The ZIMBABWE Situation Our thoughts and prayers are with Zimbabwe
- may peace, truth and justice prevail.
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"I believe in compulsory cannibalism. If people were forced to eat what
they killed, there would be no more wars."

 - Abbie Hoffman

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Harare, Zimbabwe
19 February 2004 13:24
Prominent Zimbabwean businesswoman and women's activist Jane Mutasa and her son Terence have been detained on suspicion of corruption, the latest casualties in President Robert Mugabe's anti-graft blitz.

The state-owned Herald said on Thursday that Mutasa, a director in Telecel, Zimbabwe's third-largest cellular company, together with her son, were charged with breaching the Exchange Control Act and externalising foreign currency worth more than Z$3-billion.

They appeared before a local magistrate's court on Wednesday and were detained under Mugabe's new anti-graft regulations, which allow for detention of up to 30 days without trial.

Another businessman and a member of the ruling Zanu-PF, James Makamba, is facing similar charges of externalising billions of dollars in both local and foreign currency.

Makamba, also a director in Telecel, has been in jail since his arrest on Monday and is being detained under the same regulations.

Meanwhile, Mugabe repeated his warnings against corrupt leaders.

"The time has come for us to deal with the scourge and no stone will be left unturned, no matter what position you hold," Mugabe was quoted as saying during a tour of a farm owned by Bindura businessman Kenneth Musanhi, in central Zimbabwe.

The Herald quoted Mugabe as saying he had "declared war against economic saboteurs and those who were amassing wealth through fraudulent means".

Another Zanu-PF member and legislator, Phillip Chiyangwa, arrested last month and detained for 10 days in jail on corruption charges, is out on bail.

During a Cabinet reshuffle recently, Mugabe created an Anti-Corruption Ministry headed by party stalwart Didymus Mutasa.

Transparency International Zimbabwe, which has bemoaned high corruption levels in this Southern African nation, has said it is opposed to the anti-graft regulations as they are unconstitutional.

The regulations have also been criticised for the same reason by the Zimbabwe Human Rights for Lawyers and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change. -- Sapa-AFP
Daily news
Mugabe nabs his latest victims

Thursday February 19, 2004 15:14 - (SA)


Prominent Zimbabwean businesswoman and women's activist Jane Mutasa and her son Terence have been detained on suspicion of corruption, the latest casualties in President Robert Mugabe's anti-graft blitz.

The state-owned Herald said that Mutasa, a director in Telecel, Zimbabwe's third largest cellular company, together with her son, were charged with breaching the Exchange Control Act and externalising foreign currency worth more than three billion Zimbawean dollars ($375,000/E295,000).

They appeared before a local magistrate's court on Wednesday and were detained under Mugabe's new anti-graft regulations which allow for detention of up to 30 days without trial.

Another businessman and a member of the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF), James Makamba, is facing similar charges of externalising billions of dollars in both local and foreign currency.

Makamba, also a director in Telecel, has been in jail since his arrest on Monday and is being detained under
the same regulations.

Meanwhile, Mugabe repeated his warnings against corrupt leaders.

"The time has come for us to deal with the scourge and no stone will be left unturned, no matter what position you hold," Mugabe was quoted as saying during a tour of a farm owned by Bindura businessman Kenneth Musanhi, in central Zimbabwe.

The Herald quoted Mugabe as saying he had "declared war against economic saboteurs and those who were amassing wealth through fraudulent means."

Another Zanu-PF member and legislator Phillip Chiyangwa, arrested last month and detained for 10 days in jail on corruption charges, is out on bail.

During a cabinet reshuffle recently, Mugabe created an anti-corruption ministry headed by party stalwart Didymus Mutasa.

Transparency International Zimbabwe (TIZ), which had bemoaned high corruption levels in this southern African nation, said it was opposed to the anti-graft regulations as they were unconstitutional.

The regulations have also been criticised for the same reason by the Zimbabwe Human Rights for Lawyers and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change.

AFP
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Mail and Guardian Mugabe: 'I'll never be defeated'
Harare
19 February 2004 11:57
President Robert Mugabe will call parliamentary elections in March next year, three months earlier than required under electoral law, state radio reported on Thursday.

He did not specify a date for the five-yearly polls, which must be held before the end of June 2005.

Mugabe, who turns 80 on Saturday, was quoted as saying he has no plans to retire from political life. He said opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai "will never defeat him in parliamentary elections," radio reported.

The opposition Movement for Democratic Change holds 54 of Parliament's 120 elected seats. Mugabe appoints 30 other lawmakers, giving him a sweeping majority he has used to pass repressive security and media legislation.

Mugabe spoke on Wednesday while touring a former white-owned farm northeast of the capital, Harare, one of thousands seized by the government for redistribution to blacks.

He promised voters "the consolidation of the land reform programme and the empowerment of the majority of Zimbabweans," if his party is re-elected, the radio said.

Opponents say the seizures, which began in 2000, are a ploy to shore up Mugabe's flagging popularity in rural areas, the traditional stronghold of his Zanu-PF party. The government lost a referendum on constitutional changes earlier that year -- Mugabe's only voting defeat since he led the country to independence from Britain in 1980.

The farm seizures, coupled with erratic rains, have crippled the agriculture-based economy. Zimbabwe faces record inflation and unemployment, along with acute shortages of food, hard currency, fuel, medicines and other imports.

Mugabe narrowly won re-election in 2002 in a vote independent observers and opposition leaders said was marred by intimidation and vote rigging. - Sapa-AFP
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Helping Rural Folks To Preserve Environment And Shed Poverty

By Rosyatimah Tukimin

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 19 (Bernama) -- "They have finally found light at the end of the tunnel" was how Gladman Chibememe described the youths of his village who did not have to leave their homes to seek employment elsewhere.

The 28-year-old head of a community programme in his village Chibememe in Zimbabwe's southeast lowveld said hordes of his young neighbours used to leave for neighbouring countries to find jobs to escape the grinding poverty.

Launched and funded by several world and United Nations bodies, the programme called Chibememe Earth Healing Association or CHIEHA allowed the young people to work on their land and earn a better livelihood.

"CHIEHA's activities have encouraged many to stay as the youths have now realised that our drought-prone village can provide sustainable livelihoods and a good life too," said Chibememe.

He said people in his village of 17 households with 102 people used to depend on subsistence agriculture but today, they had changed their traditional farming into income-generating work.

"From planting crops just enough for their families, the villagers have now cultivated drought-tolerant crops through inter-cropping method which not only guarantees the community's food security but yielding a steady income through the sales of the crops and homemade products," said the Zimbabwean, who is here as a participant at the on-going Seventh Meeting of the Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP-7).





GRASSROOT DEVELOPMENT

The CHIEHA project is among 26 finalists selected for an award Thursday (Feb 19) under the "Community Kampung" programme of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) aimed at grassroot development as a means to help the rural poor to break free from the shackles of poverty.

Called the "Equator Initiative", it was launched in 1992 by the Nature Conservancy in partnerships with several parties including the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and UN agencies.

Today, the initiative has become a worldwide movement to reduce poverty and sustain biodiversity in the equatorial belt by identifying and supporting innovative local initiatives led by community-based organisations to uplift the living standard of their compatriots.

In conjunction with COP-7, the 26 projects shortlisted would be judged for the award, though each and every one of them is a success story by itself.

The movement's manager, Sean Southey, said the programme seeks to dramatically ramp up the number of success stories through the Equator Prize, direct grants, community-to-community learning, public awareness, advocacy and policy work.

Nearly 400 nominations from 66 nations were received for this year's Equator Prize, he said, adding that only six winners would be awarded US$30,000 at a ceremony on Thursday.

Southey said the "Community Kampung" pavillion at Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) provided an avenue for community representatives from Asia, Africa and Latin America to network among themselves and share experiences with government delegates as well as representatives from NGOs and international organisations.



RURAL ENTREPRENEURS

CHIEHA, for instance, formed in 1998 to promote environmental and cultural awareness and sustainable utilisation of resources, had turned the villagers into businessmen, thus enabling them to lead meaningful lives.

