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21
MDC-T activists granted bail in ongoing Glen View murder case
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Alex
Bell
17 December 2012
21 MDC-T activists, charged in the ongoing Glen
View cop murder case, were
finally granted bail on Monday, leaving only five
members of the arrested
group still detained.
29 activists were
arrested in connection with the death of Glen View
policeman Petros Mutedza
last May. Most of the group spent more than a year
in prison, with the case
slowly dragging on. This is despite a significant
lack of evidence to
implicate the group.
The 21 who have been granted bail are set to be
released from Chikurubi
maximum security prison on Tuesday. The five still
detained are Last
Maengahama, Tungamirai Madozkere, Rebecca Mafikeni, Yvonne
Musarurwa and
Simon Mapanzure.
One of the group’s lawyers, Gift
Mtisi, told SW Radio Africa that according
to the bail ruling on Monday, the
evidence so far links the remaining five
MDC-T activists more strongly to
the murder than their co-accused. Mtisi
said that according to the ruling,
the remaining five are still considered
‘flight risks’.
The judge on
Monday also granted an application by the state to allow a
“vulnerable
witness”, Edinah Chihota, to give evidence ‘in camera’.
“Once that
witness has testified and once we have heard testimony from the
doctors
involved in treating the accused during the detention, then, based
on the
evidence that comes out, we may apply for discharge (of the case),”
Mtisi
said.
The trial proceedings will only continue when the High Court
resumes sitting
in January 2013.
Two other MDC-T Youth Assembly
officials have also been charged in
connection with Mutedza’s death, after
their arrest in late October this
year. Tarirai Kusotera and Jackson Mabota
were held in detention for a month
before being released on bail. But they
are being tried separately to the
original Glen View 29. Their case will
also continue in the New Year.
‘We have
not deployed in DRC’
http://www.herald.co.zw
. . . President says Sadc Standby Brigade will
help
Kinshasa, Tanzania is commander of the regional force
Monday, 17
December 2012 00:00
Tendai Mugabe recently in MALABO, Equatorial
Guinea
Zimbabwe has not deployed troops to the Democratic Republic of
Congo, but
will only contribute soldiers to a Sadc Standby Brigade for a
peacekeeping
mission in that country, President Mugabe has said.
The
President told journalists in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, last week that
the
Sadc forces would help the DRC government repel the Rwandan-backed M23
rebels.
“We have not deployed our troops in DRC,” said President
Mugabe, who is the
Head of State and Government and Commander-in-Chief of
the Zimbabwe Defence
Forces, said.
“There is a Standby Brigade and
people should have known by now that Sadc
has its Standby Brigade.
“It is
not Zimbabwe alone going to DRC . . . that is the Brigade which is
there to
take care of any nonsense by way of a coup or revolt. It is
Tanzania which
is the commander.”
President Mugabe said it was Sadc’s duty to defend
member states from
revolts and rebel aggression.
He said Sadc had a
Standby Brigade that was launched in Zambia in 2007 to
protect the
territorial integrity of member states. In this case, President
Mugabe said,
it was that force deployed in eastern DRC where M23 rebels have
launched an
onslaught against President Joseph Kabila’s government.
Sadc as the regional
body is responsible for the costs of such operations.
The decision to
deploy the Standby Brigade in DRC was reached at an
Extra-Ordinary Summit of
Sadc Heads of State and Government held in Tanzania
recently. It was agreed
that a neutral force of 4 000 troops should be
deployed in the DRC to
restore peace.
The 14 Sadc member states contribute troops to the force and
Tanzania
pledged an additional battalion.
The United Nations singled
out Rwanda as the “money and brains” behind the
M23 rebel movement, led by
renegade General Bosco Ntaganda.
Gen Ntaganda reportedly defected from the
DRC army early this year after a
fallout with President Kabila on the
integration of former rebels and
military service conditions.
He is
believed to be leading the rebel movement made up of mutineers from
the DRC
army and his former rebel cohorts in the earlier civil war.
Indications are
that he operates out of Rwanda with President Paul Kagame’s
backing.
In 1998, Sadc mandated Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe to
deploy in the DRC
against rebel groups backed by Rwanda and Uganda. The
United States and some
European countries tacitly supported the
rebels.
The 1998 deployment by Sadc, dubbed “Operation Sovereign Legitimacy”,
fostered an uneasy peace that enabled the vast country to hold its first
elections in 45 years.
Gandiya appeals for help to renovate
properties
An estimated 2,000 Anglican faithfuls from the Harare diocese converged in
the Africa Unity Square park on Sunday for a service where Bishop Chad Gandiya
appealed for help to renovate church properties and called on worshippers to
forgive erstwhile enemies.
Part of the crowd that gathered in Africa Unity Square on Sunday.
Addressing ululating congregants gathering together for the first time
since a November Supreme Court ruling that gave back the Anglican Province of
Central Africa properties that had been wrested by a breakaway group led by
Bishop Nolbert Kungonga, Gandiya expressed joy that normalcy was
returning.
After worshippers observed a minute of silence in memory of an elderly
woman who was killed during one of the fights to control Anglican properties in
the last five years, Gandiya urged: “We must forgive those that wronged us. We
should ensure that there will never be a repetition of what happened in the
past”.
He added: “While I am not saying we should completely obliterate what
happened in the past from our memories, we should be careful not to keep
remembrances that would enslave us.”
Turning to church property, Gandiya said: “Our churches and schools are in
need of repair. All members of the Harare Diocese and friends, let’s rebuild the
walls of our Diocese. We mostly need paint. Are you ready to help?”
Jubilant congregants who turned the park into a sea of white and blue also
celebrated that the “police are now with us and for us” at the service that was
also attended by prominent delegates from the southern African region.
The police had in the past been rapped for siding with the Kunonga faction.
Since 2007, there have been bitter wrangles between the Anglican Church and
Kunonga’s breakway church that assumed control of all the properties.
During this period, the Sunday congregation was told by speakers, crèches
and schools belonging to the church were abused by Kunonga’s followers, with one
kindergarten being turned into a centre for the abuse of children.
Kunonga, a Zanu (PF) erstwhile activist, is also accused of desecrating the
Bernard Mizeki Shrine in Mashonaland East, closing down schools and diverting
money from the church for personal gain.
The Supreme Court in mid-November ruled that since Kunonga had formed his
own church, he had no right to hold onto Anglican properties.
He subsequently went back to the High Court to stop the eviction of his
followers, but the court said it had no jurisdiction to deliberate over his
case.
Kunonga’s
chair thrown out in cleansing
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
Monday, 17 December 2012 13:27
HARARE -
Chad Gandiya, the victorious Anglican Church prelate, yesterday led
a
cleansing mass at the Cathedral in Harare, declaring “the enemy snare has
been broken.”
The humble bishop and his flock had been violently
banished into the
“wilderness” over the past four years by excommunicated
bishop and fervent
Zanu PF supporter Nolbert Kunonga.
The Supreme
Court returned all church properties to the main church in a
landmark
November 19 ruling.
Gandiya led thousands of Anglicans yesterday in a
cleansing ceremony to rid
the church of “the ridicule and disgrace it had
been subjected to in our
time in exile”.
“We have escaped like a
bird; the enemy’s snare has indeed been broken.
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, the
strife is gone. The battle is won,” Gandiya
said.
This attracted
deafening applause from a bumper crowd that packed Africa
Unity Square
overlooking the main Cathedral in central Harare.
“Our response to the
violence and now the judgement that brought us back is,
to God be the
glory.
“We thank all those that supported us, some at great cost to their
lives. We
were driven into exile but we will not remain stuck in the
past.
“We will not engage in negative remembrance but will remain
conscious not to
let the past blockade our progress. Exile is over,
harassment should be
over.
“However, going back to our churches is a
call to eternal vigilance,” he
said.
Yesterday’s event attracted
dignitaries from Namibia, Zambia and a letter
from the Archbishop of
Canterbury Rowan Williams, which was read out to
mass.
“You have
faced oppression and hardship while locked out of your church,”
said the
Archbishop’s letter.
“Your social ministry has been greatly impeded but
your faith has not
weakened. There will be obstacles ahead but we are with
you in prayer.”
Gandiya announced that the CPCA has since declared
November 19 a day of
thanksgiving to celebrate the Supreme Court judgment
that returned the
church’s properties to them and in memory of their
persecution.
The bishop, dressed in a flowing crème and red robe, later
led the cleansing
of the main Cathedral, which included the replacement of
the chair used by
Kunonga, which he said had been “defiled.”
The new
chair is inscribed with the words, “In Exile — Muupoteri”.
Sekeramayi
warns violence perpetrators (With some readers' comments)
http://www.herald.co.zw/
Monday, 17 December 2012
00:00
Wenceslaus Murape Senior Reporter
Security forces
will be on full alert during the forthcoming constitutional
referendum and
harmonised elections to thwart saboteurs, Minister of State
for Security
Sydney Sekeramayi has said. In an interview in Marondera last
week, the
minister said that those who cause political violence would be
dealtwith
accordingly.
“Security has always been the priority of Government because
if the
situation is insecure, there is bound to be chaos,” said Minister
Sekeramayi.
“The public is assured that the army, police and intelligence
services will
be extremely vigilant and co-ordinating their activities
before and during
the elections to detect any trouble
makers.”
Minister Sekeramayi said that as the country prepares for the
elections,
there were people bent on breaching security.
He said their
motive would be to give an impression to Zimbabwe’s
distracters that the
environment is not conducive for free and fair
elections.
“The
peace-loving public should be assured that all the security sectors
will be
on full alert and are doing their best that the election period will
be a
picnic,” said Minister Sekeramayi.
He said people would cast their votes
peacefully and then go about their
other business without
hustles.
Minister Sekeramayi expressed confidence in Zimbabwe’s security
personnel
for their professionalism.
“The role of the security sector
is to defend Zimbabwe’s sovereignty,
territorial integrity, independence and
national interests,” he said.
“I would also want to warn our enemies that we
will not fold our hands and
watch them do what they want in our
country.”
Minister Sekeramayi said that security personnel had a
constitutional
mandate and capability to maintain peace and order in the
country.
“Myopic political tactics by those who claim to be champions of
democracy
boarders on treachery of the highest order that power can be
achieved
through subversion,” he said
In the run-up to the 2008
harmonised elections, subversive elements
petrol-bombed police stations and
targeted other security personnel and the
public.
The nation
witnessed organised and sporadic bombings targeting State
institutions,
public transport, houses, police officers and other security
forces.
Zimbabwe will go for the referendum and then harmonised elections
next
year.
COMMENTS
Majaira_Jairosi
Collapse
Herald reporting is
too pathetic and selective. The last paragraph is
inadequate, it must have
also mentioned hundreds of opposition members who
were killed, instead it
focuses on police officers and other security forces
as victims. This lack
of respect on the ordinary citizens shows us that
Zanupf doesnt care about
the people of Zimbabwe at all. Mind you, attacking
the police officers was a
defence mechanism as people were sick and tired of
the ZRP being partisan
and was part of the tools used by Zanupf to terrorise
them. The police
officers,the army and state institutions must stop
operating as extensions
of Zanupf.
18 hours ago
AFROboy
Collapse
True..selective
memory loss. If Mugabe is serious,he needs to remove the top
generals in the
army and Chihuri. Tsvangirai wins elections,them generals
know they are out
of their jobs and all of them where at the Zanu PF
conference, when they
should not be involved in politics or show support for
any
party.
(Edited by author 16 hours ago)
16 hours ago in reply
to Majaira_Jairosi
Cheguevera413
GENERALS AND SERVICE CHIEFS ARE
APPOINTED BY THE SITTING HEAD OF STATE
ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD...IN THE
ZIMBABWEAN CASE THESE PEOPLE ARE AND SHOULD
CONTINUE DOING A WONDERFUL
JOB...IN THE UPCOMING POLLS, I URGE THESE
GENERALS TO DESTROY THE IMPERIAL
MOUTHPIECE MDC AND ITS TRACES...IN AMERICA
YOU WILL NOT HAVE SUCH AN ANTI
NATIONALISTIC MOVEMENT LIVING FOR THE NEXTB
MEAL ....IT IS LIKE AL
QAEDA!!!!
6 hours ago in reply to AFROboy
Mativenga, Cde
In the
90's, Obiola of Nigeria won the national elections.
The army generals refused
to accept the outcome, instead arrested him and
killed him while in
Prison.
Steve Biko was killed while in jail by the apartheid regime in South
Africa.
In the 2008 general elections, the regime that controls the Electoral
Commission refused to announce the election results - The Army Generals were
in control and are still in control, running the country.
