THE row over the country’s new constitution escalated Monday
with Zanu PF officials demanding the sacking of the drafters accusing them
of producing a document that threatens the country’s national
security.
A first draft of the new constitution released last week has
angered Zanu PF over clauses that appear to limit the powers of the
presidency as well as possibly bar President Robert Mugabe from seeking
another term in office.
Mugabe, 88 this year, has led the country since
independence in 1980. He nominated as Zanu PF’s candidate for elections the
party insists must be held this year to replace the coalition
government.
But a clause in the draft reads: "a person is disqualified
for election as President if he or she has already held office for one or
more periods, whether continuous or not, amounting to 10
years”
Charged politburo member professor Jonathan Moyo: "they (drafters)
have failed to stick to the National Report and this simply means they are
all incapable of taking us anywhere.
"The draft is a systematic
attack on Zimbabwe where the drafters have become drifters by drifting away
from the views of the people. This draft exposes the poverty of the
inclusive Government. "The drafters have failed and if they are not changed,
it means there won't be any Constitution to talk of."
Another Zanu PF
official and former ambassador to China, Christopher Mutsvangwa added: "The
process has been corrupted by bad faith of the three drafters. They have
abused the whole process to score political goals.
"The drafters have
subverted the thinking of Zimbabweans and we should find people who are
comfortable with what people said by using the National Report otherwise we
will be held at ransom as is the case.”
Professor Lovemore Madhuku who
heads the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) warned that the
constitutional reform process would continue to be undermined by political
brinksmanship between the three political parties leading the
exercise.
"As long as the process exclusively remains in the hands of
political parties, the draft constitution will remain a political game. Each
provision there will reflect a political position of one party or the
other,'' Madhuku told the Herald.
"That does not deserve to be
described as a Constitution. This is what was rejected long ago because the
draft does not reflect the views of the people and we will reject it if it
comes that way.”
Writing a new constitution is part of a package of
reforms expected to lead to fresh polls after the violent but inconclusive
2008 general elections.
But Professor Moyo said the process had failed
and demanded that new elections be held under the existing
constitution. "It is only after elections that people can talk of a
Constitution because one political party would be in charge," he
said.
"We have Amendment 18 that was negotiated by the three political
parties in Copac and that is enough to hold elections because they
incorporate all Sadc guidelines for free and fair elections. "The only
way forward is elections, otherwise we would spend a decade trying to come
up with a new Constitution."
Zimbabwe's energy
minister warned on Monday that the country risks losing electricity imports
from its major supplier if it fails to pay a $90-million debt to
Mozambique's Hydro Cabora Bassa dam.
"That is one debt that we have got
to service because if we do not service it our major source of power will go
away," Elton Mangoma told a committee of lawmakers.
Mangoma said the
Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) has piled up almost a billion
dollars in unpaid electricity imports, unserviced loans and outstanding
contributions to a joint power project with neighbour Zambia.
"At this
stage with the cash flows of ZESA there is no possibility of re-paying them.
We are not planning in the short-term to have them repaid but that treasury
when they are looking at their debt management will be able to look at
that."
He said ZESA owes about $800-million of old loans, and $94-million
in electricity imports including about $90-million to Hydro Cabora Bassa,
the Mozambican hydroelectric dam that is its main supplier. It also owes
$70-million to Zambia.
Zimbabwe needs about 2 200 megawatts of
electricity at peak but generates just 1 300 megawatts, importing the
remainder.
Mangoma said is owed ZESA $400-million in unpaid electricity
bills by consumers and announced plans to cut off defaulters.
ZESA
plans to introduce pre-paid meters to improve its revenue and avoid
resorting to charges based on estimates.
Last year ZESA announced it
would hand out more than 5.5-million power-saving fluorescent light bulbs to
households across the country to curb consumption.
Harare - The Health Ministry in Zimbabwe said on Monday it has
recorded two suspected typhoid deaths, as an outbreak of the disease
appeared to worsen.
The ministry was awaiting laboratory analysis to
confirm if the deaths were the result of the bacterial disease that is
spread through contaminated food and water. The two people were reported to
have died in the last five days.
Since the start of the outbreak in late
October, 2,716 cases have been identified, mostly in two crowded townships
with limited and run-down sanitation infrastructure near the capital
Harare.
According to the latest assessment from health officials, the
number of new cases in other areas has increased but was expected to 'taper
off' as the rainy season recedes.
In late 2008, Zimbabwe suffered a
cholera outbreak that claimed nearly 4,000 lives.
Zimbabwe Lawyers
for Human Rights said the typhoid outbreak was 'a embarrassing sign of the
state of collapse in the country.'
In a statement, the group said it was
'alarming for such a preventable and medieval disease to continue to
incommode people in this day and age.'
Last week, the country's largest
magistrates' court in Harare was forced to close as scores of magistrates,
prosecutors and clerks were sent home exhibiting typhoid symptoms. Officials
said the court had been without water 'for weeks.'
Johannesburg – The Southern Africa
Litigation Centre (SALC) and the Zimbabwean Exiles Forum (ZEF) have launched
a landmark case in the North Gauteng High Court to compel South Africa to
abide by its legal obligations to investigate and prosecute high level
Zimbabwean officials accused of crimes against humanity.
SALC
and ZEF are asking the High Court to review and set aside the decision of
the National Prosecuting Authority and the South African Police Services not
to investigate Zimbabwean officials linked to acts of state-sanctioned
torture following a police raid on the headquarters of the Movement for
Democratic Change in 2007.
“The decision not to pursue credible
evidence of crimes against humanity was taken for political reasons, it
ignored South Africa’s clear obligations under both international and
domestic law,” said Nicole Fritz, Executive Director of SALC. “The High
Court has an opportunity to set an important precedent, which will ensure
that South Africa lives up to its legal responsibilities to prosecute the
perpetrators of international crimes.”
By ratifying the Rome Statute of
the International Criminal Court, South Africa committed itself to prosecute
perpetrators of serious international crimes, regardless of where they are
committed. However, this case represents the first time that a South African
court will have the opportunity to provide guidance on the scope and nature
of the obligations placed on South African authorities by signing up to the
ICC.
This case has its genesis in a detailed docket submitted by SALC to
the NPA’s Priority Crimes Litigation Unit in March 2008 documenting acts of
torture committed after the Zimbabwean police raid on MDC’s Harvest House.
Torture is a crime against humanity, according to the ICC.
“As soon
as the NPA was in possession of the docket, South Africa’s obligations to
investigate with a view to prosecuting those responsible were triggered,”
said Gabriel Shumba, Chairperson of ZEF. “Since the ICC Act obliges South
Africa to arrest and prosecute perpetrators of international crimes if they
enter South Africa, the Zimbabwean officials identified in the docket should
have been arrested when they set foot in South Africa orat the very least
questioned.”
