
also not aware of proper consultations on the
latest farm takeovers, but if
procedure was violated they would pursue
correction of the matter under the
auspices of the government of national
unity (GNU).
However, Murerwa - whose latest acquisition notice of about
nine farms was
on June 19 - has defended and based his actions on some
2006/07 statutory
instruments, and acts of Parliament, which sought to
sanitize Mugabe's land
grabs, which started nine years ago.
He has
often been quoted as saying as resettlement minister he is empowered
to list
and acquire properties by a raft of hastily-arranged legal
instruments
during Zanu-PF's earlier majority in Parliament, and these were
not
precluded by the albeit superior CA Number 19.
Besides, Murerwa has
dismissed the notion of fresh invasions, saying if
there were any he would
"gather the necessary facts first before resolving
the
issues".
Tsvangirai, who in the weekend dialogue emphasised the sanctity
of property
rights in Zimbabwe's economic revival efforts, met Zuma to
pressure SADC to
pin Mugabe on committing to thrash out the teething
problems under the GPA,
namely: the legitimate tenancy (of office) of
Attorney-General Johannes
Tomana and central bank governor Gideon
Gono.
However, little attention has been given to such key issues as the
land
reforms.
An associate and official of the Harare-based African
Institute for Agrarian
Studies said in his understanding, the latest
seizures were unprocedural and
the development was in general an affront to
the spirit of the GNU on land
reforms.
"If, for instance, they agreed
to a land audit, why can't they implement it
first before going on to grab
more farms? But, you see, this is the hallmark
of Zanu-PF's self-defeating
tendencies, which give the outside world an
overall impression of
lawlessness and insincerity," he said.
In a public statement recently, a
group known as the Youth in Politics (YIP)
said land acquisitions in
Zimbabwe can only be done or carried lawfully
after approval from all
parties or sides of the inclusive government,
meaning MDC ministers must
also give input and assent to the exercise.
Quoting section 20.1.1 and
section 20.1.2 (f) of Schedule 8 of CA Number 19,
the local interest group
said arising from these legal provisions, which
state that the executive
authority of the GNU is shared between the
President, Prime Minister and by
cabinet consensus, Murerwa should have
widely consulted before taking over
these latest farms.
"With the purported takeover of the aforementioned
properties having been
done for and on behalf of the state and under Section
16(B)(2)(a)(iii) of
constitutional amendment (CA) number 17, it remains to
be seen whether the
entire process is compliant with the bigger and superior
CA number 19, which
clearly states the exercise of power under this new
era," YIP argued.
"The respective clauses state that: the Executive
Authority of the Inclusive
Government shall vest in, and be shared among the
President, the Prime
Minister and the Cabinet, as provided for in this
Constitution and the law.
Furthermore: "The cabinet shall take decisions
by consensus and collective
responsibility for all its decisions, including
those originally initiated
individually by any member of cabinet," it
added.
The group also said borrowing from Section 31(G)(2) of the
original
constitution as well, Murerwa should have garnered the unanimous
support and
backing of cabinet, especially in situations where he is dealing
with people's
constitutional rights.
Hinting on the fact that it had
done some "legal homework", YIP said Murerwa
faced personal liability for
any damages arising from this chaotic episode,
especially if his officials
continue or persisted with this partisan, Zanu
PF-type of land reform and
ample evidence emerged that cabinet approval was
lacking.
It said
Zimbabwe deserved a "representative outfit or voice" even in land
reforms
because they know what they voted for early this year and stressed
that the
essence of Zimbabwe's agrarian reforms should be poverty
alleviation, and
viable farming, as opposed to a system which perpetuates a
disorderly
legacy, blemishes the outlook for the respect of property rights
and
disenfranchising others.
Socio-economic commentators have also said
Zanu-PF's reluctance to
incorporate its GNU partners' ideas and input in the
land reform programme
is one of the many "hygienic factors" and strategic
blunders, which called
into question its commitment to the power-sharing
agreement and continue to
amplify the outside world's skepticism over the
sustenance of the
transitional authority.
