February 9, 2005 Posted to the web February 9,
2005
Harare
THE Southern Africa Development Community (Sadc)
election guidelines are only a roadmap to guide countries during the
conducting of their elections in terms of their laws and are not a legal
document, nor a protocol enforceable at law, the Minister of Justice, Legal
and Parliamentary Affairs, Cde Patrick Chinamasa has said.
The
minister said this in his papers filed at the High Court yesterday
responding to a challenge by the Diaspora Vote Action Group who are seeking
an order compelling Zimbabweans living abroad to be allowed to vote in the
March 31 general elections.
"The Sadc guidelines and principles are a
political document pegged out for the region, a roadmap which we must all
follow towards a perfect democratic future," said Cde Chinamasa.
"The
document recognises that different member-countries are at different stages
on the road towards a perfect democratic future.
"It recognises that
there are countries in our region, the Democratic Republic of Congo and
Angola are good examples, recently emerging from conflict and which are yet
to hold elections."
The minister was responding to contention by the
group that Zimbabwe must abide by Sadc guidelines adopted last August by
Sadc member-countries.
He said Zimbabwe was under sanctions from western
countries and therefore, Zanu-PF officials were not welcome in those
countries while the MDC had the liberty to spread all sorts of propaganda
against the sitting Government.
"Under such factual situations, it is
only prudent to restrict voting to that section of the electorate that has
the opportunity to hear from all political sides," he said.
"There is
also the demand of capacity in the form of resources. The State will be
required to put in place all logistics which have to do with voting in the
form of manpower and material."
The minister submitted that since the
applicants were non-resident and in order to secure an award of costs that
might be made against them in the proceedings, he contended that they be
ordered to pay $500 million as security deposit.
Cde Chinamasa said
the applicants had not demonstrated to the court that they themselves had
been affected hence they had no locus standi (legal right) to institute the
legal proceedings.
The applicants had cited the Minister, the Electoral
Supervisory Commission, the Registrar-General and the Attorney-General as
respondents.
In its opposing papers filed last week, the
Attorney-General's Office said the group had no right to sue on behalf of
registered voters living outside Zimbabwe.
It said for a person to
seek remedy in court, that person must have a direct and personal interest
in the remedy sought.
The AG's Office said the concerns raised by the
Diaspora Vote Action Group about the legality of the move to bar Zimbabweans
living outside the country from voting were not enough as the law did not
recognise the right to bring an action on behalf of others to protect the
general public.
Millions said to be in need of food aid, largely as a result of
chaotic land reform programme.
By Elias Mugwadi in Harare (Africa
Reports: Zimbabwe Elections No 05, 08-Feb-05)
Zimbabwe is sliding
inexorably into famine as crops fail and the ZANU PF government remains
unwilling to import grain to cover the production deficit.
"Land
preparation by resettled [black] farmers is way behind schedule," admitted
Local Government Minister Ignatius Chombo, who is chairman of a government
food supply task force. "We were targeting four million hectares [of tilled
cropland], but only 900,000 hectares have been prepared."
A report just
released by the Famine Early Warning Systems Network, FEWS NET, the regional
prediction service, said 5.8 million Zimbabweans - half the total population
- are in need of food aid.
The problem stems largely from the chaotic
organisation of President Robert Mugabe's land reform programme, in which
white commercial farmers have been driven from the land since 2000 to be
replaced largely by peasant subsistence farmers and government ministers,
army officers, judges and top civil servants with no farming
skills.
The majority of the new farmers have no ploughing equipment and
they have been sowing maize, the country's basic food crop, on untilled
soils. In addition, because the handful of highly skilled maize seed farmers
have been driven from their land into exile, this season's crop has been
planted with untreated, low quality seed. There have also been severe
shortages of fertiliser and other critical inputs.
"The biggest
drawback over the past four years we have seen here has been the lack of
ploughing equipment," Obediah Mupanganyama, a resettled farmer at Vairona, a
previously white-owned farm near Mazowe, 67 kilometres north of Harare, told
IWPR.
"Most farmers have been planting on unploughed land which brings us
to the problem you are looking at. The weeds have overwhelmed the crops and
we have no machinery or chemicals to deal with them."
Mupanganyama
said there were a few private tractors for hire, and the cost of doing so,
350,000 dollars [60 US dollars], was far beyond anything that any "new
farmer" could afford.
Black settlers at the previous white-owned Bally
Hooly Farm at Glendale, 83 km north of Harare and formerly a rich wheat and
cotton area before Mugabe's land invasion strategy was launched, told IWPR
they had been unable to till their soil and had scattered only untreated
maize seeds.
Elsewhere hungry Zimbabweans are staving off starvation by
selling property or receiving money from relatives among the three million
or more of their countrymen who have gone into exile. Many have sold cattle
and the tools they need to produce crops. "There aren't obviously starving
people walking the streets, but people are having to resort to things like
selling their last cow to buy food," a senior western diplomat told the
Reuters news agency.
The Independent, one of the country's few
remaining private weekly newspapers, reported that many people are now going
without food for days, with children fainting in schools and women
miscarrying as a result of malnutrition. Around the country, hungry and
irritated people have been standing in long queues for hours to buy tiny
rations of maize, and police have had to calm unruly crowds.
Eddie
Cross, economic spokesman of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change,
described the situation as frightening. "Food shortages are causing extreme
hardship across the board and across the country," he said. "The political
implications are profound. I would hate to run an election campaign amidst a
food crisis for which there is no solution."
By February, the maize crop
throughout the country is usually at knee-high level. But IWPR's enquiries
showed that many farmers were still planting - far too late to secure a
decent crop because the summer rains are now ending. The coming harvest is
likely to be one of the worst ever because of poor planning, erratic rains
and absence of low interest loans.
The forecast by international donors
and the political opposition that the chaotic land reform programme would be
unworkable and a recipe for disaster is turning out to be true. While no
accurate figures are available, farm experts estimate that Zimbabwe's
agricultural production has fallen by 70 per cent in the last four
years.
Just three years ago, Zimbabwe was still the breadbasket of
southern Africa, fully self-sufficient in basic foodstuffs, with surpluses
for export. Now it is a net food importer and production of such key crops
as maize, wheat, tobacco, horticultural produce, soya and cotton has been
slashed.
Last year, the ZANU PF government banned the import of food by
international humanitarian organisations. It claimed a record 2.4 million
tonnes of maize and wheat had been harvested. But this was shot down when
parliament's farm sub-committee said only 388,000 tonnes were produced,
representing only one-sixth of the country's requirements.
Minister
Chombo's gloomy harvest prediction has been contradicted by Agriculture
Minister Joseph Made who boasted that the new settlers would produce a
record grain harvest in the next few months of three million
tonnes.
Following a harvest of less than one million tonnes last
year, such a production total would be "a staggering turnaround, if true",
said James Morris, executive director of the UN's World Food Programme, WFP.
"If the projections are not correct, a great number of people will be very
much at risk. I don't know what the evidence is that things will be any
better than last year. The next 90 days are going to be
crucial."
Elias Mugwadi is a pseudonym for an IWPR contributor in
Zimbabwe
Government's politicisation of healthcare hampers work of malaria
control workers at every turn.
By Richard Tren in Harare (Africa
Reports: Zimbabwe Elections No 05, 09-Feb-05)
The rainy season has
begun in Zimbabwe, which is welcome news for gardeners and farmers alike.
