http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Lance Guma
26 February
2009
The National Executive of the MDC will meet Friday afternoon to
discuss
ongoing violations of the unity deal, that brought their party and
ZANU PF
into the shaky coalition government. On Tuesday Mugabe unilaterally
announced the appointment of ministerial permanent secretaries without
consulting the MDC. Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and his Deputy Arthur
Mutambara then convened a press conference Wednesday to declare the
appointments null and void.
On Thursday party spokesman Nelson
Chamisa issued a statement saying the
supreme decision making body of the
MDC would meet to 'review the status and
performance of the inclusive
government, in relation to the party's
expectations. The issues include the
unilateral appointment of permanent
secretaries, the irregular appointments
of the Attorney-General and the
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor, the issue
of provincial governors and the
continued detention of MDC and civic
activists on trumped-up charges.'
Mugabe continues to dare the MDC to walk
out of the coalition government and
on Thursday said Reserve Bank Governor
Gideon Gono and Attorney General
Johannes Tomana would not be removed from
their jobs. 'I do not see any
reason why those people should go and they
will not go,' he stubbornly
insisted. This is despite Gono presiding over
one of the most corrupt and
politically driven reigns at the central bank,
while Tomana has been accused
of willfully blocking the release of political
prisoners by abusing the
appeal process.
The big surprise however was
Mugabe revealing that the country will have a
new constitution within the
next 18 to 24 months, followed by elections. 'We
are an interim arrangement;
we are not a permanent inclusive government.
Ahead of us is a whole
constitutional process which requires that we address
the issue of the
constitution. We will then have an election thereafter,
perhaps in about two
years time,' Mugabe said. The ZANU PF leader sounded
rather too self-assured
for someone who lost the presidential elections to
Tsvangirai in March last
year.
MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa however told Newsreel Mugabe's
comments were
nothing new. He said the life span of the coalition government
was clearly
set out as 2 years in the deal and they expected free and fair
elections in
that time.
With Mugabe in defiant mood, political
prisoners still in detention, WOZA
activists beaten and arrested, continuing
farm invasions across the country
and other violations, Tsvangirai's party
has done nothing to suggest they
wield any state power or have the stomach
to walk out. The guarantors of the
unity deal, SADC and the African Union,
have kept a deathly silence over the
violations. Limp statements from South
African President Kgalema Motlanthe
criticizing the arrest of Roy Bennet for
example were blasted as
half-hearted and not followed up with any pressure
on Mugabe.
Human rights academic Pedzisai Ruhanya told Newsreel that
Tsvangirai has no
power to do anything and was now simply an appendage of
the ZANU PF
government. He said the Prime Minister's lame duck status was
evidenced by
his complaints through the media, instead of being able to
change things
through his office. He compared the MDC to a wife in an
abusive marriage who
keeps saying, 'things will get better.' He said the
earlier the MDC realize
they are being used the better, and they should walk
out.
Ruhanya said the history of the interaction between the two parties
shows
that Mugabe always gets his way. He said the ministries that were
unilaterally grabbed and gazetted by Mugabe last year, are the ones which
were eventually adopted anyway. He argued the same will happen with the
appointment of permanent secretaries, the Attorney General, the Reserve Bank
and other appointments. Defending the MDC Chamisa said the decisions they
had to make were difficult ones and they understood the frustrations faced
by their party supporters. He however said they had several options to
respond to Mugabe's maneuvers.
NB: For the full no holds barred
interview between Lance Guma and Pedzisai
Ruhanya, tune into Behind the
Headlines on Thursday.
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=12452
February 26, 2009
By Our
Correspondent
JOHANNESBURG - South Africa's President Kgalema Motlanthe
has called on the
Zimbabwean government to immediately release those
opposition and human
rights activists still languishing in jail on
controversial charges.
His statement came hardly a day after United
Nations (UN) secretary general
Ban ki Moon raised similar concerns about the
detainees and the political
situation in Zimbabwe following the formation of
an all-inclusive
government.
Motlanthe, who is also the chairman of
the Southern African Development
Community, expressed concern over the
violation of human rights in Zimbabwe
where the police continue to arrest
MDC and civic society activists on
politically motivated charges.
"I
remain concerned about reports of arrests and detention of opposition
activists and human rights defenders," said Motlanthe.
It is now
technically incorrect to refer to the MDC as the opposition. The
party has
more seats in Parliament than Zanu-PF.
"I hope that these people will be
freed as soon as possible. Also, in the
face of the rapid deterioration of
the humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe,
especially the current cholera
epidemic, the UN will make all possible
efforts to increase its support to
Zimbabwe, including for nationally owned
stabilization and recovery
programmes.
"Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs,
Catherine Bragg, is
currently in Zimbabwe. She will recommend how the
international community
can step-up its humanitarian efforts in the
country.
Motlanthe said he had been assured by Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai when
he met him last week that the release of detainees was high
on the agenda of
the government of Zimbabwe.
"He assured me that in
his discussions with President Mugabe they had agreed
that all the detainees
should be granted bail in their own cognisance," he
said.
His
comments were made in the wake of a meeting with UN secretary-general,
who
met Motlanthe in Pretoria on Wednesday.
Ban called on Mugabe to release
opposition and human rights activists who
are still in detention, saying
this was necessary for the country's
newly-formed government of national
unity to gain international credibility.
"I support the launch of the
unity government, but it will be appropriate
for Zimbabwean President,
Robert Mugabe to heal the nation and release the
detained activists," he
said. "He should promote national reconciliation, as
the international
community will only support this government if there are
efforts from Mugabe
to make it work."
There was hope that the formation of an all-inclusive
government would help
resolve Zimbabwe's political problems which have been
exacerbated by the
government's arrest of civic society and opposition party
activists.
Among the detained are deputy Minister of
Agriculture-designate Roy Bennett
and human rights activist, Jestina Mukoko,
who has been behind bars on
controversial charges since
December.
