http://www.herald.co.zw
Wednesday,
December 23, 2009
By Farirai
Machivenyika
NESTLE Zimbabwe has temporarily ceased operations in the
country.
The move by the Switzerland-headquartered food company comes
after it bowed
to pressure from activists that are against Zimbabwe's land
reform programme
to stop buying milk from Gushungo Dairy Estate, which is
owned by the First
Family, and seven other farms in October.
That
decision was strongly criticised by local indigenous pressure groups,
especially the Affirmative Action Group, which said the move was tantamount
to the company imposing sanctions on the country.
Yesterday a
spokesperson for the company in Kenya confirmed the closure of
the company
without giving reasons.
"Nestle Zimbabwe has temporarily decided to shut
down its factory," said
Brinda Chiniah, in a terse response to inquiries
from this newspaper on the
latest developments.
On Monday, Youth
Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment Minister
Saviour Kasukuwere told
The Herald that there was a new strategy of using
local companies with
foreign shareholders to impose sanctions on the
country.
He gave
Nestle as an example of such companies.
Minister Kasukuwere warned
companies that are pursuing that agenda that the
Government would not
hesitate to bring them under local control to ease
their burden of having to
report to foreign shareholders.
"We will bring under indigenous control
all companies that continue to
pursue the policy of sanctions," he war-
ned.
He said these companies were importing raw materials that were
available
locally and in doing so thwarting efforts to create jobs in
Zimbabwe.
Nestle was importing its raw materials from countries such as
Thailand and
was simply doing toll manufacturing in Zimbabwe.
"They
are ignoring local producers. If they don't want to support local
producers,
tough luck to them," said Minister Kasukuwere.
The company initially
resisted pressure from the West to stop its dealings
with the First Family,
but later gave in.
It had also argued that its decision to remain in the
country was solely
based on the need to preserve jobs for its workers and
ensure the
availability of its products to the Zimbabwe market.
http://www.radiovop.com
Harare, December 22, 2009 - Two
cabinet ministers accompanied by senior
police officers last weekend forced
Swiss multinational firm Nestle to take
in milk supplies from a farm owned
by the wife of President Robert Mugabe,
Radio VOP can
reveal.
Empowerment and Indigenisation Minister Saviour Kasukuwere and
Agriculture,
Mechanisation and Irrigation Development Minister Joseph Made,
all senior
members of President Mugabe's ZANU PF party, descended on
Nestle's factory
in the capital Harare last Saturday and demanded that the
food manufacturer
takes in a tanker of milk from Mugabe's
farm.
Kasukuwere and Made, who also serve as President Robert
Mugabe's farm
manager were accompanied by two senior police officers namely
Chief
Superintendent Chrispen Makedenge and Detective Inspector Henry
Sostein
Dowa.
Makedenge, the officer commanding the Law and Order
section of the Harare
Police Station and Dowa have been associated over the
years with the arrest
of opposition politicians, journalists and human
rights activists.
Also in tow was Farai Mutamangira, the Affirmative
Action Group (AAG) Vice
President and Harare lawyer. The AAG has in the past
threatened to take over
Nestle if it continues to refuse to take milk from
Grace Mugabe's Gushungo
Farm.
The delegation which had a heated
exchange with some Nestle officials at the
factory accused the Swiss owned
company of supporting "economic sanctions"
imposed by Western governments on
President Mugabe and his lieutenants by
stopping the purchase of the milk
from Gushungo Dairy Farm which is owned by
Grace Mugabe.
The
Nestle officials reportedly told Kasukuwere and Made that they were
taking
the milk supplies under duress and not out of their own volition.
No
Nestle officials were available to comment on the latest turn of
events.
It is reliably understood that officials from Gushungo Dairy
Farm delivered
a second tanker to the Swiss multinational firm last
Sunday.
Reports that an official from Nestle had been arrested on
Monday could not
be confirmed late Monday.
The multinational
company stopped buying milk from Grace Mugabe's Gushungo
Dairy Estate in
October. At the time of the termination of milk purchases,
the food
manufacturer stated that it had bought the milk supplies to help
the country
as its dairy industry neared collapse. Nestle also stated that
it had been
buying milk directly from Gushungo after local processors could
no longer do
so.
Nestle's purchases of milk from Mugabe's farm provoked outrage in
Britain
and South Africa with a rights group in Zimbabwe's southern
neighbour
starting a campaign for a consumer boycott of the
firm.
Grace Mugabe is subject to European Union and American
sanctions barring the
transfer of funds to her.
Nestle has been
operating in the troubled southern African country for the
past 50 years,
working with the population of Zimbabwe and striving to
maintain a long-term
viable operation in often challenging conditions.
http://www.radiovop.com
Harare, December 22, 2009
-President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai who were
believed to have met on Monday as part of on-going talks
to discuss the
outstanding issues stalling progress of the unity government,
are expected
to meet again on Wednesday.
The six negotiators from the three
political parties attending the talks
were called in Monday night to prepare
a report to be used as the basis of
the Wednesday meeting. Those called
wereMDC's Tendai Biti and Elton Mangoma,
ZANU PF'sNicholas Goche and Patrick
Chinamasa and Mutambara's Priscila
Misihairabwi-Mushonga and Welshman
Ncube.
Impeccable sources told RadioVOP that negotiators from ZANU PF and
Mutambara's
MDC agreed to push the preparation of the report to the
principals for
discussion on Wednesday.
"The negotiators from
ZANU PF and the smaller MDC faction refused to
consider the matters only
saying lets postpone to January 15. It looked as
if it had been planned,"
sources told Radio VOP.
Earlier on, Mugabe and Tsvangirai had agreed
on the names of the people to
sit on the three constitutional
commissions.
"The principals (Mugabe and Tsvangirai) met this
afternoon and agreed on the
names of the people who would serve as media
commissioners, human rights
commissioners and electoral
commissioners,"Tsvangirai's spokesperson James
Maridadi
said.
Issues to do with the appointment of provincial governors,
reserve bank
governor and attorney general have remained sticky since the
formation of
the transitional government, ten months ago.
On
Sunday the MDC led by Tsvangirai had resolved at its meeting that all
outstanding issues yet to be resolved by the unity government must be
completed by January 15.
The MDC national council said if the
outstanding issues were not solved then
there must be referred to Southern
African Development Community (SADC) who
are the guarantors of the Global
Political Agreement (GPA).
"The post Maputo dialogue must be completed as
soon as possible and in any
event by no later than January 15 2009.In the
event of a deadlock after this
date, the matter will be referred toSADC for
arbitration and
adjudication,"the MDC said in a
statement.
The MDC said the country must hold national elections
after the making of
new constitution in 2010.
The
constitutional making process consultation process which has been
delayed
this year due to lack of funds and disagreements by the three main
political
parties is set to begin on January 12 across the country.
The MDC
national council also endorsed the dissolution of the Chitungwiza
provincial
executive and the suspension of United Kingdom external
assembly.
"The party condemns all forms of corruption within and
outside its
structures and council hereby endorses the dissolution of
theChitungwiza
provincial executive and the suspension of the UK external
assembly,"the MDC
said.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
22/12/2009
00:00:00
TREASURY and Central Bank officials, who have been fighting an
acrimonious
turf war over control of the country's finances, are yet again
trading
accusations as cash shortages emerged around the country ahead of
the
festive season.
Over the last week long queues could be witnessed
around the capital Harare
as most financial institutions were overwhelmed by
the huge numbers of
people trying to withdraw money ahead of the festive
season.
Commercial Banks such as Kingdom and Stanbic as well as Beverly
and CABS
building societies were affected with clients said to be even
sleeping
outside city branches.
In a statement, Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe Governor, Dr Gideon Gono said the
central bank was not responsible
for the shortages and directed the blame at
the Ministry of
Finance.
Dr Gono said most banks did not have enough cash to cover the
high seasonal
demand.
He added that the central bank could no longer
perform its core functions
since it "was acutely under funded by treasury,
leaving the institution with
no capacity to independently perform the lender
of last resort function, let
alone to import currency for
banks"
However, Finance Minister Tendai Biti says the cash shortages are
a result
of 'an unexpected surge in demand' and not 'liquidity
problems'.
Minister Biti blames the Central Bank's 'quasi-fiscal'
activities for the
hyper-inflationary environment the country experienced
before the formation
of the inclusive government and subsequent introduction
of multiple
currencies.
The RBZ dismisses the charges saying its
activities were sanctioned by
cabinet and helped prevent the complete
collapse of the country's economy.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
22/12/2009 00:00:00
by Lindie
Whiz
THOUSANDS of Zimbabweans returning home for the holidays
from South Africa
were stuck in long queues at the Beitbridge border this
week.
