http://www.zimonline.co.za/
by Own Correspondent Monday 01
February 2010
HARARE - Zimbabwe's beleaguered white farmers will ask the
Supreme Court to
order registration of a SADC Tribunal ruling outlawing
government land
reforms after a High Court judge conceded that the regional
court's ruling
was binding but declined to register it.
One of the
lawyers for the 79 farmers said they would ask the Tribunal to
take the
matter before South African Development Community (SADC) leaders
should the
Supreme Court - Zimbabwe's highest court - fail to order
registration of the
land reform ruling.
Harare advocate Lewis Uriri said the farmers will in
the coming weeks file
an appeal in the Supreme Court against High Court
Judge Bharat Patel's
ruling last week in which the judge ruled that
registering and enforcing the
regional Tribunal's judgment would have a
negative impact on Zimbabwe's
agrarian reforms.
Patel confirmed that
Zimbabwe was bound by Tribunal rulings, rejecting
claims by Harare that it
does not recognise the regional court and is not
bound by its judgments. But
the judge declined registering the Tribunal
order saying its enforcement
would be against public policy.
Uriri: "We are going to file an appeal to
the Supreme Court early February.
The state should have seen this coming, it
voluntarily took the risk to be
part of the SADC Treaty. It is contrary to
say invoke domestic law to defeat
its obligation at international when it
has undertaken to be bound."
The Tribunal in November 2008 declared
President Robert Mugabe's chaotic and
often violent land reform programme
discriminatory, racist and illegal under
the SADC Treaty.
The
regional court, whose judgment must be formally registered with Harare
High
Court for it to be enforced, also directed the Zimbabwe government not
to
seize land from the 79 farmers and to compensate those already evicted
off
their farms.
While the Tribunal's order is confined to the 79 farmers who
appealed to the
regional court, its enforcement would effectively undo
Mugabe's land reforms
of the past decade, with all white farmers who lost
their land expected to
use the judgment to claim their properties
back.
The government would be required to evict tens of thousands black
families
resettled on farms seized from whites in order to return the land
to lawful
owners, a move Patel described as a "political enormity" with
potential to
cause upheaval in Zimbabwe.
Mugabe's land reforms that
he says were necessary to correct a colonial land
ownership system that
reserved the best land for whites and banished blacks
to poor soils, are
blamed for plunging Zimbabwe into food shortages after he
failed to support
black villagers resettled on former white farms with
inputs to maintain
production.
An audit of the land reforms proposed under a power-sharing
deal between
Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai that agricultural
experts say is
prerequisite to any effort to restore order and productivity
in the mainstay
farming sector has failed to take off apparently because of
funding
problems. - ZimOnline.
http://www.zimonline.co.za/
by Own Corrrespondents Monday 01 February
2010
HARARE - Anglican Bishop of Harare Chad Gandiya on Sunday led
his followers
in prayers to ask for divine intervention in a battle for
control of the
church with excommunicated former bishop of Harare Nolbert
Kunonga.
"Our salvation is in Jesus. Do not tire to pray for our church.
Ask for
other churches to pray for Anglicans so that sanity is restored in
the
church," Bishop Gandiya said during the prayer session held in the open
at
African Square in central Harare.
An ally of President Robert
Mugabe's ZANU PF party, Kunonga has used the
police and ZANU PF activists to
block Gandiya and his followers from using
church halls and buildings
despite a High Court order that the two factions
share use of church
property.
Gandiya, who had invited Mugabe, to the open prayer session
told his flock
that some of the church buildings controlled by Kunonga were
now being
leased to other religious groups.
Mugabe, a catholic, did
not attend the prayer session. He is away in
Ethiopia attending the African
Union summit.
"We have no hard feelings with the Kunonga faction,"
Gandiya told
journalists. "We preach peace and harmony to the parish. My job
here is to
pastor the flock that is here today. As far as we are concerned,
the High
Court order by Judge Rita Makarau is still valid. It is the police
and the
Kunonga faction that are violating the court orders."
The
mass prayer came after Kunonga's group locked up church doors every
Sunday
to prevent their rivals from entering the buildings to hold prayers,
while
the police have been on hand to chase away Gandiya's followers every
time
they tried to insist on their right to use the churches.
The Harare
Anglican church has been in turmoil ever since the Church of the
Province of
Central Africa (CPCA) - the supreme authority of the Anglican
church in the
region -- first suspended Kunonga as bishop of Harare and
later
excommunicated him from the church, a move he has refused to accept
while he
has also held onto church properties.
Kunonga was excommunicated in 2008
after trying to withdraw the Harare
diocese from the Anglican church. He
claims he revolted against the mother
church because it supported the
ordination of gay priests.
A staunch supporter of Mugabe who tried to use
the pulpit to defend the
Zimbabwean leader's controversial policies, Kunonga
was excommunicated
together with several priests and other church leaders
who backed his revolt
against the CPCA.
The CPCA appointed retired
Bishop Sebastian Bakare as caretaker head of the
Harare diocese before he
was succeeded by Gandiya. -- ZimOnline.
http://www.herald.co.zw
Monday,
February 01, 2010
Crime
Reporter
The Zimbabwe Republic Police is failing to feed suspects
detained in holding
cells owing to funding constraints.
The lack of
money has also impacted on operational activities such as
transport for
patrols and crime scene attendance.
Chief police spokesperson Senior
Assistant Commissioner Wayne Bvudzijena on
Thursday said: "This is impacting
negatively on the performance of the
organisation.
"We received a
budget allocation under US$30 million when we were looking at
about US$230
million."
He said they were relying on well-wishers for some of their
operations in
order to feed suspects. "We have stations using their own
resources with
well-wishers and suspects' relatives chipping in," Snr Asst
Comm Bvudzijena
said. He applauded the role played by members of the public
and the
well-wishers during the difficult times. Snr Asst Comm Bvudzijena
said they
were working on various initiatives to alleviate the situation,
adding: "But
we will do much better if we have adequate
funding."
Police have said there is likely to be increased criminal
activity in the
lead-up to the 2010 Soccer World Cup, particularly in the
border towns, and
hence the need for greater operational capacity.
http://www.apanews.net/
By Fazilla Tembo, APA special correspodent
in Lilongwe, Malawi
APA-Lilongwe (Malawi) The African Union on
Sunday, during the first day of
its 14th summit of heads of state and
government elected Bingu Wa Mutharika,
President of Malawi as its new
chairman, replacing Libyan leader Colonel
Muammar Qaddafi.
Born on
24th February 1934 in Kamoto Village in Thyolo, a southern district,
30
kilometres from the commercial city of Blantyre, Dr. Bingu Wa Mutharika
is a
Malawian economist, politician and current state President of the
Republic
of Malawi.
Born Ryson Webster Thom, this son of a primary school master
adopted the
more African name of Bingu Mutharika during the 1960s when
pan-Africanism
was sweeping across the continent. He did his primary and
secondary
education in Malawi. He was later educated at the University of
Delhi in
India where he gained a Masters Degree in Economics and later
obtained a PhD
in development economics from the Pacific Western University
in Los Angeles,
California, in the United States of America.
He
joined the Malawi civil service during the reign of President Hastings
Kamuzu Banda, the first head of state, but fled to Zambia after some
misunderstandings under the single party rule in the 1960s.
After
working for the government of Zambia, in 1978 he joined the Addis
Ababa-based UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), where he eventually
became a Director for Trade and Development for Africa.
Leaving the
ECA, he worked for the World Bank briefly, before being
appointed in 1991 as
the Secretary General of the Common Market for Eastern
and Southern Africa
(COMESA), a regional body that promotes regional
economic and trade
integration of 20 states from Egypt to Zimbabwe.
During his days at
COMESA, Dr. Mutharika spearheaded the establishment of
several regional
economic organizations such as the Association of African
Central Banks,
Conference of African Ministers of Finance, African
Federation of Chambers
of Commerce and Industry and Eastern and Southern
Africa Business
Organization.
In the early 1990s, while still working at COMESA in
Lusaka, Zambia,
Mutharika supported the then pressure group that became to
be known the
United Democratic Front (UDF), to oppose Banda's increasingly
autocratic
regime.
The UDF and other groups campaigned for the
reintroduction of multi-party
politics in the country. The campaign
culminated in the UDF winning the
elections in 1994 and saw UDF leader
Bakili Muluzi becoming president of
Malawi.
Under Muluzi, Mutharika
rejoined the Malawi government as a political
appointee in the post of
Minister of Economic Planning and Development from
2003 to
2004.
Prior to this, he served as a Deputy Reserve Bank Governor of
Malawi, the
country's central bank.
After Muluzi completed his two
terms as Malawi leader, Mutharika succeeded
him into office in May 2004. He
won re-election in May 2009 following a
landslide victory of his ruling
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), a party
he formed after winning
elections in 2004.
In addition, Dr. Mutharika has been the author of
several books - including
"One Africa, One Destiny," "Africa's Response to
Globalization," "Mabizinesi
Aphindu : Mayendetsedwe Abwino Amakono (Modern
Methods of Running
Businesses)," "Towards Democracy, Good Governance and
Development" and
"Towards Multinational Economic Cooperation in
Africa."
Dr. Mutharika has also been recognized by several international,
regional
and national bodies for his achievements made towards developing,
not only
Malawi, but the region as well.
FT/daj/APA
2010-01-31
http://news.radiovop.com/
31/01/2010
21:29:00
HARARE-Two white national team cricketers, who were axed by
Zimbabwe Cricket
in 2004 for rebelling against what they claimed was
intimidation and racial
bias in selection have been named in the Zimbabwe
team to tour West Indies.
Zimbabwe Cricket have extended the olive branch
to Sean Ervine and Doug
Marrillier in to strengthen the national team in
their bid to test cricket.
Zimbabwe voluntarily withdrew from test
cricket in 2006. Marrillier and
Ervine have name the 38-member Zimbabwe
squad for the tour of the West
Indies.
The pair were part 13 white
players who had rebelled against what they
claimed was intimidation and
racial bias in selection before they were
booted out Zimbabwe
Cricket.
The International Cricket Council watched warily from the sidelines
after
the ZCU announced a team containing only four first-choice players,
all
black, for the impending Test series with Sri Lanka.
An
International Cricket Council team tasked to solve teething problems in
Zimbabwe Cricket recommended, in their report last year that former national
team players should be called back to the team to strengthen the
team
Zimbabwe is pencilled to leave for the Caribbean on February 23 to
play five
ODIs against the West Indies starting on February 28 in
Trinidad.
Marilliers had gone into real estate business in Zimbabwe while
Ervine is in
England.
Provisional Squad
Elton Chigumbura, Sean Ervine,
Doug Marillier, Goodwin, Greg Lamb, Sean
Williams, Forster Mutizwa, Trevor
Garwe, Raymond Price, Chatara, Tawanda
Mupariwa, Kyle Jarvis, Chris Mpofu,
Brendan Taylor, Nyumbu, Vusi Sibanda,
Dion Ebrahim, Timycen Maruma, Hamilton
Masakadza, Taurai Muzarabani, Greg
Strydom, Garvin Ewing, Stuart
Matsikenyeri, Charles Coventry, Tatenda Taibu,
Edward Rainsford, Chamu
Chibhabha, Prosper Utseya
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
BULAWAYO - The Constitutional
Parliamentary Committee (Copac) has been
barred from paying MPs allowances
and refunds for the use of their cars amid
fears of financial
irregularities, it emerged yesterday.