Apart from its political woes, the country is faced with a
humanitarian
crisis that has been worsened by a deadly outbreak of cholera
that has
killed about 4 000 Zimbabweans and spread to neighbouring
countries.
Prospects are not rosy either on the economic front with
inflation at more
than 230 million percent as of last year's figures, while
joblessness now
stands at more than 90 percent.
South Africa has
borne the worst brunt of the crisis with millions of
Zimbabweans crossing
the Limpopo over the years to seek refuge.
From APA, 26 February
Harare - Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe on
Thursday refused to fire the
country's attorney general and central bank
governor, setting the stage for
a potential showdown with the former
opposition MDC which insists the two
men should leave service to restore
confidence in a fragile unity
government. The future of Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono and
Attorney General Johannes Tomana has been
the subject of speculation since
the formation on February 13 of the unity
government between Mugabe's Zanu
PF and the Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC) of Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai. The MDC, which controls the key
finance ministry, has insisted
that Gono and Tomana were improperly
appointed in violation of a
power-sharing agreement signed by Mugabe and
Tsvangirai in September last
year. Under the agreement, all appointments of
senior officials by Mugabe
have to be done in consultation with the prime
minister.
Mugabe, however, told the state-run Herald newspaper that
the creation of
the unity government would not nullify the statutory
appointments he made
before the inauguration of the new regime. He was
adamant that the
appointments had been made legally and that the individuals
occupying the
various offices were suitable for their respective jobs. "I do
not see any
reason why those people should go and they will not go," Mugabe
told the
newspaper. Gono is blamed for ruining Zimbabwe's economy through
his
policies at the central bank, while Tomana is accused of blocking the
release of opposition activists abducted by the police last year. Zimbabwe's
new Finance Minister Tendai Biti has vowed he would ensure Gono leaves
office, insisting that the continued tenure of the central bank chief would
hamper efforts to entice donor funding. Mugabe also announced the holding of
fresh Zimbabwe elections within the next two years which would be preceded
by the passing of a new constitution.
MEDIA RELEASE
26 February 2009
As the siege
conditions facing Zimbabwe's few remaining commercial farmers
escalate, the
Commercial Farmers' Union (CFU) and Justice for Agriculture
(JAG) are being
inundated with calls for assistance from farmers and their
families across
the country.
To date more than 100 farmers have been
targeted for fast-track
eviction and others are being forced off their
land. The CFU estimates that
the value of the crops in the ground under
threat is about £70 million.
Hermanus (Manie) Grove
of Innogo Ranch in Kwekwe, who is
protected by the SADC Tribunal ruling of
28 November 2008, was arrested last
week and remanded in custody. His trial
was scheduled to continue on
Tuesday.
The person
involved in this latest take-over attempt is the
same man responsible for
the serious beating of Grove on a previous
occasion.
Andrew Herbst [40th and 41st applicant
in the SADC Tribunal
case] was summoned to the magistrate's court in Karoi
at the beginning of
last week for a Thursday hearing.
Since
Herbst could not find a lawyer available to defend him, his own
lawyer,
David Drury, who was involved elsewhere, requested a remand but was
only
allowed four hours.
The trial began that afternoon with no legal
representation and was
completed very quickly. Herbst was found guilty of
being on his land
illegally and given seven days to remove his
belongings.
He was also given a suspended jail sentence of six
months and barred from
entering his farm for five
years.
Scores of other white farmers have cases pending in
magistrates' courts
around the country.
It has been learnt
that hours after the recent incarceration of a number of
farmers who had
taken their cases to the SADC Tribunal in Windhoek, a
meeting was held at
the Rukawo Motel Chegutu on 6 February.
It was convened by newly
appointed Zimbabwean Attorney General Johannes
Tomana to discuss ways of
fast tracking the prosecution of white farmers who
had not vacated their
land. Tomana is a known supporter of Zanu-PF and a
beneficiary of land in
the Banket area.
With him were officials from the Ministry of
Lands, the Permanent Secretary
in the Ministry of Justice and Parliamentary
Affairs, prosecutors,
magistrates and other officials as well as members of
the Zimbabwe Republic
Police.
In a memo regarding the meeting
it was reported that Chief Magistrate
Herbert Mandeya advised his fellow
magistrates that "the SADC Tribunal
ruling must be disregarded." He told
magistrates to refer land cases to the
Supreme Court.
At the
end of the meeting, the participants agreed "that the recent SADC
Tribunal
ruling shall not have any bearing on our courts on matters to do
with
land."
It was also agreed "that lands officers together with law
enforcement
agencies must do everything in their power to assist in the
eviction of
former commercial farmers who are refusing to vacate gazetted
farms..."
The meeting concluded with the agreement "that
cases pending
trial in the court should be finalised by the 21 February
2009."
Since that time the police have issued numerous court
summonses to remaining
white commercial farmers across the country. No
trials have to date been
concluded except that of Herbst, who
lost.
Farmers face up to two years' imprisonment if found guilty
of remaining on
their farms and in their homes
"illegally".
In many districts invasions continue on land where
farmers are still
battling to produce crops for a country that is currently
needing food aid
for well over half the population. White farmers have lost
occupation of
more than 95 percent of their former land holdings so
far.
The latest World Food Program estimate of people needing
food aid is seven
million out of a population that independent analysts
believe could be as
low as eight million. The newly released unemployment
figure is 94 percent.
January's Urban Food Security Assessment
released this month by Zimbabwe
Vulnerability Assessment Committee (ZimVAC)
reports that urban hunger has
deepened across Zimbabwe during the past three
years. The United Nations
has launched a US$500 million appeal to rescue
Zimbabwe from its "grave
humanitarian crisis"
In Article III
3.1 [a] of the Global Political Agreement, brokered by the
South African
government, the parties agreed "to give priority to the
restoration of
economic stability and growth in Zimbabwe."
