Zim Online
Wed 8
February 2006
HARARE - Feuding leaders of Zimbabwe's main
opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) party yesterday momentarily
set aside their
differences to unanimously reject claims by South African
President Thabo
Mbeki that they had two years ago agreed on a new
constitution with the
ruling ZANU PF party.
Mbeki told South
African state television in an interview last Sunday
that his much maligned
policy of "quiet diplomacy" toward President Robert
Mugabe's government was
in part based on expectations of a political
breakthrough after Mugabe's
ZANU PF and the MDC had in 2004 agreed a new
constitution during secret
talks.
The South African leader - who openly regretted the missed
chance to
resolve Zimbabwe's crisis that the secretly agreed constitution
presented -
said the two political parties had given him a copy of the draft
constitution "initialled by everybody" before abandoning the initiative
after new problems arose between them.
But the
leaders of the two rival factions of the MDC, who spoke to
ZimOnline
separately, strongly denied ever agreeing with ZANU PF on a new
constitution
for Zimbabwe, let alone submitting such a document to Mbeki.
"As a
party we are not aware of what he (Mbeki) was talking about. We
are in
shock," said MDC president Morgan Tsvangirai.
MDC secretary general
Welshman Ncube, who together with party
vice-president Gibson Sibanda is
battling to wrestle control of the party
from Tsvangirai, admitted leading
an MDC delegation that held "informal
talks" with ZANU PF officials over a
new constitution.
But Ncube said there was no agreement reached in
the talks and like
Tsvangirai also distanced the MDC from any draft
constitutional document
that Mbeki claims to have received from Zimbabwe's
two biggest political
parties.
"All I know is that we had some
informal talks at length with Patrick
Chinamasa (ZANU PF legal secretary)
and other people from late 2004 and up
to the run up to the 2005 election.
The talks never bore fruits which were
palatable to the party (the MDC),"
Ncube said.
He added: "We never gave Mbeki a draft constitution -
unless it was
ZANU PF which did that. Mbeki has to tell the world what he
was really
talking about."
Chinamasa, who is also Zimbabwe
Justice Minister, however insisted
that the meetings between a ZANU PF
delegation led by him and an Ncube-led
MDC team had produced a draft
constitution, adding that a new House of
Senate controversially introduced
by the government last year was part of
some of the provisions contained in
the draft constitution.
He said: "Part of the constitution is what
resulted in the
reintroduction of the Senate. Obviously when two sides
discuss you cannot
agree on everything. The issue of proportional
representation was one such
issue which they (MDC) wanted but we did not
give in."
It was not possible to immediately get comment from
Mbeki's office on
the matter.
But this is not the first time
that the South African President,
designated the point-man on Zimbabwe by
United States President George W
Bush, has publicly clashed with the MDC
over his attempts to broker a
negotiated solution to the country's
political, social and economic crises.
For example, the MDC has
spent the better part of the last 24 months
denying claims by Mbeki that
there was formal dialogue between the party and
ZANU PF.
The
Zimbabwean opposition party at one time declared it would never be
part to
any mediatory process initiated by Mbeki, saying the South African
leader
had shown bias against it after he endorsed ZANU PF's victory in last
March's general election, which the MDC said was rigged by Mugabe's
government.
The opposition party has however since reversed the
decision to
boycott Mbeki-led efforts to resolve Zimbabwe's crisis. Forged
out of
Zimbabwe's labour unions but also bringing together several civic
groups,
the MDC is expected to formally split in the next couple of months
after
Tsvangirai and party chairman Isaac Matongo on one hand, Sibanda and
Ncube
on the other disagreed on how to oust Mugabe and ZANU PF from
power.
The split, triggered off when the opposition party's leaders
could not
agree on whether to contest last November's senate election, is
expected to
hamper the MDC's effectiveness as Zimbabwe grapples its worst
economic and
political crisis since independence from Britain 25 years ago.
- ZimOnline
Zim Online
Wed 8 February 2006
HARARE - The noose could be
tightening on the beleaguered Zimbabwe
government with growing indications
that the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) is fast running out of patience
and wants a complete overhaul of the
country's economic
policies.
The Bretton Woods institution, which sent a team last
month to assess
Zimbabwe's economic performance ahead of the organisation's
board meeting
next month, last week showed it would not be hoodwinked by
hasty and
cosmetic changes to economic policy being implemented by the
Zimbabwean
authorities.
At the end of a week-long mission to
Harare, the IMF team stuck to its
guns and demanded - for the umpteenth time
- a major shift in economic
policy.
The IMF mission insisted
that Zimbabwe's economic crisis calls for
urgent implementation of a
comprehensive policy package comprising several
mutually reinforcing
actions.
It cited areas that required urgent action as strong
fiscal
adjustment, full liberalisation of the exchange rate regime, adoption
of a
strong monetary anchor, elimination of quasi-fiscal activity by the
Reserve
Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), price deregulation, public enterprise
reform,
strengthening of property rights, and improvements in
governance.