Sources said the management
committee of the constitution-making process,
made up of the negotiators
from the three governing parties, MDC-T, Zanu PF
and MDC ordered an
immediate audit of Copac finances a fortnight ago. It has
also emerged that
allegations of the irregular payments triggered the
suspension of the
outreach programme on the new constitution.
According to various
sources, some Copac officials including MPs allegedly
drew varying amounts
of money in unsanctioned allowances and refunds for the
use of their cars
during the outreach work.
The sources said the MPs would claim
re-imbursements for mileage they did
not travel.
Officially, the
programme was put on hold following disagreements on the
choice of
rapporteurs to accompany the outreach teams but sources told The
Standard it
was stopped to pave way for an "intensive structural,
administrative and
financial audit".
Some of the issues that have raised eyebrows are
the administration of a
US$300 000 donation by the South Africa-based
Zimbabwe Institute.
The institute, led by Professor Brian
Raftopoulos, released the money for
the acquisition of various assets
including office furniture and to meet
expenses during the
constitution-making process.
The sources said US$60 000 from that
donation had been set aside for
allowances and for paying MPs for the use of
their cars during the outreach
programme.
They said the account
had since been frozen by the management committee to
allow for an
audit.
Copac members had reportedly claimed close to US$400 each for every
week the
committee held its meetings.
"The management committee
believes there is more to it than meets the eye,"
said the
source.
"That is why they have decided to carry out an audit into the
whole
exercise.
The management committee, the sources said, is
under immense pressure from
the principals in the unity government -
President Robert Mugabe, Prime
Minister, Morgan Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime
Minister Arthur Mutambara - to
get to the bottom of the
matter.
Zanu PF negotiators, Patrick Chinamasa and Nicholas Goche,
Tendai Biti and
Elton Mangoma (MDC-T) and Professor Welshman Ncube and
Priscilla
Misihairabwi-Mushonga from MDC make up the
committee.
Ncube last week confirmed that Copac had submitted a
reported on Tuesday but
he could not comment on the allegations of
corruption.
"The Tuesday meeting was called specifically to receive a
report of the
three co-chairpersons on what has been done and what still
needs to be
done," he said.
"That report detailed only issues to
do with the training that was conducted
in Harare for the outreach
teams.
"At the moment, there is nothing on the alleged financial
irregularities in
the process because the report focused on the training of
the outreach
programme."
Copac says the outreach programme will
resume once its funders release
funds.
BY NKULULEKO SIBANDA
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 30 January 2010 20:24
BULAWAYO — Water
Resources Minister Samuel Sipepa Nkomo’s plans to
nationalise the
Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project (MZWP) have run into
stiff opposition in
the region amid accusations he is trying to “hijack a
people’s
initiative”.
Nkomo last week announced that the project’s name had
been changed to
National Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project
(NMZWP).
He said this was a reflection of its national status since
it was being
taken away from the MZWP Trust led by Dumiso Dabengwa
(pictured).
But business leaders, residents’ associations,
politicians, government
officials, and members of the public railed against
Nkomo’s plans saying
they were “suspicious”.
The project to bring
water from the Zambezi River to the drought-stricken
Matabeleland region was
first mooted by the colonial regime in 1912.
Successive Zanu PF
governments used the project to lure voters in the region
by pledging
resources for the project but these never materialised.
The project
only took off after locals formed the MZWP Trust in 1991 without
government
involvement.
Matabeleland South governor, Angeline Masuku who is also a
member of the
trust said the government had “blundered” by nationalising the
project.
“As far as I am concerned, the project is a project developed by
the people
of Matabeleland.
“They saw it fit to start it and they
have the will power to complete it,”
she said.
“For the
government to say it is taking over the project is belittling the
decisions
of the people.
“The government, as I see it, should be complementing
people’s efforts to
deal with a situation and not wanting to control the
project.”
Bulawayo Residents’ Association (BURA) chairman, Winos Dube
said there was
need for government to respect the historical significance of
the MZWP.
“While our major concern is the completion of the water
project, we wonder
why the people of Matabeleland are not being given the
greater control of
this project,” Dube said.
“It should be borne
in mind that this initiative is from the people of
Matabeleland.
“If the government wants to complete the project,
it is welcome to do so but
it should include, to a larger extent, the people
from the region.
“They are the ones who should be in
control.”
Dube said residents suspected that government had hijacked
the project for
political gain and it will take a lot of effort to convince
them otherwise.
“We hope that this is not another intention to strip
the people of
Matabeleland of their livelihoods,” he
said.
Nhlanhla Mpofu, the Bulawayo Progressive Residents’ Association
(BPRA)
spokesperson, said by his actions the minister was “stealing from the
people
of Matabeleland”.
“As BPRA, our wish is to see water
getting here,” he said.
“However, we have reservations against the
nationalisation of the MZWP.
“We affirm that the controversial
announcement by the minister is an attempt
by the government to take away
the water project from the people.
“We see the statement that
government is not happy with the 60% of work that
had been done at the site
as mere political rhetoric.
“The minister and the government should
be asking themselves how the 60% got
to be there.
“It is our
belief that the people of Bulawayo and Matabeleland did a
splendid job and
this should continue, of course with government support as
a
stakeholder.”
His sentiments were echoed by ZNCC president and
businessman, Obert Sibanda
who said Nkomo’s proposals were bound to face
opposition in the region.
“The government is going through hard times
in terms of its coffers,”
Sibanda said.
“All along, the
Gwayi-Shangani Dam has been part of the project and it has
not
moved.
“This is due to financial challenges.
“It could be
the same situation now that there is talk of the
nationalisation of the
water project.
“As the business community, our feeling is that there
is no need for the
politicisation of the project.
“All that is
needed is its full implementation.”
Nkomo has defended his plans
saying he is only implementing a 2004
government resolution.
He
said the new measures will also ensure that the project is not
politicised
so that its full benefits are realised.
“We, as government, will come
back to the people and ask whether what we are
doing is right or wrong,”
Nkomo said.
“If there is a feeling amongst you that the approach
employed is not
suitable, we will sit together and see what we can do to
ensure the project
is completed.”
The government says it needs at
least US$1,1 billion for the project.
Besides supplying water to
towns and cities, it will also be used to create
a green belt along the
pipeline powering agro-industries with potential to
create thousands of
jobs.
BY NKULULEKO SIBANDA
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 30 January 2010 20:22
SOUTH African
President Jacob Zuma will this week take the disputes
threatening Zimbabwe's
year-old unity government to the African Union - the
guarantors of the
power-sharing agreement. Senior South African government
officials yesterday
said Zuma had prepared a report on Zimbabwe, which will
be presented to the
summit already underway in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Zuma is reportedly
getting impatient with the continued bickering and delays
in resolving
issues around appointments, and has suggested that the parties
should "park"
some of the contentious issues and work towards fresh
elections next
year.
Saul Kgomotso Molobi, a senior official in South Africa's
Department of
International Relations and Co-operation confirmed that Zuma
would put
Zimbabwe on the agenda.
"The President as the mediator
will give a report on the facilitation in
Zimbabwe," Molobi told The
Standard yesterday.
"I cannot get into the details, as he has not
made the presentation yet."
Zuma's spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya
said the report will appraise the
heads of state and government on South
Africa's mediation.
The report comes at a time when the talks are
currently deadlocked and hopes
for a resolution of outstanding issues are
disappearing.
Negotiations were supposed to resume 10 days ago, but
they were deferred
until February 8 after the parties failed to find common
ground.
Zanu PF and the MDC-T have been trading accusations over who
is responsible
for the collapse of the talks, now threatening the inclusive
government.
On Wednesday, the Zanu PF politburo met in Harare and
resolved not to "make
any further concessions" to the two MDC formations
until sanctions imposed
by Western countries on its leaders are
removed.
This position was adopted at the party's congress in
December last year, and
appeared to have been bolstered by recent statements
by British Foreign
Secretary David Miliband on sanctions. But the MDC-T also
blames Zanu PF
because of its intransigence on fully implementing the
GPA.
Meanwhile, MDC-T secretary general, Tendai Biti says Zuma holds
the key to
the resolution of the Zimbabwean crisis.
"What is
therefore required right now is for Sadc and President Zuma to take
leadership of the issue in Zimbabwe because the leadership in Zimbabwe has
failed to provide leadership on the issue," said Biti, one of two MDC-T's
negotiators.
"If a Sadc summit is to be convened, it must be
convened so that people of
Zimbabwe can be liberated from the burden of
endless negotiations. We have
been negotiating since the 14th of May 2007. A
Sadc summit should be
convened to put a full stop to these
issues."
Biti said the "transition is no longer dealing with certain
fundamental
things that gave rise to it".
BY VUSUMUZI
SIFILE
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 30 January 2010 20:20
CIVIL
servants will hold make-or-break talks with government negotiators on
Tuesday amid warnings a crippling strike is imminent. The meeting comes a
week after the 14-day strike ultimatum issued by civil servants passed
without any action.
Education Minister David Coltart and his
Public Service counterpart Eliphas
Mukonoweshuro failed to take the civil
servants’ grievances to cabinet
because it has not been
sitting.
The government workers want their salaries increased
four-fold from the
current US$150 for the lowest paid civil
servant.
Raymond Majongwe, the Progressive Teachers’ Union (PTUZ)
secretary general
said if Tuesday’s meeting of the National Joint
Negotiating Council (NJNC)
does not yield positive results teachers will
down tools.
“We are pleading with government to show a bit of
commitment when we meet on
Tuesday,” he said.
Their members, he said,
were growing impatient with the unending
negotiations.
Coltart
yesterday said in the various meetings he has held with the unions
they
expressed their unhappiness over government’s continued lavish spending
when
it says it cannot improve their salaries.
“Their concern has been the
cost of local and foreign travel by cabinet and
many other things so this
has made them believe that there is money out
there somewhere,” he
said.
“They want everyone to tighten their belts because of the
economic crisis.”
Coltart said he had also held discussions with
Finance Minister Tendai Biti
who has agreed to meet representatives of civil
servants when he returns
from the United States.
The minister
will also brief cabinet when it resumes its meetings.
However,
Mukonoweshuro appeared to pour cold water over Coltart’s optimism
saying the
government was just broke.
“What we have here is a case where there
isn’t that financial fiscus space
on the part of government,” he
said.
“Civil servants will have to be a bit more patient while
government looks
into their concerns.”
BY BERTHA SHOKO
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 30 January 2010 19:32
FORMER Home Affairs
Minister Dumiso Dabengwa who is leading the revival of
Zapu has dismissed
accusations that he is treating the former liberation
movement as his
personal project.
The Zapu interim chairman says he is ready to have his
credentials
scrutinised at the party's congress in
May.
Dabengwa, who was speaking for the first time since six
senior party
officials were suspended late last year amid accusations that
they had stood
up to his alleged dictatorial tendencies, maintained that the
revival of
Zapu remained on course.
Zapu announced last week that
it would hold its inaugural congress in May, a
year after it formally
withdrew from the 22-year-old Unity Accord with Zanu
PF.
The
split came amid dissatisfaction in Matabeleland over the way President
Robert Mugabe was implementing the deal.
The suspended Zapu
members who included Evans Ndebele, the owner of the now
defunct ZEX
Airlines, former Bulawayo police spokesperson Smile Dube, and
former
outspoken Bulawayo councillor Alderman Charles Mpofu accused Dabengwa
of
perpetuating the Zanu PF culture.
But the former Zipra intelligence
supremo says there is no room for
dictatorship in Zapu because there were
checks and balances to prevent power
from being concentrated in an
individual.