"Involvement of the youths has been very encouraging, particularly in the ethno and eco-tourism sectors," said Chibememe, whose family heads the village community.

He said the forests of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park (GLTP) which joined three nations' national parks -- the Limpopo National Park of Mozambique, the Kruger National Park of South Africa and Gonarezhou National Park of Zimbabwe -- served as an inspiration for CHIEHA's wide-ranging efforts to promote sustainable livelihood and the conservation of the local biodiversity.

Chibememe's colleague, Lucia Sithole, said that the villagers also shared their knowledge and expertise with other communities living in the adjoining communal lands.

"Today, some 50,000 people are enjoying the benefits our projects," said Lucia, adding that CHIEHA had thus far received the support of the country's leadership, the UNDP/Global Environmental Facility Small Grants Programme (GEF SGP), and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), to name a few.





SABAH'S COMMUNITY-BASED PROJECT

In Sabah, a similar community-based project introduced to Orang Sungai community in Batu Puteh Village in the lower Kinabatangan River had also brought changes in the traditional lifestyle of this indigenous community.

Many of the village youths no longer seek employment in towns or cities like before, while those previously involved in illegal logging are now earning income legally through other economic activities organised by the village's non-governmental group (NGO) called the Model Ecologically Sustainable Community Tourism Project or MESCOT.

"MESCOT focused specifically on training village youths in planning and related business skills and at the same providing a chance for the villagers to earn an income from sideline household activities," said Mohd Hasim Abd Hamid, MESCOT's coordinator.

He said MESCOT was created in his village as a solution to the loss of access to traditional resources resulting from the creation of Sabah's Supu Forest Reserve and Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary. Batu Puteh Village is about two hours by road from Sandakan and one hour from Lahad Datu.

Under the programme, they operated a series of successful eco-tourism ventures including a homestay programme, boat and guide service, and handicraft cottage industries. The group's efforts had also restored over 50 hectares of forest in important freshwater swamps with support of the private sector.





GETTING FOREIGN AID

"A lot of research and thorough planning were carried out before MESCOT's activities were implemented," he said.

Hasim said through the World Wildlife Fund (WWF)'s office in Malaysia, the group managed to secure funds in 1997 from the Norwegian Government, which sent a coordinator-cum-consultant to assist the villagers in monitoring work and training them in capacity building.

MESCOT invited unemployed youths to join in as volunteers as it began looking into a number of development and business plans.

"We wanted to venture into activities that require less capital but having good returns. As our village was surrounded by protected areas, we carried out two years of extensive research, concentrating on what was available in the surrounding areas.

"The volunteers were also trained to use computers, learn the English language, all aspects of the medicinal benefits from herbs found in our forest, the traditional culture and customs in depth and get first-hand experience in tourism work at tourist sites throughout Sabah," he said.





MISO WALAI HOMESTAY

He said the homestay programme called "Miso Walai", meaning "together as one house" in the Orang Sungai lingo, was started in June 2000 with the help of the Ministry of Tourism Development, Environment, Science and Technology.

Under the homestay programme, the visitors get to experience Sabah's rural lifestyle by joining in the daily activities, be it planting padi in the field, fishing or gathering edible plants from the forest. They can also opt to go on jungle treks, boat rides or be involved in community and conservation activities, said Hasim.

Response to the programme has been encouraging, he added, saying that a total of 1,000 beds were created in the first year of operation with tourists coming mainly from Europe and Australia. That maiden year, they made RM70,000 which were distributed among the villagers, while the youths who were volunteers were then paid for their jobs.

Last year, they earned RM115,000 and won an award from the Sabah state government under its rural development programme.

To ensure that MESCOT's venture remains sustainable, Hasim said they had set up a cooperative called Koperasi Pelancongan Mukim Batu Puteh Bhd (KOPEL), where villagers could use the funds for the rainy days.





OTHER AWARD NOMINEES

Each of the 26 nominees is itself a success story of how the rural poor had been "empowered" to break free from the vicious cycle of poverty while preserving their environment.

India's GREEN Foundation, for example, had harnessed traditional knowledge to create innovative seed and gene banks involving a network of women farmers, while Colombia's Quidbo had a network of 85 women producing organic medicine and culinary herbs to be sold even in larger supermarket chains.

Like Southey said, all this rural communities need is a little help and understanding for them to manage their own change and development.

-- BERNAMA

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Zimbabweans are going to the polls

February 19 2004 at 12:18PM

Harare - President Robert Mugabe will call parliamentary elections in March next year, three months earlier than required under electoral law, state radio reported on Thursday.

He did not specify a date for the five-yearly polls, which must be held before the end of June 2005.

Mugabe, who turns 80 on Saturday, was quoted as saying he has no plans to retire from political life. He said opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai "will never defeat him in parliamentary elections," radio reported.

The opposition Movement for Democratic Change holds 54 of Parliament's 120 elected seats. Mugabe appoints 30 other lawmakers, giving him a sweeping majority he has used to pass repressive security and media legislation.

'The empowerment of the majority of Zimbabweans'
Mugabe spoke on Wednesday while touring a former white-owned farm north-east of the capital, Harare, one of thousands seized by the government for redistribution to blacks.

He promised voters "the consolidation of the land reform programme and the empowerment of the majority of Zimbabweans," if his party is re-elected, the radio said.

Opponents say the seizures, which began in 2000, are a ploy to shore up Mugabe's flagging popularity in rural areas, the traditional stronghold of his Zanu-PF party. The government lost a referendum on constitutional changes earlier that year - Mugabe's only voting defeat since he led the country to independence from Britain in 1980.

The farm seizures, coupled with erratic rains, have crippled the largely agricultural economy. Zimbabwe faces record inflation and unemployment, along with acute shortages of food, hard currency, fuel, medicines and other imports.

Mugabe narrowly won re-election in 2002 in a vote independent observers and opposition leaders said was marred by intimidation and vote rigging. - Sapa-AFP

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Four Zimbabweans perish in car fireball

February 19 2004 at 04:06AM

By Graeme Hosken
<

The four people who burnt to death in the horrific accident on the N1 outside Hammanskraal have been identified.

The dead, whom police have declined to name until their families have formally identified them, were travelling from Zimbabwe to Johannesburg when their Jeep Cherokee smashed into a bridge pillar, bursting into flames on impact.

It is thought that the 29-year-old driver, who might have been from Zambia as the vehicle had a Zambian registration number plate, fell asleep at the wheel.

Highway patrol members tried to rescue those inside the vehicle as they screamed for help but the heat of the flames made it too hot, rescuers said shortly after the fire was extinguished.

Those inside the vehicle screamed for help
Police Inspector Percy Morokane said they had managed to identify the dead after their family, who live in Johannesburg, read the story in the Pretoria News' sister paper, the Star.

He said the occupants of the vehicle were travelling from Gweru near Harare to Johannesburg to visit friends and family when the accident happened.

Morokane said through the help of the Zimbabwean High Commission they had managed to trace the families of the victims, who were all in their late 20s, in Zimbabwe.

"When the motorists set out on their trip there were five occupants in the car, but after crossing into South Africa one of the passengers was dropped off at Mussina."

"The other four occupants then continued on to Johannesburg until they crashed into the bridge."

Morokane said post-mortems would be performed on the dead to determine the exact cause of death.

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Daily news
Zimbabwe's fuel shortages resurface

 
Thursday February 19, 2004 07:23 - (SA)

HARARE - Fuel shortages have resurfaced in Zimbabwe just days after the government introduced a new duty system based on a higher foreign exchange rate, officials said.

The majority of petrol outlets suddenly ran dry early this week, catching motorists unaware.

The government said duty on imported products, including petroleum-based fuels, would be increased in line with the new foreign exchange rates.

"There was a mix-up at the weekend when government decided to use the (new exchange) rate to calculate duty.

"This would have meant duty would go up by 450% or 500%," Petroleum Marketers Association of Zimbabwe, Masimba Kambarami, told AFP.

But on Tuesday government announced a massive reduction of import duty on all fuels to between zero and five percent from 40% in a bid to maintain fuel prices at prevailing levels.

