Zim Independent
Muckraker
Xmas treat for Zimbabweans in the
diaspora
ZIMBABWEANS living abroad will get a very special Christmas present
this
year. They will be able to watch ZTV news via the
Internet.
"Visit the website www.zimupdate.com and you are home sweet
home," a puff
piece in the Herald announced last weekend. Richard Chingombe
whose company,
RC Microsystems Inc runs the website, said in addition to ZTV,
surfers would
be able to listen to all Zimbabwe's radio stations.
"You
can log on to all the local radio stations and listen to any radio
programmes
of your choice," Chingombe said. Radio Zimbabwe, SFM, and 3FM
would all be
available. Some people logged on four times a day just so they
could catch up
with events back home, Chingombe chirped.
We can imagine who they are:
George Shire, Chinondidyachii Mararike, David
Nyekorach-Matsanga, Coltrane
Chimurenga, Violet Plummer, and the rest of
that gang of
illusionists!
It was important to create a "balanced diet", Chingombe
told the Herald
without explaining how that would be possible from ZBC. Most
Zimbabweans
living abroad are seeking refuge from the Zanu PF dictatorship.
They are
likely to choke on the diet Chingombe and his friends are
providing.
Just in case you were wondering what else this website offers,
Chingombe
helpfully explained that a person living in the US could buy a
coffin
on-line for relatives in Zimbabwe. The website was also a "shoulder to
cry
on", RC Microsystems CEO Winston Makamure suggested.
Listening to
ZBC all day, surfers will need one!
The BBC reports that Zimbabwe's
government is looking at ways in which it
can ensure that only "patriotic
Zimbabweans" work for the civil
service.According to the country's Public
Service Commission, anyone working
for or wanting to join the civil service
will be tested on their level of
loyalty to the ruling Zanu-PF
party.Prospective entrants who fail the test
will not be employed. Those who
are already employed could be dismissed.
According to Ray Ndhlukula,
Secretary of the Public Service Commission,
there are too many people working
in the civil service who are not committed
to the ruling party and
government. This, said Ndhlukula, cannot continue -
hence the new stringent
tests beginning next year.
"Details of how the assessmentwill be
conducted have not yetbeen given," the
BBC says. "But for the estimated 160
000 civil servants, including teachers
and nurses, it may be prudent to buy a
ruling party card and start
practising the party slogans to remain
employed."
If Ndhlukula has been quoted correctly, then he is a disgrace.
The public
service is there to serve all Zimbabweans including those - almost
certainly
the majority - who oppose Zanu PF's corrupt and brutal rule. It is
supposed
to be professional, impartial and prudent in its management of
taxpayers'
funds. It represents a serious betrayal of public trust for the
Public
Service Commission to suggest its employees should favour one party
over
another. To suggest that they should support a party that is
currently
abusing every tenet of good governance makes Ndhlukula's remarks
all the
more serious.
Those in positions of public responsibility who
support the lawlessness and
injustice currently prevalent and betray the
trust the public have placed in
them will have to account for their
contribution to misrule when a
democratic order is finally installed. That
includes Ndhlukula.
Justice minister Patrick Chinamasa, who recently had
to stand up in
parliament and clarify certain "misunderstandings" that had
arisen from his
colleague the Information minister's comments on the right of
Zimbabwean
citizens working for foreign radio stations to return to this
country, was
last week obliged to make further "clarifications" on
citizenship - this
time no doubt driven by recent court rulings.
The
government has hitherto deemed anybody who had a claim to foreign
citizenship
to be a dual citizen, despite the Citizenship Act's very clear
stipulation
that only those who actually held dual citizenship were affected
by the Act's
provisions.
Thousands of Zimbabweans were earlier this year required to
renounce a
foreign citizenship they didn't have in order to conform with
the
Registrar-General's flawed interpretation of those provisions.
Now
Chinamasa has admitted the government was wasting their time and
money.
"A person who merely has a claim or entitlement to foreign
nationality,
whether by official discretion or as a matter of legal right, is
not
presently a foreign citizen and therefore cannot be required to renounce
a
citizenship that he does not actually and presently possess," he said in
a
Government Gazette published last Friday and reported in the Sunday
Mail.
"A person who claimed to be a Zimbabwean citizen was presumed to be
a
citizen if he produced a passport, birth certificate,
citizenship
certificate or national registration card," the report in the
Sunday Mail
pointed out. "Such a person would not be required to produce
written proof
or confirmation that he was not a citizen of a foreign country
to establish
his Zimbabwean citizenship status."
So why were thousands
of people put to considerable expense and
inconvenience when they were
required by the RG's office to produce
renunciation certificates from the
embassies and high commissions of
countries they were assumed to have an
attachment to on the grounds of birth
or descent? Many of those countries
understandably refused to cooperate in
such a dubious exercise thus leaving
the applicants stateless and helpless.
For many there was the heartache of
uncertainty about their status,
especially among the elderly or infirm who
could not face the queues and
chaotic bureaucracy at the RG's
office.