Border authorities are failing to cope with the numbers - the first
major
test of a South African move earlier this year to lift visa
restrictions on
Zimbabweans.
Thousands of Zimbabweans who previously
risked their lives wading across the
crocodile-infested Zambezi River to
travel between the two countries have
this Christmas presented themselves at
the border.
Some travellers have been stranded for up to two days at the
border post.
Fungwa Mawarire, a UK-based music promoter told New
Zimbabwe.com by
telephone from the chockerblock border post on Tuesday
morning: "I've been
here for two days after attending a wedding in South
Africa.
"I've another wedding that I'm supposed to attend in Harare later
today but
it's not promising.
"The queue is about 5km. They are
failing to cope with the numbers, it's a
nightmare."
Just last week,
officials of Zimbabwe's Inland Revenue Authority (ZIMRA)
told ministers
visiting the border post that they were NOT READY to deal
with the busy
December holiday period due to understaffing.
ZIMRA officers at the
border are under directions to conduct a "100 percent
search" on all
travellers - which involves physical checks on all luggages
being carried
across.
ZIMRA currently has a staff complement of 120 officers, but
officials said
they need an extra 45 to operate at a full capacity, while
the immigration
department needs 10 more officers.
Minister of State
Gorden Moyo said during the visit: "The government is
aware of the
significance and importance of the border post to the movement
of people and
the country's economic activities.
"We are working on mid and long term
strategies to do away with issues of
unnecessary delays and
congestion."
That's little consolation to thousands of Zimbabweans now
caught-up at the
border which is open around the clock over Christmas and
New Year.
South Africa receives the highest number of Zimbabwean visitors
than any
other country - most of them economic migrants searching for jobs
and a
better life.
A prolonged economic crisis in Zimbabwe increased
migration, finally forcing
the South African government to come up with a
new strategy to handle the
tidal wave of migrants from its northern
neighbour.
http://www1.voanews.com
House Speaker Lovemore Moyo and Clerk of Parliament Austin Zvoma
are said to
have clashed over a number of issues ranging from Moyo's
official portrait
to the constitutional revision process, but both
downplayed the conflict
Gibbs Dube & Sandra Nyaira | Washington 21
December 2009
Zimbabwe House Speaker Lovemore Moyo and Clerk of
Parliament Austin Zvoma
were reported have clashed over issues including the
production of portraits
of the speaker to be displayed in Parliament and in
some 200 constituency
and information centers around the
country.
Parliamentary sources and news reports said Moyo contracted a
photographer
to produce his official portrait, but he rejected the work
saying it was
substandard and asked Zvoma to allocate funds for a new batch
of photos.
Zvoma is reported to have rejected Moyo's request, saying the
expense was
not budgeted for the 2009 financial year and that he had to seek
advice in
the matter from ZANU-PF Senate President Edna
Madzongwe.
Moyo, chairman of the Movement for Democratic Change formation
of Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, is said to have been angered by the
response.
The two men have repeatedly clashed over the appointment of
parliamentary
sub-committees to revise the Zimbabwean
constitution.
Zvoma told VOA that he and Moyo are working well together.
He acknowledged
some problems with the speaker, but said he preferred to
call them
professional challenges. He added that he is responsible for
monitoring
spending.
Speaker Moyo told VOA Studio 7 reporter Sandra
Nyaira that Zvoma is an
employee of the Parliament and if he believed the
clerk was a hindrance he
would take the necessary action through the
appropriate channels.
Political analyst Bekithemba Mhlanga told reporter
Gibbs Dube that
Parliament must rein in Zvoma and Moyo, who seem to be
taking decisions
along partisan political lines thereby running the risk of
derailing the
legislative process.
There is concern meanwhile about
the mounting cost of hotel accommodations
for the 240 members of Parliament
whose residences are outside the capital.
The state-controlled Herald
newspaper quoted Treasury sources as saying the
hotel bill is running at
US$17,000 a day when Parliament is in session, not
to mention other
allowances paid to House and Senate members.
The Herald said
consideration is being given to building special
accommodations for the
several days members must stay in town each session
of
Parliament.
House member Moses Mzila Ndlovu, parliamentarian for
Bulilima, Matabeleland
North, and also deputy minister of foreign affairs,
explained why he has
been obliged to take a hotel room when Parliament is in
session.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Alex Bell
22 December
2009
There has been an outburst of anger by some Zimbabweans living in
the
Diaspora in response to a new proposal that Zimbabwean expatriates pay a
tax
in exchange for voting rights.
The proposal to tax the expatriate
community was outlined in a new economic
blueprint, unveiled by Finance
Minister Tendai Biti last week. The document,
titled 'Moving Forward in
Zimbabwe - Reducing Poverty and Promoting Growth'
recommended various other
strategies to try to hasten the country's economic
recovery. The report was
produced by 13 Zimbabwean academics and published
by the Brooks World
Poverty Institute at the University of Manchester in the
UK.
Biti
gave a keynote address at the launch last week, where he urged
expatriates
to support the economic recovery process by investing in the
economy. Biti
agreed that tapping into the savings of expatriates through
taxation, in
exchange for voting and citizenship rights, was one way the
flailing unity
government could source much-needed funds for economic
recovery.
But
the idea has sparked an angry outburst from some Zimbabweans in the
Diaspora, many of whom were forced to leave the country for fear of their
lives. Zimbabwean human rights lawyer Gabriel Shumba, who fled the country
after being viciously tortured by state agents in 2003, expressed his
outrage to SW Radio Africa on Tuesday. Shumba fled to South Africa where he
started the Zimbabwe Exiles Forum, which fights for the rights and
protection of Zimbabweans in the Diaspora. He explained that taxation of the
expatriate community would amount to "nothing more than complete extortion,"
calling the bid an attempt by the government "to force people to buy back
their citizenship."
"Our rights to vote and our rights to citizenship
are non negotiable,"
Shumba said. "This tax suggestion makes the presumption
that to be
Zimbabwean, you have to pay for those rights and that is
unacceptable."
The report, which has not yet been made official, urged
the unity government
to accord dual citizenship and voting rights to the
millions of Zimbabweans
scattered across the world, but at a
price.
"Confidence-boosting measures would include allowing dual
nationality,
restoring voting rights for migrants who hold Zimbabwean
citizenship, and
creating mechanisms for them to be heard. In exchange,
migrants should be
prepared to pay an annual tax for retaining Zimbabwean
nationality," the
report recommended.
Shumba argued that the
community in the Diaspora is being further isolated
by such a report, which
was made without any consultation with leading
Diaspora rights groups, such
as the Exiles Forum. He said the suggestion
being made is that Zimbabweans
in the Diaspora are no longer real citizens
of the country, and are only
welcome back at a price.
"Zimbabweans in the Diaspora will refuse to be
held to ransom by a report
that they weren't even consulted about," Shumba
said, adding "it is very
disappointing."
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tichaona
Sibanda
22 December 2009
There has been a mixed reaction to the
appointment of Godfrey Majonga as the
chairman of the newly constituted
Zimbabwe Media Commission, (ZMC).
Commissioners to the ZMC, together with
those who will sit on the Human
Rights Commission and Election Commission
were announced by the chief
secretary to Cabinet, Misheck Sibanda, on
Monday.
The announcement followed a meeting held by the principals -
Robert Mugabe,
Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara - also on
Monday.
While many of the journalists interviewed by SW Radio Africa said
they had
little doubt about Majonga's integrity, they bemoaned his lack of
print
media experience for such a high profile job. Origionally Henry
Muradzikwa
had been earmarked to become the chairperson of the
ZMC.
Majonga was a popular radio and television personality who fronted
the main
ZBC news bulletin in the 1980's. But following a fall from an
Avondale flat
in Harare, which was home to ZBC colleague and journalist
Chris Somo, he was
paralysed from the neck down and his media career came to
an end. Somo was
not in the flat at the time of Majonga's.
The exact
details of what happened have never been explained but rumours
have
persisted that he was forced to jump from the second floor flat for
allegedly getting involved with a girl who belonged to a top ZANU PF 'chef'.
He has been in a wheelchair for over 20 years now.
Majonga is
currently a deputy director at Danhiko project in Msasa, where
Grace Mugabe
is reportedly a trustee of the board. Danhiko is a training
school for the
disabled.
'Majonga has a strong personality I have no doubt, but I would
have
preferred Muradzikwa as chairman because of his vast experience in
newspaper, news agency and electronic media,' said Guthrie Munyuki, a former
Daily News staffer.