Kambarami, however said the crisis would be temporary arising from the weekend "hiccup".

"It will take a bit of time to turn things around," he said.

The increase in import duty was not announced in advance, so many fuel importers were not prepared when they arrived at the border at the weekend. Zimbabwe imports its petroleum-based oils mainly from South Africa.

"Fuel importers only realised this at the border at the weekend and they did not have lines of credit to pay the new duty," said Kambarami.

Zimbabwe has experienced serious fuel shortages since 1999 initialy largely blamed on corruption and incompetence at the state-owned oil company and later attributed to a scarcity of foreign exchange.

From around Christmas time last year the fuel supplies had improved after government de-regulated the fuel industry and allowed private importers to take part in the trade.

AFP

-
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Thursday, 19 February 2004

POSB to commercialise

THE commercialisation of the People’s Own Savings Bank starts at a ceremony in Harare next week.

POSB will detail its new vision and thrust and set the tone for the restructuring that will see the bank operating as a commercial entity, able to compete at the same level with other banks.

The bank has already hired a chief executive officer, Mr Admore Kandlela, a former risk manager with Agribank to spearhead the programme.

Officials at the bank said that the launch would set the tone for the bank to operate as a profit making company and enable it to compete with other banks.

"The official launch will be next Thursday and the bank will spell out its new vision and thrust. Thereafter, the bank should be able to perform competitively," said an official with the bank.

The commercialisation programme was put on hold last year as the bank had to wait for more than eleven months to secure a substantive chief executive after short-listed candidates failed to meet the requirements of the board.

Mr Kandlela was appointed in September last year with a mandate to get the programme on track.

POSB is one of the successor companies of the former Posts and Telecommunications Corporation along with TelOne, NetOne and Zimpost.

It changed its name from Post Office Savings Bank to the present People’s Own Savings Bank.

Once the bank becomes fully commercialised, it will also fall under the supervision of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, as is the case with all other commercial banks — Bulawayo Bureau.
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The Herald
Thursday, 19 February 2004
Over 100 firms apply for micro-finance licences
Business Reporters
OVER 100 companies have applied for registration with the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to operate as micro-finance institutions as is now required.

Central bank officials said they had issued more than 100 application forms during last week alone.

"We are still receiving more inquiries for registration from many parts of the country. Indications are that the number may double within the next few weeks,’’ said the officials.

With effect from last month, all companies involved in micro-finance are required to register with the Reserve Bank.

Successful companies will be issued with a licence and their operations will be monitored by the central bank to protect depositors’ funds.

The officials said those who fail to register would face dire consequences.

"The law would definitely take its course on non-complying companies.

"We will invoke relevant legislation such as the Companies Act to ensure that non-complying firms cease to operate,’’ said the officials.

The central bank has already held a series of meetings with a number of micro-finance operators briefing them on the new requirements.

It is estimated that over 1 600 micro-finance institutions are operating without licenses.

Late last month, Zimbabwe Association of Micro-Finance Institutions (Zamfi) appointed a taskforce to explore ways of improving the operations of the sector and ensure transparency and accountability.
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The Herald
Thursday, 19 February 2004
Bargainers eye Century group
By Jeffrey Gogo
ONE of the country*s financial institutions, Century Holdings Limited, has become a prime target of bargain hunters who are interested in taking over the group.

The Herald Business established on Monday this week that Century, which last month received $30 billion as liquidity support from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, had become a bull*s eye by punters eager to snap it up.

It emerged this week that corporate bodies and some individuals have targeted the group.

Market sources said interest on the counter has been re-ignited by the movements in Century shares on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange since the financial firm*s re-admission on the local bourse one and a half weeks ago.

"There is speculation in the market that someone or a corporate is aiming at buying up a controlling stake in Century following the recent huge volumes that have been changing hands on the counter," said a stockbroker from a local firm.

"Century seems to be a good speculative stock and these bargain hunters are probably interested in retail banking."

Thick volumes amounting to nearly 160 million shares at a special bargain price of $10 were traded on Monday this week with the company having recorded further huge volumes prior to this day.

The share returned to the equities at $4 cheaper, but the counter has since risen by over 43 percent to $7 as of beginning of the week.

The sources said the recent developments on the counter had been precipitated by investors eager to unlock their positions and those that were also interested in snatching up the collapsed ENG Capital*s near 17 percent stake in Century.

However, other market sources indicated that ENG Capital equity in Century, owned through various investment vehicles, was close to 30 percent.

Said a source: "Century has good infrastructure and a wide branch network. Bargain hunters are probably interested in this expanding banking group and they see potential for growth in the firm."

Century has one of the widest branch networks in the local banking sector with over 15 branches including in-store facilities countrywide. The banking group recently embarked on an expansion drive and has been acquiring branches across the country.

Rounds going in the market point to a possible Century-Interfin Holdings merger or the latter*s acquisition of a majority stake in Century on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange.

Earlier, media reports indicated that discussions between the two financial institutions for a possible merger had begun in a market widely expected to be marred by mergers and acquisitions.

However, a top Century official who could not deny his firm had entered into negotiations with Interfin said the present share movements on the counter were as a result of too much speculation of a Century takeover.

"We are talking to a lot of parties in the market and nothing has been finalised," said the official. Interfin could be one of these parties but to say the two entities (Century and Interfin) are going to merge is a gross misrepresentation of facts. If you need further information on Century*s share movements in recent weeks, contact the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange."

No comment could be established from both Interfin chief executive Mr Jerry Tsodzai and Century Holdings spokeswoman, Miss Farayi Mangwende, at the time of going to press yesterday.

The banking group was suspended from trading on the ZSE, along with Trust Holdings and First Mutual Limited mid-January after the three companies failed to publish advisory notices to shareholders clarifying the liquidity positions and exposure to insolvent ENG Capital.

Century has also recently abandoned its regional expansion ventures, which were not meaningfully contributing to the group*s net profits.

The company said this was part of the "strategic realignment of its business operations".
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SABC

The independent Daily News has again been closed

Court postpones media law case to March
February 18, 2004, 07:27 PM

Zimbabwe's Supreme Court today postponed to next month a key case challenging tough new media laws which have been used to close a pro-opposition private daily newspaper. Lawyers for the newspaper, Daily News, and the government's media commission said the case had been postponed to March 3 to give both parties time to file papers required by the court.

The Daily News, a frequent critic of president Robert Mugabe, is challenging laws compelling media houses to register with the commission, a requirement condemned by Zimbabwean and international rights groups as an attack on press freedom. In turn, the commission is challenging a lower court ruling which required it grant the newspaper a licence. The two cases have been consolidated before the Supreme Court.

The Daily News, Zimbabwe's largest private daily, has been closed for much of the past five months while its legal status is before the courts. Mugabe's government insists the 2002 laws are necessary to restore professionalism in journalism, and accuses the private media of leading a propaganda campaign by opponents over the seizure of white owned farms for landless blacks. - Reuters

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ZIMBABWE: Inflation set to rise to 700 percent

BULAWAYO, 18 Feb 2004 (IRIN) - As Zimbabwe emerges from a three week period of relative currency stability characterised by a drop in the prices of
most goods, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has warned that official inflation will rise to 700 percent in March this year before falling steadily for the rest of the year.

Addressing a business seminar in the capital Harare late last week, RBZ governor Gideon Gono said projections by the central bank showed that inflation would rise from the current 622.8 per cent to peak at 700 per cent in March. Thereafter it would sink, until reaching a low of 200 percent in December.

According to figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) last week, inflation rose by 13.7 percent in January, reversing a 21 percent drop in December, the first decline in the country's rocketing cost of living in 18 months.

Eric Bloch, an economist who sits on the advisory board of the RBZ, said he believed inflation would continue its steady rise well over the 700 percent mark until July, before progressively falling as a result of the government's new monetary policy to settle at around 400 percent by the end of the year.

This week fuel prices rose and queues returned outside filing stations in major cities, although some analysts dismissed fears that the lines signalled the beginning of yet another round of fuel shortages.