This was a grave injustice done by a government to a significant
number of
people from all communities and backgrounds. They now arguably have
a legal
case against the Registrar-General. This newspaper pointed out
repeatedly
that the RG's interpretation of the Act was at variance with the
actual
requirements of the Act itself: that is, only those actually holding
dual
citizenship, not those entitled to the citizenship of another country,
were
required to renounce their foreign citizenship.
So what was the
point of this exercise? Undoubtedly it was to deprive people
of their right
to vote. And it succeeded in removing thousands from the
voters roll -
illegally as it now turns out. People so disadvantaged will
have a case
against the Registrar-General who clearly acted in line with
what the
government wanted instead of what the law required.
Chinamasa said
evidence of foreign citizenship might take the form of a
foreign passport or
certificate or might appear from the written law of the
country concerned.
This is clearly an attempt to once again circumvent the
provisions of the
Act. Many countries provide a right of citizenship to
people who were born
there or whose parents were. But that is not their
fault, nor is it their
responsibility to renounce that second citizenship
when they have taken no
steps to claim it.
This loophole must not be used by the government and
its judicial allies to
impose a further burden on a section of the population
that has already been
deprived of their rights in law by bureaucratic
fiat.
Muckraker has complained over the years about reports emanating
from Reuters
that are sometimes less than helpful. We recall the wire service
two years
ago describing Peter Hain as South African-born when in fact he
was
Kenyan-born. There is no record of a correction being made. He was
visiting
the region at the time.
Last week Reuters Nairobi bureau put
out a report that "several thousand
Kenyans and a few dozen white settlers
were killed in the (Mau Mau)
uprising".
Is this the best they can do?
"Several thousand and a few dozen"? There must
be more accurate figures
knocking around.
"In addition," their report said, "British forces hanged
about 1 048 Mau Mau
convicts."
How can they say "about 1 048"? As it
stands, the figure is pretty specific.
A more likely "about" would be 1
050.
Whatever the case, it is preferable to "several thousand and a few
dozen".
And is it seriously suggested these "convicts" were hanged by
British
"forces" without a trial or any reference to the judicial
process?
What is remarkable about this is that the Reuters copy has been
through a
battery of editors who hand on sloppy work like this to newspapers
at
considerable cost in terms of subscription fees. What those papers
are
paying for is accuracy, not "several thousand and a few
dozen".
Muckraker's favourite was the name of a prominent Titanic
passenger added by
a Reuters editor to another word in a piece on a
memorabilia auction to
render it completely nonsensical.
Zimbabwe has
secured a "big victory" in getting fellow ACP (African,
Caribbean and Pacific
states) to boycott a meeting with European Union
lawmakers, minister of state
Paul Mangwana was reported as telling the state
media last weekend. It would
"embarrass" Britain, he claimed.
Why? British MEPs who joined those from
many other EU states in refusing to
admit Zimbabwean ministers to their
chamber must be feeling rather pleased.
They have struck a blow for freedom.
The state media has been suggesting
that retaliation will come in the form of
ACP states refusing to accept EU
aid. "We are going to punish you by not
taking your money," they suggest.
But they will be cutting off their noses to
spite their faces.
This logic will appeal only to the advocates of
scorched-earth policies.
They should understand that nobody in the EU will
lose any sleep over a
cancelled joint EU/ACP session.
As for British
politicians having their businesses in Zimbabwe targeted, how
many people
exactly are likely to be affected, if any? And exactly how would
the
government go about identifying and penalising individual investors in
mining
companies for instance? We are keen to hear. Like banning Tony Blair
from
coming to Zimbabwe, this is likely to prove a non-event.
That goes for
much else in this story. "The Minister of State for State
Enterprises and
Parastatals, Cde Paul Mangwana, told the Herald from
Brussels that Mrs
Kinnock, from Britain, was the co-president of the joint
assembly,
representing the EU wing," the government mouthpiece told
its
readers.
Why did the Herald need Mangwana to tell them that?
Didn't they know that
already and if not will they be paying Mangwana as
their reporter in
Brussels?
Readers may be interested in the remarks
of Desmond Tutu, interviewed
recently by the Mail & Guardian. The former
Archbishop of Cape Town said he
was "saddened and appalled by the way we've
dealt with Zimbabwe. It was
right to try quiet diplomacy," he said, "but when
it failed we had to show
where we stand - not because we want that country to
go down the tubes, but
precisely because we don't. That we could play
linguistics over something as
flawed as Zimbabwe's presidential election,
tight-roping about whether it
was 'legitimate', undermined our own freedom.
It was a huge blot on our
copybook," Tutu said.
"We would have been
saddened if something similar had happened in 1994 - if
the international
community had said: 'We'll accept this because we have to
but it was not free
and fair'."
Now contrast those remarks with the silence of our own
bishops - Anglican
and Catholic - as thousands of opposition supporters face
starvation,
thousands of others are the victims of state-sponsored militias,
and
fundamental liberties are snuffed out. Their silence is deafening. Only
this
week, Fr Patrick Kelly was reported as noting that Bishop Alexio
Muchabaiwa
of Mutare had done nothing to support him in his struggle with
Zanu PF and
the CIO in Nyanga.
"Muchabaiwa has been quiet over the
issue saying it was sensitive," Kelly
reported.