This
includes "working together on a full and comprehensive
economic programme .
which will urgently address the issue of production,
food security, poverty
and unemployment..."
In section 3.1 [b], the parties agree "to
create conditions that would
ensure the 2008/2009 agricultural season is
productive."
Despite this, the unity government appears unable to
reverse the trend and
to bring about a return to respect of the SADC Treaty
and the ruling of the
SADC Tribunal.
The SADC Tribunal ruling
of 28 November 2008 found the laws under which
farmers in Zimbabwe are being
prosecuted "in breach of Article 4[c]" of the
SADC
Treaty.
SADC, through the SADC Tribunal, directed the Zimbabwe
Government "to take
all necessary measures, through its agents, to protect
the possession,
occupation and ownership of the lands of applicants.....and
to take all
appropriate measures to ensure that no action is taken, pursuant
to
Amendment 17, directly or indirectly, whether by its agents or by others,
to
evict from, or interfere with, the peaceful residence on, and of those
farms
by, the applicants.."
Chief Magistrate Mandeya cites
"Section III [b] of the Constitution of
Zimbabwe that provides that treaties
entered into by Zimbabwe cannot form
part of our law unless they go through
Parliament."
However, the SADC Treaty became part of domestic law
in 1992 when it was
signed by President Mugabe. It was only in 1993 that
Parliament brought in
Section III [b], which required that future treaties
be endorsed by
Parliament.
If we follow the Zimbabwean
government's logic and the SADC Treaty is not
part of domestic law, then is
Zimbabwe part of SADC? Or has Zimbabwe been
attending SADC meetings and
summits under false pretences?
ENDS
For further
information:
Ben Freeth for SADC Tribunal Rights
Watch.
Tel: +263 912 241 477
E-mail: freeth@bsatt.com
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Violet
Gonda
26 February 2009
Last year Zimbabwean commercial farmers were
left with no choice but to take
the Zimbabwean government to a SADC tribunal
to try to stop the illegal
evictions.
They won their case and a SADC
Tribunal in Namibia granted scores of white
farmers permission to remain on
their land. However the Zimbabwean
authorities continue to disrupt and
harass the farmers, in total violation
of the ruling by the regional
bloc.
This is also in total disregard of the power sharing government. It
has
emerged that the Attorney General Johannes Tomana was one of the
officials
who recently took part in a one day workshop for magistrates in
the Chegutu
area - the heartland of the SADC applicants - at which it was
decided that
the SADC ruling would be ignored. This is despite the fact that
Zimbabwe is
a signatory of the SADC tribunal.
Officials from the
Ministry of Lands, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs,
plus the police
participated in this workshop on the 6th February at the
Rukawo Motel, to
find out ways of handling quicker prosecutions of
commercial farmers who
have been refusing to vacate gazetted land.
Guest speakers included the
notorious and controversial AG, the Chief
Magistrate Herbert Mandeya and
David Mangota, the Permanent Secretary in the
Ministry of Justice. The AG
criticised what he termed "unnecessary delays"
in the farmers' trials.
Tomana himself is a beneficiary of land in the
Banket area.
It was at
this workshop that magistrates were told to disregard the SADC
Tribunal
ruling, and were told it does not form part of Zimbabwean law.
Mandeya said
treaties entered into by the government cannot form part of
Zimbabwe's laws,
unless they go through Parliament. He urged the magistrates
to refer these
cases to the Supreme Court. It is there that eviction
challenges are usually
dropped.
The participants agreed that the SADC Tribunal ruling should not
have any
bearing in Zimbabwe's courts and that the lands officers, together
with law
enforcement agencies, "must do everything in their power to assist
in the
eviction of former commercial farmers who are refusing to vacate
gazetted
farms and whose cut-off dates have elapsed."
A statement
from the Commercial Farmers Union said Mandeya advised his
fellow
Magistrates to be guided by the recent Supreme Court Judgement in the
case
between Mike Campbell and the Ministry of Lands, where the Judge ruled
in
favour of the latter. Campbell is the farmer currently facing eviction
by
ZANU PF official Nathan Shamuyarira's nephew, Peter Chamada.
Responding
to Chief Magistrate Mandeya's assertion that treaties entered
into by
Zimbabwe cannot form part of law, Campbell's son-in-law, Ben Freeth,
said
the SADC Treaty became part of domestic law in 1992 when it was signed
by
Mugabe. "It was only in 1993 that Parliament brought in Section III [b],
which required that future treaties be endorsed by Parliament. If we follow
the Zimbabwean government's logic and the SADC Treaty is not part of
domestic law, then is Zimbabwe part of SADC? Or has Zimbabwe been attending
SADC meetings and summits under false pretences?" he asked.
Freeth
told SW Radio Africa the Mugabe regime selectively chooses when to
abide by
SADC agreements and when it comes to the land issue it chooses to
go against
the highest human rights court within SADC.
Since the Chegutu 'workshop'
numerous court summons have been issued to the
remaining white commercial
farmers and most farmers in the Chiredzi, Lowveld
area have been forced into
hiding after warrants of arrest were issued
against them.
It's
reported there have been at least 100 farms invasions countrywide since
the
inclusive government was formed.
On Wednesday Prime Minister Tsvangirai
said the disruptions on the farms
were a huge infringement of the power
sharing deal. He denounced the
violence on the farms and warned the
disruptions "are undermining our
ability to revive our agricultural sector
and restore investor confidence."
The disruptions are continuing at a
time when Zimbabwe should be producing
food to feed the starving population.
The Commercial Farmers Union estimates
the value of the crops in the ground
under threat is about £70 million.
PRESS STATEMENT
NCA POSITION ON THE “ALL INCLUSIVE GOVERNMENT” AND THE
MAKING OF A NEW CONSTITUTION FOR
a)
Establishment of a transitional
government.
b)
Writing
a new, democratic and people-driven
constitution.
c)
Elections under a new constitution.
a)
Political detainees and women’s rights activists remain in unlawful
custody. At his inauguration, the Prime
Minister promised their release within “a day or week”. Not only did this not happen, but instead
more people were arrested, including Roy
Bennett.
b)
The
size of the government is bigger than what is provided for in the current
constitution as amended by Amendment No. 19.