Non-partisan
doesnt exist in all the uniformed forces in Zimbabwe because
recruitment
into the service is carried out from party branches.
What is the difference
in the cases in Nigeria and Souh Africa?
3 hours ago in reply to
Cheguevera413
AFROboy
Its 2012 not 1980,West want nothing to do with
the political issues in our
country,but only want free democratic election.
Although appointed by
Mugabe, Army should not be involved in politics
regardless of their own
personal views, their job is to protect all
Zimbabweans not serve or work as
a puppet of Zanu PF. Zimbabwe is not a one
party state or belong to Zanu PF.
5 hours ago in reply to
Cheguevera413
Kwekwe326
Collapse
To come to the content of the
report, I find the Ministers comments
disturbing. Others have pointed out
that he concentrates on alleged
targeting of State institutions and police
infrastructure at election time,
ignoring other forms of violence which even
the most fanatical of Zanu PF
cannot dismiss as fictitious. To unpack the
Minister's statement a little,
he is saying:
1) In the run-up to
elections, some elements are causing trouble to make it
look to the outside
world as if the situation is chaotic. He does not give
any evidence for this
and it sounds like conspiracy theory to me, to cover
up State-sponsored
violence against activists from the MDC formations
2) He states the role
of the security sector purely in terms of foreign
relations, as if Zimbabwe
is in a state of war with other countries, which
it is not. Whilst he says
that the election period will be peaceful and "a
picnic" he doesn't say that
the most important task for personnel engaged in
security is to provide an
environment where we can cast our votes freely and
fairly. The inference is
that it will be a picnic for his own party
supporters and not for the
rest.
3) Myopic political tactics, Minister? Subversion? I can only
assume that
this is your way of describing the act of voting "the wrong
way".
I take the Minister's comments as a serious threat to the
democratic
process, rehearsing the propaganda line that non Zanu PF
candidates are
treacherous puppets acting on behalf of foreign :"enemies"
and that defeat
for his party will not be tolerated. I would like to ask him
this:
If Zanu PF loses the harmonised elections, what will you and the
security
sector do?
9 hours ago
Mai Nhingi
“I would
also want to warn our enemies that we will not fold our hands and
watch them
do what they want in our country.” Which enemies and whose
enemies Cde
Minister, muri kuda kupedza vana venyu muchiti ma enemies nokuda
kwekuti
vasarudza kusupporter rimwe bato here?
11 hours ago 1
Like
Motormouth!
hapana zvamataura. pfungwa dzenyu dzinoratidza kuti
hamusati mave neruzivo
pamwe dai tataura zvekuronga mhuri pamweni izvozvo
munoziva.
Like Reply
10 hours ago in reply to Mai
Nhingi
Lancelot Kajokoto
Mwari ngavitipe rudo nehushingi hwekutaura
chokwadi.
13 hours ago
AFROboy
Zanu PF used police,CIO,army to
as a weapon against opposition supporters in
the 2002 and 2008 elections.How
is the Herald able to say sporadic bombings
of state institution when it was
the state security involved in those
incidences,but they forget many
oppositions supporters killed,raped,beaten
up across the country and also
faced torture while in police custody ''this
is what brought on the
sanctions to Mugabe's regime''.No matter what Zanu PF
says,people of
Zimbabwe will never forget the violence caused by that party
and they can't
think of why that party has been losing so much support for
the past years
''damage is done'', this statement from Zanu PF is more than
a decade
late.Its shocking how the Herald is full of crap lies and a puppet
of a
failed party.If Zanu PF does not use violence,how else is it going to
win?,
failed tired policies wont help the party win elections. Mai Mujuru is
the
only person in Zanu PF that can actually beat Tsvangirai in any
election,but
that party wants to stick with the same old leader who has
failed to reform
the party from within ''its outdated,out of touch,full of
old people who
have been in power for too long'',forget the youth vote.
Zimbabwe
road accidents increase by 9%: Police
http://www.zimdiaspora.com
MONDAY, 17 DECEMBER 2012 09:06
EDITOR NEWS
POLICE said they have recorded a 9% increase in road traffic
accidents this
year with most of them attributed to human
error.
Officer commanding traffic Assistant Commissioner Kenny Mthombeni
told
NewsDay at the weekend that they had recorded 28 929 accidents between
January and October this year, against 26 500 accidents recorded over the
same period last year.
“Most of these accidents occurred as a result
of excessive speeding,
following behind too close, failure to give way and
overtaking errors,” said
Mthombeni.
He said during the Christmas
holidays last year, they recorded 1 785
accidents with 147 fatalities and 1
304 injuries.
“The Christmas and New Year holiday period is historically
associated with
disregard of road rules and laws which subsequently lead to
accidents and
loss of life and damage to property. I, therefore, urge the
motoring public
and commuters to abide by the rules of the road before,
during and after the
festive season,” said Mthombeni.
Meanwhile,
police’s anti-stock theft unit said it had closed 900 illegal
butcheries,
632 food outlets and eight abattoirs countrywide as part of its
clampdown on
stocktheft.
“During the period January to October 2012, the national
anti-stock theft
unit conducted operations such as Nyama Yabvepi? and
operation Eradicate
Cattle Rustlers. The operations were aimed at reducing
or eradicating
illegal activities in the meat and livestock industries,”
said police
anti-stock theft national coordinator Assistant Commissioner
Bernard
Dumbura.
He also said 1 153 people were arrested for
stocktheft, while 14 873 were
arrested for stock theft- related
offences.
“The number of cases reported in 2012 decreased to 4 144 from 4
978 in 2011,
translating to a 17% decrease. The number of cattle stolen
between January
and October also decreased from 10 662 in 2011 to 9 264 in
2012, translating
to a 13 % decrease,” said Dumbura - Herald.
MDC-T
looks to government to bail out Masvingo Council
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Alex Bell
17
December 2012
The MDC led by Morgan Tsvangirai is looking to the
government’s financial
heads, to help bail out the party-run Masvingo
Council.
The Council is in the midst of a potential debilitating court
battle after
failing to pay its workers their salaries, to the tune of
US$3.5 million. A
court has since ordered this amount be paid out, but the
council does not
have the cash to meet this demand.
Instead, key
council assets have been listed for seizure and auction in
order to fulfil
the debt to the workers. This includes garbage and fire
trucks, fire
fighting equipment, council vehicles, office furniture and
computers and
even the Mayor’s Mercedes Benz sedan.
The removal of council property
started almost two weeks ago, threatening to
paralyse council work like
clearing refuse or putting out fires. This forced
the council to file an
urgent injunction halting the process, and judgement
has been reserved in
that case.
This means the MDC-T has some breathing room to make another
plan to honour
the court order and prevent the council from total collapse.
Party Minister
Sesel Zvidzai has since been dispatched to Masvingo to try
and find a
negotiated way forward.
MDC-T spokesman Douglas Mwonzora
told SW Radio Africa on Monday that an
“urgent and peaceful” way forward
needs to be found, to ensure that the
workers get paid and the council is
able to keep functioning. Mwonzora
explained that Zvidzai has been in
meetings with the Finance Ministry to see
if the government can help with
the council’s debt.
Mwonzora meanwhile denied that the council’s cash
flow problems are in any
way linked to corruption in the province, despite
the MDC-T recently
launching an anti-corruption campaign there. The party
launched a probe in
October after reports of rampant financial mismanagement
and corruption.
MDC: Ruwende villagers up in arms
The MDC Today
Monday, 17 December
2012
Issue – 490
Villagers in Ruwende village in Nyanga North in
Manicaland province are up
in arms after their headman Noah Ruwende ordered
them to register in his
book whether they belonged to the MDC or Zanu
PF.
The MP for Nyanga North is Hon. Douglas Mwonzora who is the MDC
national
spokesperson. Last week, Ruwende called for a village meeting where
he said
he wanted to know the political affiliation of every village in the
area.
There was chaos at the meeting as people demanded to know why he
needed to
know which political party a villager belongs to. MDC Ward 13
chairperson,
Gabriel Mawadza confirmed the bizarre incident and said people
are now
leaving in fear as they do not know why the headman want to know
their
political affiliations. “The headman did not mention the reason why he
wanted people to be registered along their political affiliation,” he
said.
A total of 21 MDC activists who are part of the 29 MDC members who
are
facing false charges of murdering a police officer in Glen View, Harare
last
year were granted bail by Justice Chinembiri Bhunu today. They have
been in
remand prison since they were indicted for trial at the High Court
in April.
Some of the falsely accused had been in remand prison for over 19
months
since they were arrested in May 2011.
However, Justice Bhunu
denied bail to Last Maengahama, an MDC national
executive member, Councillor
Tungamirai Madzokere, Yvonne Musarurwa, Rebecca
Mafukeni, Simon Mapanzure
after the State opposed to their granting of bail
claiming the five are a
flight risk.
All the 21 including, Solomon Madzore, Cynthia Manjoro and
Lovemore
Taruvinga Magaya have been ordered to report weekly at Glen View
Police
Station.
The Last Mile: Towards Real Transformation!!!
Zanu PF
abusing grain loan scheme
http://nehandaradio.com
on December 17, 2012 at 4:09
pm
By Edgar Gweshe
After his maize crop succumbed to
the severe drought that hit most parts of
the country, Cain Mamutse of
Bikita district in Masvingo province was left
looking up to food aid from
government and non-governmental organizations to
sustain his
family.
President Mugabe hands over a packet of maize seed to Chief
Fortune
Charumbira while Chief Musarurwa and other chiefs look on at the
launch of
the US$27 million Presidential Well Wishers Special Inputs Scheme
in Harare
His case is similar to that of most villagers in the province who
were left
staring hunger in the face following a disastrous 2012 farming
season and
the government’s Grain Loan Scheme has become their hope of
survival.
However, Mamutse and a host of other villagers’ hopes of
finding a respite
through the government’s Grain Loan Scheme have almost
crumbled after they
learnt that they were not eligible to benefit from the
relief programme due
to their political affiliation.
“We recorded
very poor harvests this year and we have been looking forward
to the
government for food aid. However, we have been told that we will not
be
getting anything from the Grain Loan Scheme due to the fact that we are
supporters of the MDC led by Morgan Tsvangirai.
There are some known
ZANU-PF members here who have made it a point that
anyone deemed to be
anti-ZANU-PF should not be getting anything,” said
Mamutse.
Reports
are rampant in Bikita district that ZANU-PF members have hijacked
the Grain
Loan Scheme in a bid to scratch MDC supporters from benefiting
from the
government programme. The situation has exacerbated the hunger
situation for
most MDC supporters in the district.
Similar cases have also been
reported in such areas as Zaka West where war
veterans leader, Jabulani
Sibanda launched a campaign called “Operation
Kubudirana Pachena” which has
seen a purge of violence against MDC
supporters who are also being denied
food aid.
The development cements concerns by Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai in July
this year that food aid was being distributed along
political lines in
Masvingo Province. In August this year, the Prime
Minister took the matter
to Cabinet where a task force was set up to ensure
there is no partisan
distribution of food aid in the country’s
provinces.
An MDC-T councilor from Sosera village in Bikita district who
declined to be
named for fear of victimization revealed that some ZANU-PF
candidates who
lost the council elections in 2008 had hijacked the grain
loan scheme and
were trying to sideline them from the administration of the
programme.
“The problem we have is that there are some ZANU-PF members
who lost the
council elections who are trying to hijack the Grain Loan
Scheme. As elected
councilors, we are supposed to be in charge of the
programme but that is not
the situation here. Whenever there is a food aid
distribution programme, the
ZANU-PF guys always try by all means to sideline
us and even the MP,” said
the councilor.
MDC-T MP for Bikita West,
Heya Shoko confirmed the allegations saying
politicization of food aid was
rampant in his constituency. He said the
situation was mostly pronounced in
Ward 2 of Sosera village under Chief
Marozva.
“That issue is there
and very rampant in my constituency. I have received
numerous reports from
our councilors that they are being sidelined from
grain distribution
programmes and that our supporters have been scratched
from benefiting. At
times I have to bulldoze my way as an MP otherwise they
will even be trying
to sideline me from the programmes,” he said.
He said ZANU-PF’s hijacking
of the programme was a vote buying tactic ahead
of elections scheduled for
next year.
“They would like to give a wrong picture that the Grain Loan
Scheme is a
ZANU-PF project and this they do in the hope that people will
vote for them
in the forthcoming elections but I wonder how that will work
when they say
others should not benefit,” he said.