This sounds
suspiciously like the standard response of the ZRP when
explaining their
failure to act. We expect our bishops to be made of sterner
stuff. Muchabaiwa
should stand up for the right of priests to do their work
instead of allowing
the forces of evil to prevail in his sphere of
spiritual
jurisdiction.
We liked the letter from "Peace Lover
Ngonidzashe Siziba" to the Editor of
the Herald last Saturday congratulating
the paper for carrying an article
headed "UK's shoddy anti-Zim campaign",
which turned out to be a recycled
document from the late 1970s, seen by just
about everybody at the time,
spuriously proposing a crude Shona nationalist
agenda.
Siziba, who obviously had no idea that the fulsome praise of "RG
Mugabe" in
the document was a prelude to a discreditable attack on the "lazy
and
unintelligent Ndebele", took it all literally and thanked the Herald
for
publishing the article "praising our intelligent and God-given
president".
This sort of confusion by Herald readers is understandable.
But it was the
writer's conclusion that caught our attention most. He sought
to remind
those sowing the seeds of division of what happens.
"People
will be rendered homeless; children will get no education; girls and
women
will be raped; people will starve as food resources will be burnt
and
destroyed; infrastructure will be destroyed; precious lives will be
lost;
there will be no rule of law."
In case you were about to observe
that we have all those things already
thanks to Zanu PF, the writer was quick
to add: "Currently we do not have
any of the above problems."
Phew,
what a relief!
A coffee planter in Zimbabwe recently sought to have two
specialists from
Costa Rica join him here to advise on a plantation project.
They signalled
their willingness to come but asked how they should go about
getting a visa
in the absence of a Zimbabwean embassy in Costa Rica. The
planter duly
contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"That's
simple," an official said. "The British Embassy in Costa Rica looks
after all
our affairs."
Zim Independent
Eric Bloch Column
Economic nightmare of great
proportions
SOME time ago I reported in this column of a dream I had had. Now
I must
sadly report a nightmare of gargantuan proportions. Inexplicably, I
had
acquired invisibility, and even more, I was ensconced in a chair of
the
cabinet room of the Zimbabwean cabinet. The vastness of the cabinet is
such
that it was a very tight squeeze for all to be seated, for a president,
two
vice-presidents and 21 ministers constitute a cabinet of 24, which
exceeds
that of the US notwithstanding that Zimbabwe's population is
minuscule in
size as compared to that of the US.
In addition, of
course, the cabinet was aided by a bevy of secretaries. As
the principal item
of the agenda was consideration of the proposed 2003
budget, every minister
was present.
As debate commenced, it focused upon the prevailing state of
the economy.
After many had bewailed Zimbabwe's pronounced inflation, its
immense lack of
foreign exchange and consequential massive shortages of many
essential
imported goods, the ever increasing levels of national debt, and
even
greater extent of unemployment, the almost total destruction of
the
agricultural sector and resultant lack of food, the near complete absence
of
investment, meeting progressed.
Dialogue waged fast and furious,
until one of those present (his voice
quivering so much with concern that I
could not identify him) suddenly said:
"Comrades, it is time that we stopped
patting ourselves on the back. Yes, it
is true that our great skills have
been such that we have been able to
afflict immense traumas upon an economy
which, from 1994 to 1997, was
steadily growing and becoming virile and
vibrant. Yes, we have frequently
castigated ourselves for having allowed such
a considerable transformation
to occur, from an economy in intense distress
to one which was beginning to
show signs of spectacular growth. In those few
years we blindly allowed
industry to expand, servicing both the improving
economy and the demands of
diverse export markets. Agriculture was yielding
all-time record earnings,
the mining industry was rapidly growing and tourism
was developing
exponentially. The financial and service sectors were
performing better than
ever before."
This, he said, was totally at
variance with our wishes and objectives. "We
had always believed that we
would entrench our power and authority only if
we could create and maintain a
society in crisis, so detracted by the
economic and other ills befalling it
as would divert attention from
whatsoever we may do, and as would render all
so gullible as to believe
whatever we would say, including our blaming the
economic disasters created
by us upon whichever victims we would see fit to
blame".
He then said: "When in mid-1997 we recognised that economic
development was
occurring diametrically opposite to all we intended, we
devised a series of
strategies to reverse that development and to bring the
economy rapidly to
complete ruination. We were agreed that our primary target
should be
agriculture as it constituted the foundations upon which the
economy was
built. We determined that we should, with utmost confrontation
and
aggression, expropriate almost all of Zimbabwe's farms with
contemptuous
disregard for property rights and international laws and norms.
We would
falsely justify our doing so with unfounded allegations that the
land had
previously been stolen from us. In doing so, not only would we
destroy
agriculture and, therefore, the mainstay of the economy but also we
would
cause much disruption in those other economic sectors as interact
with
agriculture and we would alienate the long-supportive
international
community."
But, he added: "We did not rely upon that
strategy alone. We made payments
of great largesse which we could not afford
to war veterans, thereby adding
further distress to a very derelict
exchequer. We turned a blind eye to the
economic erosion of corruption. We
rescinded policies of deregulation and
liberalisation of the economy.