The size is unsustainable for our country. Most of the international aid being sought by
the All Inclusive Government will be used to finance this huge
infrastructure.
c)
The
parties in the All Inclusive Government continue to quarrel over appointments
such as those of Permanent Secretaries, Provincial Governors, and the Governor
of the Reserve Bank and the Attorney General.
Does this country deserve a
huge, ineffective and quarrelling administration? For this reason, the NCA wishes to mobilize
the people to remain alert to the transitional nature of this
arrangement.
LOVEMORE MADHUKU
CHAIPERSON
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Violet Gonda
26 February
2009
The outrageous infringements of the power sharing deal by the Mugabe
regime
were clearly exposed on Wednesday when human rights defenders were
arrested
and beaten, threats to farmers continued and Mugabe announced a
list of
permanent secretaries, all from ZANU PF.
The outspoken
chairman of the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) Dr
Lovemore Madhuku,
described the inclusive government as a 'circus' and said
the power sharing
deal was an inappropriate way of dealing with the complex
Zimbabwe crises.
He said Mugabe does not know how to share power and it is
impossible to
achieve the kind of real change that Zimbabweans yearn for, in
this kind of
arrangement.
Madhuku said not only is Mugabe treating Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai
like a junior partner but the human rights abuses are
continuing as if
nothing has changed.
Police on Wednesday violently
broke up a WOZA demonstration beating
protesters and arresting several
activists. And despite a SADC ruling
barring ZANU PF officials from grabbing
protected farms, Nathan Shamuyarira's
nephew gave farmer Mike Campbell until
5pm to vacate his farm.
Prime Minister Tsvangirai held a press conference
on Wednesday and said the
rule of law continues to be flouted in Zimbabwe,
where farm invasions
continue unabated and in contravention of the
Memorandum of Understanding.
He said this was now "undermining our ability
to revive our agricultural
sector and restore investor
confidence."
Tsvangirai also said despite the Principals agreeing "that
all political
detainees who have been formally charged with a crime should
be released on
bail and those that have not been charged should be released
unconditionally. This has not yet happened."
Some of the political
prisoners are in leg irons and shackled at the Avenues
Clinic, the other
group is incarcerated in filthy cells at Chikurubi. Rights
lawyers say at
least 10 others are still missing after they were abducted by
state agents
from their homes several months ago.
Furthermore, despite the fact that
the MDC has not accepted his appointment,
the controversial Attorney
General, Johannes Tomana continues to play a
significant role in interfering
and abusing the detainees' quest for
freedom.
Tsvangirai said: "As
long as these matters remain unresolved, it will be
impossible for the
transitional government to move forward with the reforms
that this country
so desperately needs."
However Dr Madhuku was highly critical of the new
Prime Minister's
statement. He said; "The fact that he held a press
conference to complain
shows that he has no power, because if he had any
power he would have been
sitting somewhere and actually exercising that
power and we would see things
changing."
The NCA Chairman said if
Mugabe was interested in real change and Tsvangirai
had power, political
detainees would have been released, new faces would be
seen as permanent
secretaries and police officers would start behaving
differently and not
abuse ordinary citizens.
"But you cannot say you are in power if all you
do is to go and have a press
conference and tell us the problems that
everyone knows," said the outspoken
critic.
As the game of politics
continues to be played in Zimbabwe, questions are
being asked about the role
of the regional body - the guarantors of this
controversial Zimbabwean deal.
Where is SADC in all this and who can
pressure SADC and South Africa, to
force compliance?
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=12457
February 26, 2009
Harare (AP) -
Zimbabwe could hold fresh elections in two years if a new
constitution is
approved in a referendum, President Robert Mugabe said in
interview with
state media on Thursday.
Mugabe, 85, said that the new unity government
with Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai, formed only two weeks ago, was a
temporary solution until the
parties could agree on a new charter and fresh
polls.
"We are an interim arrangement. We are not a permanent inclusive
government," Mugabe said. "Ahead of us is a whole constitutional process
which requires that we address the issue of the constitution.
"There
is already a draft that the three parties agreed on. We shall look at
it and
when we are all satisfied it shall be put to the people in a
referendum," he
said.
He said the timeframe agreed on by parties to have a referendum was
within
18 to 24 months.
"If the people say yes, then the draft will
be allowed to pass through
Parliament. The timeframe that was agreed on by
the parties was that within
18 to 24 months we should have a
referendum."
Zimbabwe's descent into political and economic crisis began
nine years ago
when Mugabe lost a referendum on a new constitution that
would have expanded
the powers of the man who has ruled since independence
in 1980.
But the crisis deepened after disputed elections last year,
sending Zimbabwe
into a tailspin that saw politics deadlocked while a
humanitarian crisis
spiralled out of the control.
Tsvangirai, a long
time rival of Mugabe, agreed to form a unity government
under intense
regional pressure to end the crisis, which has left most of
the population
without food while a cholera epidemic has killed more than 3
800 people.
http://www.news24.com
26/02/2009 12:17 - (SA)
Johannesburg - An
attempt by a Free State farmer to get diplomatic
protection from the South
African government after land he owned in Zimbabwe
was seized, evolved into
a debate on Thursday on whether the Constitutional
Court can rule on the
president's conduct in the matter.
Crawford von Abo received a Pretoria
High Court order last year that the
president's conduct was unconstitutional
and invalid because former
president Thabo Mbeki and other ministers cited
had failed to provide the
diplomatic assistance he had asked for.
The
other ministers included foreign affairs and justice.
In terms of Section
167 of the Constitution, only the Supreme Court of
Appeal and a high court
can make an order of constitutional invalidity, and,
in terms of Section
172, it is only effective if the Constitutional Court
confirms
it.