Over the past few weeks, dramatic thunderstorms and heavy downpours have
covered much of the country, sparking vigorous growth in plants and whatever
few crops have been planted. But while the rains bring new life, they
unfortunately also mark the beginning of the malaria transmission
season.
This year, malaria, along with almost every aspect of life in
Zimbabwe has a political slant to it. This deadly mix of politics and
disease does not augur well for ordinary Zimbabweans now more than ever at
peril from mosquitoes and their own government.
I was recently asked
by Zimbabwe's malaria control programme to assist them in communicating
their new malaria control policy, which includes the use of DDT. DDT is
sprayed in tiny quantities inside houses and is one of the most effective
ways of controlling the disease. It is also somewhat controversial because
of the bad reputation that DDT has among environmentalists. I agreed to
assist as I thought that I may help to save some lives and improve malaria
control in that country. This was a mistake.
The Zimbabwean Department of
Health had organised two events, a press conference in Harare followed by a
public rally near Lake Kariba in the north west of the country. Both events
had an overt political agenda that in the current climate in Zimbabwe is
both sickening and dangerous.
Not a single journalist from the remains of
Zimbabwe's independent media had been invited to the press conference in
Harare. Only writers from the state media, who unquestioningly regurgitate
the violent and abusive messages of the Mugabe government, were
involved.
Matters deteriorated at the public rally, which was held in an
area that is not a stronghold for the ruling ZANU PF party. During the last
parliamentary election, a number of awful atrocities were committed in the
area against supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change,
MDC, party. While Kariba is a highly malarial area, the choice to hold a
government malaria rally there was probably a carefully thought out
strategy.
The audience was divided between the locals from the village,
who crowded underneath a large green tent that had seen better days, and
supposed VIPs, such as World Health Organisation, WHO, staff and dignitaries
who were under a slightly smarter large striped tent. A raised, covered
stage, decked in the colours of the Zimbabwean flag and flanked by large
photographs of Mugabe, housed the event's speakers which included the
ministers of health for Zimbabwe and Malawi as well as a representative from
UNICEF and, interestingly, one from Mugabe's arch enemy, the British Aid
agency, DFID.
Before the speeches and songs about malaria could begin,
the master of ceremonies asked local ZANU PF office bearers from the VIP
tent to identify themselves and give a rousing message to the crowd. One
"comrade" after another stood up and shouted "Forward with Mugabe" and "Down
with the MDC" to which the crowd was supposed to respond "Forward" and
"Down" in turn. The lack of enthusiasm from the locals was very apparent,
but there were many in the VIP tent gleefully raising their
fists.
Before the Zimbabwean minister of health gave his speech, he was
asked to think up an anti-malaria slogan. The minister duly stood up, raised
his fist and shouted "Down with the MDC" and then "Down with Mosquitoes". As
someone who has followed Zimbabwean politics for a while, I shouldn't have
been surprised, but I was.
In Zimbabwe, almost everything is
politicised. People are denied access to food if they cannot produce a ZANU
PF party card. Worse still, they are frequently beaten, tortured and raped
for supporting the opposition MDC. Politicising malaria control in such a
blatant way marks a new low for Mugabe's government. Zimbabwe always had an
excellent malaria control programme, but in the past few years it has all
but disintegrated. Starved of funds due to the economic chaos caused by
Mugabe's disastrous policies, along with the fact that public funds have
been diverted to Mugabe's hated secret police, the Central Intelligence
Organisation, most of the anti-malaria personnel have left.
Last
year, the malaria control programme only managed to protect 3.4 per cent of
households from malaria because they did not even have petrol to drive out
to the malaria areas.
Some of the malaria control staff are simply trying
to do their job under very trying circumstances, but the politicisation of
healthcare by the country's leadership hampers their work at every turn.
More worrying is the fact that various UN bodies as well as aid agencies
appear to be endorsing and legitimising this political abuse by standing
shoulder to shoulder with the ZANU PF leadership. This should stop
immediately. The only way for the long-term health of Zimbabwe's people to
improve is to ensure peace, democracy and economic growth. That will not and
cannot happen under Mugabe's government and the UN should come out and say
so.
Richard Tren is a director of the South Africa-based health advocacy
group Africa Fighting Malaria.
A transvestite who
is being prosecuted after winning medals and titles in women's athletics
events has blamed a witch-doctor's faulty spell. A Bulawayo court heard that
Samukaliso Sithole, a Zimbabwean who competed in domestic and regional
competitions for women, was actually a man. Sithole faces charges of
psychological offence, reported the state-run Herald
newspaper. Prosecutors allege Sithole offended the dignity and sexuality
of a woman who befriended him, confided in him and felt comfortable being
naked around him, while believing him to be female. Sithole was
identified to her as a man by an acquaintance when he was among a group of
women preparing to travel by train to an athletics meeting. Sithole tried to
sprint away but was caught, and police supervised a medical exam. Sithole
told the court he was born congenitally deformed. A tribal healer, known in
the west as a witchdoctor, gave him "female status" but Sithole said the
spell did not work properly because his family did not pay the healer's full
fee. The Zimbabwe Athletics Association say he could be stripped of titles
and prize money. He competed in several women's disciplines, with reported
success for Zimbabwe in last year's Southern Region Athletics Championships
in Botswana. Results of that event show a Samkeliso Sithole to have won the
long jump with 5.13 metres, and a Samukeliso Sithole winning the discus with
30.16m. It is unclear whether they are the same person. The world
athletics body no longer conducts gender determination tests, and the
Olympic movement ceased these in 1999. The International Olympic Committee
legally recognises transsexuals provided hormone therapy ceased at least two
years ago. Sport in Britain was relieved a year ago when the Gender
Recognition Bill was amended to allow UK sports bodies to decide, case by
case, whether individual transsexuals should be allowed to compete. Now
they must meet medical criteria and live in their new genders for at least
two years before applying for a new birth certificate.
All change The
1932 Olympic 100 metres champion, Stella Walsh, was exposed as a man when
she died in 1980. Her world records stayed on the books. The Press sisters,
Tamara and Irina, won five Olympic titles for the Soviets, but disappeared
after sex tests were introduced. Richard Raskind, an average male tennis
player, became Renee Richards, lost to Virginia Wade, and is now a
consultant to Martina Navratilova. Heidi Kreiger used so many drugs to become
European shot champion that she's now a man. Zdenka Koubkova, a Czech who
twice broke the world 800m record in 1934, decided the following year she
was a man. Ewa Klobuskova won European sprint titles in 1966, but later
proved to be male. Transsexual golfer Mianne Bagger, was cleared
yesterday to play in the Women's British Open.
February 9, 2005 Posted to the web February 9,
2005
Vimbiso Mafuba Harare
EXPANSION of Kariba Power Station
with support from Iran at a cost of US$200 million has started, Zesa
Holdings said yesterday.
The expansion will see Kariba Power Station*s
generation capacity increasing by 300 megawatts from the additional units
with an output of 150 megawatts each.
Zesa Holdings general manager
(corporate affairs) Mr Obert Nyatanga said the expansion was being done
under a government to government protocol arrangement with Iran and Iranian
companies had been contracted to carry out the expansion works. "Work has
already commenced and Zesa has contracted an engineering company to review
the feasibility study for the expansion. The company will give us a position
at the end of this month."
