http://www.zimonline.co.za/
by Clara Smith Tuesday 17 February
2009
MUTARE - Police and military chiefs
disgruntled by the new unity
government have blocked the release of Roy
Bennett, a top ally of Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, sources told
ZimOnline.
Bennett was arrested as President Robert Mugabe swore in
the new unity
Cabinet, immediately raising fresh doubts whether the
government could
withstand pressure from hardliners in the security
establishment opposed to
it for fear it will corrode their power and
privilege.
A stalwart of the MDC and its treasurer, Bennett was
first charged
with leaving the country illegally which was changed to
treason before being
changed once more to conspiring to acquire arms of war
with a view to
disrupting essential services.
He was due to
appear in court on Monday but did not after police
apparently obtained
permission from the court to detain him for another 48
hours.
The MDC and his lawyers say the changing of charges against Bennett
and
delays to bring him to court were because the state knew it had no case
against the politician but just wanted to keep him in jail.
"Clearly they are on a fishing expedition, clutching at straws and
know
fully well that there is no basis, even suspicion, at law to charge Roy
Bennett," the MDC said a statement on Monday.
One of Bennett's
lawyers, Chris Ndlovu, told reporters in the eastern
border city of Mutare
where Bennett is being held: "We are disappointed. The
police should have
brought him to court today (Monday) but they now want to
keep him in
detention for another 48 hours."
Our sources said co-Home Affairs
Minister Kembo Mohadi - who shares
the post with the MDC's Giles Mutseyekwa
in the unity government - had in
fact instructed police to release Bennett
immediately after his arrest last
Friday.
Mohadi and other
senior leaders in Mugabe's ZANU PF party apparently
know that Bennett has no
case to answer and wanted him freed for fear his
continued incarceration
would undermine the unity government.
A white man and former farmer
Bennett is the MDC's nominee for deputy
agriculture minister in the unity
government.
According to a senior police officer, who spoke on
condition he was
not named, police and military generals - who have been the
backbone of
Mugabe and ZANU PF's more than two decades hold on power -
rejected Mohadi's
order to free Bennett.
The security chiefs,
who our source said had taken a "keen and active
interest" in Bennett's
case, told Mohadi that the case against the MDC
politician was serious
because it involved terrorism, banditry and sabotage
and they needed time to
scrutinise the evidence before releasing him.
"The dockets have
been referred back to Harare. It is just a delaying
tactic as the security
chiefs flex their muscles. They are saying if the MDC
respects the rule of
law, then it should allow the due process of the law to
take place without
invoking political influence," said the police officer.
Police
spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena denied that security chiefs had
blocked Bennett's
release, adding that the police had wanted to question the
MDC politician
well before formation of the unity government in 2006 but he
had left the
country.
"He will appear in court when we are ready. This is purely
a police
case and we don't understand where the political connotations are
coming
from," Bvudzijena told ZimOnline by phone.
There were
suggestions that Tsvangirai planned to raise the issue of
Bennett with
Mugabe yesterday while other reports suggested he would raise
the matter
when the power-sharing Cabinet meets for the first time today.
Tsvangirai has described Bennett's arrest and detention as political,
adding
that he suspected that some senior officials from ZANU PF and
security
chiefs were using the case to try to scuttle the unity government.
The MDC and its leader have sounded unwilling to quit the unity
government
despite the arrest of Bennett, saying the power-sharing
government was the
only viable option to pluck Zimbabwe out of economic
crisis and
misery.
"You have to sympathise with people that have no other hope
other than
this experiment. That alone is a force that will make you take a
lot of
nonsense for their sake," Tendai Biti, the MDC's secretary general
and
finance minister in the new government told journalists on
Monday.
Bennett has fought bruising battles with ZANU PF during his
days as a
prominent and popular white farmer and senior opposition
politician in
Parliament.
According to sources, the decision by
Tsvangirai to choose Bennett for
deputy minister of agriculture particularly
irked security chiefs who had in
the past authorised their juniors to harass
the MDC politician.
The army violently took over Bennett's
lucrative Charleswood coffee
estates in the Chimanimani farming region along
Zimbabwe's border with
Mozambique. Army officers shared the farm among
themselves and other ZANU PF
supporters.
Bennett spent eight
months in jail for pushing down Justice Minister
Patrick Chinamasa in
Parliament in 2004.
Bennett, who fled Zimbabwe three years ago
fearing arrest by the
police, only returned to Harare a few days ahead of
last week's inauguration
of Tsvangirai as Prime Minister. -
ZimOnline
http://www.zimonline.co.za/
by
Hendricks Chizhanje Tuesday 17 February 2009
HARARE - A
Harare magistrate on Monday ordered prison authorities to bring
detained MDC
party activists to court for remand hearing on Wednesday.
Magistrate
Gloria Takundwa issued the directive after prison authorities
failed for the
second time on Monday to bring the activists to court, a mere
procedural
event for the activists to be placed on further remand.
There was no
immediate explanation why the activists were not brought to
court. The seven
activists - who include Gandhi Mudzingwa, a former senior
aide to Prime
Minister and MDC leader Morgan Tsvangira - are accused of
planning acts of
banditry and terrorism to topple President Robert Mugabe's
government.
Defence lawyer Alec Muchadehama protested against the
failure by prison
officials to bring his client to court, telling Takundwa
that the accused
needed to attend the court so that they could follow
proceedings in their
case.
In addition to demanding that the MDC
activists be brought to court
tomorrow, Takundwa also ordered the state to
submit copies of police reports
about investigations into allegations by the
accused that they were severely
tortured by the police and other state
security agents.
About 30 opposition MDC activists, including 72-year-old
Fidelis Chiramba
and Mudzingwa, are languishing in jail for more than three
months after they
were abducted from their homes or work places on
terrorism-related charges.
The activists' continued detention coupled
with that of MDC treasurer Roy
Bennett, who was arrested as the Zimbabwe's
new unity government was being
sworn in, is seen as undermining the new
administration which analysts say
is the only viable option to rescue
Zimbabweans from an unprecedented
economic and humanitarian crisis. -
ZimOnline
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=11829
February 16, 2009
By Our
Correspondent
HARARE - President Robert Mugabe is expected to chair the
first inclusive
government's Cabinet meeting Tuesday as pressure increases
on him to release
political prisoners and deal with Zanu-PF hardliners said
to be determined
to scupper the new coalition.
A government source
said Tuesday's meeting would discuss the "state of the
nation".
Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has already openly claimed the
power-sharing
agreement is being sabotaged citing the kidnapping of Roy
Bennett, MDC
nominee for deputy agriculture ministry after the authorities
allegedly
dusted up a long-discredited plot to kill Mugabe.
Tsvangirai and the two
Deputy Prime Ministers Thokozani Khupe and Arthur
Mutambara, sworn in at
State House on February 11, will also attend the
crucial inaugural cabinet
meeting.
Mugabe administered the oath of office to Tsvangirai during a
well-attended
ceremony in Harare last Wednesday.
It is believed
Mugabe was yielding to international pressure, runaway
inflation and a
devastating cholera pandemic to include his arch-rival in
the
government.
Although the power-sharing deal was sealed five months ago,
Mugabe
procrastinated implementing it and, rather, hurled invectives at his
opponent.
Tsvangirai's appointment, it is hoped, may end a political
crisis that
erupted after disputed elections last March.