Concern
Justice Kate O'Regan set the tone by expressing a
concern that by confirming
the Pretoria High Court order, they could open
the way for action against
the president whenever there is
unhappiness.
The court began debating which conduct should be included
when deciding to
issue such an order, and whether the president could be
held responsible for
the actions of Cabinet members, whom he appointed and
had supervisory powers
over.
They also focused on how far down in the
chain of command responsibility can
bounce back to the president.
The
Pretoria High Court ordered that the respondents, "take all necessary
steps"
to have the violation of Von Abo's rights by the Zimbabwe government
remedied.
The court also ordered that a report be provided within 60
days showing what
steps had been taken to remedy the situation.
Asked
why it was so important to confirm the order against the president,
given
that the respondents said they would comply, Von Abo's counsel Peter
von Abo
said: "Because the Constitution tells us that and because there is a
finding
by a high court relating to that conduct."
He said the court had also
said it did not want orders hanging with no
effect.
Stop
buck-passing
Pressed on the practical benefit to Von Abo, he said there
were no further
practical effects, but it is important to indicate what is
required of the
president when faced with such a situation.
Also,
there was a "racing certainty" that the government would apply for a
condonation, and appeal the matter.
He cited an earlier judgment this
week in which the court rapped the State
Attorney and president on the
knuckles for not responding to papers filed on
a challenge to the "Scorpions
Bills".
He said Von Abo's situation was not of his own
making.
"Ultimately, it will be important to the governance of this
country. It will
stop buck-passing - even only if it is by the symbolism
flowing from this
court."
- SAPA
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Alex Bell
26 February 2009
Five
activists from the pressure group, Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) are
still
being kept behind bars after they were arrested during a peaceful and
legal
demonstration in Harare on Wednesday.
The four women and one man were
part a 400 strong group that marched to the
government buildings in the
capital for an official meeting with the new
Education Minister, David
Coltart. However, the group was violently set upon
by riot police, who, true
to form, used brutal force to disperse the
peaceful group. The five
activists that were arrested were all assaulted,
while another nine were
treated for injuries inflicted at the hands of the
riot
police.
According to a WOZA statement released on Thursday, charges
against the
arrested group have not yet been detailed, although an
investigations docket
has been filed with the Law and Order department. The
state now has until
Friday morning to produce a charge sheet, as the 48
hours allowed by law to
keep the group in custody will expire at 10:30am
Friday.
Meanwhile, WOZA leaders, Jenni Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu
both appeared
in the Bulawayo Magistrate's Court on Thursday on charges of
'disturbing the
peace'. The pair was arrested last October during another
peaceful
demonstration urging that the crippling food shortages in the
country be
declared a national emergency. Their case has once again been
postponed to
next week and it's expected the High Court will fast track the
case,
resulting in the trial being forced through the system. WOZA already
has a
case from 2004 still waiting for a ruling in the High Court.
http://news.xinhuanet.com
www.chinaview.cn 2009-02-26
18:04:38
HARARE, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwean President
Robert Mugabe has
indicated that he would soon meet with the newly-appointed
Minister of
Finance Tendai Biti to discuss the status of the Zimbabwe dollar
and the use
of foreign currencies, New Ziana reported on
Thursday.
"When it was first mooted, the idea of paying people
in U.S.
dollars, I was against it and I still am because we just do not have
enough
(foreign currency). It is a problem that confronts us even now,"
Mugabe told
local media during his traditional birthday interview at
Zimbabwe House on
Wednesday.
"I do not see us adopting the
rand as our main currency. Even in
Sacu, the South African Customs Union,
the members have their own currencies
even though they use the rand.
Botswana has its pula, Namibia has its
dollar, Lesotho, Swaziland, they all
have their own currencies. But they
base them on the rand and that is
something that we might consider doing
here. At the moment we are using all
international currencies," he said.
The comments by the
president come as SADC Finance ministers met
in South Africa on Wednesday to
consider regional response to assist
economic recovery in
Zimbabwe.
South Africa has since said Zimbabwe could adopt the
rand as its
currency, but intensive consultations were to be carried out
before
implementing the measure.
"Personally, I think we
should revalue the Zimbabwe dollar in a
manner that fixes its relationship
with the rand for a while. We will
protect it for a while, for a while as we
increase production. But we should
protect it," he said.
"We do not expose it to fluctuations of the market. The problem is
that the
people of Zimbabwe have become speculators. There are some people
who, if
you say the (Zimbabwe) dollar is four to one with the rand, they
will
immediately make it eight to one and 10 to one," he added.
"I
want to discuss this with Biti. And how do you make it go?
Through
production in agriculture, manufacturing, mining and the people get
goods
and services and then we can expose it to the fluctuations of the
market,"
he said.
HEADS OF
CHRISTIAN DENOMINATIONS IN ZIMBABWE "I came that they may have
life and have it abundantly, (John
10:10)" POBox CY 578 Causeway, Harare Tel: 263 4
705368 26/02/2009 PRESS STATEMENT BY THE HEADS OF
CHRISTIAN DENOMINATIONS (HOCD) ON THE CURRENT POLITICAL SITUATION IN
ZIMBABWE WE WELCOME THE NKW
DISPENSATION We the Zimbabwe Catholic
Bishop's Conference (ZCBC), Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe (EFZ) and the
Zimbabwe Council Churches (ZCC), warmly welcome the promulgation of the
allinclusive Government of Zimbabwe. As the nation of Zimbabwe enters this new
dispensation, we wish to assure our new Government that we will assist where
possible for Zimbabwe to be fully restored to its rightful place among the
nations of the world. NEW GOVERNMENT HAS A LOT TO
DO We wish to remind the new
Government that it is taking office at a very special time and under very
special circumstances in our history. The special circumstances include a
clearly defined and limited lifespan of the Government during which it must
present to the nation some specific deliverables which include the
following: · facilitating the development and promulgation of a
people-driven national constitution as a foundation for democratic
governance; . opening
up space for people's democratic participation, freedom of expression and
personal freedoms; · enacting legislation and mechanisms for people's free
participation in the national elections . ..