He said the Council of Elders, a body that consists of
members aged 65 and
above, holds leaders accountable at every
level.
"The role of the council was defined by congress to be that of
guiding the
party, and to ensure that there is discipline in the party,"
Dabengwa a,
former Zanu PF politburo member, said.
"One would
expect that if I was the so-called dictator I would by now have
been brought
before the disciplinary committee by the Council of Elders of
Zapu.
"The comparison with Mugabe has no basis and is far-fetched
because in the
first place no one in Mugabe's party can even think of
disciplining him.
"In Zapu the Council of Elders has authority to
discipline even the chairman
or president."
The veteran
politician who caused a stir when he abandoned Zanu PF on the
eve of the
March 2008 presidential elections to support Simba Makoni who was
an
independent candidate said although there were cases of indiscipline in
Bulawayo, they were exaggerated by the media.
He added: "The
party, like all institutions, be they political, religious,
social or
business, has had incidents of misconduct by a few members, such
as our
Bulawayo province which has had to deal with a matter within its
area, and
only to refer it to the national interim executive if they have
any problem
sorting out the disciplinary issue.
"The chaos is not there at all.
It is an invention of the media, some of
whom are hostile to Zapu, of
course."
The May congress will culminate in the election of a
substantive leadership
from all levels, which means Zapu might have a new
leader to represent it in
next year's elections.
Those
challenging Dabengwa's leadership say he must make way to youthful
leaders
who can give Zanu PF and the two MDC formations a run for their
money.
Although Dabengwa did not rule out chances that he would
lead the party in
the next elections if he is nominated, he said he would
have preferred to
retire from active politics.
"If I had my way,
after the Zapu Congress I would like to retire and
concentrate on my
ambition to write my book or books on my 70 years'
experiences, as a young
boy, during the struggle, in prisons both before and
after Independence, and
about my involvement and contribution in the
development of the our country
since Independence," Dabengwa said.
He said the party would be ready
for next year's elections and has already
set up structures across the
country.
Full interview:
In May last year Zapu
announced that it was pulling out of the Unity Accord
with Zanu PF over
disagreements on the way the agreement was being
implemented.
Zapu
effectively became the most vibrant opposition party after Zanu PF and
the
MDC formations formed a unity government.
However, the revival of the
former liberation movement has not been smooth
sailing and Standard's Senior
Reporter Nkululeko Sibanda (NS) last week held
an interviewed Zapu interim
chairman Dumiso Dabengwa and asked him about the
various challenges facing
the party. Below are the excerpts.
NS: How far have you gone with the
revival of Zapu since the announcement of
the pullout from Zanu PF in May
last year?
DD: Zapu started its workshops outreach programmes after our
congress in
May. We started in August this year. We divided our programme
into phases,
starting with provincial workshops. All the provinces held and
completed
their workshops by end of October. The workshops looked into three
main
themes, namely, amendment of the Zapu constitution, the Zapu policy,
the
Zapu ideology, and our mobilisation strategy. We also took the
opportunity
during our workshops to mobilise our members to give their views
during the
outreach programme for the proposed new constitution. Presenters
on the
themes were people selected from among the Zapu Council of Elders,
the
interim executive and experts drawn from our membership. The second
phase
was the districts and branches workshops, starting from last November
and is
on course and has spilled over to this year and is set to be
completed by
March. The response has been very encouraging, in particular
the injection
of new ideas mainly from the youths, who are participating in
a very
meaningful way. As interim chairman, I have addressed some of the
workshops,
such as the Harare one, which encompassed the three Mashonaland
provinces,
Manicaland and Harare. I also attended the joint Bulawayo,
Matabeleland
North and South workshop, and also addressed the Masvingo
workshop, which
included district representatives from the province. I also
attended and
addressed the Midlands workshop in Gweru, which also included
delegates from
some of the districts. I also attended the Matabeleland North
inter-district
workshop and later on went to address the Binga district
workshop. The
workshop sessions have been very educative. Whilst we thought
we would be
guiding the people on what the party and nation should be doing,
we
ourselves had a lot of lessons to learn. The contributions we got from
all
areas bore testimony to the political maturity among our people. We are
clear from what we got from the people at the workshops what exactly the
people want.
NS: Some of your critics in the party say you have not
addressed any meeting
since the congress and they suggest this has killed
the momentum created
after they announcement that you were leaving Zanu
PF.
DD: In October last year when we discussed our party programme and
resolved
as the executive that workshops and the formulation of structures
was our
priority so as to re-establish the nucleus of Zapu in all the
provinces and
districts. Some people felt this could be done in tandem with
public
meetings but we felt, and I felt as much that we should concentrate
on the
workshops. However, we agreed also that where public meetings were to
be
addressed, party procedures for booking meetings should be followed in
order
to avoid chaos, where anyone in the party find themselves booking
meetings
without the authority or knowledge of the relevant party structures
and
authorities.
All provinces are currently in the second phase of
conducting
district/branch workshops and this is an ongoing exercise
countrywide
NS: There are reports of disturbances at Zapu meetings
especially in
Bulawayo. Could this not be an indication that the party is in
turmoil?
DD: Zapu has not been rocked by any disturbances. The party,
like all
institutions, be they political, religious, social or business, has
had
incidents of misconduct by a few members, such as our Bulawayo province
which has had to deal with a matter within its area, and only to refer the
matter to the national interim executive if they have any problem for
sorting out the disciplinary issue. The chaos is not there at all. It is an
invention of the media, some of whom are hostile to Zapu, of
course.
NS: Is it not that the indiscipline could be as a result of some
members
having lost faith in you as a leader?
DD: I am sure that if
the party has lost faith in me they will express that
feeling or decision at
the Zapu congress scheduled for May this year,
wherein delegates will elect
substantive leadership.
I don't have time to go about dispelling rumours,
particularly this one. I
will not as leader of Zapu respond to criticism on
me done through the
press, by unnamed people who I am not even sure if they
are members of Zapu
or they exist in the first place. All Zapu members are
free to present
criticism about me or any other party leader at rightful
party platforms
NS: What tangible progress has Zapu achieved since
breaking away from Zanu
PF?
DD: Tangible areas that have been covered
by my interim executive since our
election at the Zapu convention in
December 2008 have been to convene a
successful Special Zapu Congress in May
2009 and to implement what congress
mandated us to do, that is to identify
and reactivate Zapu structures
throughout the country and to prepare to
convene a full party congress
within a year, which we are doing right
now.
NS: It has been suggest that you are a dictator and your run Zapu
like your
personal property?
DD: One of the innovations that we came
up with in reorganising Zapu was to
create a Council of Elders, consisting
of members aged 65 and above. There
is a council of elders at all levels of
the party. The role of the council
was defined by congress to be that of
guiding the party, and to ensure that
there is discipline in the party. The
council of elders is also responsible
for conducting elections at all levels
of the party. One would expect that
if I was the so-called dictator I would
by now have been brought before the
disciplinary committee by the council of
elders of Zapu. The comparison with
Mugabe has no basis and is far-fetched
because in the first place no one in
Mugabe's party can even think of
disciplining him. In Zapu the Council of
Elders has authority to discipline
even the chairman or president.
Our congress also recommended that there
should be devolution of power to
all provinces such that each province has
authority to run its affairs in
consultation with the national executive and
council of elders. All these
structures have their own programme and say at
our executive meetings. Our
decisions are collective; no one person has the
final say on an issue.
NS: Is Zapu ready for elections next year
considering that President Robert
Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai are pushing for an early poll?
DD: Zapu is ready to
participate in any election that would be called, any
day now. Whilst we may
not have as much resources as other parties, we have
faith in our members
who are prepared to sacrifice and give themselves up in
order to achieve
their goal. If elections were called any time, Zapu members
will stand up
and do everything possible to ensure that the party is able to
come out
best.
NS: There are allegations ahead of your May congress that you
will seek to
hand pick delegates who will rubberstamp your bid to remain
chairman. What
is your response?
DD: As we draw towards congress, we
have encouraged the provinces to work
out and recommend to the Council of
Elders how best the election of our
party leadership should be done, such
that we come out with reliable,
honest, credible and committed leadership
for Zapu. For instance some
members in Harare have suggested that each
province nominates at least two
possible leaders for congress to consider.
Other provinces are free to come
up with their ideas. Each branch will be
represented at congress, as will be
each district and all provinces. So how
would it be possible for anyone to
handpick all those people?
NS: Do
you still harbour any ambitions to lead Zapu after the May congress
and will
you represent the party at the next elections?
DD: If I had my way, after
the Zapu Congress I would like to retire and
concentrate on my ambition to
write my book or books on my 70 years'
experiences, as a young boy, during
the struggle, in prisons both before and
after independence, and about my
involvement and contribution in the
development of the our country since
independence.
In Zapu one does not choose to be in a position. There is no
such thing as
self-nomination. People nominate you. Yours is either to
accept or decline
the nomination. I have never and have no intention of
nominating myself to
contest anything.
NS: What should Zimbabweans
expect from Zapu this year?
DD: Zapu is the mother of the revolution,
together with ANC in South Africa,
Frelimo in Mozambique, MPLA in Angola and
Swapo in Namibia. Our main aim as
Zapu is to reassert those values that the
party had during the liberation
struggle, which unfortunately we have not
seen since independence. Zapu has
identified a number of deviations and
diversions from the goals and we are
anxious to reconnect all the people of
Zimbabwe to build a progressive,
democratic, free and stable Zimbabwe for
all the people.
ENDS
BY NKULULEKO SIBANDA
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 30 January 2010
19:29
BULAWAYO - Vice-President John Nkomo was last week facing
accusations of
spearheading a witch-hunt against Zanu PF leaders who tried
to block his
ascendancy after a number of them were barred from his
celebration party.
Nkomo who brushed aside internal opposition to land the
post left vacant by
the death of VP Joseph Msika held the celebrations at
the Zimbabwe
International Trade Fair (ZITF) grounds last
Saturday.
However, there was chaos outside the venue as those who
were denied entry
tried in vain to reason with the security
personnel.
President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai were some of
the high-profile government officials who attended
the event.
But scores of Zanu PF ward and district officials were
turned away at the
ZITF gates by state agents and armed soldiers after they
failed to produce
invitation cards.
War veterans who were among
Nkomo's most vocal opponents ahead of the
nominations for the
vice-presidency were also barred.
Michael Sikhosana, the Zanu PF
Bulawayo province spokesperson, said the
events of Saturday did not go down
well with party cadres who supported
Nkomo's
candidature.
However, he said, there were changes to the programme
and the number of
people invited was reduced. "Initially all the 39 ward and
54 district
executive chairpersons of the party were invited to attend
Nkomo's dinner,"
Sikhosana said.
"We had all senior Zanu PF
officials in Bulawayo invited but a day before
the event, the number was
whittled down by half. This information may not
have filtered down to all
the other party members in wards and districts who
thought they were still
invited to the event resulting in them being barred
since they did not have
personal invites."
Velaphi Ncube, the spokesperson for a faction of
the war veterans
association in Bulawayo that supported Nkomo, said those
who were turned
away were gate-crashers. "Nkomo's dinner was a family affair
and the family
had a right to decide whom they invited," he
said.
BY NQOBANI NDLOVU
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 30 January 2010
17:39
THREE officers from Botswana's Department of Wildlife and National
Parks
(DWNP), arrested close to two weeks ago, will appear in court tomorrow
after
repeated attempts by the Botswana government to secure their release
fell on
deaf ears. The three game scouts strayed into Zimbabwe on January 19
while
tracking lions that were causing havoc at Lesona, a village near the
Kazungula border.
