The ZIMBABWE Situation | Our
thoughts and prayers are with Zimbabwe - may peace, truth and justice prevail. |
By ANGUS SHAW
Associated Press Writer
December 30, 2003, 11:49 AM
EST
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa -- Laboratory tests have ruled out
the
possibility that an Angolan trader died of the feared Ebola virus
in
neighboring Zimbabwe, the U.N. health agency said Tuesday. WHO: Lab
Tests
Rule Out Ebola in Zimbabwe
The South African National
Institute for Communicable Diseases tested
samples sent by Zimbabwe on
Tuesday, World Health Organization spokesman Dr.
Welile Shashas
said.
"To the immense relief of everyone, this was not Ebola" or
a similar
hemorrhagic fever, he said.
Zimbabwe health authorities
announced over the weekend that an Angolan
national who died in the resort
town of Victoria Falls on Christmas day had
exhibited symptoms consistent
with Ebola.
The announcement touched off fears the highly contagious
disease could
spread from the continent's equatorial regions to southern
Africa for the
first time.
Health officials in neighboring Botswana,
Namibia and Zambia have been on
alert since the weekend.
The actual
cause of death remains to be determined. But confirmation that it
was not
Ebola has allowed emergency health teams gathered at Victoria Falls
to lift
quarantine restrictions imposed on staff who tended to the patient,
Shashas
said.
Ebola, one of the world's deadliest viral diseases, causes
extensive
internal bleeding and rapid death in up to 90 percent of those
infected.
The virus has killed more than 1,000 people since it was first
identified in
1976 in western Sudan and in a region of Congo. An outbreak in
a remote part
of Republic of Congo has killed at least 29 people so far,
according to WHO.
Copyright © 2003, The Associated Press
Daily News
Time to sit down and plan post-Mugabe era
Date:30-Dec, 2003
OPINION: IT IS increasingly important,
pertinent and relevant that
people start discussing the post-Mugabe Zimbabwe
scenario.
Whether you are MDC or ZANU PF or a mere neutral, you
cannot afford to
brush aside the question of post-Mugabe Zimbabwe. One way or
the other
Mugabe will be history soon.
Nature abhors a vacuum.
Let us not forget that actions of this regime
will have a profound bearing on
the future of our children and generations
to come.
It would be
suicidal to pretend that Mugabe is immortal nor that he
will rule forever. As
custodians of post-Mugabe Zimbabwe, it is our
irrevocable right to question
and shape the scenario that arises thereof.
The so-called war
liberators, most of whom are over 60, have prepared
a future for their
children and would care less about what will happen in
the post-Mugabe
era.
It is a public secret that none of Mugabe's cronies ever had
children
getting education in Zimbabwe. They did what any normal parent
deemed
necessary, sending their kids abroad.
It is against this
background that we must forge ahead and come up
with a blueprint for the
post-Mugabe Zimbabwe. This blueprint should not be
in favour of any
party.
The blueprint must be all-inclusive. For the record,
Zimbabwe has so
many highly trained personnel in fields ranging from catering
to robotics
and everything in between.
Zimbabweans in and
outside the country have the capacity to turn
around the nation's fortunes in
the right political climate.
It is time to think out of the box. It
is high time we stop thinking
in terms of MDC or ZANU PF only. Zimbabweans
should start thinking of a
Zimbabwe minus Mugabe.
There is a
danger that should the opposition effort to usurp power
legitimately succeed,
the "new" regime might end up swinging the country to
the other extreme of
the pendulum.
Zimbabwe is politically polarised into two distinct
camps. Failure by
either side to agree on things that do Zimbabwe good will
NOT help Zimbabwe
now or in the future.
The onus is upon members
of both camps to think and act above petty
party politics. This is easier
said than done. This kind of selfless
behaviour borders on the fringe of
nobility and common sense that is not so
common in the polarised state in
which Zimbabwe finds itself in.
It is high time that both MDC and
ZANU PF go back to the basics of
conflict resolution. More so for ZANU PF
because their history has been that
of a win or lose mentality.
As such ZANU PF has no capacity, inherent or adopted, that can enable
them to
resolve conflicts without using the "us " versus "them" approach.
First it was ZANU PF versus PF ZAPU then ZANU PF versus the white
farmers,
then ZANU PF versus MDC and ZANU PF versus The Daily News and ZANU
PF versus
the US and UK and now it is ZANU PF versus the people.
As you know,
when two elephants fight it is the grass that suffers.
