http://www.zimonline.co.za/
by Simplicious Chirinda Tuesday 01 February
2011
HARARE – The youth wing of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s
MDC-T party
has threatened revenge attacks against President Robert Mugabe’s
ZANU PF, a
development that could worsen political violence that has
resurfaced in many
parts of the country.
There have been increasing
reports of cases of political violence and
intimidation mostly blamed on
militant ZANU PF supporters, war veterans and
in several cases members of
Zimbabwe’s armed forces.
According to a plot exposed by ZimOnline last
month, the military is
planning to unleash unprecedented violence and terror
fronted by ZANU PF
youth militia and war veterans while junior soldiers will
also take part in
the campaign to cow Zimbabweans into backing Mugabe at the
next polls.
But MDC youth chairman Thamsanga Mahlangu told journalists in
Harare that
party youths would not stand idle this time round and become
victims as
happened in the 2008 polls when at least 200 MDC supporters are
said to have
died in political violence while thousands of others were
displaced.
“As the MDC youth assembly, we are more than prepared to
defend the
defenceless electorate if the police continue to stand aloof and
be
indifferent to ZANU PF violence,” said Mahlangu.
“We shall protect
our parents, brothers and sisters wherever and under
whatever circumstances.
ZANU PF …. must be prepared to receive as much as
they dish out if this
lawlessness continues,” he said.
It was not immediately clear whether
Tsvangirai and other senior MDC leaders
back the new aggressive stance
adopted by the youth wing.
Both the main MDC formation led Tsvangirai and
the smaller formation led by
Welshman Ncube have historically shunned
violence as a tactic to confront
ZANU PF which in addition to the volatile
war veterans and youth militia has
the backing of the security
forces.
Zimbabwe is due to hold a referendum on a new constitution and
thereafter
elections to choose a new government to replace the two-year old
ruling
coalition.
No date for elections has been set but Mugabe has
publicly said they must be
held this year, while the rising reports of
political violence suggest a
vote is imminent either at the end of this year
or early next year.
Political violence and human rights abuses have
accompanied elections in
Zimbabwe since the 1999 emergency of the MDC as the
most potent yet
electoral threat to Mugabe and ZANU PF’s three-decade hold
on power. --
ZimOnline
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tichaona
Sibanda
1 February 2011
ZANU PF leader Robert Mugabe is not on the
African Union panel on the Ivory
Coast, contrary to reports carried by the
state media on Monday.
An article on the ZBC website said Mugabe was one
of the leaders ‘selected
to be one of the 6 members of the panel to deal
with the electoral crisis in
Cote d’Ivoire following a resolution by the
Peace and Security Council
meeting last Friday that called for the expansion
of the negotiating
framework.’ The Ivory Coast is still referred as the Cote
d’Ivoire in some
circles, including political gatherings like the
AU.
‘The panel includes Presidents Robert Mugabe, Jacob Zuma of South
Africa,
Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria, who is the Chairman of ECOWAS, SADC
Chairman
and Namibian President, Hifikepunye Pohamba and Ethiopian Prime
Minister,
Meles Zenawi, Chairman of the Inter-Governmental Authority for
Development
(IGAD),’ the ZBC reported.
However, a communiqué released
in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Monday identified
the high level panel as the
Heads of State of Mauritania, Burkina Faso,
Chad, South Africa and Tanzania.
This body will be chaired by the
Mauritanian President, Mohamed Ould Abdel
Aziz.
MDC-T MP for Kambuzuma, Willas Madzimure, who was in Addis Ababa
for the
summit in his capacity as the deputy secretary for International
Relations
in the party, told us the ZANU PF lies have left Mugabe with egg
on his
face.
‘He may have been part of the discussion during the
closed door session on
the Ivory Coast crisis but he was never appointed to
sit on the panel. I don’t
know were the state media got the information
from, but that is not the
case,’ Madzimure said.
‘Maybe they wanted
to portray Mugabe as a true statesman in Africa who can
still be relied upon
to mediate or solve problems for other nations. That is
no longer the case
now and the other problem is Mugabe is under mediation
himself and that
would have compromised Jacob Zuma’s position as mediator
for Zimbabwe,’ the
MP added.
Another MDC-T legislator said Mugabe has lost all credibility
to be
appointed on such important panels, adding ‘he is just struggling to
be
relevant, hence this unmitigated embarrassment by the state media to lie
about his appointment.
Political observers were also up in arms over
the appointment of Equatorial
Guinea’s coup plotter, and dictator of 31
years, as the AU chairman for
2011. Critics said President Teodoro Obiang’s
elevation as chairman could
undermine the African Union’s attempt to
confront other leaders who cling to
power.
Analyst Promise Mkwananzi
said of Obiang’s appointment; ‘I want to believe
it’s very sad for Africa
because we are looking at our continent which is
evolving towards a
democratic culture. This can only be done if you have at
the helm of the AU
a leadership which aspires and shares the same democratic
aspirations.’
Mkwananzi added; ‘It is evidently clear that he
(Obiang) does not share
these aspirations because he does not believe or act
in a democratic manner
for that sense.’
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com/
01 February, 2011
10:46:00 By
Harare - Zimbabwe has started the process of cleaning
up the voters’ roll
ahead of a constitutional referendum and polls
tentatively set for this
year, the head of the country’s electoral body
Simpson Mtambanengwe said
Tuesday in Harare.
Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission (ZEC) chairperson Simpson Mtambanengwe said
his organisation had
begun formalities to engage the Registrar General’s
Office to clean up the
voters roll in preparation for the holding of the
referendum later this
year.
“In line with its mandate of conducting and supervising all
elections and
referendums in the country, ZEC has started working with the
Registrar
General’s office to ensure that the voters roll is in order in
time for the
referendum expected later this year,” Mtambanengwe told state
television.
A report published by a local pro-democracy non-governmental
organisation
last week showed that 27 percent of names listed on Zimbabwe’s
voters’ roll
are of dead people.
The report compiled by the Zimbabwe
Electoral Support Network (ZESN)
revealed an outdated and distorted voters’
roll that in reality is a little
more than a mere register of people who
were born or once lived in the
country from the 1900s to date – whether they
are still alive, dead or have
long since left the country.
The ZESN
called for a new register of voters to be prepared before elections
that
President Robert Mugabe has said must take place this year.
It revealed
that 2,344 people appearing on the register were aged between
101 and 110
years old while nine others were born between 1890 and 1900.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Alex Bell
01 February
2011
The MDC in South Africa has slammed the country’s acceptance of the
Zimbabwean ambassador, appointed unilaterally by Robert Mugabe, saying the
move will “weaken” President Jacob Zuma’s mediation efforts in
Zimbabwe.
Zuma’s office has confirmed that the ambassador, Phelekezela
Mphoko, will be
among a group of officials presenting their credentials to
the President on
Thursday. Mphoko, who replaces ZANU PF’s new national
chairman Simon Khaya
Moyo, is a known Mugabe loyalist and said to have close
links to Zimbabwe’s
intelligence services. He also controversially dismissed
the Gukurahundi
atrocities as a ‘Western conspiracy’ during a panel
discussion on Zimbabwe
in 2009. At the same discussion he openly jeered
other participants, who
included human rights attorney Beatrice Mtetwa,
calling them “sell-outs” and
accusing them of misrepresenting the situation
in Zimbabwe.