In their desperate trail of the lions, which
are said to have already killed
a number of cows, the officers entered
Zimbabwe by mistake.
They attempted to find their way back, but were
intercepted by the police.
The incident already appears to have set
the stage for a diplomatic row
between the two neighbours, with Botswana
officials accusing Zimbabwe of
being difficult in what is obviously a minor
issue.
Botswana's ambassador to Zimbabwe, Gladys Kokorwe, told The
Standard last
week that a team of government officials was immediately
dispatched from
Kasane to assure the Zimbabwean authorities that the
officials were innocent
civil servants who were performing their duties.
"The officers will now
appear in court on Monday," Kokorwe
said.
"They were on duty, patrolling as usual.
"They were
tracking lions that were wreaking havoc in Lesona village, and in
the
process they strayed into Zimbabwe.
"A team was sent from Kasane to
confirm that these were innocent officers
who were on duty, but they failed
to secure their release."
Kokorwe said her office took up the matter
through the relevant channels in
Harare, but to no avail.
"At
first my officers spoke to the Legal Affairs department, and they were
told
the officers would be released.
"In fact, they told them the officers
had already been released, only for us
to find out later that they were
still detained. We also engaged the
Director of Protocol, but unfortunately
they have still not been released."
Even high-level interventions by
Botswana's Minister of Foreign Affairs and
International Co-operation,
Phandu Skelemani, did not help.
Skelemani told that country's media
that he had engaged the Zimbabwean
ambassador to Botswana on the issue, but
to no avail.
"The response was that the (Zimbabwe) police have made
up their mind that
the three should go to trial and there was nothing they
could do as
government," Skelemani told Botswana media.
He said
he was puzzled by the way the government handled the matter despite
the fact
that many Zimbabweans, including armed officials, have been turned
away from
the country without any charges.
He blamed the challenges on the
lack of a fence along the border, saying it
was difficult to construct one
because it could be easily destroyed by
elephants that are all over the
border area.
Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi was not
immediately
available for comment as he was said to be attending an African
Union summit
in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Skelemani said he would
discuss the issue with Mumbengegwi at the summit.
BY VUSUMUZI
SIFILE
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 30 January 2010 17:35
NURSES
at the privately owned St Anne’s Hospital in Harare on Friday briefly
downed
tools over a pay dispute that resulted in the suspension of three
workers.
Sources said the nurses are demanding a 100% salary increment from
the
current US$400 for the lowest paid.
“Our other counterparts at Avenues
Clinic and Westend are getting salaries
of about US$800 so we also want our
salaries to match other private
hospitals,” said one of the nurses, speaking
on condition she remains
anonymous.
“Management refused to even
move an inch when we asked for that amount so we
decided to go on
strike.”
The hospital authorities reportedly took the case to the
Labour Court
because they felt the industrial action was
illegal.
The strike has since been suspended pending negotiations
that are set to
open on Monday. But Eugenia Mutariswa, the principal nursing
officer at the
hospital dismissed reports there was a strike.
An
angry Mutariswa accused The Standard news crew of “violating regulations”
after they took photographs of the striking nurses.
BY OUR
STAFF
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 30 January 2010
17:27
ZANU PF is reportedly forcing villagers to attend political
meetings where
they are taught how to respond to outreach teams when they
solicit views on
the new constitution. The latest reports of intimidation,
especially in
rural areas, have heightened fears that Zimbabweans will once
again be
denied the opportunity to freely determine their
future.
Consultations on the constitution were suspended two weeks
ago after the
Constitutional Parliamentary Committee (Copac) ran into a
number of
logistical problems.
The political battles are set to
add another dimension to the various issues
threatening the historic
process.
MDC-T says Zanu PF has conscripted soldiers, youth militia
and war veterans,
who spearheaded the party’s ruthless campaign in the June
2008 polls, to cow
villagers into supporting the Kariba
Draft.
Zanu PF has been pushing for the Kariba Draft -— a document
crafted three
years ago — to be adopted as the new constitution while the
MDC-T wants a
“people-driven” process.
The MDC-T said
intimidation was most pronounced in Masvingo, Manicaland and
Mashonaland
East.
Pishai Muchauraya, the party’s spokesperson for Manicaland,
confirmed that
Zanu PF was force-marching villagers to political meetings
where they are
instructed to back the Kariba Draft.
He said Zanu
PF had roped in traditional leaders, youth militia and soldiers
to
intimidate or beat up those who try to resist attending the
meetings.
“Only last week, people were forced to attend one such
rally at Jani
resettlement area where they were told what to say when
outreach teams
finally come,” said Muchauraya, (MDC) MP for Makoni
South.
“Headman John Rukweza called the meeting but we have names of
soldiers, war
veterans and youth militia who were driving people out of
their homes.”
Rukweza, a known Zanu PF supporter, even threatened to
eject people from the
area if they put forward submissions favoured by the
MDC-T, Muchauraya said.
“The inclusion of soldiers, militia and war
veterans in the process is an
attempt to instil fear in the hearts of the
people,” he said.
“They are telling people that if they fail to
support the Kariba Draft they
will be killed like what happened to others in
June 2008.”
At least 200 MDC-T activists were reportedly killed
during the June 2008
elections while thousands of its supporters were
displaced as President
Robert Mugabe 's party embarked on a violent campaign
seeking his
re-election in a run-off.
Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai pulled out of the race citing the violence.
Last Sunday,
Zanu PF militia and soldiers frog-marched villagers to an
outreach meeting
held at Xanadu Farm in Goromonzi in Mashonaland East.
“They were
telling us what to say when the outreach teams come,” said a
villager who
attended the meeting. “For example, we were told to reject
title deeds to
our land in favour of 99-year leases.
“They are saying if we get
deeds, our farms will be repossessed by banks
when we fail to pay back
loans.”
The previous week, another political meeting had been held at
Bromley
Country Club where villagers were also instructed to stick to the
Kariba
Draft.
“The other strategy is that only those selected by
Zanu PF militia will be
allowed to speak when the outreach teams finally
come.
“If anyone else speaks without permission that person will be
in trouble
when the teams leave,” said another villager who attended the
Bromley
meeting.
In Nyanga North, militia bases have re-emerged
with soldiers threatening
villagers with death if they refused to support
the Kariba Draft.
Douglas Mwonzora, MDC-T Nyanga North MP and Copac
co-chair, said he had seen
militia bases and has raised the issue with Zanu
PF.
Mwonzora will also raise the issue at the constitution-making
management
committee meeting this week. “We cannot carry out any outreach
when these
bases are there because they bring back bad memories of June
2008,” Mwonzora
said.
“This is political criminality designed to
smuggle unwanted ideas in our
constitution.”
“Zanu PF calls the
bases information centres but these are bases by another
name serving the
same purpose; that of intimidation.”
The situation is the same in
Gutu West, Zaka and Chivi central in Masvingo
as well as parts of the
Midlands and Mashonaland.
“If our management committee meeting fails
to address this problem we will
have to take the issue to the principals
because we cannot come up with a
democratic constitution under the current
environment,” Mwonzora said.
“Article VI (of the Global Political
Agreement) clearly states that the
process must be democratic and
people-driven.”
But Zanu PF has vowed to intensify the party’s
outreach programmes saying it
wants a constitution that reflects the ideals
of the liberation struggle.
Zanu PF deputy spokesperson Ephraim
Masawi said the party’s politburo on
Wednesday resolved to intensify the
party’s outreach programme.
“The meeting resolved that the outreach
programmes be intensified in order
to ensure that the ideals and principles
of the revolution are enshrined
within the constitution,” Masawi said. He
denied knowledge of the bases or
that Zanu PF was forcing people to attend
their outreach programmes.
Civic organisations and MDC have rejected
the use of the Kariba Draft as a
basis for the new constitution because it
leaves the president’s vast powers
unchecked.
Some the
controversial clauses include one that permits Mugabe to serve
another two
five-year terms.
There are also no limits to the number of government
ministers appointed by
the president neither does it promote the devolution
of power to the
provinces.
The draft also makes no provision for
the post of Prime Minister and it
gives the president powers to declare war
without consulting anyone.
The president would have the right to
appoint judges and fire them at will.
BY CAIPHAS CHIMHETE
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 30 January 2010 17:14
IN a week in which
Zanu PF revelled in "uncovering" the nexus between the
MDC-T and the UK an
international rights group dealt a body blow to the
party's cause. Human
Rights Watch on Friday urged the European Union to
maintain its travel
restrictions and asset freezes on President Robert
Mugabe and his inner
circle until Zimbabwe carries out the concrete human
rights reforms set out
in the 2008 Global Political Agreement (GPA).
A delegation of eight
British MPs arrives in Zimbabwe on Monday for a
four-day visit. While the UK
legislators' visit is to review the
effectiveness of British aid to
Zimbabwe, their visit coincides with an EU
review of its sanctions policy
toward Zimbabwe.
The British team will have an opportunity to assess
how well the Department
for International Development (DFID) works with
other donors, multilateral
agencies, non-governmental organisations and the
inclusive government.
The delegation's report could inform the
outcome of the EU's sanctions
review process.
Human Rights Watch
said the GPA, signed between the two formations of the
MDC and President
Mugabe's Zanu PF party contained specific measures to
promote freedom of
speech and the rule of law, end politically motivated
violence, and apply
laws of the country fully and impartially in bringing to
justice all
perpetrators of politically motivated violence.
But the repression has
continued, and the perpetrators are not being held to
account for their
actions.
"Zanu PF has continued committing grave human rights abuses
and acting as if
the agreement had never been signed," said Georgette
Gagnon, Africa director
at Human Rights Watch.
"The European
Union runs the risk of reinforcing ongoing repression and
impunity in
Zimbabwe if it eases the sanctions now."
In September, the European
Union sent a delegation to Zimbabwe to assess the
implementation of the
Agreement. The delegation found that the inclusive
government had "failed to
meet the benchmarks" the EU had established for
resuming development
co-operation with Zimbabwe and lifting targeted travel
and financial
restrictions on senior Zanu PF members.
The Swedish Minister for
International Development, Gunilla Carlsson, who
was part of the EU
delegation, said then that targeted sanctions against
Zimbabwe would not be
lifted until human rights abuses ended.
Human Rights Watch said its
"ongoing research and analysis" in Zimbabwe show
that the human rights
situation remains virtually the same as during the EU
delegation's
visit.
"As Human Rights Watch said in an August report on Zimbabwe's
new
power-sharing government, state agents affiliated with Zanu PF continue
to
abduct and kill MDC activists without punishment and to arrest its
legislators on spurious charges. Zimbabwe's oppressive media laws remain
unchanged. Illegal invasions of commercial farms, frequently led by military
personnel allied with Zanu PF, are continuing; and there has been no
meaningful progress in instituting promised human rights reforms or in
demonstrating respect for the rule of law."
Some government-owned
companies subject to EU sanctions, like Zimbabwe
Mining Development
Corporation (ZMDC), said the rights group, are also
actively involved in
mining diamonds in eastern Zimbabwe, where Human Rights
Watch said it had
uncovered "rampant abuses" by the armed forces, including
forced labour,
child labour, killings, beatings, smuggling, and corruption.
"These
abuses continue and justify the need to maintain pressure on Zanu PF
to
honour its signed commitment to reform," Human Rights Watch said.