Stakeholders such as
Justice for Agriculture have long complained about a
new wave of disruptions
and said that such acts as the March 2009
nullification of a SADC tribunal
on about 78 farmers' relief order over the
removal from their land were
nothing, but an attempt "to fast-track
lawlessness and farm
seizures."
In the recent judgement, Zimbabwean High Court Judge Anne-Mary
Gowora
disposed in a dispute involving Senate president Edna Madzongwe and a
Chegutu farmer that the tribunal's decisions did not apply, and cannot be
enforced in Zimbabwe, unless parliament ratified the protocol that set it
up.
Tribunal President Justice Luis Mondlane had ruled last year that
white
Zimbabwean farmers should be protected against dispossessions of their
land
and those who had already lost must be fairly compensated.
And
while the ruling was seen as victory against future evictions, such
optimism
has dwindled and come to nought as almost 100 properties have been
seized so
far and tens of dozens of farmers arraigned before the courts.
Mugabe,
who earlier this year gave a nod to the new invasions during a
birthday
bash, has been tackled by Tsvangirai and regional colleagues over
the issue,
but he has not indicated when the wanton overruns will stop.
On the SADC
tribunal's ruling, the octogenarian leader also emboldened his
supporters by
declaring that the regional grouping had no right to interfere
in Zimbabwe's
land affairs.
http://www.zimonline.co.za
by Cuthbert Nzou Wednesday 05 August
2009
HARARE - Zimbabwe's export sector took a huge knock from
the global
recession in the first half of the year with receipts dropping by
a massive
38 percent, the country's central bank has announced.
The
southern African country exported goods valued US$475 million compared
to
US$762 million delivered to world markets during the same period last
year,
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono said in his latest
monetary.
Gono attributed the fall in the exports to the global
credit crunch that
started late last year and left millions of people
worldwide jobless.
Mining accounted for 42 percent of Zimbabwe's export
receipts between
January and June. Tobacco and manufacturing sector
accounted for 26 percent
and 14 percent respectively within the same
period.
"The 2009 mining shipment exports represent a decrease of 57.6
percent
compared to 2008. This is mainly due to the fall in mineral prices
caused by
the world recession. Furthermore, the sector still faces
challenges in
specific sectors like labour shortages, frequent power cuts
and foreign
currency shortages," Gono said.
Agriculture, formerly
Zimbabwe's major export driver before government
embarked on a chaotic and
controversial land reform exercise seven years
ago, fell 14.9 percent
comparatively.
"Total exports under the agriculture sector amounted to
US$191,3 million
compared to US$224,9 million worth of exports for the same
period in 2008,"
Gono said. "This represents a decrease of 14,9 percent.
Like any other
sector of the economy, the agriculture sector has been
affected by the
prevailing shortages of foreign exchange for procurement of
critical
inputs."
The global recession has also had its toll on
agriculture exports,
especially the horticulture sector, where prices have
continued to be
depressed, the central bank said.
But the central
bank remains optimistic that the dollarisation of the
economy at the
beginning of the year would spur production and resultantly
boost
exports.
Zimbabwe is emerging from a decade long economic crisis
characterised by
high inflation, foreign currency and power shortages
because of poor
political and economic policies. - ZimOnline
http://www.independent.co.uk
Harare's youth are providing the soundtrack
to their country's slow escape
from poverty, writes Alex Duval
Smith
Wednesday, 5 August 2009
"Grandpa, Grandpa,
you let me down," chants Zola Badman, 22, to giggles of
approval from the
rowdy audience at the House of Hunger poetry slam. At the
end of the
recital, a sarcastic MC grabs the mic to assure the crowd that
Badman "was
of course referring to his own grandfather", but we all know
Badman meant
Robert Mugabe.
