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Wednesday, 10 February 2010
Sue Lloyd-Roberts visits Philip Chiyangwa, the millionaire
businessman nephew of Robert Mugabe, at his opulent Zimbabwe home full of deluxe
cars
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By Sue Lloyd-Roberts
BBC Newsnight, Zimbabwe | 
Thursday marks the first anniversary of Zimbabwe's so-called "inclusive
government".
It has been a year since President Robert Mugabe swore in his former
political rival, Morgan Tsvangirai, as Prime Minister and the two agreed to a
series of conditions enshrined in the Global Political Agreement and to work on
a new constitution which would pave the way to free and fair elections.
It is a year since Zimbabwe's former political rivals struck a
deal |
So what has been achieved?
"The inclusive government has bought peace and there is food in the shops,"
Julius, a 35-year-old teacher said. "Anytime you get a dollar, you can rest
assured that you will find something to buy."
The problem is getting a dollar. Teachers like Julius will mark the
anniversary by going on strike this week.
He said he welcomes the fact that the coalition government has restored peace
to the country, but complained that he still cannot feed his family.
Julius takes homes $150 (£96) a month. Over $100 goes on renting two rooms in
a house, which leaves him with a little more than a dollar a day to spend on
food.
Reminder of past pain
We followed him to the supermarket where the shelves were stocked high. He
bought one loaf of white bread - "our weekly treat" he explained - and then
walked outside to a market stall to purchase his family's more regular fare -
1kg (2lb) of potatoes.
He took us home to meet his wife and two daughters.
"Of course, things are better than they were," he said, pointing to his
younger daughter. "When she was born, we had no food at all. She went for hours
without food. She is three years old but looks like a two-year-old.
"I feel like crying every time I look at my daughter - it reminds me of the
history I don't want to remember," he said.
He is right. Things were a lot worse.
I have travelled to Zimbabwe regularly over the last tumultuous decade and,
if I were to write a report card at the end of this, the first year of the
inclusive government, it would read: "A good start, could do better, but with a
very uncertain future."
Mass rallies
The timetable for political reform has slipped badly.
Four thousand white commercial farmers have had farms
seized |
Only the former opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC),
have been holding outreach meetings with their supporters to discuss a new
constitution, which is meant to pave the way for free and fair elections.
These meetings should have been concluded last November.
At a rowdy, dancing and singing MDC gathering two hours' drive east of Harare
which I went to, people were celebrating that they are able to meet at all.
"It was horrible before," Susan, a local party organiser, said. "Zanu PF
thugs would come and beat people. Now, we thank God that we can move freely and
meet together."
The meeting was addressed by the MDC deputy Prime Minister, Thokozani Khupe.
To cheers, she told the crowds that her party wants to restore political
power to the prime minister and to parliament.
Zanu PF are not holding mass, outreach meetings.
Asset control
Back in Harare I found Paul Mangwana, Zanu PF's constitutional expert, at his
legal practice putting finishing touches to what his party believe should be the
shape of the new constitution - to put the power firmly in the hands of the one
executive authority because of Zimbabwe's wealth.
Mr Mugabe's nephew Philip Chiyangwa has fared well in
Zimbabwe |
"We have a rich inheritance - nickel, platinum, diamonds - every mineral
known in the world," he said. "We need to concentrate power in one, strong
individual to safeguard those resources and protect them from being taken by
foreigners."
Indigenisation is the key to the Zanu PF political philosophy, a philosophy
which would appear to exclude white Zimbabweans.
Four thousand white commercial farmers have now had their farms confiscated
and given to supporters of Mr Mugabe.
A diamond mine has been taken from its white Zimbabwean owner and is being
operated by a government-owned company, protected by soldiers.
From 1 March, any company operating in Zimbabwe must ensure that the majority
of shareholders are indigenous Zimbabweans.
Luxury lifestyle
My "minder" at the Ministry of Information was very keen that I should meet
someone he believes is a model of a successful businessman in Zimbabwe today.