Now is the time for
capable, willing and competent Zimbabweans to come up
with clear-cut
turn-around strategies that will steer Zimbabwe from the
economic malaise
brought about by ZANU PF.
A good starting point would be to collect
raw data on the specific
things that we need to do as soon as Mugabe leaves
office voluntarily,
naturally or otherwise.
From the database,
competent individuals will then map out strategies
based on the actual needs
of our country and not on half-baked and still
born solutions that ZANU PF is
currently prescribing.
I am still struggling to understand how
Zimbabwe had to visit Zambia
in order to inherit a defunct forex auction
system?
What more evidence do we need to see that this regime has
not only
failed, but that they have no capacity of solving the present
economic
nightmare.
Albert Einstein once said: "The significant
problems we face cannot be
solved at the same level of thinking we were at
when we created them."
In my next letter, I will put forward a
suggestion on how we can
collectively put together a database of facts on how
we will proceed after
these very forgettable 23 years of
misrule.
Ndabezinhle Ndlovu
New York, USA
ZIMBABWE'S children blighted by poverty are reportedly surviving on a meal per day and in worse cases they eat roots • Fees to go up over 100 percent in new term • Drop-out fears at Zim schools as fess rise • Zim pensioners hurt by high inflation • Mugabe stole Christmas |
By
newzimbabwe.com staff
30/12/03
A CABINET Minister in President
Mugabe’s government has stunned the donor community by claiming that Zimbabwe
does not need western food aid – in the same week that the United Nations warned
millions face starvation if no urgent aid is delivered.
Zimbabwe’s Minister of State for Science Olivia Muchena claimed Zimbabwe could “develop and prosper without the aid of Western countries — if people are united and share a common vision”.
Only this week,
the World Food Programme announced it has slashed, by half, its food aid to
Zimbabwe to make rations last until the May harvest - because President Mugabe's
government failed to alert donors of the scale of the disaster.
The
government had not quantified its needs until it was too late to get the long
food chain moving, said donors in Harare this week.
But Muchena appeared
oblivious to the imminent crisis, heaping praise on Malaysia whose economy has
received little aid from western countries, but is thriving largely due to a
vibrant manufacturing and technology sector.
"It is totally
incredible, but it is possible if people are united with a common vision,"
Muchena told graduates of the controversial National Youth Training programme –
mostly young supporters of President Mugabe’s ruling Zanu PF party.
Aid
agencies said foreign food suppliers were showing fatigue at what most regarded
as a "man-made crisis".
Zimbabwe was once Southern Africa's bread basket
with huge and efficient farms producing surpluses for sale abroad. But since
Mugabe began seizing white-owned farms in 2000, production tumbled, leaving
millions without food.
Even the UN, reluctant to criticise Mugabe's
administration, admitted that the government's confiscation of 90% of productive
land from white farmers had been a major cause of the crisis.
"When the
government finally got its act together, and said how much it needed, we also
discovered we would have to fund all food imports without any contribution from
the government," said a major donor agency executive.
Kevin Farrell,
country director for WFP in Zimbabwe, said: "The worst months will be January to
April, before the harvest. Our food stocks are very fragile and even if more
donor money arrives, it takes time to get the food here.
“I think for
many people it's going to be a case of life or death. Some people could very
well, at least we could see evidence, and ever increasing evidence, of people
dying.
”There are all sorts of other factors that cause that – hunger is one of them, the HIV pandemic in the country is another. But I think clearly as the year progresses, as the next few months progress, we're going to have a serious situation on our hands.”
This summer, the fourth since Mugabe confiscated most white-owned farms, the harvest is predicted to be down to a third of normal production - the lowest in more than 50 years.
The US, Britain and the European Union provide more than 90% of the funding used to feed Zimbabweans.
Catholic Archbishop of Bulawayo Pius Ncube told the Australia Broadcasting Corp the government must take responsibility for the suffering.
He said: “This
nonsense started four months ago when Mugabe invaded the farms. It is Mugabe's
fault because he invaded the farms in a senseless and unreasonable way and he
has given the farms to people who don't know how to produce food and some of
them are keeping these farms for speculation. So there's a lot of hunger; it's a
very, very painful situation.”
ENGLAND'S
cricketers will refuse to tour Zimbabwe next year and force Lord's
chiefs to
scrap the trip.
Their 2003 World Cup campaign was thrown into turmoil by
the rows which led
up to England forfeiting their match in Zimbabwe over
security concerns.