Instead, we imposed draconian, impractical,
unrealistic and
counter-productive regulations, all designed to destroy the
economy although
we pretended otherwise. Most of all, as we progressively
reversed the
economic gains and fuelled inflation, we steadfastly refused to
devalue our
currency, thereby removing all price competitiveness from our
exporters,
bringing them increasingly to their knees."
And then I heard the unknown
minister continue, saying: "But, my comrades,
we greatly underestimated the
Zimbabwean economic infrastructure. We grossly
misjudged our economy. We were
oblivious to its very considerable
resilience. Despite all that we have done
to the economy over the last five
years, it still survives. Yes, it is
weakened, it is frail, it is
struggling, but it is not dead. Comrades, we
have failed!"
A deafening silence descended upon the cabinet room. As all
present pondered
upon the dismal picture of failure so eloquently described
by their fellow
comrade, they became more and more depressed, for such
failure was too
horrifying to contemplate. And then, suddenly, another voice
was heard
saying: "All is not lost. We should not be discomfited by the fact
that we
have not yet wholly destroyed the economy. In fact, we should derive
much
satisfaction by recognising the magnitude of the economic chaos that we
have
wrought. And yet more we can be heartened by recognition that
further
opportunities to bring about economic Armageddon lie right ahead. I
refer,
my comrades, to the forthcoming 2003 budget. We can readily convert
that
budget into a weapon of ruination."
All stared at him in
wide-eyed astonishment. How could a budget possibly
achieve that which five
years of destructive machinations could not? Almost
in unison they demanded
that he explain how they could use the budget to
achieve their long-wished
for economic collapse to levels beyond recovery.
And explain to them he
did.
"First," he said, "we must recognise that Zimbabwe is a very
heavily
import-reliant country and that one cannot import without foreign
exchange.
So, let us ensure that there be no foreign exchange. Destroy the
parallel
market and the bureaux de change so that none can export profitably
and so
that importers who do not export be so deprived of access to
foreign
exchange that their imports will be minimal and, therefore, their
businesses
will fail. The collapse of export operations and of
import-dependent
enterprises will cause unemployment for tens of thousands.
The inadequacy of
foreign exchange earnings will severely reduce availability
of energy and
fuel, bringing the economy to a halt.
"At this same
time, we must ignore the inefficacy of previous price
controls. We must
impose a total price freeze. Of course, it will apply to
the private sector
businesses only. Parastatals will continue to raise their
charges and most
wage-earners will receive inflation-adjusted, increased
wages from January.
The price controls will force many businesses into
liquidation, although they
will fuel an even more successful black market
than before
, for the
black market thrives when shortages exist. That will cause further
escalation
in inflation, destroying the last vestiges of viability of any
businesses
that still exist.
"To ensure that this succeeds, we must increase
government spending
wheresoever we can, thereby causing mammoth fiscal
deficits to be funded by
borrowings founded upon the Reserve Bank endlessly
printing money, there
being no others as will lend to us. That will cause
inflation to rise even
further. There are wide open opportunities for us to
spend more. Let us
allege that with the exit of our magnificent forces from
the DRC, they must
be re-equipped. That will enable us to vote more to
Defence than to any
other ministry."
"Let us also ensure our
profligate spending by including within the
President and Cabinet Vote
half-a-billion dollars for 'special services'
much of which shall not be
subject to audit. Let us spend astronomic amounts
upon international travel,
and upon our vast plethora of State Residences.
And let us demoralise the
private sector further. We can readily do so by
token adjustment of tax
thresholds while concurrently responding to
inflation with massive increases
in the values of taxable benefits.
Wheresoever it is beneficial to the
taxpayer, we must adjust marginally for
inflation. Wheresoever it is
beneficial to the fiscus, we must adjust
massively for inflation, as for
example, the value of employee usage of
employer-owned motor
vehicles."
At that stage, all present in the cabinet room burst into
spontaneous
applause, the volume of which awakened me from that
nerve-shattering
nightmare, only to realise that it was a reality!
Zim Independent
Comment
Brussels outcome no victory for
Zimbabwe
IT is symptomatic of the warped thinking going on in the upper
echelons of
Zimbabwe today that the jeopardising of billions of dollars in
trade and aid
for developing countries could be represented as a
victory!
That is exactly what our rulers and their minions in the media
want us to
believe: that Zimbabwe, in securing the solidarity of ACP
(African,
Caribbean, and Pacific) states over the exclusion of two
Zimbabwean
officials from the European parliament's premises, where a session
of the
EU/ACP joint parliamentary assembly was due to be held on Monday,
represents
a victory for this government.
Exactly how is difficult to
fathom. The Cotonou Agreement provides
privileged access for the exports of
former European colonies to the world's
largest and most lucrative market. In
other words they get in ahead of the
competition. The most contentious
example is the huge market provided by
Britain and Germany for bananas from
the Caribbean. American companies
producing bananas in Central America cite
this as a form of protectionism -
which it is.