Philip Chiyangwa, Mr Mugabe's nephew, bought several companies at a time when
high inflation, price controls and shrinking demand made it difficult for them
to operate in Zimbabwe.
Now a millionaire, he displays the full list in his "Native Investments"
portfolio on full-length wall charts.
It encompasses everything from luxury hotels, foodstuffs to the window frame
company he says he bought from Roland "Tiny" Rowlands.
He was optimistic about Zimbabwe's future: "It is in our hands to take the
country wherever it needs to go. Look at me - I have never left Zim for any
other country, I don't intend to leave this country, I am doing business here
and I am successful here.
"If I want to buy a jet tomorrow, I will do it here. If I want to buy a Rolls
Royce, I have one. If I want to drive a Bentley then I have one. If it's a
beautiful mansion house, I bought one. I built it myself," he said.
Mr Chiyangwa invited me to visit the 35-room mansion where his wife,
Elizabeth, showed me around the family car collection - her husband's Rolls
Royce and Bentley, her Mercedes and their daughter's sports cars.
I asked her whether she feels comfortable with such wealth when people in her
country are starving.
"It is a gift from God," she replied, "it is a blessing from God. I know
people are hungry and we are very grateful for what has been done for us".
As Julius puts his children to bed that night, after another meal of
potatoes, he could be forgiven for wondering whether it is not his turn, and the
turn of millions like him in Zimbabwe, to receive such gifts and blessings.
Watch Sue Lloyd-Roberts' full report on Newsnight at 10.30pm on Wednesday
10 February 2010 on BBC Two, then afterwards on the BBC iPlayer and Newsnight
website. |
Business
wants empowerment laws shelved
http://www.zimonline.co.za/
by Own Correspondent Thursday 11 February
2010
HARARE - Zimbabwe business leaders say they will ask the
government to
shelve implementing new empowerment regulations compelling
foreign-owned
firms to cede controlling stake to locals to allow more
consultations on the
matter.
The Indigenisation and Empowerment
Ministry on Tuesday announced through
state media a new set of empowerment
regulations that sent foreign-owned
firms into panic with threats of
imprisonment for foreign shareholders (or
presumably their local
representatives) who fail to sell 51 percent stake to
indigenous Zimbabweans
within the next five years.
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, keen to
present Zimbabwe as an
investor-friendly country, immediately attempted to
shoot down the
indigenisation regulations saying they were invalid because
they were never
discussed and adopted by Cabinet.
But business
leaders - no doubt driven by a desire to avoid the chaos that
befell
agriculture after a similar government programme to empower blacks
saw
white-owned commercial farms seized without compensation - are leaving
no
stone unturned in their bid to forestall the threatened company
seizures.
Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) president Kumbirai
Katsande told
ZimOnline on Wednesday that business would lobby the
government over the new
regulations that Indigenisation and Empowerment
Minister Saviour Kasukuwere
said will be come effective on March
1.
He said: "We are not against indigensation but any policy must be
coordinated and not scare away investors. We need clarity on the policy and
the policy must not be done in any partisan manner that benefits individuals
or certain people at the expense of the country . . . (business) is asking
legitimate questions on the (regulations)."
Under the empowerment
regulations foreign-owned businesses operating in
Zimbabwe, including banks,
mines and factories will be forced to sell a
majority stake to locals by
March 2015.
The regulations that do not say where impoverished local
Zimbabweans will
get money to pay for stake in large mines and industries
owned by foreigners
are seen as a potentially fatal blow to efforts to woo
foreign investors to
help rebuild the country's economy shattered by 10
years of political
turmoil and acute recession.
Tsvangirai, acutely
aware of the damage publication of the regulations has
done to his campaign
to woo investors back to Zimbabwe, quickly moved to
calm the business
community.
The Prime Minister declared the new rules a nullity because
they were:
"published without due process as detailed in the global
political agreement
(GPA) and the Constitution and they are therefore null
and void".