The
European Union in 2002 began imposing travel restrictions and asset
freezes
on Mugabe and about 200 senior Zanu PF officials, as well as on some
state-owned companies with close ties to the party. The first round of
sanctions followed Mugabe's controversial re-election that year, a breakdown
of the rule of law, systemic human rights violations, and chaotic and often
violent land seizures.
"Some in Europe might believe that making
concessions is the way to get Zanu
PF to moderate its behavior, but Zanu PF
has shown that it would only take
this as a sign of weakness and dig in its
heels even further," Gagnon said.
By Our Staff
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 30 January 2010 17:06
ONE of the
country's leading banana producing areas - Burma Valley - a few
kilometres
east of the city of Mutare in Manicaland is practically under
siege. As the
Zimbabwe ambassador to Tanzania Edzai Chimonyo fights a bitter
war to
wrestle Fangudu Farm from a foreign-owned company, Matanuska,
hundreds of
illegal settlers have also invaded the western part of the
valley choking
one of the sources of water in the area - the Nyamakari
River.
The Chimonyo-Matanuska battle to control the rich banana
farming entity
comes hard on the heels of Harare South Zanu PF legislator
Hubert Nyanhongo's
fight to take over part of yet another banana farm in the
valley.
The new wave of farm invasions in the Burma Valley area have
taken another
level as some of the illegal settlers have invaded farms which
are already
under new black owners who forcibly took over the farms from the
white
owners.
The new invaders are slowly suffocating the once
vibrant farming area right
from the mountaintops which border the area into
the rich valley.
Some of the new farmers who took over the farms have
reduced the once
banana-exporting entities to local entities as most of the
farm produce is
now destined for Sakubva Musika in Mutare and Mbare Musika
in Harare.
Two farms to the west of the valley which at the height of
the chaotic land
reform programme were allocated to black farmers have also
been taken over
by a group of illegal settlers.
The illegal
settlers have vowed to fight eviction to the bitter end.
Five times
the government has razed their homes and offered them alternative
land but
they have refused to vacate the area.
Their argument is that the area
belongs to their ancestors and therefore it
rightfully belongs to
them.
Though the identity of two farmers who hold offer letters to
the land could
not be immediately established, a source on the Mutare
district lands
committee office revealed that government had given it to
them to protect
the ecology that can't sustain bigger
populations.
The area, the source revealed, could not carry a bigger
number of farmers.
"Yes they are close to the source of Nyamakari
River and land was allocated
to two farmers only because it can not hold a
bigger number of farmers.
"But as we speak a group of illegal
settlers are now choking the river
source.
"The river is almost
dry. The illegal settlers were evicted a number of
times but they are coming
back and have vowed to stay.
"They were offered land elsewhere but
they have refused to take up the land.
The situation is disturbing," the
source revealed.
But one illegal settler who refused to be named had
no kind words for senior
Zanu PF and government officials who were allocated
land in the valley.
"If you look at this area some of the people who
got land legally are not
from any of the areas surrounding Burma
Valley.
"If I may ask, where does Nyanhongo come from or where does
Chimonyo come
from?
"All I know is that Nyanhongo is from Harare
though originally he is from
Nyanga.
"But still Nyanga is far
from Burma Valley. They are using their political
muscle to get land here
because they know the area is rich," the illegal
settler
said.
"All these people are not from Chitakatira, Chigodora, Chisakwe
or many
areas surrounding Burma Valley.
"We cannot continue to
watch as some people from very far away get land here
while we do
not.
"We have not taken the lucrative banana area but just the
periphery of Burma
Valley, so the government should leave us
alone.
"We are not going anywhere.
"Chimonyo says he got
the offer letter in 2005 or 2006 thereabout but where
was Chimonyo for the
past years?"
And as the wrangle continues, some of the illegal
settlers have turned to
cutting down firewood, as there is a ready market in
Mutare.
Piles of firewood are now a common sight along the Burma
Valley road.
And it seems the firewood business is booming against
the backdrop of
erratic power supply in the country.
BY JOHN
MAKURA
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 30 January 2010 16:32
CAPE TOWN —
More than 2 000 Zimbabwean immigrants are under siege again in
the volatile
farming area of De Doorns in South Africa’s Western Cape about
100 km
outside Cape Town. The Zimbabweans are currently accommodated by
United
Nations and Red Cross at a local sports field after locals drove them
out of
their homes at the beginning of December last year.
South Africans
from the local townships have publicly warned the traumatised
Zimbabweans
that if they return to the townships, they would go back to
their country in
coffins.
The authorities are taking the threats seriously.
Zimbabweans are even
afraid to go to the shops for fear of being
attacked.
While the authorities are trying their best to make
foreigners feel welcome,
the locals have made it clear they are not wanted.
Zimbabweans in Cape Town
top the list of the most hated African
immigrants.
In De Doorns the locals also accuse the Zimbabweans of
depriving them of
income by accepting to work for lower
wages.
Vigilante groups in the townships have also warned local girls
that if they
are seen in the company of foreign men, they would be
killed.
“We are going to braai Zimbabweans if we see them anywhere in
the
townships,” one of the men told a local paper.
Charles
Ntsomi, the Mayor of Breede Valley Municipality which administers
the
farming community of De Doorns says he cannot guarantee the protection
of
the immigrants if they return to the townships where they stayed before
they
were attacked in December.
The municipality is under pressure from
councillors to remove the immigrants
from the sports fields. They say
accommodating foreigners costs the local
authority R17 000 a month. When I
spoke to the Mayor he said he was
preparing to re-integrate the foreigners
into the community.
“My wish is to see the Zimbabweans return to
their homes but we cannot
guarantee them protection from attacks,” said
Ntsomi.
According to Thembi Ndlovu a Zimbabwean woman who works for a
local aid
agency the Zimbabwean immigrants made the situation worse
themselves when
they attacked a resident who order led them to
leave.
“I tried to warn them that beating up a local would be a big
mistake but
they did not listen. Today they are in trouble and living in
tents and some
have lost their jobs,” said Ndlovu, who comes from Bulawayo.
Her
organisation has been assisting foreigners displaced by xenophobic
violence.
All the Zimbabwean immigrants working on the farms in the
Breede Valley are
from Mashonaland, Manicaland and
Masvingo.
Sarah Chigumbira says South Africans hate them with a
passion. “These people
don’t even want to see us here. If they had their way
they would kill us
all,” said Chigumbira, who says she comes from Bindura in
Mashonaland
Central.
But Nomusa Sibanda another Zimbabwean from
Bulawayo and living in
Khayelitsha denies that South Africans hate
Zimbabweans.
At a meeting to discuss the plight of the foreigners,
some councillors
objected to the return of the immigrants to the farms. The
councillors
argued that the foreigners were taking jobs meant for locals and
therefore
want foreigners to return to their countries.
By
Thabo Kunene
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 30 January 2010
12:58
MASHONALAND Central has been hit by a serious malaria outbreak with
a number
of people feared dead in farming communities. Although Health and
Child
Welfare Minister Henry Madzorera and his deputy Douglas Mombeshora
said they
were not aware of the outbreak, a visit to Shamva - one of the
most affected
areas - showed that patients exhibiting malaria symptoms were
trekking to
health institutions.
Local health authorities who
spoke on condition of anonymity said most of
the patients at Shamva Rural
Hospital had come from areas such as Mugagau,
Town centre, New Briston,
Nherera and Riverbed farms.
They said they suspect the outbreak was
caused by the government's failure
to implement prevention measures ahead of
the rainy season.
Usually, the Ministry of Health with the support of
donors sprays areas most
affected by the disease and also provides mosquito
nets.
"Just like what happened when there was cholera there is just
of lack of
preparedness by health authorities," said Mugove Nzira of
Shamva.
"Many people in this area have malaria and they are coming
here to be
treated.
"Some are dying at home because they can't
afford the treatment."
He said about 100 people were receiving
attention at the hospital every day
where treatment costs US$2 for an adult
and US$1 for children.
A teacher at Chiraramo Primary school said
many children had succumbed to
the preventable disease.
"Seven of
my students did not come to school this week because they had
malaria.
"I also heard other teachers saying some of their pupils
have malaria," he
said.
"People do not have money to go the
hospital. Malaria should just be treated
for free."
But when
contacted for comment, Madzorera said he did not want to talk about
malaria.
"I am busy at the moment. You don't have to call me
about malaria or
measles. Call the Ministry of Health offices, they will
tell you the right
person to talk to," he said.
Many parts of the
country are also battling a measles outbreak that has
killed over 50
children.
Mombeshora who had referred this reporter to Madzorera said
they were yet to
receive reports of an outbreak.
According to a
report by Roll Back Malaria (RBM) partnership released last
week, Zimbabwe
faces a potential malaria outbreak this year if health
authorities continue
to put all their attention on the cholera outbreak.
RBM said no
indoor residual spraying (IRS) or insecticide treated nets (ITN's)
were
rolled out to cover the rainy season.
In 2007-2008, a total of 322
278 households representing over 1.6 million
people were covered by
IRS.
Malaria kills about three million people every year, the majority of
whom
are African children.
BY SANDRA MANDIZVIDZA
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 30 January 2010 12:49
THE battle
to contain the measles outbreak that has killed more than 50
children
countrywide received a major boost on Tuesday when Japan donated
US$1.4
million to the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) and
government. At
least 54 children have died since the outbreak was first
detected last
year.
Most of them had not been vaccinated because their parents are
members of an
Apostolic Faith sect, which discourages its followers from
seeking medical
treatment.
Mary Kamupota, the national
co-ordinator of the Expanded Programme on
Immunisation (EPI), said the money
will be used to buy a year's supply of
vaccines.
She said
priority will be for measles vaccines to help expand the emergency
vaccinations to counter the latest outbreak.
"These vaccines will
go a long way in reducing vaccine preventable diseases
such as measles,"
Kamupota said at the handover ceremony.
"This is Japan's fifth year
of support to Zimbabwe's children in the
procurement of
vaccines.
"This year's grant will procure all 2010 traditional
vaccines, injection
supply material and also the cold chain
equipment."
Kamupota said government was working on a legal framework
to deal with
religious sects that prevent children from being vaccinated
against the
killer diseases.
She said the outbreak was also a
reminder of the shortage of vaccines in the
country.
At least 98%
of the children who have succumbed to measles during the latest
outbreak
belong to the Apostolic Faith sect.
Unicef country representative, Dr
Peter Salama said they would continue to
offer technical support to affected
areas.
"The deaths from measles from this outbreak really underscore
why the grant
from the government of Japan is so important.
"It's
easy to forget that simple preventable diseases such as measles can
kill
children if they are not vaccinated," he said.
"We must access these
unvaccinated children and ensure that the deaths stop
and we would encourage
all families and communities to take their children
to be vaccinated because
this is a disease that can kill children, we have
seen this again and
again."
Salama said the grant will also help reduce the rate of child
mortality in
Zimbabwe.
Recent statistics from the Central
Statistics Office show that there has
been a 20% increase in the number of
children who die before reaching the
age of 10.
Koichi Morita,
the Japanese ambassador to Zimbabwe, said immunisation
eventually saved
costs on treatment.
Reducing child mortality by 2015 is goal number
four in the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) set by the United Nations
for member states.
Unicef has warned that Zimbabwe is unlikely to
meet its MDGs as a result of
the decade long economic collapse before the
formation of the unity
government last February.
BY BERTHA
SHOKO
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 30 January 2010
15:23
GWERU — The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) has proposed
radical
changes to the Labour Act that might see men taking paternity leave.
The
proposals, which were revealed at a ZCTU Women’s Advisory Council
workshop
last week, have already been submitted to the Minister of Labour,
Paurina
Mpariwa.
