GNU leaders agree on electoral reform

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

By Xolisani Ncube, Staff Writer
Saturday, 11 February 2012 14:16

HARARE - Coalition government leaders have agreed to make fundamental
changes to the country’s electoral laws following immense pressure from
civic organisations who argue that a proposed polling station based voting
system will unnecessarily expose voters to attacks.

President Robert Mugabe and his two coalition government partners Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and his deputy Arthur Mutambara agreed to drop a
proposed polling station based voter’s roll and revert back to the ward
based voting system.

Announcing the changes to journalists this week, Mutambara said the decision
to drop the proposals was as a result of pressure from civic society
organisations who were opposed to the system saying it exposes the
electorate to retribution and intimidation.

“We have made a decision to drop that requirement in the Electoral Bill. On
electoral reforms, we are no longer going to be pushing for polling station
based voting, we are going back to the status quo which was ward based
polling voting,” Mutambara said.

“We realised that it puts voters at risk of retribution. So we have to find
means to counter against double voting,” said Mutambara.

Mutambara said government leaders agreed to ensure that the next elections
should not be contestable.

During previous elections, ward based voter’s rolls were used but many
people fled their homes after political rivals turned on them for making a
particular voting choice.

According to human rights groups and the mainstream MDC, more than 200
people were killed by suspected Zanu PF supporters after Tsvangirai handed
Mugabe and his Zanu PF party their first electoral defeat since independence
in 1980.

Government through the minister of Justice Patrick Chinamasa, proposed to
change the voting system and introduced ward based voters’ roll as a way of
dealing with electoral fraud.

Rindai Chipfunde Vava, director of Zimbabwe Election Support Network (Zesn)
said in as much as the proposed amendment brings relief to voters, it still
falls short of expectations.

“We cannot say this is best practise that we want, it is good for now due to
the current political environment system that is volatile,” Chipfunde Vava
said.

“Other countries in the region are now using the polling based voter’s roll
system because they have stable political environments and have no reports
of intimidation and threats.”

She added, “As for now we have to use this one (ward based voter’s roll) but
at a later stage, we should revisit the practise so that we do the best for
democracy like other countries such as Zambia.”

Jealousy Mawarire, director at Centre for Elections and Democracy in
Southern Africa, said though the changes bring some hope on voters,
political parties should ensure the safety of electorates as well as the
results.

“We have to deal with those people who were implicated in previous elections
so that we eliminate the culture of intimidation and retribution in our
voter’s,” said Mawarire.

“It does not matter whether we use ward based voter’s roll or polling based
voters roll, what is important is that we deal with those elements that
cause retribution and mayhem to voters.”

Typhoid hits Harare

http://www.eyewitnessnews.co.za/

Eyewitness News | 10 Hour(s) Ago

The Harare Magistrates Court has been shut down after five magistrates and
more than 20 other court officials became ill with suspected typhoid.

Zimbabwe has been battling an outbreak of the disease since November, but
until now infections were confined to the western suburbs.

This is bad news for Harare as it means typhoid has now hit the central
business district.

Saturday reports say five magistrates and over 20 clerks were sent home with
suspected typhoid.

The authorities had to shut down the court house as it had no running water.

The court is near to the head office of President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF
and the main city library.

A health advisor in Mugabe’s office warns that Zimbabwe’s filthy worn out
American dollar bills may also be aiding the spread of typhoid.

PM overestimates his power: Madhuku

http://www.newzimbabwe.com

10/02/2012 00:00:00
    by Staff Reporter

A LEADING constitutional lawyer says there is nothing to stop President
Robert Mugabe renewing the contracts of the military and police top brass.

Lovemore Madhuku, chairman of the National Constitutional Assembly, says
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and his deputy Arthur Mutambara negotiated
a flawed power sharing agreement which left all executive authority at
Mugabe's discretion.
Tsvangirai and Mutambara are fuming after Mugabe extended the term of Police
Commissioner General Augustine Chihuri to 2014.

Mugabe’s announcement of the move came a day after the MDC duo came out of a
meeting with the veteran leader and told journalists that the police chief
was in the position in an acting capacity while consultations continue.

Mugabe’s rivals are keen to see the back of Chihuri, accusing him of
presiding over a partisan police force and unprofessionalism.

But Madhuku says Tsvangirai and Mutambara are seriously constrained by their
lack of authority on the matter.
"This is what we have always seen with the inclusive government,” Madhuku
told the Voice of America’s Studio 7 on Friday night.

“The reality is that power resides with the President, but the other players
in the inclusive government will always want to pretend that they also have
some power, some responsibility, and this is what keeps creating this
circus.”

Tsvangirai’s spokesman, Luke Tamborinyoka, insisted on Friday that Mugabe
had agreed in meetings with the Prime Minister on Monday and Wednesday to
delay Chihuri’s appointment until further consultations had been held.

“We refuse to be seduced into believing the position being articulated by
Cde George Charamba [Mugabe’s spokesman] merely because it is averse and
allergic to common sense; it is allergic to the constitution and it is
allergic to the agreement by the principals themselves.”

He described Mugabe’s decision to extend Chihuri’s term as mischievous and
called it a “technical coup”.
“I would assume that the principals will put finality to this whole issue
when they meet again on Monday,” Tamborinyoka added.