Zesa Holdings is expected to raise US$80
million while Iran would provide US$120 million.
Some local
engineering companies are expected to be sub-contracted for civil
works.
At the moment Kariba has six units each with a generation
capacity of 125 megawatts and after the expansion the capacity will be 1050
megawatts.
Mr Nyatanga said besides creating employment and other
downstream benefits to local companies expected to supply material for civil
works, the expansion would also stimulate economic growth.
"The
undertaking of the civil works will thereby create more employment, resource
supplies of raw material and down stream benefits for local companies to
increase production therefore inevitably boosting Zimbabwe*s
economy."
Zesa Holdings was allocated $1 trillion under the
parastatals and local authorities reform programme by the Reserve Bank.
LUTZ - Mark McNulty is choosing his
words carefully. Almost painfully. ``My parents live there,'' he says. ``I
still go back there. That's why I am very careful.''
You would not
want to walk in McNulty's shoes these days, not even after taking into
account that the native of Zimbabwe won more than $2 million last year on
his way to being voted Champions Tour rookie of the year. Not even after you
do inventory on his 51 international tournament victories before turning 50
and start to appreciate his reputation as one of the best putters golf has
ever known. Not even when he returns to TPC of Tampa Bay in two weeks to try
to defend the Outback Pro-Am championship that he won last year in his very
first senior tour appearance.
You would not want to pay the
price.
McNulty is very much a man without a country, or maybe even worse,
a man with too many of them. He was born in Zimbabwe, carries an Irish
passport and lives at Orlando's Lake Nona. All of which is a way of saying
McNulty has a beautiful house, but no home.
``How can I be proud to
say I'm from Zimbabwe when every single family's farm has gone pheeew -
taken out from under you without any compensation?'' he says. ``If they had
been paid fair and square, I would not have a bone to grind. But no
compensation? That's where I find it hard to swallow.''
McNulty's
homeland is deep in civil unrest, a continuing nightmare of havoc and
violence. It is one of the richest nations in Africa, a cradle of fertile
land and mineral deposits, but whites, who make up less than 1 percent of
Zimbabwe's population of 12 million, always owned more than 50 percent of
the arable land.
Under the dictatorship of Zimbabwe President Robert
Mugabe, thousands of farmers have been forced to abandon their land in
recent years for the government to simply take. Now, because of economic
sanctions, the economy is in tatters, with inflation running wilder than a
frightened jack rabbit.
``Just to give you one example, about seven,
eight years ago, the U.S. dollar was worth 28 Zimbabwe dollars,'' McNulty
said. ``About three years ago it was worth about 60 Zimbabwe dollars. Now
it's up to 5,000. As you can imagine, it's pretty tough for people who live
there.''
Tampa Visit McNulty, who visited TPC of Tampa Bay to promote
the Feb. 21-27 Outback Pro-Am, traditionally is so soft- spoken he is a guy
who would not say boo if he met Casper the Friendly Ghost. He has a
delightful wit and warm manner, but has always been most comfortable in the
background.
These days, however, as much as he seems to try, it is hard
for McNulty to hold his tongue.
It was about two years ago that his
parents and other family members were forced to abandon their 2,000-acre
farm by government order. His parents, 78 and 75, and one brother remained
in the country. One sister moved to England, another to Australia. McNulty,
aware that a grandmother was born in Ireland in 1885, pursued Irish
citizenship.
``It's my quiet objection,'' he said.
Never
Again So after joining countryman Nick Price to give Zimbabwe international
sports attention - McNulty represented his country in eight World Cup
competitions, seven Dunhill Cup matches and two Presidents Cups - there is
no patriotism left.
``My days of representing Zimbabwe are long
gone,'' he says. ``Nick and I have played many Dunhill Cups and a lot of
World Cups together. Those days are over.
``I feel if you are going
to play in the World Cup for a country, you better be passionate. You have
got to play for the right reasons.''
February 9, 2005 Posted to the web February 9,
2005
Bulawayo
NATIONAL Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe will move
antiquated mining equipment from the Kwekwe Mining Museum at the Globe and
Phoenix Mine to a new mining museum in the city of Kwekwe as environmental
degradation due to rampant gold panning activities is threatening the old
museum.
The curator of mines at National Museums and Monuments Mr Wonai
Mafuma confirmed in an interview from Kwekwe that the site museum that
houses the Paper House will be stripped of most of the antiquated mining
equipment that would be relocated to the new museum.
"We will remove
all the equipment to the new place except the Paper House which will remain
at the site because it is a monument so it would rather be viewed on the
original site," he said.
The Paper House was constructed in 1894 and was
used as the home and subsequently as an office of the then general manager
of the Globe and Phoenix Mine, a Mr H A Piper.
According to Mr Mafuma
the Paper House that is made of papier marché was also a stop over house for
the colonial architect Cecil John Rhodes during his mine exploration visits
across the country.
The house was later proclaimed a national monument in
1975.
Mr Mafuma said tourists preferred to see the house on the original
site.
"Due to massive gold panning activities the environs of the museum
are no longer safe hence the relocation to the new site, where we hope to
display more mining equipment," he said.
The Kwekwe Mining Museum was
constructed in the 1930's after the mine donated a piece of land and the
Paper House to the Department of National Museums and Monuments.
"The
idea of the construction of the museum at the Globe and Phoenix Mine was
that it was the oldest mine in the country," he said.
Meanwhile, National
Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe (NMMZ) and the United Nations Educational
and Scientific Cultural Organisation have forwarded two sites to the World
Heritage Council for designation as World Heritage Sites.
These are Ziwa
and the Chimanimani Mountains, both in Nyanga. [AHEM... Chimanimani
Mountains in Nyanga? B]
"We have submitted the sites to the tentative
list of the World Heritage Council," said NMMZ public relations officer, Mr
Stanley Goredema.
There are a total of five World Heritage Sites in
Zimbabwe namely the Victoria Falls, jointly listed with Zambia in 1989, Mana
Pools in 1984, Great Zimbabwe in 1986, Khami Ruins in 1986 and the Matobo
Hills in 2003.
Preparations for President's Birthday Gain Momentum
The Herald
(Harare)
February 9, 2005 Posted to the web February 9,
2005
Harare
PREPARATIONS for President Mugabe's 81st birthday
celebrations have gained momentum with many donations being received in both
cash and kind, a Zanu-PF Politburo member has said.
Secretary for
Youth Affairs Cde Absolom Sikhosana said preparations for the event were
progressing well with the public at large and the business sector giving
generously.
"The event has been met with an overwhelming response from
the corporate world and the general public. We have received a lot of
donations in cash and kind towards commemorating the day," Cde Sikhosana
said.
He however, could not disclose the amount they had raised so far as
more donations were still pouring in.
"I cannot tell what we have
raised so far because more donations are still being received and it is also
difficult to ascertain the value of what we got in kind," Cde Sikhosana
said.
The annual celebrations, which were held in Zvimba, Mashonaland
West Province, last year, would this year be held in Marondera, the
Mashonaland East provincial capital, on February 26 in line with the policy
of rotating them province by province.
At least 10 children aged
between seven and 15 who share the same birthday with President Mugabe from
each of the provinces would attend the commemoration.
The children
would have lunch with the President.
This year's 21st February Movement
commemoration is of especial importance as it coincides with the Silver
Jubilee when the nation celebrates 25 years of independence and
democracy.