As Zimbabwe limps on, apparently with two governments and
with uncertain
signals as to whether the power of the 85-year-old President
or the will of
Prime Minister, Morgan Tsvangirai, will ultimately prevail, a
boom in
performance poetry is, intellectually and economically, seeing young
urbanites through.
Performer Trymore Munyarari, 32, has come to the
House of Hunger at Harare's
Book Café for the third time. "For me the slam
is as much a question of
survival as expression," he said. "I used to recite
poetry in schools but
the education department has no funds now. Here,
everyone pays US$1 [59
pence] to get in. If I win, I will make, say $25, and
I will be given an
anthology of poems by Chirikure Chirikure, who is my
hero."
Materially, life has improved in the Zimbabwean capital in the six
months
since Mr Tsvangirai, formerly leader of the opposition, was sworn in
as
premier and the unity government adopted the South African Rand and US
greenback instead of the hyper-inflationary Zimbabwe dollar. Civil servants
are receiving salaries again - ranging from $100 a month for teachers to
$300 for Mr Tsvangirai and Mr Mugabe. Hawkers sell 10 bananas for $1 but
problems arise if you only want five; virtually no coins are in
circulation.
Small employers have gone back to work. At the Feredays
factory in Central
Avenue, four tailors turn out high-quality canvas bags
and ammunition belts
made from Zimbabwean cotton. Its director, Nick Knill,
said: "There is a
sense of optimism now. We really think we have been
through the worst of it.
Having said that, we have a long way to go. We used
to employ 23 tailors and
now we are down to four. But the optimism is back
and that makes a huge
difference."
Other green shoots can be seen on
the stock exchange, where trading is
increasing. Two recent investor
conferences were well attended. The Finance
Minister Tendai Biti - who is
also secretary general of Mr Tsvangirai's
Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC) party - recently raised his growth
forecast for this year from 2.8 per
cent to 3.7 per cent.
Grain production is on the increase and last week,
the Tobacco Industry and
Marketing Board said seed sales were booming. By
last Friday, about 44
million kilograms of tobacco had been sold, beating
the 42 million target
set for the season. However, as a comparison, a decade
ago, Zimbabwe was
producing 200 million kgs.
Western diplomats stress
that the country cannot be rebuilt on optimism
alone. "Politically we remain
extremely cautious," said a senior European
diplomat. "For every step
forward, there seems to be a step back. Until that
situation changes and
there is real progress, we will be very careful where
we put our
money.
"Of course, investors are free to take risks, and some South
Africans are
returning. But you won't see any meaningful influx of
investment until there
are real signs of political stability, by which I
mean minima which we
demand of other countries in the region: freedom of
expression, an
independent judiciary, respect for human rights and a degree
of
transparency."
Twenty years ago, Zimbabwe was the breadbasket of
the region. A white elite,
some occupying farms the size of small countries,
led an Out of Africa
lifestyle.
The inbuilt injustices in the system,
including racism and a vast
white-black wealth gap, were tolerated by Mr
Mugabe's government because
Europe sent lashings of money to
post-independence Rhodesia. In those days,
Mr Mugabe, as the head of a
friendly Southern African frontline state during
the Cold War, was a
necessary interlocutor who had to be kept sweet. But
then, in 1991, Nelson
Mandela was released and the world changed for Mr
Mugabe as the West
diverted the gravy train.
Needing to maintain the patronage system
installed by the ruling Zanu-PF, Mr
Mugabe turned his rhetoric against
Britain and, in 1999, set in motion the
now famous land invasions targeting
4,000 white farmers. Today, there are a
few hundred commercial farmers left.
None will return to farm on a large
scale until a meaningful land reform
programme - including workable tenure
rights - is in place.
This is
where the lack of political progress effectively condemns Zimbabwe,
as an
economy, to continuing to live hand-to-mouth. Last week, Mr Biti
received a
bullet and a death note through the post. Up to 12 MDC MPs are
facing
prosecutions or appeals on charges that they claim have been trumped
up to
have them convicted so that by-elections can be held and the slim
parliamentary majority that the MDC won in violence-marred elections in
March 2008 can be wiped out.