He also pointed
out that some Border Gezi graduates who have been deployed
as Agritex
officers in Bikita were some of the major culprits behind the
politicization
of food aid in Bikita.
The situation is also true for some villagers and
councilors from
Mushayavanhu village in Gutu Central who raised concern over
the conduct of
some village heads on the issue of food aid distribution in
the area.
The councilors blamed the village heads for acting in a
partisan manner that
has seen people deemed to be MDC supporters being
sidelined from the Grain
Loan Scheme. They also raised concern over the lack
of transparency and
accountability on the Grain Loan Scheme.
Said a
villager who identified herself as Martha Garidzanwa, “The problem
with some
of the village heads and chiefs here is that they are staunch
ZANU-PF
supporters and they have vowed that they will never work with people
from
the MDC. Even when they include us on the list of beneficiaries, they
always
tell us that we should play second fiddle to them saying the
programme is a
ZANU-PF initiative that should benefit its supporters only.”
The
villagers revealed that ZANU-PF youths always make it a point that they
will
be at the forefront whenever grain is being distributed.
Said Mark
Makusha, a villager from Mushayavanhu village, ‘The Grain Loan
Scheme has
been turned into a ZANU-PF programme by some rowdy youths here
who will be
working in cahoots with some partisan traditional leaders .This
has also led
to a lack of transparency as far as distribution of the grain
is
concerned.”
MDC-T MP for Gutu Central, Oliver Chirume confirmed that some
village heads
and chiefs in his area were politicizing food aid distribution
in his
constituency.
He said, “There are reports from some councilors
that some village heads and
chiefs have become so partisan to the extent of
saying MDC supporters are
not eligible to benefit from government
programmes. The councilors
complained that they are being by-passed by these
village heads and the
situation has led to some people failing to access
food aid.”
A Masvingo based non governmental organization which monitors
human rights
violations, Community Tolerance, Reconciliation and Development
(COTRAD) in
its July newsletter condemned the practice by some traditional
leaders that
has led to partisan distribution of food aid.
Reads part
of the report, “Traditional Leaders in Masvingo province have
continuously
clashed with civilians on the Grain Loan Scheme. Mwenezi North
ward 17
Councillor Mr Hlamalani Chauke on 21 July 2012 was hackled by Chief
Neshuro
at Neshuro Business Centre during the distribution of grain.
Violence
erupted before the distribution further delaying the distribution
of the
grain .
“Youths that were among the beneficiary intervened and clashed
.The process
was delayed for about three hours and later resumed after
police
intervention. The traditional leadership in Masvingo province have
continued
to paralyse the responsible councilors who are supposed to compile
the names
of the beneficiaries in executing their duties.”
The group
also blasted the ban on 29 non-governmental organizations by
Masvingo
Provincial governor Titus Maluluke this year saying the action
amounts to a
politicization of food aid. The World Food Programme estimates
that about
1,7 million people will be in need of food aid this year and the
Zimbabwean
government has declared five provinces as disaster areas. These
include
Masvingo, Manicaland, Midlands and the two Matabeleland
provinces.
ZANU-PF Masvingo Provincial Secretary for Administration,
Edmund Mhere
refuted claims his party was politicizing food aid distribution
saying the
Grain Loan scheme had nothing to do with party
affiliation.
He said, “Government policy says that people who benefit
from the grain are
registered by village heads who will then submit the
names of the
beneficiaries to the chiefs. The chief is the one who works in
conjunction
with the Grain Marketing Board so I do not know how these people
can be
sidelined. It has nothing to do with party affiliation and as far as
I am
concerned, it does not involve ZANU-PF.”
He cemented previous
claims by the party’s spokesperson; Rugare Gumbo that
claims of
politicization of food aid in various parts of the country was
“cheap
propaganda”. Nehanda Radio
Victims
urged to speak out as child rape cases increase
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tererai
Karimakwenda
17 December 2012
A legislator from the MDC-T, who is also
a passionate gender activist, has
called on victims of rape and physical
abuse to speak out, after statistics
released by the police last week showed
that child rape cases were on the
rise.
The call came after the
Victim Friendly Unit of the Zimbabwe Republic Police
revealed a shocking
rise in the sexual abuse of children under18 years old,
with more than 2,400
cases reported by October this year.
The figures were revealed by
Assistant Commanding Officer, Isabella Sergio,
at a crime awareness seminar
last week. She said of the 3,421 abuse cases
that were reported, 2,405 were
rape and 27% had been committed by relatives.
Bulawayo East MP Tabitha
Khumalo, from the MDC-T, said she had warned
government to do something
about abuse years ago, but nothing was done. The
few institutions that
existed in 2000 claimed they did not have enough money
to help more
victims.
Speaking to our Behind the Headlines programme on Monday,
Khumalo said she
was heartbroken by the recent statistics.
3,421
cases of child abuse were reported between January and October this
year,
but Khumalo said she was sure many more had gone unreported, due to
fear and
shame.
Domestic violence was also reported to be on the rise. The police
unit
documented 8, 296 cases in 2011. But as of October this year 9,807
cases had
already been documented.
Khumalo said a clear message must
be sent to victims that the only way to
heal is to talk about the experience
with others and not be fearful or
ashamed. She added that she is available
at anytime to assist victims of
rape.
The statistics come at a time
when the world is observing 16 Days of
Activism Against Gender Violence, a
global campaign aimed at ending violence
against women, whether it is
politically motivated or domestic.
But Khumalo said this should be an
everyday campaign throughout the year,
because so many children are
experiencing abuse each day of their lives.
Tabitha Khumalo can be phoned
on her Zim mobile number 0772600010
$4,9m
vanishes from Chitungwiza coffers
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
Monday, 17 December 2012 12:35
HARARE -
At least $5 million paid by home seekers to service residential
stands at
Nyatsime has mysteriously vanished from Chitungwiza City Council
coffers,
leaving the 1 500 victims fuming.
Acting Harare Metropolitan governor
Alfred Tome told angry members of
Nyatsime Housing Development Association
at Chitungwiza head office on
Saturday that the $5 million that the
beneficiaries had paid for the stands
had gone missing.
There is only
$40 000 left in the MDC-run municipality’s account from the $5
million.
Tome speculates the funds could have been abused by former
town clerk
Godfrey Tanyanyiwa, currently on trial for abusing council
funds.
“Our investigations have shown that the money you topped up on
your stands
at the start of the multi-currency regime in 2009 was abused,”
Tome said.
“This probably took place before the coming of the new
management at
council. There is just about $40 000 left but we are in the
process of
correcting the anomaly.”
The acting governor, who is also
the provincial administrator for Harare,
also informed the Chitungwiza home
seekers that council sold them stands on
land belonging to Goromonzi Rural
District Council.
“I can tell you that as government we were not aware
that there were stands
at Nyatsime and when we got to know, we realised the
land did not belong to
Chitungwiza,” Tome said.
“We have however,
started the process of transferring the land ownership to
the relevant
ministry so servicing of the stands can commence.
“We have found partners
from Turkey who are keen to help with the
development of the roads and sewer
system.
“I am sure we will be able to correct the mess but this also
depends on the
way we vote next year. If we vote wisely, it will be easier
for us to see it
through,” said Tome, a well-known Zanu PF
supporter.
The stands were sold in July 2007. - Mugove Tafirenyika
Zimbabwe's
Population Growth In Marginal Growth of 1.1
Percent
http://www.voazimbabwe.com
17.12.2012
Zimbabwe’s population is about 12-point-9
million people, a 1-point-1
percent increase from 2002, when zimbabwe had
11-point-6 million. Those
figures from the Zimbabwe Statistics Agency,
which today released
preliminary results from the august 2012 population
census.
ZIMSTAT board chairman Douglas Hoto told journalists in Harare
that at this
rate, the country’s population is likely to double in 70
years.
“The results show that Zimbabwe’s population density is 33 persons
per
square kilometre, given that its area is 392 757 square kilometers,”
Hoto
said.
The census also revealed that there are 93 men for every
100 women in the
country.
The distribution of the population by
provinces shows that Harare is the
most populous with 16 percent of the
total population, followed by
Manicaland with 14 percent, Midlands with 13
percent, Masvingo with 11
percent, Mashonaland West with 11 percent,
Mashonaland Central with 9
percent, Matabeleland North with 6 percent, and
Bulawayo as well as
Matabeleland South with 5 percent each.
Harare
has 2 million 98 thousand 1 hundred 99 people and Bulawayo has 6
hundred 55
thousand, 6 hundred 75. Bulawayo recorded a decrease in its
population with
a growth rate of negative point-3 percent while Mashonaland
East and West
provinces had the highest growth rates of 1 point 7 percent.
The data also
shows that on average each household has just over 4 people.
Zimstat
manager Washington Mapeta told Studio 7 that he can only confirm
that the
figures are correct, but cannot entertain any questions until
tomorrow when
he is given a go-ahead by his superiors.
Hower, independent analyst
Rejoice Ngwenya said the statistics are likely to
spark debate because they
can be interpreted politically.
Police
reunite Toronto mother with two kids allegedly held in Zimbabwe
http://news.nationalpost.com
Gianluca
Nesci, National Post Staff | Dec 17, 2012 11:30 AM ET |
Toronto Police
will hold a news conference this morning to explain how they
were able to
return two children allegedly abducted in Zimbabwe to their
mother in
Toronto after an eight-month long separation.
Police say the situation
began on Sept. 1, when a mother called 22 Division
with concerns that her
two children – who had been in Zimbabwe since April
to spend the summer with
their extended family – would not be allowed to
return
home.
Allegedly, the now four-year-old boy and seven-year-old girl were
placed in
a Zimbabwean boarding school and were denied the ability to return
home as
planned by their family members.
With the school alleged to
have participated in hiding the children, police
say they notified various
authorities in an attempt to locate and return the
two youngsters to
Canada.
Foreign Affairs, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police National
Missing Children
Services and Interpol were just some of those involved,
along with
authorities in the southern African nation.
With financial
help from the 22 Division Community Police Liaison Committee,
police say the
mother was quickly on a plane to Zimbabwe.
Local police in the country
required that she be present to regain custody
of her two children, despite
the presence of the maternal grandmother, who
police say was critical in
helping bring the situation to an end. Police
allege that the children
escaped the boarding school with help from a family
member, and local police
in Zimbabwe later managed to locate the kids and
hand them over to the
Canadian Embassy in Harare, Zimbabwe, on Dec. 11.
The situation finally
came to an end when they returned home with their
mother this past Thursday
– nearly eight months after they left.
The press conference, which is set
to take place in the media gallery of
Toronto Police headquarters at 10
a.m., will see the mother and her two
children recall the
incident.
They will be joined by Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair, 22
Division
Superintendent Jim Ramer and various other law-enforcement
officials
involved in the investigation.
Tributes
pour in for Adam Ndlovu
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Alex Bell
17 December
2012
Tributes have been pouring in for Zimbabwean footballer Adam Ndlovu,
who
died after a serious car accident over the weekend. His brother Peter,
who
was also in the car at the time, remains in a serious but stable
condition
in hospital.
A female passenger, whose name has not yet
been confirmed, also died in the
crash in the early hours of Sunday morning.
They were travelling in a BMW X5
on their way to Victoria Falls, to take
part in a friendly soccer match
between Highlanders Legends and the Victoria
Falls Social Soccer League
select team.
Adam Ndlovu, a former striker
for the national football team, has also
represented the country at
international level and will be remembered as a
key contributor to the
development of the nation’s soccer scene.
“Zimbabwe has lost a great
footballer, inspirational agent and the true
dedicated son of the soil,” the
MDC Youth Assembly said Monday.
The MDC-T also added its message of
condolence to the Ndlovu family, saying:
“We will remember Adam for giving
glory to Zimbabwe as part of the Dream
Team playing in the 1994 World Cup
final qualifiers.”
His brother Peter, an all star in national and
international football, is
still undergoing treatment after suffering
serious injuries in the crash.
SW Radio Africa’s Bulawayo correspondent
Lionel Saungweme visited the family
home on Monday and reported that the
family is still in shock. “The soccer
fraternity too is in shock and the
whole day there have been cars streaming
to the home with people sending
condolences. It is such a shock, they really
thought he’d be around much
longer,” Saungweme said.
Saungweme explained that the family is trying to
“avoid a double tragedy” by
not telling Peter about his brother’s death,
“just in case the shock should
result in another death.” He added that the
family has been left hurt and
angry by false rumours spread on social media
websites, that Peter had also
passed away.
Saungweme meanwhile said
that the details of the crash are being
investigated, but nothing suspicious
is suspected. He spoke to another
Ndlovu brother who said that Adam, who was
driving, was not a drinker, but
he might not have been wearing a
seatbelt.