that will mark the end of the life of the current all-inclusive
Government; · re-vamping the national economy in order to create jobs, reduce hunger,
poverty, disease and restoring public
and social services, particularly those related to health and
education; · Addressing all outstanding issues that include the
release of persons detained on political grounds, fair distribution of land and
equitable distribution of relief and aid to those who need
it. STOP THE
VIOLENCE In addition, political party
leaders should work to ensure that the unity they have achieved at their level
cascades down to their supporters. The resurgence of politically-motivated acts
of violence that the country is witnessing
following the inauguration of the new Government, whatever its cause, is morally
wrong, unacceptable and should be condemned and stopped. COUNTRY NEEDS
RECONCILIATION AND HEALING The country needs reconciliation
and healing. The Church in Zimbabwe has made plans to partner with other
stakeholders and work towards national reconciliation and the healing of persons
and communities at all levels as an important and essential first step into our
new dispensation. This will be a process to address past hurts and permit a
climate for reconstruction. For national reconciliation and
healing to take place, however, we need to break the culture of violence that
has come to characterize how we resolve conflicts in our communities. We urge
Church leaders, political leaders and opinion leaders to go back to communities
and address national (not political party) rallies to promote the message of
unity, to repeat again and again that timeless message from Scripture: "Behold
how good and pleasant it is when brethren live together in
unity." MEDIA HAS AN IMPORTANT ROLE
TO PLAY The media should join other
sectors in promoting unity in our new dispensation by dropping hate language and
biased reporting, encouraging diversity and free flow of opinions and vigilantly
and constructively probing issues of national importance. TIME FOR ALL OF US TO LOOK
FORWARD We believe this is the moment in
our history when we must all be forward-looking and doing all we can from our
various and diverse vantage points to restore our nation. May the Almighty God guide and
bless Zimbabwe We remain God's humble
servants Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops'
Conference (ZCBC) Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe
(EFZ) Zimbabwe Council of Churches
(ZCC)
Source: Government of Zimbabwe; World Health Organization (WHO) Date: 25 Feb 2009 ** Daily information on new deaths should not imply that these deaths
occurred in cases reported that day. Therefore daily CFRs >100% may
occasionally result A. Highlights of the day: - 450 cases and 5 deaths added today (in comparison 229 cases and 29 deaths
yesterday) - 64.4% of the districts affected have reported today (38 out of 59 affected
districts) - 90.3 % of districts reported to be affected (56 districts/62) - Cumulative Institutional Case Fatality Rate 1.85% - Daily Institutional Case Fatality Rate 0.225% - Seke revised cases downwards by 2 cases, Bulawayo cases down by 3 cases,
Chikomba down by 70 cases, Makumbe (Goromonzi) down by 4 cases – from the
provincial database. - Makoni moved one community death to instituitional.
* Please note that
daily information collection is a challenge due to communication and staff
constraints. On-going data cleaning may result in an increase or decrease in the
numbers. Any change will then be explained.
JOHANNESBURG, 26
February 2009 (IRIN) - The "sincerity" adopted by President Robert Mugabe in
implementing a unity government in Zimbabwe will serve as a gauge for the
international community and its provision of support, UN Secretary-General Ban
ki-Moon said on 25 February.
Photo:
Jason Gutierrez/IRIN
UN
Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon
Addressing a media briefing in Pretoria,
South Africa, Ban said: "All these efforts would be better mobilised, would get
stronger and more support from the international community if we can see the
progress in political and national reconciliation."
The sluggish
progress by Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party in adhering to the agreement - and at
times flagrant violation of it - has instilled a sense of pessimism about
whether it will succeed in saving the country from becoming a failed state.
"The international community, led by the UN, stands ready to provide the
necessary assistance, humanitarian assistance and promotion of human rights, and
all necessary medical and sanitation support to Zimbabwean people," Ban said.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Alex Bell
26
February 2009
A coalition of Zimbabwean civil society organisations in
South Africa have
demanded that the Southern African Development Community
(SADC) hold
Zimbabwe's political parties accountable to the unity deal in
the country -
a deal that has already been violated by the continued
detention and
wrongful arrests of MDC members and activists.
The
Zimbabwe Solidarity Forum, the Institute of Democracy in South Africa
(IDASA) and the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa hosted a broad
civil society consultative meeting on the Zimbabwean Crisis in Johannesburg
on Thursday. The main focus of the meeting was the implication the
power-share government between the MDC and ZANU PF will have on ordinary
Zimbabweans, both in the country and in the diaspora.
The groups also
discussed what accountability mechanisms need to be put in
place in order to
take SADC leaders to task over violations of the
power-share agreement.
SADC, despite being guarantors of the deal, have
remained silent in the face
of the continued rights infringements in
Zimbabwe - silence that has
prompted anger from Zimbabwean civil society.
The civil society groups
have now demanded that SADC uphold its
responsibility as guarantors of the
unity deal, by holding Zimbabwe's
political players accountable for deal
violations. The Zimbabwe Solidarity
Forum has argued that "despite the
values of the sharing of power that
underpin the GNU, Mugabe is still very
much in charge and continues to block
any form of progress."
The
demand for accountability is part of a wider list of demands listed by
the
Solidarity Forum, including the immediate release of all political
prisoners
in Zimbabwe. The demands also challenge the South African
government to
address the problem of xenophobia in the country, that last
year saw an
outbreak of violence against foreign nationals. New reports of
xenophobic
attacks have started piling up this year, including violence and
harassment
of foreigners by the South African police.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
Far from observing power-sharing niceties, Zanu-PF
bosses are behaving as if
they are still in sole control of
Zimbabwe
Simon Tisdall
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 26 February 2009
19.01 GMT
National leaders newly arrived in office can usually count on a
brief
honeymoon period of relative political harmony and goodwill. Morgan
Tsvangirai, sworn in as Zimbabwe's prime minister earlier this month, has
been afforded no such courtesy by Robert Mugabe and his isolated, violently
paranoid inner circle of Zanu-PF henchmen.