But reports say Mugabe was not comfortable with
Muradzikwa after his
spokesman, George Charamba, led a campaign that got him
fired from the ZBC
where he was the chief executive officer.
In May
last year Charamba accused Muradzikwa of being sympathetic to the MDC
and
also blamed him for ZANU PF and Mugabe's loss in the 29th March
harmonized
poll.
Speaking about the media commission Munyuki said; 'I have no doubt
that as a
group they will try to reform and register new players in the
industry but
the appointments have been long, long overdue. The stabilising
factor in the
ZMC is the appointment of Chris Mhike, a journalist cum
lawyer, whose
experience in legal matters will come in handy'. He added;
'Now that the
commissions have been appointed, the real work must begin. The
commissioners
will now face a formidable range of tasks and
duties.'
Names for the commissioners were submitted to Mugabe in August
and it has
taken four months for the principals to agree on the names for
the
independent commissions.
Sam Mawokomatanda, the former chairman
of the national Quill Club (the
journalists club) and former Sunday Mail
sports editor told us the deputy
chairperson, Nqobile Nyathi, was a strong
addition to the new commission.
'She's from the independent media where
she was once an editor, so at least
she can stand her ground. People like
Chris Mutsvangwa pretend to be nice
people but they are ZANU PF. I know
Miriam Madziwa from her days at the
Chronicle, I worked with Mathew Takaona
for many at the Sunday Mail, they
are decent characters,' Mawokomatanda
said.
Freelance journalist Stanley Gama said while some members on the
ZMC had
strong links to ZANU PF, he believes the final list came about as a
result
of a compromise between the principals.
'I'm delighted we now
have the new commissions and I will be the first to
admit that some members
are highly competent and experienced individuals but
success will depend on
being able to work in close cooperation with
stakeholders, and not the
government,' Gama said.
Gama added; 'The choice is not very exciting but
it will bring finality,
stability and clarity to the new roles envisaged
under the Global Political
Agreement.'
Sitting on the electoral
commission will be Joyce Laetitia Kazembe, who was
deputy chairperson of the
previous electoral commission, and Harare lawyer
Theophileus
Gambe.
Other members are Petty Makoni, Sibongile Ndlovu, academic Bessie
Nhandara,
Zimbabwe International Trade Fair general manager Daniel Chigaru,
UZ
Professor of Public Law Professor Geoff Feltoe and Mukhuli
Nyathi.
UZ law lecturer Dr Ellen Sithole sits on the human rights
commission with Dr
Kwanele Jirira, Neseni Nomathemba and Elasto Mugwadi, a
former chief
immigration officer and a lawyer.
Others are Dr Joseph
Kurebwa, a UZ lecturer; Japhet Ndabeni-Ncube former
Bulawayo mayor and civic
leader, Jacob Mudenda, former ZANU Midlands
chairman, who is also a lawyer
and businessman, and Professor Carol Khombe,
a lecturer at
NUST.
Consultations are still underway on the appointment of chairpersons
to the
electoral and human rights commissions.
The official list of
commissioners that have been announced are:
Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission:
Joyce Kazembe, Dr Petty Makoni, Sibongile Ndlovu, Bessie
Nhandara, Daniel
Chigaru, Theophilus Gambe, Geoff Feltoe, Mukhuli
Nyathi,
Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission:
Dr Ellen Sithole, Dr Kwanele
Jirira, Neseni Nomathemba, Elasto Mugwadi, Dr
Joseph Kurebgwa, Japhet
Ndabeni Ncube, Jacob Mudenda, Prof Carol Khombe
Zimbabwe Media
Commission:
Godfrey Majonga (chairperson), Nqobile Nyathi (deputy), Miriam
Madziwa,
Lawton Hikwa, Henry Muradzikwa, Chris Mutsvangwa, Mathew Takaona,
Chris
Mhike and Dr Millicent Mombeshora.
http://www.radiovop.com/
Masvingo, December 22, 2009 - Long queues at most
filling stations have
been the order of the day as motorists travelling to
different parts of the
province struggled to refill as they prepare to
travel over the festive
season.
The province has been dry
since Friday last week and motorists have been
sleeping in fuel
queues.
Most service stations owners said they were waiting for
deliveries from
suppliers. "We are experiencing fuel shortages as our
suppliers mainly from
South Africa are withholding on to the product, citing
high transportation
costs. They want to take advantages of the holidays and
I think normal
supplies would resume after the festive season," said one
service station
owner.
But suppliers are also accusing most
service station owners of creating
artificial shortages so as to raise the
price of fuel. "Masvingo should be
the least to complain about fuel
shortages, given that they are nearer South
Africa. Most supplies come from
down south, and they should be the least to
complain, unless they are
service station owners from Harare," said a
supplier.
By midday
Monday, most motorists were stranded at most service stations as
they were
told to wait for deliveries.
The long queues reminded many of the fuel
shortages that gripped Zimbabwe
for the past five years at the height of the
country's economic meltdown.
http://www.zimdiaspora.com
Tuesday, 22 December 2009
16:48
Staff reporter
Nyanga - The notorious Zanu-PF youth militias ran
amok yesterday, beating
and injuring more than 30 villagers at Ruwangwe in
Manicaland province.
The youths commandeered by war veterans; Titus
Marandura (60) and Taurai
Kamhapa (57) brutalised villagers for refusing to
donate their personal
belongings including cash for the Unity Day
Celebrations.
Clad in Youth Service uniforms the militias descended on
all villages under
Chief Chifodya Katerere demanding contributions for the
Unity Day
Celebrations which were to be held at Nyakomba Township today. The
militias
demanded the villagers to contribute cash, live chickens, goats,
sheep and
cattle. Those who refused were assaulted as
punishment.
However, what created more violence is that the militia's
demands were met
with strong resistance from the largely MDC-T supporters
who queried the
essence of the Unity Day Celebrations.
In the end
many villagers had to surrender their belongings to save
themselves from the
wrath of the marauding militias. All the same, over 30
villagers were
injured some of them seriously.
Some of the injured are Simon Katere
(71), Takura Saineti (49) ,Mercy Sapote
(79), Nyarai Beretu (45), Givemore
Sanyatwe (27) and Getrude Makape (41) who
are admitted at Regina Coeli
Mission Hospital where they are now nursing
their wounds.
The
villagers made a report at Ruwangwe police post but no arrests were made
as
police just ignored the victims.
The Officer in Charge at the post,
Segearnt Mairos Mugava declined comment
when approached by The ZimDiaspora.
Sgt Mugabe accused The Zim Diaspora for
sensationalising stories and
destabilizing the country.
However, some of the victims threatened to
gang up and confront the militias
who are known to be sponsored from
President Mugabe's office.
"These youths are brainwashed and stupid,
surely how can they force us to
contribute to Zanu pf nonsense? What Unity,
Where? We can never be
hamstrung to be part of Mugabe's political
hallucinations. For this, we are
going to retaliate" said Martin Chifodya of
Ruwangwe area.
Mrs. Chirombo Jazi whose mother in law was nursing a deep
cut on the
forehead wept uncontrollable at the manner they have been
brutalised by the
militias.
"Seventeen youths came here demanding a
bag of maize and a chicken. When we
said we can not afford since we are
struggling to feed ourselves, they
accused us of being against Zanu pf. They
started assaulting us. When we
fled, they broke into the granary and took
away all the remaining grain we
had. Now we have nothing to eat and we are
not going to attend the
celebrations" she said.
The MDC-T member of
the House of Assembly for Nyanga North Mr Douglas
Mwonzora said he was not
amused by the developments.
He urged Zanu PF leaders to restrain their
supporters from harrasing members
of other political parties.
"Zanu
pf must know that they were white washed in Nyanga North and have only
a
handful of political maggots who still enjoy feeding from their rot.
Forcing
villagers to contribute to their cause is going a bit far and its
mischief.
I want to warn them that naturally mischievous elements of the
society face
canning. I want to take this opportunity again to urge our
masses not to
fold their hands but face their assailants in future" he
said.
Zimbabweans used to celebrate Unity Day in commemoration of the
coming
together of Zimbabwe's liberation, movements in 1987 that brought to
an end
to systematic execution of peoples from Matabeleland and Midlands
provinces.