Bloch said he believed this week's fuel shortage was a temporary situation caused "mainly by the greed of service station owners" who expected a rise in importation costs in line with a fall in the value of the Zimbabwe dollar in the latest foreign currency auction.

"But the government thwarted that by reducing import duties from 40 percent to 5 percent," said Bloch.

Foreign currency auction rates rose from Zim $3,750 to the US dollar by the end of last week to Zim $3,973. Most service stations increased their prices from an average of Zim $2,500 to Zim $2,600 per litre of petrol last week, to Zim $2,900 to Zim $3,000 on Monday.

Meanwhile, in a bid to bolster its foreign currency reserves, the RBZ has announced ambitious plans to tap the remittances of an estimated 3.4 million Zimbabweans living abroad in Europe, North America and Southern Africa.

A team set up by Gono is set to tour key countries to encourage Zimbabweans to repatriate money home through official channels at competitive rates. The RBZ reportedly plans to increase its exchange rates to closer to the black market price currently averaging between Zim $4,000 and Zim $5,000 to US $1.

[ENDS]

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Newscom No reaction to Zimbabwe sanctions
From correspondents in Harare
February 19, 2004

THE government and opposition in Zimbabwe said today they would only react to the renewal of European Union sanctions against the leadership of the southern African country when the measures are officially announced.

Foreign ministry spokesman Pavelyn Musaka said a reaction today would "pre-empt" the formal announcement expected tomorrow.

Opposition spokesman Paul Temba Nyathi of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said: "We are aware of the rumour in the rumour mill but we will only react when the sanctions are officially announced tomorrow."

MDC vice president Gibson Sibanda last month travelled to Europe to lobby for the sanctions to be maintained. Led by Britain, the former colonial power in Zimbabwe, ambassadors from the 15 EU member states today agreed to adopt an extended list of 95 Zimbabwean officials - including President Robert Mugabe - who are banned from entering EU countries.

They have also agreed to renew an embargo on supplies of arms and military equipment to Harare, a diplomat from the EU's Irish presidency said.

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IOL
Harare police continue corruption crackdown

February 19 2004 at 01:18PM
Quickwire

Harare - Prominent Zimbabwean businesswoman and womens' activist Jane Mutasa and her son Terence have been detained on suspicion of corruption, the latest casualties in President Robert Mugabe's anti-graft blitz.

The state-owned Herald said on Thursday that Mutasa, a director in Telecel, Zimbabwe's third largest cellular company, together with her son, were charged with breaching the Exchange Control Act and externalising foreign currency worth more than three billion Zimbabwean dollars (about R2,5-million).

They appeared before a local magistrate's court on Wednesday and were detained under Mugabe's new anti-graft regulations which allow for detention of up to 30 days without trial.

Another businessman and a member of the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF), James Makamba, is facing similar charges of externalising billions of dollars in both local and foreign currency.

'The time has come for us to deal with the scourge and no stone will be left unturned'
Makamba, also a director in Telecel, has been in jail since his arrest on Monday and is being detained under the same regulations.

Meanwhile, Mugabe repeated his warnings against corrupt leaders.

"The time has come for us to deal with the scourge and no stone will be left unturned, no matter what position you hold," Mugabe was quoted as saying during a tour of a farm owned by Bindura businessman Kenneth Musanhi, in central Zimbabwe.

The Herald quoted Mugabe as saying he had "declared war against economic saboteurs and those who were amassing wealth through fraudulent means".

Another Zanu-PF member and legislator Phillip Chiyangwa, arrested last month and detained for 10 days in jail on corruption charges, is out on bail.

During a cabinet reshuffle recently, Mugabe created an anti-corruption ministry headed by party stalwart Didymus Mutasa.

Transparency International Zimbabwe (TIZ), which had bemoaned high corruption levels in this southern African nation, said it was opposed to the anti-graft regulations as they were unconstitutional.

The regulations have also been criticised for the same reason by the Zimbabwe Human Rights for Lawyers and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change. - Sapa-AFP

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Sent: 18th February 2004

Subject: Colleen's attack in Byo on the farm

----- this must be publicised as usual nothing will be heard on the news~!!!!!!

Mum was robbed and brutally attacked on Saturday night. She is very shaken,
but safe and staying in town with us. She is lucky to be alive, so that is
something we must be thankful for. I have attached a copy of the report we
gave to the police.

Ruth Galloway Bulawayo

Whilst watching television at approximately 22:00 hours on Saturday 14
February, I was alerted by the barking of my four dogs to the fact that
something was outside my residence. Thinking that this may be a stray dog,
I took a torch, unlocked my back door, and went to investigate the matter.
To the left hand side of my residence, I noticed a man. I shouted at him to
go away and then tried to run back to the house. He grabbed the torch from
out of my hand and pursued me into the house. He then took two of my
cigarettes, and lit one using my lighter. I asked him what he wanted, and
he told me he wanted clothes for him and his wife. I gave him a pair of
denim jeans and a denim shirt. The man then went on to become physically
and verbally abusive. He tried to strangle me by the neck, scratched my
arms and kicked me, and threw me to the ground, asking me if I remembered
what had happened to the late Gloria Olds. He then told me that I must
remain in my bedroom, and that he was going to come back and kill me.

Fearing for my life, I opened my clothes cupboard and took possession of my
firearm. I waited for my assailants return for approximately 10 minutes.
Thinking he had departed, I proceeded to the back section of my residence,
only to find that my assailant had appropriated my suitcases and was
filling them with linen from my linen cupboard.  He noticed that I had a
gun, and ran at me.  When he was approximately 1 metre away, I fired my
weapon once.  I think I shot him in the vicinity of his shoulder. My
assailant then hit me across the face with his fist, grabbed the weapon
from my hands and fired my weapon at me three times. He then departed using
my back door, taking my weapon with him.

Terrified for my life, I ran outside to my front garden and hid behind
some bushes for approximately ½ hour. When I thought my assailant had
departed, I re-entered my residence and moved my telephone to the front
section of my residence. I then proceeded to lock my dogs and myself into
this area, and telephoned my daughter in Bulawayo. The time was precisely
23:00 hours. When my daughter, her husband and a colleague arrived at
approximately 00:15 hours, they had to cut the lock on my security gate as
my assailant had taken my set of keys. On unlocking my doors, we
discovered blood on the floor in the back section of my residence.

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FRAUDULENT CHEQUES .
Further to the email below I was given a Bank Cheque drawn on STANDARD
CHARTER BANK - BORROWDALE BRANCH which appears to be a genuine cheque
printed on Standard charter paper with a water mark , etc, but I have been
advised it is fraudulent .
I telephoned the standard Charter Bank Fraud and Risk section only to be
told that this is a common occurrence .
I was also given a purchase order with the cheque from NASHPAK DISTRIBUTORS
-------------------------------------------------------------
ED BERRY
BOX 3 RUWA
TELE= 263 73 3378
EMAIL = edberry@mweb.co.zw
CELL = 263 11 202570

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JUSTICE FOR AGRICULTURE PUBLIC RELATIONS COMMUNIQUÉ - February 18, 2004

Email: justice@telco.co.zw; justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
Internet: www.justiceforagriculture.com

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sokwanele reporter
12 February 2004

If Zimbabwe were a free country - which by any standard it is not - the
nation's flags would surely be flying at half mast this week.  For last
week the Chief Justice effectively sentenced media freedom to death. In
his ruling in the case brought by the Independent Journalists' Association
of Zimbabwe Chief Justice Chidyausiku (a close associate of Mugabe and
former member of his cabinet) upheld the constitutionality of certain key
sections of the restrictive media laws controlling local journalists and
foreign correspondents.  At a stroke he awarded Mugabe's chief spin doctor
Jonathan Moyo (sometimes known as minister of propaganda and
misinformation) the power to decide quite arbitrarily who may practise as
a journalist in Zimbabwe and who may not.  Surely the dream of every
dictator.