Despite the existence of specialised units within South
Africa’s prosecutorial and police services to investigate crimes of this
nature, no effort was made to initiate an investigation despite the
availability of credible evidence. A negative decision was only communicated
to SALC in June 2009 and the reasons given demonstrate a fundamental
misunderstanding of South Africa’s international law obligations and the ICC
Act.
“Continued impunity in Zimbabwe does not bode well for
constitutional reform and the possibility of free and fair elections,” said
Fritz. “South Africa has the legal framework, and the technical capacity and
expertise to dispense international justice. Moreover, South Africa cannot
afford to be seen as a refuge for international criminals the world over. It
is in its own best interests to ensure that these types of criminals are
brought to book.”
The case will be heard between 26 March and 30
March 2012.
Background
On 28 March 2007 Zimbabwean police
conducted a raid on Harvest House, the headquarters of the then opposition
party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). Initially over 100 people
were taken into custody, including those who happened only to work in nearby
shops or offices. Individuals affiliated with the MDC were detained in
police custody for several days where they were continuously tortured.
Repeated patterns of torture included mock execution, waterboarding and the
use of electric shock.
SALC compiled detailed and motivated testimony
relating to events that took place during and subsequent to the raid on
Harvest House. SALC's representations demonstrated that: the individuals
were tortured on the basis of their association with the MDC and their
opposition to the ruling party, ZANU-PF; the abuse they were subjected to
was inflicted by and/or at the instigation of and/or consent or acquiescence
of public officials that visit South Africa on a regular basis; and these
acts of torture were part of a widespread and systematic attack on MDC
supporters and officials and those opposed to the ruling party, the
ZANU-PF.
On 14 March 2008 the docket was submitted, in terms of the
Implementation of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court Act
27 of 2002 (ICC Act), to the Priority Crimes Litigation Unit (PCLU). The
PCLU is a specialized unit within the South African National Prosecuting
Authority (NPA), the Head of which, is, in terms of a Presidential
Proclamation, mandated to “manage and direct the investigation and
prosecution of crimes contemplated in the” ICC Act. In light of the
information presented to the PCLU, SALC requested that an investigation and
prosecution be instituted.
The Rome Statute of the International Criminal
Court (Rome Statute) came into force in 2002 and allows the International
Criminal Court (ICC) jurisdiction over crimes committed after 1 July 2002.
South Africa is a party to the Rome Statute and has been a vocal supporter
of the ICC. The Rome Statute has to date been ratified by 120 countries and
represents collective agreement to prosecute serious crimes under
international law.
In order to give effect to its complementarity
obligations under the Rome Statute, South Africa incorporated the Rome
Statute into its domestic law by means of the ICC Act. Prior to the ICC
Act, South Africa had no municipal legislation on the subject of war crimes
or crimes against humanity, and no domestic prosecutions of international
crimes had taken place in South Africa. To date South Africa is the only
country in Southern Africa that has incorporated the Rome Statute into
domestic law.
Under the ICC Act, a structure is created for national
prosecution of crimes defined in the Rome Statute. In other words, the ICC
Act allows for the prosecution of crimes against humanity (which includes
torture), genocide and war crimes before a South African Court. Furthermore
the preamble to the ICC Act acknowledges that South Africa has an
international obligation under the Rome Statute to bring perpetrators of
crimes against humanity to justice, in a South African court under our
domestic law where possible.
Section 4(1) of the ICC Act creates
jurisdiction for a South African court over ICC crimes by providing that
“[d]espite anything to the contrary in any other law of the Republic, any
person who commits [an ICC] crime, is guilty of an offence and liable on
conviction to a fine or imprisonment”. Section 4(3) of the Act provides for
extra-territorial jurisdiction. In terms of this section, a South African
court has jurisdiction over any person who commits an ICC crime outside the
territory of the Republic and “that person, after the commission of the
crime, is present in the territory of the Republic”. Section 4(3) deems
such an offender’s crime to have been committed in the territory of the
Republic.
SALC prepared its request in the knowledge that obligations
under the ICC Act, in terms of the section 4(3) requirement of “presence”,
could be satisfied, since several of the perpetrators named in the
representations travel to South Africa on official and personal
business.
The ICC Act therefore empowers the NPA and the South African
Police Services (SAPS) to initiate investigations and prosecutions against
the persons responsible for international crimes, including torture and
other crimes against humanity committed in Zimbabwe.
Despite being in
possession of extensive evidence the NPA and the SAPS did not initiate an
investigation. SALC attempted to engage with the NPA on numerous occasions.
However on 19 June 2009 (14 months after the initial request) the NPA
informed SALC that no investigation would be initiated.
On 15 December
2009, SALC, together with Zimbabwe Exiles Forum (ZEF), instituted legal
proceedings to judicially review the decision of the NPA and SAPS not to
institute an investigation. They allege that the reasons relied on by the
NPA and SAPS bring the decision within the purview of the Promotion of
Administrative Justice Act 3 of 2000 because it is irrational, unlawful,
took into account irrelevant considerations and ignores South Africa’s
international and domestic obligations to investigate and prosecute
international crimes.
Two members of the MDC led by Morgan Tsvangirai have been murdered
in less than a week, amid fears that serious violence along political lines
is once again on the rise.
Last Tuesday an MDC-T activist in Masvingo
was brutally murdered, allegedly by ZANU PF supporters at his Zaka East
home. According to provincial party structures, Sharukai Mukwena woke up on
Tuesday night to discover that his granary had been set alight. It’s
believed that when he went to investigate what was happening he was
confronted by ZANU PF youths who attacked him.
The MDC-T’s spokesperson
Douglas Mwonzora told SW Radio Africa on Monday that Mukwena’s hands were
chopped off in the attack, calling it “a truly gruesome murder
incident.”
“He was murdered apparently for showing the MDC party symbol
which is an open palm. So they severed both palms from his body before they
murdered him,” Mwonzora said.
Mwonzora said the motive for the death
is “clearly political,” explaining how the “very partisan police have not
done anything about this murder.”
On Friday, less than a week later, the
party’s branch treasurer in Mbare, Shepherd Bandau, was murdered by members
of the notorious Chipangano gang, a ZANU PF loyal youth gang.
The
MDC-T said that Bandau had been on his way home on Friday when 10 Chipangano
members approached and started assaulting him. The party spoke to a witness
who said that the gang “challenged anyone who tried to intervene with the
same fate and we became scared that no-one could even stop the
assault.”
Police were eventually called in and Bandau was transported
to hospital. But according to the MDC-T he lost consciousness while on the
way and was declared dead on arrival.
Four of the 10 ZANU PF youths
have been arrested and are detained at Mbare Police Station. The witness
told the MDC-T that the youths who have been arrested are known under their
Chipangano operational names of ‘Zesa’, ‘Paraffin’, ‘Marko’ and ‘Isaac’ but
he did not know their real names.
Mourners for Bandau have gathered at
Kaseke Village in Domboshava and burial arrangements are being
finalised.