The shotgun marriage was only meant to plug a Mugabe
orchestrated genocide
and Zapu has since pulled out. However, President
Mugabe and his party
still talk and 'celebrate' the day. The country's most
supported politica
party the MDC-T has since rubbished the celebrations.
http://www.herald.co.zw
Tuesday,
December 22, 2009
Herald
Reporter
PARISHIONERS of the Anglican Church of the Province of Central
Africa
conducted services outside the St Mary's Anglican Cathedral on Sunday
after
being locked out by the independent Anglican Province of
Zimbabwe.
The situation was the same at other churches in Harare as the
congregations
of the Central African Province, which is the one in full
communion with the
worldwide Anglican communion, were locked out by the
breakaway Zimbabwe
province despite a court order for the two to share
premises.
A fight ensued on Sunday as youths led by a Rev Makove of the
Zimbabwe
province allegedly threw stones and empty bottles at members of the
congregation from the Central African province who were singing just outside
the church's entrance along Kwame Nkrumah Avenue.
Rev Makove who was
shouting insults, threatened to beat up The Herald
photographer accusing him
of being a member of the Gandiya-led faction.
"We will not allow you into
the premises. We will not allow homosexuals into
our church and you can go
anywhere. You have been given money so that you
can come here and disturb
our worshipping," he said.
A member of the Central African Province,
Reverend Phineas Fundira, said
they were only trying to gain entry into the
church premises in accordance
with a High Court ruling by Judge President
Rita Makarau that they share the
premises.
According to the ruling,
the two groups were told to share the premises with
the Zimba-bwean province
taking the morning slot, while the Central African
province would take the
afternoon session.
"This is the second time running that we have been
barred from using the
premises in direct violation of the High Court
ruling.
"We are here waiting to get our chance to get into the church,
but the other
group has locked the doors from inside.
"We have been
trying to enter the premises, but they are refusing to share
the property
hence we have decided to use this open space. As you can see,
they are
forcing us from the greens and are throwing missiles at us," he
said.
Another parishioner from St Peter's Mabelreign Anglican Church,
Mr Obvious
Sherewa, said they had to conduct their service by the roadside
after police
denied them entry into the premises.
He said despite
producing the High Court order compelling the police not to
interfere with
the parishioners, policemen manning the church said they were
still to get
communication to that effect.
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=26094
December 22, 2009
By Ray
Matikinye
BULAWAYO - Almost all black farmers who benefited from large
tracts of
commercial farmland under President Mugabe's controversial land
reform
program are not paying any tax to the State because "a majority of
the
farmers are still struggling" a senior manager with the Zimbabwe Revenue
Authority (ZIMRA), Brighton Rombe has said. "A few successful black farmers
are paying income taxes but the rest have not been doing so over the past
ten years because they are struggling," Rombe told a business meeting of the
Rotary Club of Matopos last week.
He said government has not
collected a single cent from most of the
beneficiaries of land because ZIMRA
and the Ministry of Finance had not yet
come up with a formula on how to tax
them.
Government could be losing millions of dollars annually in much
needed
revenue to prop up a tottering economy and accelerate its economic
recovery
program.
In his budget proposals Finance Minister Tendai
Biti spread his tax net to
include backyard operators, commuter bus
operators, hair salons, bottle
stores, and a raft of other cottage
industries that are now required to pay
presumptive tax each quarter with
effect from next year as government widens
its revenue base.
Over the
past decade, President Mugabe's government has been pampering
farmers with
heavily subsidized inputs in vain attempts to prove to the
world that its
land grab policy is working. Some farmers have abused cheap
fuel, seed, and
fertilizers provided by diverting the inputs to the black
market. Some
farmers prefer to make a quick buck by selling their subsidised
diesel on
the black market than to fill the tractor tank in order to till
the land,
wait to harvest and then sell their crop in a market of uncertain
prices.
The controversial land reform program that benefited the
Zanu-PF elite has
led to a dramatic collapse of the agricultural sector,
spawning serious food
shortages and job losses among farm workers and in
downstream industries.
Recently, black farmer representatives and their
agricultural unions have
criticized Biti and accused him of withholding
funds from the International
Monetary Fund to finance agricultural activity.
Biti has advised farmers to
negotiate for loans with commercial
banks.
Commercial banks have, however, been reluctant to extend loans to
new
farmers without the security of title deeds or a proven track record as
farmers. Banks have refused to accept government-issued 99-year leases as
collateral.
Despite the outcry from farmer's representatives, the
banks have received
support for their stance from the Affirmative Action
Group (AAG) - a black
empowerment lobby group.
"Banks are entrusted
with depositors' funds and they have to be diligent in
choosing who they
lend to. They are also in business to make money," AAG
secretary for black
empowerment, businessman Temba Mliswa said.
http://www.zimonline.co.za/
by Own Correspondent Tuesday 22 December
2009
HARARE - President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai agreed
on Monday on appointments to three commissions that will
oversee the media,
human rights and elections but remain divided on the real
causes of a
power-sharing dispute threatening their unity
government.
The two rivals met on Monday together with Deputy Prime
Minister Arthur
Mutambara, the third signatory to the global political
agreement that gave
birth to the coalition government and agreed on the
names of people to serve
on the Zimbabwe Media Commission and the Zimbabwe
Human Rights Commission.
They also agreed on candidates to serve on the
Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission. But Tsvangirai's spokesman James Maridadi
said the three leaders
were unable to reach agreement on appointment of the
central bank governor,
attorney general and swearing in of Roy Bennett -
treasurer general of the
Tsvangirai-led MDC party - as deputy agriculture
minister.
"The principals will meet again on Wednesday morning to
complete all the
outstanding issues," Maridadi said.
In a statement
announcing the commissions Mugabe's secretary, Misheck
Sibanda, said
consultations were still underway on the appointment of people
to chair the
human rights and electoral commissions.
"Consultations are still underway
on the appointment of the chairpersons to
the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission
and Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission," he
said.
The media commission
will be chaired by former state broadcaster Godfrey
Majonga with journalism
lecturer and former newspaper editor Nqobile Nyathi
his deputy.
The
media, human rights and electoral commissions are part of reforms that
Zimbabwe's power-sharing government must implement to re-shape and
democratise the country's politics that has been characterised by violence
and gross human rights violations almost from independence from Britain in
1980.
Once the commissions and a new constitution are in place the
government will
call fresh elections with the whole process that began last
February
expected to last between 18 to 24 months.
But it is the
question of who controls the central bank, the influential
attorney
general's office and Bennett's case that sparked the latest
squabble in the
troubled Harare administration and at one time led
Tsvangirai and his MDC
party to temporarily boycott Cabinet for several
weeks last
October.
Mugabe has refused to rescind his unilateral appointment of two
of his top
allies to head Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and the attorney
general's office.
The veteran leader has also refused to swear in Bennett as
deputy
agriculture minister.
In addition several new issues have
emerged during inter-party negotiations
that have been taking place since
November with the MDC said to be demanding
that the joint operations command
(JOC), the supreme organ that coordinates
state security, be dismantled
since a new National Security Council (NSC)
formed as part of the GPA
provisions should perform the JOC's duties.
The MDC is also said to have
demanded that it be given control of the
ministries of foreign affairs and
home affairs, at the moment home affairs
is jointly controlled by Mugabe's
ZANU PF and the MDC while foreign affairs
is solely run by the
former.
ZANU PF is said to have refused any suggestion to dismantle or
reform the
JOC which it says should remain in existence to oversee
operational matters
while the new NSC handles matters of policy. Mugabe
party is also opposed to
the MDC's demand for control of the home and
foreign affairs ministries.
ZANU PF accuses the MDC of not living up to a
promise to lead a campaign for
lifting of Western sanctions against the
veteran Zimbabwean leader and
members of his inner circle. Mugabe's party
resolved at its congress a week
ago that it would not make any more
concessions on outstanding issues until
the sanctions issue has been
resolved.
The list of commissioners as announced by Sibanda
are:
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission: Joyce Kazembe, Dr Petty Makoni,
Sibongile
Ndlovu, Bessie Nhandara, Daniel Chigaru, Theophilus Gambe, Geoff
Feltoe,
Mukhuli Nyathi,
Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission: Dr Ellen
Sithole, Dr Kwanele Jirira,
Neseni Nomathemba, Elasto Mugwadi, Dr Joseph
Kurebgwa, Japhet Ndabeni Ncube,
Jacob Mudenda, Prof Carol
Khombe
Zimbabwe Media Commission: Godfrey Majonga (chairperson), Nqobile
Nyathi
(deputy), Miriam Madziwa, Lawton Hikwa, Henry Muradzikwa, Chris
Mutsvangwa,
Mathew Takaona, Chris Mhike and Dr Millicent Mombeshora. -
ZimOnline
http://www.zimeye.org/?p=11340
By Moses Muchemwa
Published:
December 20, 2009
Bulawayo - Students who failed to pay the
stipulated fees for the November
'O' and 'A' level examinations will have
their results withheld until they
settle their debts with the Zimbabwe
School Examination Council (ZIMSEC) in
full.