The IMF also wants President Robert Mugabe to provide
adequate social
safety nets and food security for vulnerable groups,
particularly those
affected by his controversial urban clean-up campaign
officially known as
"Operation Murambatsvina or Operation Restore Order"
which the United
Nations says left 700 000 people without shelter after the
government
demolished shantytowns.
Economic analysts who spoke
to ZimOnline yesterday said the IMF's
tough stance against Harare even after
the government paid more money to the
Fund, was a sign of increasing
frustration with Zimbabwe and could also
indicate that the world lender was
itching to impose even tougher
conditions before the southern African
country could be allowed to access
support.
"They (IMF)
continue to refer to their earlier statements and this
shows that they are
trying to send the message that they are not satisfied
with the performance
and that they will not be hoodwinked by what has
happened since their last
visit," said economist James Jowah.
Consultant economist John
Robertson said Zimbabwe would have to win
back the trust of the IMF and
other international bodies.
"The IMF has been consistent in their
recommendations and it is up to
Zimbabwe to ensure these conditions are
met," said Robertson.
Zimbabwe was almost chucked out of the IMF
last year for failing to
meet its obligations to the multilateral financial
institution.
To avoid expulsion, the government has paid off part
of its arrears
but analysts say this may not be enough to warrant a complete
change of
heart by the IMF.
"I think the international
community has now realised that behind the
veil (of recent payments), there
is no real commitment from the government,"
said Jowah.
RBZ
governor Gideon Gono partially relaxed the exchange rate in
October last
year by reintroducing the interbank foreign exchange market.
This saw the
country having three foreign exchange markets, with the other
two being the
auction market for government and essential services and the
unregulated
parallel market.
The partial relaxation saw the exchange rate on
the interbank market
slide from around 26 000 Zimbabwe dollars to the United
States greenback in
October to 99 201 on January 26 when Gono again got
involved in the workings
of the market.
The exchange rate has
been stuck at that level for more than a week
under the new system whereby
the central bank only allows the rate to slide
within a set band and
depending on the volume of currency traded.
Financial services
group FINHOLD has warned that the new measures
would worsen Zimbabwe's
balance of payments problems as they fetter the
country's capacity to
produce goods.
"Movements against currencies such as the South
African rand are
likely to be one sided (against the Zimbabwe dollar) as the
trade balance is
shifted in favour of South Africa. Such movements will
definitely affect
domestic exporters through higher operational costs," said
FINHOLD in a
report analysing Gono's 2005 fourth quarter monetary policy
statement.
The Zimbabwean authorities have also failed to contain
inflation, with
the annualised rate ending 2005 pegged at 585.6 percent
against IMF
projections of 400 percent.
Analysts forecast that
the rate would rise further between now and
April, shooting beyond 800
percent on the back of increases in electricity
tariffs, food prices and
medical fees.
Zimbabwe is facing an acute shortage of electricity
blamed on its
inability to raise foreign currency to pay for imports as well
as spare
parts.
The state-run Zimbabwe Electricity Supply
Authority has already
applied to the government for a tariff
increase.
The analysts warned of greater hardships between now and
March when
the next IMF board meeting takes place as the Harare authorities
implement
changes to try and please the Fund - although they said whatever
changes the
Zimbabwe authorities may implement between now and March could
never be
enough to convince the IMF to resume assistance. -
ZimOnline
Zim Online
Wed 8 February 2006
BULAWAYO - The Zimbabwe Union of
Journalists (ZUJ) on Tuesday called
on the government to repeal a new
General Laws Amendment Act which became
effective last week and places more
hurdles on the country's already
severely restricted
journalists.
The new law was passed by Parliament last year but
became effective
legislation after being signed by Acting President Joyce
Mujuru last Friday.
Under the law, journalists or citizens
convicted of publishing false
information or statements that are prejudicial
to the state or are likely to
cause, promote or incite public disorder or
adversely affect the security or
economic interests of Zimbabwe face up to
five years in jail.
Zimbabwean journalists already face up to 20
years in jail for
committing the same offences under the government's
Criminal Codification
Act enacted last year.
ZUJ national vice
president Njabulo Ncube said: "The new law comes at
a time when journalists
are clamouring for the repeal of other bad media
laws and comes hard on the
heels of the passing of the Criminal Codification
Act by government last
June which will see journalists facing up to 20
years in
prison.
"A cocktail of all these laws will now make it difficult
for
journalists to perform their tasks without fear or favour and we call on
the
government to repeal all these laws."
The new law also
revises fines courts can impose on journalists
convicted of publishing
falsehoods from Z$100 000 to $10 million, while
journalists as well as
citizens found guilty of insulting or ridiculing
President Robert Mugabe
will now pay a fine of Z$2 million, up from $20 000
or alternatively jailed
for up to a year.
The latest restrictions on the Press come barely
two months after the
Harare administration promised the African Commission
on Human and People's
Rights that it was planning to repeal some of its
harshest media laws.