The MDC’s Chairman in South Africa, Austin Moyo, told SW
Radio Africa on
Tuesday that Zuma’s acceptance of Mphoko was a worrying
development. Moyo
explained that Zuma would be undermining the Global
Political Agreement
(GPA) that, as mediator in Zimbabwe’s political crisis,
he is meant to be
supporting.
“Zuma should have actually reinforced
what has been agreed between the three
principals,” Moyo
said.
Mugabe’s unilateral appointment of ambassadors is a serious bone of
contention in the unity government as, under the GPA, Mugabe is meant to
consult Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai on all new
appointments.
“Zuma is actually supporting a unilateral decision taken by
ZANU PF,” Moyo
said, adding: “We think that, as a mediator, he is not acting
fairly.”
Moyo continued that Mphoko’s appointment would “weaken” Zuma’s
mediation
efforts because “he should act in a way that respects what has
been agreed
in the past.”
Moyo added: “The agreement was that any
embassy that becomes vacant would
become an MDC embassy. So what we have
done in Pretoria is in total
disregard of that agreement.”
Prime
Minister Tsvangirai has asked South Africa and other counties not to
recognise ambassadors appointed by Mugabe, because their appointment was
done without any consultation with his partners in the shaky coalition
government.
Tsvangirai last year also told the EU and the United
Nations that
ambassadors appointed solely by Mugabe don’t speak on behalf of
the whole
government. Tsvangirai stated his position that the appointment of
Zimbabwean Ambassador to Brussels, the United Nations and four countries,
was “null and void.”
Tsvangirai also told reporters last year that
his MDC party will refuse to
recognise all appointments which Mugabe made
without consultation. These
appointments include Reserve Bank Governor
Gideon Gono, Attorney General
Johannes Tomana, five judges named in May, and
the six ambassadors,
appointed last July. The status of 10 re-appointed
provincial governors is
also in dispute.
Gono meanwhile has claimed
that his post as Reserve Bank Governor is no
longer a contested issue in the
unity government. He said over the weekend
that his appointment as the
Chairman of the Bank’s board last April, by
Finance Minister Tendai Biti,
legally makes him Governor.
“As you know, my appointment has been the
subject of several misconceptions
and ill-informed debate among many
stakeholders and I have refrained from
getting involved in that debate,”
Gono told journalists.
But he added: “Suffice to say that I serve at the
pleasure of he who
appoints me an consequent upon that the public will be
aware that my boss,
the Minister of Finance, announced to the nation in
April last year that I
had been appointed chairman of the RBZ
board.”
Gono continued: “As you are aware the RBZ act confers the
chairmanship of
the RBZ board to the sitting governor, so I don’t want to
get involved in
this debate.”
Tendai Biti has so far made no comment.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
by Irene Madongo
01
February 2011
A retired Anglican Bishop has warned that more innocent
Zimbabweans will be
tortured and killed by Robert Mugabe’s machine, while
the world watches, as
was the case with the Gukurahundi massacres and
previous elections.
The Gukurahundi massacres saw tens of thousands of
innocent Zimbabweans
killed by soldiers loyal to the Mugabe regime in the
mid eighties. Last
year, the Gukurahundi was officially classified as
genocide by the
internationally recognized group Genocide
Watch.
Robert Mercer, the former Bishop of Matabeleland, made the remarks
in an
interview to mark this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day, held on Thursday
last
week. Mercer said although the Jewish genocide involved millions of
deaths,
it still reminded him of the Matabeleland killings. While stationed
in
Matabeleland he saw mass graves and shells from guns. “I am a Zimbabwean,
so
those atrocities stick in my mind,” he said.
Mercer went on to
warn that with talk of an upcoming election, Mugabe will
again torture
people using units of the army and his Green Bombers, who
butchered
political opponents previously. In the run up to the polls in
2008, hundreds
of MDC supporters were killed and tens of thousands tortured
by ZANU PF
using soldiers, secret state agents, and youth militia to carry
out the
atrocities.
“This is the very, very strong possibility,” Mercer said, “We
can learn from
the past. The past teaches us that Mugabe will stop at
nothing to force
people into voting for him, and will destroy people who
will vote against
him.”
“The world won’t take much notice – there
isn’t oil. There are diamonds in
Zimbabwe of course, and that goes into the
pockets of the oligarchs and
kleptocrats,” he said.
Mercer said
African leaders are not going to stop Mugabe as he is part of
their
dictators club. “They certainly appear not to care. What pressure do
they
bring on Mugabe? Nobody wants to rock the boat over Mugabe,” Mercer
said.
The theme for this year’s Holocaust memorial was “untold
stories”. The
Gukurahundi is one of the worlds great untold stories and the
ZANU PF regime
has always fought to silence the Gukuranhundi story. Last
year an art
exhibition about the Gukuranhundi was outlawed, and the artist
thrown in
jail.
In another development, the head of the Anglican
church around the world, Dr
Rowan Williams, on Monday called on Robert
Mugabe to stop persecuting
Anglicans. Williams was referring to a faction of
priests, led by an
excommunicated bishop loyal to President Mugabe. The
priests receive police
backing to attack parishioners – many of whom have
been shut out of church
buildings and forced to worship in the open
air.
http://www.zimonline.co.za/
by Tobias Manyuchi Tuesday 01
February 2011
HARARE -- Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) chief
Gideon Gono has made a
passionate appeal that Zimbabwe does not relapse into
political conflict
that will drag the economy down as happened over the past
decade when the
bank resorted to printing money to save the government from
collapse.
Gono -- a close confidante of President Robert Mugabe who has
been accused
of stoking up Zimbabwe’s economic meltdown by printing money to
fund the
veteran leader’s political programmes -- has always defended his
money
printing policies as necessary at the time to prevent an economic
implosion
that could have sparked anarchy in Zimbabwe.
In a letter to
employees that he has retrenched as he moves to restrict the
central bank to
its core monetary policy management function, Gono said: “It
is the bank’s
and my own prayer that the politics of the country will not,
as happened
over the last ten years, go into tailspin with disastrous and
unintended
consequences.
“(Consequences) that would …. result in economic downturn,
repeat
inflationary pressures, violence, capacity under utilisation, more
sanctions, pointless conflict … corruption, lawlessness and other negatives
that we all went through and experienced during the ten years when the
politics of our country was at the crossroads.”
He thanked the
workers for playing a “sterling role” during the decade of
crisis and
appeared to imply that without his controversial policies and the
retrenched
workers’ effort Zimbabwe would have been in a worse off position
and the
unity government of Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai that
is
credited with inspiring a turnaround of the economy would have in fact
achieved little.
Gono has retrenched 1,445 workers or 75 percent of
the RBZ’s entire
workforce, bowing to pressure from Finance Minister Tendai
Biti and the
International Monetary Fund who have both called for the bank
to downsize
the staff compliment in tandem with its retreat from the larger
economy to
focus on monetary policy, the banking and finance
industry.