With a brutish
determination born of fear for their own skins, the men most
responsible for
Zimbabwe's ruination are doing all they can to sink
Tsvangirai before he can
swim. Mugabe is stubbornly refusing to replace
Gideon Gono, the Reserve Bank
mastermind whose inept policies helped shatter
the economy. Yet without a
root-and-branch shake-up in policymaking, resumed
international financial
assistance will not be forthcoming.
Far from observing the power-sharing
niceties of a unity government, Zanu-PF
bosses are behaving as if they are
still in sole control, Harare observers
say. Senior civil service
appointments have been made without reference to
Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) leaders. And farm seizures by Mugabe's
cronies are accelerating
- there have been up to 50 in recent weeks - even
as the country's dire food
shortages and health crisis morph into regional
emergencies.
Despite
Tsvangirai's generous insistence on the need for forgiveness and
reconciliation, 27 MDC activists remain in arbitrary detention along with a
prominent party figure and unity government minister, Roy Bennett. Domestic
media remain firmly under Zanu-PF control and independent foreign news
organisations are still banned.
And as ever, lurking in the shadows,
watching Tsvangirai's every move and
looking for ways to trip him up, stands
the powerful defence forces chief,
General Constantine Chiwenga, and the
sinister joint operations command
comprising senior military officers and
Mugabe trusties. The JOC is held
responsible for the the reign of terror
that followed last year's stolen
presidential election. Under its direction,
the attorney general, Johannes
Tomana, has now reportedly dropped all murder
investigations relating to
that period.
"It can't be denied that so
far Tsvangirai is prime minister in name only.
It's certainly the case that
Mugabe is still in control of the country," a
senior western diplomat said.
"The MDC is finding that being in government
is even heavier sledding than
they imagined. Mugabe is still the bully boy
on the block and he's dumping
all the problems on the prime minister. That's
no surprise."
But
Tsvangirai did not have much time to make his mark and reverse the flow
of
power away from Zanu-PF towards the MDC, the diplomat warned. "The next
two
months will give a broad indication, will tell whether this [the unity
government] will work or fail. It's not an indefinite
process."
Western strategies to strengthen the MDC's hand in this
watershed internal
battle for control are clear - but limited by political
and financial
considerations. Government-funded humanitarian aid has been
stepped up.
Attempts are underway to target it specifically in areas of
chronic need,
such as fighting the cholera epidemic, as a way of
demonstrating the MDC can
deliver. But governments are simultaneously wary
of reinforcing Mugabe's
caricature of Tsvangirai as a western
puppet.
Diplomats say western countries are also encouraging
international financial
institutions such as the IMF to work with the new
finance minister, the
MDC's Tendai Biti, with a view to raising the $5bn
Tsvangirai says is needed
to rescue the economy. South Africa and the
Southern African Development
Community (SADC), which brokered the unity
deal, have a clear obligation to
provide funds to make it work, they
argue.
All the same, the prospect of significant international assistance
while
Gono remains Reserve Bank chief, and in the absence of greater
transparency
and improved legal and financial safeguards, is dim. SADC
finance ministers,
meeting in Cape Town this week to discuss a regional aid
package, were also
said to be worried that scarce funds could be siphoned
off by corrupt
Zanu-PF officials, as in the past.
The difficulty for
Britain, the US, and other concerned EU countries is that
by making the
resumption of full-scale developmental assistance to Zimbabwe
contingent on
macroeconomic reforms, renewed respect for human rights and
adherence to the
rule of law, they may be reducing the MDC's chances of
making a definitive
difference in what could be a short-lived window of
opportunity.
Tsvangirai needs to demonstrate that he, not Mugabe, is
in charge and can
deliver the country from the abyss. But according to one
diplomat, the
danger is that he could become prime minister for the
humanitarian crisis
while Mugabe and his cronies and flunkies continue to
control the state.
"The question is, can the MDC find and hold the levers of
real power and
influence? The dynamic is very weak."
TANONOKA JOSEPH
WHANDE
When the enemy starts to look more and more like us, it is time to
pause.
Walt Kelly's line, "We have met the enemy and he is us", scaringly
rings as
true as it is realistic to us Zimbabweans today.
We are, indeed,
ourselves' enemy.
Are we, today, really in the same blanket with Robert
Mugabe and ZANU-PF?
To me, this remains a cause for concern. What are we
doing here?
Hardly a month after they accepted to join Robert Mugabe in a
government of
national unity, the MDC has started complaining again and,
disturbingly,
went as far as threatening to quit the GNU.
This hardly
inspires confidence in either the troubled Zimbabwean population
or
donors.
How much faith should Zimbabweans put in the MDC now as it has again
resorted to complaining and threats to leave government?
Are they solid
enough for us to pin our hopes on them?
I have written countless times
warning the MDC not to accept the agreement,
let alone being part of a
GNU.
Now the disconcerting behaviour of the principals of this GNU is there
for
all to see.
Just as I predicted, the MDC is caught in a ZANU-PF
engineered whirlwind of
malicious intent and political backstabbing,
detracting it from performing
its responsibilities.
It all started on
the day cabinet ministers were being sworn in when farms
continued to be
invaded as ministers were taking their oaths. Even Mugabe
himself could not
resist his addiction to thievery as he lined up a whole
lot more ministers
than allocated him under the agreement.
The MDC group took a stand and
threatened to abandon the swearing in
ceremony unless Mugabe removed his
extra ministers.
They, however, offered no such ultimatum for the release of
innocent MDC
people still in jails and those who continue to be jailed right
under their
noses.