Finance Sector Cash Crisis Worsens in Zimbabwe

http://www.voanews.com

10 February 2012

The Treasury and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe this week changed pension and
pay dates for civil servants to help banks mobilize cash and bolster
financial system liquidity

Gibbs Dube | Washington

Zimbabweans are finding it harder and harder to obtain cash from their
banking institutions - and banks themselves are also feeling a severe
liquidity pinch.

Bankers and economists said financial sector liquidity is constrained by the
failure of many companies to service loans, the sluggish recovery and scant
investment.

At the same time, they said, four Zimbabwean banks are holding US$450
million in offshore accounts to meet the cash obligations of their clients.

The Treasury and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe this week changed pension and
pay dates for civil servants to help banks mobilize cash and bolster
liquidity.

The Banking Association of Zimbabwe has proposed that four banks with large
off-shore accounts should repatriate at least US$200 million to address
money supply issues.

Banker Witness Chinyama said the central bank has not provided enough cash.

"Companies and individuals can only have confidence in the finance sector if
there is some kind of support from the central bank," said Chinyama.

Economist Tony Hawkins of the University of Zimbabwe Graduate School of
Business said the repatriation of offshore funds will have little impact on
liquidity.

Finance Minister Tendai Biti said last December that more than US$2 billion
is circulating outside the formal banking sector.

We Will Kill Teachers That Are Politically Incorrect: ZANU PF Chair

http://www.radiovop.com

MASVINGO, February 11, 2012 – Teachers in most parts of Masvingo are living
in perpetual fear following some death threats from Zanu PF’s Bikita
District Coordinating Committee (DCC) chairman Saviour Masase’s ‘we will
kill’ message that he started to preach at rallies last week.

Masase who started to threaten teachers at Muchakata business center last
week said Zanu PF was prepared to kill all teachers who are ‘politically
incorrect’.

His threats came to remind teachers about War Veteran leader Jabulani
Sibanda’s last year announcement that Zanu PF has names of all teachers that
are not supporting the liberation party in Masvingo.

Teachers in Masvingo said they were not taking the threats lightly since
most of their members were killed in the bloody campaign of 2008 elections.

“We have seen our colleagues being murdered by Zanu PF thugs in cold blood
during previous elections. We are living in fear – each time we hear about
elections we start to fear for our lives,” said one of the teachers who
preferred anonymity for fear of victimisation.

Progressive Teachers Union Zimbabwe (PTUZ) has condemned in strongest terms
the threats by Zanu PF saying they were going to do all it takes to stop the
victimisation of teachers.

PTUZ Secretary General Raymond Majongwe said it was unfortunate that some
ambitious politicians were trying to use uncouth methods in order to be
promoted.

“It is unfortunate that some rogue politicians are victimising teachers in
order to gain mileage or promotion in their parties,” said Majongwe.

Masase could not be reached for comment but Zanu PF provincial chairman
Lovemore Matuke said he was not aware of the alleged threats.

Police, Zanu PF getting gifts from Nigerians

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

By Lloyd Mbiba, Staff Writer
Saturday, 11 February 2012 12:37

HARARE - A Nigerian dealer has sensationally claimed that he cannot be
deported because he has over the years assisted police, prison services and
Zanu PF with “donations” in cash and kind, court papers reveal.

Court papers produced in the High Court show that police, prisons and Zanu
PF officials have solicited for cash and various items including tissue
rolls, computers, printers, hair salon equipment, stationery and cash for
Christmas parties.

The Nigerian, who is chairman of the Nigerians in Zimbabwe Association (NIZ)
claims that Nigerian dealers, most of whom run shops in Harare, regularly
give donations to the organisations, effectively arguing that these were
“protection fees” to avoid deportation.

The court case effectively exposes the organisations of their links with
some unscrupulous Nigerian dealers masquerading as businessman who
reportedly do not have adequate documentation to work in Zimbabwe.

The controversial dealings between the police and the Nigerians, Zanu PF and
Zimbabwe Prison Services (ZPS) when NIZ chairman Felix Emeka Emewusim placed
before the High Court, letters from the police, prisons and Zanu PF asking
for donations as an attempt to block his deportation.

Emeka, who founded the NIZ to safeguard the interest of Nigerians in the
country, faces deportation after his wife, a Zimbabwean, exposed him as a
fugitive wanted in his native Nigeria and living in Zimbabwe illegally.

NIZ is a trust formed to safeguard financial, material and other interests
of the Nigerians in Zimbabwe, to advance and promote the rights of Nigerians
to live in Zimbabwe without fear or victimisation from the law enforcement
agents.

The soliciting was done between 2009 and 2010.

Emeka filed an urgent High Court chamber application to stop the Police,
prisons, Zanu PF receiving gifts from Nigerians deportation and the matter
is before Justice Tendayi Uchena.

A letter written by the police on June 11, 2010 and signed by one Inspector
Marange, informed the Nigerians that the law enforcement agency was opening
a salon and a barber shop in Harare to compliment the police provincial
fund.

“Zimbabwe Republic Police Harare Province will be introducing a hair salon
and barber shop at Harare Central Police Station. We are now appealing for
donations from you in cash or kind as for the project to kick start. Items
required to start the project are attached,” reads the letter from the
police.

Attached to the letter was a list of 60 items needed for the two initiatives
to be launched.

These included hair chemicals, cosmetics, braids, television set and chairs.