It has been reported that the car the brothers were in crashed
after one of
the vehicles tyres burst, which has been attributed to the
shocking road
conditions in Zimbabwe. No other car was involved in the
accident.
Peter led the national team to the Nations Cup finals in 2004
and 2006
before returning home after a lengthy and successful career in
England and
South Africa, to be the assistant coach of the senior national
team. It is
not yet clear what impact the car crash will have on his
football career.
Update
on national consultations on the urban council’s act
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
17.12.12
by
CHRA
CHRA embarked on a national process meant to unearth people’s views
on the
urban councils act, which will be tabled before the parliamentary
portfolio
committee on local government should the Supreme Court rule in
favour of
parliament. These consultations come against a backdrop of a
motion moved by
Hon. Tangwara Matimba of Buhera, to amend the urban
council’s act sighting
excessive powers given to the minister of local
government Rural and Urban
Development.
The consultations were
done in Harare, Bindura, Bulawayo, Gwanda, Kadoma,
Gweru, Marondera, Mutare
and Kariba. The teams that went to these areas had
a list of questions with
which residents debated upon.
There were 12 thematic areas of debate as
highlighted below:
 Suspension of elected councilors (Who should
suspend)
 Appointment of special interest councilors

Water as a human right
 Local authorities annual audits (legal
mandatory annual release)
 Local government board vis-à-vis local
government commission
 Appointment of the local government
board
 Functions of City fathers
(ceremonial/executive)
 Participatory budgets and budget
tracking
 Legal recognition of resident’s
associations
 Power’s of recall
 Local authorities
financing
 Payment and appointment of commissions of enquiry in
local
authorities
Note: The debates were not only confined to these
areas as other contentious
issues would at time emerge depending on issues
affecting the area.
Residents in general expressed dissatisfaction on many
legal provisions as
stipulated in the urban council’s act as it was
unanimous that currently
there is too much central government operating in
local government. This
spelt the need to come up with a three tier local
government which operates
at central government level, then provincial and
local government. Residents
expressed their desire for government playing an
oversight role in terms of
policy implementation and formulation. Residents
in Matabeleland pointed out
the need for central government players to
release funds that will be
distributed according to province reaching out to
the local authority. This
then means that the act should compel each
councilor (at ward level) to come
up with an annual development plan which
is then consolidated and send out
to the provincial government and funds are
released.
The Association is finalizing a report which will be sent out
to all our
partners and interested stakeholders on the findings. On
Wednesday, leaders
of residents associations will gather in Harare to
validate the findings and
adopt the final document.
Education:
A Pawn in Zimbabwe’s Political Battles
http://nehandaradio.com
on December 17, 2012 at 3:52
pm
By Farai Mabeza
KWEKWE – Zimbabwean teachers are bearing the
brunt of politically motivated
violence as the education sector has become a
key battleground for
politicians’ vying for the hearts and minds of the
country.
Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe secretary-general Mr
Raymond Majongwe
(right)
The rural areas have particularly become a
dangerous place for teachers as
they face various acts of intimidation and
violence. One such teacher is 39
year old Kennedy Mhuri who feels lucky to
be alive to tell his story after
two close calls.
As I talk to him
about things that are of interest such as football the good
sense of humour
is evident and the jokes comes easily. We talk about soccer
and typically he
dismisses his beloved Liverpool’s poor form with a shrug
pointing out that
they do well against the big teams. It is only when the
conversation shifts
and I ask him to relate his experiences in the country’s
explosive political
environment that the laughs and the jollity evaporate.
There is a sudden
intensity that comes upon his face and inescapable
heaviness envelopes us,
the shift in the atmosphere hard to miss. I hesitate
before I proceed with
the interview because it is clear we are entering deep
waters. The story is
as chilling as it is fascinating.
Genuine tension coupled with
apprehension grips his face as he relives his
experiences. Mhuri did his
training at Mkoba Teacher’s College in the
central city of Gweru. It was at
his first posting to Mudzi district in the
politically charged Mashonaland
region that his problems started.
He believes that he was singled out for
his activities as the district
chairman of the Progressive Teachers Union of
Zimbabwe (PTUZ).
“There was suspicion that we were working with the
Movement for Democratic
Change and I had visits from state security agents
who I think later
verified I was involved in genuine labour activities
because their interest
in me began to wane. However I do not think this
diminished attention was
shared by the local militia and party structures
who continued to take a
keen interest in my activities,” he
explained.
He says he received anonymous phone calls advising him to
leave quickly as
his life was in danger, tips he suspects to have been from
state security
agents and which he promptly followed. He hastily packed his
belongings and
left Mudzi.
Immediately after his departure his house
was turned into a base for the
local militia who went on to camp there for
more than two months spreading
terror and mayhem in the area.
This is
just one of many cases of schools that were turned into bases where
militia
and local youths camped, according to the PTUZ. Even now after the
terror of
the June 2008 election has somewhat dissipated some graduates from
the
infamous Border Gezi National Youth Service who acted as local
commanders
still occupy teachers’ houses as a present reminder to keep
educators in
line.
Interestingly it is not only the teachers who face such
victimisation but it
is extended to their families as well. A woman from
Chirumhanzu district
also in the Midlands area who has two of her children
working as teachers
said she has had to endure threats from ZANU PF
youths.
“They say my children are working for the opposition”, she
said.
PTUZ says they know why teachers have become deliberate targets in
the
political battlefield in the country.
“The task of preparing the
young for their future role in society makes
teachers the most important
socialising influence in the life of a citizen.
The education system and by
implication, teachers who drive this system has
a profound influence upon
the wider society and the nation”, the labour body
explained in a report
titled Political Violence and Intimidation against
Teachers in
Zimbabwe.
After fleeing Mudzi, Mhuri tried to look for a new school at
the same time
wanting to remain as incognito as possible.
“I was
literally in hiding”, he says. He later found a school just outside
Kwekwe,
a city with a population just under 100 000 located about 70
kilometres from
Gweru where he initially trained.
Not long after that however, trouble
resurfaced.
In the area he was now working there was also a network of
state agents and
party activists who were just as determined to spread fear
amongst the
teaching community.
It was at a rally at township known
as Malamlela that his past caught up
with him as he believes information was
passed on from his ill-fated stay in
Mudzi. One of the local women stood up
at the rally and informed the meeting
with the local Member of Parliament
present that there was a new teacher at
the school who was denigrating the
President.
Mhuri was identified by name and he was quoted as allegedly
telling his
pupils that “Mugabe is President by default”, in apparent
reference to the
June 2008 poll.
He strongly denies these allegations
saying all he wanted to do now was to
maintain as low a profile as possible
and concentrate on his work as he did
not want a repeat of his previous
experience.
Word got to him quickly enough about what had transpired and
in an attempt
to nip the matter in the bud he together with the headmaster
approached the
local party leadership who, not grasping the seriousness of
the matter, were
dismissive saying there was no action that was being taken
against the
teacher.
With his past experiences still fresh in his
mind they decided to approach
the party leadership in Kwekwe some of whom
were known to the school
headmaster just to make sure things would not boil
over and give assurances
that he was not involved in political
activities.
As fate would have it, the headmaster got to the Kwekwe
offices to find
party officials from the school area who had been asked to
accompany
soldiers to the school to “identify the alleged teacher and his
house”.
The officials however could not do this as they said they did not
know the
teacher in question and neither did they know his house. The
headmaster took
advantage of the lapse created to inform Mhuri that things
were escalating.
He panicked and immediately fled covering a distance of
20 kilometres on
foot leaving all his belongings behind. His unwanted guests
later arrived
after he was gone. He only got reunited with his property
through some of
his colleagues who took the trouble to transport it to
Kwekwe as their own.
PTUZ put him into contact with their lawyers and
they prepared themselves
for any eventuality and he again went into hiding.
Mhuri says he is now at
another school concentrating on educating the next
generation.
He says the worst part about his life right now is the
uncertainty caused by
a suspicion that he might still be under surveillance.
It is this constant
state of vigilance that he finds most
stressful.
PTUZ secretary General Raymond Majongwe confirmed Mhuri’s
account and said
the story was not an isolated one.
“We still fear
for his safety. Our members and activists have been made to
suffer for their
convictions and it is quite clear from the time of our
formation that
teachers from our labour movement have endured systematic
victimisation. It
is therefore not out of place that people like Kenny were
identified”.
Majongwe said that it is unfortunate that members of his
movement have been
and continue to be labelled as pro-MDC after the party
has publicly disowned
the PTUZ.
“In fact, after the formation of the
Government of National Unity the MDC-T
went as far as labelling us pro-ZANU
PF. We have consistently denied
allegiance to any political party. As far as
we are concerned we are
independent in outlook as well as in
action”.
The PTUZ secretary general says the future for teachers in
Zimbabwe
continues to be unclear.
“No one is safe in this country.
When people’s political turf is threatened
people know for a fact that ZANU
PF reacts. A lot of these guys are still
being monitored. There are people
who are interested in what they are doing.
“With all this talk about
elections we know that as the political
temperature goes up ultimately the
education sector will be targeted”.
PTUZ said teaching has increasingly
become a dangerous profession in
Zimbabwe.
“Significantly more
teachers from the Mashonaland Provinces were unwilling
to disclose their
political party preferences, were forced to vote in
virtually all elections
since 2000, and reported being a victim of political
violence during the
2000 Parliamentary, the 2002 Presidential election, and
2008 Presidential
Run-off.
“Total violations were significantly more frequent for teachers
from the
Mashonaland Provinces, with assault, indecent assault, sexual
violence,
threats, disappearances, and extortion the most significant
violations,”
PTUZ said in its report.
In the study by the Research
and Advocacy Unit it is recommended that
education be made part of the
national healing process.
“The process of national healing, if it is ever
going to take off
meaningfully, should have a thematic area dealing with the
education sector
in order to restore the social bond between teachers and
communities which
has been weakened by recurrent election violence and
politicisation of the
public service”.
Mhuri looks forward to the
future with hope but his experiences will haunt
him for life. Nehanda
Radio
Anti-corruption
crusade: Zanu PF’s recycled election gimmick
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
December 17, 2012 in
Politics
CORRUPTION, particularly in its political form which implies the
use of
power by government officials for illegitimate private gain, was an
issue
during Zanu PF’s annual conference in Gweru last weekend, suggesting
the
party is only keen to address the problem ahead of
elections.
Report By Herbert Moyo
In its various manifestations,
corruption takes the form of graft,
embezzlement, bribery, extortion,
nepotism and patronage, among others
things. Corruption poses a serious
development challenge.
In the political realm, it undermines democracy
and good governance, while
subverting formal processes and sabotaging
economic progress.
President Robert Mugabe last weekend raised the issue
at the conference,
saying former South African president Thabo Mbeki
recently told him Zimbabwe’s
development and progress were being hindered by
officials from within his
party demanding bribes from investors, including
from the African National
Congress (ANC).
“I was getting complaints
from outside. Former South African president Thabo
Mbeki was saying some of
their people in the ANC wanted to come intending to
do business and this is
what they have been told: ‘If you want to do this
business, you bring US$5
million and from that US$5 million we take US$1
million that we will take to
the minister to give to the president’,” Mugabe
said.
“If I get
information stating that so and so minister is doing this, he
goes.
Unfortunately, sometimes complainants do not want to identify the
ministers,
fearing persecution but that is happening in the ministries.”
However,
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is on record saying he had brought
to
Mugabe’s attention allegations of corruption surrounding Local Government
minister Ignatius Chombo but nothing was done about it.
Zanu PF
chairman Simon Khaya Moyo also slammed corruption, saying it was now
rampant
in his party, casting doubt on the party’s seriousness in rooting
out graft
within its ranks.
Institute for a Democratic Alternative for Zimbabwe
public policy and
governance manager Jabusile Shumba described Mugabe’s
remarks as an
“election gimmick” by a leader who has ironically been using
patronage
politics to remain in power.
“Corruption is firmly
entrenched in the Zanu PF edifice and engulfs its
ministers and senior party
officials in such a way that Mugabe cannot uproot
it without bringing the
whole party down,” Shumba said.
University of Zimbabwe political analyst
Eldred Masunungure said Mugabe was
only grandstanding at a major party
conference coming before elections as he
would not do anything about the
issue which he has failed to confront
throughout his 32-year
rule.
Another political scientist John Makumbe said if Mugabe was serious
he would
have appointed a committee to investigate various reports of
corruption
during the Gweru conference.