In the past week, Zimbabwe has served up
two positive political
developments. The BBC and CNN have been allowed back
into the country and
the first meeting has been held of the National
Security Council, a body
intended to replace the feared Joint Operations
Command, made up of Mr
Mugabe's top military men and often referred to as
the "junta".
But sceptics say Mr Mugabe has made the concessions only
because he fears
being lambasted for obstructionism at a Southern African
Development
Community summit next month.
On Monday, Mr Tsvangirai
took his concerns to Jacob Zuma, the South African
President who is the
chairman of the regional grouping. Afterwards, Mr Zuma
admitted the problems
facing Zimbabwe were "weighty" but insisted they could
be
resolved.
He will no doubt be pressed on the matter by the US Secretary
of State,
Hillary Clinton, when she lands in Pretoria tomorrow. "[She]
certainly
intends to talk about Zimbabwe with the South African leadership,"
Johnnie
Carson, the assistant Secretary for African Affairs, said ahead of
the
visit. "We'll encourage [them] to continue to press the government of
Robert
Mugabe to fully implement the global political agreement that he
signed."
At the weekly House Of Hunger, the jury - selected from the
audience and
fuelled by sarcasm and humour - is still out on the latest
concessions from
"grandpa". This is a place where the audience likes its
poetry to be as
political as possible and where the highest accolade a
performer can receive
from the jury is "We know where you live".
In
fact, in a country with no independent broadcasters and a struggling
independent press, the ephemeral nature of slam appears so far to have
protected the performers from a clampdown by the authorities.
One of
the House of Hunger founders is a 28-year-old white dreadlocked poet,
Samm
Farai Monro, aka Comrade Fatso. "We started with open mic sessions in
2005,"
he said.
"Now the slam movement has spread to every city and township. It
provides a
space of truth for young people in a country where we are
surrounded by
censorship. It also ties in with a centuries-old tradition of
oral
expression. As long as people don't have bread, and probably beyond,
there
will be a need in Zimbabwe for performance poetry."
http://www.herald.co.zw
Wednesday,
August 05, 2009
HR.
Eight people died - six of them on the spot - while 14
others were injured
when a kombi they were travelling in burst its rear
right tyre and
overturned 176km along the Harare-Mutare Road
yesterday.
Two others died on admission at Rusape General Hospital,
police have
confirmed.
Among the dead were five men and three
women.
Police spokesman Superintendent Andrew Phiri last night said it
was not
clear where the kombi was coming from.
"There were 22
passengers in a Toyota Hiace, which means it was overloaded.
The accident
happened at 2:15pm The injured 14 were admitted to Rusape
General Hospital
and their condition is stable," he said.
Yesterday's accident comes
barely two days after a Mhunga bus killed 38
people and injured 28 others
along the Harare-Masvingo Road. - HR.
http://www.zimdiaspora.com
Wednesday, 05 August 2009 09:45
By Our
Correspendent
THE Zimbabwe Republic Police is to recruit 20 000 more police
officers to
implement an "inter-agency approach" as a means of fighting
crime, a senior
police officer has revealed.
In an interview
yesterday, police spokesperson Superintendent Andrew Phiri
said the approach
entailed encouraging stakeholders to play a bigger part in
the battle to
curb crime.
He said the country had nearly 30 000 police officers and the
force needed
to increase the figure to 50 000 to effectively administer the
programme
countrywide.
Supt Phiri said the force was using all
available platforms to attract new
recruits.
"We have decentralised
the enlisting of prospective officers to station
level and most of the
details that used to be processed in Harare are now
being done at district
level. We have introduced the junior police programme
at schools and we are
drafting members of neighbourhood watch committees
into the force. The
police also use mass gatherings like the Zimbabwe
International Trade Fair
to attract recruits," he said.