According to the MDC-T, Chipangano is part sponsored by two
losing ZANU PF parliamentary candidates in the 2008 elections, Tendai
Savanhu and ZANU PF Harare provincial chairperson Amos Midzi. Another
sponsor is Hubert Nyanhongo, the MP for Harare South and the Deputy Minister
for Energy and Power Development.
“The three are paying and oiling
the ZANU PF youths who operate under the rogue outfit Chipangano to unleash
violence on suspected MDC supporters,” the MDC-T said.
Incidences of
violence against the MDC have continued despite the party now being a part
of government. The leaders in the government meanwhile have all repeated
calls for violence to end, but observers have said it is clearly an
insincere call on ZANU PF’s part. Other observers meanwhile have said that
if the party under Robert Mugabe’s leadership really wanted violence to end,
all Mugabe would need to do is give the order.
Mwonzora said on
Monday that these murder cases are just the ones that have been reported,
adding that “we suspect that there are more that have not been reported
yet.”
“We are very worried because political violence is on the rise. We
are also filled with a sense of hopelessness on the part of the MDC in
government, because we are unable to protect our supporters,” Mwonzora said.
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Robert Mugabe were on
Monday due to hold a second meeting to discuss the heated issue of police
chief Augustine Chihuri’s contract, which expired on January 31st.
It
was announced after a meeting of all three principals last Wednesday that
they had agreed to let Chihuri continue in his post as “acting” police
commissioner, until a permanent replacement was decided
on.
Tsvangirai and Mutambara saw this as a successful meeting, but they
were strongly criticized by some observers and civic groups, who dismissed
both leaders as having been fooled by Mugabe, because no date was set for
Chihuri’s termination.
Then Mugabe’s spokesperson George Charamba
added fuel to the fire by publicizing a different spin on the agreement.
Charamba said Mugabe had actually unilaterally re-appointed Chihuri as
police chief. This cast much confusion over the agreement made last
week.
Tsvangirai’s spokesperson Luke Tamborinyoka reportedly said the
issue of Chihuri’s contract was likely to be on the agenda at Monday’s
meeting. But Mugabe’s man Charamba insisted the meeting was “routine” and
Chihuri was no longer an issue.
The fiercely loyal Chihuri has
publicly denounced the MDC and Tsvangirai on several occasions. He has also
been trusted with destructive operations for ZANU PF, including Operation
Murambatsvina, which displaced nearly one million people.
No details
of the Monday meeting were made available by the end of the day.
By Everson Mushava, Staff Writer Monday, 13 February 2012
12:00
HARARE - Facilitator to Zimbabwe’s Sadc-initiated Global
Political Agreement (GPA) President Jacob Zuma is keen to meet the
principals in the inclusive government, as he pushes for a political
solution to the country’s crisis.
One of Zuma’s negotiators to the crisis
Lindiwe Zulu told the Daily News yesterday that President Zuma will soon
come to Zimbabwe to meet the principals on the outstanding
issues.
“We had a report from the negotiators in December. There are
issues that they said were above their responsibility and have been referred
to the principals. President Zuma, as the facilitator, will meet the
principals to find out how much ground they will have covered on the
outstanding issues,” said Zulu.
Zulu said a date to visit Zimbabwe is
not yet set but it would be soon.
Zuma’s impending visit comes as
President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF and hardliners close to him are pushing
for early elections where it is believed that the militia will be used to
force people to vote for the 87-year-old leader.
Human rights
organisations and Sadc fear that if elections are held without the necessary
reforms, including a new constitution, the country might descend into
violent scenes reminiscent of the 2008 mayhem which resulted in the death of
over 200 MDC supporters.
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has also said
elections will only be held after reforms.
Zuma, Sadc and the African
Union have in the past said elections will only be held if the country
implements reforms agreed in the GPA so that elections will produce
acceptable results.
In 2008, MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai was forced to
boycott a presidential re-run citing state-sponsored violence against his
supporters after he failed to win the first round poll with an outright
majority Mugabe went on to run in a one-man election which was described by
the international community as a sham and Sadc forced Mugabe and Tsvangirai
into a coalition arrangement they are in now.
“There are still some
outstanding issues in the GPA and on the election roadmap and President Zuma
is keen to have those issues addressed,” Zulu said yesterday.
Sadc is
this weekend holding a Double Troika in Cape Town to discuss political and
economic matters but Zimbabwe is not expected to be on the agenda as Zuma is
still trying to resolve the country’s crisis.
Zuma’s intervention will be
most welcome in Zimbabwe as cracks keep emerging even after the principals
agree to reforms.
Today, Tsvangirai and President Robert Mugabe are
headed for a titanic confrontation over the re-appointment of police
commissioner general Augustine Chihuri that could break apart the country’s
shaky inclusive government.
Tsvangirai took a swipe at presidential
spokesperson George Charamba on Saturday, saying that the aide was “not a
principal” who could pronounce on the deliberation of principals, and went
on to insist that Chihuri was now acting head of the police.
The PM
and his deputy Arthur Mutambara last week “convinced” Mugabe that Chihuri’s
term of office, which expired last month, should not be
extended.
However, the much-criticised police chief continues in his
acting or substantive capacity — depending on which political party one
speaks to — as the principals strive to regularise the Police Service
Commission (PSC) which nominates and recommends to Mugabe the person to lead
the police.
According to both the PM and Mutambara, as well as the
dictates of the Global Political Agreement, Mugabe is supposed to appoint
the PSC nominee in consultation with the two.
Zuma’s task will
therefore be to try and make sure that the coalition government would not
break up and create problems for Zimbabweans and the region.
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is being urged to fully probe
ongoing abuses facing villages and workers at the controversial Chiadzwa
diamond fields, when he makes a tour of the area this week.
This will
be the Premier’s first visit to the area, after he has been repeatedly
barred from there. Most recently last July, he was stopped from touring the
area, with government officials insisting he did not have clearance from the
ZANU PF controlled Mines Ministry.
But he is now set to be shown around
the area on Thursday and Friday. According to the NewsDay newspaper, the
Permanent secretary in the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development, Prince
Mupazviriho, confirmed the tour on Sunday.
At the time of
Tsvangirai’s aborted visit last year Zimbabwe was still suspended from
international trade, over human rights and smuggling concerns. The country
has since been granted leave to start selling its diamonds, after the
international trade watchdog the Kimberley Process (KP) ended its two year
deadlock on what to do about the situation.
But the KP has faced intense
criticism for allowing sales to resume, because of ongoing concerns about
the situation in Chiadzwa. Many have slammed the KP for appearing to bow to
pressure from the Zimbabwe’s Mines Ministry, whose Minister Obert Mpofu
repeatedly threatened to sell Zim diamonds without approval.
For
human rights campaigners however the concern has been ongoing reports of
rights abuses. There is also speculation that the diamond profits, which in
the past have never been accounted for, could be used by ZANU PF to fund a
campaign of violence against the opposition ahead of fresh
elections.