Permanent Secretary for
Education Sport, Arts and Culture, Stephen Mahere,
students' results would
be withheld until a full payment of the exam fees
was made.
"On that
one, we will not reverse our decision neither are we going to mince
our
words. It has to be made bold and clear that those who have not made
their
examination fee payments in full will have their results withheld
until the
payments are made in full. We understand and share the concerns of
the
parents, which explains why we allowed the students to sit for their
exams.
"The concerns were genuine and they emanate from the fact that
we have
adopted a multi-currency system and we have no mandate to print the
money
willy-nilly as we used to do with our own currency.
"The
parents of those students who were allowed to sit for their examination
should not therefore sit back and relax but should be running around looking
for money so that they will have no problems accessing the results of their
children come next year," said Mahere.
He said although the local
examinations were far much cheaper compared to
those of the country's
regional counterparts, the economic situation that
the country was coming
from and the amount of income that most employees
were getting could not be
compared to those in the region hence the decision
to give people time to
look for the fees.
Mahere blamed the failure by some parents to pay the
fees to the late
announcement of the fees by ZIMSEC saying despite the
extension of the
deadline some parents still failed to pay the exam
fees.
Last week, Minister of Public Service, Professor Eliphas
Mukonoweshuro
called on all the teachers who left the country in the past
two years
because of the pressing economic environment to apply for
re-engagement
saying next year there would be a new grading system for the
teachers that
would see them getting a salary that is not uniform as is the
case.
http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/10893
By Ecumenical News
International
22 Dec 2009
A Catholic human rights activist who
denounced the atrocities of white
minority rule in the country then called
Rhodesia, has charted what he
describes as the "descent to tyranny" of
Zimbabwe's post-independence ruler
Robert Mugabe - writes Trevor
Grundy.
For more than 20 years until 1999, Mike Auret worked for
Zimbabwe's Catholic
Commission for Justice and Peace, set up by the
country's Catholic bishops.
In his new book, "From Liberator to Dictator:
An Insider's Account of Robert
Mugabe's Descent into Tyranny", Auret records
how he met Mugabe several
times and was captivated by the man's intelligence
and apparent sincerity.
"My admiration for him grew with each contact and
in the months ahead I
found myself putting him on a pedestal - a position
from which I found it
most difficult to displace him in the years that
followed, despite
everything that happened," said Auret.
But Auret
was shattered when he discovered what happened in the Matabeleland
and
Midlands regions of Zimbabwe between 1983 and 1987. More than 20,000
men,
women and children accused of being "dissidents" were killed to wipe
out the
power base of Mugabe's main rival in the liberation struggle, Joshua
Nkomo.
Almost all of those killed were Ndebeles, members of Nkomo's ethnic
group.
They were killed by a North Korean trained branch of the
military called the
Fifth Brigade. Its members were Shona, who belonged to
Mugabe's ethnic
group.
Zimbabwe's 11.4 million population is divided
roughly into two main tribal
groups, the Shonas (80 per cent) and the
Ndebeles (nearly 18 per cent).
"Part of the reason for writing this book
was for me to try to gain some
understanding of how so many of us so gravely
misconstrued the situation in
Zimbabwe once independence had been achieved,"
writes Auret. "How was it
possible that so serious an error of judgement
could have been made by so
many people, in the world, not only in
Zimbabwe?"
The son of white settlers, Auret had a career in Africa that
spanned the
heyday of white rule in the 1950s to Zimbabwe's political and
economic chaos
at the beginning of the 21st century. He joined the army in
1956 but
resigned after Ian Smith declared Southern Rhodesia's illegal
Unilateral
Declaration of Independence from Britain in November
1965.
Auret joined the CCJP in the 1970s and was active in investigating
atrocities committed by the Rhodesian army, an offshoot of the force in
which he was once an officer. He left the country in 1979 to avoid being
conscripted, and went to Britain with his wife Diana only to return home
after independence in 1980, when Rhodesia was renamed Zimbabwe.
In
his book, Auret recalls how he was among those who were moved by Mugabe's
statements of the need for "reconciliation" after seven years of war from
1972 to 1979 which had led to 30,000 deaths.
"Everything he said
impressed me tremendously. As he spoke I experienced a
growing respect for
him, for his intellect and his humanity . I was
impressed by his sincerity
and by what he seemed to be an obvious respect
for the Church," Auret
writes.
However, "In the second decade, disillusionment began and the
drive for
development became a drive for democracy and the protection of
human
rights . I remembered the reasonable man and wondered if he had
changed or
if indeed he had always been so evil, but simply more adept at
hiding it."
Auret resigned as the justice group's director in 1999, when
the Catholic
Church refused to publish a report drawn up by the commission
and the Legal
Resources Foundation, a human rights group, into the
atrocities committed by
the Fifth Brigade in Matabeleland.
He was
then elected as a member of parliament from Harare for the opposition
Movement for Democratic Change party, but left Zimbabwe after he resigned
his seat in 2003.
Auret presently lives in Ireland but maintains
close contact with Zimbabwean
exiles.
See: Michael Auret: From
Liberator to Dictator: An Insider's Account of
Robert Mugabe's Descent into
Tyranny, David Philip, Publishers, ISBN-13:
978-0864867315
[With
acknowledgements to ENI. Ecumenical News International is jointly
sponsored
by the World Council of Churches, the Lutheran World Federation,
the World
Alliance of Reformed Churches and the Conference of European
Churches.]
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=26062
December 21, 2009
By Owen
Chikari
MASVINGO - This year's National Unity Day should be a
commemoration of the
general unity among all Zimbabweans and not a
celebration of the Unity
Accord signed in 1987 between PF-Zapu and Zanu-PF,
the acting chairman of
the revived ZAPU has said.
Speaking in
Masvingo Dumiso Dabengwa said in fact the Unity Accord no longer
existed
since ZAPU pulled out of the deal early this year and therefore
Unity Day
should not be commemorated in respect of that accord.
Dabengwa said the
decision to pull out of the accord was endorsed by the
party's congress held
in May this year and therefore Zanu-PF should not
continue to use ZAPU's
name.
Zimbabweans commemorate National Unity Day on December 22 every
year in
commemoration of the historic signing of the unity accord between
Zanu-PF's
Robert Mugabe and PF-Zapu's late founding father Joshua
Nkomo.
"This year's Unity Day should be commemorated by all Zimbabweans
because
there is unity in the country ", said Dabengwa. "It should not, in
anyway,
be held in respect of the Unity Accord because we have pulled out of
that
deal.
"We are happy with the unity in the country but our
marriage with Zanu-PF
has ended and no one should continue to use the
party's name.
"After pulling out of the accord there are some people who
chose to remain
behind and we have no power whatsoever to recall them but it
should be clear
that ZAPU has been revived and it's no longer party of
Zanu-PF ."
Last week vice President John Nkomo was sworn in in terms of
the agreement
between PF-Zapu and Zanu-PF. President Mugabe said John
Nkomo's appointment
was made in respect of the Unity Accord of
1987.
The agreement was signed following years of political turmoil
mainly in
Matabeleland and the Midlands provinces in the 1980s. An estimated
20 000
mostly Ndebele supporters of ZAPU were killed by North Korean-trained
troops
in a ruthless campaign code-named Gukurahundi.
The accord
ended a bitter civil war pitting former Zipra combatants and the
Five
Brigade troops who became notorious for the brutality of their
campaign.
MUTOKO, 22 December 2009 (IRIN) - Every
fortnight Makaitei Musakwa, 45, catches one of her chickens, picks up some of
the maize she has grown, and sets off for the village mill to have the maize
ground into mealie-meal, Zimbabwe's staple food.
Photo: Pierre Holtz/IRIN
The new
currency
"It is difficult for me
to raise the money that the miller charges ... I have nowhere to get it from,"
said the widow who looks after four children of her own as well as two nephews.
"He charges a chicken to grind for me twice."
Barter trade has been
common practice in Zimbabwe since crippling hyperinflation rendered the local
Zimbabwe dollar all but worthless. Economists stopped measuring inflation after
it hit 6.5 quindecillion novemdecillion percent - 65 followed by 107
zeros - and in February 2009 the economy was officially "dollarised".