The police spokesperson said the expansion
and new approach would make it
difficult for criminals to
operate.
"It was necessitated by demographic changes after the land
resettlement
programme in 2000, and the need to be relevant as we move with
the times."
"We want to establish as many bases as possible near the
people because we
exist for them. The force needs to be proactive rather
than reactive when it
comes to controlling crime. Large numbers would also
help us to maintain
visibility to deter would be criminals," Supt Phiri
said.
This has resulted in the promotion of hated Police Commissioner
Augustine
Chihuri to Commissioner General to accommodate the expected
expansion.
"Four Deputy Commissioner-Generals and five Commissioners were
also promoted
to the posts in line with the anticipated inter-agency
approach programme,"
he said.
"We have already had pilot projects for
the scheme in parts of Mashonaland
West, Central and Mhangura with good
results. Individual officers, called
home officers, are assigned specific
areas (beats), which they will be
responsible for. The idea is for the
officer to get to know and be known by
everyone in the area."
Supt
Phiri said this made it easy for the officers to identify strangers and
quickly detect crimes, while at the same time making it simpler for
community members to approach them on matters regarding crime.
The
community would also be encouraged to form neighbourhood watch
committees
and in some cases provide transport for officers to attend crime
scenes,
thereby overcoming the resource constraints faced by the police
force.
"Under the same scheme, banks, security companies and other
institutions
that have been the target of armed robberies are encouraged to
share
information and resources with the ZRP to cover any loopholes for
criminals," said Supt Phiri.
He said the police had data banks and
the modus operandi of most criminals
and sharing such information would
enable the institutions to strengthen
their security systems.
Supt
Phiri said the institutions would also be encouraged to link their
surveillance cameras to police stations to reduce reaction time in case of
robberies.
http://www.zimeye.org/?p=7778
By
John-Chimunhu
Published: August 4,
2009
(HARARE)Rights campaigners Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human
Rights (ZLHR) have
published sensational details of the abuse of yet another
large-scale
commercial farmer and defiance of court orders by a senior
official of
Robert Mugabe's armed forces, Brigadier General Austin
Mujaji.
Charles Lock, one of a handful of white farmers still on the land
told the
latest ZLHR publication Legal Monitor obtained on Friday (Jul 31)
that armed
soldiers numbering about eight at any given time were preventing
him from
harvesting about 500 tonnes of maize and export tobacco, all valued
at
nearly US$1 million.
"Legally, Lock has obtained rulings in his
favour in every court, including
one from the Supreme Court. Politically, he
has secured written and oral
support from the Presidency and Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai," the
rights group said. "But still, top soldier Mujaji,
despite a warrant for his
arrest over the land case, has proven extra
powerful," the newsletter said.
Lock's lawyer, Happias Zhou said: "At the
moment, Lock is being prevented
from moving his tobacco and maize by a troop
of soldiers stationed at the
farm by Mujaji."
Lock said trucks sent
to the farm to start moving the crop were turned back
empty by the soldiers.
He said he feared that his tobacco would lose quality
and value as it was
turning mouldy.
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=20682
August 5, 2009
John
Robertson
THE argument I was trying to offer in my blog last week didn't
quite make it
as the final paragraphs were lost somewhere in cyberspace.
Allow me, please,
to make the points that went missing.
I was
describing the publication that was presented to the Zimbabwe
International
Investment Conference, an event that was claimed to have been
"designed to
showcase Zimbabwe's potential" and that was said to have
adequately
presented investors the opportunity to assess areas of possible
investment
"through interacting with Zimbabweans themselves".
The "co-operation with
indigenous investors" theme was indeed frequently
emphasized at the
conference and the organisers produced the said glossy
colour publication
that listed all the things that need to be built, rebuilt
or
re-equipped.
That too referred to requirements for local
participation.