Gono - appointed RBZ governor in 2003 and charged by Mugabe to
lead efforts
to save Zimbabwe’s then sinking economy, has won himself
critics across the
political divide who say his policy to endlessly print
money fanned
hyperinflation that left the local currency worthless and the
economy
aground.
Zimbabwe’s economy is on the mend since the unity
government came into
office in February 2009. But there are increasing fears
that an election
that Mugabe says must take place this year to choose a new
government to
replace the uneasy coalition could reignite political violence
that will
scare away investors and see the economy back in the mire. --
ZimOnline
http://www.radiovop.com/
01/02/2011 14:12:00
HARARE,
February 01, 2011 - Newy elected President of the smaller faction of
the
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) Professor Welshman Ncube, says the
party will take legal action against any media house or journalist who
continue referring to his party as MDC-N or MDC-M.
MDC formed in 1999
by former trade unionists split in 2005. The smaller
faction which was being
headed by Arthur Mutambara was popularly known as
the MDC-M while the main
MDC faction led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai
is known as
MDC-T.
Mutambara was recently replaced by Ncube who was elected president
at the
party's congress.
Ncube's spokesman, Kurauone Chiwhayi,
told Radio VOP that the party's name
was "MDC" only and not MDC-M or MDC-N
as suggested by journalists in their
reportage.
Last week the Zanu
(PF) Secretary for Administration, who is a minister in
President Robert
Mugabe's government, Didymus Mutasa, jokingly
"congratulated" Ncube saying
his party now had a new name - MDC-N (Ncube).
"Our paty name is MDC only
and not MDC-T or MDC-M or even MDC-N as reported
by some journalists
especially from the State-controlled media," Chihwayi
said.
"I am
distributing press releases to all the local media telling them to
immediately stop this kind of reporting or face the consequences.
"We
are now very tired of being called names which do not belong to us. We
debated the issue of the name change during our annual congress and we
decided that we are simply MDC full stop."
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
By Chris Goko and Thelma
Chikwanha
Tuesday, 01 February 2011 15:15
HARARE - Patrick Zhuwao,
the Zvimba East MP and President Robert Mugabe’s
nephew, has defied
government, particularly Vice President Joice Mujuru’s
orders not to occupy
tourism ventures at Lake Chivero, about 30km west of
Harare.
The
businessman–cum–politician’s aggressive remarks Sunday that his
followers
would retake several leisure facilities, including Gary Stafford’s
popular
and lakeshore aviary, ruffled feathers within Zanu PF and in a
remake of the
late Joseph Msika’s futile war with party mobs over Kondozi
Estate’s
takeover about six years ago.
“Whilst the process and procedure may have
needed to be improved, I still
feel, together with the community, that there
is gross social injustice that
continues to be perpetrated by remnants of
racists in most of the clubs,”
Zhuwao told a local weekly.
“We will
never allow any form of perceived white superiority in any part of
this
constituency,” he said.
Among those targeted in the invasions were the
Jacana Yacht Club, the
country’s single largest sailing club and listed
Rainbow Tourism Group–owned
Harare Safari Lodge.
The recent invasions
– planned as far back as October 2010 – have not only
exposed endemic
factionalism in Mugabe’s home area, as evidenced by
contrasting views on the
matter between Zhuwao and senior provincial members
like Local Government
minister Ignatius Chombo, but in the wider party.
On the other hand, the
move almost torpedoed Tourism and Hospitality
minister Walter Mzembi’s
destination–marketing roadshows in Europe, thus
prompting the Zimbabwe
Tourism Authority (ZTA) to ask Mujuru to tackle the
matter.
Karikoga
Kaseke’s ZTA was particularly irked by the fact that bird
sanctuaries are a
major draw card and one of the most sought-after
activities in Zimbabwe’s
tourism.
However, Mujuru herself – now seen as a moderate and one of
Mugabe’s
possible successors – is not new to such stubborn and unrepentant
behaviour,
following her clashes with another late VP Joshua Nkomo over
Econet Wireless
Zimbabwe’s operational licence.
While Chombo and
other quasi–Zanu PF functionaries in government have
criticised the illegal
occupations by about 300 self–styled war veterans,
party spokesman Rugare
Gumbo declined to comment on Monday.
“I really can’t comment about Amai
Mujuru’s statements because l only read
about it in the papers. You call
them invasions, but l don’t know anything
about it... (as well as) Zhuwao’s
statement,” he said.
While the advances on boat clubs, chalets and other
tourism infrastructure
in the cool, and wooded Chivero shoreline were
carried out in the name of
indigenisation, National Parks director Vitalis
Chadenga said the wanton
actions showed a lack of a coherent policy on
Zimbabwe’s wildlife
management.
According to available documents, the
besieged properties would be parceled
out to senior party officials, chiefs
and other public servants, thus
debunking Chombo’s damage control spin that
the invasion was driven by
“common criminals”.
In a January 6, 2010
letter exposing the well–orchestrated plan, Aaron Mazvi
asked Lands and
Resettlement minister Herbert Murerwa to facilitate the
takeover of the
assets, whose valuation is yet unknown.
The Mashonaland West drama comes
after Higher Education minister Stan
Mudenge and his Empowerment counterpart
Saviour Kasukuwere threatened
conservancy owners in Masvingo with expulsion,
and to make way for a Chinese
cotton grower, despite the poor climatic
conditions and potential revenue
losses.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
By Reagan Mashavave
Tuesday, 01 February 2011
15:09
HARARE - Zimbabwe’s main political parties in the inclusive
government are
keen to hold by-elections in the 15 constituencies left
vacant by deceased
parliamentarians.
Zanu PF and the two MDC formations
agreed in article XXI of the Global
Political Agreement (GPA) that they will
not hold by-elections in vacant
constituencies for a year after signing the
unity pact on September 15,
2008.
Among the vacant House of Assembly
seats include Guruve North, Gokwe
Gumunyu, Mutare North, Makoni Central and
Tafara Mabvuku while Senatorial
seats include Bindura-Shamva, Mberengwa,
Gweru-Chirumhanzu and Hwange.
The agreement to stop any by-elections was
meant to prevent violence among
political party supporters who have been
fighting during election time and
to allow the process of national healing
to take place.
Nicholas Goche, Zanu PF’s chief negotiator in the GPA
talks said his party
does not decide when the by-elections will be held but
electoral authorities
are the ones that decide.
“There will be
by-elections. The parties do not decide on elections. ZEC
(Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission) is the one which makes recommendations for
elections.
As far as we are concerned there will be by-elections,” Goche
said.
By-elections were expected to begin after September 15, 2009, a
year after
the signing of the unity agreement.
MDC spokesperson,
Nelson Chamisa said the constitution must be respected to
allow the holding
of by-elections.
“There have to be by-elections. This sad development is
prejudicial to the
constituencies that are affected and the aspiring
candidates in those
constituencies,” Chamisa said.