One minister
confirmed that Mugabe would chair a cabinet meeting at
Munhumutapa Building
but did not reveal the agenda citing the Official
Secrets Act.
But
The Zimbabwe Times was told by authoritative sources that the meeting is
expected to discuss the political differences between Mugabe and Tsvangirai
over plans to incorporate five more Zanu-PF ministers into the
cabinet.
Mugabe was forced to drop five ministers at the official
swearing-in
ceremony of cabinet ministers at State House last Friday. He was
forced to
drop his loyal ministers John Nkomo, David Parirenyatwa, Flora
Buka, Paul
Mangwana and Sylvester Nguni because the official Zanu-PF line
exceeded
Zanu-PF's official allocation of ministries by five.
In
terms of the political agreement reached September, Mugabe was entitled
to
appoint 15 cabinet ministers and two additional ministers of state, not
the
23 he brought to the ceremony on Friday.
Mugabe appeared embarrassed by
the incident while Zanu-PF officials seemed
uncomfortable.
After much
deliberation, SA President Kgalema Motlanthe suggested Mugabe and
Tsvangirai
hold talks this week to decide whether they could both increase
the number
of their ministers to accommodate the extra five Zanu-PF
ministers.
The Zimbabwe Times was informed that the issue of
political detainees was
also a top priority.
As early as Thursday
last week, prison authorities took the political
prisoners to the Avenues
Clinic in line with a fifth court order to send
them to hospital for
treatment.
Zimbabwe Prisons Service Commissioner, General Paradzai
Zimondi sent orders
they be taken back to their cells instead of being
admitted.
The condition of three of is said to be life-threatening. They
are Fidelis
Charamba, who is 72 and has a cardiac problem, Gandhi Mudzingwa
who is in
his 50s and reportedly has a dangerously high level of blood
pressure, and
human rights worker Jestina Mukoko, who is so frail she now
looks a shadow
of her former self.
A court in Harare on Monday
further remanded the political prisoners in
Chikurubi Maximum Security
Prison where they have been held for 106 days now
to February
18.
Tsvangirai had said several times he would not be sworn in until they
were
freed. He was sworn in last Wednesday.
Tsvangirai had a hectic
day on Monday. From 9am he was locked up in meetings
with his two deputies,
Mutambara and Khupe at his Munhumutapa offices. Then
he met with
representatives of donor organisations.
He then met with Webster Shamu,
the new Minister of Information and
Publicity with Nelson Chamisa, Minister
of Information Communication
Technology next.
He then met with the
leaders of both the Zimbabwe Teachers Association
(ZIMTA) and the
Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ).
After that he met with
justice and legal affairs minister Patrick Chinamasa
and Constitutional and
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Advocate, Eric
Matinenga
together.
Afterwards, Tsvangirai met the rest of the ministers in
pairs.
The ministers were later appraised about their conditions of
service and
structure of government by secretary to President and Cabinet
Ray Ndlukula
and from Public Service Commission chairman, Mariyanda
Nzuwa.
http://www.zimonline.co.za/
by James
Mombe Tuesday 17 February 2009
HARARE - Zimbabwe's
cholera outbreak that has killed more than 3 000
people since last August is
the tip of a "massive medical emergency" that is
spiralling out of control
on the back of a collapsed public health system,
Médecins Sans Frontičres
(MSF) said Tuesday.
MSF, which has treated almost 45 000 people or
about 75 percent of
total cholera cases to date, urged Zimbabwe's fledgling
unity government to
lift barriers on aid workers helping combat cholera and
called on the
international community to put aside differences with Harare
and support
efforts to stem the epidemic.
The group that
provides emergency medical assistance to populations in
danger across the
world said Zimbabwe's once-lauded health system had
imploded over the past
decade of political and economic turmoil.
The collapse of public
health was not just affecting cholera patients
but all the sick in Zimbabwe,
which is also grappling with acute food
shortages, hyperinflation and a
burgeoning HIV/AIDS epidemic, amid deepening
poverty, according to
MSF.
Manuel Lopez, MSF head of mission in Zimbabwe, said: "We know
that
public hospitals are turning people away, health centres are running
out of
supplies and equipment, there is an acute lack of medical staff,
patients
can't afford to travel to pick up their HIV medication or to
receive
treatment and many of our own clinics are overflowing.
"From what we see each day it couldn't be clearer - this is a massive
medical emergency, spiralling out of control."
According to the
World Health Organisation (WHO) Zimbabwe's cholera
epidemic that has
infected more than 69 000 people to date is the deadliest
outbreak of the
disease in Africa in 15 years.
A unity government formed last week
by President Robert Mugabe and his
long time rival Morgan Tsvangirai is
expected to move urgently to tackle
cholera and a deepening humanitarian
crisis.
But the unity administration in which Tsvangirai's Prime
Minister had
its first day in the office on Monday overshadowed by the
continued
imprisonment of a top ally of Tsvangirai, Roy
Bennett.
Bennett, who is treasurer of Tsvangirai's MDC party and
its choice of
deputy agriculture minister in the unity government, was
arrested as Mugabe
swore in the new unity Cabinet.
The state
accuses him of attempting to commit terrorism, banditry and
sabotage. He
denies the charges, while analysts said his arrest undermined
the unity
government and would only heighten fears by Western governments
that Mugabe
was not committed to genuine power sharing with Tsvangirai.
Western
governments, whose support is key to any programme to revive
Zimbabwe's
comatose economy, have said they would not provide aid to the
southern
African country until there is evidence the unity government is
committed to
implementing genuine political and economic reform.
But MSF
international president Christophe Fournier urged the
international
community to provide humanitarian support to Zimbabwe saying
the lives of
children and other vulnerable groups could not be held ransom
to
politics.
Fournier said: "Governments and international agencies
must recognise
the severity of this crisis and ensure that the provision of
humanitarian
aid remains distinct from political processes.
"Their policies towards Zimbabwe must not come at the expense of the
humanitarian imperative to ensure that malnourished children, victims of
violence and people with HIV/AIDS or other illnesses have unhindered access
to the assistance they need to survive." - ZimOnline
http://www.herald.co.zw
By Joseph Madzimure
THE Zimbabwe Stock Exchange
failed to resume trading for the umpteenth time
yesterday despite assurances
by the Securities Commission last week that the
bourse would commence
business.
ZSE chief executive Mr Emmanuel Munyukwi said regulatory
authorities were
still working out pricing modalities and he was not sure as
to when trading
would resume.
"In the meantime, we cannot give you
the actual date, but only say we have
not yet started trading. It is not yet
clear when trading will resume.
"We have sent our proposal of the share
price per unit in foreign currency
to the regulatory authorities and are
awaiting their response," he said.
"We cannot open the market before
being granted permission by the commission
and it is not practical to buy
and sell shares in local currency," he said.
He added that it was in the
public interest for trade to be conducted in
hard
currency.
"Investors' money is locked up, so there is need to open the
market soon,"
said Mr Munyukwi.
Trade on the local bourse was
suspended last year when it emerged that
"wild" share price movements had
become the order of the day, with unfunded
bank cheques driving the prices
up.
It was then that the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe introduced a
requirement that
all funding for the purchase of shares be formally
guaranteed by the bank at
the highest level as a prerequisite to accepting
and processing orders.
A lot of underhand deals were unearthed in the
latter part of the year,
forcing the closure of trading to "clean up the
mess".