Phasing out the local currency and introducing the United States dollar,
South African rand and Botswana pula as legal tender has helped rein in
inflation, but those currencies are seldom available in remote areas like Mutoko
district, some 70km from the capital, Harare, where Musakwa lives.
A chicken can go a long way
The owners of small
businesses in rural areas feel they have no choice but to accept goods in lieu
of cash, and a chicken can exchange hands several times. Simplicius Gomo, the
miller in Musakwa's village, said he gladly accepted payment in kind because it
kept him in business.
"I use the chickens that the villagers bring to me
to buy the diesel that powers my grinding mill. If I have a surplus of the
chickens, I ask the dealer who brings the fuel to give me some cash that I use
to buy spare parts, keep for my children's school fees and uniforms, or buy
small items with," Gomo told IRIN.
"Imagine, after my fuel supplier gets
the chickens from me, he uses them to buy goats, sheep or any other form of
livestock, that he in turn either sells for cash or passes on to the next
dealer, who decides what to do with them," he said.
Gomo also sells
second hand clothes at the village flea market. He trades the chickens for
clothes, which he gets from truck drivers going to and from neighbouring Zambia
along the nearby highway, as well as other goods like grain and seed, while some
villagers offer to work on his fields.
What is your chicken
worth today?
Chickens are also used as bus fare. "Almost every
day we hear stories of a passenger being thrown out because they have quarrelled
with the driver and bus conductor over the value of the item they have offered,"
he said.
Barter trade has become "a day-to-day way of coping with the
scarcity of cash", but this "inevitably" leads to unfairness and disadvantage to
some of the people exchanging the goods, said John Robertson, an economic
consultant based in the capital, Harare.
"This is because the value and
exchange rate of items being exchanged is highly subjective, and also depends on
the level of desperation among those involved in the barter," he told IRIN. The
desperation of people in rural areas sometimes made it easy to take advantage of
them.
Musakwa said she was down to her last hen. "I am afraid that the
children will be disappointed on Christmas day, since my fowl run is now almost
empty."
By Boris Bachorz
(AFP) - 11 hours ago
NAIROBI - Three months from a major international
conference on endangered
species, African countries are divided over whether
a fresh round of ivory
sales should be allowed.
With black market
sales on the rise again, some nations that consider their
elephant
populations to be out of danger are arguing stocks of the precious
ivory
should be sold legally.
Tanzania and Zambia, for example, have asked the
CITES (Convention on
International Trade in International Species)
conference to be held from
March 13 to 25 in Doha to authorise them to sell
90 and 22 tonnes of ivory
respectively.
This request for an exemption
to the 1989 ban on ivory sales, a measure
destined to protect the African
elephant and rhino, has rekindled a war
between countries with varying
animal population levels.
If elephants used to roam the African continent
in their millions, today
they number somewhere between 400,000 and
600,000.
More than half are found in southern Africa with just a few
thousand, or
sometimes a few hundred, in most western, central and eastern
African
countries.
In some cases the animals have disappeared all
together, for example in
Burundi, Gambia, Mauritania or Sierra
Leone.
"We don't want to see elephants survive just in one corner of
Africa, just
in southern Africa," said Patrick Omondi who will head the
Kenyan delegation
to the Doha talks.
The last CITES conference in the
Hague in June 2007 led to confrontations
between African countries but they
eventually reached a compromise
prolonging the moratorium on ivory saes by
nine years but allowing Zimbabwe,
South Africa, Namibia and Botswana to make
a one-off sale of 108 tonnes to
buyers in China and Japan.
Elephant
protection groups argue that this legal sale increased demand for
ivory,
much sought after throughout Asia for its decorative qualities,
boosting the
black market.
In Kenya, the number of elephants killed by poachers rose
from 47 in 2007 to
214 in 2009.
"If the trend continues this way, we
can expect to see the extinction of the
elephant in our lifetime," said
Patricia Awori of the Pan African Wildlife
Conservation Network.
"Our
position is that the international community should sustain the ban of
selling ivory and rhino horns. By perpetuation of poaching, we will
eliminate these animals," Kenyan Wildlife Minister Noah Wekesa told
AFP.
Tanzania has a different argument. The authorities estimate that
their
elephant population rose from 55,000 in 1989 to 137,000 in
2006.
"Elephants are increasingly becoming a nuisance to poor farmers who
are
progressively becoming opponents to their conservation. The sale of
ivory
seized or collected from animals that have died a natural death is the
best
way of making the population aware of the value of the animal," the
Tanzanian government said in the file it submitted to
CITES.
Tanzania's proposal caused seven African countries, among them
Kenya and
DRC, to submit a counter amendment asking for the moratorium to be
extended
to 20 years from nine and calling for a ban on any sales outside
southern
Africa.
"The illicit trade in ivory, which has been
increasing in volume since 2004,
moved sharply upward in 2009", according to
Traffic, the wildlife trade
monitoring network.
"The remarkable surge
in 2009 reflects a series of large-scale ivory seizure
events that suggest
an increased involvement of organized crime syndicates
in the trade,
connecting African source countries with Asian end-use
markets," Traffic
says.
The quantity of ivory seized has doubled in a year to reach 15
tonnes this
year. Its market value is around 750 dollars per
kilogramme.
"It is really getting out of control, it has become like the
drug trade,"
Awori said.
http://www.zimonline.co.za/
by Mutumwa Mawere Tuesday 22 December
2009
OPINION: In response to my article entitled: "Pushing the
envelope of
knowledge - Cecil Rhodes"
http://www.newzimbabwe.com/columns-1472-Pushing+the+envelope+of+knowledge+Cecil+Rhodes/columns.aspx,
Jojo commented that the choice of the title is rather a patronising way to
put the point across as in his opinion my contribution does not expand the
body of knowledge rather it is merely a different perspective or my opinion
on various issues.
What is knowledge? It is defined by the Oxford
English Dictionary as (i)
expertise and skills acquired by a person through
experience or education;
the theoretical or practical understanding of a
subject, (ii) what is known
in a particular field or in total' facts and
information or (iii) awareness
or familiarity gained by experience of a fact
or situation."
When I was growing up, my worldview was informed by the
body of knowledge
that was exposed formally and informally to
me.
There is nothing that prepared me for a role in the corporate world.
Being
black, the system had a zero tolerance to our active participation in
the
corporate world.
Accordingly, my role models were people in the
academia or professional
service providers like lawyers, accountants,
doctors etc.
What I knew or was made to understand is that blacks were
poor because white
people had conspired to make it that way.
All I
was informed was that settlers had constructively deprived blacks of
their
heritage and, therefore, independence was meant to restore the
heritage of
native Africans where it should have always been vested.
I did not know
much about the Rand Lords and their contribution to African
heritage and
civilisation.
One cannot deny that a race-based political and economic
system is bad and
toxic to human development and progress.
However,
the reality in Africa is that our past did little to prepare us for
the kind
of challenges that need to be addressed for the continent to reduce
the
frontiers of poverty.
Colonialism brought with it a new way of doing
business and exposed the real
potential of Africa.
We have no choice
but to learn from our past and by pushing the envelope of
knowledge on our
business heritage, the hope is that we can learn that
capitalism has no
colour and, if anything, we need to expand the body of
knowledge on what
kind of people we generally classify as capitalists are
and what informs
their actions.
It is only when we know the experiences of those that came
before us that we
can be guided in terms of appreciating how national
progress can be best
promoted and secured through financial and business
literacy.
We just have to know our past for us to move forward. Our
political heritage
is well known and understood but our business heritage is
less understood
given the historical complex interplay between business and
politics.
The knowledge about the life and struggles of the men and women
who shaped
Africa's corporate civilisation is not generally available in the
minds of
the people who also want to do business in Africa and yet such
knowledge is
critical in determining business success.
What is
different about the Rand Lords and the new class of post-colonial
Rand
Lords?
The Rand Lords understood that the colonial model had to be self
sustaining
and could not be underpinned by any aid from the mother
countries.
Most of the Rand Lords unlike the majority of people who are
in the diaspora
had no intention of going back to their countries of birth
but were
determined to make it in the new territories.
The Rand Lords
were men of conviction who knew what they needed to do to
construct a new
civilisation that had to be underpinned by an institutional
and human
capital arrangement similar to the one they were familiar with.
In trying
to appreciate what is wrong with Africa, I had no choice but to
improve my
own limited understanding of our business heritage.
Having looked at the
story of Rhodes, it is all important to look at how his
friends fared in
business and their role in our heritage.