Mutare based human rights defender, Farai Maguwu, told SW
Radio Africa on Monday that the Prime Minister must use his tour this week
to investigate what is happening.
“The PM must talk to everyone, and
first he must speak to civil society here in Mutare. He must also talk to
workers about their rights which are being infringed, and about the beatings
they face,” Maguwu explained.
He added that Tsvangirai “must then look
into the security situation at the diamond fields,” explaining that there
are ongoing reports “of villagers being assaulted by police and
security.”
Political analyst Clifford Mashiri meanwhile explained that
the fact that the Prime Minister is only now being allowed to visit the
area, is a clear sign of how Zimbabwe has been demarcated along political
lines.
“Clearly, Chiadzwa has been demarcated a ZANU PF area. I can
imagine now that all they want is for Tsvangirai to call for the measures
affecting the diamonds sales to be lifted,” Mashiri said.
African
leaders thank the African Capacity Building Foundation for promoting growth
and stability
Reuben Kyama | Harare, Zimbabwe
Delegates to
the summit came from various African countries and from World Bank, African
Development Bank and the United Nations Development Program.
Addressing
the participants, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe said the continent has
been portrayed by the Western powers as a ‘lost continent’ due to ethnic
conflicts and poverty.
"In the 1980s," he said, "Sub Saharan Africa faced
gloomy macro-economic and development prospects, stagnant economies and
endemic poverty, therefore fueling talk in some quarters as the lost decade
while the continent was portrayed as a hopeless one. This was in spite of
Africa’s vast wealth of natural resources most of which is suffering from
the deterioration of unfair trade practices that came with settler
colonialism and appetite for its endowment."
But with the rise of
China and other emerging economies in Asia, Mugabe says Africa’s growth is
now on an upward curve. He praised the African Capacity Building Foundation
for working to improve Africa’s human and institutional
capacity..
"This trend only bottomed up when China took off as an
emerging economy, and now as a rising superpower," he said. "The African
Capacity Building Foundation was created in 1991… I am happy to learn that
the ABCF has grown to be a trusted leader in building capacity for Africa’s
success in sustainable growth and poverty eradication."
Established
20 years ago, the ACBF aims to build to strengthen Africa’s governments and
business communities so sustainable growth and poverty reduction will be
possible.
With barely three years to go before the deadline for the
Millennium Development Goals, delegates at the meeting emphasized the role
of capacity in Africa’s development agenda.
Finance Minister Tendai
Biti told participants that a new African narrative was emerging.
"I
think over the years you have seen a new Africa coming with numbers of wars
reducing, the number of conflicts reducing and a number of democratic
elections increasing," he said.
Dr. Frannie Leautier, the
Foundation’s Executive Secretary, said since its creation, ACBF has
supported projects and programs in 45 African countries, including
Zimbabwe.
"In the past 20 years, the Foundation has invested more than
500 million US dollars in capacity development in Africa," she said. "Its
action has been most visible and successful in the area of economic policy
analysis and management through its support of think-tanks and policy
institutes. Across the continent, ACBF has nurtured the growth of these
institutes from cradle to current performing organizations."
The
theme of the anniversary was ‘The Future of Africa is Now: The Critical Role
of Capacity Development.’ The event included a series of learning and
knowledge sharing events in several other cities across Africa, including
Tunis (Tunisia), Kigali (Rwanda), Malabo (Equitorial Guinea) and Arusha,
Tanzania. Similar events were also held in Paris, France.
The Zimbabwe
Association of Community Radio Stations (ZACRAS) has condemned what it believes
is an attempt by the Mugabe regime to target community radio initiatives in the
country.
Speaking to SW
Radio Africa’s Behind the Headlines programme Gift Mambipiri, the ZACRAS
chairperson, said police officers from Gwanda visited Mvelo Zondo, a committee
member of the Ntepe rural community radio station. The officers wanted to know
the project’s ‘agenda and activities’.
The police
officers who were from the Law and Order Section told Zondo that they had been
led to believe that “Ntepe was established with the goal of disseminating
information which undermines the President.” Mambipiri said these ‘unfounded
allegations’ sought to “derail the operations of community
radios.”
Mambipiri said
only three months ago Cain Mathema, who is the Governor and Resident Minister of
Bulawayo and also ZANU-PF deputy secretary for Information and Publicity, had
labeled Bulawayo based community radio station Radio Dialogue, as one of the
organisations calling for regime change.
“Community radios
are established with a mandate of advancing community needs and aspirations.
Such blatant acts of intimidating community radio practitioners are
retrogressive in the fight towards the realisation of a Zimbabwe consisting of
vibrant and flourishing community radios,” Mambipiri said.
In his speech to
mark World Radio Day, Media, Information and Publicity Minister Webster Shamu
talked about government efforts to expand radio and television transmission to
most parts of the country. Shamu said three television transmitters were already
installed in Beitbridge, Plumtree and Victoria Falls while construction of
towers was underway in Mount Darwin and Mudzi.
Commentators
however say that what is needed are different voices, not merely the expansion
of the reach of the present ZANU PF monopoly. Despite agreement by the three
leaders in the coalition government that the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe
needs to be re-constituted, the same body gave two FM licences for commercial
radio stations to organisations sympathetic to ZANU PF.
The granting of
licences to Zimpapers Talk Radio and Supa Mandiwanzira’s AB Communications was
described as a scandal by many observers. Allegations have also been made that
the winning bidders were recruiting staff and buying equipment weeks before the
results were announced.
No community radio
station licences have been issued.
To listen
to the full interview with Gift Mambipiri on Behind the Headlines: CLICK
HERE
CHIPINGE- Local Business people at Checheche Growth Point are
short changing desperate drought stricken villagers by charging exorbitant
prices for maize and mealie meal. Chipinge was strongly hit by drought
resulting in many villagers turning to shop operators who are hoarding maize
and mealie meal reselling at high prices, ranging from seven to ten dollars
for a 20 kg bag of maize.
“The local shops are selling maize and mealie
meal at unaffordable prices, we do not even know how we will survive up to
April when we finally harvest from our fields,” said Rhoda Mudhadha from
Checheche.
Most villagers in the area complained about the behaviour of
traders who are out to make a fortune from their desperate situation. “We
did not harvest enough last season so they are taking advantage of that,”
lamented Laiza Sithole another Checheche villager.
In 2011, Chipinge
was hit hard by drought, a situation that has become common in eastern
border area, leaving most families at the hands of merciless business people
out to maximize from their desperate situation. Commenting on the situation,
Ward 24 Councillor, Zekias Sithole bemoaned the heartless behaviour of
business people who take advantage of Chipinge’s drought situation. “Our
survival is now in the hands of business people who seek to capitalise from
our hunger situation,” Sithole said.