ZCTU says it has also met Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai who cut his
political teeth at the country’s labour centre, to
drum up support for the
potentially far reaching
reforms.
According to the Labour Act, only women are allowed to go on
maternity leave
after giving birth.
But the labour body says the
provision is not only discriminatory but also
disadvantages
women.
“We have since made our submissions to Labour Minister Paurina
Mpariwa and
it is our hope that they will be taken seriously and
incorporated in the
envisaged new labour law so workers can enjoy various
rights and freedoms,
some of them denied since the colonial era,” ZCTU legal
advisor Zakeyo
Mtimtema said.
“We made the same submissions to
the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on
Labour last year.
The
ZCTU wants men to be allowed 14 days paternity leave so they can assist
their partners soon after giving birth.
Mtimtema said they also
wanted changes to the provision that says maternity
leave can only be
granted to employees who have completed one year with the
same
employer.
The same provision stipulates that an employee can only be
granted maternity
leave thrice under one employer and that there should be
24 months in
between pregnancies.“The solution is to give the right to all
female
employees without considering period of service,” he
said.
“Employees must be allowed to decide how they want to space
their children
and how many children they want to have regardless of whether
they changed
the employer or not.”
ZCTU also wants the breast
feeding period to be increased from one hour per
day to two and this should
be over 18 months and not the current six.
Other proposed changes
include a 48-hour notice to go on strike instead of
the current 14-day
written notice.
“We demand that notice be only 48 hours like in South
Africa so that workers’
grievances can be expressed with the urgency they
deserve,” Mtimtema said.
The unionists say they want a Labour Act
that decriminalises strikes,
outlaws police intervention and bars employers
from replacing workers who go
on strike.
They also want workers
who go on strike to receive full pay and solidarity
strikes
legalised.
On retrenchments, the labour body demands that employees
must be given two
months’ remuneration for every year served, six months’
severance pay, three
months’ salary for relocation costs where applicable
and one year medical
benefit after termination of contract.
It
also proposes that the Labour Court, which it describes as a toothless
dog,
should be given additional powers so it can enforce its decisions
contrary
to the prevailing situation whereby employers can ignore its
judgments
without any repercussions.
ZCTU also wants the Labour minister’s
powers, condemned by the International
Labour Organisation (ILO) in 2000, to
be clipped so that unions can be
autonomous.
According to the
current legislation, the minister has powers to investigate
trade unions,
set aside union elections, fix the qualifications of
unionists, postpone or
change venue or procedure of election and make
regulations to control trade
unions.
Employers through the Employers’ Confederation of Zimbabwe
and the Public
Service Commission are also expected to make submissions on
the proposed
reforms.
BY JENNIFER DUBE
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 30 January 2010
16:45
ZIMBABWE is in a quandary. Put bluntly the government needs money
in order
to kick start all sectors of industry and improve provision of
social
services. So the official thinking is that it's best to sell off
resources
and privatise parastatals.
This is the line that
the government has been pushing recently when it
announced plans to begin
unbundling parastatals to foreign investors.
This was temporarily
shelved due to the global recession. But only
temporarily.
A
wholesale of Zimbabwe's resources and the privatisation of its social
services will be a quick fix that ultimately leads to disaster. We only need
to look into our history of structural adjustment while at the same time
learning from regional experiences of privatisation to see
why.
The Economic Structural Adjustment Programme (Esap) of the
1990's was
Zimbabwe's baptism of economic fire. The World Bank and IMF's
buzz words of
"liberalisation" and "privatisation" were so far-reaching that
even primary
school children joked at the time that "Even Sadza's A
Problem".
Through removal of trade barriers, tariffs and subsidies
Esap was supposed
to make Zimbabwe more competitive and prosperous. Through
"commercialisation" of parastatals Zimbabweans were expected to receive
better services.
In fact, the opposite happened as a period of
de-industrialisation began.
Industry was no longer allowed any state support
while workers became more
impoverished with the average worker in 1995 twice
as poor as in 1980.
Wages as a percentage of gross domestic product
(GDP) fell from 57% in the
1980s to 45% by 1995. During the first phase of
Esap manufacturing's share
of GDP fell from 20% to 16%. Spending on social
services was also vastly
reduced in line with World Bank
policy.
The liberalisation agenda benefited foreign corporations that
were able to
flood Zimbabwe with their goods as well as benefiting local
elites involved
in unproductive speculation. As usual the poor suffered and
found no
benefits in the World Bank's liberalisation policy.
The
commercialisation drive begun by Esap has been revived recently in
Zimbabwe.
"Commercialisation" means turning what should be a social service
for all
into a commodity with a price tag.
This has been done with the
Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) and
more recently with the
Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (Zesa). Zinwa
in typical fashion took
over the handling of water provision from local
councils and began charging
exorbitant bills while not repairing the
existing
infrastructure.
This led to a successful campaign against Zinwa - part of
the movement for
access to water - where in October 2008 the Zimbabwe
Coalition on Debt and
Development presented to government 4 000 signatures
on a petition
protesting against Zinwa's incompetence. Zinwa's control of
water provision
was subsequently reversed.
Electricity has also
become a site of struggle as Zesa recently sparked an
outcry as it began
disconnecting poor people's homes in Bulawayo because of
their failure to
pay ridiculously inflated bills. Such commercialisation of
basic social
services is laying the ground for all-out privatisation.
South Africa
is a key example of the effects of the privatisation of social
services. The
ANC came to power in 1994 on a groundswell of popular support
and
optimism.
Yet despite the Constitution claiming that "everyone has
the right to
sufficient water" the ANC soon reversed this as it launched its
World
Bank-supported GEAR economic policy in 1996 which turned water and
other
services into commodities, not rights.
Municipalities began
the process of privatising water and Johannesburg City
Council handed the
running of their water to French multinational, Suez
Lyonnaise des Eaux.
Poor communities were hit hardest as Suez increased
tariffs by 55%. This
privatisation drive has been reproduced across South
Africa resulting in
over 10 million people having their water disconnected
and over 2 million
people evicted from their homes due to so-called "cost
recovery".
The effects on the urban poor have been devastating as
diseases abound
including outbreaks of cholera in places such as KwaZulu
Natal. Incredibly
the poor are asked to pay more than the rich as their
tariff increases are
much higher. So while corporations enjoy cheap water
it's the poor who foot
the bill.
This unjust situation has
produced considerable community resistance
epitomised in the
Anti-Privatisation Forum (APF) which was formed in order
to oppose
privatisation.
The APF has been part of community struggles which have
seen the "water
warriors", as protesting residents have been labelled,
resisting water
disconnections and fighting against the installation of
pre-paid water
meters.
These struggles against water
privatisation and poor social service delivery
have erupted across South
Africa. The country now has more protests per
capita than any other country
in the world.
So why would Zimbabwe want to import such a disastrous
policy? Unfortunately
the very same World Bank that imposed Esap currently
advises those in
government that shape our economic policy.
Yet
if we are to learn from our past then we would see that Zimbabwe's foray
into liberalisation hurt the poor and only benefited local elites. South
Africa's experience shows us the nightmare of full-blown privatisation as
profit comes before people.
Ultimately Zimbabwe needs new
politics where communities participate in
decision-making and budget-making
processes instead of the top down,
profit-motivated approach.
There
is a new discourse amongst global social justice activists: it's one
about
"the commons" where water, electricity and the like are all seen as
something that should benefit everyone as opposed to being something to be
commodified and sold.
If we don't start seeing social services as
part of "the commons" that
should benefit all then say hello to a new
generation of "water warriors".
BY CDE FASTO
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 30 January 2010
16:42
THE right to own land and the right to education were the two key
objectives
of the liberation struggle. Landless peasants, whose sons and
daughters
formed half of the freedom fighters, were fighting primarily for
land.
The land hunger was respected for the first three years of
Independence,
when some 2 million hectares of land were given to landless
peasants.
However land resettlement slowed down, and by 1987, had
halted.
It was only to resume in 2000, following a forceful reminder
by war veterans
that this important aspect of the liberation struggle had
been forgotten and
neglected. Soon after, the programme was taken over by
Zanu PF, and named
the Third Chimurenga.
War veterans and a large
number of youths were recruited to take the
programme to scale. Now, almost
a decade later, it is appropriate to examine
the positive and the negative
sides of the Land Resettlement Programme.
Originally, the commercial
farm lands covered 16 million hectares, farmed by
some 5 000 white
farmers.
These large farm holdings averaged about 2 000 hectares each. In
1976, only
327 white farmers were extremely successful, utilising their land
fully.
About 40% were successful enough to pay tax, whilst as many as 60%
were not
earning enough to be taxed. At Independence, 3 million hectares
were bought
through a US$80 million grant given by the Conservative
government under
Margaret Thatcher.
When the Labour Party came
into power in 1998, they, through international
aid Minister Clare Short,
flatly refused to fund any further land
resettlement.
Although land
resettlement had fizzled out a decade earlier, there were some
hopes that it
would resume.
Zanu PF has consistently blamed the British Government for
the stalled land
resettlement programme. The Zimbabwean government was
dependent on British
funds for this important programme. Donor dependency
was part of the
problem.
The 2000 Land Resettlement Programme
differed from the 1981 - 1983
Resettlement Programme, and perhaps gives a
hint as to why the earlier
programme was halted.
The 1981 - 1983
Programme gave land to landless peasants. By 2000 it was
decided that some
of the land should go to people who were well resourced.
However in both
cases the land was not sold, but was given free of charge.
The new programme
divided land resettlement into A1 and A2 schemes, A1 being
for small-scale
farmers and A2 being for large-scale farmers.
In an imitation of the
colonial set up, the land was being divided in effect
into large-scale
commercial farms for the well endowed and small-scale farms
for the poor,
who were the majority.
Land was being given to Zanu PF loyalists,
irrespective of their knowledge,
skills and experience in
farming.
Little was given in terms of training and extension support.
Whilst seeds
and fertilizer were being distributed either free or at a very
low price,
this was difficult to access, and went mainly to the top
political
leadership.
Four weaknesses of the programme can be
identified: firstly the blind
imitation of the settler colonial agricultural
set up favouring large-scale
farmers, yet it is well known that it was
communal farmers who had fed the
nation since the 1980s; secondly the
failure to provide training and
extension support; and thirdly, the failure
to provide adequate seeds,
fertiliser and draught power. The fourth
weakness, and the most fatal, was
to tie the programme to patronage,
utilizing political loyalty as the main
criterion at the expense of actual
commitment and capacity to farm.
The provision of free handouts under
the patronage system proved fatal, as
non-farmers were able to sell the
handouts at a premium without actually
planting anything. Whilst a small
percentage of political supporters may
also be excellent farmers, on the
whole political loyalty does not prove
that one has farming
skills.
Land resettlement remains one of the most important
challenges facing
Zimbabwe.
It is impossible to return to the
past. It is also counterproductive to
retain the colonial settler model, as
has been done in the 2000 imitation of
the Rhodesian system of dividing
farmers into well endowed large-scale
commercial farmers and small-scale
subsistence farmers, with inputs being
made available mainly to the
large-scale ones.
About 11 - 12 million hectares of the land formerly
held by white commercial
farmers have now been taken over by the
government.
The issue of multiple ownership of land is clearly against
stated government
policy, and this can be speedily rectified. Some 200 -
300 of the political
elite hold multiple farms.
Ending multiple farm
ownership could free up about half a million hectares
of land. This land
can become the core of a new land resettlement scheme.