The dealings involved some individuals, bank officials and
stockbrokers
using unsupported cheques to buy shares in the morning
call-over, for
instance, which would be offloaded at a premium in the
afternoon trading on
the same day.
The practice had resulted in
artificial pricing of shares as stockbrokers
were doing all they could to
push up prices for their benefit.
Since November, the Securities
Commission has been working on more stringent
regulations to "sober up"
trading but investors had hoped by now trading
would have
resumed.
The ZSE plays an integral part in the development of the economy
and many
anticipate that trading will resume soon.
http://www.thetimes.co.za
The Editor, The Times
Newspaper Published:Feb 17, 2009
Democracy would cost them vast personal
wealth and they'd risk prosecution
ZIMBABWE, stumbling its way into
power-sharing, faces a new and dangerous
threat - the possibility of a
military coup by disgruntled security bosses.
The British
website timesonline.co.uk has reported that the arrest of Roy
Bennet,
minutes before he was due to be sworn in as a member of the unity
government, is "seen widely as an attempt to sabotage the coalition" by
those close to Zimbabwe's power elites.
They are angry with the
decision by President Robert Mugabe to swear in
opposition MDC leader Morgan
Tsvangirai as prime minister.
Another MDC leader, Tendai Biti, has been
sworn in as Zimbabwe's finance
minister, signalling that Mugabe has finally
acknowledged that he is
incapable of rescuing his country's finances from
hyper-inflation and
bolstering the world's weakest currency.
Mugabe
has been a very reluctant partner in the unity government - but not
reluctant enough for Zimbabwe's hawks, who have much to lose by a
settlement.
The country's security brass are believed to control
extensive mining rights
and operations in the D R C , and some of them have
been involved in the
torture and killing of opposition activists .
If
Zimbabwe returns to democracy, they will lose massive personal wealth and
face prosecution for war crimes.
They have managed to contain Mugabe,
but they will have far less luck with a
government in which he has to share
power with the victims of their
brutality.
That is why many believe
that the powerful Joint Operational Command,
consisting of military, police
and intelligence bosses, is behind the arrest
of Bennett and is responsible
for other actions aimed at destabilising the
new power-sharing
government.
Zimbabwe can still make the power-sharing arrangement work,
but only if its
security cartel is broken up.
http://uk.reuters.com
Mon Feb 16, 2009 11:41pm
GMT
WELLINGTON, Feb 17 (Reuters) - New Zealand's proposed tour of
Zimbabwe has
been condemned by the country's prime minister, who believes a
visit to the
African nation would be neither safe nor healthy for the
players.
The Black Caps are due to play three one-day internationals in
July under
the International Cricket Council's (ICC) programme, but Prime
Minister John
Key said on Tuesday that as well as moral objections, there
were other
reasons not to tour.
"There are security risks for our
players, there is the risk of cholera and
quite frankly we don't support
that regime and we've made that quite clear,"
Key said on TV3.
The
centre-right National-led government, like the Labour-led administration
it
ousted last year, has said it does not favour the tour and would consider
ordering the team not to go.
Labour opposed a tour in 2005 but did
not prevent it going ahead, but
Australia's government did step in and veto
a tour two years later.
New Zealand Cricket could face an ICC-imposed
fine if it opted against
touring, unless ordered by the government, but Key
believes the sport's
governing body needed to be realistic.
"You have
to ask the question, "Why would the ICC be fining New Zealand for
not
sending their cricket team to a country which is so dysfunctional that
it is
a high risk if our players go there?'," he said.
New Zealand Cricket has
said it wanted to meet the government on the issue.
Zimbabwe has agreed
to skip this year's Twenty20 World Cup in England to end
a deadlock over
demands for its suspension from international cricket
because of Robert
Mugabe's government.
Last month, the ICC said Zimbabwe needed more time
before they could hope to
return to test cricket.
The troubled
African nation has not played tests since Jan. 2006 after the
side was left
depleted following disputes between senior players and the
administration.
(Reporting by Gyles Beckford; Editing by John O'Brien)
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com/
Monday, 16 February 2009 12:48
PRIME
MINISTER Morgan Tsvangirai yesterday said the fate of Reserve
Bank Governor
Gideon Gono and Attorney General Johannes Tomana would be
"first on the
agenda" of the new government.
In his first interview after being
sworn-in as Prime Minister,
Tsvangirai told The Standard the new government
would have to "sit down" and
objectively evaluate the work of the two
officials.
Gono, who has been considered by many as the
de facto Prime Minister
of Zimbabwe, has attracted widespread criticism for
the way he has stoked
inflation by printing high denomination bank notes. He
has also
controversially funded Zanu PF campaign
programmes.
On the other hand, Tomana's suitability as an
AG was brought into
question after he publicly announced that he was a
member of Zanu PF.
The PM would however not be drawn into
commenting whether he, or any
of his ministers would push for the dismissal
of the two officials.
Tsvangirai said it was up to cabinet to
decide whether these officials
were doing a good job or not.
Commenting on calls made by MDC-T supporters for Gono to be fired,
Tsvangirai said government followed laid down processes and would not act on
impulse.
"Yes, there is general opinion that has been
expressed but it's not
going to be a subjective declaration. You have to sit
down as government and
evaluate their work," said
Tsvangirai.
The position of the MDC-T on the two officials is
however not a
secret. In the case of Gono, the party which controls the
Ministry of
Finance, says no economic recovery can take place as long as he
is in charge
of the central bank which of late has been failing to pay its
workers.
Party insiders say MDC-T is considering how Gono can
be dismissed, a
difficult task considering that only Mugabe can fire the
Governor, according
to constitutional law expert Lovemore
Madhuku.
MDC-T believes that with Tomana at the helm at the
AG's office, its
supporters arrested on trumped up charges could rot in
jail. More like Roy
Bennett, who was arrested last week, could be in for
serious legal troubles.
Turning to the arrest Bennett, who is
set to be deputy Minister of
Agriculture, Tsvangirai said he was disturbed
by the turn of events and
would soon engage President Robert Mugabe over the
matter. He said even Sadc
must have been dismayed by the move which he said
was against the spirit of
the power sharing agreement.
"It's a political not a legal issue," Tsvangirai said. "I believe the
President and myself can solve this issue."
Tsvangirai said he was
aware of the "residual resistance" in many
structures of the state and
blamed these for Bennett's arrest.
He said he had no reason to
doubt that Mugabe was committed to power
sharing, adding he did not think he
would want anything that would tarnish
the new
administration.
"I am assured by the President's public and
private comments on his
commitment to the new government," said
Tsvangirai.
"I see this (Bennett' arrest) as an attempt by some
arms of the state
to derail the unity government."
Asked to
comment on the absence of the security chiefs at his
inauguration,
Tsvangirai said he did not know why they failed to turn up. He
would not
speculate whether this had anything to do with their pledge never
to salute
him.
"It's not a matter of being saluted. I can work without
being saluted;
I am not concerned about power politics."
"What I am worried about is whether this government has the capacity
to
immediately solve pressing issues: schools being re-opened, food being
made
available to the hungry. We want to be able to immediately respond to
these
issues."
On his promise that civil servants would be paid end
of this month,
Tsvangirai said he had not made the statement just out of the
blue.
"It was a well considered statement. Of course the
ordinary person
cannot see a box of money somewhere but we cannot ask civil
servants to go
to work without making commitments that they will be
paid.