As this fancy document was described on the front cover as
a Prospectus,
potential investors might have been forgiven for believing
that it would
invite them to subscribe to loan stock and shares issues and
would reveal to
them the full extent of financial requirements, the returns
they might
expect and the extent of local support. But not a sum was
suggested, not a
project was described in financial terms and not a single
domestic
contribution was identified. In no way did the document describe
even the
smallest contribution that would come from indigenous
people.
In short, in no way did the document amount to a
Prospectus.
Ignoring these points completely, Golden Guvamatanga, the
journalist from
The Herald who was so pleased with it, said, "We welcome
with open arms
investment that not only have locals as partners but one that
benefits them
so that the unprecedented levels of poverty caused by the
Western-imposed
economic sanctions can be reduced."
Forgive the
grammar, please. That is a direct quote.
His main thesis is that
indigenisation, by which he means being allowed to
claim the right to
acquire a large part of the assets built by others, is a
wholly honourable
quest. But he offers not one line to say why. Instead, we
are invited to
accept without question that efforts to "rubbish" all its
laudable merits
are totally unacceptable.
But what does it mean? He expressed the thought
that economic sanctions
caused "unprecedented poverty", but this is absurd,
not just because
economic sanctions were non-existent, but also because it
fell outside his
theme, which tries to persuade everyone, to accept that
indigenous people
have an unquestionable right to become partners in
ventures started by
investors from abroad.
We have to ask how people
can demand the rights to become partners without
contributing anything. How
can they demand the right to extract benefits
from activities that depend
one hundred percent on the commitments of other
people?
To get down
to basics, indigenisation is a political ploy that invites
voters to loyally
support the party that promises to get them things for
nothing. And the
political objective of "empowerment" is to bring about the
disempowerment of
any who are considered a potential threat. That is why the
Land Reform
Programme also dispossessed many successful black farmers;
people who needed
no favours from the State and who had empowered
themselves.
My claim
was that if locals can identify good investment options, they
should go
ahead and develop them. If they don't have the skills, they should
work at
acquiring them. If they don't have the money, they should set about
making
it, or develop the credibility to borrow it, and seek out bankers and
partners who will back their good ideas.
In other words, do what all
other investors do.
Genuine investors do not wait for others to hand them
lists of opportunities
or identify good ideas for them. They do that for
themselves. That is what
they do well and that, plus lots of hard work, is
what makes them investors.
Why should Zimbabweans feel they have rights
to exemptions from the hard
work and risks involved just because they are
indigenous? They have no such
rights and they should be deeply suspicious of
politicians who tell them
they have. What they do have is the absolute right
to work for what they
want. Just like everybody else.
http://www.sowetan.co.za
05 August 2009
Sowetan
says:
AT
FACE value, President Jacob Zuma's reassurance to Zimbabwean prime
minister
Morgan Tsvangirai that he will have a word with President Robert
Mugabe on
the issues that Tsvangirai discussed with Msholozi sounds
ridiculous.
Surely all the world knows by now that
Mugabe cannot feign ignorance of the
issues that have blighted what was
supposed to be a government of national
unity in Zimbabwe.
Even if
nobody had told him, a man of Mugabe's intelligence would know that
arbitrarily arresting members of parliament of a party that you are supposed
to be in a coalition government with will send doubt as to your commitment
to the marriage everyone knew was of convenience.
Zuma's noncommittal
stance creates the impression that those hoping for a
diplomatic stance
louder than that adopted by his predecessor, Thabo Mbeki,
were too
optimistic.
The message to civil society here and in Zimbabwe is clear.
Political elites
will go on seeing or hearing no evil where neighbouring
states are
concerned.
It means that civil society must take up the
cudgels again and agitate for
meaningful change in Zimbabwe.
While we
recognise the progress that has been made so far, including
Tsvangirai's
elevation to prime minister, it is clear the politicians have
wasted
precious time sorting Zimbabwe out.
Put differently, we expect the likes
of Cosatu and the SACP to go on leading
civil society's agitation for
meaningful change in how South Africa deals
with the Zimbabwean
question.