The Act which confers these awesome powers on the junior minister (and his
Media and Information Commission) is the infamous Access to Information
and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) - a misnomer if ever there were one
for an Act clearly designed to obstruct and impede the free flow of
information.  AIPPA requires all journalists to be registered with the
Commission and prohibits them from practising without accreditation, and
it was these provisions which were being challenged in the Supreme Court. 
The challenge was brought on the basis that these provisions infringed on
the general right to freedom of expression as enshrined in the
Constitution. But by a tortuous and contrived process of legal reasoning
the Chief Justice managed to arrive at the conclusion that the freedom of
expression guaranteed by section 20 of the Constitution did not apply to
the press. Hence journalists enjoy no such right and the state and its
agents are entitled to decide just who may work as a journalist and who
may not. Hence reporting by license, and effectively the end of media
freedom in Zimbabwe.

All but one of the Supreme Court Judges hearing the case went along with
the Chief Justice and his curious process of reasoning, but one courageous
Judge did not.  In a powerful dissenting judgment the country's most
experienced Supreme Court Justice, Wilson Sandura, (and the only one who
has so far escaped Mugabe's purge of the judiciary) ruled that the
offending sections of AIPPA were indeed ultra vires the constitution and
therefore should be struck down.  Expressly disagreeing with Chidyausiku
on the latter's restrictive interpretation of section 20 of the
constitution, Sandura said: "It is pertinent to note that there is no
rational basis for distinguishing the practice of journalism from the
exercise of the right of freedom of expression because the two are
intertwined".

The effect of the majority judgment was as immediate as it was profound.
The country's only independent daily paper, the Daily News, which had
bravely resumed publishing on the strength of a number of successful cases
brought in the lower courts, was immediately taken off the streets, its
journalists now subject to a mandatory term of two years imprisonment for
practising their profession without a license from Jonathan Moyo. 
Likewise other experienced writers who lack - and given their independence
of thought, are most unlikely ever to be given - the necessary
accreditation. At a stroke Mugabe has achieved through his junior minister
and with the willing cooperation of his hand-picked team of Supreme Court
Judges, the power he long coveted, to shut down the independent media and
silence the voice of dissent in Zimbabwe. The nation should indeed be in a
state of mourning.

Chidyausiku's politically partisan ruling has already been slammed by many
who cherish the principle of press freedom.  From within Zimbabwe Abel
Mutsakani, the managing editor of the Daily News and president of the
independent journalists' association which challenged this odious system
of reporting by license, said: "This is the final nail in the coffin of
the independent press.  We are devastated and heartbroken".

The Southern Africa Journalists' Association commented: "surely even those
judges who see their role as being to appease the regime of Robert Mugabe
only, must at times be restrained by their consciences in the long-term
interests of their own country in which their children live".

And the General Council of the Bar of South Africa called the judgment
"a double blow to justice".  Because the judgment was given by the Chief
Justice it was, in the words of this august body of South African
advocates, "not only a blow to freedom of expression, but also to the
independence of the judiciary (and therefore) to be doubly deprecated".

One of the few remaining lights in Zimbabwe has been extinguished and the
darkness which every dictator covets for his evil deeds, is now almost
complete.
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Apologies for late posting!

JOB OPPORTUNITIES: Updated 12th February 2004
Please send any job opportunities for publication in this newsletter to:
JAG Job Opportunities <justice@telco.co.zw>

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.  Advert Received 19.01.2004

Please put this in your job opportunities section

Civil engineer wanted

I own and operate a small civil engineering consultancy based in Geraldton
WA.

We specialise in management of roads and drainage works - investigation &
report writing, design & contract documentation, construction supervision.

Our client base is predominantly Local Government and Main Roads, with
occasional forays into subdivision, mining, and industrial works.

Currently, I employ one senior engineering associate and one graduate
engineer.

I wish to recruit an experienced civil engineer (min 5 yrs exp) for a
permanent staff position.

Ideally, the candidate will have significant experience in the fields
above.

He / she will be attracted to living in a regional city with a wonderful
climate, offering all the facilities of a large city plus the benefits of
5-minute commuting, affordable housing and schools, excellent recreation
opportunities and facilities.

We offer steady work, not too much travelling, little enough stress, a
supportive environment, a worthwhile salary and a position with a future in
the company.

My client is willing to sponsor an overseas employee.

Please contact me if you know of anyone who might be interested in this
position

Thank you.
Regards

Martin

Ross Relocation Services

Unit 8, 115 Grand Boulevard

Joondalup, WA 6027, Australia

In Australia:

Tel: (08) 9301 5345 Fax: (08) 9301 5346

Mobile: 0407 476 899

International:

Tel: +61-8-9301-5345 Fax: +61-8-9301-5346

Mobile: +61-407-476-899

Email: martin@rrs.com.au Website: www.rrs.com.au

Registered Migration Agent 0104712

 ---------------------------------------------------------------------

2.  Advert Inserted 4th February .2004

Mature lady required as a secretary for a small Auto electrical company in
town centre.  Needed for 3 mornings a week to do banking, invoicing,
creditors, filing etc

Phone: 04 790266
           011 414050
           011 420777

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

3.  Advert Received 5th February 2004

Please could you place the following adverts in your job opportunities
column:

Tobacco Section Manager - Central Zambia

There are 2 positions available for senior managers.  Responsibilities
include:

80 ha irrigated tobacco

80 ha dryland tobacco

Building of forced air curing systems

Full accountability

Control and motivation of labour

Control of stocks

Productivity analysis

Training of labour

Planning and control of junior managers

The person must be:

Highly motivated

Prepared to work long hours

Honest

Preference given to Zambian document holders.  Please reply with CV and
traceable references.  Interview will be conducted on site.

Row Crop Manager - Central Zambia

There is a position available for a senior manager.  Responsibilities
include:

Processing and planting of seedmaize, seed soyas, seed wheat, katambora and
other small grains.

Cropping area of +/- 1500 hectares and increasing.  Would suit a self
motivated person with mechanical knowledge a distinct advantage.

Preference given to Zambian document holders.  Please reply with CV and
traceable references.  Interview will be conducted on site.

All the above reporting to GM

Positions available mid February

Salaries in US$

Normal farm perks apply.

Reply to:

smasters@coppernet.zm

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

4.  Advert Received 5th February 2004
VACANCY FOR CLASS 2 DRIVER
Applicant, who should be 30 years of age or over, would ideally have
:
Minimum 5 years experience
Honest and hardworking
Good traceable references
Competitive salary offered
Contact Ms Bassett
KDB Holdings (Pvt) Limited, Harare
Telephone: 758921
Fax: 758928
Email: kdb@kdb.co.zw
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

5.  Advert Received 7th February 2004

AFRICAN SECRETS (PTY) LTD.

Employment Vacancies:

Management couple required at Leroo-La-Tau Bush Lodge, near Kumaga village,
Botswana.  Must have at least 2 years experience, and skills and
qualifications relevant to running a safari lodge.

Catering / Beverage / Housekeeping Manager (Manageress) required at Island
Safari Lodge, 12 kms. from Maun, Botswana.  Must have at least 3 years
experience in this or similar fields.

Bookkeeper / Frontline Manager (Manageress) required at Island Safari
Lodge.  Must have bookkeeping and administrative skills.

Note: Positions 2 and 3 are available to singles or couples.

For further details and applications please contact:

The Manager,

Island Safari Lodge,

P.O. Box 116,

Maun.