The police again wrote a letter to the Nigerians on 30 June, 2010
acknowledging receipt of a computer, printer and hair salon equipment.

In another letter written in November 2010, the police said: “The district
is holding its end of year Christmas party on the 11th December 2010… Over
the years, the occasion has been a success through your support either in
cash or kind. We are hopeful that through your usual support, we are going
to have a successful gathering. The party will be held at Rainbow Towers and
your invitations are to follow."

“The police call upon the Nigerians to donate in cash or kind for the
project to kick-start,” wrote the police in a letter signed by chief
superintendent, Gwangwava.

Zanu PF on October 29, 2009 also appealed for donations from Emeka to fund
their programmes.

“Once again the Zanu PF party is calling on you its friend and well-wisher
to give generously towards the funding of programmes to be undertaken during
this year 2009. We count on your organisation to donate generously.

“The party will hold one main congress and other several constitutional
meetings which include politburo, Central committee, National Consultative
Assembly, Youth and women’s Executive and National Assembly meetings. Your
donation towards these programmes will be greatly appreciated,” read a
letter written by the late Zanu PF secretary for finance David Karimanzira.

The ZPS also acknowledged receipt of donations from the Nigerians in 2009.

“On behalf of the commissioner of prisons, officer commanding the region
headquarters staff we wish to express our profound gratitude for your
unwavering support to our station."

“We acknowledge receiving 576 rolls of tissues valued as US $140.00…….Hope
you support us in the future,” the ZPS letter to the Nigerians read.

A shadowy journalists group calling itself the African Media on Economic
Development Trust (Amed) also wrote to the Nigerian on July 19, 2010 asking
for $6 300 to travel to a conference in India.

Emeka is currently appealing against the state order to deport him for
staying in the country illegally.

His Zimbabwean wife Edina Mutembwa says her former husband is a fraudster
who was already married in Nigeria and is a fugitive from justice.

However, Emeka dismisses these claims and says he has been legally married
to Mutembwa since 2005.

Mberengwa Villagers Forced to Donate towards Chief’s Homestead Electrification

http://www.radiovop.com/

Bulawayo, February 11, 2012---There is outcry in Mberengwa after villagers
were forced to pay US$10 each for the electrification of their traditional
chief’s homestead.

Villagers of Mataruse area under Chief John Bhera-Mataruse a known Zanu PF
activist, were last week ordered  by a group of war veterans led by Tavona
Chigwengwenene  to pay US$10 each  for the electrification of chief’s
homestead near Mbirashava primary school.

Edius Moyo the former MDC -T chairman for Mberengwa district confirmed the
incident to the Radio VOP on Thursday saying Chigwengwenene called for a
meeting at Ruvuraugwi Primary school in Mataruse area on Wednesday and asked
villagers to contribute US$10.

“People were ordered to make contributions to the chief as he is planning to
electrify his homestead. Chigwengwenene and his group are collecting the
US$10 from each household on the chief's behalf,” said Moyo.

Moyo added: “This is not acceptable, actually they have taken it too far
because it’s not our job to fund the electrification of the chief’s
homestead, he should find his own source of funding instead of fleecing
innocent citizens”.

Mberengwa has been a Zanu (PF) stronghold since independence, the party’s
militias and war veterans have been mostly terrorising opposition supporters
in the past few years.

Last year another group of war veterans and Zanu (PF) youths led by Sayinai
Madhaka declared war against MDC supporters in Mberengwa district, saying
their party should start setting up a refugee camp as they will be all
forced to flee.

Early last year a group of war veterans were arrested after disrupting a
constitutional parliamentary committee consultative meeting on the new
constitution held at Vutsanana Secondary School in the same district.

Judge grants Madzore leave to appeal

http://www.dailynews.co.zw

By Own Correspondent
Saturday, 11 February 2012 14:06

HARARE - A High Court judge yesterday granted incarcerated mainstream MDC
youth league president Solomon Madzore leave to appeal to the Supreme Court
for his release on bail.

After numerous postponements and denials of bail by several courts, Justice
Hlekani Molly Mwayera with the consent of the state, granted Madzore the
right to appeal to the highest court in the land for his freedom.

His lawyer Gift Mtisi of Mtisi Musendekwa legal practitioners told the Daily
News that he was happy with the outcome of the application.

“We are naturally elated and very positive about our prospects that a
different judge would probably grant the applicants their freedom.

“Other detainees and some among the accused have been granted either bail or
leave to appeal so the state is not blind to the environment and events that
are taking place around it hence their concession, it was the state that
consented first and the judge granted,” Mtisi said.

He added that the ruling came as a relief.

“This is a breath of fresh air and our chances are good, we are ready and
are likely to lodge our papers as early as Monday next week,” Mtisi said.

Prosecutor Edmore Nyazamba appeared for the state.

In the bail application, Mtisi argued that his client deserved to be granted
bail because the police had been given enough time to complete their
investigations.

Madzore is charged together with 27 other MDC activists of murdering police
inspector Petros Mutedza in Glen View last year.

Mugabe unreliable: Mbeki

http://www.dailynews.co.zw/

By Chris Goko and Gift Phiri
Saturday, 11 February 2012 14:07

HARARE - Ex-South African leader Thabo Mbeki’s government was so frustrated
with President Robert Mugabe that it reportedly  considered ditching him
prior to the 2008 harmonised elections, excerpts from a confidential memo on
Zimbabwe show.