“Instead the Anti-Corruption
Commission is poorly-resourced and incapable of
fighting corruption as is
the Human Rights Commission and all other
commissions set up by the
coalition government,” said Makumbe.
Over the years Mugabe has failed to
effectively tackle corruption even after
in the formation of Anti-Corruption
Commissions.
His government initially took a strong position against
corruption after the
unearthing of the Willowvale car scandal in 1988 in
which several ministers
acquired motor vehicles at knockdown prices from the
Willowvale car assembly
plant in Harare and then resold them for huge
profits.
Some of the culprits were either fired or forced to resign with
Enos Nkala,
Callistus Ndlovu, Frederick Shava and Maurice Nyagumbo being the
prominent
victims. Nyagumbo reportedly committed suicide soon afterwards,
showing the
gravity of the issue then.
But at the same time Mugabe
did not show a firm hand on the issue as he
rehabilitated some of these
officials, making Shava the ambassador to China
and retaining Ndlovu as a
party member.
Shava escaped jail time after Mugabe pardoned him despite
being found guilty
of perjury for lying under oath to the Wilson Sandura-led
commission of
inquiry.
Since then a culture of condoning corruption
has taken root with corrupt
government officials managing to retain their
positions, while enjoying the
proceeds of their ill-gotten
wealth.
Corrupt ministers have largely become untouchable, with the
notable
exceptions being former Agriculture minister Kumbirai Kangai and
former
Finance minister Chris Kuruneri. Kangai was hauled before the courts
on
allegations of defrauding Grain Marketing Board in 2000, while Kuruneri
faced jailed over charges externalising foreign currency in
2004.
Since then only ministers from the MDC formations have been
arrested on
corruption allegations leading to complaints by Tsvangirai and
his officials
that there was a plot by Zanu PF to target their
colleagues.
In March last year, Energy minister Elton Mangoma was
arrested on two
separate occasions on charges he had authorised the purchase
of five million
litres of fuel from NOOA Petroleum of South Africa without
going to tender.
He was absolved of “criminal abuse of office” by High Court
Judge, Justice
Chinembiri Bhunu.
Tsvangirai was himself investigated
for allegedly misappropriating US$ 1,5
million given to him by the Reserve
Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) in 2009 to buy an
official residence although Mugabe
later said police must be careful not to
arrest him without a
basis.
Apart from the “Willowgate” scandal, Zimbabwe’s history is
littered with
corruption while Mugabe, despite his unfettered powers to hire
and fire, has
largely failed to rein in corrupt
officials.
Politicians looted a VIP housing scheme in 1995, with
relatives and friends
of ministers and top military officers and civil
servants issued with luxury
homes at low prices. Civil servants who
contributed the money remain
homeless to this day and nobody has ever been
held to account.
Politicians, senior government officials and security
chiefs who
controversially claimed massive disability payouts from the War
Victims’
Compensation Fund, set up in 1997 to help those who had
participated in
Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle, are still holding top
government and
military offices.
Added to this, ministers exposed by
land audits as multiple farm owners
after the controversial land reform in
2000 got away with the theft
scot-free.
Recently, a number of Zanu PF
and government officials have been implicated
in the smuggling of precious
minerals since the discovery of diamonds in
Chiadzwa, Manicaland province,
but nothing has been done to hold them to
account.
Reserve Bank
governor Gideon Gono slammed top government officials over the
smuggling of
gold at the Zanu PF extraordinary congress in 2007.
Mugabe later in an
interview to mark his 83rd birthday lashed out at the
ministers whom he said
were greedy and involved in smuggling of minerals,
including diamonds, but
also nothing was done.
Mbeki’s attempts to nudge Mugabe into action are
bound to fail as Zanu PF
officials, now synonymous with venality, only talk
about it in vain,
especially ahead of elections.
Muckraker:
Bishop Kunonga hung out, left to dry
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
December 17, 2012 in Comment,
Opinion
Poor old Bishop Kunonga. Hung out and left to dry.
Column
By Muckraker
He is learning the hard way the price of failure in Zanu
PF.
He is no longer of any use to them. Nobody buys his redundant
posturing and
ironically President Robert Mugabe was reportedly the first to
question the
Kunonga project as it began to flounder.
“Kunonga’s
continued persecution of Anglicans was seen as achieving the
opposite of
what he had been assigned to do as he was creating too many
enemies and
unnecessarily discrediting the party,” one newspaper wrote.
Ironically
Mugabe derived much of his information from his meeting with the
Archbishop
of Canterbury. That was a lengthy and useful exchange, observers
said, which
strengthened the official Anglican position and weakened the
breakaway
faction.
“Mugabe’s regard for all things British played against Kunonga
at this key
juncture,” one observer noted. A front-page court story in the
Herald last
week declaring court proceedings instituted by the hapless
bishop as
“defective” confirmed his waning fortunes.
Then there was
the Page 11 Herald heading last Friday: “Kunonga offside from
day one”. He
must have realised at that point that his future was bleak.
Here was the
Herald claiming to have blown the whistle on the Kunonga gang
from day one
when the paper backed the errant bishop all the way down the
line. His
crime, the Herald now proclaimed, was to hang on to church
property.
Outbreak of ignorance
Some weeks ago Herald
columnist Tendai Hildegarde Manzvanzvike was telling
us the Anglican church
played a pivotal role in colonial and post-colonial
Zimbabwe. She gave as an
example the location of the Anglican cathedral
“adjacent to the parliament
of Zimbabwe and situated close to a place that
used to be Cecil (John
Rhodes) Square and now Africa Unity Square.”
We forecast some weeks
earlier that once Zanu PF got hold of this issue, all
sorts of ignorance
would break out.
And it has duly followed. Hildegarde evidently doesn’t
know that Cecil
Square was named after Robert Cecil, Earl of Salisbury, not
Cecil John
Rhodes. Somebody at Herald House needs to wake up to stop this
ignorance.
Throwing spanners
While Vice-President Joice Mujuru
implored Arab states to seriously consider
investing in Zimbabwe during her
visit to the United Arab Emirates, her boss
President Mugabe was vowing to
raise the 51% indigenisation threshold to
100%.
Zimbabwe is one of
the best trade and investment destinations in the world,
Mujuru said,
because of its highly literate human resource base as well as
sound
infrastructure.
Mujuru invited companies to consider investing in high
cash return ventures
like fertiliser production, irrigation infrastructure,
bio-fuels, solar and
mini-hydro power plants as well as value addition of
primary commodities
like cotton and black granite.
Meanwhile in Gweru
Mugabe was singing a totally different song: “The notion
that capital is
more important than any other factors is nonsense. That
philosophy is dirty,
filthy and criminal.”
Despite these glaring contradictions, Zanu PF
still wants to be taken
seriously.
Walter Mzembi should be asked for
his views on Mugabe’s remarks. In this age
of global communications
investors will very quickly learn of Mugabe’s
outlook.
Chief
commissars
Also at the Zanu PF conference Chief Fortune Charumbira
declared the
obvious: “Chiefs and Zanu PF are inseparable as the two sides
work for the
same goals”.
At least Charumbira has finally abandoned
his failed attempt to hoodwink
Zimbabweans into believing he is not biased
towards Zanu PF.
In 2010 Charumbira claimed to be taking a leaf from
South Africa’s Chief
Albert Luthuli, who won the Nobel Peace prize, “because
he left the palace
to go and fight the war because his country was under
siege from the enemy”.
Comparing the selfless and valiant acts of Luthuli
to the patently partisan
conduct of our traditional leaders can at best be
described as ludicrous.
Instead of championing the development of their
communities, most of the
chiefs have taken on the role of political
commissars as well as demanding
outrageous “compensation” for dubious
“offences”.
On Monday the High Court dismissed with costs an urgent
application by two
Masvingo chiefs, Murinye and Mugabe, to stop Econet
Wireless from
constructing a base station on Sviba Hills near Great
Zimbabwe.
The Herald reports the chiefs argued that Econet did not
consult them when
it embarked on the project yet according to Econet the two
chiefs sat in
council meetings where the lease of the land was discussed and
approved.
The chiefs demanded compensation in the form of 2 000 white
cattle with
Chief Murinye also demanding Econet construct a homestead for
him.
Add to the mix Chief Luscious Chitsinde Negomo’s demands for
compensation
from Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai for “marrying” in the
“sacred” month
of November.
Respect is a two-way street, our chiefs
should remember.
Momentary truce
ZBC reports that for the first
time in over a decade government and civil
society commemorated
International Human Rights Day in unison at Harare
gardens on
Monday.
Justice ministry permanent secretary David Mangota described the
development
as a sign civil society had “finally appreciated that the
Zimbabwean
government upholds and places importance on issues to do with
human rights”.
“We agreed that we should work together and all other
stakeholders
acknowledge that Zimbabwe upholds human rights,” Mangota
said.
He called for the lifting of the sanctions regime so Zimbabwe could
enjoy
its “full rights”, yet many of those abused and tortured in 2008 have
not
been compensated yet. Also, many of our permanent secretaries remain
inexcusably partisan.
However, it seems government’s benevolence only
applied to Harare with
Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Union’s (ZCTU) leaders in
Bulawayo facing the
all-too-familiar rough justice from the police for
holding similar
commemorations.
The Zimbabwean reports that ZCTU
officials Ambrose Sibindi and Percy Mcijo
were arrested for organising an
“illegal” street march despite being given
permission by the Bulawayo Police
District Regulatory Authority.
The two were only released after producing
a clearance letter.
So much for civil society “appreciating” government’s
upholding of human
rights. There is nothing appreciative
there!
Robert Jr’s ‘sacrifice’
We were saddened to learn President
Mugabe’s son Robert Junior has had his
dream of playing basketball in the
United States dashed by the “illegal”
sanctions imposed on his
parents.
First Lady Grace Mugabe said she had sat down with her son to
explain why he
cannot pursue his career in America. Robert Jr was “hurt” to
hear the news,
we are told, “because there was a lot of interest in
him”.
“My son is very good at basketball, he even captained the national
Under-18
side, but he cannot pursue his dream of playing basketball in the
United
States of America,” she said. “President Mugabe sacrifices his life
and that
of his family just to be the country’s breadwinner. The sanctions
don’t just
affect him but our family as well.”
Grace gives the
impression the sanctions were unavoidable. If sanctions are
to be lifted,
she should know, the cause should also be removed.
On a related issue we
are still waiting for the “bruising battle”
Attorney-General Johannes Tomana
declared was in the offing with the
European Union over sanctions? He is
uncharacteristically quiet.
Tsvangirai ‘exiled’
A mischievous
colleague called us last week to ask if we knew the shortest
book published
in Zimbabwe. It is called The Wit and Wisdom of Robert
Mugabe, he
said.
No, we haven’t seen that yet. But we did notice a story in the
Herald last
Friday headed “Tsvangirai in Nairobi”. He was there to address
the National
Convention of the Orange Democratic Movement.
He would
be holding a briefing with Kenyan PM Raila Odinga, we were told.
What was
significant about this story was the way it was squeezed into the
bottom
left hand corner of the page.
It couldn’t have been more exiled located
as it was next to “Things fall
apart in Masvingo” and “Mutasa hails Net
One”.
At least it wasn’t given the treatment of a story on the next page
headed
“Chombo revives interministerial committee on solid
waste”.
Gettit? Treatment. Muckraker’s question. Was he part of
it?
Woza Sunday?
FInally Muckraker was surprised on Sunday night to
see a ZTV plug for Woza
Friday. Doesn’t it matter anymore what day it
is?
Comment:
Mugabe must consult o DRC
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
December 17, 2012 in Comment
IT has now been
officially confirmed — Zimbabwe will deploy troops to the
DRC as part of a
Sadc peacekeeping mission supported by the regional
grouping, the African
Union and the United Nations following the eruption
again of the protracted
conflict in the country and the capture of the main
eastern town of Goma by
M23 rebels fighting President Joseph Kabila’s
government.
Foreign
Affairs secretary Joey Bimha confirmed the deployment of Zimbabwean
forces,
saying it followed approval by regional leaders at a Sadc
extraordinary
summit in Tanzania last Friday.
While there is no problem with Zimbabwe
helping out a fellow Sadc member
state through a peacekeeping intervention,
the question arises: was the
Zimbabwean deployment of troops approved by
cabinet and parliament?
Did President Robert Mugabe consult Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai on the
issue? Or is this yet another arbitrary
deployment similar to the one in
1998 in violation of the constitution and
the law?