The majority
of the resettled, about 150 000, do not own multiple farms. It
would be
extremely disruptive to have a wholesale movement of the newly
resettled at
this point.
On the other hand, un-utilised and under-utilised land is
absolutely
detrimental to the development of Zimbabwe. A number of
approaches can be
taken to ensure that all land is productively utilised. A
few of these
include:
The first is to provide training and
extension services to those who have
been given land.
The second
is to make inputs, in particular seeds and fertiliser, freely
available on
the open market, so that everyone can access them. Seeds and
fertiliser
should not be free, and should be available in hundreds of
outlets, such as
farmers' co-ops and village shops. Imagine if tooth paste
or soap were only
available in one depot per district!
There would be queues and
corruption, as has been the case with seeds and
fertiliser.
Seeds
and fertiliser can be subsidised so that they are affordable. This
would
be based on an analysis of production costs, profit level, and
affordability
to the majority of farmers. Since these inputs would be sold,
they will
generate funding for further investment.
Loans should be made
available to both small-and large-scale farmers to
enable them to buy
inputs.
"Land to the tillers" is one of the most important slogans of
the liberation
struggle, and should be adhered to. The situation where the
politically
powerful have been able to hold onto large farms without farming
them should
end.
Present settlers should be given a five-year
licence to remain on the land,
during which period they have to prove that
they are serious farmers. They
should have opportunities to train, to
enjoy extension services, to buy
inputs at reasonable prices, and to access
loans.
At the end of five years, each farmer's production record can
be examined,
and decisions made case-by-case regarding whether they can
retain their
farms or not.
Serious farmers will be given the
opportunity to buy their farms or part of
their farms on a 99-year leasehold
system. The price should not be set by
market prices, but should be based
on productivity and affordability.
In the 1981 - 1983 Resettlement
Scheme land was bought from white farmers at
an average of US$200 a
hectare. Some of it was for less.
This could very well be an affordable
bench mark, and farmers will have had
five years to save enough to buy one.
Thus a good small-scale farmer could
pay US$1 000 for a five-hectare plot,
whereas a large-scale farmer could pay
US$80 000 for a 400-hectare
plot.
The gradual sale of 10 million hectares of land will bring in
about US$2
billion, and this can be spent on improving agricultural
productivity. Such
leaseholds can be sold, with one or two
conditionalities, such as they can
be sold only to serious
farmers.
Inheritance is also possible, but only if the heir is a serious
farmer.
Serious farmers would prove their seriousness by acquiring some form
of
agricultural training or by proving that they have been productive on
allotments or communal farms.
A serious farmer would also spend a
large amount of time on the farm itself,
and this can be
measured.
Only the indigent or very poor should be given land free of
charge.
Assuming that there are 2 million indigent families in the country,
and each
is given half a hectare of land, this will mean reserving some 1
million
hectares of land for this purpose.
Indigents should be given
land according to the allotment system, where land
can be hired for short
periods of time, such as one to five years.
This would be social welfare
scheme, providing the indigent with the
opportunity to utilize land for
survival purposes. Allotments can be dotted
all over the country. The
objective is to allow the indigent to feed his or
her family. Free and/or
low cost seeds and fertiliser can be made available
to this
group.
The successful ones would qualify to become farmers through the
mainstream
land resettlement programme.
Land is too valuable to
gamble with. Land must be utilised to best effect.
Land must be
productive. Land is the lifeline of the country.
BY FAY CHUNG
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 30 January 2010
16:39
IN almost every extended family, there is one like him. He is the
fellow who
likes to talk at public gatherings but those who know him often
go to great
lengths to make sure he is not given the floor. You can imagine
the scene at
a funeral or a wedding during that period allocated for
speeches.
The elders make a call to the organisers. "Please make sure,
Sekuru (Uncle)
Rameki does not speak," they plead.
"Please,
handiti vatombonwa mangwanani ano?" ("Please, especially now, hasn't
he been
drinking all morning?"). They would have reason to be
apprehensive.
Experience would have taught them some bitter
lessons. That Sekuru Rameki
has an unusual propensity to stick his foot in
the mouth to the
embarrassment of the whole family; especially when this
tendency is
propelled by the often reckless and uninhibited consumption
intoxicating
substance.
It doesn't matter that Sekuru Rameki's
speeches may contain grains of truth.
Often he says it as it
is.
The trouble is that he knows neither the location nor the
time to make his
utterances. So at weddings or funerals or indeed any such
gatherings where
public speeches are made, someone is assigned to make sure
Sekuru Rameki
does not utter a word in public.
I was reminded of
the likes of Sekuru Rameki last week when the furore broke
over the
statements made by British Foreign Secretary David Miliband in
relation to
the contentious issue of sanctions in Zimbabwe.
He is reported to
have stated in Parliament something to the effect that
sanctions could be
lifted upon the advice of the MDC-T, the erstwhile
opposition party that is
now an uneasy partner with Zanu PF in the delicate
power-sharing government.
This has placed the MDC-T in a very embarrassing
position. It's not hard to
see why.
For years, Zanu PF has blamed sanctions imposed by Western
countries for the
economic decline in Zimbabwe and the MDC-T has been
accused of having called
for such sanctions.
The MDC-T has
denied this charge and further argued that it has neither the
power nor the
facility to get the sanctions lifted.
As if that wasn't enough, Zanu
PF has long characterised sanctions as an
"outstanding issue" in the
on-going negotiations to fully implement the
Global Political Agreement
(GPA) that facilitated the birth of the
power-sharing government in February
2009.
Zanu PF has argued that the MDC should do more to get the
sanctions lifted
believing that since it allegedly called for the sanctions
and is in cahoots
with the Western powers, it therefore has the leverage to
influence their
removal.
The MDC-T has counter-argued that it does
not have the leverage to do so,
submitting that it is entirely within the
domain of those who imposed the
sanctions to remove them at their will. It
has for its part, notwithstanding
previous denials of their existence, even
called for the lifting of
sanctions.
So unsurprisingly, the
statements made by Miliband have added fuel to
already burning embers in the
context of Zimbabwe's fragile political
settlement.
They suggested
that the MDC-T does have the leverage that it has been
denying. In that
respect, they suggested that the MDC-T was not being
sincere in its denials
of its ability to resolve this so-called "outstanding
issue". There is
reason to put up a brave face but privately it is
reasonable to presume that
MDC-T leaders are appalled and embarrassed by
these
statements.
But this is not the first time that the MDC-T has been
placed in this
awkward position by those that seemingly sympathise with its
efforts.
A few years ago, on being asked what Britain was doing about the
situation
in Zimbabwe, the then British Prime Minister Tony Blair stated in
Parliament
something to the effect that they were working hand in hand with
the MDC-T
to rid the country of the Mugabe regime.
This positioned
the MDC-T as an accomplice in the regime-change agenda and
appeared to
confirm Zanu PF's rhetoric that the MDC-T was no more than a
puppet created
to further the Western-engineered regime change plot.
Now all this
may not have affected the Zimbabwean electorate, whose views on
the
political protagonists is informed more by their condition and personal
experiences than by what is stated in the British Parliament or the
media.
Indeed, it is highly probable that little of what Miliband said
will have
filtered down to the townships or far-flung rural communities let
alone
influenced their views on Zanu PF or the MDC-T.
The ordinary
people are unlikely to change their political views simply
because of
statements made by a British politician. These are political
views that have
been horned over a long period of time and it will take more
than a faux pas
by a foreign political figure to change them.
But it would be naïve
to dismiss their effect entirely given the nature of
Zimbabwe political
dispensation which is influenced less by the electorate
than by the key
figures, external and internal within the context of the GPA
negotiating
process. For a start, there can be no doubt that these
statements will be
exploited to the maximum possible levels by the
propaganda
machinery.
And to be sure, you can't blame them - in politics, gifts
don't come more
easily. Anyone in that position and given the circumstances
would happily
exploit the statements for leverage in the
negotiations.
Indeed, if the MDC-T were in Zanu PF's position they would
probably be doing
exactly the same thing. It's the nature of
politics.
Further, the political situation in the country at present
is not one that
is within the control of the electorate. The matter is
entirely within the
domain of politicians. In that arena, the sanctions
issue carries more
weight than it does on the general electoral
platform.
There is some impact on how the MDC-T is characterised within
the Sadc arena
which presently controls the political direction in the
country.
The argument that the MDC-T is a mere façade of a Western plot
to topple the
government has been used effectively to sway some African
leaders to view
the MDC-T with suspicion.
And because, ultimately
these African leaders have acted as the mediators in
Zimbabwe, it is fair to
say that the cloud surrounding the MDC-T's
relationship with the West has
not helped matters. These unfortunate
statements will only have added
unnecessary baggage that will require much
effort to dislodge.
It is
why the statements have given Zanu PF more arsenal than they had
previously.
It is also why it has placed the MDC-T in an awkward situation
where it may
now have to give some ground to redress the new imbalance.
There are
lessons to be learnt. There are a lot of people around the world
who would
like to assist Zimbabwe. Some of them are well-intentioned. But in
their bid
to provide that help, they probably make unhelpful choices.
As with the
likes of Sekuru Rameki, they say or do things at the wrong
moments. And in
doing so, they cause not only embarrassment but also
crucially undermine
one's strategic position.
It is on those occasions when those
gathered plead: "Ko vanotaurireiko
vachidaro Sekuru Rameki? Ko mazoregereiko
vachitaura?" (why does Sekuru
Rameki speak in that manner? Why did you let
him speak?"). Then again, it's
not that simple.
The MDC-T does
not have the power to control what the British Foreign
Secretary says or
does. The message for those who seek to assist is that
perhaps they could
control the tongue a little bit better. Rurimi inyoka -
the tongue is a
snake, so the wisdom of our ancestors schools us.
In Britain, they
should know better. Prime Minister Gordon Brown has spent
quite a few days
in Northern Ireland in the past week trying to save the
power-sharing
government there, an arrangement not terribly unlike what we
presently have
in Zimbabwe where erstwhile protagonists are trying to work
together for the
greater good. They deal with that situation with a lot of
care and
sensitivity. They could accord the same to the fragile arrangement
in
Zimbabwe, if anything, out of respect for those they seem to sympathise
with.
Alex Magaisa is based at, Kent Law School, the University of
Kent and can be
contacted at wamagaisa@yahoo.co.uk
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Saturday, 30 January 2010
16:37
THE government might have the right motives but the decision to
take over
the Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project (MZWP) and subsequent
appointment of
consultants has a familiar ring to it - leading the people of
that region up
the garden path. The one thing that the project does not
require is another
consultancy. We believe that must have been covered by
the previous
stakeholders.
It is not possible that in all the years
the project has been under
consideration - almost a century - no plan on how
to proceed has been drawn
up.
A fortnight ago the Minister of
Water Resources Development and Management
announced that the government had
taken over the project and renamed it.
The Minister also announced
that he had appointed consultants to lead public
consultations on how to
proceed with the project and mobilisation of funds.
The project was
first mooted in 1912 and renaming is really tinkering at the
periphery of
the problem.
After decades of being lied to by successive
administrations the people of
Bulawayo and the western regions deserve
development that will assure them
of regular water
supplies.
Uncertainties over Bulawayo's water resources have had
several devastating
effects. Among these is the flight of industries from
what historically was
the country's industrial hub. New investment has been
shunning Bulawayo
because there is no reliable source of water. These and
other factors have
conspired to contribute to the underdevelopment of the
western region.
There are serious questions about issues of
transparency over the
appointment of consultants. For example, how
wide-ranging were the
consultations that informed and led to the engagement
of consultants, and is
that the most critical step in the process of
beginning to implement the
project?