The trade system
established under Lomé in its four manifestations and
continued under Cotonou
benefits the associate states in many different
ways. Millions of Euros are
allocated every year to development projects in
ACP states. Sadc is a notable
beneficiary.
But the Europeans rightly insist that if EU funds are to be
generously
disbursed to developing countries, they must adhere to best
practice in
governance. In other words they shouldn't do what so many of
those
expressing solidarity with Zimbabwe this week have done with the
billions of
dollars given to them since Independence - lost them, wasted them
or stolen
them.
The Cotonou Agreement lays down that "respect for
human rights, democratic
principles, and the rule of law, which underpin the
EU/ACP partnership
shall.constitute the essential elements of this
agreement".
Zimbabwe is in open violation of those terms. It has
subverted the rule of
law, trampled on the human rights of its citizens, and
made a mockery of
democratic principles. Its economy is in a state of
advanced decay as a
direct result of this misrule.
As co-president of
the EU/ACP joint parliamentary assembly Glenys Kinnock
pointed out this week,
the ACP grouping includes some of the most
disadvantaged countries in the
world. Forty out of the 78 ACP states are
classified as "Least Developed
Countries", 15 are landlocked, 38 have
serious levels of poverty, and 33
others are particularly vulnerable as
small island states.
The
principles of democracy and the rule of law on which the Cotonou
Agreement is
built are fundamental because development and prosperity cannot
take place
without them. If the EU were to ignore them it would be pouring
money down
the drain - as happened so often in the past. The 15 EU member
states have
publics they must answer to. They expect their money to be spent
wisely and
accountably. They also expect to see some benefit to the people
of developing
countries, not the Swiss bank accounts of their rulers.
The EU
legislators can therefore be expected to stand firm on the issue
of
governance. They cannot afford to allow people who are part of a
regime
which sabotages agricultural production, violates human rights
and
manipulates electoral outcomes to carry on as if it were business as
usual
with donors. Many of those this week expressing public sympathy
with
Zimbabwe's rogue regime will no doubt be returning privately to say they
had
no choice. There will be urgent appeals for the aid tap to be left
open.
But the EU must make it clear that countries associating themselves
with
oppression and misgovernance cannot have it both ways. Either they abide
by
democratic rules or they lose the privileges accorded to them under
Cotonou.
There must be consistency of purpose. As Kinnock pointed out,
"our
electorates don't understand it when politicians take decisions which
they
don't follow through in a consistent way".
One of the most
important outcomes in all this is the resolve shown by MEPs
despite
centrifugal national interests. Only a few months ago we were told
that other
EU states were refusing to support Britain's position on
Zimbabwe. Now they
all seem to be of one mind. How does the government
explain that?
This
is clearly not a defeat for Britain or the EU. It is the people of
78
developing countries who will suffer. They are the victims of a
misplaced
nationalism that suggests governments can abuse their populations
and get
away with it. Not any longer it seems.
The people of Zimbabwe,
who the ACP regimes don't appear to give a damn
about, will show little
enthusiasm for their government's fictional victory
in Brussels. They
understand only too well the meaning of Zanu PF's
sovereignty: shortages of
everything, growing poverty and starvation. This
"triumph" of foreign policy
denies to them the benefits of international
cooperation and brings home the
cost of isolation. Meanwhile let's see what
the ACP states offer by way of
assistance to the regime they endorsed in
Belgium.
Zim Independent
Bid to boycott Bredenkamp's Sanyati Lodge
Vincent
Kahiya
BUSINESSMAN and international financier John Bredenkamp, never far
from
controversy, is faced with protest from activists campaigning for a
boycott
of his flagship tourism investment in Zimbabwe, Sanyati Lodge in the
Zambezi
Valley.
A group calling itself Zimactivism has been sending
e-mails to tour
operators asking them not to sell Sanyati Lodge as a tourist
destination.
"Whilst Sanyati Lodge is beautiful, one can't say the
same for John
Bredenkamp's activities," Zimactivism says. "Encourage a
Bredenkamp
boycott - become actively involved in a 'Shame Sanyati Lodge
Campaign'.
In Zimbabwe you can make a difference.get involved. There are
a variety of
alternative holiday resorts.
"Make sure your friends
in South Africa know the situation," the group says.
Based in Britain
and Zimbabwe, Bredenkamp is the 33rd richest man in the
United Kingdom with a
fortune of £720 million. He has over the years
attracted negative publicity
here and abroad, mainly concerning the source
of his
wealth.
Zimactivism is encouraging people to send protests to tour
operators in
South Africa and the UK who market Zimbabwe.
However,
Bredenkamp's office in Harare recently scoffed at the campaign
saying it had
no bearing on tourist arrivals at the lodge.
"It is the quality that
endures at the end of the day," said Bredenkamp's
spokesman, Costa
Pafitis.
"Sanyati Lodge is the best lodge in the country and is
recognised as such by
travellers who do not want to bring politics into their
holiday. Our
bookings are full and continue to swell because we are the best.
These
people (leading the campaign) should reveal themselves if they want us
to
take them seriously," he said.
Sanyati Lodge has attracted a
number of celebrities including the South
African cricket team and Spice Girl
Geri Halliwell.