Apart from the fear of being imprisoned for
insulting Mugabe or
publishing false information, journalists in Zimbabwe
also have to deal with
stringent requirements to register with the
government's Media and
Information Commission in order to practice in the
country.
Journalists, who must renew their registration after every
12 months,
face up to two years in jail for practising without being
registered with
the commission. Newspaper companies are also required to
register after
every two years with those failing to comply with the
requirement being
forced to close and their equipment seized by the
state.
At least a hundred journalists have been arrested over the
past six
years for violating the government's press and security laws while
four
newspapers, including the country's biggest circulating daily, the
Daily
News, were forcibly shut down by the government over the past three
years.
The Word Association of Newspapers ranks Zimbabwe among the
three
worst places for journalists in the world. The other two are the
Islamic
Republic of Iran and the former Soviet republic of Uzbekistan. -
ZimOnline
Zim Online
Wed 8 February 2006
MASVINGO - Milling firms in Masvingo
province south of Harare
yesterday told ZimOnline that they were being
forced to donate money to pay
for the hosting of President Robert Mugabe's
birthday party on the 21st of
this month.
A spokesman for the
milling firms, Emmanuel Donga, said those who
failed to contribute money for
the 21st February Movement celebrations were
being told they would never get
allocations of maize or wheat from the
state-owned Grain Marketing Board
(GMB).
The GMB is the only company permitted to buy maize and wheat
from
farmers for resale to milling firms. Donga said: "While we have a
national
duty to feed the nation it is not fair to force us to pay the money
. . .
after all not all millers are ZANU PF supporters."
But
the GMB denied it will deny millers maize or wheat if they fail to
donate
money for Mugabe's birthday party, saying it had nothing to do with
raising
funds for the celebrations because this was being done by a
committee set up
by Mugabe's ruling ZANU PF party.
GMB acting chief executive
officer, Retired Colonel Samuel Muvuti
said: "I am not aware of that but if
the taskforce is looking for money from
millers, I do not see any
problem."
ZANU PF chairman for Masvingo province Samuel Mumbengegwi
could not be
reached for comment on the matter.
The ruling
party has in the past been accused of arm-twisting the
business community to
sponsor its activities. It denies the charges. -
ZimOnline
European Commission
Brussels, 6 February 2006
6050/06 (Presse
36)
Declaration by the Presidency on behalf of the European Union
concerning
Council Decision 2006/51/CFSP of 30 January 2006 implementing
Common
Position 2004/161/CFSP renewing restrictive measures against
Zimbabwe
The Acceding Countries Bulgaria and Romania, the Candidate
Countries Turkey,
Croatia* and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*,
the Countries of
the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential
candidates Albania,
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro, and the
EFTA countries
Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European
Economic Area, as
well as Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, declare that
they share the
objectives of Council Decision 2006/51/CFSP of 30 January
2006 implementing
Common Position 2004/161/CFSP renewing restrictive
measures against
Zimbabwe. They will ensure that their national policies
conform to this
Decision.
The European Union takes note of this
commitment and welcomes it.
* Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia continue to be part
of the Stabilisation and Association
Process.
The Herald
(Harare)
February 7, 2006
Posted to the web February 7,
2006
Harare
PEOPLE should shun food sold by vendors as the danger
of contracting cholera
is still lurking, Health and Child Welfare Minister
Dr David Parirenyatwa
has said.
His remarks came amid reports that
cases of cholera continue to emerge in
different parts of the
country.
In an interview yesterday, Dr Parirenyatwa said people needed to
be careful
especially when it came to foods like fish and meat sold by
vendors at open
stalls.
Consumers, faced with diminishing purchasing
power, are forced to buy from
vendors who sell their products at low
prices.
The meat sold by vendors is not inspected and the fish may have
been caught
in sewer-infected water, the minister cautioned.
"People
should always put their health first no matter how cheap something
might
be.
"Buying meat and fish whose origins one is not even sure of is like
signing
a death warrant at this time when cholera cases continue cropping up
here
and there.
"While we are doing our utmost to monitor and keep on
top of the situation,
sometimes the best person to monitor one's health is
oneself," Dr
Parirenyatwa said.
New cases of cholera were recently
reported in Buhera with health officials
saying some cases had been reported
in Harare.
While many Zimbabweans went on alert after cholera claimed 14
people in
Harare and Chikomba between December and January this year, some
people
thought they were out of danger and therefore relaxed.
Health
officials said such lethargy is dangerous in light of the persistent
rains.
Cholera is prevalent during the rainy season when waste is
washed away, at
times directly into water used for consumption.
As
such there was need for people to continue exercising high levels of
cleanliness, like washing fruits and vegetables and their hands every time
before eating.
Dr Parirenyatwa said even the water used for cleaning
the vegetables and
fruits has to be clean.
Some people assume that
once they dip fruits or vegetables into water they
have cleaned them. Many
have often just used dirty water for this purpose.
This is especially the
case with vegetable vendors who use the same water to
wash everything they
will be selling.