Tobacco Farmers Urged to Establish Energy Woodlots
The Herald
(Harare)
February 9, 2005 Posted to the web February 9,
2005
Harare
TOBACCO farmers have been encouraged to establish
energy woodlots as an alternative source of energy to cure
tobacco.
The call was made in the wake of rampant destruction of
indigenous forests by newly resettled farmers who are mainly dependent on
woodlands as a source of energy to cure the golden leaf.
Since many
farmers have taken up tobacco farming in the wake of the successful land
reform programme, there has been a major shift from coal, the traditional
fuel used by the former large-scale commercial farmers, to
woodfuel.
The prices of coal have become prohibitive especially to
the new farmers who do not have sufficient resources to buy it in sufficient
volumes to cure large quantities of tobacco and so have resorted to cheap
sources of energy, notably wood.
Tobacco growers are currently buying
coal at $210 000 per tonne.
Although coal prices have gone down
significantly in recent months, some farmers with their own woodlots have
continued to use firewood to cure tobacco.
In an interview with
Herald Business this week, the corporate manager of Forestry Commission
Zimbabwe, Mr Dzidzai Maruzane, said his organisation was working in
conjunction with various stakeholders to ensure most farmers adopt the
initiative.
He said a sizeable number of new farmers in Mashonaland and
Manicaland provinces, where the bulk of the crop is grown, had already
started setting up woodlots, which mature after five years.
"We have
realised that many farmers who have benefited from the land reform programme
cannot afford to purchase coal for tobacco curing.
"That is why we took
the initiative and we are closely working with the Zimbabwe Tobacco Growers'
Association and other stakeholders to encourage new tobacco farmers to
establish energy woodlots," said Mr Maruzane.
"Energy woodlots grow
faster and farmers would be assured of a sustainable source of energy," he
added.
Hybrid eucalyptus, he said, was particularly recommended as it
matured between five and 10 years. He said it was also advisable for every
farmer who planted about five hectares of tobacco to establish one hectare
of wood.
Although coal is widely used by farmers in Zimbabwe, most
African countries that produce tobacco have reportedly started implementing
the woodlots concept, which has been described as cheap and less
consumptive.
Brazil, one of the world's largest tobacco producers, has
over the years been using the same system.
Tobacco remains the
country's biggest foreign currency earner and sufficient energy - in the
form of coal or wood --- is required to ensure high quality.
Over the
past years, curing of dryland tobacco has been affected by erratic coal
supplies from Hwange Colliery Company, thereby adversely affecting the
curing for the harvested crop.
However, this season, unlike in the
past, farmers have had fewer problems securing coal or wood for tobacco
curing.
Curing has been made easier as the farmers can now access coal
directly from Hwange instead of relying on the National Railways of Zimbabwe
to transport the commodity.
Also, in the past, coal merchants used to
rip off farmers by charging exorbitant prices.
A pilot energy
woodlots project was launched by the Forestry Commission of Zimbabwe in
Karoi, Mashonaland West Province, last year.
The signing of a
bilateral investment protection agreement between South Africa and Zimbabwe
was postponed on Wednesday, the department of trade and industry (DTI)
said.
DTI chief director for African Trade, George Monemongane, said the
signing was postponed because the Zimbabwean minister was not available. It
was not known when it would be signed now.
"It will be signed at the
earliest opportunity that both ministers are available," he said.
The
agreement deals with investment promotion and reciprocal protection of
investment between the two countries. It would among other things protect
the land rights of South African farmers who own land in
Zimbabwe.
Monemongane said the department had previously tried to have
the agreement signed, but the ministers were never available at the same
time.
AgriSA president Lourie Bosman said his organisation was
disappointed at the postponement.
"We are disappointed that the
signing has yet again been postponed," he said.
"It was postponed in
October because Zimbabwe refused to accept the terms under which we wanted
protection for the rights of South African farmers owning land in
Zimbabwe."
He said AgriSA had insisted over a number of years that there
must be protection for South African farmers who owned land in
Zimbabwe.
Several farmers had already lost their farms under the
Zimbabwean government's land policy.
PHILIP Chiyangwa, the maverick ZANU
PF legislator and businessman currently languishing in remand prison on
allegations of espionage, has sold his lavish Borrowdale mansion for an
estimated $6.8 billion.
The white two-storey palace, popularly
referred to as Harare's White House, has been flogged off to an undisclosed
buyer who market sources said feared being identified in light of the
controversy surrounding the incarcerated
businessman-turned-politician. The deposed ZANU PF Mashonaland West
chairman is in remand prison awaiting a High Court judgment on his bail
application. Chiyangwa, who faces up to 20 years imprisonment if
convicted of breaching the Official Secrets Act, is expected to appear at
the magistrate courts tomorrow on routine remand. Zimbabwe's
ambassador-designate to Mozambique, Godfrey Dzvairo, banker Tendai
Matambanadzo and ZANU PF external affairs director Itai Marchi, who were
facing similar charges, were on Tuesday jailed for a maximum of six years
each. Speculation swirled this week the property could have been
disposed to a foreign embassy or international organisation based in
Harare. Investigations by The Financial Gazette revealed that the
double-storey property, which boasts of 18 bedrooms - all ensuite - 18
stylishly furnished lounges, three roof helipads and a fully furnished
office with state-of-the-art technological embellishments, has been on sale
since December last year but the sale was concluded in the past three
weeks. A "sold" sign was by yesterday morning still posted outside the
huge property at the corner of 11 Prestwood Lane and Crowhill in
Quinnington, Borrowdale. An official with the Harare realtor that
handled the sale, Seeff Zimbabwe, confirmed the development. "We
sold the property in December last year but we are not supposed to say for
how much and to whom," the official said. It could not be ascertained
if the house, which has Greek, Portuguese and Italian tiles, went voetstoets
with plasma televisions, a theatre-type television in the main bedroom,
computerised wardrobes, several satellite dishes and other
accessories. Chiyangwa's neighbours who spoke to this newspaper said
they were taken by surprise when the leading Harare estate agent three weeks
ago erected a sign proclaiming that the house, an oasis even in the midst of
the suburb's extravagant opulence, had been sold. "The "sold" sign
was posted three weeks ago but other people continue flocking here to
inquire about the property," a neighbour said. "Just yesterday sales
representatives from another Harare estate agent were here inquiring about
the property," added the nighbour, who spoke on condition of
anonymity. However, it is understood that Chiyangwa's wife and
other members of his family were this week still occupying the property as
final transactions were being concluded.
LOSING ZANU PF
stalwarts, who were mulling standing as independent candidates in next
month's crucial parliamentary polls, have backed off from the idea for fear
of reprisals by the ruling party machinery known for dealing ruthlessly with
rebels.