Since then the players have made it clear they want no
repeat of that stormy
saga and that they will not consider touring the rogue
African state in
October while tyrant Robert Mugabe remains in
power.
It will leave the 15-man ECB management board with no choice but
to cancel.
ECB bigwigs had already softened their stance on the trip
after Mugabe
withdrew Zimbabwe from the Commonwealth this
month.
Before then they had received heavy criticism for sticking to
their line
that any decision made should be centred on the England team's
safety.
ECB chairman David Morgan prevented Zimbabwe axeing their own
tour of
England this summer by assuring them next year's trip would be
on.
But after Zimbabwe left the Commonwealth, ECB chief executive Tim
Lamb
admitted 'moral and political arguments' would also be
considered.
The ECB management board will make their decision on February
24, when they
will hear of the opposition of players, sponsors and the
Government towards
the tour.
The PCA players' union are working
closely with the ECB to stop any more
damaging public rows.
A source
close to the players said: "They will insist Michael Vaughan is not
hung out
to dry by Lord's in the way Nasser Hussain was during the World
Cup
fiasco."
THEY SAID IT NOT US: 2003 IN QUOTES
By
newzimbabwe.com staff
30/12/2003
THE year 2003 has been
eventful, and full of memorable quotes. One cannot forget the day Robert Mugabe
pulled Zimbabwe out of the Commonwealth, many will remember where they were when
the Warriors qualified for their maiden Africa Cup of Nations finals.
The
closure of The Daily News, the collapse of the economy and Zimbabwe’s
international isolation all presented us with an avalanche of quotes and below
we have selected an outstanding collection which we believe summarise the year
many Zimbabweans would prefer to get out of their minds quite quickly.
As
expected, Mugabe and his motor-mouthed information Minister Jonathan Moyo
dominate the collection.
MUGABE |
"If the choice was made for us... to remain with our sovereignty and lose membership of the Commonwealth, then I would say then let the Commonwealth go"
President Mugabe in December
"The
Commonwealth is a mere club, but it has become like an 'Animal Farm' where some
members are more equal than others"
President Mugabe, December
"That's the end. There is no return. When we say we are out, we are out"
Mugabe after pulling Zimbabwe out of the Commonwealth in December
"Whatever our
detractors and critics are saying, for us this is like an escape from hell"
Didymus Mutasa December reacting to Zimbabwe’s withdrawal
from the Commonwealth
"I was born in Zimbabwe and I won’t
go anywhere in exile. I will remain in Zimbabwe and I will be buried on
Zimbabwean soil"
Mugabe
in January dismissing claims he wanted to go into exile
"I
am the Hitler of the time. This Hitler has only one objective, justice for his
own people, sovereignty for his people, recognition of the independence of his
people, and their right to their resources. If that is Hitler, then let me be a
Hitler tenfold. Ten times, that is what we stand for"
President Mugabe in March
"The more they
(western countries) work against us, the more they express their hostility
against us, the more negative we shall become to their kith and kin
here"
President Mugabe in December
"There are
others who are apologetic about our nationalism….those who fear to be complete
Africans, hesitate to express solidarity with us"
Mugabe
lashing out at the lack of African voices supporting Zimbabwe at the
Commonwealth summit
"These "Mafikizolos" have nothing to
lose if ZANU PF is harmed. If ZANU PF is defeated tomorrow, they will simply
walk away and join whatever is the Victorious Party of the day"
Eddison Zvobgo in July responding to charges that he refused
to campaign for President Mugabe
"This allegation is
another example of ill-founded rumours peddled by ciphers struggling hard to
become digits. How can these charges be taken seriously when they are obviously
crudities and totally out of my style and range?"