A report by the Zimbabwe
Vulnerability Assessment Committee (ZIMVAC), a government-led consortium of
UN agencies, official bodies and non-governmental organizations which
conducts annual food security assessments, found that 12 percent of the
rural population “will not be able to meet their minimum cereal needs during
the 2011/12 season”.
HARARE -- More than half of Zimbabwe’s teachers
have at one point during the past decade experienced some form of political
violence including being threatened, beaten up, tortured or raped, according
to a new report released at the weekend.
The report prepared
by the Progressive Teachers of Union Zimbabwe (PTUZ) is based on the
findings of a survey carried out between April and June 2011 involving 1 200
teachers randomly selected from across the country, but with particular bias
to rural areas that have suffered the most political violence since
2000.
The document details how militants loyal to President
Robert Mugabe’s ZANU PF party, war veterans, soldiers and other state
security agents have at every major election attacked teachers, with
hundreds forced to flee schools mid-term in fear for their
lives.
The report said: “51percent (of) teachers (interviewed)
reported that they have directly experienced political violence of one form
or another, and 55 percent stated that they had been forced to vote for a
particular political party because of violence or threats of violence, with
the worst election for such intimidation being June
2008.
“Sixty-eight percent stated that they had experienced
violence in the June 2008 election, but high percentages also reported
direct experience of violence in 2000 and also the March 2008
election.”
Too influential
According to the
report, intimidation and being forced to attend political meetings were the
most common forms of violation, but there was also a high incidence of
assault, torture, extortion, being barred from voting, and forced
displacement of teachers.
The report that calls on the coalition
government of Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai to ban political
parties from carrying out their activities at schools says teachers were
targeted because they were: “either seen as opposition supporters, too
influential in the community, or not actively supporting ZANU
PF.”
With Zimbabwe expected to hold fresh elections either later
this year or in 2013, the report warns of possible mass resignations from
schools especially in rural areas unless the governments enacts “laws that
restrict and criminalise the use or occupation of schools for political
activities”.
According to the report, when respondents were asked
what they would do if violence recurred, “a large percentage (50 percent)
responded by saying they would flee the area and move to urban
schools.”
ZANU PF spokesman Rugare Gumbo could not be reached
last night for comment on the matter. But Mugabe’s party has in the past
denied reports linking it or its supporters to political violence as untrue
and mere propaganda meant to tarnish the former liberation movement’s
image.
Education Minister David Coltart was also not immediately
available for comment on the matter. Coltart, from the smaller breakaway MDC
faction led by Industry Minister Welshman Ncube , has in the past called on
all political parties to stop using schools as venues for meetings or any
other political activity.
Routine violence
Political
violence and human rights abuses, especially during elections, have become
routine in Zimbabwe since the 1999 emergence of Tsvangirai and his MDC as
the most potent threat ever to Mugabe and ZANU PF’s decades-long hold on
power.
Teachers, their spouses and families have borne the brunt of the
violence and rights abuses.
For example, the PTUZ report details how
teachers at Muzinda and Machiva schools in Zaka district in Masvingo
province were during the run-up to the June 2008 presidential run-off
election seriously beaten up as punishment for allegedly campaigning for
Tsvangirai and his MDC who were then in opposition.
“On this tragic
day, the 2nd of June 2008, (the) teachers were accused of campaigning for
the MDC. The attack resulted in one teacher, Taurai Gwenzi (not real name)
being severely injured and hospitalised at St. Antony’s Mission Hospital,”
said the report.
The report also narrates an incident when a
female teacher from a school in the Midlands province town of Kwekwe was
“flaunted before a gathering of over one thousand people” at a sports
stadium and threatened with severe but unspecified punishment because her
husband was an MDC supporter.
“The (ZANU PF) party officials went on to
charge that the teacher should dig a small hole in the ground using her
fingers and spit into it in a typical cultural gesture to show deep
repentance for one’s sins,” the report said.
New
constitution
The report that among other key recommendations calls for
the creation of school protection committees and for civil society and
teachers unions to develop early warning systems to raise alarm when
teachers come under attack says in several cases teachers were told how to
vote during the presidential run-off election.
Zimbabwe witnessed
some of its worst ever political violence during the run up to the June 2008
vote that was being held after Mugabe was defeated by Tsvangirai in an
earlier vote the previous March. But Tsvangirai failed to achieve the margin
required to take power and avoid a second round run-off
vote.
Tsvangirai pulled out of the run-off ballot citing
state–sponsored attacks against his supporters and in the process, leaving
Mugabe to win as sole candidate.
But the election was universally
condemned, with African countries that had refrained from criticising Mugabe
in the past also denouncing the violence-marred election – a situation that
forced the veteran President to open negotiations to share power with
Tsvangirai.
The coalition government is writing a new constitution for
Zimbabwe after which fresh polls will be held.
Zimbabweans hope the
new constitution will not only guarantee their rights and freedoms but would
also act as a bulwark against political violence. However analysts say new
incidents of violence -- including the murder last Tuesday of an MDC
activist, Sharukai Mukwena, from Zaka -- that have been reported in recent
months are sign that the next polls could yet again be marred by violence
even with a new constitution in place.
Recommendations:
Meanwhile,
to curb violence against teachers the PTUZ, which is one of three unions
representing teachers in Zimbabwe, recommended that:
1. The Government of
Zimbabwe must immediately declare schools as zones of peace and as such
enact laws that restrict and criminalise the use or occupation of schools
for political activities, especially during the electoral period.
2.
Civic society and teacher unions must develop monitoring systems to detect
early warning systems of attacks on education and to report political
disturbances in schools in compliance with UN Resolution No. 1612 with
additional modifications relevant to the situation in Zimbabwe.
3.
The Ministry of Education in conjunction with critical stakeholders like the
police, parents and teacher unions must set up school protection committees
so that social services rendered by schools are not interrupted during times
of conflict like elections
4. The Joint Monitoring and Implementation
Committee (JOMIC) must actively investigate all reports involving political
violence and intimidation against teachers, and at schools.
5. The
government must uphold strictly provisions of paragraph 20 to the First
Schedule of Statutory Instrument 1 of 2000 (Public Service Regulations,
2000) and clauses 79, 80 and 81 of the ILO/UNESCO Recommendations concerning
the Status of Teachers to negate the current insistence on teachers being
compelled to support only one political party.
6. The Ministry of
Education must introduce civic education in the primary and secondary school
curriculum which promotes national cohesion, peace and tolerance;
7.
The process of national healing, if ever it is ever going to take off
meaningfully, should have a thematic area dealing with the education sector
in order to restore the social bond between teachers and communities which
has been weakened by recurrent election violence and politicisation of the
public service.
8. Overall compliance with the spirit and letter of
the GPA is strongly recommended in order to curb on institutionalised
violence. -- ZimOnline.