Tsvangirai said starting tomorrow he would start serious
consultations
with union leaders in order to address their immediate
concerns.
"Of course we might differ on how much government is
going to pay, but
I can assure you we are going to source the
resources."
Turning to the urgent need to secure the release of
several party
activists who are in jails, Tsvangirai who toured Harare
prisons where they
are being held said their release would be made possible,
now that there was
a minister responsible.
"Remember we
didn't have a government. From Monday (tomorrow) the
ministers would have to
be answerable why the people are being held."
Tsvangirai expressed optimism
that the unity government would work despite
the challenges facing
it.
BY WALTER MARWIZI
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com/
Monday, 16 February 2009
12:12
BULAWAYO - Arthur Mutambara, the leader of the small formation of
the
Movement for Democratic Change approved Abedinico Bhebhe's appointment
into
cabinet by Morgan Tsvangirai but was "overruled by powerful people" in
his
party.
Speaking for the first time since his surprise
nomination as Minister
of Water Resources and Infrastructure Development by
the rival MDC-T faction
and his subsequent withdrawal a day later, Bhebhe
said the embarrassing
episode was part of a personal vendetta against him by
senior party
officials.
He accused the senior officials of
trying to destroy his political
career.
The Nkayi South
legislator said after Tsvangirai informed him about
the cabinet appointment,
he consulted Mutambara who gave him an assurance
that this would not be
blocked.
Bhebhe said Mutambara only changed his stance after
meeting his
national executive. The formation immediately warned that the MP
would be
removed from parliament if he accepted the appointment from the
Tsvangirai
faction.
The outspoken legislator accused
members of the party's executive of
deliberately misinterpreting the Global
Political Agreement (GPA) by
claiming that Tsvangirai could not appoint
people from outside his party. He
said there was no such "explicit
provision", a claim that could not be
verified late last
night.
Bhebhe has had an uneasy relationship with his party
bosses for a long
time and last year was threatened with expulsion after
leading the faction's
MPs in defying a directive to support Paul Themba
Nyathi's bid to become
Speaker of Parliament.
MDC-T
chairman Lovemore Moyo beat Nyathi to the post after MPs from
Mutambara's
faction supported his candidature. Many believed Tsvangirai was
repaying
Bhebhe for the favour.
But Bhebhe said Tsvangirai felt that he
should be rewarded for the
role he played since the formation of the MDC in
1999 and as a
representative of Nkayi.
"If someone is
thinking that by having my name dropped from Tsvangirai's
list they are
fixing me, they should forget and smile as this is an
encouraging
development that gives me the urge to work harder and develop
myself as a
politician.
"Anyone who thinks I will chicken out is fooling
themselves as I am
here to stay and for as long as the people of Nkayi want
me, I will remain
there to serve them as well as serving
Zimbabwe."
Edwin Mushoriwa, the faction's spokesman said the
party wanted to
protect Bhebhe because Tsvangirai had appointed him without
following proper
procedures.
BY OUR STAFF
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com/
Monday, 16 February 2009
11:52
MASVINGO - About 2 000 families, mainly made up of war veterans,
have
refused to make way for controversial businessman, Billy Rautenbach's
ambitious bio-diesel project setting them on a collision course with Zanu PF
officials.
The families were ordered to vacate the expansive
ranch now earmarked
for a proposed bio-diesel project on the over 1 500
hectare property.
But the militant farmers have vowed to stay put
arguing that they were
allocated plots during the chaotic land reform
programme in 2 000.
Rautenbach who has close links with Zanu PF
big wigs has since last
year embarked on vast sugar cane production, through
his company Zimbabwe
Bio Energy (ZBE) and is clearing more land after
deploying heavy-duty earth
moving equipment to the site.
The business mogul who is on the European Union sanctions list is
giving
party officials in Masvingo sleepless nights trying to seek ways of
convincing the settlers to relocate.
Farmers who spoke to
The Standard said they would not move off the
ranch as they were in
possession of offer letters from government.
"We are not going
anywhere, we were legally resettled here by the
provincial land committee
eight years ago and we got our offer letters,"
said a settler who refused to
be named.
"We don't understand why they would want us out for
someone else now."
Other farmers said they felt used by Zanu PF
after they were rewarded
with pieces of land on the ranch for their role in
the violent land
invasions.
"These guys are not sincere
with us," said a war veteran who
identified himself as Cde Speed.
"We feel used because we were on the forefront of removing white
farmers
from their farms.They are taking the land from us to give another
white
person."
Zanu PF provincial chairman, Lovemore Matuke, said he
could not
comment on the developments because the project started before his
executive
came into office.
"I cannot comment about the
project and on what is going on there
because when it started we were not
yet in office," Matuke told a recent
press conference.
"We
are yet to be consulted about it by responsible authorities, maybe
the
previous executive will be in a better position to comment."
Matuke's executive replaced the Rtd Major Mudavanhu-led executive that
lost
elections during the party's restructuring exercise late last
year.
Rautenbach has already put half the land under tillage,
while about 1
000 villagers from Chitate, Lundi and Mutilikwi sections had
already been
forced out by armed police.
Some are
reportedly living in the open, as they have nowhere to go
after biding
farewell to their traditional leaders in the rural areas where
they have
already been replaced.
But the remaining settlers said they
will stay put on the farm and
defend what they claim was rightfully theirs
after they followed the correct
procedures to get their small plots on the
enormous ranch.
Rautenbach was not immediately available for
comment.
BY GODFREY MUTIMBA
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com/
Monday, 16
February 2009 11:49
THE Attorney General has instructed land officers
and the police to
evict all commercial farmers refusing to vacate gazetted
farms by the end of
this week in defiance of a recent ruling by the Southern
African Development
Community tribunal.
Justice Luis Mondlane,
the president of the Sadc tribunal in November
ruled that commercial
farmers, who had sought the intervention of the
regional court after
exhausting legal channels available locally, had a
right to remain on their
properties until they received compensation.
But the AG, Johannes
Tomana, told a recent meeting in Chegutu attended
by officials from the
ministries of Lands, Land Reform and Resettlement and
Justice, Legal and
Parliamentary Affairs as well public prosecutors and
police, the ruling by
the regional court should not be respected.
The directive,
lawyers said highlighted the difficulties the new
government inaugurated on
Friday was likely to face in correcting skewed
land
policies.
Tomana, himself a beneficiary of the land reform
programme in Banket,
took a swipe at public prosecutors for their alleged
failure to interpret
the provisions of the Gazetted Land (Consequentional
Provisions) Act.
He said this had caused unnecessary delays in
the prosecution of
farmers protected by the Sadc ruling.
The meeting, which came amid complaints by the farmers that police had
renewed their crackdown on those refusing to vacate their properties, sought
to find ways of fast-tracking the evictions.
It was agreed
that all cases pending at the courts should be finalised
by February 29 or
must have been referred to the Supreme Court by that date.
Chief magistrate Herbert Mandeya, who also made a presentation at the
meeting, told his colleagues to be guided by the recent Supreme Court ruling
in the case between Mike Campbell and the Minister of Lands, Land Reform and
Resettlement. He told the magistrates to refer land cases to the Supreme
Court, as was the case with Campbell.
However, Mike
Mutsvairo who represents nine former commercial farmers,
said the deadline
set by the government was unrealistic.