But Tsvangirai's words are likely to be little reassurance to
business
leaders who are only too aware of how hardliners in Mugabe's ZANU
PF party
who include Kasukuwere have brazenly ignored the GPA or
power-sharing
agreement to continue political violence and seizing
white-owned private
farms including some protected under bilateral
agreements between Zimbabwe
and other nations.
In addition business
leaders will also be quick to remember the
Indigenisation and Economic
Empowerment Bill passed by the then
ZANUPF-controlled Parliament in 2007 and
signed into law by Mugabe in March
2008.
The legislation provides for
foreigners to be compelled to sell stake to
local Zimbabweans although many
had hoped the law and other controversial
laws including repressive press
and security laws to be repealed following
formation of the power-sharing
government. - ZimOnline
South
Africa alarmed at Zimbabwe's new business policy
http://www.afriquejet.com
There has been
widespread reaction in South Africa to reports that white
businessmen in
Zimbabwe who do not cede control of their companies to black
partners, could
face jail sentences under a law coming in to effect next
month.
An
official notice of Tuesday states that the law will be enforced from 1
March, to impose jail sentences of up to five years for violators. It gives
companie s worth US$ 500,000 or more, 45 days to submit compliance
proposals.
Foreign investors also need to meet an "empowerment
quota".
But the regulations have been summarily dismissed as "null and
void" by
Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.
In South
Africa, political analysts say the promulgation of the law appears
to be a
deliberate strategy by Mugabe's Zanu-PF party to try and shore up
its
shrinking support among the electorate.
AfriForum's legal representative,
Willie Spies, said in a statement that the
new development called for more
drastic measures by the South African
government to assist its citizens
affected by Mugabe's controversial
policies.
He said the well-known
South-African farmer and businessman, Crawford von
Abo, succeeded last week
with a court application to declare the South
African government liable for
constitutional damages due to its failure to
grant diplomatic protection to
South African investors in Zimbabwe.
"AfriForum will also approach the
High Court later this month to have a
ruling by the tribunal of the Southern
African Development Community (SADC)
against Zimbabwe, registered in a South
African Court," Spies said.
Cape Town - Pana 10/02/2010
Law
Society mulls Zimbabwe protest
http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/
Thursday 11 February 2010 by Jonathan
Rayner
The Law Society is considering intervening in the case of a
solicitor who
was imprisoned by the Zimbabwe authorities for asserting that
evidence
incriminating his client was obtained under
torture.
Zimbabwean solicitor Mordecai Mahlangu was arrested when acting
for Roy
Bennett, a Zimbabwean farmer of European descent and member of
parliament
for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change.
Bennett
is facing the death sentence or life imprisonment for alleged
treason
against president Robert Mugabe's regime. Mahlangu argued that the
charges
were based on testimony from another European, who had been tortured
and
whose evidence was therefore inadmissible. Mahlangu was arrested for
obstructing the course of justice. He has since been released, but is still
under threat of further action. Bennett's trial has been
suspended.
Edward Mapara, secretary of the Law Society of Zimbabwe, who
is currently at
Chancery Lane taking part in the 2010 Commonwealth
Professional Fellowship
Programme, told the Gazette that defending political
detainees like Mahlangu
was a 'nightmare' in Zimbabwe.
'Lawyers are
associated with the "crimes" of their clients, and so
Mahlangu - and other
defence lawyers - stand accused of disloyalty to the
state. He could be
rearrested at any time.'
Mapara said that there were also doubts about
the impartiality of many
judges. 'They have accepted formerly white-owned
farms seized by the
government and so there is an obvious conflict of
interest.'
A Law Society spokesman said Chancery Lane was considering
intervening on
behalf of Mahlangu, but this could be viewed by the Zimbabwe
government as
interference by a past colonial power. He said: 'Interventions
can give a
pretext for attacking lawyers and cause more harm than
good.'
A spokesman for the Zimbabwe High Commission in London said he had
been
'unable to authenticate the details' of the case. He alleged that the
'dispute' between Zimbabwe and the UK had led some journalists to publish
'juicy news' at the expense of the truth.