In its bid to contain the country’s never-ending problems, the then Pretoria
administration set up a task-force led by Sydney Mufamadi, former
presidential chief of staff Frank Chikane and Mojanku Gumbi to engage
Zimbabwe’s political protagonists on various topics, and scenarios,
including the formation of a coalition government.

“South African government (SAG) has come to the conclusion that RGM (Robert
Gabriel Mugabe) never meant to keep any of the promises made to SAG,” read
the paper from one of the key meetings between Welshman Ncube’s Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) faction and Mbeki’s aides.

“This was seen as the highest level of abuse of the person and office of the
presidency, as commitments made at such levels though not written should
form a binding undertaking/decorum accorded to heads of state,” it said,
adding there was widespread belief in South Africa (SA) that Mugabe had
“deliberately led Mbeki along the garden path”.

“TM (Thabo Mbeki) has been abused by RGM who has played him a fool in this
regard,” the paper noted.

While the explosive observations reflect Mbeki and the South African
government’s exasperation with Mugabe’s intransigence, analysts say this was
a long and widely-held view of the regime north of the Limpopo, hence a
different mediation effort or approach by President Jacob Zuma’s new
government.

The South African-initiated dialogue was taking place after Mugabe was
attempting to push for fresh elections even before the finalisation of the
Kariba draft constitution, which the three main political parties had agreed
to put in place.

Although Ncube acknowledged holding several consultative meetings with the
South African delegation prior to 2008, he said he could not recall any
meeting in which the late deputy Foreign Affairs minister Aziz Pahad was in
attendance as the paper alleges.

“We had dozens of meetings with the trio (Mufamadi, Chikane, Gumbi) and not
Pahad (and) we did touch on literally everything under the sun concerning
Zimbabwe and the obtaining situation then,” Ncube told Weekend Post on
Wednesday.

“We held dozens of meetings, but they refrained from talking about Zanu PF
or the MDC-T and which is why I am saying if it was a record of their own
meetings... I would say it’s possible,” he said of the alleged minutes of
the meeting he is supposed to have attended along party secretary-general
Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga and Moses Mzila-Ndlovu.

The meetings were also allegedly attended by the Zimbabwe Institute of Isaac
Maposa and Nozipho Ndebele — facilitators of the ongoing dialogue, which
eventually led to the signing of the Global Political Agreement.

Asked if he believed the then Pretoria administration and its advisors held
views contrary to Mbeki’s stated quiet diplomacy or “softly-softly”
approach, Ncube said: “It’s quite possible that in their own discussions
they could have expressed that view, but they never expressed it to us.”

According to the record on motivating factors for the dialogue, Pahad
wandered loudly if it was time to use the “trump card” and change policy on
Zimbabwe.

“This would be a last ditch approach, and if it fails close shop on
Zimbabwe. Stop providing a buffer or protective shield of the Harare
 regime,” it said.

The paper also allegedly shows the parties discussing — in detail — Zimbabwe’s
fast-deteriorating socio-political environment, including Zanu PF divisions,
which had taken some “military overtones and capability that has dangerous
implications.”

“This presents the stakeholders with an opportunity to re-craft the
framework around elections and the constitution,” it said.

In the meetings, Mbeki’s officials said Zimbabwe desperately needed a way
out, but Mugabe’s Zanu PF was in denial as it failed to accept that there
was a crisis.

“SAG wondered if the Zimbabwe government was ready to be helped and whether
Zanu PF leadership was prepared to do something to get a solution,” the
minutes say.

“SAG felt that whatever action taken needs to be strategic and not one that
is likely to worsen the situation. SA needs to be strategic.

“Zimbabweans need to assist SA by working on Sadc/AU. These bodies need to
be convinced that they need to act on Zim.” The SA government emphasised
that a timely intervention was critical but needed to be informed by a
proper analysis of the balance of forces in Zimbabwe.

The meeting discussed Zanu PF succession, with the SA government officials
keen to assess Joice Mujuru’s capabilities to succeed Mugabe in Zanu PF.

“Mujuru seen as brave and with military support but nor wise,” the
confidential minutes say.

“Mujuru never had the numbers to beat the Mnangagwa camp at the last
congress. If anything they had three provinces against Mnangagwa’s seven.
RGM had to step in and campaign for Mujuru and endorse her candidature
against Mnangagwa.”

The SA delegation emphasised that whatever it does, “there is need to ensure
that a positive outcome occurs,” the minutes say.

The SA government officials also expressed worry about the MDC-T policy, and
wanted the UK government to take sides with SA on the Zimbabwe situation.

“Need to bring MT (Morgan Tsvangirai) group into the dialogue process with
SA to avoid problems in the future with MT,” the minutes say.

Mufamadi is reported to have told the meeting that there was “overwhelming
demand for change in Zimbabwe.”

“RGM’s political capital is all but finished,” the minutes say.

The balance of opinion in Zimbabwe is that there is need for change.