Dr Parirenyatwa said because of the gravity of the
cholera threat, it was
high time people desisted from the habit of shaking
hands with everyone they
met.
"I am sorry but I think I have to tell
people that the time to just shake
hands with everyone is gone, even at
funerals, maybe people need to start
expressing sympathy in a different
manner from what they are used to.
"This is because it is at such
gatherings that diarrhoea outbreaks occur and
when you just shake hands with
other people, maybe they would not have
washed their hands and you put your
life in danger."
More than 250 cholera cases were reported this rainy
season prompting the
Government officials to join in the fight against the
disease by banning the
vending of all types of meat.
MessageC.A.A.Z.
Zimbabwe Departure Tax
Please be advised that
with immediate effect,
the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe has
revised
their ZWD = USD rate to ZWD96,000 = USD1.
This
following levels now apply:
Domestic Departure
Tax:
One
Way
ZWD480,000
Return
ZWD960 000
International Departure
Tax:
ZWD2,880,000
These taxes apply when travelling on Air
Zimbabwe flights only.
African News Dimension
Tuesday, 7 February 2006, 11 hours, 36 minutes and 42
seconds ago.
By ANDnetwork .com
THE International
Monetary Fund (IMF) has demanded that Reserve Bank
of Zimbabwe (RBZ)
governor Gideon Gono's wings be clipped to stop
"quasi-fiscal activities" at
Zimbabwe's central bank.
Critics say Gono, appointed to the RBZ
in 2003 by President Robert
Mugabe's has strayed from monetary policy
issues, poking his nose in almost
every aspect of Zimbabweans' lives --
disbursing trillions of dollars to
farmers, intervention in the cricket saga
and at one time seeking to
investigate government officials.
Sometime last year, South African President Thabo Mbeki expressed
measured
disquiet at the way the country's central bank was operating.
There
have been claims in Parliament by opposition MDC legislators
that Gono had
assumed the role of Finance Minister.
In a press statement released
on Friday, the IMF said: "...the mission
emphasized that Zimbabwe's economic
crisis calls for urgent implementation
of a comprehensive policy package
comprising several mutually reinforcing
actions.
"These
include: strong fiscal adjustment; full liberalization of the
exchange rate
regime for current account transactions; adoption of a strong
monetary
anchor; elimination of quasi-fiscal activity of the Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe".
The statement was issued at the end of an IMF staff
visit from January
to February 1, ahead of its meeting in early March to
decide if Zimbabwe
should be expelled from the fund.
The
international institution, which noted that discussions were held
at a time
when Zimbabwe is facing food shortages, added that property rights
and
relations with the international community must be strengthened and
governance improved.
"In the absence of such a comprehensive
and immediate policy package,"
it said, "Zimbabwe's economic prospects would
be bleak."
-New Zimbabwe-
IOL
February 07
2006 at 01:35AM
Harare - Some of the houses built by the Zimbabwean
government for
people made homeless by its controversial urban clean-up
campaign are not
going to the needy, a government minister admitted on
Monday.
Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi, who is also the member
of
parliament for the southern border town of Beitbridge, said houses in his
constituency had been given to civil servants and people not resident in the
town.
"The whole thing has been done in a very unprofessional
manner,"
Mohadi said in an interview with national radio.
"People that have been allocated houses, some of them come (from)
outside
Beitbridge and they're not even resident there. And some of them,
mostly
civil servants, are people (already) staying in government houses,"
he
said.
Last May, the government deployed police
countrywide to demolish
houses, cottages, shacks and flea markets deemed
illegal in an urban
clean-up campaign dubbed Operation Restore Order. Around
700 000 people were
made homeless and jobless in the crackdown, according to
the United Nations.
A follow-up operation, dubbed Operation Garikai
(Settle and Prosper)
was supposed to see new houses built for those made
homeless.
"We came up with this Operation Garikai as government in
order to
address a simple situation whereby our people had their houses
destroyed and
those were the people who were supposed to be allocated
houses," Mohadi
said.
"But unfortunately, especially in my
constituency or in my town of
Beitbridge, it hasn't been so."
The minister's admission follows a weekend report in the private
Standard
newspaper that civil servants and their relatives were among those
recently
allocated houses under Operation Garikai in the southern town of
Gwanda. -
Sapa-dpa
VOA
By Blessing
Zulu
Washington
06 February 2006
Officials of the
U.S. nonprofit organization Freedom House have dismissed
claims by a
Zimbabwean state-run newspaper that the pro-democracy
institution has been
holding clandestine meetings with Harare's opposition
across the border in
Zambia.
The Sunday Mail said Movement for Democratic Change President
Morgan
Tsvangirai and other prominent figures in his faction of the divided
opposition party were in the Zambian border city of Livingstone to meet a
Freedom House representative.
It said Freedom House is a front for
the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency
and "known world wide for aiding civil
unrest in countries seen as a threat
to US.interests."