Tsvangirai seeks meeting over indigenisation law
http://www.legalbrief.co.za
|
|
Published in: Legalbrief Today
Date: Thu 11
February 2010
Category: Legislation
Issue No: 2498
Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai
has called an urgent meeting with the Minister Savior Kasukuwere to discuss a
controversial indigenisation law requiring all business to 'cede' at least 51%
of all companies to 'indigenous Zimbabweans'. According to a Beeld report, Tsvangirai assured white business executives
they wouldn't be jailed if they did not comply with the law. A Government
Gazette announcement says the law will be implemented on 1 March. Full Beeld report |
Two
Diamond Bosses Arrested
http://www.herald.co.zw/
11 February 2010
Harare - TWO South
African directors of Canadile Miners, one of two firms
extracting diamonds
at the Chiadzwa fields, have been arrested on
allegations of illegally
possessing the precious stones.
Komilan Packirisamy (37) and
Viyandrakumar Naidoo (46) were arrested on
Tuesday last week after company
employees tipped off police that the two had
diamonds in their
car.
They were arrested at a roadblock near Hot Springs as they drove
from the
diamond fields.
A police search led to the discovery of 57
stones valued at US$28 000 in the
car.
On Saturday, they appeared
before Mutare provincial magistrate Mrs
Lucie-Anne Mungwari and were charged
under the Precious Stones Trade Act,
which prohibits the unlawful possession
and trade in valuable minerals.
Packirisamy was remanded out of custody
on US$2 700 bail and his trial date
has been set for February 23.
The
charges against Naidoo were withdrawn before plea and the State will
proceed
by way of summons should it decide to pursue the matter in
future.
Appearing for the State, chief law officer Mr Michael Mugabe told
the court
that on January 27 Packirisamy and Naidoo were intercepted at the
roadblock
following a tip-off by some of the company's employees who knew
they were in
possession of the diamonds.
Naidoo was reportedly
driving the vehicle when the two were stopped.
Mr Mugabe said police
found 57 precious stones stashed in a plastic
container.
Mr Mugabe
alleges that police discovered the diamonds had not been
registered with
Canadile Miners as required by law.
Mr Misheck Mugadza and Victor
Mazengero of Mugadza, Mazengero, Dhliwayo
Legal Practitioners represented
the duo.
The Hot Springs area was one of the largest markets for
diamonds illegally
mined from the Chiadzwa fields before Government moved in
to restore
normalcy.
Diamond dealers from across the country were
nabbed at Hot Springs after
security agents had moved in to secure the
fields.
Canadile Miners is one of the two companies that have gone into
partnership
with the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation to exploit the
Chiadzwa
diamond resource.
Canadile and Mbada Holdings have invested
more than US$100 million in
equipment and security at Chiadzwa diamond
fields to curb illegal mining
activities and beneficiate the
resource.
The US$30 million which was invested between September and
December last
year was used to set up two exploration plants and equipment
at the mine as
well as putting up state-of-the-art security equipment such
as cameras with
night vision.
Mutumwa
Mawere's Empire Crumbles Further
http://news.radiovop.com
11/02/2010 06:11:00
Harare,
February 11, 2010 - Fugitive business mogul, South African-based
Mutumwa
Mawere's empire is now collapsing as Shabani Mashaba Mines (SMM)
face
closure, Radio VOP can confirm.
Senior SMM management have, however,
asked the Government of National Unity
(GNU) to forgive Mawere and allow him
to return to Zimbabwe.
Last year Deputy Prime Minister, Arthur Mutambara, who
is a signatory to the
GNU, pleaded with President Robert Mugabe to allow
Mawere, a one-time Zanu
PF henchman, to return scott-free.
Mawere fled
Zimbabwe after his mining empire was taken away from him by
President
Mugabe's Zanu PF government in 2004.
He was accused of among several other
issues, owing the State huge sums of
money and being a sellout.
However,
Mawere maintains that he was being victimised by Zanu PF goons who
were
"trying to grab" his mining empire.