Ever since Zuma took over the mediation effort in Zimbabwe, there has been a
marked shift in Pretoria’s policy towards Zimbabwe. — Weekend Post

MISA-Zimbabwe position on inclusion of media freedom

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/

MISA-Zimbabwe welcomes the inclusion of media freedom and the right to
access to information as captured in the first constitutional draft
published in The Herald on 9 February 2012. Chapter 4 of the draft outlines
the declaration of rights which includes freedom of expression and the media
as stated below:
11.02.1212:13pm
by MISA

4.11 Freedom of Expression and Freedom of the media

1. Everyone has the right to freedom of expression, which includes –

a) Freedom to seek receive and communicate ideas and other information
regardless of frontiers;

b) Freedom of artistic expression and scientific research and creativity;
and

c) Freedom of the press and other media communication

2. Freedom of the press and other media of communication includes protection
of the confidentiality of journalists’ sources of information

3. The state shall not –

a) Exercise control over or interfere with anyone engaged in broadcasting,
the production or circulation of any publication or dissemination of
information by any medium; or

b) Penalise anyone for any opinion or view or content of any broadcast,
publication or dissemination

4. Broadcasting and other electronic media of communication have freedom to
establishment, subject only to licensing procedures that –

a) Are necessary to regulate airwaves and other forms of signal
distribution; and

b) Are independent of control by government or by political or commercial
interests.

5. All state media of communication shall –

a) Be free to determine independently the editorial content of their
broadcasts or other communication

b) Be impartial; and

c) Afford fair opportunity for presentation of divergent views and
dissenting opinions

6. Freedom of expression does not include-

a) Incitement to violence; or

b) Advocacy of hatred which is based on nationality, race, colour, tribe,
birth, or place of birth, ethnic or social origin, language, class,
religious belief, political or other opinion, custom, culture, sex, gender,
marital status, age, disability or natural difference or condition, and
which amounts to discrimination or hostility

4.12 Access to information

1. Everyone, including the press and other media of communication, has the
right to access to-

a) Any information held by the state; and

b) Information held by anyone else in so far as that information is required
for the exercise or protection of any person’s rights under this
constitution or any other law.

MISA-Zimbabwe position

MISA-Zimbabwe is encouraged by this paradigm shift in the proposed draft
constitution as it explicitly guarantees not only media freedom and access
to information, but also protects journalists and their sources of
information. The draft Bill of Rights captures the requisite ingredients
necessary for the flourishing of independent, diverse and pluralistic media.

This is a vast improvement compared with the current constitution which does
not explicitly provide for freedom of the media and access to information.

However, section 13.15, which provides for the establishment of the Media
Commission posits contradictions to the spirit and letter of media freedom
and access to information.

The commission, for example, retains the powers to “take disciplinary action
against journalists and other persons employed in the press news media or
broadcasting who are found to have breached the law or any code of conduct
applicable to them.” In a democracy, the duty of a media regulator is not to
‘discipline’ journalists or media houses but to secure an environment that
promotes free media activity.

In addition, the section also seeks to entrench statutory regulation while
at the same time recognising the need for self-regulation. The Commission,
itself a statutory body, is given the powers to “encourage self-regulation
of the press and other media communication, in preference to control by the
state or any agency of the state.” This leaves the principle of
self-regulation at the discretion of the Commission instead of guaranteeing
it as a fundamental ingredient for nurturing media freedom as stipulated by
the Banjul Declaration on the Principles of Freedom of Expression in Africa
and other regional and international instruments on freedom of expression.

Therefore it will be highly commendable for the provision of self regulation
to be captured under the Bill of Rights rather than as a privilege of the
commission as is provided for under the draft constitution.

In our humble opinion, the state has no business regulating the print media.
The best practice in the region and the world over is that the media have
professional mechanisms of regulating themselves. If the media commission is
to be established, then it should be for the sole purpose of regulating the
broadcasting sector’s finite frequency spectrum.

Coltart slams 'disgraceful' Zimbabwe

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/

10/02/2012 00:00:00
    by Sports Reporter

SPORTS Minister David Coltart has launched an astonishing attack on Zimbabwe
Cricket after a shocking display by the cricket team during the just-ended
tour of New Zealand.

In an amazing Twitter rant, Coltart accused Zimbabwe Cricket of failing to
get its priorities right, but reserved most of his invective for the panel
of selectors chaired by Givemore Makoni.

Zimbabwe’s performance on the tour had been “disgraceful”, Coltart added in
a series of tweets after Zimbabwe’s 202-run defeat by the Black Cats in
their third One Day International match on Thursday.
New Zealand swept the ODI series 3-0 after winning the first two test
matches by 90 and 141 runs respectively.

Last month, Zimbabwe slumped to an innings and 301-run defeat in a one-off
Test as the hosts made them pay for loose bowling and shoddy fielding.

“National pride is at stake, this disgraceful performance was a combination
of poor selection and wrong priorities. I feel for [Brendan] Taylor who
tried,” Coltart said.

“There is a need for a serious rethink in Zimbabwe Cricket. Ten support
staff in New Zealand including two managers meant that specialist players
were left in Zimbabwe.

“It’s top heavy. One of my broad political philosophies is a belief in small
government and the same applies to administration of sports teams.”

Coltart, a huge cricket fan, questioned the non-selection of top order
batsman Vusi Sibanda, who was overlooked because he had elected to play in
Australia instead of signing for a local franchise.

As Zimbabwe were suffering punishing defeats in New Zealand, Sibanda was
back from his Australian jaunt, leading Mid West Rhinos to impressive
victories in the Coca-Cola Pro50 Championship.