Tel: ++ 267-6860300

Fax: ++ 267-6862932

Email: enquire@africansecrets.net

------------------------------------------------------------------------

6.  Advert Received 10th February 2004

Subject: JOB TITLE: FARM MANAGER
>
> The project involves the cultivation of aromatic crops and is located in the
> Asante-Akyem district of the Ashanti Region of Ghana.
>
> This is a responsible position and the applicant should have a minimum of 5
> years experience on a perennial or cash crop estate, preferably, but not
> necessarily with aromatic crops.  The applicant should speak fluent English
> (working knowledge of French will be an advantage).
>
> The applicant should be familiar with:
>
> * Tropical crop production on a large scale ( i.e plantation
> environment)
> * Management of staff and labour and all aspects of personnel rules
> and regulations.
> * He should be capable of planning the long term strategy and advise
> on the day to day estate operations.
>
> Main Duties and Responsibilities
>
> Operations
>
> * Co-ordinate all activities of the plantation (farm + nursery)
> * Supervise all staff to implement good agronomic and management
> practices
> * Plan and develop an annual planting program.
> * Supervise land preparation, planting and maintenance of the
> plantation.
> * Diagnose and solve common field problems relating to pests and
> diseases.
> * Produce monthly / quarterly development progress reports of
> operations.
>
> Administration
>
> * Liaise with the accountant in planning and budgeting for the short
> and medium term activities.
> * Handle personnel issues.
> * Monitor the stores control of inputs and outputs for rational
> on-going of the activities.
> * Present monthly / quarterly reports on costs and budgets
> (justification of requisitions).
> * Boost staff moral and maintain a productive working environment.
>
> Applicants should forward a copy of their C.V. for the attention of The
> Project Manager at barbex@barbextec.com.gh
<mailto:barbex@barbextec.com.gh>

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

7.  Advert Received 12th February 2004

Wanted: Experienced Paint Technician for Raw Materials sales position.
Competitive package on offer.  Tel : 305435 305581 305567.

Also looking for retired lady for receptionist position. Tel 305435 305581
305567.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

For the latest listings of accommodation available for farmers, contact
justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw (updated 12th Feburary 2004)

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Apologies for late posting!

JAG OPEN LETTER FORUM

Email: justice@telco.co.zw; justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
Internet: www.justiceforagriculture.com

Please send any material for publication in the Open Letter Forum to
justice@telco.co.zw with "For Open Letter Forum" in the subject line.
OLF 233 12TH February 2004
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Prelude text

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Letter 1: Letter to JAG

Sometimes in a crisis we need a standback perspective on our situation. The
below may be of interest for your open letter forum:

Letter by Chief Seattle, patriarch of the Duwamish and Suquamish Indians of
Puget Sound, north eastern Washington State - who in 1864 wrote to the US
President, in response to the US government's offer to purchase tribal
land: -
"The President in Washington sends word that he wishes to buy our land.
But how can you buy or sell the sky?  The land? The idea is strange to us.
If we do not own the freshness of the air and the sparkle of the water, how
can you buy them?

Every part of the earth is sacred to my people.  Every shining pine needle,
every sandy shore, every mist in the dark woods, every meadow, every
humming insect.  All are holy in the memory and experience of my people. We
know the sap which courses through the trees as we know the blood that
courses through our veins.  We are part of the earth and it is part of us.
The perfumed flowers are our sisters.  The bear, the deer, the great eagle,
these are our brothers.  The rocky crests, the juices in the meadow, the
body heat of the pony, and man, all belong to the same family.

The shining water that moves in the streams and rivers is not just water,
but the blood of our ancestors.  If we sell you our land, you must remember
that it is sacred.  Each ghostly reflection in the clear waters of the
lakes tells of events and memories in the life of my people.  The water's
murmur is the voice of my father's father. The rivers are our brothers.
They quench our thirst.  They carry our canoes and feed our children.  So
you must give to the rivers the kindness you would give to any brother.

If we sell you our land, remember that the air is precious to us, that the
air shares its spirit with all the life it supports.  The wind that gave
our grandfather his first breath also receives his last sigh.  The wind
also gives our children the spirit of life.  So if we sell you our land,
you must keep it apart and sacred, as a place where man can go to taste the
wind that is sweetened by the meadow flowers.

Will you teach your children what we have taught our children? That the
earth is our mother?  What befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth.
This we know: the earth does not belong to man, man belongs to earth.  All
things are connected like the blood that unites us all.  Man did not weave
the web of life, he is merely a strand in it.  Whatever he does to the web,
he does to himself.

One thing we know: our God is also your God.  The earth is precious to him
and to harm the earth is to heap contempt on its creator.

Your destiny is a mystery to us.  What will happen when the buffalo are all
slaughtered?  The wild horses tamed? What will happen when the secret
corners of the forest are heavy with the scent of many men and the view of
the ripe hills is blotted by talking wires?  Where will the thicket be?
Gone! Where will the eagle be? Gone! And what is it to say goodbye to the
swift pony and the hunt? The end of living and the beginning of survival.

When the last Red Man has vanished with his wilderness and his memory is
only the shadow of a cloud moving across the prairie, will these shores and
forests still be here?  Will there be any of the spirit of my people left?

We love this earth as a newborn loves its mother's heartbeat.  So, if we
sell you our land, love it as we have loved it.  Care for it as we have
cared for it.  Hold in your mind the memory of the land as it is when you
receive it.  Preserve the land for all children, and love it, as God loves
us all.

As we are part of the land, you too are part of the land.  This earth is
precious to us.  One thing we know: there is only one God.  No man, be he
Red Man or White Man, can be apart.  We ARE brothers after all.

Zambezi Blonde

Letter 2. Subject: CFU bashing

I am sick and tired of this continued CFU and personality bashing. Will the
coward who writes them stop hiding behind a non du plume and start being
constructive.

As these letters are sent out from JAG office , and there is no reference
to JAG not agreeing to the contents of all letters, must we presume that
this CFU bashing is condoned and encouraged by JAG?

John Tayler
Chiredzi

Dear John

We at JAG do put a disclaimer on the OPEN LETTERS FORUM stating that the
views expressed on this forum are not those necessarily subscribed to by
JAG.  Would it be an OPEN LETTERS FORUM if we edited in any way or removed
altogether confrontational or contentious correspondence.  We think not.
Understand also that although the correspondence might appear under a non
de plume by request of the author , the editor of the forum is aware of the
authors identity.  I can assure you in this case the author is far from
being a coward.  Letters are often corrected for spelling, grammatical and
typographical errors but not for content.  The only content interference
arises in the case of blatent or unwitting infringement of POSA; in which
case we revert to the author for amendment.

Editor

Letter 3.

My dear Joshua,

You were born on the eve of the farm invasions and you are now four years
old. As your Daddy I have important decisions to make for you-decisions
that will affect the rest of your life. As a family we live in a country
where 85 in every 100 white farmers have been removed from their homes
since you were born. We live in a time where inflation is the highest of
any country in the world and our economy is the fastest shrinking.We see
our friends and our skilled people leaving all the time and they say "We
are leaving for the sake of our children"'.

Maybe its stubborness;maybe its the inherant fighting spirit passed on to
me by your grandfather;but deep down I believe its Gods will for us and I
say "We are staying for the sake of you children. "It may sound perverse
given what I have said about the country that we live in,but I wish to
explain.

At only 3 months you had your first run in with the darkness.They smashed
up our car with axes and rocks and tried to kill Mummy and you and I but
God got us through that.Your Daddys been beaten with sticks and kicked in
the dust by a C.I.O.man and a crowd and you were worried about that but God
got us through that.Your Daddy then had another smash up in his car with
war-veterans and by a miracle God got him through that.Your Daddys been
shot at and abused ;hes dealt with beaten farmers and beaten farmers wives
and beaten farm-workers; and looted properties and butchered animals and
even bloody butchered farmers murdered in the name of land-reform.Hes had
his job and his car taken away from him and hes been shunned by the farming
hierarchy but God got us through that.He has been arrested and he has seen
broken men coming out of prison and broken families spread out across the
continents but I still say with your Mummy "We are staying for the sake of
you children."

We have undoubtedly been more fortunate than most .We still have our home
-for today.We still have our family around us - for today.We still have an
income - for today.And for today, when I see you go off in the morning with
the shepherd - your hair the same colour as winter grass,head bobbing up
and down behind the sheep;a little wild figure at one with the veld I feel
so priviledged to know that you are growing-up in such an environment
learning to know and appreciate the real things away from the invasive
world of T.V. screens;computer games;city streets and shoe box flats.

When I say we are staying for your sake I say it because as you grow-up you
will face challenges of a nature that you will not face in other places and
you will know hardships which so long as we face them right will make you
real .You have seen death and heart-felt grief already and you have felt
dust and wet earth and sun and rain and you know already the joys of
growing things and hunting things and of being part of real life - the raw
life - that comes from being a son of the African soil.