Bredenkamp has been at the centre of controversy
because of his alleged
links to the ruling order and mining deals in the
Democratic Republic of
Congo, the subject of a recent UN
report.
He is also accused of brokering arms deals and
sanctions-busting involving
aircraft spares for the Airforce of Zimbabwe. He
has denied any wrong-doing.
Pafitis said no-one had come up with
substantive evidence incriminating
Bredenkamp.
"He is the flavour
of the month and people can say whatever they want. But
if the allegations
are true, why has he never been prosecuted?" Pafitis
asked.
Zim Independent
Govt to introduce patriotism course
Vincent
Kahiya
THE government will from next year introduce a compulsory
"patriotism"
course for all tertiary students in what is seen as a
full-bloodied attempt
to indoctrinate youths.
The Zimbabwe Independent
learnt this week that students at polytechnics and
vocational and teachers'
colleges will be required to take up National
Strategic Studies as a
compulsory subject.
No student will be awarded a certificate or
diploma unless they pass the
compulsory subject. Part-time students and those
attending evening classes
at government institutions will also be required to
take the course.
"This is nothing more than part of the curriculum
from the National Youth
Training Service," a government source
said.
"The move is to ensure that those youths who do not want to go
to the
training centres will not escape the theory part of the
training."
The course will cover topics such as the history of the
liberation struggle,
nationalism, the importance of the land reform programme
and other related
matters.
The government has already sent
circulars to tertiary institutions ordering
them to give preferential
treatment in enrolment to graduates of the youth
training
service.
"A decision has been made to give first priority to students
from national
service training centres wishing to enrol at the tertiary
level," says a
statement from the Ministry of Higher
Education.
"This is with immediate effect and all institutions are
required to comply.
The institutions will, as before, continue to advertise
and interview their
applicants for enrolment.
"However, no
admission letters should be sent until a list of candidates
from the national
service centres with the requisite qualifications has been
received from head
office, after which admission letters will be sent to all
candidates
including those selected from your interviews," the
statement
said.
"The final enrolment will thus comprise of
students from head office and the
selection from institutional level."
Zim Independent
Yet another date for Mat water project
Loughty
Dube
THE fate of the politically plagued Matabeleland Zambezi Water
Project
(MZWP) has taken yet another twist with the announcement of a date
for the
commencement of the long-awaited project.
The project has been
hanging in the balance due to lack of funding and
government
commitment.
However, over the weekend the chairman of the
Matabeleland Zambezi Water
Trust (MZWT), Dumiso Dabengwa, announced that the
project would get underway
in January.
"The money allocated to us
in the 2003 budget is to kick-start the project
which will begin in earnest
with work on the Gwayi-Shangani Dam in January
next year," Dabengwa
said.
The government recently allocated $550 million under the 2003
national
budget to the MZWP for the construction of the Gwayi-Shangani
Dam.
The dam is the first stage towards the construction of a
pipeline from the
Zambezi River to arid Matabeleland.
This is not
the first time the MZWT has promised to commence the project and
subsequently
failed to do so.
A few weeks before the mayoral election in Bulawayo
last year, government
and the MZWT brought in a team of Malaysian engineers
to commence work on
the project but the team left the country in a huff in
unclear
circumstances.
Once again, before the presidential
election in March, the MZWT announced
that it had secured funding of over $33
billion from a Malaysian investor
for the project but nothing
materialised.
Dabengwa was forced to issue another statement saying
the project would
start in the second half of the year.
However,
later in the year he announced that the MZWT had discarded the
Malaysians and
was now sourcing funds from the Chinese.
Quizzed on the constant
changes to dates of starting work on the project,
Dabengwa angrily refused to
give details and instead charged that the
independent media was out to soil
his name.
"You always ask me questions and you go on to write bad
stories about me,"
said Dabengwa. "You should stop asking me questions and
wait for statements
that I will issue on the matter."
Why
Mudede barred me [Topper Whitehead] from inspecting the voters roll.
(A Herald newspaper report on the 20th November 2002 – MDC
volunteer worker barred – Suspected of tampering with voter’s roll during
inspection).
History
The Election Petition filed by Morgan
Tsvangirai calling for the March 2002 presidential elections to be nullified cites
Robert Mugabe and Tobaiwa Mudede as the 1st and 2nd
Respondents, contains an affidavit by myself outlining conclusive evidence of
flaws in the voters roll used in the election, which should, in themselves, be
sufficient to invalidate the Presidential election result in terms of the law.
(see High Court case No HC
3616/2002).
In the notice of opposition filed by the
Registrar General, Tobaiwa Mudede has sworn under oath, that “A duplicate is ONLY a duplicate if it
appears twice in the same roll, i.e. either in one constituency or different
constituencies.” And “There is no
way an I.D. number can appear twice in the same roll as alleged by Mr
Whitehead.”
On the limited data available, we have
conclusive and unequivocal evidence proving both these sworn statements by
Tobias Mudede to be completely false.