But while
admitting that bye-elections are long overdue, the parties did not
state the
reason why they have not put that in motion.
Political analyst, Takura
Zhangazha said parties in the GPA have been
‘disappointingly’ failing to
push for bye-elections to take place.
“The parties to the GPA have been
inept in that particular clause.Parliament
itself has proved to be
subservient to the executive,” Zhangazha said.
“What I have seen is that
Parliament has been an appendage of the executive.
Parliament is clearly
losing its oversight role.”
Many constituencies across the country are
already benefiting from the $50
000 dollar loans that parliamentarians get
from the Ministry of Finance for
constituency development programmes.
http://www.voanews.com
Mr. Zuma
has been mediating between the ZANU-PF party of President Robert
and the
Movement for Democratic Change formation of Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai
and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara on behalf of the
Southern African
Development Community since 2009
Ntungamili Nkomo | Washington 31
January 2011
Zimbabwean civil society and political activists
expressed concern Monday
that South African President Jacob Zuma's
appointment as a mediator in the
Ivory Coast crisis could distract him from
his existing responsibilities in
Harare's own troubles.
Mr. Zuma has
been mediating between the ZANU-PF party of President Robert
and the
Movement for Democratic Change formation of Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai
on behalf of the Southern African Develoment Community since
2009.
Wrapping up a summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Monday, the
African Union
named Mr. Zuma to a five-member taskforce assigned to mediate
between
Ivorian President Laraunt Bagbo, who lost last year’s election but
has
refused to hand over power to opposition leader Allassane Ouattara,
internationally recognised as the victor.
The panel also includes the
presidents of Tanzania, Mauritania, Burkina Faso
and Chad. The announcement
scotched media speculation in Harare's Herald and
Newsday papers that
President Robert Mugabe might be tapped for the
mediation
panel.
Zimbabwe was not on the AU agenda but sources said Mr. Zuma would
raise the
Harare issue with heads of state well informed on the situation
late Monday.
AU leaders were taken up with more acute crises in Egypt, Ivory
Coast,
Tunisa and Somalia.
Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition spokesman
Philip Pasirai said President Zuma’s
inclusion in the Ivorian task force
will tend to shift his focus away from
Zmbabwe.
"That is an obvious
distraction from the all-important issue of Zimbabwe,"
he "Mr. Zuma has a
lot on his plate already and any additional load will
prove too much to
handle."
Pasirai's sentiments were shared by Nhlanhla Dube, spokesman for
the MDC
formation headed by Welshman Ncube. Dube told reporter Ntungamili
Nkomo that
Mr. Zuma should strike a balance between the Ivory Coast crisis
and the
situation in Zimbabwe.
"If it was an issue of involving
someone in the SADC region, we would have
thought of former South African
President Thabo Mbeki who has experience
with leading negotiations to join
the Ivorian panel. Mr. Zuma should have
been left to focus on Zimbabwe,"
Dube said.
The AU meanwhile, elected Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro
Obiang Nguema
as its new chairman under a rotation system, replacing Malawi
President
Bingu Wa Mutharika. Critics see Mr. Nguema as a dictator with
little regard
for human rights or democracy.
In his acceptance
remarks President Nguema called on African leaders to
unite and find lasting
solutions afflicting the continent, including poverty
and
strife.
"Africa must focus on the dialogue for a peaceful negotiaed
solution to the
conflicts that ravage our towns. Africa must assume, more
than ever before,
a leading role not just on the continent but in the
international arena,"
Nguema said.
The AU summit was also attended by
United Nations Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon and French President Nicholas
Sarkozy at the invitation of the
continental body.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tichaona Sibanda
1
February 2011
At least five MDC activists were left injured, two of them
seriously, on
Monday night in a fresh wave of political violence to hit the
capital city,
Harare.
The levels of political violence in the country
are now causing increasing
concern, with elections in Zimbabwe being
discussed as possible for this
year or early in 2012.
This latest
incident was in the volatile suburb of Mbare, just a few
kilometers from
Harare’s central business district. A group of MDC
supporters had gathered
at the house of local councillor, Paul Gorekore, to
help him clear rubble
from his house that was attacked last week.
The councillor’s flat is
situated at Tagarika block of flats, opposite the
city of Harare office in
Remembrance drive. The area is several hundred
metres away from the Mbare
police station.
Eyewitnesses told our correspondent Simon Muchemwa that
as the MDC activists
arrived at the flat they were set upon by local ZANU PF
youths with rocks,
bricks, iron bars and other weapons, forcing neighbours
in the vicinity to
flee.
‘One of the two activists received knife
wounds and are both in hospital
receiving treatment. The other three, all
victims of the brutal attack
including councilor Gorekore, are in police
custody under arrest. Instead of
going after the perpetrators, the police
arrested the victims,’ Muchemwa
said.
The MDC identified the activist
who sustained knife wounds as Shingirai
Gorekore, young brother to Paul.
Tensions are so high in Mbare that even
Theresa Makone, the MDC’s
co-Minister of Home Affairs, felt unsafe after she
visited the scene. She
made a hasty retreat because members of the
Chipangano were seen
regrouping.
Muchemwa told us Makone was left speechless following the
visit to the
councillor’s flat, which was reduced to a shell.
‘There
were rocks, bricks, iron bars and wooden pieces lying everywhere. The
roof
was shattered, doors smashed, windows broken and valuable household
property
destroyed and looted,’ Muchemwa said.
He added; ‘The situation was very
tense at the time Theresa Makone and
members of the media visited the area.
Neighbours locked themselves in their
houses as ZANU PF youths were seen
mobilising.’
The MDC Youth League has meanwhile condemned the police
inaction in
protecting MDC supporters in Zimbabwe. The executive of the
youth league
convened an emergency meeting in the capital, following reports
of the
escalation of violence countrywide.
The league called for the
disbanding of the Global Political Agreement and
also lashed out at Makone
and Kembo Mohadi, the co-Home Affairs Ministers,
for their failure to
protect MDC activists from the ZANU PF onslaught.
HRD’s Alert
1 February 2011
Bulawayo Magistrate Rose Dube on Tuesday 1 February 2011
interdicted the police from prohibiting Rooftop Promotions from staging a
theatre performance entitled “Rituals” scheduled for Wednesday 2 February 2011
in Bulawayo.
The interdict came after Lizwe Jamela and Nosimilo Chanayiwa of Zimbabwe Lawyers
for Human Rights (ZLHR) instituted urgent proceedings in the form of an ex-parte
application challenging the police ban of the play.
The police through Chief Superintendent R. N Masina of Bulawayo Central Police
Station had banned the public performance of Rituals by Rooftop Promotions, the
country’s leading theatre production group.
In a letter dated 31 January 2011 and addressed to the
National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ), a board representing artists, which
had notified the police on behalf of Rooftop Promotions, Masina stated that the
police could not sanction the performance of the play because the government was
already attending to issues of national healing through the Organ for National
Healing, Reconciliation and Integration.
But ZLHR lawyers filed an ex-parte application seeking
to declare as unlawful the prohibition of the drama performance and to set aside
the police order prohibiting the public show of the
play.