Harare, February
13, 2012 - Zimbabweans in the Diaspora will use the occasion of President
Robert Mugabe’s 88th birthday to stage demonstrations in front of South
African embassies in the United Sates, European capitals and South
Africa.
The demonstrations are aimed at trying to put pressure on the
Southern African Development Community (SADC) appointed facilitator Jacob
Zuma to force President Robert Mugabe and his coalition government partners
to implement the Global Political Agreement (GPA) in full.
“We hereby
call on all Zimbabweans based in the Diaspora and those in Zimbabwe to come
out in their thousands and demand that President Robert Mugabe implement all
the outstanding issues of the Global Political Agreement which he signed
three years ago,” Den Moyo, Co-ordinator of the Free Zimbabwe Global
Movement said in a statement released at the weekend.
Moyo said in some
parts of the world the picketing has already started and will culminate in
the big event on February 21, the day that Mugabe will be celebrating his
88th birthday party in Mutare.
“This is the first necessary step towards
building a democracy and bringing our beloved Zimbabwe back on the path to
peace, prosperity and reconciliation. But so far the South African diplomats
have not told us whether His Excellency Zuma received our petitions which
were signed by hundreds of demonstrators, nor have they told us what action
he is now planning to take,” Mayo added.
“What we do know is that he
attended the African Union Summit a few days after our demonstration, but
nothing was said about our issue, so we are going back again to the South
African Embassies in USA, UK, Australia, Netherlands, Sweden, Ireland,
Canada and at the South African government building in Pretoria on February
21.”
Moyo said the demonstrations will not only end on February 21 but
will go on “until we see concrete actions on the ground with respect to our
demands.”
“We will be demonstrating against this with mock birthday
parties in front of all South-African Embassies, Consulate Missions, Union
Buildings and Parliament in peaceful protests against misrule and endemic
corruption, and demanding the implementation of reforms,” said
Moyo.
It is estimated that there are over five million Zimbabweans in the
Diaspora, who fled Zimbabwe over the past 12 years due to deterioration in
the human rights situation in the country shrinkage in job opportunities in
the country.
President Robert Mugabe will next week celebrate his
88th birthday with a big bash in Mugabe which many Zanu (PF) members treat
as an annual ritual not to b missed.
In the past the birthday party
celebrations have been criticised as extravagant and insensitive in a
country where millions of people struggle to make ends meet.
A
fashion label that has gone crazy among Zanu PF supporters, Gushungo, by the
House of Gushungo will be officially launched during the birthday
celebrations.
The 21st February Movement was established in 1986 to
mark Mugabe’s birthday.
Apart from the launch of the fashion label, a
Miss 21st Movement pageant will also be held alongside the celebrations. A
sporting event known as the Bob Super Cup and a musical gala will put the
curtain down to the festivities.
By Everson Mushava, Staff Writer Monday, 13
February 2012 15:21
HARARE - Nicholas Goche’s Transport and
Infrastructural Development ministry only managed to resurface 11,6
kilometres of road in Zimbabwe in 2011 out of a road network of 90 000
kilometres.
This was revealed by the minister of Public Works Joel
Gabbuza while making a presentation on a thematic group on infrastructural
development at the just-ended Government Work Programme (GWP) 2012
ministerial workshop.
“We have made several achievements on the roads.
Some of the projects are already complete but we only managed to resurface
11,6 kilometres of roads in the year 2011...” Gabbuza said while
highlighting the work that the government infrastructure cluster has
done.
Gabbuza said the state of infrastructure in Zimbabwe was
deplorable, especially roads, and the cluster intends to intensify methods
of collecting revenue at toll gates to improve the road
network.
Recently, there had been an outcry by members of the public that
the money being collected at toll gates around the country was abused as no
work seems to have been done to rehabilitate the country’s roads.
The
country is collecting about $1,2 million in toll fees every month.
The
Zimbabwe National Road Authority (Zinara) recently told a portfolio
committee on transport and infrastructure that they intended to increase the
number of toll gates around the country.
They also said they would
assume the role of collecting the toll fees from the Zimbabwe Revenue
Authority (Zimra) to avoid leakages of the funds.
Zimbabwe has over one
million vehicles on its roads. All these vehicles pay tax but road
maintenance has remained stagnant for the past decade.
Zimbabwe,
according to Finance minister Tendai Biti had a lot of work to do to improve
its road infrastructure which is crucial in bringing investment in the
country.
“Zimbabwe has 90 000 kilometres of road network but only 17
percent are paved. I used to think that the Democratic Republic of Congo was
the pothole country but I can see Zimbabwe is competing hard for the pole
position,” he said.
Biti said the poor road network was affecting
service delivery in most rural parts of the country that are no longer
accessible.
WHEN the European Union meets on February 18 to review the
illegal sanctions it imposed on Zimbabwe, will it decide to extend the
measures by another year, or will it remove them all together?
More
than likely, the European Union will decide to extend the illegal sanctions
it imposed on Zimbabwe by another year. This is given credence by the fact
that Zimbabwe could decide to hold national elections this year. National
elections have always given the EU the best chance to achieve its ulterior
goals in Zimbabwe.
Anyone who believes the cheap public relations reasons
the European Union proffers as justification for its annual extension of the
illegal sanctions it imposed on Zimbabwe is free to do so. That myth helps
the EU’s spin doctors to keep their lucrative jobs, for the Euro-zone debt
crisis has squeezed the EU job market tightly.
The overriding purpose
of the illegal sanctions from the very day they were imposed is to engender
as much economic suffering as has never been experienced before by the
majority of the voters who, since Zimbabwe's independence in 1980, have been
consistently voting President Mugabe and Zanu PF into power.
It is
the undeclared calculation of the EU that the sanctions-induced economic
suffering will finally break the spirit of the ordinary majority voters and
compel them to vote President Mugabe and Zanu PF out of power.
In other
words, the EU sanctions on Zimbabwe are less targeted at the names of
individuals and entities that appear on the official EU sanctions list than
the ordinary Zimbabweans and indigenous companies.
Pushing Zanu PF and
President Mugabe out of power will give Britain and her EU club members
unfettered access to Zimbabwe's valuable national resources. The British
will be the executive power deciding which EU member is awarded which
contract as thanks for the support to oust Zanu PF and its leader from
power.
President Mugabe, who says "Zimbabwe will never be a colony
again” and Zanu PF have proved since 1980 to be a stubborn obstacle to the
British project of recolonising of Zimbabwe.
And yet the British
covet Zimbabwe's valuable natural resources daily. One has to listen to the
British House of Lords to gauge the extent of the gravity of the British
need for the valuable natural resources of Zimbabwe.
It was the same
insatiable desire for the same valuable national resources that propelled
the British to colonise the land between the mighty Limpopo and Zambezi
rivers in 1890 and called it Rhodesia.
Anyone who says Cecil John Rhodes
invaded the land today called Zimbabwe in order to promote "human rights,
freedom of expression, the rule of law and good governance" must be coming
straight from Mars.