Eddison Zvobgo in July after being arraigned before a Zanu PF
disciplinary hearing over claims he was helping the MDC in his Masvingo
stronghold
"Reading this, Robert Mugabe and his cohorts may
cry, "Blackmail." We should ignore them. Their time has come and
gone"
US
secretary of state Collin Powell criticizing President Mugabe’s regime in an
article for the New York Times in July
"We will take the US
on if it tries to do anything of that sort (topple Mugabe) to Zimbabwe. However,
what happened in Iraq cannot happen in Zimbabwe because we are very well
prepared for any such happening. We won the liberation struggle using sticks and
stones"
Didymus Mutasa in December warning America an Iraq-style
assault on Zimbabwe will be repulsed
"Each time there is
one of those stylish skills I will also be doing my thing and people must not
sit close to me because when you score I also score...when one is close to my
feet they must watch out for I also shoot hard. My wife knows and always
complains that each time I watch soccer I make a lot of noise"
President Mugabe addressing members of the Zimbabwe football team in July following their qualification for their maiden Africa Cup of Nations finals
BISHOP DESMOND TUTU |
"I am sad that we South Africans declared that the last elections in Zimbabwe, though not free were yet legitimate. That is distressing semantic games"
South
Africa's Bishop Desmond Tutu in December
"We appealed for
the world to intervene and interfere in South Africa's internal affairs. We
could not have defeated apartheid on our own. What is sauce for the goose must
be sauce for the gander, too"
Bishop
Desmond Tutu criticising South African President Thabo Mbeki’s non-engagement
policy on Zimbabwe
"In the heated atmosphere that surrounds
the issue of Zimbabwe, the tendency to pose as high priests at the inquisition,
hungry for the blood of the accused, has taken root"
SA
President Thabo Mbeki hits back at critics in May over his Zimbabwe
policy
"No amount of noisemaking or megaphone diplomacy
will help resolve the Zimbabwe issue"
Thabo Mbeki’s spokesman Bheki Khumalo defending SA’s policy of ‘quiet diplomacy’ on Zimbabwe
"My heart simply bleeds for my country"
Archbishop Pius Ncube in May
"You’ve got
guys getting promoted because of performance and other guys getting promoted
because of their colour"
Former
Zimbabwe cricketer Murray Godwin in October commenting on Zimbabwe’s cricket
team selection
"You are a role model but you have failed to
live up to expectations. You must stop keeping up appearances and live within
your means"
Harare
magistrate Wynona Kaneta in December as she fined former Miss Zimbabwe Nokuthula
Mpuli for shoplifting
"My brother, comrade Mugabe, and his
Zanu-PF must realise the world is changing in the direction of democracy. Laws
that don't benefit the people should be scrapped"
Malawi’s Bakili Muluzi in December before the Commonwealth
Summit in Nigeria
"Britain, America, Australia... and New
Zealand steal our foreign currency earnings, they attack even our own currency
to the point of saying it's scarce, to blame the government....and they drive
the parallel market"
Information Minister Jonathan Moyo in a baffling statement in December
"I feel very sorry for the staff of the Daily News"
Jonathan Moyo in October after his hand-picked Media and Information Commission denied The Daily News a licence
"I have always had a nagging feeling that for all their propensity to liberal values and civilised norms, these people are dirty. In fact, they are filthy and recklessly uncouth and actually barbaric"
Jonathan Moyo on South Africans in January after The Sunday Times newspaper reported on his lavish spending
JONATHAN MOYO |
"It is you people who have Mandela squatter camps all over the place, not us. In fact, the average black person in Zimbabwe is better off than the average black person in South Africa"
Jonathan Moyo on South Africans in January after The Sunday Times newspaper reported on his lavish spending
"The MDC has clearly proven to be lawless and deviant, but more dangerously, an embodiment of violence and terrorism"
President Mugabe hits out at the MDC on Heroes
Day
"Sexual perverts need to be told once again that homosexuality is unnatural. The only people who accept homosexuality are liberals who think it is a way of getting votes"
Jonathan Moyo after wielding the axe on ZBC chief Alum Mpofu
after he was outed as a gay
During a
parliamentary debate in March, MDC female legislator for Glen Norah Priscilla
Misihairabwi is urging the government to introduce subsidies on tampons which
she argues are no longer affordable. A heated debate ensues between her and Mt
Darwin MP Saviour Kasukuwere.
Hon Kasukuwere:
"We want a demonstration of how you wear them here"
Hon
Misihairabwi: "I am not going to demonstrate anything; you can find
someone to do it for you"
"If Welshman Ncube doesn’t know that a
provisional order is not a final judgement then he has managed to fool everyone
that he is a lawyer for a very long time"
Jonathan Moyo on
MDC secretary general Ncube after the MDC secured a provisional order for
planned protests which was later appealed by the
government
WE also couldn’t resist adding some quotes by America’s defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Iraq’s former information Minister Mohammed Saeed Al Sahaf.
"Reports that say something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns -- the ones we don't know we don't know"
Donald Rumsfeld baffled NATO allies and journalists alike in June by saying the greatest threats to Western civilisation may lurk in "unknown unknowns"
MOHAMMED AL SAHAF: "They will all die" |
And the following unforgettable quotes by Mohammed Al Sahaf as American soldiers surrounded Baghdad:
"Our initial
assessment is that they will all die"
"They are superpower of villains.