Mugabe had the audacity to punch the MDC right in the
face by grabbing Roy
Bennett, the MDC's deputy minister of Agriculture
designate, and throwing
him into jail.
Thus, Mugabe and his people set
out, on the very first day, to prove how
powerless the MDC is and they
continue to do so, reducing the MDC to a
whining, complaining
partner.
Bennett's issue also exposed the fact that the MDC is not in any
position to
protect anyone right now. It was sad, for me, to see and hear
Prime Minister
Tsvangirai offering his personal self as guarantor for
Bennett's release.
What GNU is there to talk about when a prime minister has
to offer himself
to the other half of his own government as collateral over
a fellow member
of that same government?
Even the Mafia can't do better
than this. This is intrigue and is totally
unacceptable and exposes the bad
intentions Mugabe harbours.
Unfortunately, we predicted this chicanery but no
one paid any attention.
Several weeks ago, Police Commissioner, Augustine
Chihuri ordered his police
to drop all cases relating to violence and
murders committed before and
during the run up to last June's presidential
elections, implying this to be
within the spirit of national
reconciliation.
But last week, Mugabe refused to intervene in the release of
Bennett and
other (MDC) activists saying it was up to the courts to
decide.
Needless to say, Chihuri's impromptu "amnesty" was directed at
setting free
only ZANU-PF thugs who are the only ones anywhere who
perpetrated violence
and murder of MDC supporters during election
time.
On the issues of pardons, amnesty and forgiveness, people cannot
rush into
forgiving Mugabe and ZANU-PF just so that the MDC can be part of a
government of national unity born from an imperfect agreement.
The MDC
does not have the right or authority to forgive Mugabe and ZANU-PF
of sins
committed even before the MDC itself was born.
People need closure and
the MDC must be sensitive to this.
There is both fear and trepidation in the
nation; there is joy and sadness;
there is uncertainty but, above all, there
is hope and expectancy.
People must go through the process leading them to
real forgiveness. They
must be able to walk, stop and look back to the past
then shake their heads
but not cry but smile and say to themselves, "That
horrible chapter is
gone."
All things considered, the opportunity is
the MDC's to squander.
In the meantime, we are all groping in the dark
because we don't even know
what exactly these people agreed
to.
Meanwhile, there are fresh disputes over functions of some
ministries. As
things move on slowly, if it is movement at all, ZANU-PF is
looking at what
it put on the MDC's plate and likes it more than before yet
they are the
ones who dished out these ministries.
The issue between
Webster Shamu, the Minister of Media, information and
Publicity, and Nelson
Chamisa, the minister of Information Communication
Technology, also gives a
clear indication as to what ZANU-PF is up to.
ZANU-PF suddenly wants this
ministry because business interests of many
ZANU-PF fat cats are going to be
directly monitored by a ministry under the
MDC. So ZANU-PF, like it has
always done, is moving goal posts.
Just how much of this harassment and
debauchery the nation can take is open
to debate.
As if that was not
enough, Mugabe went on to choose and install a whole
compliment of Permanent
Secretaries from his own party, disregarding the
power sharing deal which
called for equitable distribution of such posts.
This particular incident
prompted the MDC to issue its very first threat to
quit the GNU, leaving
people wondering if this whole GNU exercise is true
and strong enough to
withstand ZANU-PF onslaught.
Zimbabweans nervously watch the precarious
situation. They are overawed by
this grotesque government which has 61
cabinet ministers, three presidents
and three prime ministers.
Talk of
the more the merrier!
This government was never meant to exist. It was
molded from an undemocratic
process and cannot be expected to deliver
anything meaningful to the long
suffering Zimbabwean people.
It was a
mistake from the beginning and it puts much more pressure on the
MDC to show
itself to be the only one in whom the people may lodge their
expectations.
Take the other partner in this nonsensical GNU, for
example.
All the leadership of the Mutambara/Ncube axis lost their
parliamentary bids
but, today, all those who lost like Mugabe, sit in
cabinet, having allocated
themselves seats on the backs of those who
actually contested and won.
Democracy? Hell, no!
An incumbent president
loses the election but remains in office illegally to
swear in the winner
who now has been allocated a lesser post.
The entire political leadership of
a political party loses parliamentary
bids but go on to allocate themselves
cabinet posts, excluding those within
their own party who won at the
polls.
How do we explain this government? What should we expect from
them?
Nothing!
The heart of the matter is that the MDC made a big
mistake, albeit with the
best of intentions.
They surely did not believe
they could work with Mugabe, did they? They can't
be that naïve.
The MDC
carries too much of people's hopes and trust and its association
with
ZANU-PF only gives people political heartburn as is evidenced by the
continuous bickering instigated by ZANU-PF.
ZANU-PF will never let
the MDC serve the people and they will never let them
succeed.
Years ago,
we saw that with Elias Mudzuri in Harare and with all other MDC
mayors who
were later removed by ZANU-PF because ZANU-PF did not want people
to see the
real difference between ZANU-PF and the MDC.
While we know of the MDC's
abilities when it comes to service delivery, the
harassment from Mugabe and
ZANU-PF will continue and it will greatly curtail
what the MDC can do for
the nation.
When MDC spokesperson, Nelson Chamisa, threatened two days
ago that his
party would pull out of the GNU if Mugabe didn't do this or
that, it was the
first sensible thing to come out of the MDC since they
allowed themselves to
be party to this disgraceful political marriage of
inconvenience.
I am Tanonoka Joseph Whande saying that the MDC must seriously
consider that
option instead of continuously playing chaperone to ZANU-PF
before the eyes
of both the nation and the world.
The MDC is slowly
strengthening ZANU-PF while ZANU-PF is trying to destroy
the MDC.
What do
you think?
Send me your comments on tano@swradioafrica.com
I am Tanonoka
Whande and that, my fellow Zimbabweans, is the way it is
today, Thursday
February 26