Anyone who thinks that the British have forgotten
Zimbabwe's valuable natural resources because Zimbabwe attained political
independence in 1980 needs to revise their position with urgency. The
British keep meticulous records of these valuable natural resources on their
secret files. And they keenly need those valuable natural
resources.
The EU, which we know is doing all the dirty work in Zimbabwe
on behalf of the British, is effectively saying to black Zimbabweans: "Hey
you Africans, why did you take your stolen land back from the British
descendants? We are going to punish you for that but we won't say it openly
that we are punishing you in solidarity with the British
Government.
“Don’t you know that the British are our kith and kin? When
you anger them, know that you have angered us too. It does not matter
whether you black Africans are correct or wrong!"
The continental
imperialist club, using its pliant media propaganda instruments, would like
the world community of nations to believe that sanctions were imposed on
Zimbabwe "to encourage the persons targeted to reject policies that lead to
the suppression of human rights, of the freedom of expression and of good
governance".
No one else in their right senses living in Zimbabwe right
now would claim that they are not feeling the debilitating heat of the
illegal EU sanctions every day in one way or the other so much so it becomes
an inexcusable insult to hear the EU, or its spin doctors, say the sanctions
are only targeted against a few individuals or entities.
If there is
anyone else who is not being adversely affected by the EU sanctions that
person is either living outside Zimbabwe at the moment, or they happen to be
among the local EU selected few who are being cushioned daily against the
deleterious effects of the illegal sanctions through clandestine and
generous financial and material donations.
The EU financial and material
donations to a selected few local Zimbabweans is meant to divide the
electorate and government leadership and incite the favoured few to sell out
and rubbish the economic policies of the majority revolutionary section of
Zimbabweans.
The favoured few indeed sell out and rubbish such viable
revolutionary policies as the land reform exercise without giving any
alternatively viable economic policy positions.
There are some
analysts, on the other hand, who would want to believe that the European
Union will indeed decide to remove the sanctions regime once and for all,
well, those analysts are free to hold on to their belief until February 20
when the validity of the sanctions period extended last year
expires.
The majority of ordinary Zimbabweans, who are the most
affected by the illegal sanctions, would make a great sigh of relief if the
EU were indeed to decide this month to unconditionally remove the current
raft of cruel sanctions it imposed on Zimbabwe without the endorsement of
the United Nations.
However, it seems that nothing meaningful is
going to come out in favour of Zimbabwe when the imperialist European Union
meets on February 18 to have an annual review of its illegal
sanctions.
The illegal sanctions are most likely to be maintained, albeit
in a sanitised form; a name or two of individuals or entities could be
dropped from the sanctions list and one or two concessions are likely to be
made with some debasing conditions attached.
It is most likely too
that the EU, which has shamelessly arrogated itself powers purportedly to
promote and supervise democracy, human rights and the rule of law in the
world outside the geographical limits of its 27 member states, will even add
to the sanctions list one or two names of individuals or entities in
solidarity with the United States of America whose equally illegal sanctions
recently pounced on two diamond mining companies in Zimbabwe to paralyse the
economy.
It is insultingly apparent that the European Union, whose
Commission presidency the Portuguese José Manuel Barroso holds, does not
even have any justification that stands the test of objective analysis for
its continued strangulation of the Zimbabwean economy through maintaining an
illegal sanctions regime on the country.
Incidentally, José Manuel
Barroso's country when it was hit by the Euro-zone sovereign debt crisis ran
to ask for help from Angola, its former colony. Barroso must have the guts
to tell the British to stop behaving like kindergarten children in the EU;
the British have to swallow their colonial pride, live in the 21st century
and hold bilateral talks with the Zimbabwe government if they want to be
involved as development partners in Zimbabwe.
Who knows, with the
clearance of Zimbabwe’s diamonds for sale internationally, Britain could be
rescued from its financial problems by its own former colony.
The
time for the British to have their own way in Zimbabwe as if Zimbabwe were
still its own colony is long over. Gone too is the time for the British to
revisit the land question; the British shied away from addressing the land
question by cleverly internationalising a wholly bilateral matter.
The
aggrieved Zimbabweans boldly and fundamentally dealt with the land question
in an irreversible manner. So, there is no special treatment for the British
whatsoever outside bilateral talks.
It would be foolish for anyone to
expect the EU at its February 18 meeting to make resolutions that will seek
to improve the general quality of life of most ordinary Zimbabweans. The EU
has no respect for Zimbabwe's coalition government; it only respects the
British coalition government led by David Cameron.
If the EU had any
grain of respect for Zimbabwe's coalition government, it would have
rescinded the illegal sanctions two years ago and let the Zimbabweans chart
their own destiny within the context of SADC and the African Union
values.
There is no respect for the people of Zimbabwe in the EU's scheme
of things. The imperialist monster is desperately seeking relevance in
Zimbabwe through extending its illegal sanctions.
By trussing with
sanctions the legs and hands of one party which is going to participate in
Zimbabwe's forthcoming national elections and at the same time demanding
"free and fair elections", the EU is hiding the fact that it is tilting the
election field in favour of their preferred candidates. This is interference
with the domestic affairs of a sovereign state. This must be resisted with
all the power and wisdom Zimbabweans can muster.
There is every need for
Zimbabweans to maintain their unity of purpose, to remain resilient,
vigilant, resourceful and dedicated to the defence of their sovereignty and
territorial integrity. The resolutions of the EU's February 18 annual
sanctions review meeting should not catch revolutionaries covered in the
damp blanket of false hope. The meeting is not going to be held in the
interest of Zimbabweans. Kwame Nkrumah, that African visionary, once said:
"In order to halt foreign interference (sanctions) in the affairs of
developing countries (Zimbabwe) it is necessary to study, understand, expose
and actively combat neo-colonialism in whatever guise it may
appear.
“For the methods of neo-colonialism are subtle and varied. They
operate not only in the economic field, but also in the political,
religious, ideological and cultural spheres."
FAB Event: MoneyGram Announced as Headline
Sponsors for Zimbabwe Achievers Awards 2012
MoneyGram International, one of the leading
international money transfer companies, was unveiled on 9 February 2012 as the
2012 Headline Sponsor for second edition of Zimbabwe Achievers Awards
(ZAA).
Dr Knox
Chitiyo, Richard Levy, Conrad Mwanza, Zeb Manatse and Peter Sox
At the press
conference held at MoneyGram’s London headquarters chaired by Dr. Knox Chitiyo,
the Africa Fellow and head of the Africa Programme at the Royal United Services
Institute (RUSI) in Whitehall, London and Chairman of the Britain- Zimbabwe
Society (BZS), the panel comprising the ZAA CEO Conrad Mwanza, MoneyGram
Marketing Director Richard Levy, ZAA Panel Chairman Zeb Manatse and Peter Soko,
a founding member of the ZAA as well as the producer of the event, discussed the
partnership as well as announcing the key dates leading up to the main event on
28 April 2012 and promising an even more star-studded evening of
celebrations.