They are superpower of Al Capone"
"We blocked them inside the city. Their
rear is blocked"
"Our estimates are that none of them will come out alive
unless they surrender to us quickly. They are completely surrounded
now"
"The infidels are committing suicide by the hundreds on the gates of
Baghdad"
"Be assured, Baghdad is safe, protected. Iraqis are
heroes"
"There are no American infidels in Baghdad.
Never!"
Harare - The Zimbabwean government has awarded
civil servants a 250 percent
pay rise - far less than the galloping rate of
inflation - and referred to
an arbitrator their demand for a much bigger
salary boost.
The southern African country, struggling with a severe
economic crisis which
President Robert Mugabe's critics blame on government
mismanagement, has
seen inflation rocket to more than 650 percent, one of the
highest rates in
the world.
Public Service Commission officials on
Tuesday confirmed a report in the
state-owned Herald newspaper that the
government had raised civil servants'
salaries by 250 percent and increased
their housing allowances by 100
percent.
Civil service unions had
demanded a pay hike of 600 percent, similar to that
awarded to Mugabe and
members of his cabinet earlier this year.
"The government has resolved to
implement a salary increment of 250 percent
across the board whilst the
process of arbitration is taking place," the
Herald quoted acting Labour
Minister John Nkomo as saying.
Zimbabwe has had a number of strikes this
year as unions complain that the
soaring prices of everything from food to
transport are making their lives
impossible.
The public health service
has been paralysed by a two-month strike by junior
doctors and nurses, who
are demanding salary rises of nearly 12 000 percent,
which the government has
rejected as outrageous.
Doctors' and nurses' union representatives were
not available on Tuesday to
comment on the latest wage
rises.
Zimbabwe's economy is in its fifth year of recession and many
people are
struggling to cope with severe shortages of fuel, food and foreign
currency.
Prices of some foodstuffs and public transport have risen 900
percent in the
past year.
News24
Workers reject 250% pay hike
30/12/2003 15:17 -
(SA)
Harare - Zimbabwe's government is to increase the salaries of
its 140 000
workers by 250% from next month, a cabinet minister has
announced.
But the workers, who have been demanding a 600% pay hike to
match inflation
levels which last month stood officially at 619.5%,
immediately rejected the
offer announced by the government on
Monday.
Independent economists believe the real inflation in the southern
African
country could well exceed 1 000%.
Both the government and the
workers' union said they had reached a deadlock
after months of pay
negotiations and would resort to arbitration.
The government said it
would meanwhile proceed to pay the 250% increases
while awaiting the outcome
of the arbitration.
"Cognisant of its overall social responsibility to
its employees, the
government has resolved to implement a salary increment of
250% across the
board whilst the process of arbitration is taking place,"
said John Nkomo,
acting labour minister, in a statement cited on Tuesday in
the state-run
Herald daily.
The Public Service Association (PSA) says
the figure is not sufficient.
"We cannot accept the 250%," PSA secretary
general Charles Chiviru told
reporters on Tuesday.
"We feel the figure
is far too inadequate in terms of cushioning workers in
2004," he
said.
The workers' transport and housing allowances will also be
reviewed.
The government will pay transport allowances ranging between
Z$88 550 and
Z$560 000 per month, while housing allowances have been raised
100%.
The government and the workers union have been discussing the new
pay
proposals for the past four months, according to labour
leaders.
Workers initially demanded a 1 200% pay hike while the
government was
prepared to pay 75%, according to Chiviru.
After months
of negotiations the workers halved their demands to 600% while
the government
settled for 250%.
Doctors and nurses at government-run hospitals have
been on strike for two m
onths demanding pay hikes of up to 8 000%.
Erratic Coal Supplies Affect Tobacco Curing
The Herald
(Harare)
December 30, 2003
Posted to the web December 30,
2003
Harare
COAL supplies to tobacco farmers have remained
erratic, adversely affecting
curing programmes for the harvested
crop.
Farmers, coal merchants and the National Railways of Zimbabwe are
believed
to have held a series of meetings before the festive season but this
has not
yielded much.
"The progress of the meetings has been affected
by the (Christmas) holiday
break and I hope that they will resume as soon as
businesses re-open after
the festive season," said an executive member of the
Indigenous Commercial
Farmers' Union.
Efforts to get comment from the
Coal Merchants Association of Zimbabwe and
the Zimbabwe Tobacco Growers'
Association were fruitless yesterday.