In an effort to prevent any comprehensive
analysis of the voters roll used in the March election, the Registrar General
is withholding the bulk of the evidence from the MDC and the public. The
Supreme Court, in an evasive ruling, has prevented the MDC from obtaining the
voters roll in compact disc format. Access to the voters roll in CD form would
enable us to analyse the roll in hours instead of weeks as we are now doing
because the voter’s roll, [which is by law, public domain information], is
being denied to the MDC.
The ruling by the supreme court just made
public 2 weeks after being handed down indicates the desperate measures being
taken to prevent the full analysis of the flawed presidential voters roll.
The Registrar General has on several
occasions boasted that the voters roll is “world class” yet is going to
extraordinary lengths to frustrate the right as allowed in any democratic
system, of open access to the roll by the public. We have been trying since 27th March 2002 to exercise
our constitutional rights and legal entitlement (in terms of Section 18 (1), (2)
of the Electoral Act, to be allowed to inspect, make copies and / or extracts
from the voters roll during the working hours.) to obtain a complete
version of the voter’s roll used in the March election and to inspect and make
copies of the current roll. On the 28th October 2002 having been
eventually given clearance by the Registrar General’s office I started
inspection but when I started to make copies I was immediately prevented from
doing so by senior officials in the Registrar General’s office.
An immediate objection was made to the
Registrar General who after a 10 day delay conceded the issue and gave “his” permission
for copies of the roll to be taken in terms of Section 18 (2) of the Act. In
reality there should be no reason why the Registrar General must give his
permission as the Act is very clear in making it a legal entitlement and NOT
the Registrar General’s prerogative. However such is life in a Dictatorship.
Sampling Action
Plan
As a digital copy of the roll is not being
made available, the MDC is being forced to make an analysis of the voter’s roll
using recognised sampling methods. An example of a sampling method to establish
the state of something is when a Doctor wants to establish the state of health
of a patient. A blood sample is taken (the Doctor does not take all the blood) and an analysis is
carried out which gives the doctor a good idea of the health of the patient and
a remedy prescribed.
The inspection routine requires that a
representative sample be taken from the roll and then analysed for
irregularities. So far we have been
allowed to inspect only 10 of the 75 rolls requested from the Registrar
Generals Office. The sampling routine used
is as follows: -
- A photo copy of the selected representative sections of the
roll is taken and then loaded into a computer using OCR (optical character
recognition) and manual inputting which then turns the selections into
digital format (in the absence of CD copies).
- With the data in digital format we are then able to conduct a
computer search to establish any errors on the roll.
On the samples drawn to date of the 10
constituencies examined, we have positively identified a significant number of
serious flaws in the roll. These flaws include numerous duplications of voter
registration and the existence of thousands of dead people still registered as
voters. In respect to the latter, we have obtained from various sources,
details of persons who have died over the last 20 years and the routine to
check if they are still registered as voters is: -
- Capture the data in digital format using OCR and/or manual
inputting.
- Conduct a computer search to locate the deceased person and in
which constituency he/she was registered.
- Manually check on the current voter’s roll to establish if the
deceased person is still on the roll.
It was this last stage that was being
carried out on Wednesday 13th November when the Registrar General’s
officers alleged that I was tampering with the roll.
The full sequence of events on the
afternoon of 13th November was: -
a)
Using the deceased person’s
checklist I located the name of a deceased person on the current roll at the
Registrar Generals Office.
b)
I then wrote on a blue
“Post-it” label, the deceased date of death.
c)
The label was then placed
below the name of the deceased on the roll and a photocopy taken to confirm
that the deceased person was still on the roll.
d)
The Officer supervising this
exercise asked what I was doing and was shown the labels and from this he could
clearly see what was being done but the date of death and source detail was
withheld.
e)
In addition to the label
showing the date of death a label with aperture, time and flash settings was
placed on the pages to establish the optimum settings for the OCR.
f)
When this exercise was
complete in respect to the 10 rolls made available, I packed up and left the
office. I was not aware that an official had gone to alert a supervisor or I
would have waited.
g)
In the passage I met another
officer who asked, “how is it going” to which I replied that I had established
that there were many deceased persons still on the Rolland the question being
did they vote?
All this was done in the full view of staff
of the Registrar General who could see exactly what was being done and at least
one Officer was present and observing throughout. There was no rush in respect
to my departure as sampling of the rolls made available had been completed and
I had another appointment.
It must be realised that putting a blue
piece of paper on a white page is so obviously an alteration that to suggest
that anyone could be using such a method to alter an official document of which
the Registrar General is the sole custodian and who always insists on a
certified copy is absolutely ridiculous. The only conclusion a reasonable
person can make is that the office of the Registrar General and Tobaiwa Mudede
himself are so nervous about the substantial flaws in the “World Class” Voters
Roll that are in the process of being positively identified and recorded that
they have manufactured these absurdly ridiculous allegations in an attempt to
hide the truth.
The fact that a copy of the letter banning
me from the Registrar Generals Office was delivered to the Herald before it was
even received by the person to who it was addressed at the MDC is further
endorsement of the political bias of the Office of the Registrar General.
Indeed the original letter has never been received by the MDC. It also highlights the nervousness that Tobaiwa
Mudede feels that he might be exposed as a liar in his sworn affidavits to the
High Court.