Finance minister Tendai Biti says there was no cabinet or
parliamentary
approval. He also says Tsvangirai was not consulted. Deploying
troops abroad
is one of the most significant policy decisions a state or
government can
make because it requires consideration of the constitution,
legal and
ethical issues.
That is why deployments are usually guided
by national interests and must be
made through consultative processes. They
must not be at the whim of an
individual who might be guided by narrow
interests, including personal
ambition and adventure.
In 1998,
Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe fought the DRC war after an onslaught
on the
country’s government then led by the late Laurent Kabila, the
incumbent’s
father, triggered a regional conflict.
Mugabe arbitrarily intervened
there under a Sadc cover, but without
necessary approval at home.
The
war had disastrous consequences for the country’s economy and
well-being. In
fact, it ruined Zimbabwe’s economy.
Besides, many soldiers were killed
and their families destroyed, while
resources were squandered in a war whose
national interest could not be
defined.
Now Zimbabwe and the DRC are
behind the scenes fighting over compensation.
Harare is demanding about US$1
billion for its war effort, but Kinshasa is
resisting paying. While the
executive exercises authority over the military
and plays a role in
influencing events on the ground, the president must
consult cabinet and
parliament before deployment.
Zimbabwe must make it a practice, guided by
the constitution and law, that
parliament must give authorisation and
approval to all troop deployments.
The president’s deployment powers must be
checked.
It is preferable to have prior parliamentary approval because
once troops
are sent out or abroad it is difficult for parliament to undo
the government’s
decision, since their withdrawal could endanger the ongoing
mission and
damage government’s credibility.
Arbitrary deployments of
troops must stop whatever the circumstances.
Editor’s
memo: Poll roadmap, Sadc spot-on
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
December 17, 2012 in Comment,
Opinion
AT a time when unity government protagonists are bogged down in
the marathon
constitution-making exercise negotiations at the expense of
other equally
important reforms, the latest Sadc resolutions were spot-on
concerning the
roadmap to elections next year.
Column by Stewart
Chabwinja
A communiqué issued after the Sadc Extraordinary Summit of
Heads of State
and Government recently held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania,
insisted the Global
Political Agreement (GPA) must be fully implemented
before elections.
“Summit urged the political stakeholders in Zimbabwe to
fully implement the
GPA,” the communiqué read. “Summit also urged the
political stakeholders to
finalise the constitution-making process,
including a referendum, before the
holding of the elections in
2013.”
While questions linger over Sadc’s effectiveness in dealing with
the
Zimbabwean imbroglio, its position and persistence is critical and
progressive.
Amid President Robert Mugabe and his party’s insistence
on elections without
reforms, re-affirmed at the Zanu PF annual conference
held in Gweru last
weekend, Sadc said Zimbabwe must simply follow the GPA
roadmap.
Zanu PF resolved the constitution-making process must be done by
Christmas,
failing which Mugabe should “issue the relevant proclamation
dissolving
parliament and fixing a date for the holding of the harmonised
elections
under the current constitution”.
The fixation with the
much-delayed constitution-making exercise, which
smacks of a grand Zanu PF
design to keep the MDC formations preoccupied with
the issue neglecting
other pertinent GPA deliverables while time flies,
appears to be part of a
wider nefarious plot to derail the process towards
free and fair
elections.
Sadly, the MDC parties appear to have relegated other key
issues to the
backburner while they quarrel with Zanu PF over the
constitution-making
process which they were warned from the beginning was
going to be a flawed
and messy exercise.
The constitution-making
process is but one of many signposts towards free
and fair polls. While a
new constitution is crucial, the MDC parties have
clearly lost sight of the
bigger picture; they can’t see the wood for the
tress, as it
were.
Equally key to credible elections are, among other issues, the
staffing of
the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, media reforms, state of the
voters’ roll
and security sector re-alignment.
These and other
reforms should be the main concerns of the MDC groups, civil
society and the
nation in general, not the role of principals in the
constitution-making
process which is just a distraction.
The MDC formations have allowed
themselves to be sidetracked by peripheral
issues such as who between Deputy
Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara and MDC
leader Welshman Ncube is the de jure
party leader or GPA principal, and the
principals’ role in the
constitution-making endeavour.
In an exclusive interview with this paper
last month, Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai said the principals had
revisited the National Security Council —
a neglected GPA creation — which
needed reconvening to deal with the
contentious security sector reform as we
go towards elections.
Among issues on the table were operational matters
such as the role of the
security sector in elections, he said.
We
need to know when, or if, this meeting will be held since the military
has
been critical in keeping Mugabe in power through vicious and bloody
campaigns, especially during the 2008 presidential poll run-off.
As
we have consistently reported, the military is on the ground campaigning
for
Mugabe and his party.
This is what the MDC parties must be dealing
with.
As Sadc leaders said, diversions must not be allowed. Keeping eyes
on the
ball is the name of the game.
Land, the Environment, the Constitution, and the Advancement of Zimbabwean
Society
Introduction
In this article I try to elevate the game and go beyond the
current limited and highly contextual treatment of land in the draft
Constitution. This, however, is not at all a vote of no confidence in the draft
Constitution, because I believe the draft is a product of political compromises
that are necessary for the nation to move forward. First, I offer a longer-term
philosophical paradigm shift in Constitution making for Zimbabwe in particular
and Africa generally, if we are to catalyse a sustainable renaissance and
advancement of society. Secondly I would like to suggest the relevant provisions
for land in the Constitution.
The Constitution making process requires a deeper level of
consciousness – that is –until we Africans are true to ourselves, and dig deep
into who we are, and invest more effort and resources into what makes us who we
are, then we will continue to be ‘copycat’ third class citizens of the world. In
crafting an advanced society we have to rediscover what is best in our cultural
arsenal and improve and modernize that into our contemporary Constitutions
(written and unwritten), and into our social, economic and political systems.
Unless we Africans rediscover our roots and heritage, and embrace and
understand, and love that which made our ancestors survive and thrive for
thousands of years – unless we understand how our ancestors succeeded so well in
creating a dynamic society in the past, we cannot create a new, modern African
society—no matter how technically savvy we are in drafting Western-style
Constitutions.
A Constitution has to be a living document that can communicate
relevance and inspiration to an average Zimbabwean in the village. A
Constitution has to paint a vivid picture of life in an average village and
community and offer the ingredients and levers of progress at that level. All
great Western societies in the world today, and upcoming Eastern societies, are
built on foundations of centuries of culture and history, and no great society
is ever built on abandoning its cultural heritage. I will argue, therefore, that
post-colonial Constitutions, including our draft, are still built on the mental
model of a highly urbanized and Westernised society and when applied to Africa
today are akin to building a house backwards—starting from the roof before
installing a solid foundation. The foundation is the family, community and the
environment; the roof is the State largely based in the capital city. We are
attempting to strengthen the roof before deepening the
foundation.
African Pathways to a Rennaisance
Here is my ‘General Theory’ for the Renaissance of Zimbabwean and
African society and the implications for Constitution making. Historically,
African society was built on foundations of strong families’, strong communities, and symbiosis with the environment.
That is where citizens were formed and values of being human and social
integration, economics and politics were imparted. Today, Zimbabwe and Africa
still need a Constitution that is crystal clear and unequivocal about the
supremacy of family, community, and the environment in moulding citizens and as
the foundation of society. The State and all its instruments exist for the
strengthening of family, village and community, and the environment, not the
other way round.
Over the last hundred years or so, and as a result of colonisation
and Westernisation, the responsibility and accountability has slowly shifted
from family and community towards the State. At political independence, however,
Africans hardly engaged in the deep dialogue on what kind of society we were
trying to rebuild out of the post-colonial legacies. Key renaissance questions
at independence would have been ― and still are:
“What kind of society are we trying to build? What are the
building blocks? What foundations of African culture do we keep and strengthen?
What can we borrow intelligently from Western culture that we graft into our
systems, localise it, Africanise it, and make it ours?”
My answers are as good today as they would have been over the last
30 to 50 years of post-colonial trial and error. Out of African heritage, I
would keep the century old foundations of family, community, collective
responsibility, human welfare, dignity for all, and our symbiotic relationship
with nature. That is a society where civilization is possible with a minimal
dose of police officers, lawyers, jails, environmental agencies and other
expensive trappings of the State, which, regrettably, are ineffective anyway, or
simply absent in most Africa villages. Families and communities should still
look after their own orphans, rather than donate them to NGOs, Churches,
Governments, Donors and Madona! African ancestors are turning in their graves at
this travesty. Over the last century, these institutions have been neglected in
national Constitutions and developments plans. At the same time, the
State-deployed substitute institutions of local authorities and municipalities
are failing miserably in developing a locally capable and advanced
society.
In summary, society is falling through the cracks and over a
period of just 100 years, the countryside which was self-reliant and pristine
for centuries, has slid into increased crime and domestic violence;
environmental decline and worsening poverty and hunger. My renaissance model
for Zimbabwe and Africa is therefore: Let us Modernise, not Westernise. It is
easy to mistake one for the other. Don’t Easternise either. Modernise (means to
take what we already have and improve it continuously) and borrow intelligently
from other civilisations, just like other great nations before us. We will
definitely out-compete the rest of the world at being African—more so if we
modernize and advance based on our own values and strengths. The purpose of a
Constitution making process for Zimbabwe is to generate such deep introspection
at all levels, rekindle and rebuild a higher level ‘guiding and direction giving
spirit of the nation’. We are still just at the beginning in the search for a
lasting soul of the nation.
Land, Environment and the
Constitution
For Africans, land is much more than an economic asset. It is also
a cultural and spiritual asset. Home is where your ancestors are buried. Where
you live and have a job is just a ‘house’! Africans believe that humans are part
of the environment and not above it. The culture and its traditional religions
equate environmental damage to self-destruction. People’s conscience around the
environment is a far better and more effective enforcement or police force. The
sacredness of forests, mountains, water springs, and wildlife, however, has been
relegated to taboo, superstition and witchcraft by ‘modern’ Middle Eastern
religions and Science. Decades later neither science nor new religions have a
lasting answer to the destruction of society and the environment that is
happening right in front of our eyes.
When I chaired the Land Tenure Commission in 1993/4 I visited a
few communities in some Communal Areas where, surprisingly, forests and
mountains were still intact. In those communities, the system of traditional
leadership and religion
was still effective. I put emphasis on system because the major error in our
draft Constitution is putting emphasis on traditional
leaders. This is a serious error because the African traditional
system of leadership was effective only because of the collective wisdom and
responsibility of the Dare/Idhale/Kotla and NOT because of the individualised
wisdom of the Chief. Chiefs had no executive powers and simply endorsed the will
of the people just as today the President signs into law a bill passed by
parliament. The Constitution, therefore, has to elaborate much more on the
traditional system of leadership not just the role of leaders. The Constitution has to
offer guidance on the decentralized system of traditional leadership structures,
their roles, responsibilities, accountabilities, how they function, and how they
form part of the system of local administration working with State agencies at
all levels. It is these structures, in my opinion, that offer scope for
strengthening land and environmental governance systems. Traditional leaders may
chair these structures and the Constitution has to be clear on their impartial
leadership role at all levels. They need to refrain from taking executive
positions, but be guardians and stewards of community processes. They must serve
as the conscience of the people and be the last port of call in ensuring the
integrity of the processes and systems.
The future of land and its impact on local and national economic
development depends on strong and accountable systems of local government. A
Constitution has to provide guarantees and a framework for managing and securing
people’s land rights and ensuring structures that discharge good and effective
governance, especially at village level where the majority of land owners
function daily. The draft Constitution is obviously burdened by the fact that
the GPA and GNU are preoccupied with the immediacy of political party
differences around the various contradictions and controversies of the Fast
Track Land Reform Programme. I dare say that the nation would have to first
resolve that colonial legacy of the land issue before we can expect longer term
and more visionary provisions in the Constitution. So I won’t dwell on the
current draft Constitution except to re-enforce the need for closure on the land
acquired from white farmers as a more solid basis for re-visiting the
Constitutional provisions.
Land Governance and
Administration
I cannot over-emphasise the need for the Constitution to focus on
the foundation of society and local systems of governance. All great societies
have highly developed legal and administrative provisions at local level. And
this goes across all political ideologies. In the United States, local or county
level due process is elaborate and empowering. In China local area due process
is also highly developed, providing valuable social and business capital needed
for local development. So this is not an ideological/political discourse on
‘devolution’, rather it is a pragmatic proposition that development in the end
is about people. And where people are at local level is where their
participation in social and economic process has to be facilitated and
guaranteed. That is real empowerment—whether it is the US version driven by
national ideals of markets, democracy and technology, or it is the Chinese
version driven by national ideals of the omnipresent State and values of an old
Confucian civilisation. For Zimbabwe and Africa we can borrow this quality
intelligently from China and the US, as long as we base the solution on African
values of family, community, collective responsibility, and the environment; and
as long as we stay away from values promoting individualism, consumerism and
greed, as these are accelerating the demise of African
society.