The
organization's Web site says Freedom House was "founded over 60 years
ago by
(U.S. First Lady) Eleanor Roosevelt...and other Americans concerned
with the
mounting threats to peace and democracy." The organization engages
in
advocacy, education and training "to promote human rights, democracy,
free
market economics, the rule of law, independent media, and US engagement
in
international affairs."
The Sunday Mail said Zimbabwean authorities have
opened an investigation
into what Tsvangirai and eight other MDC officials
were doing when they were
deported.
Zambian immigration spokeswoman
Mulako Mbakweta said Tsvangirai was removed
last Thursday for failing to
declare his intended activities in the country.
Tsvangirai spokesman William
Bango said the MDC is awaiting an explanation
from Lusaka.
Freedom
House research editor and Zimbabwe analyst Mark Rosenberg told
reporter
Blessing Zulu of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that although a former
chief of
the CIA once served as the group's chairman, Freedom House is not a
front
for the CIA.
Voice of America reporter Sarah Williams spoke at length
with Freedom House
Deputy Director Thomas Melia, who said his organization
has not met with the
Zimbabwean opposition in recent days and that reports
to the contrary are
"fictitious."
Zim Daily
Tuesday, February 07 2006 @ 12:05 AM GMT
Contributed by:
chiefn
By Matthew Nyashanu
Movement For
Democratic Change officials continued to receive a
good welcome from UK
residents on their three-day visit to the UK. The
delegation led by party
chairman Isaac Matongo, included the fire brand
Kuwadzana MP and party
spokesman Nelson Chamisa, Makokoba MP and deputy
chief whip Thokozani Khupe
and Ian Makone personal assistant to the MDC
president Morgan
Tsvangirai.
Their Leeds meeting attended by more than one
hundred and fifty
people packed the Leeds West Indian Centre. Mr Isaac
Matongo said that MDC
had emerged stronger and more focused since the futile
attempt by the pro
senate rebels to destroy it. He urged Zimbabweans in
Diaspora to support the
efforts aimed at restoring democracy at
home.
Chamisa said that the collapse of social and health
services in
Zimbabwe is enough testimony to show that Mugabe s' government
is now in the
intensive care unit. He also said that the MDC was geared to
step up efforts
to in bring peace and tranquillity to the economic ravaged
southern African
state. Makokoba MP Thokozani Khupe took a swipe at the
senate when she
described it as a ZANU PF project to reward Mugabe s'
cronies while people
suffer from hunger and starvation.
Mr Chamisa also deplored the deportation of MDC officials from
Zambia. His
delegation, including party president, Morgan Tsvangirai, were
made to walk
ten kilometres into Victoria falls town as the security
operatives who
engineered their deportation had no cars. Leeds people sang
and danced as
they reaffirmed their strong support for the MDC party
president Morgan
Tsvangirai. The meeting ended at six o'clock after more
than four hours of
deliberations during which the people in Diaspora vowed
to write new
chapters in pressing for change in Zimbabwe. The delegation
headed for
London where they were due to meet more Zimbabweans at the forum
and are
also due to go to South end-on- Sea for another meeting.
Zim Daily
Tuesday, February 07 2006 @ 12:04 AM GMT
Contributed by: correspondent
SOME 45 Zimbabweans who illegally
entered Botswana were each
given three lashes in public at a customary law
court in that country while
six women claim to have been raped by soldiers
before being deported.
According to the Mmegi, a Botswana daily paper, the
humiliating punishment
was part of a joint operation by that country's
police and army to crackdown
on illegal immigrants, mainly Zimbabweans
working or selling wares in
villages around Francistown.
The Mmegi said the operation code named "Operation Clean Up" has
resulted in
the arrest of 552 Zimbabweans so far for entering the
neighbouring country
without valid travel documents or vending without
permits. The spokesman for
the operation, Senior Superintendent Boikhutso
Dintwa of the Botswana Police
said about 552 illegal immigrants were
arrested mainly from within and
around Borolong village, west of Francistown
since
January.
"The joint operation between the police, the army,
immigration,
prisons and other government departments, was conducted house
to house,"
said Supt Dintwa. "We nabbed some of our targets from their work
places,
where they were employed illegally. Some were travelling in the bush
whilst
others were from the roadblocks that we mounted."
He said 45 Zimbabweans were tried at the customary law court and
given three
strokes each. The Supt said some of them paid admission of
guilty fines for
various offences such as overstaying in that country and
selling wares
without permits. The arrested illegal immigrants were taken to
the Centre
for Illegal Immigrants in Francistown, where they were kept for a
short
period before some of them were deported. Last year Botswana said it
was
deporting 2 500 Zimbabweans every week. The neighbouring country's
politicians also blame the increasing crime rate in their country to an
influx of Zimbabwean illegal immigrants.
This has
resulted in a number of operations to flush out the
illegal immigrants, a
situation that has at some instances resulted in the
abuse of Zimbabweans
legally resident in that country. Botswana has also
faced mounting criticism
over its decision to erect an electric fence on its
border with Zimbabwe
ostensibly to control the movement of animals between
the two countries.