The police and their agents were interdicted from
disturbing or interfering in any way with the drama performance to be held on
Wednesday at Bulawayo Polytechnic College.
Magistrate Dube granted the application which also
sanctioned Rooftop Promotions to proceed with the staging of the drama
performance as scheduled and promote the organisation’s right to freedom of
association and assembly as set out in the Constitution and the right to freedom
of expression as guaranteed in the Constitution.
ENDS
Kumbirai Mafunda
Senior Projects Officer
Communications&Information
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Lance Guma
01 February 2011
On Monday
the MDC-T issued an alert expressing concern over the fate of
their
secretary for Local Government, Last Maengahama, after he was picked
up in
the morning ‘by two unidentified men in plain clothes in Harare’s
central
business district. The party had said his ‘whereabouts remain
unknown’ and
that they were making ‘frantic efforts to locate him.’
On Tuesday it
turned out the matter was a false alarm and that in fact
Maengahama was
‘embroiled in a dispute of a personal nature’ according to
one MDC-T
official who spoke to SW Radio Africa. Although he refused to
disclose the
exact details of the case, we understand someone who was owed
money by
Maengahama recruited the services of the police to try and recover
his
money.
Efforts by concerned party members to locate Maengahama proved
fruitless as
he allegedly switched off his phone the whole day on Monday.
It’s not clear
why the plain clothes policemen who picked up the MDC-T
official were
involving themselves in an entirely civil matter.
State
security agents have been known to abduct MDC officials in similar
fashion
and this, party officials say, is the reason why they raised the
alarm when
they could not locate Maengahama after seeing him being taken
away.
http://www.voanews.com
Reserve
Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Gideon Gono said international banks have
been
refusing loans to Western-sanctioned individuals and companies since
the
current government of national unity was formed in 2009
Gibbs Dube |
Washington 31 January 2011
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Gideon
Gono has warned multinational banks
with operations in the Southern African
country that they would suffer
consequences if they refuse to write loans to
ZANU-PF officials or others on
Western sanctions lists.
In a monetary
policy statement posted to the RBZ website, Gono said such
banks are
unfairly extending what he called illegal Western sanctions.
He said such
banks have been refusing loans to sanctioned individuals and
companies since
the current government of national unity was formed in 2009.
“This aloof
attitude has been explicitly exhibited by these banks taking
instructions
from their international parentages,” said Gono, whose
institution laid off
three-quarters of its staff or about 1,500 employees
late last as part of a
strategic overhaul urged by the International
Monetary Fund. Many of those
laid off were political hires.
The Bankers Association of Zimbabwe
declined to comment on Gono's statement.
Gono accused the banks of
paralyzing Zimbabwe's money markets by holding
domestic deposits rather than
recycling them into productive sectors in the
form of loans.
But
Bulawayo-based economist Eric Bloch commented that it is impossible for
Western banks to lend to ZANU-PF supporters listed for sanctions by their
home countries.
“I believe that there should be some dialogue between
the banks and RBZ to
demonstrate that [the financial institutions] have no
option but not to lend
to such people until these restrictive measures are
lifted,” Bloch told
reporter Gibbs Dube.
http://www.africanmanager.com
Tuesday,
01 February 2011
PANA
A Zimbabwean company said Monday it planned to built a
125-megawatt thermal
power station near the capital Harare, to help ease
electricity shortages in
the country.
Ridge Tech Trading chief
executive George Muchiza said the power plant was
planned for Marondera, a
farming town 75 kilometres east of Harare.
He said the company was
importing equipment from China, but did not say how
much this had cost, nor
when construction was scheduled to begin.
Zimbabwe has a huge power
deficit, and imports 35 percent of its national
requirements from its
neighbours.
But due to lack of funds, and a general power deficit in
southern Africa,
the country experiences constraints with imported power,
resulting in
electricity rationing to consumers.
Zimbabwe
domestically generates around 1,200 megawatts, against a
2,000-megawatt
demand
http://www.radiovop.com/
01/02/2011
09:18:00
Gweru, February 01, 2011 - A co-Home Affairs Minister
Theresa Makone said
her ministry will re-consider Zimbabwe's recent refusal
of an offer for a
passport printing machine from neighbouring South
Africa.
She told women who are members of a funeral association she
helped set up
here at the weekend that the decision to refuse the SA offer
was "ill
advised".
The Zimbabwe government had late last year been
offered by South Africa a
machine that prints about 7000 passports a day.
The Registrar- General’s
office is said to produce only 500 passports per
week.
“The decision to reject the South African offer of a machine that
has
capacity to produce 7 000 passports a day was ill advised. I admit that
the
advise we got from our advisors was not useful at all,” Makone
said.
“We are going to sit again with Minister Mohadi (Kembo) and accept
the
offer. We will then
take it to Cabinet to explain to them that we had
got wrong advise to reject
the South African offer,” she said.
“The
security reason we gave does not hold water because it is not the South
African that are going to do the printing but its us. South Africa said they
will offer us the machine and the room to operate from , they even suggested
that we could change the room keys and put our own security which shows that
we can not still keep on arguing that they will know our security features
to our passports or how we print them. We need to take the offer because
there is no security threat and also seeing that we are not able to offer
our citizens travelling documents timeously, other nations including South
Africa where many Zimbabweans migrate to without documents will see us as
unreasonable people, people who cannot use their brains rationally,“ she
added.
Makone said if there was anyone who was going to oppose the
decision to
accept the passport producing machine that SouthAfrica has
offered then it
will be because of ” political motives.”
http://www.radiovop.com/
01/02/2011
14:10:00
Masvingo,February 01, 2011 - Zimbabwe could earn itself a
place in the world
Guinness Book of records all for the wrong reasons:
having fast multiplying
universities which are below par, a renowned
academic and author has noted.
Great Zimbabwe University pro vice
chancellor, Professor Herbert Chimhundu
said while the country boasts of
having the fastest growing universities in
the whole world, such
institutions were not meeting international standards
and left a lot to be
desired.
Currently, there are 13 universities-most of them run by the
state-while two
more are on the way from church leaders, Ezekiel Guti,of the
ZAOGA, and
Nehemiah Mutendi, of the Zion Christian Church
(ZCC).
There are also eight polytechnics and eight teachers colleges
countrywide.
“Due to a massive lecturer exodus experienced in 2008, many
assistant
lecturers are teaching honours students, which should not be the
case.
At the University of Zimbabwe’s senate board meetings, one can
hardly find
five professors, whereas there were about 100 before the economy
went on a
downfall.
“Also, worldwide, universities should dedicate 25
percent of their efforts
to research, while the remaining is for teaching
students. But there is no
university in Zimbabwe near that,” Prof Chimhundu
said.
He was speaking to journalists here to brief them of the pending
Research
and Intellectual Expo (RIE) which is set to be held in Harare from
February
16 to 18.
His remarks comes amid reports that the student to
computer ratio at the GZU
stands at one computer per 300
students.
“There is need to merge the universities. Merging is not even
peculiar to
Africa. In South Africa, for example, the University of
Johannesburg is an
amalgamation of all Bantustan Universities.