Sources said President Robert Mugabe, who could be seeing
out his last term of office ending 2008, had been fully briefed by his
lieutenants that cracks within the fractious ruling party, widened by
controversial ZANU PF primary elections, were on the mend ahead of the March
polls. Of major concern, they say, was a silent war being waged by some
of the losing aspiring ZANU PF legislators to swing the vote in favour of
opposition party candidates, in protest over what they called the
"imposition of candidates". President Mugabe, who has maintained a
tight grip on ZANU PF despite intermittent fights that have come to
characterise it, is eyeing a majority win over his bitter rival, the
Movement for Democratic Change, in order to effect planned constitutional
changes. A repeat of the disputed June 2000 polls, in which a number of
disgruntled ZANU PF members stood as independents, has been the ruling
party's major worry. Speculation has mounted in recent weeks that a
third political force led by firebrand independent candidate Margaret Dongo
and mainly made up of spurned ZANU PF candidates could come into play ahead
of the March 31 poll. Dongo, who is in the running for the Harare
Central constituency as an independent, yesterday confirmed that such
overtures had been made by some ruling party candidates, but said it was
hugely unlikely the loose coalition could materialise. "Yes, there
are discussions to that effect underway, to see if a way to bring
alternative voices into parliament as a way of challenging the power
politics the country has been subjected to under the two-party system. That
coalition would be a godsend because independents are not beholden to any
party. "But you have to realise the constraints on the way. Most of
these people will not readily take this route because of several factors,
for a start, your farm will be taken away and, if you are in business and
rely on government contracts as many do, you will lose that as well. There
are also issues pertaining to financing your campaign. So it is a question
of commitment, but people are not prepared lose that for the sake of the
people. "However, there remains room for independents. If you look
at Malawi, where several independents made it into parliament in the last
election, you can see the positive impact they have had on that country's
politics. Bingu wa Mutharika has refused to be bullied by UDF and he can
rely on the support of independents, who tend to be more driven by real
issues and not power considerations. So it is just not true that there is no
room for independents in this country because the experience of this current
parliament has exposed a gap," Dongo said. ZANU PF is however,
known for its ruthless streak in dealing with defectors. Those thrown out
from the party have found it difficult to reclaim their former glory even
after being readmitted. According to the ZANU PF constitution, one
ceases to be a member if he or she campaigns as an independent.
Those dislodged from the party's positions of power comprise of Victor
Chitongo - Murewa North, Lazaraus Dokora - Rushinga, Paul Mazikana - Guruve
North, Pearson Mbalekwa - Zvishavane, Gibson Munyoro - Makoni West, Ishmael
Mutema - Kadoma Central and Kindness Paradza - Makonde. Former
legislators Irene Zindi and Dzikamai Mavhaire, who fell out of favour after
urging President Mugabe "to go", are some of the ZANU PF politicians who
were rumoured to be considering going it alone after failing to secure the
party's support in the primaries. Chitongo, Mbalekwa, Munyoro and
Paradza all said they 'would remain loyal members of the party'.
"Whether there was cheating, that is an internal ZANU PF game. Outsiders
should not worry much about that. As for my political career, I will remain
a loyal ZANU PF member," said Chitongo who lost the right to represent the
ruling party to Health Minister David Parirenyatwa. "There is no need
for me to stand as an independent, I will wait and in 2010 I will be in,"
said Paradza who was barred from contesting the Makonde slot because of his
pending court and disciplinary cases. "I will not fight the party I
helped create but I can tell you this has created problems for our
supporters," said Munyoro, who lost the battle to Agriculture Minister
Joseph Made. "Standing as an independent is not an option," quipped
Mbalekwa. Sources said most of the MPs had chickened out from standing
on the independent ticket, fearing the wrath of President Mugabe, the wily
veteran leader who has not hesitated to wield the axe on ambitious young
Turks. Many young Turks, a constant thorn in the ruling party old
guard's flesh, are being punished for throwing in their lot with
presidential aspirant Emmerson Mnangagwa's campaign for the vice presidency
last year, said sources. Deliberate action by the ruling party to
dump sitting MPs perceived to be sympathetic to Mnangagwa comes hard on the
heels of the banning of six provincial chairpersons amidst a flurry of
accusations that they had plotted to influence the shape and form of the
party's four-member presidium. Analysts hinted that there was still
time for the MPs to weigh their options before the February 18 nomination
day. "The option to stand as independent candidates is not completely
thrown out. There is still time as long as the support is there," said one
deposed MP. Already, ZANU PF chairman John Nkomo and some senior
party officials from the traditionally troublesome Matabeleland province
stand accused of enjoying the gravy train of the 1987 Unity Accord, "despite
commanding very little, if any support from the province", sources
said. "Even our own supporters have become disgruntled by the senior
officials' insatiable appetite for luxury, without addressing the suffering
masses' problems despite numerous promises made for the past two decades,"
said the deposed MP.
ASPIRING
Members of Parliament with shallow pockets would be the hardest hit in a new
round of fee increases for candidates in the March 31 parliamentary
elections, which have gone up by about 2 000 percent.
The fee
increase has raised the ire of Zimbabwe's opposition parties who are
accusing the ruling ZANU PF of charging exorbitant fees to financially
cripple opponents operating on shoestring budgets. In a statutory
instrument 14 of 2005 published last week, the government pegged the
registration fee for parliamentary nominees at $2 million per candidate from
the previous $100 000. The price to secure a copy of the voters' roll
has been increased to $5 million from the previous $200 000, a whopping 2
500 percent increase. Parties intending to contest all the 120
parliamentary seats would have to fork out $240 million for their
candidates, while acquiring the national voters' roll would leave a $600
million hole in their pockets. Insiders within the Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) said the party, whose financial resources have been
haemorrhaged by a plethora of court battles the party has fought against the
government and ZANU PF since 2000, had this year only received $300 million
from the state under the Political Finances Act. The MDC now
desperately needs nearly $1 billion to register candidates as well as
acquire the voters' roll for all its candidates. Paul Themba Nyathi,
the MDC spokesman, said the high fees were a cynical response to democracy
calculated to discourage the main opposition party, already tottering under
a heavy weight of legal bills. "If you notice the statutory instrument,
it is dated 28 January 2005 but it was only gazetted on 4 February, a day
after we announced our participation in the polls. This is targeted at us,
to cripple the MDC financially," he said. "Representative democracy should
not be so expensive," added Nyathi. Wilson Khumbula, the leader of
ZANU (Ndonga), which has a single seat in parliament, said the fees were
indicative of ZANU PF's desire to be the only party in parliament.
"This is betrayal of democracy, ZANU PF wants to be alone without the
opposition. They are trying to stop us from contesting because they are not
affected financially because they are using taxpayers' money. This is a
shame," said Khumbula. "We don't have any meaningful funding like
ZANU PF. With the latest developments, we might be forced to cut our
participation in some constituencies. Two million dollars is a lot of money
for opposition parties considering that there are 120 seats. We need money
for campaigning and for use during the elections and the actual counting,"
added Khumbula. Paul Siwela, the president of the fringe opposition
ZAPU Federal Party, said his party, which had intended fielding candidates
in all the constituencies, was reviewing its initial decision to participate
in the crucial polls. "This is unacceptable, we might pull out of
the race because the figures being mentioned are too expensive for small
opposition parties like ours that are not getting any funding from the state
or foreign donors," said Siwela whose party participated in both the 2000
parliamentary polls and the Presidential polls in 2002. Margaret
Dongo, who has announced her participation as an independent, said: "It's
trying to make money out of the electoral process. Where will candidates get
this kind of money? Politics turning into commerce," she said.
DELAYS in finalising the ZANU PF election manifesto and the
chaotic primaries caused the two false starts suffered by the ruling party
in officially launching the March 31 parliamentary polls campaign
trail.