Now more than 1 000 workers at SMM have
been sent on forced leave until
further notice because management claims
"the mining empire has no money and
is facing viability problems due to low
asbestos prices and huge electricity
costs".
Gaths Mine, the largest
underground mine in Mashaba, is failing to settle a
US$1 million electricity
bill.
SMM is Zimbabwe's largest asbestos producer.
"You are advised that
with effect from 1 February, 2010, you are all advised
not to report for
work due to viability problems," read part of the letter
sent to
cash-strapped workers on January 25, 2010.
"Persistent power cuts and lack of
funding have affected the company
resulting in serious cash flow
problems."
Management have appealed to the Government of National Unity
((GNU) to
forgive Mawere and allow him to return to Zimbabwe and continue
running his
empire.
"We are appealing to government to look for investors
to chip in or just
allow former owner Mutumwa Mawere to come back,"a senior
manager said.
"Under funding, low asbestos prices and power cuts have
affected business."
The senior SMM manager confirmed that half of the
workforce had been sent on
forced leave until "the situation
improves".
Government-appointed administrator, Alfias Gwaradzimba, has
remained
tight-lipped on the issue.
Farmers
seek Tribunal ruling on compensation
http://www.zimonline.co.za
by Clara Smith Thursday 11 February
2010
HARARE - Zimbabwe's embattled white commercial farmers will ask
the SADC
Tribunal to set guidelines on calculation of compensation due to
farmers for
land lost under President Robert Mugabe's farm redistribution
programme that
the regional court has ruled illegal.
The Southern
African Commercial Farmers Union (SACFA), fighting for the
rights of
commercial farmers mainly from South Africa and Zimbabwe, said the
South
African Development Community should set guidelines of what
constitutes fair
compensation and how it should be calculated.
"We are going back to the
SADC Tribunal asking what fair compensation is if
we have lost everything
taken from us," SACFA official Dave Connoly told
more than 100 farmers in
Harare last week.
He added: "What is it (fair compensation) in monetary
terms can be regarded
as fair compensation. The initial SADC ruling gives us
legal title to land
and therefore a right to compensation. The Tribunal
should decide the method
of valuation."
In a November 2008 ruling on
an application brought by 79 white Zimbabwean
farmers facing seizure of the
farms under Mugabe's land reforms, the
Tribunal declared the Zimbabwean
leader's farm reforms discriminatory,
racist and illegal under the SADC
Treaty.
The regional court barred Harare from seizing land from the 79
farmers and
to compensate those whose properties it had already
taken.
Mugabe has Tribunal ruling as "nonsense and of no consequence"
while his
supporters have continued to seize more land owned by the white
farmers who
are protected by the judgment.
A Harare High Court judge
a fortnight ago dismissed an application by white
farmers to have the
Tribunal ruling registered - and pave way for its
enforcement in Zimbabwe -
saying enforcing the regional court's judgment
would be against public
policy in the country.
There is clearly little hope the Tribunal rulings
will be upheld by the
present government in Zimbabwe which remains dominated
by Mugabe despite the
veteran leader agreeing to cede some of his powers to
Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai in a power-sharing agreement that gave
birth to their unity
government last February.
But more Tribunal
rulings are likely to be more useful in the future when
and if political
power changes hands in Harare.
Mugabe's decade-long farm invasions that
the President says were necessary
to ensure blacks also had access to arable
land that they were denied by
previous white-led governments have been
blamed for plunging Zimbabwe into
food shortages.
Once a net food
exporter Zimbabwe has avoided mass starvation over the past
decade only
because international relief agencies were quick to chip in with
food
handouts. Mugabe denies his farm redistribution policies are to blame
for
hunger.