He said although the
argument that the Sadc ruling could not override
local statutes was correct,
"the government was frustrating the process of
domesticating the
law."
Mutsvairo said directives to magistrates on how to handle
cases would
only serve to compromise their decisions.
BY OUR
CORRESPONDENT
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com/
Monday, 16 February 2009
10:34
THERE is a need for a major paradigm shift if the new
administration
installed on Friday is to succeed in tackling the country's
multifaceted
economic problems, analysts said last week.
The
unity government made up of Zanu PF and the two Movement for
Democratic
Change (MDC) formations has the immediate task of reversing the
worsening
humanitarian crisis in the country.
But tackling the economy would
be the most daunting of the priorities.
Industry is operating
at below capacity after years of foreign
currency shortages and price
controls and to restore production executives
say there is need for a new
thinking.
"There is need for a mental shift," said Kumbirai
Katsande, the
President of the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI),
"People may
still think from their corners and if they do this it is going
to be
difficult (to move forward)."
Katsande said the
country had to address concerns raised by donors,
which included the need to
respect property rights and the creation of an
enabling environment to
attract investors.
The CZI boss said bodies such as the
National Incomes and Pricing
Commission (NIPC) must be disbanded, as they
were retrogressive instruments.
In his budget presentation, the
Acting Minister of Finance, Patrick
Chinamasa reduced the role of the NIPC
to monitoring prices only.
Despite the issuing out of foreign
currency licences to some retailers
and wholesalers, industry believes there
is need for a review of the daily
remittances to the central
bank.
Every day licence holders pay 5% of their proceeds to the
Reserve Bank
of Zimbabwe (RBZ).
"It is an unnecessary tax,"
Katsande said. "Taxes must be collected
through the fiscus and there is no
forward looking economy which behaves
like that."
Independent economist, John Robertson, said controversial legislation
such
as the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act "must be scrapped
completely because you won't get new investors".
Robertson
said respect for existing agreements was also paramount in
attracting new
investors.
The old government became notorious for trampling on
important
investment pacts such as the Bilateral Investment Promotion and
Protection
Agreements (BIPPAs) with regional and international
partners.
Zimbabwe has been struggling to attract loans from
multilateral
institutions because of its poor track record in repaying
loans.
As at December 31, 2008, the country's external debt
stood at a
staggering US$4.6 billion. Of that debt the government and
parastatals owe
95.3%.
Due to the absence of lines of
credit from multilateral institutions
as well as a dip in revenue collected,
the country has resorted to borrowing
from the domestic
market.
As at December 31, 2008, Zimbabwe's domestic debt stood
at $56.9
sextillion, a significant increase from the $390.5 million recorded
in mid
August 2008.
Robertson said there was need for
stability in both education and
health sectors.
He said
water and electricity supplies improvements in relation to
industries were
vital in attracting foreign investors.
Zimbabwe's economy has
been contracting by an average of 5% every year
for the past 10 years and
analysts say rebuilding the economy would need
more than 5% growth every
year.
"How much energy does it take to build something? And how
much energy
would you need to destroy it," questioned
Robertson.
Zimbabwe's economic decline, unprecedented even in a
country ravaged
by war, has been attributed to bad
policies.
Daniel Ndlela, an economist with Zimconsult said
repairing broken down
infrastructure such as roads requires support from
multilateral development
institutions notably the African Development Bank
and World Bank to provide
the funding.
He said the
financial services sector had to start functioning to
provide the financial
intermediation.
By acting as a middleman between cash surplus
units in the economy
(savers) and deficit spending units (borrowers), a
financial intermediary
makes it possible for borrowers to tap into the vast
pool of wealth in
deposits in banks and other depository financial
institutions.
"The financial services sector is in shambles,"
Ndlela said. "As long
as you don't have the financial services sector there
is no financial
intermediation.
BY NDAMU SANDU
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com/
Monday, 16 February
2009 10:32
THREE senior economists from the African Development Bank
were in the
country last week on a fact-finding mission as regional
financial
institutions begin mobilising resources to help rebuild Zimbabwe's
battered
economy.
"They were sent quietly to do a little
groundwork," a source told
Standardbusiness.
They met United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP) officials and
some members from the
financial services sector.
But the bankers did not meet
political leaders as their visit was
informal and the team would present its
findings in a report,
Standardbusiness was told.
The visit
by a team from AfDB comes amid revelations that the regional
bank had
availed US$1 million to Zimbabwe as part of its efforts to rebuild
the
country.
Sources said the funds were availed to a
representative to the AfDB
based at its headquarters, Andrew
Bvumbe.
An official announcement will be made in the coming
weeks.
The mission by the three officials from AfDB comes
barely a week after
a delegation from the Eastern and Southern Africa Trade
and Development
(PTA) Bank visited the country to prepare the groundwork for
a planned
investors' conference by April.
Michael Gondwe,
the bank's president led the six-member delegation.
Zimbabwe,
once one of the trendsetters in economic growth has been in
the news for the
wrong reasons following 10 successive years of economic
decline, an
unprecedented development in a country not at war.
The country
wrote a new chapter last week after the three major
political parties joined
forces for an inclusive government sworn in on
Friday.
On
Wednesday, MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai was sworn in as the
country's
Prime Minister while his deputy in the party Thokozani Khupe and
MDC leader
Professor Arthur Mutambara took oath of office as the two deputy
Prime
Minister.
An investors' conference modelled along the 1981
Zimbabwe Conference
on Reconstruction and Development (Zimcord) would market
the country as an
investment destination.
ZIMCORD mobilised
over US$2.3 billion in external assistance to help
repair the country's
infrastructure destroyed during the country's
liberation
war.
Analysts say the interest by regional and international
banks signals
the enthusiasm by investors to pour money into the
country.
But they are wary that without proper planning and the
setting up of a
friendly environment, international investors will give
Zimbabwe a wide
berth.
BY NDAMU SANDU
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com/
Monday, 16 February 2009
10:28
BULAWAYO - The Consumer Council of Zimbabwe has called on the
newly
installed government to review upwards the tax-free threshold in its
first
month in office to alleviate the plight of overburdened
workers.
Patrick Chinamasa, then Acting Finance Minister, in his
2009 budget
presentation, put the tax-free threshold at about US$125 or 1
250 rand per
month.
Tax bands starting from 20% would be
applied to all workers earning
above the set tax-free
threshold.
Comfort Muchekeza, the CCZ spokesperson, said US$125
was inadequate
for an average family in light of high electricity tariffs,
rentals, and
phone bills - now payable in foreign currency.
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor, Gideon Gono in his recent
Monetary
Policy allowed all companies, state and private, to charge for
their goods
and services in foreign currency.
But Muchekeza said the move
would see workers earning less than US$250
failing to feed their families
since the bulk of the salaries will go
towards meeting monthly rentals and
electricity bills.
"What this means is that a worker, earning
less than US$250 and
staying in a high-density area, will fail to feed his
or her family or buy
food basics since the whole salary would be chewed by
the monthly bills.
"The tax free threshold should at least be
lifted to US$300 so that
workers can afford to go to work, get their pay,
pay monthly bills, afford
to put food on their tables and to send their
children to school," Muchekeza
said.
A calculation of the
monthly bills for each family renting a full
house in a high-density suburb
in the country's second largest city shows
that each household will from
this month part with about 1 500 rand before
buying basics.
The Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) demands about 700
rand for
15 amps, while the Bulawayo City council requires about 300 rand
per
household in the high-density areas.
If the family has a
landline phone, this adds close to over 1 200 rand
since Tel-One has set its
fixed charge at 200 rand.
Meanwhile, Bulawayo also bemoaned the
high tariffs charged by public
utilities and called on the inclusive
government to reverse them.
"The figures are not realistic,"
said Brian Moyo. "They do not have to
operate at a loss but the jump from
the local dollar component and foreign
currency component was just too
high.
"The new government should address this and alleviate our
plight."
Though cautious, residents have expressed hope that
the new inclusive
government will put on reverse gear their decade long
suffering.
BY NQOBANI NDLOVU
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com/
Monday, 16 February 2009 10:26
FRESH
problems have surfaced to haunt the resumption of trade on the
Zimbabwe
Stock Exchange (ZSE) following reports that there are still
"sticking"
issues that need to be ironed out.
Emmanuel Munyukwi, the ZSE chief
executive officer told
Standardbusiness that although the bourse had ensured
that all outstanding
settlements had been cleared, fresh hurdles had emerged
after the Reserve
Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) allowed the trade of shares in
foreign currency.
Under the new set up, one cannot transfer payment
from one Foreign
Currency Account to another at a different bank. "When you
want to transfer
money from one Foreign Currency account in one bank to
another bank, it has
to go through New York and London and this attracts
additional charges and
these are issues that needed to be sorted out,"
Munyukwi said.
He said negotiations with banks are ongoing to
resolve the payment
modalities.
But the ZSE boss said the
bourse had made progress in ensuring that
outstanding payments were
cleared.
Trade on the bourse was stopped in November last year
following
concerns that there were underhand dealings where unsupported
cheques were
used to buy shares to be sold at a premium pushing prices
up.
The RBZ then ordered that banks, at the highest level as a
pre-requisite to accepting and processing orders, formally guarantee all
funding for the purchase of shares.
The directive, which took
effect on November 20 last year was in
response to RBZ's concerns that there
were a lot of underhand dealings on
the local bourse involving some
individuals, bank officials and
stockbrokers.
But
Standardbusiness learnt that even if trade were to resume on ZSE
there would
be an additional burden on the bourse, stockbrokers and sellers
of shares in
the the form of new levies that will impact on the trading of
shares.
There will be a 1.5% Financial Sector Stabilisation
Levy to be paid to
the RBZ by the ZSE and stockbrokers from their earnings.
In addition, each
seller of shares in foreign exchange shall liquidate 3.5%
of the proceeds at
the going interbank market rate.
BY OUR
STAFF
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Monday, 16
February 2009 11:39
DEAR Mr Tsvangirai,
I'm sure there is a
lot in your in-tray, during these, your first few
days in office and that,
therefore, you will hardly have time to read this
letter.
However, I write hoping that it might have the good fortune of
catching your
attention in the rare spare moments of your busy schedule. Or
that, at the
very least, one of your aides might stumble upon it.
Unlike much of
the correspondence that you will receive at this time,
this one offers no
congratulations.
I do not believe that a person should be
congratulated for being given
a job. Rather, congratulations must, indeed,
be showered when a man produces
results in the course of performing his job.
So I will withhold the
platitudes for now.
I salute you
though, Sir, for accepting what must surely be one of the
worst jobs in the
world at present. You have become a co-skipper of a vessel
that for years
has been stuck in icy waters, most of the crew and passengers
surviving only
by the grace of the Merciful Hand.
No doubt, you are aware that
the road ahead will be rugged and bumpy.
Also, it will soon dawn on you that
the honeymoon with supporters and
followers will subside.
That's because of the natural perception that you are now on the other
side;
the side of those who hold power. Indeed, some of your comrades have
already
cast doubt on the wisdom of your decision to partner Mr Mugabe in
government. There will be a lot waiting in the sidelines only to say, if
this undertaking fails, "we told you so".
Perhaps the
greatest challenge at this point is to harness the will
and commitment of
the doubtful so that they, too, can play their part in
this new
arrangement.
You are going to have to deploy your political acumen,
Sir, to play
some diplomatic gymnastics to bring them on board because the
last thing
that Zimbabwe needs in this transitional phase is another power
struggle.
That means showing them that you understand their
concerns - they are
like the parent whose daughter marries the village
scoundrel -the parent may
disapprove of the union, but eventually they will
have to accept their child's
will.
The reality, Sir, as you
know, is that resolving Zimbabwe's problems
will take hard work, honesty,
skill and patience. It is important to
reassure supporters that you will do
all you can but also to be honest that
these changes will not happen
overnight.
The Zimbabwean currency will not suddenly stabilise,
inflation will
not drop immediately, jobs will not emerge in the short-term.
Indeed, there
will be more power-cuts, more water shortages in the
short-term.
I mention this, Sir, because all too often I have seen
politicians
promise beautiful heaven when the practical reality is that hell
will take
time to fade away. The 'we will do this' type of talk is alright
for
opposition politicians because it is their currency for purchasing
public
support.
Once in government, they face the harsh
realities of searching for
resources, satisfying the many, often colliding
demands of the different
interest groups and balancing the books. Where
employers and employees
previously sang from the same hymn sheet in your
favour, there is likely to
be some discord as each struggle to catch your
attention.
But you know well that our greatest failing lies in
not producing
enough and living beyond our means. The demands of political
expediency mean
that you are carrying a heavy cabinet and an even weightier
Parliament.
Both will gobble up scarce resources. It would be
prudent to avoid the
all-too-familiar picture of conspicuous consumption. I
read with interest
and approval your denunciation of a 'culture of
entitlement'.
I have never understood why politicians and indeed
ordinary people,
think that getting a government post is a matter of
entitlement. It is not
unusual for people to say so and so should get such a
ministerial post
because he deserves it. I do not think public service
should ever be a
matter of 'deserving' a job but one should be judged on
competence and
commitment to deliver.
It is because of this
culture of entitlement that Zimbabwe has been
weighed down by the same
recycled personnel who quite plainly have nothing
new to offer but
everything to gain personally from retaining their status.
These
men and women that you have appointed to cabinet must know that
their
positions are no different from any other job and that if they do not
deliver, they will get the sack.
It helps no one to keep a
non-performing employee simply because he or
she is a party cadre. This is
their chance to show they can live up to their
promises. They should also
have the decency to resign should they be caught
up in scandalous
affairs.
I have noticed how political expediency caused the
National Security
Council Bill to be passed in unprecedented fashion last
Tuesday. Whilst one
wants to understand the practical demands that had to be
met by those
extraordinary measures, it is also hoped that it does not
become the norm.
It is to be hoped that political expediency will
be routinely deployed
as an excuse for overriding rules and principles as
that would lead to an
unpleasant legislative culture.
Your
inauguration speech touched on the key priorities -
implementation of the
democratic agenda, dealing with the humanitarian
crisis, economic
stabilisation.
The latter two require the deployment of resources
and skill and can
be overcome. Both however, are victims of the failure of
the first one - the
politics. The way I see it, Sir, is that the political
structures can be
constructed through the constitutional reform process and
legislative
changes but that there is another, more latent aspect that
requires due care
and attention.