“I really question the team selection,” Coltart went on. “Vusi's
non-inclusion; and how could Shingi [Shingirai Masakadza] be left out after
superb performances in the first two ODIs?

“Meanwhile, back at the ranch Vusi Sibanda and Gary Ballance on 140 and 115
not out speak with their bats. Imagine if they had been playing today!”
South Africa are the next team to tour New Zealand and the local media have
been contemptuous of the departing Zimbabweans.
“Farewell dreadful Zimbabwe, now for a real challenge,” said a headline in
the New Zealand Herald.

Columnist Adam Parore twisted the knife: “The less said about Zimbabwe the
better, although I can't let their dreadful tour end without a few comments.

“They are the worst side to tour this country, below even the poor
Bangladesh outfits of the past five years. A lot of what we saw was no
better than club cricket.

“Thankfully, there is something special to look forward to with the South
Africans arriving over the weekend. Their tour should provide plenty of
terrific contests - the mainly drab Zimbabwe disaster can be quickly
forgotten.”

Parore cited Zimbabwe’s “substandard fielding” as the genesis of their
problems, adding: “This is the one area of the game where teams are in total
control of their own standards and not affected by the quality of
opposition.”

A Zimbabwe Cricket spokesman said: "The minister, like all cricket fans, is
rightly concerned by our poor showing and is within his rights to call it as
he sees it.

"We have a job of creating the right environment for our cricket team to be
able to complete, and we are disappointed these efforts are not always
reflected in performances.

"We don't take such setbacks as the disappointing defeat to New Zealand
lightly, and we will take the advice and criticism of all cricket lovers
onboard as we prepare the team for the next assignment."

Election riggers in ZEC must pack their bags

http://nehandaradio.com/

February 11, 2012 12:08 am

By Pedzisai Ruhanya

The administration of elections, their context as well as the content under
which they take place have been contested issues in post-Independent
Zimbabwe and so are some of the individuals managing the elections.

In any critical political transition relative to the management of credible
elections it is important to address both the institutional and personnel
inadequacies of the systems governing the process. Elections in Zimbabwe
should not be reduced to a simple issue of “free and fair” because this does
not do justice to the process which is far more complex than that.

The Commonwealth has argued phraseology such as “free and fair” or
“representing the will of the people” has largely been abandoned by
international election observers over the past decade. Instead, they call
elections either “credible” or “not credible”.

It is in this context that I seek to interrogate the credibility or
otherwise of Zimbabwe’s electoral institutions and the personnel involved.
It is the constitutional responsibility of any citizen to scrutinise
democratic processes with credible arguments and evidence as long as it does
not border on slander against public officials responsible for running
public institutions.

In this regard, the personnel of the Zimbabwe Election Commission (ZEC) and
the Registrar-General’s office should be subjected to public scrutiny with a
view to increasing public accountability and transparency in the political
systems relative to the administration of elections.

These two institutions and the individuals running them have been part of
the crisis the country is faced with, not forgetting the political players,
the repressive or coercive apparatus and other institutions such as the
media, churches, compromised and “Zanufied” intellectuals and the arts
sector.

I will concentrate on the ZEC, the Registrar-General’s Office and the women
and men who make these institutions fail the nation. Joyce Kazembe has been
with the ZEC since its predecessor the Electoral Supervisory Commission
(ESC) as its vice-chairperson. She has been with the electoral management
body since 1996, which makes 16 years now.

This means Kazembe was involved in the 1996 presidential run-off in which
President Robert Mugabe contested alone after the late nationalist
Ndabaningi Sithole pulled out alleging electoral malpractices.
Registrar-General Tobaiwa Mudede was also part of the electoral team as the
Registrar of elections.

Tobaiwa Mudede

Kazembe was also part of the 2000, 2002, 2005 and the 2008 violent and
hotly-disputed presidential election run-off deemed not credible by
Zimbabweans, the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) and the
African Union (AU), leading to the signing of the Global Political Agreement
(GPA) in September 2008, and consequently the consummation of the inclusive
government in February 2009.

During the 2008 election, Kazembe was vice-chairperson of the ZEC,
deputising retired Brigadier-General George Chiweshe, now High Court Judge
President. Chiweshe got promoted to the current post after running the sham
June 2008 poll.

These are the five elections Kazembe was involved in. It is crucial to note
that in two of the presidential elections, Mugabe was a lone contestant in
1996 and June 2008. Kazembe and her colleagues did not see anything untoward
about such processes and they declared Mugabe the winner.

In the 2002 and 2005 elections Major-General Douglas Nyikayaramba — recently
promoted by Mugabe  — was the ESC chief elections officer. Kazembe was
deputy chair to Sobusa Gula-Ndebele.

It was during that period that Nyikayaramba allegedly recruited intelligence
officers, soldiers and Zanu PF activists into the secretariat of the then
ESC, now ZEC. Kazembe and Gula-Ndebele did not raise issue with a serving
army general running an election in which his commander-in-chief, Mugabe,
was a candidate. How bad can things get?

The 2002 presidential election process and outcome was disputed on account
of violence, intimidation and political murders as well as the involvement
of the security apparatus outside the provisions of the Defence Act and the
Electoral Act. It was a controversial victory for Mugabe that Kazembe and
her colleagues presided over and declared “free and fair”.