One of the most significant
associates of Rhodes is Charles Dunell Rudd,
born on 22 October 1844 in
Hanworth, Norfolk and died on 15 November 1916.
Rudd studied at Harrow
School and then entered Trinity College, Cambridge in
1863 but did not
complete his studies opting to immigrate to South Africa,
Cape Colony in
1865.
In 1872, Rudd and Rhodes became friends and partners in the diamond
business. Rudd played a key role in Rhodes' business
exploits.
Between 1873 and 1881, Rudd managed their business interests
while Rhodes
attended college at Oxford.
They formed the De Beers
Mining Company together. Rudd was one of the
directors of the company and
also held large interests in the main machinery
supplier for the mining
fields.
In early 1887, Rhodes, Rudd and Rudd's brother, Thomas,
registered Gold
Fields of South Africa to focus on gold
mining.
Although the company had other shareholders and directors in
England, it was
structured to favour Rudd and Rhodes who benefitted
enormously as
individuals from the activities in Southern Africa.
It
was Rudd on 13 October 1888 that secured an agreement known as the Rudd
Concession with respect to the mineral rights of Matabeleland and
Mashonaland from Lobengula, the King of Matabeleland.
History records
that Rhodes and Rudd had duped the British government and
the investing
public into believing that the Concession was vested in the
public company
when in truth and fact it was vested in a private entity.
The Concession
was sold at a profit of millions of pounds to the public
company, the
British South Africa Company.
Although Rhodes and Rudd were extremely
close, in 1895 they had major
fallout leading to Rudd proclaiming that he
would no longer work with
Rhodes.
It is believed Rudd was unaware of
the Gold Fields' conspiracy that
motivated the disastrous Jameson
Raid.
Notwithstanding, Rudd remained friends with Rhodes and a director
of Gold
Fields until 1902 after which he retired to Scotland where he bought
the
Ardnamurchan estate in Argyll, where be bought two houses, one of which,
Glenborrodale Castle for his guests.
Rudd came to Africa with no
money but returned to Europe a rich man. His
friendship with Rhodes paid off
and exposed how Africa can be good to be
people who believe in
it.
The role Rudd played in converting the mineral rights acquired in
Zimbabwe
into cash with the support and active participation of Rhodes is no
different from the role that is being played by many fortune hunters in
Africa today.
As justification for the exclusion of black people in
the value chain was
that corporate civilisation was foreign to Africa and in
any event, even if
colonialism had not visited the continent, the minerals
would have remained
in situ with no alternative indigenous plan to identify
and exploit them.
With the investment in exploration which is risk
capital, it has been argued
that the minerals would have remained hidden and
the credit ought to go to
the Rand Lords who were smart enough to convince
Anglo American financiers
that Africa was indeed well endowed with mineral
resources.
Men like Rudd and Rhodes rejected the notion that the loot
from minerals had
to be shared with the natives.
They first cut a
deal with Lobengula and then registered a public company
with a promise of
high returns from mineral rights to be secured in Zimbabwe
fully knowing
that such rights were already vested in the Rudd Concession in
which Rhodes
and Rudd had personal interests.
What lessons do we learn from Rudd? Rudd
was loyal to Rhodes until the end.
Rhodes was a master at what he
did.
He understood the need for an institutional approach to development.
He was
responsible for setting up a number of companies that were then used
as
instruments to raise capital and develop the mineral and agricultural
resources of Southern Africa.
He also knew that he needed Europe to
understand the colonial project.
Capital markets did respond to the call for
investment.
Rhodes was acutely conscious that he needed to accumulate
capital to do the
kind of things that he is credited for.
Such wealth
was not inherited as a consequence of his business acumen. Rudd
by
association became wealthy as well. The role of friendship and nepotism
in
business cannot be overstated. People do business with people they are
comfortable with. - ZimOnline
http://news.myjoyonline.com/features/200912/39607.asp
Rejoice
Ngwenya
Last Updated: Tuesday, 22 December 2009, 1:70 GMT
That
Robert Mugabe should lead an entourage of sixty Zimbabwean technocrats
on an
expensive frolic to participate in discussions on global warming in
Copenhagen is a grave travesty of justice. How a man under 'EU sanctions'
can evade arrest for crimes against 'nature and humanity' is only
explainable by the mysterious world of United Nations protocol. Moreover,
though the general position is that African and G77 countries are the least
offenders in carbon dioxide emission, there is critical evidence to prove
that Mugabe's violent ten-year land grab has been responsible for
desertification of previously arable commercial farmland.
When his
cronies, sympathisers and ZANU-PF fanatics invaded white commercial
farms
under the guise of 'indigenisation', they had nothing but axes and
machetes
for 'working capital'. The more lucky ones, like former information
minister
Bright Matonga, dispossessed legitimate owners of their land,
houses,
implements and crops. Villagers who had taken over vast forests had
no
resources to develop the land so they simply resorted to felling trees
and
setting up roadside fuel wood-marketing stalls. In Harare where I
reside,
woodlots owned by the local city council fifteen kilometres along
the
highway to Mozambique were plundered by wood poachers trying to cope
with
electricity shortages. A decade of ZANU-PF induced high-level
incompetence,
patronage, subsidies and corruption completely disabled ZESA
the electricity
Parastatal, to a stage where even urban dwellers like me
resorted to gas,
jelly and wood charcoal for cooking.
Mugabe's land 'reform' set off a
chain of disasters. Apart from the
possibility of soil erosion,
desertification and siltation, loss of trees
reduces the capacity of nature
to 'process' carbon dioxide. Alex McBratney,
soil and carbon researcher of
Sydney University in Australia explains that
photosynthesis soaks up carbon
dioxide from the atmosphere and draws it into
the ground. So when desperate
ZANU-PF activists are confronted with soils
that are difficult to till, they
plunder the trees for a living before
burning the grass. During dry winter
months, highway travellers are treated
to numerous fiery horizons ignited by
idle peasant farmers in occupied
lands. Zimbabwe has an active environmental
management policy, but it
functions well in areas controlled by the National
Parks. However, where
farms were invaded, the environmental watchdog has no
power over political
influence. State propaganda glorifies December as a
tree-planting month, but
given Mugabe's environmental plunder, this is
hollow hypocrisy.
Traditional historians have oral and written evidence
that apart from
colonial laws that prevented over-grazing and tree-felling,
chiefs and
headmen enforced a tradition of masango anoyera [sacred forests].
No one was
allowed to cut trees in these havens of spiritual symbolism.
Mugabe's
culture of lawlessness and patronage then pushed traditional
leaders to a
point where they completely abandoned their roles as guardians
of the
forest. Prospective ZANU-PF Members of Parliament in areas where
precious
stones are close to the surface like Kwekwe, Shurugwi and Chiyadzwa
bought
votes by allowing makorokoza [informal miners] to carve numerous
trenches in
search of wealth. The resultant gullies have left scars on the
earth that
may take decades to fill up.
Mugabe's primitive land
reform program has also had telling effects on wild
life, thus upsetting the
country's delicate ecological balance. Peasant
farmers who invaded wildlife
sanctuaries massacred animals or simply drove
them to more hostile habitat
to die. High-yielding hunting safaris have
either been 'colonised' by
ZANU-PF big-wigs or dissipated altogether. So it
comes as a surprise that
the man who has contributed so much to the
destruction of nature is
masquerading as a campaigner against global
warming. On the contrary,
ZANU-PF is an integral part of the family of
global political, ideological
and ecological pollutants.
My critics will argue that Copenhagen 2009 is
as much a destination for the
notorious climate offenders like the United
States as it is for victims of
global warming like Zimbabwe. I agree, but
Mugabe has no business in a
community where serious people are discussing
preservation of human dignity
and life. The very DNA of ZANU-PF politics is
destruction. When Barack Obama's
country pollutes the atmosphere, it is in
the name of creating jobs and
enhancing the wealth of citizens. When his
armies are in Afghanistan, Obama
is attempting to stem the tide of deadly
fundamentalism at its source.
Mugabe will argue eternally that the land
reform is a noble scheme to
improve lives of 'victims of colonialism', but I
argue that violating
property rights, murdering citizens, displacing
half-a-million farm workers
and destroying the environment in one policy
instrument has no place in
civilisation.
Mind you, ZANU-PF's entry
into Zimbabwe's polity completely poisoned the
democratic climate.