It is, Sir, the matter of
political culture. I have in my previous
work written about it as the
influence of the 'human factor' - the idea that
no matter how beautiful our
laws and structures may be, things will never
work unless the human agents,
i.e. the people working within those
structures are prepared to do the right
thing.
The new Finance Minister, Mr Tendai Biti, said as much
in Parliament
in a speech during the recent passage of the National Security
Council law.
He said, "Mr Speaker, I want to make one thing very clear, we
may create all
these institutions in the law . we can create all these
beautiful bodies but
between us and Zanu PF, if there is no love, if there
is no respect and if
there is no paradigm shift that we are now equal share
holders, then all
these institutions will come to nought ." (Hansard,
Tuesday 10 February
2009).
One hopes that the human factor will
be a positive force but much
depends on the human agents from all parties.
You, Sir, as leader will have
to nurture this very fragile
baby.
This is something that will take time; something that
will require, as
you said in your speech, the separation between the state
and the party. No
doubt there will be many obstacles in the path, given the
manner in which
the state has been so intimately wedded to the party for the
last 30 years.
There will be resistance from those used to certain
ways; those who
see the world through the lens they have known all their
adult lives. But
the key lies in the civil service; in the state
institutions and even the
state media - there are many decent men and women
in there whom, if given
their independence, will do the right thing and
perform their professional
duties with honesty and
competence.
On the economy, I think first and foremost we
simply need to enhance
our productive capacity. We must eschew the politics
of race, tribe, party
affiliation and all other indices that divide us and
deploy our best talent
to do what they do best.
I must add that
it does pains me to see a man like Roy Bennett being
wasted in the corridors
of government.
From what I hear, the man is an excellent farmer;
why not give him
space to do what he does best? Let us identify our core
strengths and focus
our energies on them...
You know, Sir, that
your position brings a temptation to become all
things to all people. It can
only be a recipe for disaster because, sooner
or later, you will annoy
everyone.
Nevertheless, critical assessment of your performance
(and your team's)
comes with the territory. True, there may be those who are
waiting for you
to fail and then claim some dubious credit for predicting
it.
But there are also many who are critical because they are
genuine
about wanting to see change and delivery. I hope you will listen to
them,
Sir and not characterise them as enemies of the state. I hope there
will
never be a time when you will get so paranoid as to think that everyone
is
out to get you.
I hope it will never be an offence to
criticise you, Sir. Indeed, open
up a forum, where you can interact with
your people; here their concerns
directly and respond to them, just as you
will hopefully have a vibrant,
televised Prime Minister's Question Time in
Parliament. I know there is no
opposition but that platform could be useful
to other interest groups.
Speaking of which, Sir, I trust that,
if offered, will you politely
decline the use of that long, wailing
motorcade. With the fuel shortages,
transport blues, poverty, etc, surely,
you know all those cars will not be
necessary?
And I trust also
that when you arrive from an international trip you
will let all those
traders in Mbare get on with the business of making a
living and not ask
them to come to the airport to sing and ululate for you.
Even your
ministers, Sir, surely, you will let them get on with their jobs -
they
don't really need to stand in a long line to greet you at the airport
each
time you arrive.
And I hope that when you celebrate your
birthday, you will do it
happily in the comfort of your home and family,
being the personal affair it
is and even if your most loyal fans seek to
make it a national event, you
will resist the temptation with the strength
of Samson.
Most likely, they are not really doing it for you; they
are doing it
for themselves because they want to be seen to be the best and
biggest of
them all and for that they will await a reward.
There will be hiccups, some big, others small, but do keep an eye on
the
bigger picture. If the electric switch fails to work, it does not mean
we
should bring down the whole house - we can fix the electricals, whilst
working on other parts of then house, even if it means using the faint light
of the mobile phone.
I said I would offer no platitudes at
this stage but what I will
certainly do is to wish you, your team and my
fellow Zimbabweans the very
best of good fortune.
I will share
with you the wisdom of a favourite song, which the late
master of song,
Simon Chimbetu entitled Vana Vaye (the children). In it, the
singer pleads
with his elder brother to mention the plight of the children
when he goes to
attend the grand conferences; he asks the brother not to
forget the about
the children.
I might also add, that other one, Pane Asipo (those
we lost on the
way) in which Chimbetu reminds us that even in our joy and
celebration of a
new era, we must never forget those whose lives and limbs
were broken and
lost on the way.
Best wishes, Sir
Alex T Magaisa, University of Kent. Contact address: at
wamagaisa@yahoo.co.uk or a.t.magaisa@kent.ac.uk
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Monday, 16 February
2009 11:32
This is the text of the speech delivered by Deputy Prime
Minister,
Arthur GO Mutambara after being sworn-in on
Thursday.
LADIES and Gentlemen, I rise to speak on three related
issues. The
first matter is explaining why we are here today, that is the
meaning and
significance of today.
The second issue
involves outlining the challenges to be tackled by
this new government. The
last subject deals with what has to be done to
ensure that the new
government can successfully execute its mandate, what we
call the critical
success factors.
Fellow citizens, we are here to celebrate the
coming together of
Zimbabweans in pursuit of their collective national
interest. This is a new
era of peace and unity in our country. We are here
to celebrate the dignity
of difference. Three different generations of
Zimbabweans have come together
to salvage their country.
Three
different political parties have joined hands in an inclusive
government to
serve their people. Different social classes and different
ethnic groups
have come together as members of one family, the Zimbabwean
family.
This is the dignity of difference, the divinity of
diversity.
Embracing diversity and differences is a reservoir of strength.
It is a
source of creativity, innovation, and stability. Leveraging
inclusiveness,
and the creative tension thereof, will lead to the effective
and sustainable
resolution of our national socio-political-economic
challenges.
The tasks of the inclusive government we seek to
establish are
immense, but not insurmountable. The first area is the
resolution of the
humanitarian crisis, in particular the cholera epidemic,
food supply,
education, and healthcare.
The second area is
stabilization and recovery of our economy. Our
country and people have gone
through traumatic and polarizing experiences.
We need a national healing
process, as the third area of concern. The next
matter revolves around the
crafting and adoption of a new people driven
democratic
constitution.
This must be a national consensus document supported
by all political
parties, with total buy in and ownership by the entirety of
civic society,
and the generality of the people of
Zimbabwe.
The last area of concentration is going to be the
economic
transformation of Zimbabwe into a globally competitive
economy.
As Zimbabweans we seek to collectively develop a 30-year
economic
vision, shared and adopted by all political parties, the business
community,
and all relevant stakeholders.
This vision will be
buttressed by a national economic strategy rooted
in industry sector plans.
The growth pillars will be 15-20 major impact
industrial projects. We might
not do much in terms of execution and results
on this fifth
item.
What we seek to do in this transitional authority is to lay
the
foundation by completing the inclusive envisioning process, strategy
development, identification and valuation of the projects, and
implementation planning.
In order for us to be able to
execute the mandate of this government,
an enabling environment
characterized by certain behaviours must be in
place. We must work as one
team, Team Zimbabwe.
We must have unity of purpose and action. We
must work together and be
seen to be working together.
We must
speak the language of unity, the language of working together.
We seek to
establish one government, with one cabinet, to serve one nation.
Hence we must be prepared to take joint responsibility for both
failures and
successes. We must re-establish trust and respect among
ourselves, as
leaders and as Zimbabweans. As a nation we must regain
confidence from those
external to us.
This can be achieved by clearly working in harmony,
and establishing
both a credible cabinet and a credible plan of
action.