Party insiders told The Financial Gazette this week that
Nathan Shamuyarira, the ageing ruling party information chief, had to work
overtime to ensure the manifesto was completed in time for the delayed
launch, now slated for Saturday. Changes in the party's information
and publicity department, which saw the government's spin doctor Jonathan
Moyo being jettisoned from his post, also contributed to delays in cobbling
up the Anti-Blair campaign manifesto. Moyo, whose political fortunes
have been on a tailspin since the Tsholotsho debacle, credits himself of
penning ZANU PF's manifestos for the 2000 parliamentary and 2002
presidential polls. Elliot Manyika, the party's national political
commissar who has recorded an album to be released concurrently with the
ZANU PF campaign launch in Harare, said everything was now in place for the
official launch. "We are on a roll and ready to bury the
British-sponsored MDC (Movement for Democratic Change)," said Manyika,
adding that President Robert Mugabe would be on hand to launch the ruling
party's campaign where its 120 candidates would also be officially unveiled
at a function envisaged to be attended by over 3 000 delegates from the
country's 10 political provinces. A number of cabinet ministers and
sitting ZANU PF legislators lost the right to represent the party during
primaries held last month, among them Samuel Mumbengegwi, the Minister of
Industry and International Trade, Paul Mangwana, the Minister of Labour and
Social Welfare and Moyo.
DEVELOPMENTS in
Zimbabwe's northern neighbour Malawi and the far-flung Togo in west Africa
this week alone served to show the two faces of African politics; one that
is ugly and another, well, quite beautiful to behold.
The death of
one of Africa's last Big Men, Gnassigbe Eyadema of Togo after almost 40
years in power brought with it another coup - after the, military there
armtwisted parliament to tweak the constitution - in a west African region
that just cannot break away from that curse. Despite widespread
protests and outright condemnation, Togo went ahead and - at the
discomforting behest of the military - swore in Faure Eyadema to replace his
father as the country's next president. Had the military stayed in the
barracks and the constitution adhered to, the parliamentary speaker would
have replaced Gnassibe, who suffered heart failure, until polls 60 days
later. Needless to add, the two Eyademas to rule Togo for a whole generation
rode to power on the back of the military and pulled their middle fingers at
democracy and popular will. The Economic Community of West African
States (ECOWAS) has voiced its displeasure at developments in Lome, with
Nigerian president and African Union chairman Olusegun Obasanjo condemning
the virtual coup. This gives comfort, at least, that Africa could be
moving away from its conspiracy of silence, which has seen its leaders
stooping to peer shielding at the expense of the masses. Even more
refreshing were indications that this condemnation would be followed by
resolute action in the form of sanctions. Closer to home, in a dramatic
twist that will disconcert all continental Big Men wherever they may be,
Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika broke ranks with the United Democratic
Front (UDF), alleging that he has had enough of interference in his efforts
to rid the central Africa country of the scourge of corruption.
Ever since he assumed the Malawian presidency having been picked by former
president Bakili Muluzi, wa Mutharika - a former executive secretary of the
Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa(COMESA) who left the trade
bloc in inauspicious circumstances- has battled against a tag that he was
not his own man. However, his drive against graft in high places was
soon to translate into an uneasy relationship with his predecessor, who
remains powerful as UDF chairman. Serious accusations and counter
accusations have gone back and forth between the two, culminating in last
weekend's shock decision, by wa Mutharika, to quit UDF.
Incidentally, the Malawian president announced the decision at an
Anti-corruption Day rally where he also took a swipe at Muluzi's sugar
monopoly. For good measure and, according to some reports, by no
coincidence, bailiffs raided the Trade and Investment Bank in Lilongwe
controlled by Muluzi and attached some property over obligations the bank
had failed to meet. It was clear to all and sundry that the boot
was firmly on the other foot. To further buttress his position,
support for wa Mutharika's stand against corruption, popular among the
masses, has been growing during the week. Cabinet ministers in his recently
reshuffled cabinet rallied behind him as did several legislators and
aldermen. The Malawian experience has shades of the Zambian scenario,
when former president Fredrick Chiluba plucked Levy Mwana-wasa - who was
down on political luck and had slipped into virtual oblivion - to position
him as his successor. Mwanawasa, who had previously served as
Chiluba's vice president, wasted no time in visiting his predecessor's
cupboards to unearth a raft of skeletons. Chiluba's vicissitudes,
including long stretches under house arrest, are well documented, but the
greatest import of his case and, as could soon happen, that of Muluzi is
that African leaders can no longer take comfort in anointing successors in
the hope of securing protection once they leave offices teeming with the
skeletons of graft and worse. Better still, that wa Mutharika could
risk his political future by betting the farm and going for the jugular
against the corruption curse is cause for optimism that the new, emerging
brand of African leaders could yet bring hope to the continent the rest of
the world seems to have given up on. The continent has to break away from
the milieu of Big Men and embrace democratic, transparent and accountable
governments. To this end, the unwelcome leadership that has just been
foisted on the people of Togo has to be the last such product of
retrogression and the first to go.
YOU know something
is seriously wrong when those in a position to influence global events
decide that agreement over semantics should take precedence over the need to
end human suffering and save lives.
But hard as it may be to
believe, this is exactly what is happening with regard to the situation in
the Darfur region of Western Sudan. United Nations Secretary General
Kofi Annan has described the horrors taking place in this part of Africa as
the worst humanitarian crisis in the world today. You would think
that this grim assessment by the world's top civil servant would prick
consciences and galvanise those capable of making a difference to act
urgently. But what do we have? While tens of thousands are slaughtered
and almost two million are displaced from their homes, the international
community continues to fiddle over what to call the tragedy. It is
genocide, declares the world's only remaining super power, the United
States. It is crimes against humanity, concludes the world governing body,
the United Nations. Others claim that while genocide proper did not occur,
certain groups in Sudan acted "with genocidal intent" against the people of
Darfur. What message is the international community sending to the
people of Darfur from behind this confusing verbiage? "Thousands
can continue to be killed and displaced, women can continue to be raped and
children can continue to die from disease and starvation while we take our
time to define what is happening to you", is what the people of Darfur are
hearing. It is not clear whether the international community is hoist
with its own terminological petard out of a genuine desire to build
consensus or whether the word games being played are a convenient excuse to
remain catatonic. But whatever the motivation, this semantic
confusion within the international community has resulted in handing over on
a platter, a propaganda coup to the Khartoum regime. The negligent
government's spin doctors have wasted no time in claiming to have been
exonerated. How scandalous! But as long as the killings and other atrocities
perpetrated against the people of Darfur do not fall under the ambit of an
acceptable definition of genocide, the government can beat its chest in
self-congratulation. What's more, it can continue to collude with the
Janjaweed militias that are terrorising and massacring the people. The
question that needs to be answered is, who says only killings constituting
genocide warrant being stopped urgently. The sanctity of human life is
clearly and simply defined by the Biblical commandment, "Thou shalt not
kill". There are no grey areas there. Killing should not be defined in
degrees on the basis of the method used, whether the victims are of one race
or ethnic group or whether they die in large enough numbers. The
unnecessary taking of one human life is a death too many as far as I am
concerned. It is preposterous and dangerous to cloud the issue by hiding
behind confusing terminology as the internatioal community is trying to
do. POST SCRIPT : The appointment of Condoleeza Rice as US Secretary of
State presents newspaper headline writers with countless pitfalls as well as
opportunities for clever word play. A local newspaper set the ball
rolling with this gem: "RICE RISES TO THE TOP" Listed below are other
tongue-in-cheek possibilities: "RICE IN HOT SOUP" "RICE
ROASTED AT HEARING" "RICE A HIT AT BANQUET" "WE WANT RICE"
demonstrators chant "RICE IN FOOD POISONING SCARE" "RICE
RECIPE FOR PEACE" "RICE IN CHINA"
SO the thugs in the
web-hacking business recently decided to try forays into no other website
but the Great Uncle's own? And this time they wanted to address him
mbune, after having tried to do it through the Chronicle last year? Doesn't
this say something about the calibre of thugs in our national
security?