Zimbabweans have really never known true peace since
1980. Citizens are
fearful, impoverished and abused by vindictive state
machinery that rewards
praise singers and thrives on restricting civil
liberties. Five million
Zimbabweans have taken refuge in Botswana, South
Africa, United Kingdom,
USA, Australia and New Zealand. Whenever Mugabe
goes, journalists confront
him with questions on bad governance, torture and
violations of civil
liberties. In short, the ZANU-PF president carries with
him an aura of
poisoned perceptions. Even his own people in his party, are
beginning to ask
relevant questions about his ability to represent their
interests in the
next electoral context.
At a time when the government of nationality
unity [GNU] is fragile and
requiring careful nurturing, Mugabe hurls
broadsides at coalition partner
Movement for Democratic Change, further
poisoning the negotiating climate.
What kind of ideological bankruptcy
drives this man? MDC was formed by
Zimbabweans for Zimbabweans, not the
British, as he claims. Can we say that
since ZANLA [the liberation military
wing of ZANU] was supported by the
Chinese and Nordic countries, it was
'formed' by those countries? When two
million people voted for MDC in March
2008 - and Mugabe has now conceded
defeat - they sought representation by
their own, local leaders, not Tony
Blair. It was Morgan Tsvangirayi on the
ballot paper, not Gordon Brown.
Mugabe is in government by the generosity of
Thabo Mbeki and SADC. Outside
the GNU, the man has no legitimacy whatsoever.
My humble submission is that
Copenhagen is not for him, until he accepts a
more democratic climate in
Zimbabwe. Listening to Mugabe speak at
Copenhagen, my assertion is that the
international community now should lift
sanctions on ZANU-PF and impose a
real blockade.
Rejoice
Ngwenya is founder of Zimbabwean think tank COMALISO and an
associate of www.AfricanLiberty.org
BILL WATCH 45/2009
[21st
December 2009]
The House of Assembly has adjourned until 2nd February
2010
The Senate has adjourned until 9th February
Update on Inclusive Government
The
three GPA principals met this afternoon to discuss the outstanding issues of
disagreement between the two main parties. Nothing was concluded. After their
meeting last Monday they had directed the negotiators to produce a comprehensive
report detailing the issues agreed on with deadlines for implementation. The
negotiators did not however meet over the weekend as was planned – once again
some of them were not available. They are meeting this evening to finalise
their report which they will now present to each of the principals separately
tomorrow, Tuesday. The principals will then meet together to discuss the report
on Wednesday at 10 am. After that meeting it is likely that any outstanding
issues which are still in dispute will be referred to SADC for arbitration.
According to the Prime Minister’s office last week, “the majority of issues have been resolved, either
between the negotiators or via recommendations by the facilitators themselves”,
but the appointments
of the Reserve Bank Governor and Attorney General were still unresolved.
Constitutional Commissions
At the
meeting of the GPA principals this afternoon, the composition of three of the
four constitutional commissions was almost finalised except that the
Chairpersons and Deputy Chairpersons of ZEC and ZHRC have not yet been named.
The names released are as follows:
Zimbabwe Electoral Commisssion [ZEC] 8 Members: Daniel Chigaru,
Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission [ZHRC] 8 Members: Kwanele Jirira, Carol Khombe, Joseph Kurebwa,
Jacob Mudenda, Elasto Mugwadi, Japhet Ndabeni-Ncube, Neseni Nomathemba, Ellen
Sithole. [One of these members will be
named as Deputy Chairperson. There is speculation that former UZ Law Professor
Reginald Austin
will be named as chairperson.]
Zimbabwe Media Commission [ZMC] Chairperson Godfrey Majonga, Deputy Chairperson Nqubile Nyathi
and 7 other members: Lawton Hikwa, Miriam
Madziwa, Chris Mhike,
Millicent Mombeshora, Henry Muradzikwa, Chris Mutsvangwa, Matthew
Takaona.
Last Week in Parliament
House of Assembly did not sit last week. It adjourned on Wednesday 9th December until
Tuesday 2nd February.
Senate sat on
Tuesday and Wednesday, then adjourned until 9th February. Wednesday’s sitting
lasted until after 7 pm to enable fast-tracking of the two Budget Bills and two
other Bills.
Budget Bills: The Appropriation (2010) Bill
and Finance (No. 3) Bill were passed without amendment on Wednesday.
[Electronic versions of both Bills available.]
Other Bills: The Public Finance Management
Bill and Audit Office
Bill were also passed without amendment on Wednesday.
The Second
Reading debate on the Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe Amendment Bill was completed on Tuesday. ZANU-PF Chief Whip
Monica Mutsvangwa tabled major amendments to the Bill for consideration during
the Committee Stage. Senator Obert Gutu of MDC-T tabled an amendment to delete
the provision granting indemnity [backdated to 1999] to the Bank and the
Governor [added during the Bill’s passage through the House of Assembly at the
insistence of ZANU-PF MPs]. On Wednesday the Minister of Finance told the
Senate he had been informed by the Leader of the House that the three principals
are holding consultations on the Bill. So the Bill was carried over to be dealt
with when the Senate resumes on 9th February.
Parliamentary Business carried forward to next
year
House of Assembly
Bills: The
Public Order and Security Amendment
Bill [Mr Gonese’s Private Member’s Bill] awaits its
introduction.
[Electronic version available]
Legislative Agenda: Unless the Prime Minister chooses to make an earlier announcement
outside Parliament, his promised statement on the Government’s legislative
agenda will have to wait until the House resumes in February.
Motions:
Uncompleted motions on the agenda include one calling for a comprehensive audit
of the voters roll and another to take note of the report of the SADC
Parliamentary Forum Observer Mission on the recent
Questions: Because
the last two Question Times were deferred to allow Budget business to take
precedence, 53 questions have accumulated for reply by Ministers. The Prime
Minister has undertaken to ensure that Ministers attend the House to deal with
unanswered questions. A recently tabled question asks Minister of Media,
Information and Publicity Webster Mr Shamu [ZANU-PF] to explain ZBC’s negative
reporting on the Prime Minister.
Senate
Bills: The
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Amendment
Bill awaits its Committee Stage. A number of amendments have been
tabled.
Motions: the
uncompleted debate on Senator Muchihwa’s motion on Community and Home-Based Care
Programmes will continue.
Questions: Several
questions await Ministerial reply – one posed by Senator Mumvuri of ZANU-PF,
asks the co-Ministers of Home Affairs to explain what measures the Ministry has
put in place to “curtail the rampant thefts of property, illegal panning of gold
and indiscriminate cutting of trees perpetuated by the unemployed former farm
workers who are still living on legally acquired and resettled
farms”.
Swearing in of Second
Vice-President
Senator John Landa Nkomo was sworn in as a Vice-President on Monday
14th December, filling the vacancy created by the death of Vice-President Joseph
Msika on 4th August. Mrs Joice Mujuru remains in her position as a
Vice-President of the country. The President can appoint either Vice-President
as acting President in his absence. Mrs Mujuru acted as President while he was
at the Copenhagen Climate Conference. Mr Nkomo’s appointment will not alter the
number of vacancies in the Senate, but his appointment will necessitate his
replacement as Minister of State in the President’s office and Chairman of the
Organ for National Healing. He has said that until this happens he will
continue to chair the Organ.
Parliamentary Committee Meetings
House of
Assembly Portfolio Committees and Senate Thematic Committees wound up their
business for 2009 last week. Committee meetings will resume on Monday 25th
January 2010.
Portfolio Committee Report on Ministry of Mines and
Energy
The House
of Assembly portfolio committee on Mines and Energy reported on the 2010
Post-Budget Analysis of Votes for the Ministry Mines and Mining Development and
the Ministry of Energy and Power Development. The report criticised the
Secretary for Mines and Mining Development for various breaches of the Mines and
Minerals Act, including suspending the operations of the Mining Affairs Board
from April 2009 onwards. [Electronic version of full report available.]
BIPPA between
The text
of the Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement with
Legislation Update
Bills in Parliament:
House of Assembly:
None. All
Bills have been dealt with.
Senate:
Reserve Bank
of
Bill Awaiting Introduction: The Public
Order and Security Amendment Bill [Mr Gonese’s Private Member’s Bill] was
gazetted on 11th December.
The Bill
now awaits introduction in the House of Assembly. [Electronic version available.]
Bill Awaiting President’s Assent: Financial
Adjustments Bill, Public Finance Management Bill, Audit Office Bill,
Appropriation (2010) Bill and Finance (No. 3) Bill. [Electronic versions of Appropriation (2010) and Finance (No. 3)
Bills available.]
Statutory Instruments: On 18th December only one statutory instrument was gazetted – a
suspension of customs duty.
Veritas makes every effort to ensure reliable information, but cannot
take legal responsibility for information
supplied.