For some this impassioned reality that we are such an intrigal part of is
simply too much .After a time they grow tired .The harsh extremities become
just too much .The constant fight for our very survival which is so
all-consuming eventually wears them down. "Good-bye"they say "Good-bye to
all that .We would rather not be a part of it ".And off they go to a land
of security and progess and hardly ever come back because they know they
have left their hearts behind and it would be too painfull to become
re-aquainted with them .

From the cosy world of material security it is an unthinkable madness that
anybody should choose to stay here;but as one octogenarian couple said to
me whilst in the process of being forcefully evicted out of their home of
fifty years recently"We do not deserve to have our home or our country if
we are not prepared to fight for them."

So our decision to stay has not been taken lightly.We have taken it knowing
that things are going to get worse ;that as white people the people in
power will continue to persecute us because of the colour of our skins;that
when this storm is passed it won't take long for the next one to brew-up;
that our decision to confront evil and fight it will continue to have
consequences.

Our decision has been made knowing that when we become tired God will give
us the strength to go on ;and that somehow in the groping darkness that
this storm has plunged us into, we have a responsability before God to not
be overcome by it but to rather be a beacon of light if ever we can. I
write this with a prayer that you will some day understand.

With all my love,
Daddy.[Ben Freeth

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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of the submitters, and do not represent the official viewpoint of Justice
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Breaking News Ireland
 
EU ambassadors agree to extend blacklist against Zimbabwe
18/02/2004 - 10:54:38 am

European Union ambassadors have agreed to renew sanctions imposed against Zimbabwe for a third year, notably extending a list of officials banned from entering EU countries, an EU official has said.

A diplomat from Ireland's EU presidency has said that ambassadors from the 15 EU member states have agreed at weekly talks to adopt an extended list of 95 Zimbabwean officials - including President Robert Mugabe - on an EU visa blacklist.

They have also agreed to renew an embargo on supplies of arms and military equipment to Harare, he said.

The decision will be formally adopted without debate by EU interior ministers on Thursday.
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ZWNEWS
19 February 2004
Breaking news direct to your mailbox
Visit www.zwnews.com - the world's leading website on Zimbabwe
 
SW Radio Africa : In Zimbabwe, tune in to the short-wave broadcast at 6145 KHz in the 49m band. Outside the broadcast area, listen over the internet at www.swradioafrica.com . Broadcasts are between 6pm and 9pm Zimbabwe time daily.
VOA Studio 7 : In Zimbabwe, tune in to the short-wave broadcast at 13600 KHz and 17895 KHz, and at 909 AM. Outside the broadcast area, listen over the internet at www.voanews.com . Broadcasts are between 7pm and 8pm Zimbabwe time, Monday to Friday.
 
In this issue :

From The Mail & Guardian (SA), 18 February

Crucial Zimbabwe media hearing delayed

Harare - Court cases expected to determine the future of Zimbabwe's popular anti-government newspaper the Daily News were postponed on Wednesday to next month, lawyers said. "It has been postponed to March 3, by agreement ... when everything will be finalised," Daily News lawyer Mordecai Mahlangu said after the Supreme Court failed to sit as scheduled. Johannes Tomana, a lawyer representing the government, said the postponement was "purely administrative". The Daily News and the government have lodged several legal cases -- with the former seeking to resume operations and the latter wanting the paper permanently banned. The two-week delay means the status of the paper will remain uncertain following its closure last September and short-lived reopening last month. It was closed down by armed police in September last year but resumed publishing on January 22 following a High Court order that forced police to vacate its premises and stop interfering with its operations.

Lawyers for the paper, launched about five years ago, have been shuttling between the country's various courts since then. The September closure was sparked by a Supreme Court ruling that declared the paper was operating illegally because it was not registered with the state-appointed media commission. The media laws have been contested by the independent and foreign media in Zimbabwe, but on February 5 the Supreme Court upheld parts of it as constitutional. The court ruled that it was a criminal offence for any journalist to operate without accreditation from the government-appointed body. Fearing arrest, Daily News journalists refused to continue working for the paper without accreditation and on February 6, the paper vanished from the streets. Since then the journalists have been idling around at their offices, with some staying at home. Some have reportedly quit the paper and sought employment abroad.

The journalists' hopes were dashed on Tuesday when a High Court judge refused to consider an application seeking clarification on what rights they have to continue operating pending the outcome of their application for accreditation. They had wanted the court to urgently declare that they can continue operating based on the law that allows a journalist who has submitted an accreditation application to work awaiting the processing of the application. But Judge Alphas Chitakunye told the paper to follow normal court channels, arguing there was nothing urgent about it. The judge said the paper had thought it was special by refusing to register when the law came into effect in 2002. "Surely that was a gamble they took ...that gamble was not in their interest," the judge said.

From Business Day (SA), 19 February

Zimbabwe's fuel shortages resurface

Harare - Fuel shortages have resurfaced in Zimbabwe just days after the government introduced a new duty system based on a higher foreign exchange rate, officials said. The majority of petrol outlets suddenly ran dry early this week, catching motorists unaware. The government said duty on imported products, including petroleum-based fuels, would be increased in line with the new foreign exchange rates. "There was a mix-up at the weekend when government decided to use the (new exchange) rate to calculate duty. "This would have meant duty would go up by 450% or 500%," Petroleum Marketers Association of Zimbabwe, Masimba Kambarami, told AFP. But on Tuesday government announced a massive reduction of import duty on all fuels to between zero and five percent from 40% in a bid to maintain fuel prices at prevailing levels. Kambarami, however said the crisis would be temporary arising from the weekend "hiccup". "It will take a bit of time to turn things around," he said. The increase in import duty was not announced in advance, so many fuel importers were not prepared when they arrived at the border at the weekend. Zimbabwe imports its petroleum-based oils mainly from South Africa. "Fuel importers only realised this at the border at the weekend and they did not have lines of credit to pay the new duty," said Kambarami. Zimbabwe has experienced serious fuel shortages since 1999 initially largely blamed on corruption and incompetence at the state-owned oil company and later attributed to a scarcity of foreign exchange. From around Christmas time last year the fuel supplies had improved after government de-regulated the fuel industry and allowed private importers to take part in the trade.

From IRIN (UN), 18 February

Inflation set to rise to 700 percent

Bulawayo - As Zimbabwe emerges from a three week period of relative currency stability characterised by a drop in the prices of most goods, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has warned that official inflation will rise to 700 percent in March this year before falling steadily for the rest of the year. Addressing a business seminar in the capital Harare late last week, RBZ governor Gideon Gono said projections by the central bank showed that inflation would rise from the current 622.8 per cent to peak at 700 per cent in March. Thereafter it would sink, until reaching a low of 200 percent in December. According to figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) last week, inflation rose by 13.7 percent in January, reversing a 21 percent drop in December, the first decline in the country's rocketing cost of living in 18 months. Eric Bloch, an economist who sits on the advisory board of the RBZ, said he believed inflation would continue its steady rise well over the 700 percent mark until July, before progressively falling as a result of the government's new monetary policy to settle at around 400 percent by the end of the year.

This week fuel prices rose and queues returned outside filing stations in major cities, although some analysts dismissed fears that the lines signalled the beginning of yet another round of fuel shortages. Bloch said he believed this week's fuel shortage was a temporary situation caused "mainly by the greed of service station owners" who expected a rise in importation costs in line with a fall in the value of the Zimbabwe dollar in the latest foreign currency auction. "But the government thwarted that by reducing import duties from 40 percent to 5 percent," said Bloch. Foreign currency auction rates rose from Z$3,750 to the US dollar by the end of last week to Z$3,973. Most service stations increased their prices from an average of Z$2,500 to Z$2,600 per litre of petrol last week, to Z$2,900 to Z$3,000 on Monday. Meanwhile, in a bid to bolster its foreign currency reserves, the RBZ has announced ambitious plans to tap the remittances of an estimated 3.4 million Zimbabweans living abroad in Europe, North America and Southern Africa. A team set up by Gono is set to tour key countries to encourage Zimbabweans to repatriate money home through official channels at competitive rates. The RBZ reportedly plans to increase its exchange rates to closer to the black market price currently averaging between Z$4,000 and Z$5,000 to US$.