Critics of the move say the fence is meant to control the
movement of people
between the two countries and mainly targeting
Zimbabweans. Zimbabweans who
spoke to Zimdaily condemned the move describing
it as a primitive act
sanctioned by primitive leaders.
"You cannot expect that to
happen in a country neighbouring
Zimbabwe, this is primitive and can only
have been sanctioned by primitive
leaders of that country, it flies against
human rights, freedom of movement
and the dignity of human beings, this
calls for investigations and an
apology by the Government of that country to
those who dignity was injured,"
said a human rights lawyer in Harare. "It's
a gross human rights abuse, you
cannot allow that to happen, lashing an
adult cannot be expected this day
and age," said another human rights lawyer
Harrison Nkomo.
Zim Daily
Tuesday, February 07 2006 @ 12:05 AM
GMT
Contributed by: correspondent
Zimbabwe is set
to retrench young soldiers and recall war
veterans to form a reserve force
in a move ostensibly aimed at reducing the
defence forces expenditure,
Zimdaily has learnt. Defence ministry public
relations and International
relations director general, Brigadier General
Trust Mugoba told a workshop
that it was important that the country "shifts
from a large robust force to
a minimum self defence capability."
Brig Gen Mugomba revealed
that the ministry of Defence had
created a department for a war veterans
reserve force. He said the
department was established after realisation that
war veterans had military
skills and could be better managed by the
ministry. He said it was not all
war veterans that were being catered for,
but only those with special
skills. "We have created a department for war
veterans. It was decided that
war veterans since they have military
backgrounds, could be better managed
under the ministry," he said. "We have
no situation where war veterans have
been called to participate in the
defence of the country since independence,
we need a reserve army and only
those with certain skills will be called
when needed. We are going to
retrench thousands of junior troops to cut back
on
expenditure".
Zimdaily heard that since the 1990s, Zimbabwe
reduced the size
of its military establishment from 82 000 to 40 000 and
then to around 30
000 presently. "We are considering having a reserve force
so that when the
need for military personnel arises, they can easily be
mobilised and called
to duty," Brig Gen Mugoba said. He said government was
cognisant of the need
to compensate the reduction in the numbers with
equipping the country's
defence with modern equipment. Reports suggests
Zimbabwe is struggling to
maintain its army amid reports that some troops
are protesting food
shortages. Another beef in the military seems to be cuts
in pay. Troops
involved in the protests are mainly junior and have been
confined to their
barracks and some will be court-marshaled, according to
military sources.
Zimdaily understands that Mugabe is wary of
junior troops who he
fear could overthrow him through military coup hence
the need to recall war
veterans who are loyal to him. Last month a top
soldier warned junior troops
against supporting the opposition. But Brig
General Mugoba denied that
junior troops were going to be retrenched because
of fear of mutiny.
"Actually this is in response to to the peace dividends
that followed the
demise of apartheid rule, the government is now pursuing
prudent policies
for the reduction of the defence expenditure while
redirecting resources to
the social sector. Loyalty is not an issue here but
we realise that war
veterans have a military background," Brig Gen Mugoba
said.
Mugabe has clung to power through his ruthless use of
the army.
The loyalty of the army would ensure he retains power although he
has now
reached a frail and paranoid old age. Observers say there are
growing
prospects for civil war, but it appears military coup is no longer
out of
the question due to the disgruntlement of the armed forces.
Zim Daily
Tuesday,
February 07 2006 @ 12:03 AM GMT
Contributed by:
correspondent
Telecommunications service providers have hiked
tariffs by an
average 200 percent over the past fortnight, further straining
Zimbabwean
households and firms that have to contend with burgeoning
inflation. The
cost telecommunications makes up a significant weight in the
basket used in
calculating consumer price index (CPI).
TelOne, the country's single fixed telephone line operator,
became the
latest service provider to hike tariffs, increasing rates by 220
percent
last week. A unit, which is made up of three minutes, now costs $8
608, 99
up from $2 700 while a minute now costs $2 869, 66 during the peak
period
and $2 152, 25 off peak. Sub-regional outgoing calls now cost $13
018, 39 to
fixed networks and $24 237, 97 to mobile networks during the peak
period.
International outgoing calls to Group 1 destinations such as the
United
Kingdom, United States, Australia, Canada and France, will cost $14
934, 48
(fixed) and $23 494, 20 (mobile) during peak period.
Calls
landing in Group 2 countries, including China, now costs
$42 006, 05 (fixed)
and $326 849, 83 (mobile) in the peak period. Telone has
also hiked the
internet charges, a service it provides through its
subsidiary Com One.
Internet charges per minute are now $4 821, 04 and $3
615, 78 for peak and
off peak periods, respectively. Reuben Gwatidzo, a
telecommunications player
and former Telecommunications Association chairman
bemoaned the impact the
new charges would have on businesses across the
country.