Democracy
Developments in Malawi are
something quite new on the African continent. Our brother-in-law
Cde Bingu wa Mutharika has decided to part ways with the "ruling" "United"
Democratic Front (UDF), the party that smuggled him into power ahead of
several veterans. Yes, the man, also known as Bingu wa Muluzi because
of him being handpicked by ex-Malawi president Bakili Muluzi has surprised
all his detractors by throwing his anti-corruption dragnet as far wide as to
threaten even his own godfathers. Wa Mutharika at the weekend
resigned from the UDF - barely a year after being entrusted with the safety
of all public thieves in Malawi - as he takes his anti-corruption drive to
top gear, threatening all the corrupt big fish in the tiny southern African
country who all along have been protected by past regimes. CZ
cannot help but just wonder if anything close to this can ever happen to
this country . . . the Great Uncle handpicking one of his minions to pretend
like there is a new ruler, and suddenly the minion turning around to
embarrass everyone!
Lying?
It has always been said
that a man who repeats a lie over and over again ends up believing his own
lie. That is no problem as long as the man in question is alone forced to
realise the consequences of his mischief. Last week one weekly
newspaper published a true story that workers at one of the many "SMEs" at
the former ZBC had not been paid . . . more than two weeks after pay
day. Guess what? The "SME", which is full-time into the business of
lying round the clock, did not hesitate to run a story denying that its
workers had not been paid. It went further to claim that its workers had
been paid way before their pay-day, etc, etc. And the effect? Some
landlords who genuinely believed that their tenants were yet to be paid
rightfully thought they were up to some mischief and some of the workers
found their belongings scattered outside! Can't there be a limit beyond
which lying becomes a criminal offence? Surely, if one's employer can have
the gall to deny that they have not yet paid their workers when they know
very well that the opposite is the truth, isn't it criminal?
Food for thought
A girl was directing her boyfriend to her
apartment: "At the gate, press the intercom button with elbow and somebody
will let you in. With your elbow, press the elevator button to open and
press floor number three. That is my floor. And with your elbow, knock on
room 16. That is my room and I will let you in." Confused, the
boyfriend asked: "Why am I going to use my elbow?" She paused for a
while and asked: "You are not coming empty-handed, are you?" lA
young boy was sitting in the park eating one burger after the
other. An old man sitting across the bench approached the boy and
said: "Son, do you know it's not good for your health to eat one burger
after the other the way you are doing? You will not get to a ripe old age as
I am." The little boy answered back: "My Grandpa lived to be 100
years." And the old man asked: "Did he use to eat this much?"
The boy answered: "He used to mind his own business!" lWhen he was
drunk, Harry always liked this habit of kissing his wife, crawling into bed
and falling to sleep. One night, all of a sudden he "woke up" with an
elderly man dressed in a shiny gown standing in front of his bed.
"What the hell are you doing in my bedroom? And who are you?" he
asked. "This is not your bedroom," the man replied. "I am St Peter,
and you are in Heaven." "What!?? Are you saying I'm dead? I don't
want to die . . . I'm too young," said Harry. "If I'm dead, I want you
to send me back immediately." "It's not that easy", said St Peter.
"I can only smuggle you back to life as a dog or a hen. You can choose on
your own." Harry thought about it for a while, and figured out that
being a dog was too tiring, but a hen probably had a nice and relaxed life.
Running around with a rooster can't be that bad, he told himself.
"I want to return as a hen," Harry replied. And in the next second, he
found himself in a chicken run, really nicely feathered. But "he"
felt like the rear end was threatening to blow . . . then along came
the rooster. "Hey, you must be the new hen on the farm?" he said. "How
does it feel?" "Well, it's OK I guess, but it feels like my rear
end is blowing up." "Oh that!" said the rooster. "That's only the
ovulation going on. Have you ever laid an egg before?" "No, how do
I do that?" Harry asked. "Cluck twice, and then you push all you
can." Harry clucked twice, and pushed more than he was good for, and
then "plop" - and an egg was on the ground. "Wow," Harry said. That
felt really good!" So he clucked again and squeezed. And you
better believe that there was yet another egg on the ground. The third time
he clucked, he heard a shout: "Harry, for God's sake, wake up. You have
messed the whole bed," his wife was shouting! cznotebook@yahoo.co.uk
INDIGENOUS tobacco
producers are upbeat an increased harvest of 160 kilogrammes, a whopping
threefold haul compared to last year, is attainable in the 2004/05 season
despite earlier indications that the crop would barely reach 100
kilogrammes.
The Zimbabwe Tobacco Association had said this year's
crop would just top 100 million kgs, itself an improvement on a 65 million
kilogramme haul recorded last year. But Kwenda Dzarira, executive
director of the Zimbabwe Farmers Union, said the availability of coal from
Hwange Colliery Company had boosted the chances of tobacco farmers reaching
the target of 160 million kilogrammes. "Enough coal has been delivered
by Hwange and that caters for the curing of the 120 kilogrammes collected,"
said Dzarira. The past poor tobacco harvests have been partly blamed on
an acute shortage of coal to cure the crop. Hwange, in turn, has
blamed the erratic supply of coal on a shortage of wagons from the National
Railways of Zimbabwe. "The only problem could be of curing space since
tobacco has to stay in the pan for about 10 to 18 days, depending on the
quality of the leaf," said Dzarira. Davison Mugabe, president of
the Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union, this week said with continued good
rains, the harvest could surpass 160 million and reach 250 million
kilogrammes. "So far 120 million kilogrammes has been collected and is
already in the pans for cure," said Mugabe. "We already have a 100 percent
harvest," he said. Mugabe said contract farming had increased
chances of the industry hitting the targeted 160 million kilogrammes for
2004/2005. In the 2003/04 season, the industry harvested 65 million,
earning the country US$240 million, a far cry from the peak of 200 million
kilogrammes in the 1999/2000 season.
A LOCAL technology
firm, Incisive Techno-logies, has established a five-year period desktop
farm business planner in a bid to increase farmer output and efficiency in
an industry currently going through a lean spell due to myriad
problems.
The planner, known as the Incisive Taguta, enables users
to create cropping scenarios from a total of 240 possible varieties, spread
them over user-defined seasons and allocate them to named land blocks of
given sizes. Incisive Taguta will then compute comprehensive five-year
financial forecasts corresponding to the scenario created and can store five
scenarios simultaneously. The scenarios can generate financial
forecasts on production output, sales revenues, variable assets, balance
sheets, project costs, loans required and repayments, debtors, creditors,
stocks and financial ratios. Incisive Techno-logies managing director
Misheck Khosa said consultative meetings on the implementation of the
project have already been held with various stakeholders in the agriculture
sector and officials from the Ministry of Agriculture. The firm has
also met with officials from leading horticultural concerns such as
Interfresh and Cairns and eight farmers have adopted the concept.