The tobacco industry has already
projected a 20 percent decline in
production to 60 million kilogrammes this
season.
Persistent shortages of vital inputs, particularly coal and
chemicals, have
left some farmers with no choice but to turn to
non-traditional crops such
as paprika and flowers.
The shortage of
coal is largely attributed to operational constraints at
Wankie Colliery and
the National Railways of Zimbabwe.
These public enterprises are facing
severe foreign currency shortages to
repair and maintenance of its wagons and
locomotives.
Similar coal shortages experienced last season resulted in
erratic
deliveries of the crop to auction floors.
Coal remains the
cheapest source of energy for curing tobacco and is also
the most convenient
given the designs of most of the drying halls used by
farmers.
Farmers
also prefer the cheaper rail transport to road, but the NRZ has
failed to
meet the demand.
Curing of the irrigated tobacco crop, which accounts for
about 30 percent of
the country's total production, started at the end of
last month.
Tobacco remains one of the leading foreign currency earners
in the country
and in a good year, it accounts for about 40 percent of the
country's total
exports.
Last year, the Coal Merchants Association of
Zimbabwe made plans to help NRZ
with the repairing and maintenance of their
wagons under which the merchants
would be allocated a specific number of
wagons dedicated to the carrying of
the commodity, but the deal was abandoned
for undisclosed reasons.
Don't Hike Fees Without Approval: State
The Herald
(Harare)
December 30, 2003
Posted to the web December 30,
2003
Harare
THE Government has evoked provisions of the Education
Act and invited all
schools intending to increase fees and levies next term
to start applying
for permission.
The move followed a warning by the
Minister of Education, Sports and
Culture, Cde Aenias Chigwedere, two weeks
ago that the Government was
prepared to deal effectively with unscrupulous
schools hiking fees and
levies to shocking levels.
The Ministry of
Education, Sports and Culture said in a statement schools
should only advise
parents of new fees and levies for next term after
receiving a response to
their application.
"The ministry is concerned with the rate at which the
fees and levies have
been hiked and the failure by schools to observe simple
procedures they
should follow," it said.
"Schools cannot raise
fees/levies when they just deem it necessary
regardless of these provisions
and the feelings of the parents."
The ministry said schools that do not
heed the invitation to apply for fees
and levy increases risked prosecution
or de-registration.
The schools applying for adjustments in fees and
levies were required to
attach a register of the parents present at a general
meeting, where the
decision to increase the fees and levies was
taken.
They should attach minutes of the same meeting indicating the
number of
those in favour and those against the proposed increase. The
schools should
also include a budget in respect of the increase applied
for.
"Zimbabwe subscribes to the principle of education as a basic human
right.
To that extent, it should be accessible and affordable to all.
Affordability
levels of the majority of parents have to be borne in mind when
such
increases are proposed."
The legal framework for charging and
payment of fees and levies provides
that no change can be effected by a
school without the express written
authority of the ministry.
The
ministry can either accept or reject school proposal or adjust it.
A
number of schools have already indicated they would increase fees for
next
term by varying percentages.
St George Primary School, also known
as Hartman House, increased fees from
$1 million last term to $1,8 million
next term.
Falcon College in Bulawayo was trying to raise fees from $1
million to $4,2
million per term. Some Government schools such as Prince
Edward and Plumtree
High School also planned to raise the fees by different
percentages.
Most parents have expressed concern over the high fees
in view of the
economic hardships that have resulted in many people
struggling to survive.
School authorities have justified the massive fee
and levy hikes, citing the
ever increasing operational costs.
Cost of Xrays to Shoot Up
The Herald (Harare)
December 30,
2003
Posted to the web December 30, 2003
Harare
THE Association
of Radiologists and Radiotherapists of Zimbabwe has proposed
to increase its
co-payment fees that fall within the $2 000 and $22 000
range to between $50
000 and $750 000 with effect from January 1.
Co-payment is a fee that a
patient is expected to pay upfront before any
service is
rendered.
According to a letter written by the association to the
National Association
of Medical Aid Societies the proposed co-payment fee for
people who require
the X-Rays is expected to shoot to $50 000 up from $2
000.
X-ray services are normally carried out on people who would have
been
involved in accidents to check if there are any internal injuries,
people
with chest problems and in cases where a doctor suspects that the
patient
might have a brain tumours.
Expectant mothers who want to use
a scan to check on the sex of their unborn
babies would be expected to pay a
co-payment fee of $150 000 up from $2 500.