"Today business heavily depends on electronic communications to
reach
markets within and beyond our borders. "You can imagine the effect
these
increment will have on e-commerce, e-banking, e-business, which relies
on
Internet services." There has been a wave of tariff hikes in the telecoms
sector with two mobile operators, Econet and Telecel also increasing tariffs
by more than 200 percent. Telecel increased charges for intra-network calls
of Telecel to Telecel from $3 500 to $9 500 during the peak period and $8
000 from $3 000 during the off peak.
Charges for Telecel to
other networks were increased to $9 900
from $4 000 during peak period and
$8 400 during off peak.
Zimbabwean mobile phone networks have
to meet the bulk of their
costs, 95 percent, in foreign currency. The
networks have long complained
about rigid regulatory oversight over tariffs,
a factor which has impacted
negatively on revenue. However, although the
networks have enjoyed the
relative relaxation by the Postal and
Telecommunications Regulatory
Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz), they are wary
that radical tariff hikes
could hit ARPU (average rate per user) statistics
hard.
The Herald
(Harare)
February 6, 2006
Posted to the web February 6,
2006
Bulawayo Bureau
Harare
THE Government has launched
investigations into the scarcity of mealie-meal,
which is in short supply
throughout the country but is readily available on
the parallel
market.
While shops have failed to get mealie-meal supplies for the past
month, the
illegal market is flourishing with some unscrupulous traders
overcharging
the desperate public.
A 10kg bag of roller meal is being
sold for $600 000 against the gazetted
price of $180 000.
The
Minister of State Enterprises, Anti-Monopolies and Anti-Corruption, Cde
Paul
Mangwana, confirmed that the Government is investigating mealie-meal
shortages.
"The Government is investigating irregularities in the
buying and selling of
mealie-meal.
"There is need to find out what is
taking place on the ground in order to
ascertain the level of cheating in
the trading of mealie-meal," said Cde
Mangwana.
He added that
Government was determined to nip in the bud corrupt tendencies
that are
contributing to macro-economic instability.
"Unfair trade practices are
not tolerated as they adversely affect policies
implemented to stabilise
inflation in order to attain economic growth," he
said.
The Minister
said the Government would mete out stiff penalties to
unregistered dealers
driving the parallel market.
All major cities in Zimbabwe have been hit
by mealie-meal shortages in the
past three weeks. However, unregistered
traders who were buying maize in
bulk are now selling mealie-meal to the
public at inflated prices.
Some of the traders are repackaging the
commodity in small quantities of
about 500 grammes.
Last week, the
Consumer Council of Zimbabwe Matabeleland regional manager,
Mr Comfort
Muchekeza, said the council was handling increasing cases of
cheating by
millers.
The Zimbabwe Republic Police, spokesman for Bulawayo province,
Inspector
Shepherd Sibanda, said police would arrest any traders found
selling mealie
meal at inflated prices.
"The police are ready to act
on instances of overcharging therefore we urge
members of the public to
report retailers for overcharging," said Inspector
Sibanda.
The Herald (Harare)
February
6, 2006
Posted to the web February 6, 2006
Fidelis
Munyoro
Harare
KUWAIT has extended loans and grants amounting to
US$63,6 million to
Zimbabwe to support infrastructural
development.
According to the 2004-2005 annual report of the Kuwait Fund
for Arab
Economic Develo-pment, the Middle Eastern country extended US$54,2
million
to the transport and communication sector and a further US$9,39
million to
the agricultural se-ctor.
A number of African countries
benefited from the Kuwait Fund which supported
24 projects, in several
sectors, at a cost of US$1,2 billion.
"The fund will continue diligently
to strengthen its co-operation with
developing nations and to help them
achieve their development goals, while
maintaining friendly relationships
with partner countries, built on mutual
respect which would serve our
national objectives and to promote the role of
the State of Kuwait in the
international community," said Mr Mohammad Sabah
Al-Salem Al-Sabah, who
chairs the fund.
Zimbabwe and Kuwait enjoy excellent bilateral and
multilateral relations and
the former has a diplomatic mission in
Kuwait.
Since 1980, Kuwait has extended grants to fund the purchase of
diesel
locomotives for the National Railways of Zimba-bwe and road projects,
which
included the Mhandamabwe-Chivi-Tokwe, Bulawayo-Nkayi and the
Buchwa-Rutenga
roads.
Kuwaiti Ambassador Saud Al-Daweesh said there
were many business
opportunities that people from the two countries could
tap to further
enhance bilateral relations.
Recently, Acting
President Joice Mujuru signed the book of condolence at the
Kuwait Emb-assy
in Harare to. pay homage to the late Emir of Kuwait, Sheik
Jaber Al-Ahmad
Al-Sabah.
IOL
February 07
2006 at 09:42AM
A listed British mining company has concluded a
R470-million deal with
international fugitive Billy Rautenbach, a close
associate of some people in
President Robert Mugabe's inner
circle.
Central African Mining & Exploration Company has not
disclosed
Rautenbach's involvement in the company, in which he has now
become an
effective 20 percent shareholder.