"The Incisive Taguta is all in one, a five-year cropping project planner, a
farm budgeting facility, a sales and financial forecasting tool, a project
appraisal facility, an inputs requirements reporter and a "cash-flows"
generator- all for the layman," Khosa said. The agriculture sector has
shrunk by 50 percent in the past four years because of a myriad of viability
problems including lack of inputs, finance, erratic weather as well as low
international prices.
I recently caught the tail-end of a
news broadcast on the New Partnership for Africa's Development television
channel, AFRISAT.
The story that was in progress when I tuned in
featured the inauguration of Mozambique's new President, Armando Guebuza.
The report ended with Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa, who was one of the
VIP guests at the ceremony, giving his views on how opposition parties in
Africa react to election results. Unfortunately and
disappointingly, the Tanzanian head of state launched into holier-than-thou
sermonising about the need for opposition parties on the continent to "learn
to accept election results". He was obviously referring to Afonso
Dhlakama's party, RENAMO, which was defeated in recent elections. Dhlakama
had threatened that his party would not accept the poll results.
Mkapa said a trend was developing in Africa involving opposition parties
failing to appreciate that accepting defeat was part of the democratic
process. I have always considered talking back to the television
something a bit weird , limited to sports fanatics. But on this occasion I
found myself audibly disputing the Tanzanian leader's statement and
questioning his reasoning. "Easy for you to say because you have
never had to buckle down to an unfair electoral defeat," I mumbled in the
general direction of the TV set. Mkapa is not the first African leader
to turn the legitimate argument about rigged elections in Africa on its head
by trying to promote the fallacy that all that is wrong is the inability or
reluctance of opposition parties to face realities when they lose elections.
According to the Tanzanian leader and his fellow long-serving presidents,
African democracy will flourish as long as they remain in power. I
am sorry to say this, but His Excellency is lying through his teeth.
Opposition parties in Africa are not the group that needs to learn anything
about defeat at the polls. They have known nothing else over the last 40
years when most nations attained independence. The group most in
need of learning to accept that they cannot always win at the polls consists
of the ruling parties now holding sway continent-wide. True, these
parties led their nations to independence and no one disputes that. What I
and most other long-suffering Africans cannot stomach is the illogical and
self-serving conclusion they have reached that they have an exclusive right
to govern indefinitely. As a result of this erroneous and convoluted
reasoning, these parties have decreed that dislodging them from power is
un-African, unpatriotic and, in some extreme cases, even
treasonous. The weapons these dictatorial rulers have in their arsenal
to ensure that they never have to experience electoral defeat include
repression, ruthless crushing of dissent and downright rigging of
elections. Not every ruling party is guilty of these abuses, but all of
them owe the world an explanation on how they manage to beat the law of
averages to win elections over and over for up to 40 years. As an
example, Mkapa's party, Chama Chama Pindudzi, has ruled Tanzania since
independence in 1963. It goes without saying that in all those years,
opposition parties in Tanzania have had to come to terms with electoral
defeat after electoral defeat. What, may I ask, can Mkapa teach these groups
about experiencing and accepting defeat when his party has never done
so? It is quite clear, that the bloc that has the most trouble
fathoming, let alone accepting, electoral defeat includes ruling parties in
Tanzania, Uganda, Mozambique, Angola, Togo, Egypt, Libya and Zimbabwe, etc,
which have some of the longest-serving presidents. Kenya, Zambia
and Malawi, among others, were in the same category until recently when
opposition parties in these countries achieved the seemingly impossible feat
of booting out the erstwhile invincible ruling parties. However,
their successes at the polls seem to have caused jitters among the remaining
one-party rulers, hence their determination to cast opposition parties as
the villains for questioning their skewed and unnatural winning
streak. What Mkapa and Co are saying, in essence, is that opposition
parties should continue to allow the power-addicted ruling parties to steal
elections. That way they would never need to learn to accept losing
themselves but continue to preach their condescending "defeat is good for
you" gospel to others.
The subject of human rights, which is
closely related to the doctrine of constitutionalism or democracy, is one
that caused bitter controversy locally during and after the civil strife in
Matabeleland in the early 1980s and during the past few years after the
controversial 2000 and 2002 national elections.
National and
international politics has also been dominated by debates and continuous
calls for the observance of people's rights, especially after the collapse
of colonialism and communism. The loud and persistent demand for the
recognition and protection of human, social, political and economic rights
has been made and continues to be made. But the unfortunate reality is that
human rights violation continues unabated, locally as well as across the
entire length and breadth of the globe. It is only through an
acknowledgement and absolute respect for human rights that meaningful peace
and development may be attained globally. In this vein, the United
Nations, governments, non governmental organisations, political parties,
churches, lawyers and some eminent persons have formed the bandwagon that
has been pushing for a genuine commitment to the cause of human
rights. The time has come for local politicians and other role players,
including the judiciary and the hitherto violence-prone members of the
security forces, to show a genuine commitment to respecting the rights of
citizens. Recent assurances by President Robert Mugabe that there
shall be a zero tolerance to violence must be applauded because it signifies
an important change of stance by the ruling party, which in the past
vigorously employed violence, intimidation, torture, rape and other vices as
a tool to win people's favour. It is unfortunate that the human
rights abuses that have been perpetrated locally were unleashed despite us
having a modern constitution that has a relatively progressive Bill of
Rights and other legal safeguards. The cause of this blatant disregard
for people's rights and our supreme law appear to emanate from our
politicians' deep desire for infinite political power. With
Zimbabwe's parliamentary elections around the corner, it is hoped that
everyone will desist from the culture of pounding human flesh and spilling
innocent blood to win or maintain power. Those who wield political power
must stick to their pre-independence promises and stop dishing out to people
counterfeit democracy or token human rights. A Bill of Rights is an
important component of any modern state that subscribes to the universal
doctrine of democracy. It confers certain rights and freedoms and must
provide guarantees against violation of such rights. But it is one
thing to have a constitution with a Bill of Rights and quite another to have
a political system that does not give respect to such rights and freedoms. A
constitution can only have meaning if those with political power show a
commitment to the observance of human rights and the law, and abstain from
selectively recognising or giving effect to the supreme law of the
land. In domestic systems, a model constitution must provide for a
balance of power between the executive, judiciary and legislative arms of
the state. These three important pillars of a modern state, if allowed to
function properly and impartially, can limit abuse of power chiefly by the
executive arm. Once a human right is protected by a constitution,
it becomes a legal right, and upon its violation, an affected party can seek
remedies through the courts of law. Our courts, however, can only
protect citizens from alienation of their rights if they are allowed to
function with unhindered independence, adequate funding and free from the
verbal and written diatribe by some quarters of the media and
politicians. Our constitution confers fundamental rights and freedoms
of the individual which must at all times be respected and protected,
primarily by the state. Such rights include the right to life, liberty,
security of the person and the protection of the law. Other rights include
the right to freedom of conscience, of expression, of assembly and
association and, finally, the right to protection of property and protection
from arbitrary and compulsory acquisition of property. These rights are
fundamental but not absolute because they must be enjoyed subject to the
rights of others and the public interest. The state is therefore permitted
by the constitution to deprive an individual his/her right where that right
encroaches or poses a danger to the rights of others. lVote Muza is
a legal practitioner with Gutu & Chikowero law firm. E-mail
address: gutulaw@mweb.co.zw
Website : www.gutulaw.co.zw