So why should the public trust people like Kazembe with running elections
again given their appalling record? What further boggles the mind are purely
arrogant and misguided outbursts by Kazembe that the ZEC secretariat is
professional and her claims there is no infiltration by the security forces.
Such kind of arrogance is deplorable.

Let us take a look back at how the ZEC  administered the March 2008
elections including the sham June presidential poll run-off. Kazembe was at
the time deputy to Chiweshe.

The June 2008 run-off was marked by just about everything the Electoral Act
forbids; political violence, abductions, enforced disappearances, arson and
killings. Before that there were suspicious and alarming delays in releasing
the results of the first round of the presidential election.

The ZEC, under Chiweshe and Kazembe, did not see anything wrong with all
this. It took the majority of political players, ordinary citizens, Sadc and
the AU to say the run-off was not credible and thus Mugabe’s “victory” was a
sham. The point is that Zimbabweans are not fools; they are not ahistorical,
they know their electoral history and those who are part and parcel of the
problem.

It is not only ZEC staff that cannot administer credible elections but some
of the commissioners like Kazembe who should be stopped from running
elections not only because we have hard evidence of past incompetence and
malpractices, but also current inadequacies.

Kazembe should tell Zimbabweans why they endorsed discredited electoral
outcomes as credible. Is she not bothered her name is now associated with
disputed election results? Has she not had enough of the job having been
there for more than a decade now?

These same questions should be asked of Tobaiwa Mudede, the
Registrar-General who has been in his post for a longer period.

Apart from the 1980 elections, Mudede has been involved in the
administration of polls since 1985 which took place amid the Gukurahundi
massacres. How can an election that takes place under circumstances of
genocide and crimes against humanity be deemed credible? The 1985 election
was the worst so far, followed by the June 2008 run-off.

It is vital that when Zimbabweans, especially political players, human
rights and political activists talk about the need for credible elections
they not only focus on the ZEC. Focusing on the ZEC while leaving out
critical players is not helpful and would not assist the country secure
necessary reforms and democratise our electoral institutions.

When dealing with political transitions, it is important to learn something
from the theory of elite continuity so that there are no face powder changes
that fail to produce desired institutional renewal.

As reforms take place at the institutional level, it is also imperative to
make sure that the elites that preside over repression and electoral
malpractices also pack their bags if they are not willing to reform and
adopt a new political culture of transparency and democratic accountability.

The elite continuity theory postulates that in most transitions, there are
considerable continuities in both institutions and personalities between the
old regime and the new establishment.

In the case of the media, the institutions that emerged after the fall of a
prior regime are controlled and influenced by the new political elite. There
is a high degree of continuity in structures and personnel, political
interference into broadcasting and a partisan state-controlled press, just
as is the case at the ZEC.

Zanu PF, like the Rhodesian Front, has staffed institutions such as
state-controlled ZBC and Zimpapers with party surrogates who sing for their
supper and do hatchet jobs for their incompetent and illegitimate political
handlers.  The party workers in these institutions and their ideologues who
masquerade as commentators in newspapers, radio and television are part of
this well-orchestrated process to control and run state institutions in
service of these elites.

These continuities also replicate themselves at the ZEC and the
Registrar-General’s office. This is all designed to ensure Zanu PF elites
continue to cling to power by brute force. These and others are well-crafted
and thought out processes by Zanu PF to entrench itself in power without the
democratic consent of the people of Zimbabwe.

Ruhanya is a PhD candidate in Media and Democracy at the University of
Westminster, London.

Eating stolen fruit

http://www.cathybuckle.com/

February 11, 2012, 7:26 pm

Dear Family and Friends.

It’s mango time in Zimbabwe. Small, sweet, sticky orange mangoes whose
string gets caught in your teeth; these are the mangoes we used to play with
as kids, washing them when the pulp was finished, combing the string into
hair and then drawing a face on the hard oval pip.  Then there are the big
kidney shaped mangoes which you really need to eat outside or sitting in a
bath because it’s impossible not to end up with juice running down your chin
and dripping all over your shirt.  In recent years the big red ball mangoes
have been added to the juicy tropical extravaganza. Weighing almost a
kilogram each they are stringless with very sweet, firm, orange flesh.  The
problem is you know they are stolen.

Buying these huge ball mangoes on the side of the road at one US dollar
apiece, it’s hard to put out of your mind the knowledge that they have come
from a farm that was violently seized two years ago from its owners and for
which no compensation was paid. You know you are eating stolen fruit and by
doing so it’s a bit like being an accomplice to a crime. This is one of the
thousands of things that sit on our consciences every day and weigh the
country down with a huge burden of guilt, like a sin that needs to be
confessed and absolution given.

The ball mangoes will inevitably follow the same route as the apples, plums,
pears, litchis, peaches and nuts before them. Every year the harvest will
get less and less as the men who grabbed the farm and reaped what they did
not sow, will be unwilling or unable to water, prune, fertilize and control
diseases on the vast orchards they seized.

Nowhere is there a more graphic demonstration of the national shame  we
carry around than in our supermarkets. Going shopping in Zimbabwe with a
notebook tells the most shocking story of where we are in terms of producing
our own food eleven years after Zanu PF’s land seizures.