The Zimbabwean leader instead claims food shortages were a because of
erratic weather and economic sabotage by his Western enemies that he says
crippled the economy's capacity to produce key inputs such as seed and
fertilizers . - ZimOnline
We’re
not here to punish Harare: CITES chief
http://www.zimonline.co.za/
by Own Correspondent Thursday 11
February 2010
HARARE – CITES secretary general Willem Wijnstekers on
Wednesday said his
visit to Zimbabwe is meant to help rather than punish
Harare, as he began
his official business in the southern African
country.
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of
Wild Fauna
and Flora (CITES) chief jetted into Harare late Monday
accompanied by the
conservation watchdog’s chief enforcement officer
responsible for providing
technical advice and support in relation to the
enforcement of the
Convention, John Sellar.
“We are not here to
punish but to help,” said Wijnstekers, adding that he
wanted to get first
hand information on poaching statistics which have been
circulated in the
media.
Wijnstekers will hold meetings with Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai,
Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa, Tourism Minister Francis
Nhema, police
Commissioner General Augustine Chihuri and other top
government officials to
discuss the high levels of poaching in the
country.
He also said his visit to Save Conservancy after his arrival was
on the
invitation of the owner of Sango Ranch. The CITES boss was
accompanied to
Save Conservancy by European Union Ambassador to Zimbabwe
Xavier Machal and
Parks and Wildlife Management Authority Director General
Morris Mtsambiwa.
Zimbabwean officials had last week expressed
displeasure that the CITES
chief would tour the white-owned game conservancy
during his visit to the
country, saying it would influence his assessment of
the country’s wildlife
situation in favour of private
interests.
Parks and Wildlife Management Authority director for
conservation Vitalis
Chadenga also welcomed the visit to the country by
Wijnstekers saying it
helps to put the poaching speculation to
rest.
‘‘We welcome the SG’s visit as it affords us an opportunity to put
the
record straight concerning poaching particularly of Black Rhinos," he
said.
"While the country has witnessed poaching cases some media reports
were
clearly exaggerated and it is critically important that we separate the
facts from fiction."
Wijnstekers is expected to announce the findings
of his visit today.
Poaching has been rife in Zimbabwe since landless
black villagers began
invading – with tacit approval from the government –
white-owned farms and
game conservancies over the past nine
years.
There has also been an upsurge in the poaching of endangered
species such as
the rhino targeted for its horn that is exported mainly to
China and Vietnam
where it is in huge demand.
The situation has not
been helped by reports of illegal and uncontrolled
trophy hunting on former
white-owned conservancies now controlled by
powerful government officials
and ZANU PF politicians although the
government denies politicians are
illegally hunting game and insists it
still has poaching under control. –
ZimOnline
Bulawayo
buildings have no toilets
http://www.zimeye.org/?p=13142
By Thembani Gasela
Published:
February 10, 2010
Bulawayo - Strategic and convenience buildings
in Zimbabwe's second capital
city have no toilet facilities, it has emerged.
A school has been closed, a
hospital given 60 days to reform, and the city's
Registrar General's offices
been condemned after being found without a
single toilet for the public.
The Ministry of Health and Child Welfare
has ordered repairs at the Old
Memorial Hospital be carried out within 60
days, failure of which would lead
to legal action being taken against the
relevant authorities.
ZimEye is in possession of reports signed by
Bulawayo provincial health
officer Onias Guzuwe and addressed to the
Matabeleland South Provincial
Medical Director's Office.
In
condemning the buildings the inspection team comprising Medicine Shonai
and
Fundani Sibanda, environmental health officers and officials from the
Bulawayo City Council Health Department noted that the Ministry of Public
Works had failed to maintain State infrastructure.
"The Ministry of
Health and Child Welfare conducted an inspection of the
above-mentioned
premises which were found not meeting the minimum health
standards for
failure to provide functional toilets, allowing the existence
of
non-functional staff toilets and unavailability of public toilets in
contravention of provisions of section 82 of the Public Health Act Chapter
15:09 (1996)," read the report.
The ministry said the unavailability
of public toilets at the
Registrar-General's Office was a cause for
concern.
"There were no public toilets provided for use by the public.