The association has also
proposed that nuclear medicine, which is normally
carried out on people with
cancer be increased from $5 000 to $200 000 while
computer tomography would
go up from $7 500 to $500 000.
Computer tomography is also an essential
service as it is used to check the
abdomen and other internal part to detect
any health complications.
Many people are turning to private
practitioners for radiology and
radiotherapy services and other health
services because of the on going
strike by doctors and nurses at Government
hospitals, which has almost
crippled the country's health delivery system. A
number of machines used in
these services are also not in working condition
in public hospitals due to
the non-availability of spare parts.
The
association said the 120 percent increase in tarrifs, which was awarded
by
NAMAS, was far too low compared to the 300 percent which they had
calculated
as the minimum that would be required in order to keep their
practice
viable.
The association also said it regrets that such high co-payment
has to be
charged, as ARRZ cannot see any alternative to the
situation.
"It is regrettable that such high co-payment will have to be
charged to your
members, but members of ARRZ can see no alternative to this
course of
action," read the letter.
When asked for comment, an
official from the association however, said the
consultation fees were yet to
be approved by NAMAS as they were still
negotiat ing.
"We are still
negotiating with NAMAS and we don't know whether we are going
to reach an
agreement or not," she said.
If the proposed co-payment for these
services are approved it would be a big
blow for patients as only a few are
going to afford them. What would make
the situation even more complicated is
that doctors will also increase their
consultation fees to $46 000 where
patients would be expected to pay a
co-payment of about $24 000.
Gmb Collects 240 000t Maize From Farmers
The Herald
(Harare)
December 30, 2003
Posted to the web December 30,
2003
Harare
THE Grain Marketing Board has so far collected 240 000
tonnes of maize from
farmers out of its target of 250 000 tonnes, a senior
official has said.
Acting GMB chief executive Retired Lieutenant Colonel
Samuel Muvhuti said:
"Our target is within reach and we could collect more
because some farmers
especially from the northern and southern regions are
still holding on to
the stocks because of uncertainties in weather patterns,
but at the moment
we are quite happy," he said.
Col Muvhuti said this
season was better in terms of maize collection by the
GMB compared to 46 000
tonnes that were collected during the 2001 to 2002
season.
Col Muvhuti
expressed hope that farmers would deliver the grain to the GMB
because the
producer prices announced by the Government were competitive.
He said the
improvement in grain collection was also attributed to a
crackdown by the
Grain Marketing Board on those who were hoarding maize as
well as the
increase in the producer price of the commodity to $300 000
per
tonne.
The country requires about 1,8 million tonnes of maize for
both human and
livestock consumption per annum and the GMB had targeted to
collect between
500 to one million tonnes this season.
As early as
April the GMB had collected about 40 000 tonnes from farmers
throughout the
country.
"The importation of grain will continue, so that at least we are
not found
wanting as compared to last year.
"Drought relief efforts
are also continuing in some parts of the country
that were hit by the drought
especially in some parts of Muzarabani and
Matabeleland North and South
provinces," said Col Muvhuti.
The Government increased the producer price
of maize from $130 000 a tonne
to $300 000 for the 2003/2004 marketing season
to ensure the viability of
farmers and production of crops.
The new
producer price was effected on all deliveries made since the
beginning of the
marketing season in April this year, until the end of the
2003/2004
season.
Col. Muvhuti said the GMB would continue selling maize to millers
at $211
765 a tonne, while individuals buy maize at $9 600 a
tonne.
The GMB has also put in place a scheme to help farmers transport
their grain
to its depots.
Under the scheme, GMB will hire trucks on
behalf of the farmers to transport
the grain.
GMB teams have also been
dispatched to all irrigation schemes throughout the
country to assess
logistical problems on maize deliveries and inputs needed
for the next
planting season.
The GMB has also warned certain individuals to desist
from buying maize
directly from farmers, as this was
illegal.
Statutory Instrument 235A of 2001, of the GMB Act gives the GMB
monopoly in
trading in maize and wheat.
Forex Reserves Remain Subdued
The Herald (Harare)
December
30, 2003
Posted to the web December 30, 2003
Harare
FOREIGN
currency reserves remained subdued towards the Christmas holidays
with the
net position remaining in the negative margins as of 17
December
2003.
The overall market position has moved deeper into the
negative ranges of an
average of US$2,3 million per day largely due to the
increasing foreign
exchange-based obligations.
For the five-day period
from December 11 to December 17, inflows amounted to
a paltry US$1,4 million
while outflows outweighed the figure at US$1,7
million.