To our developmental, cooperating, and strategic
partners in the
region, Africa, and the international community, we say we
are grateful for
the role you have played in our struggle to establish a
peaceful, prosperous
and democratic nation.
Your role before
1980 and in the last 10 years is greatly appreciated.
Now that Zimbabweans
have spoken with unprecedented unanimity and have come
together to fix their
country, we call upon you to give this inclusive
government a fighting
chance.
This is a new era of peace and unity in Zimbabwe. For those
who have
imposed whatever measures against Zimbabwe, be they targeted
sanctions, call
them what you may; those measures must be removed
immediately. . . .
In conclusion, with your permission
President Mugabe, can I take this
opportunity to ban all party political
slogans during the period of this
inclusive government.
Let us
give up party politics until the next elections. Going forward,
there will
be only two slogans permissible. Delivery, delivery, delivery.
Results,
results, results...
I thank you, tatenda, siyabonga.
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com
Monday, 16 February 2009
11:29
NO-ONE would have predicted there would be drama at the swearing
in
ceremony for ministers held on Friday, especially after things went so
moothly on Wednesday.
Judging from how Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai and deputy Prime
Ministers Arthur Mutambara and Thokozani Khupe
were sworn in, we naturally
assumed the event would be plain
sailing.
But we were wrong.
President Robert
Mugabe, being the political schemer he is, had other
ideas. In broad
daylight he hoped to smuggle in more ministers than he was
allocated in
blatant breach of the power-sharing agreement signed with the
two factions
of the MDC.
The likes of Florence Buka, Paul Mangwana, John
Nkomo, Sylvester Nguni
and David Parirenyatwa stood in line to rehearse the
swearing in ceremony.
They must have been mortified when they
realised that Mugabe would not
be getting his way, as he has done for the
past 29 years.
The development which delayed the swearing in
ceremony of the new
Cabinet for nearly five hours, is a pertinent reminder
that Mugabe still
lives in the past.
Though a new
government is in place, Mugabe remains the same old
president who is ready
to surround himself with trusted loyalists however
dismal their record. He
still treats the MDC with deep suscipion and would
be happy to have more of
the likes of Didymus Mutasa and Emmerson Mnangagwa
surrounding him in the
new cabinet.
While there is nothing wrong with working with
people you trust, the
problem arises when Zimbabwe is supposed to be
starting afresh.
How can Mugabe be ready to start afresh when
he appoints Joseph Made,
whose tenure at the agriculture ministry in the
past was an unmitigated
disaster, back to the same
ministry.
How do you start afresh when Stan Mudenge remains the
Minister of
Higher and Tertiary Education. And also when the meddling
Ignatious Chombo
remains Minister of Local Government, Urban and Rural
Development.
The three are emblematic of what has gone wrong
with Zanu PF.
Made has simply watched, sometimes from a
helicopter, when agriculture
which was the mainstay of the ecomomy
collapsed.
Mudenge, who was a distinguished scholar, did the
same at Higher
Education, while Chombo actually fast-tracked the collapse of
local
authorities.
And when Mugabe chooses to surround
himself with these people, it
shows he believes the status quo should
remain.
More worryingly, at a time when he should be seen
extending a hand of
friendship to the MDC, Roy Bennett gets arrested under
Mugabe's watch.
Bennett has been designated as deputy Minister
of Agriculture. He
deserves to be treated with respect by the government in
which he is due to
serve. Instead he is the victim of hardliners who don't
want to see
reconciliation with the MDC-T.
They don't want to
see agricultural recovery and donors will draw the
appropriate
conclusion.
Mugabe is sending signals that he has not yet
embraced the new spirit:
that of burying the past and working towards a new
Zimbabwe where both Zanu
PF and the MDC formations can
co-exist.
This is what all Zimbabweans, Sadc leaders and AU have
been yearning
for all these years. It remains to be seen for how long Mugabe
can pretend
to be ready to work with Tsvangirai while sabotaging his
prospects.
By arresting Bennett, the old guard has disgraced
Zimbabwe and
demonstrated that it doesn't really want to see things improve.
That is the
message now circulating around the world. The sceptics are being
proved
right we are sorry to say.
16 February 2009
The Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) blames ZINWA for the water woes that are bedeviling the city. The raw sewerage that has been flowing unabated in the streets of almost all high density areas (Budiriro, Glenview, Glen Norah, Mabvuku-Tafara, Highfield, Kuwadzana and Dzivarasekwa being the most affected) has compromised the quality of water that residents are getting. Even the boreholes that have been sunk in areas like Budiriro have been affected due to the raw sewer that has seeped into the water table. Residents made numerous calls to ZINWA to fix the burst sewer pipes but the water utility completely failed to deal with this problem.
CHRA appeals to the government to look into
the water situation in
_______________________________________________________________________
Combined
Exploration House, Third Floor
Landline: 00263- 4-
705114
Contacts:
info@chra.co.zw,
admin@chra.co.zw
16 February
2009
The Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) is deeply concerned by the reports that it has received to the effect that there are some residents in high density areas who are being forced to pay rates in foreign currency. CHRA is reliably informed that council offices in Mabvuku, Glenview and Highfield are rejecting payments in the local currency and they are demanding payments in either the South African Rand or US$. Residents reject such impositions as it is reflective of daylight robbery on residents who are already struggling under the harsh economic environment.
Residents have complained that the City of
In addition to that, CHRA has information to the effect that there was some confusion last week at Town House when the full Council held a meeting to deliberate on the issue of charging residents in foreign currency. Most Councilors were against the idea of the budget being announced because they had not yet approved it as Councilors. The Councilors questioned their relevance in Council if they were being excluded from important processes like the budget formulation process. A few of the Councilors supported the idea of charging all residents in foreign currency but were not clear on how much residents should be charged. Questions were also raised by the Councilors on the issue of residents who had already been forced to pay their bills in exorbitant foreign currency amounts that are up to US$34. The City Treasurer is said to have defended this position saying that Council would credit the money to the accounts of these residents. This was an indirect admission by the Treasurer that residents are already being charged in foreign currency and that they are being overcharged.
CHRA is not happy with the irregularities
that are being reflected by the City of
CHRA remains committed to the residents’ cause and advocating for good, transparent and accountable local governance as well as quality and affordable municipal services.
________________________________________________________________________
Combined
Exploration House, Third Floor
Landline: 00263- 4-
705114
Contacts:
info@chra.co.zw,
admin@chra.co.zw
From: "Reps Theatre" <reps@mweb.co.zw>
Subject: REPS - Sad
News
Date: Mon, 16 Feb 2009 11:01:56 +0200
It is with great
sadness that we must impart the news to everyone that John
Keeling passed
away on Friday, 13 February 2009 in the United Kingdom.
John was a very
active member of Reps, both on stage and off in the 1960s
and 1970s, as well
as being a television presenter on RTV in the 1970s. His
portrait hangs in
the Reps Theatre foyer and one of our trophies, The John
Keeling Award for
Best Actor in a lead role, is named after him.
He will be sorely missed
by all who knew him. We will keep you updated as
regards any form of
memorial service or tribute.
My name is Mick Star and I am Pop Star with no record label.
Instead of making someone else rich, I am going to contribute
half of my net download proceeds to Doctors Without Borders to assist with
humanitarian relief efforts in Zimbabwe.
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