The scenario
was a public health nuisance in terms of sub-paragraph (ii) C
and D of
paragraph (f) of section 85 of the Public Health Act Chapter 15:09
(1996),"
read the report.
"The situation was exacerbated by the fact
that the premises are a public
facility as defined under section 2 of the
Public Health Act Chapter 15:09
(1996) and due to the nature of the service
provided at the premises,
service seekers spend long periods waiting
obviously requiring the use of
sanitary conveniences. By not providing the
basic sanitary facilities, the
responsible authority contravened the Public
Health Act."
The ministry ordered that public toilets must be provided
within 60 days of
the issue of the report.
"Public toilets must be
provided (eight water closets for females, six water
closets for males
including a urinal trough within a period of 60 days
failure of which legal
action will be instituted in terms of provisions of
section 87 of the Public
Health Act Chapter 15:09 (1996)," said the Ministry
of Health and Child
Welfare.
The ministry also noted that the buildings were not in a
position to deal
with fire outbreaks as fire extinquishers were last
serviced in 1992.
However, Tredgold Building, which houses the Bulawayo
Magistrates' Courts,
met the minimum standards with the inspection team
noting that street
vendors had invaded the building's toilets.
"The
toilets were reasonably clean, street vendors were reported to be using
the
same facilities and this caused unnecessary pressure on the
facilities.
"There is a need for dialogue among stakeholders on the
invasion of toilets
provided at the premises by street vendors," read the
report.
Recently the ministry ordered the suspension of classes at
Coghlan Primary
School after the inspection team reported that toilets were
enough to cater
for only 475 pupils out of a total population of more than 1
000.
WOZA
release report on state of democracy in Zimbabwe one year after formation of
GNU
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Written by WOZA
Thursday, 11 February 2010 06:17
Press
statement from Women and Men of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA)
In 2009, WOZA started
discussions on what we think the building blocks of
democracy are
.........
with over 11,000 members, urban and rural, through workshops
and a booklet -
Building democracy with WOZA. The objective was to raise
awareness that
Zimbabwe needs a democratic form of government committed to
making sure that
all the building blocks of democracy are in place for all
citizens to enjoy
social justice.
As 2009 closed, we
conducted a further consultation of the state of our
democracy after the
formation of the Government of National Unity (GNU).
4,016 people gave us
their views. The results have been released in a report
entitled, 'Hearts
starve as well as bodies - give us bread but give us roses
too!
Democratising Zimbabwe - an opportunity to shine! A WOZA perspective on
the
state of democracy in Zimbabwe.' The report is a snapshot of our
community
activists' views on the state of democracy in Zimbabwe one year
after the
GNU was formed.
The main findings of the report
include:
· The belief that the power-sharing government has
decreased
democratic space in Zimbabwe.
· There has been some
change for those who are rich but for the poor
nothing has changed. It has
remained survival of the fittest. The
dollarisation of the economy
stabilised prices and the economy in general
but the gap between rich and
poor widened.
· Many expressed no confidence in an election
before the
constitutional process is complete.
· People want
to give their views and write their own constitution
but worry that the
current consultation process has too many loopholes that
can be manipulated
to change their views into those wanted by politicians.
· Most
agree that they believe that public funds should go through
the Ministry of
Finance but the Minister must also be transparent about what
he does with
it.
· The personal security situation for ordinary people is
still very
insecure.
· Most people polled believe that the
rule of law in the country has
worsened.
The report also
contains a list of steps that WOZA, the mothers of the
nation, would like to
see before we can believe that democracy is alive and
well in Zimbabwe.
These include:
1. Elections - Before the referendum, we need
to have confidence that a
voter's roll will be transparently prepared and
displayed for viewing. We
need a truly independent electoral
commission.
2. Opposition - we need to see democracy in action - a
genuine
welcoming of different political voices.
3. Civil rights
- we are citizens with rights and must be allowed to
enjoy all our rights
without fear or harassment. We look forward to the
passing of the bill
amending POSA. We need to see the promised security
sector reform with
special attention on police reform because it is police
who abuse our rights
on a daily basis.