The goal is to secure land rights and have in place a land
governance system that can effectively enforce people’s land rights as well as
enforce laws and regulations that protect the rights, the environment, and other
community and national interests. In the end we need rock solid local government
and administration. The following Constitutional provisions are therefore
vital:
The constitution must provide for multi-form tenure and offer
secure rights for all forms of tenure;
- There is
need for a highly decentralize Administrative Court system to effectively
address issues of land rights, water rights, and environmental protection; local
level traditional courts or authorities may be subordinated to the
Administrative Courts for this purpose;
- In support
of the Administrative Court at community level, there may be civilian boards
serviced by the State that function as apolitical Land and Environmental
Governance structures. These structures require training and support in
functioning as arbitrators and adjudicators on land, water and environmental
enforcement agencies;
- The
Constitution must recognise and confirm that all peoples who are ordinarily
occupying agricultural land, without breaking any law, have some rights which
have to be spelt out, even if the occupiers do not have formal paperwork such as
leases and titles;
- The
Constitution must confirm that customary land belongs to the family and
community, and not the State. These rights predate the State. Customary land
rights are as legally valid as formal title deeds and leases even without
paperwork. Customary rights to land extend to the family and, as such, to
spouses and children who must all enjoy those rights and be consulted in front
of a competent court before mutation. Land laws must therefore recognise these
rights and all those holding land under customary rights must be protected by
the law;
- A system
must be developed by the State that will allow those approved Land and
Environmental Governance structures to oversee a voluntary process of land and
farm registration.
- The
treatment of Customary law within the context of customary international law has
to be based on current realities on the ground; those holding customary rights
to land and natural resources have to be protected by international
law;
- Compulsory
acquisition of land by the State has to be provided for with clarity of purpose
and procedure to be followed as well as provision for contestation in courts of
law;
- Compensation for land held under a private freehold will be
negotiated by buyer and seller. Compensation for land held under a state lease
will be for improvements only if it reverts to the State, and will be
renegotiated if the lease is acquired by new occupier. For land held under
customary rights, compensation is payable for improvements only and it accrues
to the whole family or community.
I have argued for a far-sighted process of Constitution making and
I will continue to argue that Culture should not be regarded as a relic. Rather
it is the living and imbedded DNA that we fall back on in re-generating our
society—especially in tough times when we search for the ‘soul’ of society. I am
all for being modern and active members of global society. We have to be there
and we have deal and trade with the others. We can sell what we have and buy
what we need, but we should never sell the African Soul, no matter. Our
Constitution must describe vividly the society we are and what we are aiming to
improve into. The Constitution must be about its people and the society they
form. As development is ultimately about people, it must be about helping people
to help themselves. It is about building their own capacity to govern
themselves, especially at local level where land and the environment define the
past, present and future.
Zimbabwe Inclusive
Government Watch: The most breached clauses of the Global Political
Agreement
Sokwanele : 16 December 2012
[Download
full Report (547 Kb)]
Zimbabwe's controversial power-sharing Agreement, termed the "Global
Political Agreement" (GPA), was signed by President Mugabe's ZANU PF party and
the two Movement for Democratic Change formations - led by Morgan Tsvangirai
(MDC-T) and Arthur Mutambara (MDC-M) respectively - on September 15, 2008 in
Harare.
The objective of the South African-mediated Agreement was to
"create a genuine, viable, permanent, sustainable and nationally acceptable
solution to the Zimbabwe situation." Integral to this was the restoration
of democracy and the garnering of international support to revive the country's
collapsed economy.
Commenting on the negotiations, Tsvangirai stressed at the inception:
"This is not about power sharing. It is about a return to democracy."
He made it clear that the MDC-T was not prepared to agree to anything which
did not restore democracy and the rule of law.
On the other side of the coin, "Mugabe could not agree to anything which
did", wrote Derek Matyszak of the Research and Advocacy Unit (RAU) in his
report: "Losing Focus: Zimbabwe's 'Power-Sharing' Agreement", released by IDASA
in October 2008.
The result of the frequently deadlocked and increasingly acrimonious
negotiations was a 22-page Agreement comprising 25 Articles. It is against these
Articles that Sokwanele's "Zimbabwe Inclusive Government (ZIG) Watch" has
monitored violations of the GPA by the three partners since its inception.
The ZIG Watch issues demonstrate conclusively that, throughout the four years
during which the Global Political Agreement has been operational, President
Mugabe and the ZANU PF hierarchy have continued to employ repressive strategies
in order to retain supremacy in the transitional government and neutralise its
partners. These include media repression, human rights violations, political
violence, abductions, arrests, torture and the murder of opposition politicians
and activists.Furthermore, with another election on the cards for next year,
ZANU PF is intensifying the onslaught to ensure not only its political survival
but an election victory.
The way that ZIG Watch was set up was this: On a daily basis, we tracked
media articles and reports which provided examples of violations of the GPA by
Zimbabwe's three main political parties, the partners in the GPA. These were
logged on our website and below each we listed the GPA Articles that had been
violated. To view this resource, log onto: http://www.sokwanele.com/zigwatch
For each media story logged, we listed the GPA Article/Articles that had been
breached. For the entire monitoring period, ZANU PF's highest percentage of
breaches was 98% and the lowest was 86.4%. The MDC-T was 7.1% and 1.4%, while
the MDC-Mutambara/Ncube was 6.5% and 0.26%.
Our report analyses the Top 10 GPA Articles breached by the coalition parties
throughout the monitoring period. The list starts with the highest number of
breaches we recorded and gives the total number of breaches in brackets. The
report concentrates on the top five Articles for which the majority of
violations were recorded and gives a cross-section of violations of the
remaining five.
- ARTICLE XI : RULE OF LAW, RESPECT FOR THE CONSTITUTION AND
OTHER LAWS (4,672 breaches)
- ARTICLE VII : PROMOTION OF EQUALITY, NATIONAL HEALING,
COHESION AND UNITY (3,588 breaches)
- ARTICLE XIII : STATE ORGANS AND INSTITUTIONS (3,320
breaches)
- ARTICLE XVIII : SECURITY OF PERSONS AND PREVENTION OF
VIOLENCE (2,754 breaches)
- ARTICLE II: DECLARATION OF COMMITMENT (2,482 breaches)
- ARTICLE X : FREE POLITICAL ACTIVITY (707 breaches)
- ARTICLE V: LAND QUESTION (671 breaches)
- ARTICLE III : RESTORATION OF ECONOMIC STABILITY AND GROWTH
(666 breaches)
- ARTICLE XII : FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY AND ASSOCIATION (541
breaches)
- ARTICLE VIII : RESPECT FOR NATIONAL INSTITUTIONS AND EVENTS
(418 breaches)
Since Article VI of the GPA, The Constitution, does not fall into the top ten
category, it is referred to but not analysed in detail in the report.
Article XI: Rule of Law, Respect for the Constitution and other laws
(4,672 breaches)
The rule of law in Zimbabwe has been replaced with rule by
law. Instead of government power being subject to the law, Zimbabwe has
become a police state in which government both invokes the law - and has created
law - to justify excessive use of government force.
Examples that we profile include the selective and arbitrary arrest of MDC
supporters; riot police breaking up peaceful protests; abductions; the assault
of MDC activists, supporters and demonstrators; human rights abuses in prisons
and the prosecution of commercial farmers.
We also include examples of corruption and self-enrichment; the manipulation
of Constitutional Amendment No. 19, which could jeopardise the constitutional
referendum; the random shooting and arrest of farm workers; the arrest of a
prominent human rights lawyer; the shocking beating of police recruits; the
burning of homes of MDC activists; the denial of killings in the Marange diamond
fields; the promotion of hate speech and the threats faced by journalists, as
well as the failure of the police to arrest known ZANU PF murderers and
perpetrators of violence.
ARTICLE VII : Promotion of Equality, National
Healing, Cohesion and Unity (3,588 breaches)
A Catholic Bishops' Conference pastoral letter released earlier this year
stressed that Zimbabwe does not need a mere armistice but a comprehensive and
honest national healing and reconciliation in which perpetrators of violence are
made accountable and society is reconciled so as to bury the culture of
violence. "It should not be reserved for a few officials, it needs the whole
community to be involved and must include everyone."
There has been considerable criticism of the Organ on National Healing and
Reconciliation which been widely described as a "failure". However, in the
organ's defence, some commentators have said that the major problem is President
Mugabe's relentless hold on power and continued protection of ZANU PF thugs who
mastermind the political violence and murder.
Examples of Article VII violations include the use of prisoners as slave
labour; the manipulation of food aid; bribery and corruption; the police raid on
an MDC Chief of Staff; the arrest of activists; harassment, violence and
extortion. Despite the fact that the GPA commits the parties to encourage and
assist Zimbabweans in the Diaspora to return home, virtually nothing has been
done in this regard and, in some cases, the partners have displayed ineptitude
and incompetence.
ARTICLE XIII : State Organs and Institutions (3,320
breaches)
The issue of security sector reform remains highly contentious. The Zimbabwe
Europe Network and its National Reference Group released a report in September
2012: "Zimbabwe's Political Agreement Implementation: 4 Years On - at best
faltering... at worst failing...." In it they note that "Calls for
reformation of the military, police services, prison services, the State
intelligence services and other critical arms of the security sector have gone
without anyone giving audience to them.
"Despite clear provisions in Article XIII of the GPA which stipulate that
'State organs and institutions do not belong to any party and should be
impartial in the discharge of their duties', senior top ranking
military personnel have been quoted on several occasions openly supporting ZANU
PF.... while clothed in uniform and on official duty. The case is similar with
the police and prison services, which have gone on a rampant derelict of duty to
openly declare their political interests and positions while on duty."
Examples of breaches of Article XIII include the deployment of 80,000 youth
militia; war veterans and soldiers also being deployed across the country ahead
of elections in 2013; the resuscitation of torture bases; brutal intimidation;
the ongoing militarisation of the diamond fields; dereliction of duty with
respect to court cases; the removal of police dockets implicating senior ZANU PF
officials; abductions; torture; arrests on trumped up charges; the blocking of
bail for extended periods; control of food aid by the military; the protracted
onslaught on the independent and foreign media and the snubbing of EU and UN
funding for the next elections.
ARTICLE XVIII : Security of Persons and Prevention
of Violence (2,754 breaches)
Article XVIII brazenly understates the seriousness of the situation, notably
with respect to internal displacements. While the parties profess to be
"gravely concerned by the displacement of scores of
people after the elections of March 29, 2008 as a result of
politically motivated violence", the Internal Displacement Monitoring
Centre reports that tens of thousands of people
were displaced. This excludes the 570,000 people made homeless by
Operation Murambatsvina (2005) and the violent land invasions that began in
2000, as well as other arbitrary displacements...." The General Agriculture and
Plantation Workers' Union (GAPWUZ) reported that a new wave of farm invasions
which began in February 2009 had by September of that year left 66,000 farm
workers homeless.
Despite Article 18.5 (h) committing the parties "to work together to
ensure the safety of any displaced persons, their safe return home and their
enjoyment of the full protection of the rule of law", the displacements
have continued. For example, in the Chiadzwa district of the highly contentious
Marange diamond fields, communities have been evicted by soldiers and dumped in
areas with minimal/inadequate accommodation and no facilities.
Murderers, torturers and thieves continue to live freely within terrorised
communities and the lives of opponents of ZANU PF and the independent media
remain under threat in the face of ongoing harassment, arrests on trumped-up
charges and vicious persecution.
ARTICLE II: Declaration of Commitment (2,482
breaches)
"As the reality of the Agreement began to intrude, the euphoria that had
ensued after the signing morphed into a view that Mugabe was reneging on the
Agreement," Derek Matyszak wrote in his analysis of the 'Power Sharing'
Agreement in October 2008. He noted that "Mugabe (had) closed democratic
space through deployment of the military, the militia and a partisan police
force which is both unwilling to act against human rights abuses and crimes
against humanity as well as a participant in such offences. An extensive web of
patronage keeps this system in place."
Pronouncements by Mugabe that he would operate unilaterally include:
insisting in November 2008 that ZANU PF would draft a constitutional amendment
and form a government; demanding the right to cancel the power-sharing deal;
refusing to fire the controversial Attorney General and Central Bank Governor;
attempting to annex the role of the Information Communication and Technology
Minister and the appointment of governors.