Speaking of the
involvement of MoneyGram who were one of the supporters of the annual awards
show last year and return as the headline sponsor this year, Conrad Mwanza said,
“We are delighted to welcome MoneyGram as the new Headline Sponsor of what will
now be called the ‘MoneyGram Zimbabwe Achievers Awards.’ MoneyGram’s involvement
with ZAA proves its ongoing commitment to engaging and supporting the community.
Their support of this event helps to strengthen an already growing relationship
with the Zimbabwean community.”
MoneyGram’s
Richard Levy echoed similar sentiments, “It’s our great pleasure to be the
Headline Sponsor of Zimbabwe Achievers Awards; we think it is fantastic that we
are able to give back to the community in this way and to show our support. One
of the key point objectives for MoneyGram is to show that we are not only a
significant company but we also significantly like giving back to the
communities. It is our pleasure to sponsor these awards as the Headline Sponsor
and for the second year running. We hope to see as many people as possible there
and we’d like to promote that MoneyGram is backing the community, supporting the
Zimbabweans and encouraging great achievement.”
Zeb Manatse took
over after to thank the public for the record number of nomiations for this year
and shed light on the nominations procedure, ensuring that “the whole process is
not just a popularity contest but it is actually [about] people making
contributions within their various fields.” Manatse also took the opportunity to
name the re the recipients of two specific awards, Chairman’s Honorary Award
which recognises people who have made significant contributions over a long time
and Friends of Zimbabwe Award which recognises those not necessarily Zimbabwean
but have made significant contributions to the development of Zimbabwe, awarded
this year respectively to Strive Masiyiwa, the founder and chairman of Econet
and Professor Terence Ranger, emeritus fellow of St Antony’s College, Oxford and
president of the Britain Zimbabwe Society.
Peter Soko, the
event producer, then shed light on the journey to the grand finale on 28 April
announcing the key dates in the ZAA calendar, the very first being the public
announcement of the final nominees on 25 February 2012 to take place at The
Drift, Heron Tower as a public event for which guests can register on the ZAA
website to attend.
Soko also
highlighted that the early bird tickets for the awards night taking place at 5*
The Grange Tower Hill hotel on 28 April are now on sale for £65 only from the
ZAA website and will remain at this discounted price till 2 March after which
date they will be sold at the full price of £80.
“Last year’s event
was phenomenal in terms of entertainment,” Soko said, “We need to make sure this
year’s event is four times better, so what I can assure you is four times better
entertainment,” in response to our question of what to expect on the
night.
“I can assure you
that the ‘who’s who’ of the Zimbabwean community and of the African community
and mainstream celebrities will be in attendance,” Conrad Mwanza added. Alluding
to the iPhone analogy he made last year in relation to improving the event,
Mwanza also said the aim was “to take [the event] to iPhone 4s” with a 5* hotel
as the venue, committed media partners for the event and Zimbabwean actress
Chipo Chung as the presenter on the night.
“ZAA was born ut
of a simple vision: to recognise those Zimbabweans who are working very hard to
make other fellow Zimbabweans proud, and minus the negative press, Zimbabweans
do quite a lot, Zimbabweans are high achievers, forward-thinkers; you find them
in all the institutions in high positions. This is what we wanted to highlight.
Like any other household, there could be problems, but what about the good
things that Zimbabweans do? Who is going to recognise that? This is where ZAA
answers that question, so it is more about the positive element of what
Zimbabweans do. We wanted to celebrate the positive within the community, bring
that pride within the community,” Mwanza added, explaining the importance of the
vision behind the ZAA.
Marketing and
Sales Director of ZAA, Josh Chigwangwa also took the opportunity during the
q&a session following the sponsorship introduction to announce
another first for the ZAA: a special ZAA magazine on the night which will be
presented to all the guests attending the event.
The press
conference which was broadcast live via Ustream was followed with drinks and
nibbles as most guests stayed on to network and enjoy an afternoon with the ZAA
team.
Sanctions not stalling progress in critical democratic reforms
Clifford Chitupa Mashiri, 13 February 2012
Restrictive measures imposed
on Robert Mugabe and his allies must NOT be removed as he is the one
stalling critical democratic reforms in Zimbabwe.
It is of critical
importance to keep the measures in place because they have been successful
and effective in piling pressure on the targeted individuals by making them
acknowledge the travel ban and asset freeze imposed on them.
It makes a
lot of sense to retain the measures because they exert pressure on Robert
Mugabe and his allies to reform for their human rights abuses and stealing
polls in Zimbabwe.
It is therefore useful to retain the targeted measures
on the regime loyalists because it is Mugabe’s allies who are impeding the
reform agenda and not the sanctions as we are being made to
believe.
The measures should stay, because of Zanu-pf’s culture of
impunity whereby those who committed serious crimes including murder and or
incitement to murder are enjoying His Excellency’s amnesty despite promising
to reform under the GPA.
The travel bans and asset freezes are the
only form of punishment suffered as punishment by the regime’s loyalists
when other people perish in killer prisons for championing human rights and
the respect of the rule of law.
Of major concern is the flip-flopping
behaviour of some NGOs and public speakers who are misrepresenting the real
feelings of civil society and ordinary people.
The International
Crisis Group is wrong in calling for the lifting of the so-called sanctions.
It is Zanu-pf propaganda that the people are suffering from
sanctions.
It is fair to argue that the regime is neglecting its
responsibilities in order to blame so-called sanctions. A practical example
is the typhoid and cholera outbreak.
The people of Zimbabwe do need
the assistance of restrictive measures as they are not able to fight for
themselves and deliver democracy on their own.
Proof of that is when
Lovemore Madhuku and leaders of Zimbabwe’s opposition movement were severely
assaulted by Mugabe’s police when they were trying to hold a peaceful prayer
meeting.
Western countries are already supporting the people of Zimbabwe
through humanitarian assistance and the people are fully aware of that
position and grateful.
Ironically, the International Crisis Group’s
call for the removal of the targeted measures contradicts its recommendation
for sanctions in 2005, after Operation Murambatsvina (Operation Remove
Trash) left 700 000 people without shelter and livelihoods, and up to-date,
three quarters remain homeless and jobless.
As a result of ICG’s
call, names of several members of the Zimbabwe Republic Police involved in
Operation Murambatsvina were added onto the EU banned
list.
Incredibly, Lovemore Madhuku, on Friday 10 February called for
the removal of the restrictive measures when only a day before (Thursday 9
February) he had urged Zimbabweans to turn their anger into ‘Libya Style’
street protests.
Why has Madhuku not been arrested for calling on
people to take to the streets (without obtaining prior permission in terms
of POSA) when Munyaradzi Gwisai and five others are on trial for inciting
violence after watching recorded TV coverage of Egyptian
protests?