“Such
integration is necessary and it breeds quality,” said Prof Chimhundu.
He
also said the GZU is luring Diasporan academics to contribute research
papers over the internet.
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
by Irene Madongo
01
February 2011
The increasing cost of living for Zimbabweans can be traced
to the political
climate, which is still damaging the economy and thereby
hitting ordinary
Zimbabweans pockets, an economic analyst has
said.
New figures released by the Zimbabwe National Statistical Agency
show that
the cost of living in the country has gone up by 8%, and that an
average
family of five needs a minimum of US$467 per month to survive, with
the
grocery budget alone pegged at US$150. This is beyond the reach of most
people in Zimbabwe, where government workers earn under $200 per
month.
As it stands, Zimbabwe’s economy is fragile and struggling to
recover, after
being destroyed by the political crisis created by ZANU PF’s
violent rule.
Constant reports of escalating violence and ZANU PF’s threats
to grab
businesses from foreign-owned companies are also damaging the
economy
further because it puts off investors from pouring badly-needed
capital into
the economy.
On Tuesday, economic analyst Tony Hawkins
said: “Zimbabwe’s economic decline
is a political issue, it’s a governance
issue. The economy would not have
declined if it had not been for the
political situation, and for the economy
to recover you have to change the
political environment within which it
operates.”
He said the
political crisis and the land seizures had destroyed Zimbabwe’s
agricultural
sector and most food now had to be imported, and the costs are
passed onto
the consumer. “Food is imported from South Africa, and the Rand
is strong,
and that’s pushing up the cost of imports from South Africa,” he
explained,
adding that: “Twelve to 15 years ago, we used to be self
sufficient in terms
of food, but these days that’s no longer the case.
Clearly production is way
down in terms of the levels we had.”
In addition to foreign investors
hesitating to invest in Zimbabwe, many of
the country’s factories have shut
down or are unable to operate because of
power cuts and poor
infrastructure.
Until there is an end to the political crisis,
Zimbabweans will have to get
used to an ever increasing cost of living.
Tuesday, 01 February 2011
The MDC is gravely concerned by what is
fast becoming clear that the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) and Zanu PF
hooligans are targeting the MDC for harassment, violence and wanton arrests on
trumped up charges of public violence.
The police have become openly and
undisputedly partisan in that in cases of any skirmishes involving youths from
rival political parties, it is the MDC that suffers most. At the moment, dozens
of MDC youths have been arrested and charged with public violence, a sizeable
number is nursing gunshot and stab wounds in hospitals, hundreds are being
hounded out of their homes, and MDC property is being destroyed with impunity.
In all these cases, none of the Zanu PF activists have been arrested and
charged – all because of the bias of the police, especially in Harare, against
the MDC. The MDC condemns the stance taken by the police as it has the potential
to inflame an already volatile situation and could easily turn the citizens
against legitimate law enforcement institutions. Should the police continue to
flout its Constitutional mandate in pursuit of a tired and partisan Zanu PF
agenda, the MDC would have no choice other than to urge its supporters to defend
their families and property with the full understanding that state has failed
them.
For the past two weeks, Zanu PF youths have been running amok in
Mbare, Budiriro, Epworth and other parts of the country, which saw one MDC
youth, William Mukuwari of Budiriro being shot by a known Zanu PF supporter,
Godfrey Gomwe. The culprits in all the violence cases were identified but the
police have not made any arrests but MDC youths who are the victims have been
arrested for reporting to the police.
Yesterday, Shingirai Gorekore, an
MDC Youth Assembly activist in Mbare, Harare was hospitalised after he was
attacked by Zanu PF youths at the MDC Mbare offices in front of the police.
Nine of Gorekore’s friends including Paul Gorekore, a Harare city councillor are
in police custody after being arrested at the offices.
One of the youths
in police custody is Barnabas Mwanaka who is recovering from injuries sustained
after his arm was broken by the Zanu PF youths last week. He had to spend a
week in hospital. Since they were arrested yesterday police officers have denied
them food saying they are working on orders from above. It is cheerless and
deplorable that some ZRP officers have been reduced to be political commissars
for other parties denying the people their basic right – freedom.
The
police are showing clear signs of being openly partisan and if left unchecked
and unchallenged will cause unnecessary disturbances. The regretful actions of
Zanu PF youths in Mbare will soon drag Zimbabwe backwards into our dark past if
the police continue to look aside and not take any action. The MDC accepts the
role of the police and will always support a professional, non-partisan police
service.
Together, united, winning, ready for real
change!!
--
MDC Information & Publicity
Department
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Lance Guma
01
February 2011
The days of despots hanging on to power for decades seem to
be drawing to a
close as winds of change sweep across the North of Africa
and the Middle
East. On Tuesday the King of Jordan was forced by protests to
appoint a new
Prime Minister, giving him instructions to implement radical
political
reforms.
It all started in Tunisia where protesting youths
brought down a regime
which had been in power for over 23 years. Similar
angry protests have since
spread to Egypt and Yemen, where impoverished
citizens want their leaders to
step down. Just like Mugabe, both Hosni
Mubarak in Egypt and Ali Abdullah
Saleh in Yemen have been in power for more
than 30 years.
In a sign that people are increasingly resisting
authoritarian governments
and leaders who have been in power for too long
the protests have spread to
Algeria and Sudan. Organizers are also
mobilizing people in Syria to join in
this week. The successful ouster of
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from Tunisia has
encouraged many young, frustrated,
Arab populations to turn on their own
autocratic leaders.
On Sunday
in Sudan more than 2,000 people gathered in various parts of the
country
calling for democracy and improved living standards. The government
has
launched a crackdown arresting 70 people, including journalists. Even
independent newspapers have been banned. With people in the South voting for
independence those in the North have become only too aware of their limited
freedoms.
This week Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai gave his backing
to the protests
taking place in the North of Africa and the Middle
East.
"To me when people take their rights and start demanding more rights,
there
is nothing wrong with that, including in Zimbabwe. That was the whole
purpose of our struggle for the last 10 years. The aspect of incumbents
leaving power to their children, dynasties, as we may call it, that is
resented by the people," he said.
The question for many Zimbabweans,
is will these winds of change blow south?
Speaking to SW Radio Africa
political analyst Dr Bekithemba Mpofu said it
was unlikely protests in the
North of Africa and the Middle East would be
replicated in Zimbabwe because
there was a coalition government. He said for
the MDC to call for protests
will be difficult because it would be like
protesting against
themselves.
Another analyst who spoke to SW Radio Africa said the MDC,
which remains the
strongest challenger to Mugabe’s vice like grip on power,
remains fixated
with the electoral route. ‘They may not admit it but they
refuse to
contemplate anything other than contesting elections and this
gives Mugabe
many options for remaining in power, like disputing results or
rigging them
etc,’ he said.