From AFP, 18 February

No reaction to Zimbabwe sanctions

From correspondents in Harare

The government and opposition in Zimbabwe said today they would only react to the renewal of European Union sanctions against the leadership of the southern African country when the measures are officially announced. Foreign ministry spokesman Pavelyn Musaka said a reaction today would "pre-empt" the formal announcement expected tomorrow. Opposition spokesman Paul Temba Nyathi of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said: "We are aware of the rumour in the rumour mill but we will only react when the sanctions are officially announced tomorrow." MDC vice president Gibson Sibanda last month travelled to Europe to lobby for the sanctions to be maintained. Led by Britain, the former colonial power in Zimbabwe, ambassadors from the 15 EU member states today agreed to adopt an extended list of 95 Zimbabwean officials - including President Robert Mugabe - who are banned from entering EU countries. They have also agreed to renew an embargo on supplies of arms and military equipment to Harare, a diplomat from the EU's Irish presidency said. The decision is expected to be formally adopted without debate by EU interior and justice ministers tomorrow.

From The Financial Gazette, 19 February

Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act an insult to justice: experts

Dumisani Ndlela

Legal experts and commentators have piled condemnation on the amendment to the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act, saying it violated fundamental individual freedoms in what amounted to an insult to justice. They bemoaned that the measures were taking the country backward in terms of law development and reversing fundamental laws of justice such as the right to innocence until proven guilty. Under the new regulations, the onus has been reversed dramatically, with any individual accused of offences specified in the new measures now being held to be guilty until proven innocent. In other words, critics of the new measures said, the state no longer holds the burden to prove that an accused person is guilty because mere suspicion that an individual had committed an offence now amounted to a conviction. John Makumbe, a political science lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe and chairman of Transparency International Zimbabwe, said the new regulations "totally negate the whole fight against corruption". The new regulations, he said, were likely to erode public confidence in a cause that was noble had it been conducted in a manner that upheld human rights. "It's a bad law," said Makumbe. "It's seeking to do the right thing - fighting corruption; but it's violating human rights."

The amendments, brought into being as a sweeping measure by the government to fight graft, widely blamed for the increasing economic woes afflicting the country, were effected through a statutory instrument under section 32 of the Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) (Amendment of Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act) Regulations 2004. Under the new measures, individuals charged with corruption, money laundering and externalisation of foreign currency may be detained for an effective one month without applying for bail, rather than the 48-hour period stipulated by law. Unauthorised dealers of grain, gold and other precious minerals have also been affected by the new measures. A judge or magistrate cannot decline a police request for further detention of a person charged with the specified offences.

David Coltart, a legal practitioner and opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) secretary for legal and parliamentary affairs, said the amendment was a brazen attempt by President Mugabe's government to circumvent fundamental rights enshrined in the country's constitution. "The amendment of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act Regulations of 2004 contravenes section 13 and 18 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe in that it removes a person's rights to have a question of his liberty determined by an independent court in a fair hearing within a reasonable time," said Coltart. Coltart likened the new measures to draconian pieces of legislation used by the Ian Smith regime to deny people of their liberties. "The MDC has argued in Parliament that much stronger legislation to tackle corruption is necessary. In particular, we believe the country needs legislation similar to the Hong Kong Bribery Ordinance which forces people in public office to explain why their standards of living may exceed their income. In Zimbabwe, we have become accustomed to Members of Parliament, Cabinet ministers and soldiers who have become multi-millionaires and now have assets which are far more than the incomes they have received over the years," said Coltart.

A prominent Zanu PF member, James Makamba, has already been caught up in the puzzling legal plot unravelled by the latest measures. Makamba, a prominent businessman charged with externalising foreign currency, among other offences, was denied bail by the High Court on Monday after Judge Antonia Guvava dismissed his urgent chamber application on the basis of the new measures, which came into effect on Friday. "The provisions of the regulations clearly state that no court shall admit a person to bail who has been placed in detention in terms of the provisions of the Act," Guvava said. But she made a veiled condemnation of the measures, saying they were unique in that the President had claimed powers of law making, ordinarily vested in the legislature. There have been suggestions that the government avoided taking the amendment through parliament because it risked being condemned by legislators both within the ruling party and in the opposition party. After one of its members Philip Chayangwa - had already had a brush with the law in the government's current drive against corruption, there was no way Zanu PF legislators were going to approve the Bill to amend the law in that manner. As a result, President Robert Mugabe, who has vowed to punish any individuals engaged in corrupt activities, invoked his power especially reserved for emergency situations to promulgate the amendments.

From The Exeter Express & Echo (UK), 18 February

Jail threat fear

A former Exeter solicitor fears he could face a renewed threat of being jailed in Zimbabwe. City friends of Graham Shaw had been overjoyed when the summons for him and the rest of the 'Bulawayo 10' to appear in court was dropped after they faced prosecution for demonstrating against the regime in Zimbabwe. Mr Shaw faced being jailed for up to 10 years by President Robert Mugabe's regime in Zimbabwe - on charges of praying in public. But now one of the protesters has been called back to court with a fresh summons and Mr Shaw said the others were being threatened with the possibility of new charges. In recent years, Zimbabwe has attracted international attention because of its economic crisis and allegations of human rights abuses by the ruling regime. There is also renewed controversy about whether England's cricket team should visit the country on tour. Mr Shaw, who is in his 50s, is a former member of the Mint Methodist Church in Exeter and is now a Methodist minister in Zimbabwe. He and other church leaders were arrested in 2002 while praying outside Bulawayo police station, where a priest was being detained for taking part in a religious event. The state prosecutor has been deciding whether to proceed with a trial against Mr Shaw and his friends, who have become known as the Bulawayo 10. They were being prosecuted under the Public Order and Security Act, which carries a penalty of up to 10 years' imprisonment. Mr Shaw said: "The case against the Bulawayo 10 is still pending. The previous summons was thrown out by the magistrates' court as defective, but prosecution service has just recently issued a fresh summons against one of our number. The case is due to be heard on April 29. "The prosecution talks vaguely about changing the charges against the others involved, but who knows what they will really do?" Mr Shaw added that he was delighted the England cricket team was considering whether to boycott their winter tour to Zimbabwe. The England and Wales Cricket Board is currently deciding whether to cancel the tour on moral grounds.

From The Financial Gazette, 19 February

MDC's Sibanda walks out of court a free man

Staff Reporter

Bulawayo - Gibson Sibanda, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) vice-president, this week walked out of the regional magistrates' courts a free man after the state withdrew charges against the former trade unionist and his colleagues who were facing charges of attempting to overthrow the government. The charges against Sibanda, Milton Gwetu, the MDC legislator for Mpopoma and other top executives of the main opposition party in Matabeleland were withdrawn before plea on Tuesday. Other top MDC members discharged with Sibanda and Gwetu over the case included Getrude Mthombeni, a national executive member, and Abraham Mdlongwa, the MDC provincial chairperson for Bulawayo. Sibanda and his colleagues were being charged with violating section 5 of the draconian Public Order and Security Act (POSA) by calling and organising last year's mass action. The state had alleged that Sibanda and the MDC executives had on March 1 2003, held a meeting in the party's provincial offices in Bulawayo for the purposes of forming "mass action teams" to allegedly mobilise people to force President Robert Mugabe out of power through crippling demonstrations. Sibanda, the state alleged, further instructed leaders of the "action teams" at the meeting to barricade city roads and force "innocent" members of the public to demonstrate. Judiciary sources said the Attorney-General's Office directed that the charges be withdrawn due to lack of evidence to prosecute. Sibanda, represented by Josphat Tshuma, a lawyer with Webb, Low and Barry, confirmed the withdrawal of the charges. His lawyers also confirmed that the state had withdrawn the charges before plea. Sibanda's lawyers were adamant the state had no case. "The state had no case, there was nothing. It was a sheer waste of time and money. My arrest and that of our other members in the case goes to show the high-handedness of our police. The prosecution could not pin anything on us," said an elated Sibanda. He said it had taken the state almost a year to recognise the folly of trying to pin trumped-up charges against MDC leaders

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