ARTICLE X : Free Political Activity (707
breaches)
Despite President Mugabe's commitment to allowing free political activity
with the signing of the GPA, efforts by former opposition parties to canvass and
mobilise freely for political support are still being thwarted. Examples
include: censorship of information concerning the reformation of the Zimbabwe
African People's Union (ZAPU); a blackout of the Prime Minister's press
conferences and events in the State media; blocking MDC rallies; beating up
demonstrators; paying gangs to commit acts of thuggery and violence; arresting
MDC officials on trumped-up charges and denying bail.
ARTICLE V: Land Question (671 breaches)
The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition comments as follows on the land issue in its
"Zimbabwe Transition Barometer - 'Trekking the Transition'" of October 2012:
"This is one indicator where almost nothing has literally happened as the IG
partners have all remained silent on the land issue. The land question got
relegated and forgotten as the MDCs focussed more on political reforms. On the
other hand, ZANU PF has also been conspicuously silent about Article
V."
Farm invasions - with ZANU PF's trademark violence and ruthlessness - have
continued throughout the tenure of the GPA. In February 2009, more than 100
productive farms and 50 small holdings were raided, many at gunpoint, with
regional governors, MPs, senators and high ranking officials forcing the owners
to leave. As a result, resident farm workers have been stranded or bundled into
army trucks and dumped in remote areas with no facilities or the means of
growing their own food. Tsvangirai came under fire for describing the ongoing
invasions as "isolated incidents".
ARTICLE III : Restoration of Economic Stability and
Growth (666 breaches)
The GPA mandated the Inclusive Government to prioritise the
restoration of economic stability and growth and to urgently address the issues
of production, food security, poverty and unemployment and the challenges of
high inflation, interest rates and the exchange rate.
WithFinance Minister Tendai Biti (MDC-T) at the helm, laudable progress has
been made although he has faced massive challenges throughout his turbulent
tenure. ZANU PF has consistently thwarted his efforts, notably to reduce
unrealistic government spending and to access income from mineral resources -
mainly the Marange diamond mines - for the benefit of the entire country, as
well as to crackdown on massive corruption and audit State companies.
Indigenisation Minister Saviour Kasukuwere's chaotic indigenisation programme
has continued to frighten off international investors and destroy local business
confidence. His threats in February to nationalise 30 foreign-owned mines were
described by one commentator as being part of ZANU PF's election strategy and a
move that would be disastrous for the economy. In June, Mugabe exacerbated the
situation by announcing that he wanted indigenous Zimbabweans to have 100
percent control of the economy, but foreigners could come in as "partners".
9. ARTICLE XII : Freedom of Assembly and Association
(541 breaches)
Despite the commitment made by all three signatories to the right of freedom
of association and assembly enshrined in the GPA, Article XII continues to be
violated systematically by ZANU PF.
Less than three months after the signing of the GPA, Zimbabwean security
forces vowed in December 2008 to crush demonstrations planned for the following
day against the Reserve Bank. The ZCTU had called for peaceful protests against
debilitating limits on bank withdrawals.
In June 2009, it was reported that minutes after the Secretary-General of
Amnesty International, Irene Khan, had accused elements of the Zimbabwean
Government of "persistent and serious human rights abuses", riot police
had broken up a peaceful demonstration only yards from where she stood. Ms Khan
had earlier described the human rights situation in Zimbabwe as "grim".
She also criticised Prime Minister Tsvangirai, saying she saw "no sense
of urgency" in implementing human-rights provisions in the power-sharing
deal.
Violations of Article XII have not only continued but are escalating in the
run-up to the next election. For example, a truckload of about 20 armed riot
police officers disrupted a Praying for Peace to Save Zimbabwe church service in
Harare in April 2011. Police in riot gear have also blocked MDC-T rallies,
including one that was due to take place at St Paul's Mission Hospital in Lupane
in October 2011. The following month, members of international charity group
Oxfam were detained by the police
10. ARTICLE VIII : Respect for National Institutions
and Events (418 breaches)
Despite agreeing that all Zimbabweans, regardless of political affiliation,
have the right to participate in all national programmes and events, ZANU PF
continues to operate in a blatantly partisan manner that demonstrates flagrant
disrespect for national institutions, programmes and events.
Examples of violations of Article VIII include the Reserve Bank Governor
enriching his ZANU PF cronies in a looting strategy; the prevention of
Parliament's Mines Committee from embarking on a fact-finding mission to the
controversial Marange diamond fields; the blocking of public participation in
the constitution-making outreach programme and the violent invasion of
Parliament by ZANU PF thugs to disrupt a public hearing on the Human Rights
Bill.
Our ZIG Watch overview closes with extracts from the Crisis in Zimbabwe
Coalition's "Zimbabwe Transition Barometer - 'Trekking the Transition'":
"The Zimbabwe political landscape is gravitating from the GPA
yard into political turmoil with potential to replicate the June 2008
presidential election run-off. There is a shift from the commitment to fulfil
the GPA as political temperature rises. The thread that seems to hold the
GPA together is now only meant for the convenience of election
leverages rather than creating sustainable democratic processes.... There is a
rise in political violence and intimidation cases mainly related to militia
groups connected to ZANU PF leaders as well as growing violations of democratic
tenets by the security sector and other political party members....
"However, the trajectory is not cast in stone. With the appropriate
interventions by civil society, the regional and international community as
articulated in (our) report, Zimbabwe can still head towards a
democratic transition, at least in the sense of the instalment of a
democratically elected government...," the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition
concludes.
Robert Mugabe’s Frozen Assets: Where are they?
Clifford Chitupa Mashiri,
17th December 2012.
News that Spain has seized former Egyptian president
Hosni Mubarak’s assets
worth US$ 36.5m (Aljazeera.com, 17.12.12) prompts the
question: Where are
Robert Mugabe’s ‘frozen’ assets?
A lot has been
said about the Zimbabwean tyrant’s so-called frozen assets in
western
countries but details have remained under wraps for mysterious
reasons.
At least Egyptians have something to celebrate on learning
that their former
dictator’s assets abroad, including Marbella beach
properties and luxury
cars had been seized by Spain’s interior ministry,
supposedly following a
request from Cairo.
Interestingly, Switzerland
where some dictators previously thought was a
safe haven, reportedly froze
Mubarak’s assests worth up to US$441m. Poor
Mubarak, now serving a life
sentence in prison or military hospital, will
receive the shocking news with
understandable disappointment.
Similarly, Zimbabweans want the
international community to disclose what
assets belonging to Robert Gabriel
Mugabe and his wife were frozen where so
that they can ascertain their true
value and how they were acquired while
they are still alive not to read
about the assets in dodgy wills.
Considering the fact that Mugabe has
been in power since 1980, there is
likely to be serious problems in making a
distinction between what is
claimed by Mugabe as his personal or family
property from what are Zimbabwe
Government assets. We want to know that
before it is too late.
Furthermore, Western governments should not wait
for a request from Harare
because nobody as of now will dare issue such a
request - to seize the
assets of Mugabe as long as there is suspicion of
their acquisition through
corrupt and or violent means.
Clifford
Chitupa Mashiri, Political Analyst, London,
zimanalysis2009@gmail.com
BILL WATCH 54/2012 of 16th December [Bills Passed & Sitting Days in 2012: Parliamentary Vacancies & Voting Strengths]
BILL
WATCH 54/2012
[15th
December 2012]
Both
Houses of Parliament have Adjourned until Tuesday 5th
February
Bills
Passed during 2012
Bills
passed this year during the last [Fourth] Session
Older Persons Bill
Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission Bill
Electoral Amendment Bill
Finance Bill
Appropriation (2012) Amendment Bill
These
have all been gazetted as Acts of 2012
Note: the Fourth Session
started on 6th September 2011, and between that date and the end of the year
four Bills were passed and later gazetted as Acts of 2011 – all of them
Budget-related. Of the 14 non-Budget
pieces of legislation the President listed for Parliament to deal with at the
opening of the Fourth Session, the Government brought only two Bills to Parliament – the Older Persons Bill and
the Electoral Amendment Bill. [For the 12 Bills outlined in the President’s
speech that did not reach Parliament during the Session, see Bill Watch 36/2011
of 9th September 2011.]
Passed
during current [Fifth] Session
Finance
(No. 2) Bill
Appropriation
(2013) Bill
These
are awaiting gazetting as Acts
Note
the Fifth Session opened on 30th October 2012 and will continue until this
Parliament comes to an end.
Notably
missing – any reform of existing legislation restricting freedom of speech and
assembly.
Sitting
Days during 2012
The
first meetings of the House of Assembly and the Senate in 2012 were on Tuesday
28th February. Their last meetings,
before both adjourned until Tuesday 5th February 2013, were on Thursday 29th
November. During that period the House
met on 35 days and the Senate on 37.
House
of Assembly
Last
[Fourth] Session .....
30
Current
[Fifth] Session ... 5
Total..........................
35
Senate
Last
session ..................
32
Current
session ...............
5
Total..........................
37
Vacancies
& Voting Strengths at 16th December 2012
House of Assembly
One new vacancy
This arose with the
death on 30th November of Jabulani Mangena, ZANU-PF MP
for Mberengwa North.
Current vacancies
There are 18 vacancies, leaving 197 House of Assembly MPs out of a
possible 215.
Note:
All the vacancies are for constituency seats and are awaiting
by-elections.
Current membership/voting strengths
The
197 current members of the House fall into the following groups:
ZANU-PF
92
MDC-T
97
MDC 8
Reminder: Non-constituency seats
The
five non-constituency [ex officio or
appointed] members of the House are: Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and
Minister Gorden Moyo from MDC-T; Vice-President John Landa Nkomo and Ms Oppah Muchinguri from ZANU-PF; and Deputy
Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara.
MDC
expulsions
The
“MDC occupied seats” in the above lists include the seats held by members whose
expulsion from the party was recently announced by the Welshman Ncube-led MDC –
three members of the House, two of the Senate.
They have not lost their seats, because the party has not yet notified
the Speaker and the President of the Senate of the expulsions, which is what is
required to trigger the loss of a party seat under section 41 of the
Constitution [see Bill Watch 52/2012 of
24th November].
[Note: Professor Mutambara, whose Supreme Court bid
to reverse his replacement as MDC president by Professor Ncube is still pending,
has written to Parliament stating his position that any such notification by the
party without his sanction would be invalid.]
Senate
One vacancy recently filled by MDC-T nominee
On Thursday 29th November Sibusisiwe Masara was sworn in as an appointed non-constituency
Senator. She is the MDC-T nominee to
fill the vacancy caused by the death in April of the late Dr Tichaona Mudzingwa. The new Senator is the secretary-general of
the MDC-T Women’s Assembly.
Current vacancies
There are 14 vacancies, leaving 85 Senators out of a possible 99:
Elected Senators
11 vacancies [ZANU-PF 6; MDC-T 5; MDC 0]
Chiefs 2 vacancies
[Matabeleland South 1; Manicaland
1]
Provincial Governors 1
vacancy [Harare]
Appointed Senators 0
vacancies
Note: it is only the 11 vacancies for elected [i.e., constituency]
Senate seats that need by-elections. The
2 vacant Chiefs seats are awaiting replacements chosen by the provincial
assemblies of chiefs in the relevant provinces.
The vacant Governor’s seat is an ex officio seat, awaiting the
appointment of a new provincial governor for Harare.
Current membership/voting strenghts
The 85 current Senators fall into the following
groups:
ZANU-PF 38 [24 elected, 5
appointed, plus 9
governors]
MDC-T 23 [19
elected, 4 appointed]
MDC 8 [6 elected, 2
appointed]
Chiefs
16
Update
on Number of By-elections Due
Changes
since last update
Bill
Watch 43/2012 of 14th September gave the following figures, which were verified
by Parliament and the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, for the number of
by-elections due at that date: Senate
10; House of Assembly 16. Changes since
are as follows:
Senate One more by-election is due, following the
death of Josiah Rimbi, MDC-T senator for Chipinge, on
24th September [noted in Bill Watch
44.2012 of 25th September].
House
of Assembly 16 Two more by-elections are due, following the
deaths of Stan Mudenge, ZANU-PF MP for Masvingo North,
on 4th October [noted in Bill Watch
46/2012 of 9th October] and Jabulani Mangena,
ZANU-PF MP for Mberengwa North, on 30th November [noted above].
Current
figures for by-elections due [29]
Senate
11
House
of Assembly 18
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