But history has provided examples that
anything can happen in Zimbabwe. In
1998 a group of women in Mabvuku started
what became known as the food
riots. As leader of the Zimbabwe Congress of
Trade Unions, Tsvangirai led a
series of strikes and stay-aways which forced
government to reverse the
increases in tax. Then in 2008 Zimbabweans never
thought they would see
soldiers demonstrating in the street over poor
salaries, smashing shop
windows and looting goods.
The key to the
successful protests in Egypt has been the statement by the
army that they
would not attack the people. Will Zimbabwe’s security forces
ever take the
side of the people?
http://af.reuters.com
Tue Feb 1, 2011 11:20am
GMT
By Cris Chinaka
HARARE Feb 1 (Reuters) - Zimbabwean
President Robert Mugabe has vowed to
press ahead with an early general
election in the coming months that his
rivals said could spur a bloodbath
and deal a blow to the impoverished
state's economy.
Mugabe's ZANU-PF
party is piling pressure on rival Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai's
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) with a nationwide campaign
against
sanctions imposed by Western powers over charges of rights
abuses.
Political hardliners around Mugabe have also threatened
Tsvangirai with
treason charges over leaked secret briefings with U.S.
officials found in
WikiLeaks documents while aiming to nationalise
foreign-owned firms in
revenge over the sanctions.
Mugabe, forced
into a coalition with Tsvangirai after a disputed 2008
election, is not keen
on extending the government and wants a referendum on
a new constitution and
a general election by June - two years ahead of
schedule.
The MDC
first suggested early elections to break deadlocks in the coalition,
but
says the climate is now not right. It is demanding political reforms
before
any vote.
So far, Mugabe has dismissed criticism that the early elections
and his
targeting of foreign firms pose a serious risk to Zimbabwe's
economic
recovery and social stability.
NATIONALISATION
Mugabe
has warned that ZANU-PF will nationalise firms from countries that
have
imposed sanctions citing human rights abuses, arguing they cannot
operate
freely while Western powers punish his party.
The threat adds to worries
of foreign investors in the resource-rich state,
which introduced a law
saying 51 percent of firms worth over $500,000 should
be owned by black
Zimbabweans.
Mugabe signed an Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act
in 2008 and the
government has issued regulations providing details of how
foreign-owned
companies should achieve at least 51 percent black ownership
within five
years.
There are, however, sharp differences on the
policy which his rivals say
could hurt economic recovery.
What to
watch:
- How Mugabe reacts to any extension of travel, investment and
financial
sanctions against his associates at annual review meetings of the
European
Union in February.
- Timelines and details of how the
government plans to proceed with the
empowerment programme in the different
economic sectors, which would address
investor fears.
- Establishing
a corporate anti-sanctions fund and a plan requiring
executives to declare
their positions on sanctions.
ANTI-SANCTIONS CAMPAIGN
ZANU-PF has
launched a campaign for over two million signatures for a
petition against
the travel and financial sanctions it says have ruined
Zimbabwe's
economy.
The campaign has left Tsvangirai's MDC in a quandary because it
is bound to
support positions of the power-sharing government but does not
believe
ZANU-PF has implemented enough political reforms for the embargo to
be
lifted.
What to watch:
- How the MDC responds to the
anti-sanctions drive which ZANU-PF is sure to
use as part of an election
campaign.
TREASON CHARGE
Attorney-General Johannes Tomana has
ordered a probe against Tsvangirai over
State Department cables released by
WikiLeaks about his briefings with U.S.
ambassador Charles
Ray.
According to another confidential U.S. cable dated October 2009 on
WikiLeaks, a senior MDC official suggested that the United States should
contribute to a fund to buy off security service chiefs to achieve regime
change in Zimbabwe.
What to watch:
- How Mugabe's camp tries
to use WikiLeaks as leverage.
ELECTION RESISTANCE
Attempts by
backbenchers in parliament across the political divide to resist
an early
election appear to have failed.
But Tsvangirai's MDC and a smaller MDC
faction, which is also in the unity
government, still hope to lobby leaders
in the Southern African Development
Community (SADC) to pressure Mugabe
against early elections.
What to watch:
- Reactions from
influential regional leaders, especially South African
President Jacob Zuma,
who is the region's mediator in the Zimbabwe political
crisis.
CRACKDOWN ON CRITICS
A ZANU-PF annual conference held
in December, which formally endorsed Mugabe
as candidate for elections in
2011, passed resolutions threatening to expel
foreign diplomats and to ban
non-governmental organisations "meddling, and
interfering in Zimbabwe's
internal political affairs".
Analysts say while Tsvangirai and his
lieutenants have legitimate complaints
against Mugabe over outstanding
reforms, there is growing frustration among
his supporters that he is being
outwitted by Mugabe, a cunning political
veteran.
What to
watch:
- Any moves against foreign-funded civic organisations involved in
election
education and monitoring work.
- Tsvangirai's supporters
walking out of some government functions and
demonstrating against some of
Mugabe's officials, in events that could
invite police
reaction.
CONSTITUTION
Although a multi-party parliamentary
committee leading a constitutional
review process says it will respect the
wishes of ordinary Zimbabweans, the
final charter is a likely compromise
between ZANU-PF and the MDC who both
lack a two-thirds majority in
parliament needed to pass the new supreme law
on their own.
A
referendum on a version in which there is no agreement between the two
parties could lead to violence.
Tsvangirai says Mugabe has already
used his traditional political shock
troops -- liberation war veterans,
party youth brigades and security
forces -- to whip up support in the
countryside, which allowed ZANU-PF to
dominate public debate on the new
constitution.
ZANU-PF denies the charge and says Tsvangirai is already
preparing an excuse
for his party's defeat.
What to watch:
-
Compromise deal. Many Zimbabweans hope a new charter, replacing the
pre-independence document, will strengthen the role of parliament, curtail
presidential powers and guarantee civil, political and media
liberties.
RIGHTS ABUSES
Rights groups say Mugabe's supporters
have increased psychological pressure
on the MDC and are threatening a wave
of violence similar to one that marred
the 2008 elections.
Mugabe has
ignored demands by Tsvangirai for security sector reforms, and in
a
demonstration of his political impotence, the MDC leader has been stopped
by
police or forced to postpone some meetings with supporters in township
halls
in the capital.
What to watch:
- Changes to security laws.
Parliament is debating changes to a tough Public
Order and Security Act,
that calls on political parties to obtain police
clearance to hold
rallies.
Still, the police may ignore the law even if it is amended.
BILL WATCH
2/2011
[31st January 2011]
Inclusive Government Still Failing to Implement 24 Agreed
Points
To put an
end to the political standoff and escalating violence following the
controversial 2008 presidential elections, ZANU-PF and both groups of the MDC
signed a Memorandum of Understanding [MOU] on 21st July 2008, in Harare. The
parties agreed to end political violence and work towards a national unity
government and a new constitution. Despite this MOU, it needed further
intensive negotiations and pressure from the SADC-appointed and AU-endorsed
facilitator, the then SA President Thabo Mbeki, to achieve a signed Inter-party
Agreement [the GPA] on 15th September 2008. Even then, there remained
unresolved disputes between the parties, but the signing went ahead on the
“understanding” that in the goodwill generated by the signing these would be
soon sorted out. [An optimism not generally
shared.]