Inflows,
mainly from exporters who are required to remit 50 percent of the
foreign
exchange receipts to the central bank at a rate of $824 to the
greenback,
have worsened in the past few months averaging US$300 000 per day
from
previous figures of about US$1,5 million.
Exporters have been accused of
being dishonest when declaring their earnings
and some of them have even
confessed to holding on to their proceeds in
anticipation of the review of
the exchange rate which is currently at $824
to the US
dollar.
However, an improvement is expected when the current system makes
way for
the auction system on January 12 next year in line with the new
monetary
policy announced by Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor, Dr Gideon
Gono,
recently.
The new system, which is similar to the current
Reserve Bank treasury bill
tender system, was said to be more stable than
dealer markets, particularly
in times of shortages.
A revised version
of the controlled auction system was first suggested by
the Confederation of
Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) in 2002. Under this system
foreign exchange will be
auctioned through an independent body that will
operate under the central
bank's supervision.
The Government has previously put in place a number
of measures to tap the
scarce commodity but most of its efforts have been to
no avail as illegal
traders have become more and more resilient.
Zbc to Fork Out Fortune
The Herald (Harare)
December 30,
2003
Posted to the web December 30, 2003
Robson
Sharuko
Harare
THE Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) will have
to fork out a
fortune - a staggering US$624 000 in hard currency - to screen
the 2004
African Cup of Nations soccer extravaganza live on national
television.
International marketing firm, LC2/ Hensen Trust Consortium,
which holds the
exclusive broadcast right of the prestigious continental
championship, is
demanding 550 000 euros from television firms wishing to
broadcast matches
live.
This is the payment for a complete package and
it could not be established
whether television companies wishing to broadcast
particular matches live
will have to pay just as much as those taking up the
entire programme.
LC2/Hensen Trust Consortium won the television rights
to broadcast the
Nations Cup finals in Tunisia and in turn they are selling
the footage from
the football festival to television companies and other
interested parties.
The 2004 Nations Cup finals is being officially
sponsored by Finnish
cellular phone manufacturing giant
Nokia.
Zimbabwe's Warriors will be playing in their maiden Nations Cup
finals in
Tunisia next month and this has boosted interest in the showcase in
this
country.
The Warriors are in Group C and will play three group
matches against
champions Cameroon, the Pharaohs of Egypt and the Desert
Foxes of Algeria.
ZBC have already assured the nation that they will
broadcast the three group
games featuring the Warriors live on national
television.
But, as in any competition involving a group, the other
matches in this
group are also important as they will determine Zimbabwe's
fate.
That means the local supporters would also be keen to go through
the
emotions of the events in the other matches in the group as they happen
live
in Tunisia.
Therefore the live transmission of matches featuring
Cameroon and Egypt,
Cameroon and Algeria and Egypt and Algeria is just as
important as the live
broadcast of the Warriors' matches.
The live
transmission of the opening ceremony is also just as important as
will be the
live broadcast of the quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final
of the
Nations Cup itself.
Although the Warriors will be the focus of attention,
from a local point of
view, it is also true that the Zimbabwean fans would
also be interested to
watch matches in the other groups.
The skills of
such individuals as Nigeria's Austin "Jay Jay" Okocha and
Senegalese forward
El-Hadji Diouf have always been an attraction for the
local football
fans.
Although all the matches might not necessarily be broadcast live on
national
television, delayed transmission of some of the games in the other
groups
would help satisfy the massive interest among the locals.
But
in the current competitive environment ZBC would do its reputation a
big
bonus by transmitting as many live matches as could be possible on
national
television.
With competition, especially in the major cities,
coming from Digital
Satellite Television where pay-per-view channel
SuperSport is screening most
of the matches live, ZBC will need to be
aggressive in its coverage of the
Nations Cup finals.
Sports bars
offering their patrons access to DSTV have mushroomed throughout
the major
cities and football fans now flock to these bars to watch their
favourite
international teams in action.
Which means that a laid-back approach by
ZBC, where they can screen a number
of delayed matches, will not help the
national broadcaster's audience
ratings given that a lot of people would be
knowing the result by the time
the matches are broadcast late in the
night.
Already there has been a number of complaints from viewers who can
no longer
watch the Uefa Champions League matches in the comfort of their
homes on
national television.
ZBC used to screen the matches, either
live or delayed, on a free feed from
French television channel
CFI.
The Nations Cup finals is the biggest sporting event in Africa next
year and
the Warriors will be gracing the showcase for the first time.