Also for the record and with reference to
the story in the Herald on 20th November 2002: -
- The only links that I have with AMANI Trust is that I subscribe
to their ideals of Democracy and their fight against Human Rights abuses,
torture, rape as a political weapon and political violence.
- I am not a US national as the article suggests. In fact I am a 4th
generation Zimbabwean who has no intention to succumb to threats from
bullies or dictators.
- My well-known support of Evelyn Masaiti (MDC MP for Mutasa ) Adella
Chiminya ( Widow of Tapfuma Chiminya who was murdered by ZANU PF agents )
Maria Stevens ( widow of David Stevens who was murdered by ZANU PF) and
Elliot Pfebve who’s brother was murdered by ZANU PF, in their quest for
justice outside Zimbabwe because of the breakdown of Law and order and a
partisan Police force within the country precludes justice for MDC
members, is well documented and not denied. (the Police have still not
apprehend Joseph Mwale for his involvement in the brutal murder of Talent
Mabika and Chiminya, after having been ordered to do so by a High Court
Judge.)
- I was not involved in disseminating hate propaganda against
Robert Mugabe but am heavily involved in disseminating the truth and
options for a better life for ALL Zimbabweans in a free Zimbabwe. I also
strongly support a change in government to one that is truly democratic
which will uphold the Rule of Law and subscribe to the accepted norms of
good governance through a free constitution giving the people freedom as
well as independence.
I remain committed to these personal
principles and will not be intimidated and will take the matter as far as is
necessary in the belief that eventually justice will prevail.
R { Topper
} Whitehead
Wednesday,
November 27th 2002.
The forgoing are
my personal beliefs and not necessarily those of the MDC.
All that is necessary for Evil to prevail
is for good persons to do NOTHING.
___________________________________________________________________________
Notes for editors.
- Article is 1669 words
- Topper Whitehead is a retired mining
engineer, born in Harare on 15th April 1940
- Joined the MDC as a card carrying
member in February 2000
- Has been instrumental in the
successful suing of Robert Mugabe and ZANU PF for US$ 63
million in the USA for Human Rights Abuses.
- It has taken 6 months for the
Registrar General to allow the inspection of the voters roll during which
time his office has had the opportunity to tamper with it.
- The Electoral Act of Zimbabwe is very
clear on the question of inspection and copying.
a)
Sect
18 (1) The voters roll for every
constituency shall be open to inspection by the public, free of charge, at the
office of constituency registrar during office hours.
b)
Sect
18 (2) A person inspecting the roll
for a constituency may, without payment, make copies thereof or extracts
therefrom during office hours.
Zim Independent
Fuel situation set to deteriorate
Staff
Writer
THERE is no immediate solution in sight for the on-going fuel problems
as it
emerged this week that the government was reducing imports in line with
a
new policy to only supply indigenous operators.
The new policy,
announced on ZBC on Wednesday, comes as fuel queues of up to
half-a-kilometre
long have resurfaced in Harare where there is a serious
petrol shortage.
Energy minister Amos Midzi on Wednesday told parliament
that the shortages
were a result of logistical problems.
The Zimbabwe Independent
established yesterday there was about a week's
supply of petrol in the
country while the position with diesel was slightly
better. There is however
no credit facility in place as government is living
from hand to
mouth.
Sources at Petrozim, which pumps fuel from Mutare to Harare,
said it had
this month pumped just 40% of normal capacity. The sources said
fuel was
only being released after being paid for.
Suppliers
Independent Petroleum Group of Kuwait sent a delegation to the
country last
week to impress on government the need to pay first before fuel
could be
released. The delegation left last weekend as a Libyan delegation
arrived. It
is here to evaluate Noczim's assets, which it intends taking
over as part
payment of a US$63 million debt. The Independent understands
the assets - the
fuel pipeline from Beira and Mabvuku holding tanks - have
been valued at
US$40 million by government. The Libyans reportedly regard
the evaluation as
too high.
Industry players this week said the new policy where
government through
Noczim would supply product to indigenous players ahead of
established
companies was fraught with structural problems which were likely
to
exacerbate an already critical situation.
They said the policy
did not address the supply side as indigenous players
did not have the
capacity to import and had to rely on the government which
itself was
struggling to secure foreign currency to pay for the commodity.
The Times
Letter
Starving Zimbabweans
From Mr J. G. Wishart
Sir, We may sin by commission
and by omission.
If it is sinful to attack the evil regime in
Iraq and possibly
kill some hundreds of innocent civilians in collateral
damage, it cannot be
moral to ignore the wilful policy of mass starvation of
political opponents
in Zimbabwe (report, November 25).
Instead of the possibility of hundreds of innocent victims being
killed by
accident, we learn that the Zanu (PF) party's senior bureaucrat
thinks his
country will be better off if six million Zimbabweans disappear
through his
party's deliberate intent.
This is evil. What is our
Government, with its ethical foreign
policy, planning to
do?
What is the view of the United
Nations?
Yours sincerely,
J. G.
WISHART,
Milton House,
Milton of
Balgonie,
Glenrothes KY7 6PX.
wishartjac@aol.com
November
26.