Just
before the signing ceremony, President Mbeki announced that “the leaders will
spend the next few days constituting the inclusive government”. But this was
not to be. There was still such acrimony over the “loose ends” that it became
necessary to bring in the SA mediation team again and again. Even when, nearly
five months later, agreement was at least reached to implement the essential
part of the GPA – the formation of the inclusive government – there were still
hotly contested points of disagreement.
These points – and new disputes arising since – have been a running sore
throughout the lifetime of the inclusive government, necessitating continued
inter-party negotiations, with the assistance of the facilitators.
By
mid-March 2010 the negotiators stated that the parties had reached agreement on
24 of the issues in dispute, but it was not
until 8th June that the principals met and endorsed this agreement. After that there was another long delay and it
was only on the 4th August that the party principals met and agreed on an
“implementation matrix” fixing a time-frame for the implementation of the 24
agreed points – some to be implemented immediately, others within one or two
months and the rest to be dealt with periodically or continuously. This matrix was endorsed by the SADC Windhoek
Summit on 17th August. But it remains
largely unimplemented:
Progress
(?) on Implementation Matrix for the 24 Agreed
Items
The 15
items for implementation immediately or within one month of the Windhoek
Summit: [14 not implemented at all; other item ½ done]
By the 7th
October 2010, more than six weeks after the Windhoek Summit, 14 of these 15
items remained totally unimplemented. There
had been an unsatisfactory attempt to implement 1 item – the gazetting of
Constitution Amendment No. 19 as passed by Parliament [a revised version of the
Amendment was gazetted by the Ministry of Justice Law Reviser but even this
failed to set out the full text passed by Parliament]. [For
details of these 15 items see Bill Watch 40/2010 of 7th October.] [New subscribers
who do not have this summary, or the implementation matrix showing the 24 agreed
items and planned implementation schedule, please request from veritas@yoafrica.com]
Developments on the 15 items since then [for items
see Bill Watch 40] [Very little
done]
None of
the 14 unfulfilled items have been implemented. The item calling for the
re-gazetting of Constitution Amendment No. 19 that was partially done has still
not been done properly. There has been a little, belated, progress on one item
[that the Minister of Justice, Cabinet and Parliament would “immediately” have
legislation to amend the Electoral Act “completed”, i.e. enacted]; the Electoral
Amendment Bill is believed to have been approved by Cabinet, but is still to be
given the final go-ahead by the party principals, and has not been officially
released. There were other items of importance to the nation which have still
not been finalized – neither the Land Audit Commission nor the
National Economic Council has been constituted, and media issues –
Broadcasting Authority Board, Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation Board and Mass
Media Trust – have not been attended to.
The 2 items
for implementation within two months i.e. before the end of October [Not implemented]
Land Tenure Systems – formulation of systems, with emphasis on leasehold, guaranteeing
security of tenure and collateral value. No
conclusions on land tenure systems have been reached.
National Heroes – expediting adoption of non-partisan and inclusive principles and
framework for designation of national heroes. The designation of national heroes continues to
be the preserve of ZANU-PF, and the controversy surrounding this issue
continues. Harsh words were exchanged in
the House of Assembly in November when MDC-T MPs questioned the national hero
status conferred on the late former Provincial Governor Masawi.
The 5
Items for continuous action [Very little progress]
These items are a mixed bunch, some
specific, some so curiously worded as not to lend themselves to assessment.
Sanctions Removal Strategy
– implementation by party leaders, executive party
organs and lower levels of the three political parties and the Cabinet
Re-Engagement Committee. All party leaders
have now called for the removal of sanctions, but sanctions remain. Note the GPA does not specify the removal of
sanctions – something outside the powers of the parties – but calling for
removal.
Hate Speech in the Media – this curious
item – that the media to be directed “to support all agreed government
programmes and put a stop to attacks against ministers implementing such
programmes” bears no relation to the hate speech problem as generally perceived
by observers, i.e. that the State media continue to denigrate MDC-T
Ministers in strongly derogatory terms. Neither the fulfilment of the item –
presumably directed at the private press and quite rightly ignored as it hardly
peddles hate speech – nor the cessation of hate speech in the state media have
taken place.
Rule of Law, State Security Organs and Institutions – ensuring that the Commissioner-General of Police, state security
organs and the Attorney-General comply with Articles 11 and 13 of the GPA. Article 11 requires everyone to respect and
uphold the Constitution and other laws, and the rule of law; Article 13 requires
impartiality in the discharge of duties, adherence to laws, training in human
rights law, etc. There are still regular complaints against both police and
Attorney General’s Office, alleging failure to meet these standards. Senior military officers have been reported
publicly proclaiming politically partisan sentiments and military personnel have
been accused of intimidation and violence against those perceived to be
anti-ZANU-PF. This month MDC-T co-Minister
of Home Affairs Theresa Makone complained publicly that the police, who come
under her Ministry, had not reformed at all.
Parallel Government – this item requires
continuous monitoring and evaluation of “the allegation of a parallel
government”. Results of any such monitoring
and evaluation have not been made known.
External
Interference – this item calls for the leadership of
the three Political Parties and the Cabinet Re-Engagement Committee to condemn
in unison any external interferences as and when they occur. [Acting in unison has not been a strong feature of the
inclusive government since the Windhoek Summit.]
The 2 items
for periodic action [Not implemented]
Review of Ministerial allocations
the status quo was to be maintained, but
continuously monitored by party principals, with periodic assessment to be
made. Reviews or assessments, if done, remain a closely guarded secret.
Electoral Vacancies – political parties and party principals to extend GPA Article 21.1
[provision for GPA parties not to contest
by-elections against each other] to cover the entire duration of the
inclusive government. This implies that the
constitutional obligation to hold by-elections would be honoured. But the
question of implementation has not arisen because no by-elections have been
called since mid-2008 – although 20 Parliamentary by-elections, and an unknown
number of local authority by-elections, are now pending and long overdue. The Inclusive Government appears to have tacitly
accepted the contravention of the Constitution by adopting the position that
vacancies should not be filled.
Assessment
Compliance with the agreed implementation matrix has been
negligible.
The Disputes that were Not Agreed in the Implementation Matrix
If the inclusive government cannot implement issues that have been
agreed between the parties, it is not surprising that there has also been a
total failure to give effect to the Windhoek Summit’s decision on unresolved
issues – that the party principals would, within a month of the Summit, resolve
the disputes over:
·
the appointment of Reserve Bank Governor Gono
·
the appointment of Attorney-General Tomana
·
the President’s refusal to swear in Senator Roy Bennett as Deputy
Minister of Agriculture.
Reminder
Thabo Mbeki began negotiations between ZANU-PF and MDC soon after the
disputed presidential election of 2002. It has been a sorry saga of delays,
secrecy, purported agreements, and nothing actually settled. In such a scenario
we must ask the question: Cui bono? – Who profits? Certainly not the
ordinary people of Zimbabwe.
Veritas
makes every effort to ensure reliable information, but cannot take legal
responsibility for information supplied.