4. Rule of law - start to prosecute perpetrators
of politically
motivated violence urgently - everyone must obey the law or
be punished.
5. Separation of powers - The presidential appointment
of Tomana and
Gono has resulted in a further mixing up of the functions of
government. For
judicial reform, Tomana and other political appointees in
the Attorney
General's office must go and be replaced by professional people
who will
balance the scales of our justice system.
6. Equality -
we are writing this into our new constitution. Please
Parliamentary Select
Committee do not betray this ideal by cheating us when
we give you our
views.
7. Transparency and accountability - As long as we have a
politically
partisan Reserve Bank governor, there will be no investor
confidence, jobs
will not be available and workers receive a living wage -
therefore Gono
must go. Minister Tendai Biti, we need more transparency and
accountability
from you. Studying your strategy from the trenches, it looks
like you want
to squeeze money out of poor people's pockets to fund the
recovery. You need
to do better to cushion the poor! You must stop the
police from
criminalizing informal traders. Please don't forget about the
children's
education, they are our future.
8. Participation of
the people - our report is called hearts starve as
well as bodies - give us
bread but give us roses too! We want our 'rose',
which is our own
constitution! Allow a genuine people-driven process for the
constitutional
consultation for our full participation. Disband militia
camps and let our
children come home. The police must stop arresting people
without good
reason; police officers are crucial to allowing people to feel
free. To the
three principals, you promised us a "society free of violence,
fear,
intimidation, hate, patronage, corruption and founded on justice,
fairness,
openness, transparency, dignity and equality." Now it is time to
deliver on
what you promised.
A full copy of the report can be found on the WOZA
website at
www.wozazimbabwe.org
Tell
Zimbabwe Anti-Riot Police: Real Men Don’t Beat Women!
http://blog.amnestyusa.org
Africa, Individuals at
Risk, Violence Against Women | Posted by: Sarah
Hager, February 11, 2010 at
1:04 AM
Pig. Fuzz. 5-0 (as in Hawaii). These are some American slang
terms for
police. I won’t even get into some of the terms police are
referred to
around the world. (The Moustached Pagoda? Really Canada?)
Despite our
affectionate, or not so affectionate, appellations for police
officers, they
are an invaluable and indispensable part of society and do
far more good
than harm. Zimbabwe is no exception to this rule-really, the
police are
usually the good guys. Unless they are acting under order of
unscrupulous
persons desperate to hold on to power and squash dissent.
Sadly, then you
see events that have unfolded all to often lately in
Zimbabwe; where club
wielding anti-riot police go after protestors marching
peacefully in the
streets.
On a day to day basis in Zimbabwe, police
officers go about their business
preventing crime and protecting citizens;
but these officers are also
deployed to repress those same citizens.
Students, lawyers, trade unionists,
political activists have all felt the
unrelenting force of anti-riot batons
as they violently disperse Zimbabweans
gathering in the streets to demand
human rights, equitable treatment, and
greater civil liberties.
Because they march so frequently, the members of
Women of Zimbabwe Arise
(WOZA) are often the target of this violent
repression. WOZA is a grass
roots movement of primarily women activists that
demand a better life for
all Zimbabweans through non-violent civic activism.
They are grandmothers,
sisters, daughters, aunts and cousins who sing and
dance in the streets
calling for a future for their children, families,
friends and neighbors
that incorporates strong human rights standards and
civil liberties. And
because of this, they are frequently violently beaten
by the anti-riot
police.
This Valentines Day, as WOZA marches in the
streets, we are calling on the
Zimbabwe anti-riot police to treat the ladies
of WOZA as they would want
their mother to be treated-with respect. As a
police officer you may be
ordered to disperse a protest, but you are not
required to do so with
violence. Send a valentine to the Zimbabwe anti-riot
police during the month
of February and remind them that real men don’t beat
women. Ever.
|
When she was born, we had no food at all. She went for hours
without food. She is three years old but looks like a two-year-old. 