In the cereals aisle of my local supermarket there were fifteen varieties,
only two were made in Zimbabwe and both were more expensive than their
imported South African counterparts sitting on the shelves alongside them.
There were eight different makes of jam on display, two were Zimbabwean,
four South African, one made in Spain and one from Cyprus.  There were ten
makes of pasta on sale, all but one were from South Africa. Of the eight
different brands of coffee on the shelf not a single one was Zimbabwean.
There were thirty two varieties of sweet biscuits on sale, four were
Zimbabwean, twenty five South African and three from Greece.  There was no
fresh Zimbabwean milk or cream to buy. Flour and maize meal was all in local
packaging but if anyone is any doubt about where the vast majority of the
contents originated they need look no further than the ceaseless stream
trains and trucks coming over our borders.

In the last few weeks more and more alarming statistics have been released
about this year’s expected national harvest. Plantings of all the major
crops are down by between thirty and fifty percent. The President of the
ZCFU, Donald Khumalo said we could expect to see a deficit of one and a half
million tonnes of maize this harvest.  Shamefully Zimbabwe is expected to
have only produced enough food for one quarter of the population.  Mr
Khumalo said “we have basically lost direction as a country.” His
counterpart in the CFU, Charles Taffs said the country should brace for a
big disaster.

Already we are preparing for the propaganda and the blame game, despite the
fact that since November the farming unions and experts have been warning
that there just wasn’t enough planting and farming being done on all those
millions of seized hectares. This is the new Zimbabwean disease: sitting
waiting for free ploughing, fuel, seed, fertilizer, tractors, boreholes,
irrigation equipment and even harvesters.

Eleven years after land was forcibly seized from white Zimbabweans without
compensation and given to black Zimbabweans but without Title Deeds, the
result is sitting on our supermarket shelves. Until next time, thanks for
reading, love cathy

Debt and Diamonds

http://www.cathybuckle.com

February 10, 2012, 3:02 pm

It’s one of those nightmare scenarios that wakes you up in a cold sweat: the
banks have run out of money. Up until the moment you presented your cash
cheque over the counter or inserted your card into the machine, all was
well. Then comes the crunch, the bank has no money!

As I write those words I am immediately transported back to the bank in my
‘hometown’ in Zimbabwe. That’s where I was when the last cash crisis hit the
banks. The currency was Zim dollars in those days – just 8 years ago – but
now it’s $ US and those precious dollars are in short supply. I’m no
economist but like most people I can grasp the hard reality of cash in my
pocket. $577 is the calculated minimum monthly income for a family of five
and inflation is 5.7%. Those are the facts but however high your salary or
healthy your bank balance, the truth is: you need cash to survive. The news
that some banks in Harare have run out of $ US must have sent cold shivers
down the spines of many Zimbabweans. We have seen hundreds of desperate
customers queuing outside banks in Harare before. But the world has changed
since the last cash crisis in Zimbabwe. The western world – even the mighty
US - has slid into economic recession. Only China and the Far East have
remained relatively immune to the economic collapse but is China likely to
bail out their old friend Mugabe? It seems unlikely.

Meanwhile, our near-neighbour, Mozambique has prospered over the years but
their success does not mean they can afford to ignore unpaid debts and this
week they threatened to cut off Zimbabwe’s power if their debts are not
paid. In my old ‘hometown’ the power situation is already desperate with
daily power cuts for hours at a time. Without electricity there is no power
to operate water pumps and the danger of water-borne diseases only adds to
the general misery. It is calculated that it would take $ 1.4 billion to
replace Harare’s antique water system No student grants have been released
for this academic year and we learned this week that the government needs
$62 million to pay students’ loans and grants. Nurses have just rejected a
22.5% pay rise thus adding to the growing number of desperately dissatisfied
workers and increasing the possibility of industrial action and civil
unrest.

Against this background, diamond wealth will surely rescue the country from
economic collapse? The Marange diamond fields are among the biggest in the
world and diamond auctions are a fairly regular occurrence; this week it was
1.5 million carats of the precious stones up for auction with each carat
worth $ 40 – cheap at the price apparently! Zimbabweans are entitled to ask
where all that diamond revenue is going?  And if it isn’t going into
government coffers then whose pockets is it lining? This Friday comes the
news that civil servants’ pay day has been postponed for five days because
of the shortage of cash. Foreign-owned banks in Zimbabwe have been urged to
bring in $200 million from their off-shore accounts in an attempt to supply
the needs of desperate citizens. Those bank queues will surely re-appear as
Zimbabweans scramble to get their hands on the elusive $ US. Yet, this is a
country sitting on one of the world’s biggest diamond fields; clearly
something is very wrong. Zimbabwe should perhaps take a lesson from their
near-neighbour, Botswana. Their diamond industry is jointly owned by De
Beers and the Botswana government and 80% of the profits go direct into
government coffers for the benefit of all Batswana.

Just a couple of weeks ago Robert Mugabe was at the AU  bragging about
Africa’s fabulous mineral wealth; what he didn’t tell his fellow African
leaders was how his own country is using its diamond wealth: how many
schools and hospitals it has built or how many families it has lifted out of
poverty. Until the diamond wealth benefits the whole population and not just
the   ‘fat cats’- of both parties - diamonds will continue to be the source
of greed and dishonesty.

Yours in the (continuing) struggle PH.

Constitution Watch of 10th February 2012 [COPAC Clarifies Status of First Draft ]