We believe what should have
taken place is an audit on what work has been
done so far and what specific
measurable stages should be taken in launching
the project's
take-off.
Government does not have the kind of resources required to
implement the
project and so it would have been useful to establish whether
over the years
there have been investors who have consistently shown
interest in the matter
and what their specific proposals
were.
The people of Bulawayo and Matabeleland could do with less
theatrics and
more actualities.
There may be differences with
the previous people running the project but
what is most important is that
whoever comes builds on what was achieved
before. Starting afresh can only
be a re-enactment of Zanu PF's unfulfilled
promises to the people of that
region.
That would be insulting the patience of Zimbabweans in that part
of the
country, or was this an excuse of trying to attend to Harare's Kunzvi
Dam
without courting the ire of the people of Matabeleland? There have been
too
many false starts already.
It is curious that the government
could think of such a grand project, which
will take much longer to
implement when linking up Mtshabezi Dam to Bulawayo's
water reservoirs and
fully rehabilitating boreholes to draw water from the
Nyamandhlovu aquifer
appear the most immediate and logical steps.
We don't even mention Tokwe
Mukorsi Dam which was abandoned by two separate
sets of investors - Italians
and Iranians - because of the government's lack
of
commitment.
The renaming of the project and the appointment of
consultants could be
nothing more than an attempt at seeking popularity. The
people of Bulawayo
have had enough of that, especially over the past 30
years.
Consulting Botswana, Zambia and other countries with which
Zimbabwe shares
the Zambezi is not new territory.
With the failure of the
SADC-mediated talks to resolve differences over the Global Political Agreement,
the Vigil has launched a new petition calling for elections as soon as possible.
The petition reads: ‘Petition to President Zuma of South
Africa: After a year of the Zimbabwe interim government it is clear that it
is going nowhere so we call on President Zuma as mediator for the Southern
African Development Community to arrange free and fair elections as soon as
possible.’
It is our intention to submit the
petition to the South African High Commission during President Zuma’s state
visit to
Zanu-PF has made clear it will not
honour the GPA; in fact it has shown that it will sabotage any reform that
endangers its hold on power, including the constitution-making fiasco.
The MDC is apparently asking SADC to
step in and resolve the impasse. The Vigil’s view is that SADC must set a date
for new elections and take steps to ensure that these are free and fair. This could include seeking help from the
African Union and the United Nations. After all, elections have been organised
in
We were puzzled by Tsvangirai’s
remarks at the international meeting in Davos about easing sanctions. He spoke
of ‘rewards for progress’. Reward Mugabe for obstructing the GPA? Reward the MDC
for caving in to Zanu PF? Tsvangirai said ‘It’s not as if I am here as a
salesman for
It was another freezing day. Several
people joined us straight from supporting the first Swazi Vigil outside the
Swaziland High Commission near
The Swazis wish to thank David
McAllister of the Zimbabwe Vigil who set up a website for them – www.swazilandvigil.co.uk.
There has been good progress on the
delivery of goods to our selected schools in
Some other
points:
·
Susan
Chechita boarded a bus in
·
Mathias
Makozhombwe and Nasiso Kashiri of Motherland ENT, a Zimbabwean music production
outfit based in
·
A human
rights lawyer came by to see us because their practice has so many Zimbabwean
clients. The lawyer was very please to
spend some time with us.
·
A lady
from
·
Thanks to
Nobuhle Ndlovu for her help today, especially with the register and merchandise
on the back table.
·
Congratulations to Patson Muzuwa and
Esther whose baby son (also Patson) was born on Wednesday.
For latest Vigil pictures check: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zimbabwevigil/.
FOR THE
RECORD: 185 signed the register.
EVENTS AND NOTICES:
·
ROHR
·
ROHR
·
ROHR
·
ROHR
·
ROHR
·
ROHR Hayes fundraising party.
Saturday
27th February from
·
ROHR
·
ROHR
·
Zimbabwe Association’s Women’s
Weekly Drop-in Centre. Fridays 10.30 am – 4 pm. Venue:
The Fire Station Community and ICT Centre,
·
Strategic Internship for Zimbabweans
organised by
Citizens for Sanctuary which is trying to secure work placements for qualified
Zimbabweans with refugee status or asylum seekers. For information: http://www.citizensforsanctuary.org.uk/pages/Strategic.html
or contact: zimbabweinternship@cof.org.uk.
·
For Motherland ENT’s
videos of the Vigil
on
Vigil
Co-ordinators
The Vigil,
outside the Zimbabwe Embassy, 429
BILL WATCH 4/2010
[30th
January 2010]
Recent
Court Cases Affecting Governance and Rule of
Law
Court Cases affecting Elections
On Voting Procedures for the Visually Impaired:
On 28th
January the Supreme Court struck down section 60 of the Electoral Act, which
requires polling station officials to assist visually impaired voters to mark
their ballot papers. The court said this was inconsistent with the
constitutional right of citizens to vote in secret [Constitution, section 23A, a provision added by
Constitution Amendment No. 19 in February 2009]. This means the
Electoral Act will have to be amended to allow visually impaired voters to vote
in secret – suggested methods include being assisted by a trusted person of the
voter’s own choice, Braille ballot papers or other measures that have been
adopted in other countries.
Challenge to Presidential Election in Supreme Court:
On 21st
January a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court dismissed Mr Justin Chiota’s bid
to overturn the March 2008 Presidential election. The full reasons for judgment
will be given later. Mr Chiota, a would-be Presidential candidate in 2008,
relied on the Supreme Court’s August 2008 declaratory order stating that he and
Mr Daniel Shumba had been unlawfully turned away by the nomination court. But
the Supreme Court said the 2008 decision did not entitle him to an order
re-opening the nomination court proceedings or overturning the election –
because
there was no
basis in the evidence before the court for concluding that the election result
might have been different if Mr Chiota’s name had been on the ballot
paper.
[Supreme Court’s 2008 judgment available.]
Court Cases affecting
Parliamentarians
Roy Bennett Case: Roy Bennett [MDC-T]
was sworn in as a Senator by the President of the Senate on 18th
March 2009. But although allocated the post of Deputy Minister of Agriculture,
Mechanisation and Irrigation Development by the Prime Minister, he has still not
been sworn in as such by President Mugabe. The excuse given is that he is
facing serious criminal charges, a stance which violates the fundamental
principle that a person is innocent until proved guilty. [Note: other Ministers have been sworn in although facing
serious charges.] Senator Bennett was arrested in February 2009 and
detained for over three weeks before getting bail. He was charged with
possessing arms for insurgency purposes and conspiring to commit acts of
insurgency only in November when his High Court trial started. The trial
adjourned in early December and resumed on 12th January. The State’s key
witness, Peter Hitschmann, refused to give evidence implicating Bennett. The
Attorney-General tried to “impeach” [discredit] Hitschmann by producing selected
statements of his and a video-taped interview purporting to implicate Bennett.
The judge ruled that the statements and the video were inadmissible, having
been disallowed at Hitschmann’s own trial as he claimed they were made after he
had been subjected to torture. The judge did allow the Attorney-General to
cross-examine Hitschmann as a hostile witness, but he could elicit nothing
implicating Bennett. The trial has now been adjourned until 3rd February for
the judge to consider a defence objection to the State’s production of emails
involving Bennett, said to be from Hitschmann’s computer, without expert
evidence as to their authenticity.
Deputy Minister Acquitted: On 20th January Deputy Minister of Women’s Affairs, Gender and
Community Development Evelyn Masaiti [MDC-T] was acquitted on a charge of fraud
alleging misuse of agricultural inputs. At the close of the State case the
magistrate upheld the defence submission that the State had failed to make out a
case for Mrs Masaiti to answer.
Trial of Constitution Select Committee Co-Chairperson Postponed:
Douglas
Mwonzora, MDC-T MP for Nyanga North and co-chairperson of the Parliamentary
Select Committee for the new Constitution, was summoned to stand trial
mid-January on a charge of insulting President Mugabe by calling him “a goblin”
during a March 2008 election campaign speech. But the prosecutor called off the
trial and said he would issue a fresh summons. Mr Mwonzora has denied the charge and
questioned the delay in bringing it, suggesting that the prosecution is a ploy
to interfere with his constitution-writing duties.
Judgment Expected on Challenge to Election of
Speaker: In this
case Jonathan Moyo, ZANU-PF MP for Tsholotsho [formerly Independent, but
recently welcomed back into ZANU-PF] has asked the High Court to nullify the
election of Lovemore Moyo, MDC-T, as Speaker of the House of Assembly, because
the voting was not conducted properly by secret ballot. The case was heard in
July 2009 by Justice
On SADC Tribunal Judgments
On Enforcement in
On enforcement in South Africa: Three
farmers dispossessed of their farms in Zimbabwe under the land reform programme
have lodged an application in the North Gauteng High Court for the registration
of the SADC Tribunal’s Campbell judgment. Their objective is enforcement of the
Tribunal’s judgment in
Chiadzwa Diamond Field Developments
In the
latest legal development on Chiadzwa the Chief Justice has ordered that all
diamonds extracted from the mining claims taken from African Consolidated
Resources [ACR] in 2006 must be handed to the Reserve Bank for safe-keeping
pending the determination of the appeal against Justice Hungwe’s decision of
24th September 2009 restoring the claims to ACR. This ruling temporarily
replaces that part of Justice Hungwe’s order directing the return of the
diamonds to ACR. This should halt, for the time being, any attempts by the
Government’s joint venture partners to sell diamonds extracted from the ACR
claims. The Government had already called off an auction announced by Mbada
Mining for 7th January, citing Mbada’s failure to follow proper procedure and
its non-compliance with Kimberley Process requirements agreed to by the
Government in November. Potential buyers would also have been deterred by ACR’s
public warnings that diamonds slated for auction were stolen property and that
Interpol had been alerted. Meanwhile, the Environmental Management Authority
[EMA] has lifted its ban on Mbada’s mining activities.
On Justice System
Police Harassment of Legal Practitioners: Justice
Chitakunye has ordered the Commissioner-General of Police to investigate
incidents detailed in an application brought by the Law Society, Zimbabwe
Lawyers for Human Rights and six individual legal practitioners complaining of
police obstruction of legal practitioners in the course of their lawful
professional duties. Assaults, threats and denial of access to clients were
among incidents cited. The judge also ordered the Commissioner-General and his
officers to refrain from hindering legal practitioners from exercising their
rights and warned that officers flouting the order will be guilty of contempt of
court. In a recent
example of harassment,
Note on Justice System
Judge-President Rita
Makarau at the opening of the legal year in Harare drew attention to the fact
that the Judicial Service Act of 2006 has not been brought into operation and
that as a result magistrates are still members of the Public Service, under the
control of the executive and not accountable to the Chief Justice and the
Judicial Service Commission. [Note: The
Judicial Service Act, although gazetted in January 2007, will not come into
operation until a date fixed by the President in a statutory instrument. The
Act provides for the transfer of magistrates from the Public Service to a new
Judicial Service, which will include Supreme Court and High Court judges, judges
of special courts and magistrates, and will be administered by the Judicial
Service Commission. As members of a unified judiciary coming under the Judicial
Service Commission rather than the Public Service Commission magistrates would
be in a position to function as truly independent judicial officers.]
[Available: (1) Full text of
Judge-President’s address and (2) Judicial Service
Act.]
Veritas makes every effort to ensure reliable information, but cannot
take legal responsibility for information
supplied.