After months of
secret negotiations, mostly in Harare, Rautenbach sold
three cobalt and
copper deposits in the Democratic Republic of Congo last
week to Camec,
whose top executives are controversial London businessmen
Andrew Groves and
Phil Edmonds, a former England and Middlesex left-arm
spinner.
Rautenbach is wanted for trial by the South African police, and
prosecutors
have reportedly begun preparations for extradition proceedings
from
Zimbabwe, where he is normally resident.
Among Rautenbach's
associates in Zimbabwe are his DRC "fixer", Rural
Housing Minister Emmerson
Mnangagwa, tipped by some to succeed Mugabe when
he retires, and the
ex-chief of Zimbabwe's security forces, General Vitalis
Zvinavashe.
Rautenbach's entry in 1998, in conjunction with
Mugabe and his
cronies, into the rich mining deposits in southern DRC was
part of the
spoils of war, after Zimbabwe sent in its army to assist late
DRC president
Laurent Kabila.
Rautenbach was appointed chief
executive of state mining company
Gecamines, and he was allocated extensive
mining concessions and two copper
and cobalt processing plants.
Two years later he was sacked by Kabila and had his other assets
seized. He
was accused, among many alleged transgressions, of
under-reporting sales and
exports of hundreds of millions of rands of cobalt
for the benefit of his
company, Ridgepointe Overseas Development Company.
Kabila then
asked another Zimbabwean businessman, John Bredenkamp, to
take over some of
Rautenbach's seized assets, among them the Kambove and
Kakanda processing
plants and a large number of deposits in the rich Katanga
province in
southern DRC.
Bredenkamp invested in excess of R110-million to open
the Mukondo
deposit, arguably the richest cobalt mine in the
world.
In February 2004, Rautenbach, assisted by his high-ranking
Zimbabwean
facilitators, was mysteriously awarded half of Bredenkamp's
assets in the
DRC. Bredenkamp was never compensated.
Two weeks
ago, on the eve of signing the Camec deal, Rautenbach had to
urgently settle
about R25-million on two minority partners, after the High
Court in the
British Virgin Islands issued a provisional liquidation order
against the
holding company of his DRC assets, Shaford Capital.
The central
thrust of the case presented to the court was that
Rautenbach was depriving
his minority shareholders of their fair share of
the profits, and that
Gecamines was also not receiving its 20 percent
profits from Shaford
Capital.
In papers supporting the application for liquidation,
information was
provided to the court alleging crude extraction techniques
known as
high-grading, which expert opinion claims will drastically shorten
the life
of the Mukondo mine.
Rautenbach, Groves and Edmonds
failed to answer repeated and detailed
questions left for them on their
cellphones.
It is not clear at this stage what obligation
Rautenbach, and
therefore Camec, may have to top Zimbabwean and DRC
politicians who
engineered his controversial return to the DRC after his
expulsion.
Rautenbach had substantial assets in South Africa, which
have been
seized by the state. He faces serious fraud and corruption charges
in
connection with Hyundai Motor Corporation.
Together with his
brother Peter, he has several thousand cattle about
160km north of Harare,
untouched during six years of seizures of white-owned
commercial
farms.
This article was originally published on
page 6 of The Star on
February 07, 2006
The Herald
(Harare)
February 7, 2006
Posted to the web February 7,
2006
Harare
FARMERS should take the initiative to mobilise their
own resources before
turning to Government for assistance, a cabinet
minister has said.
The Minister of Agriculture, Dr Joseph Made, said
although the Government
remained committed to the provision of inputs,
farmers should also help in
sourcing their own farming inputs rather than to
leave the task to the
State.
Dr Made said farmers should go out of
their way to mobilise funding through
commercial banks and other
agricultural stakeholders.
"A2 farmers should start preparing for the
winter crop and with the help of
farmers' associations and syndicates, they
should invite corporate companies
to work out farming contracts," Dr Made
said, commenting on the progress of
the 2006 agricultural
season.
Some farmers in Mazowe and Odzi have already invited the minister
to discuss
prospects for the summer season, the successful implementation of
the land
reform programme and the mechanisation programme.
About the
prospects of the winter season, Dr Made said communal and A1
farmers will be
provided with wheat seed between March and April so that
they plant in
wetlands.
As the season progresses, Government will concentrate on making
fertilizer
available.
"The ministry will also focus on productivity
and yield enhancement instead
of wasting resources on land preparations when
seed and fertilizer are not
available," he said.
Dr Made added that
there was need to improve the balance between crop and
livestock
production.
"A lot of emphasis has been placed on crop production because
the bulk of
the starch and energy comes from crops but it has to
change.
"We want to focus on our plantation and industrial crops to
improve our
industrial base," he said.
Government was also aware that
20 percent of the crops planted throughout
the country had reached maturity
and 80 percent still needed Ammonium
Nitrate fertilizer.
"We are
happy that the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe continues to work hard on
making
fertilizer available to farmers and we urge farmers to look at the
production of other crops such as sorghum, cassava, jatropha, soyabeans,
potatoes and sugar beans," Dr Made said.
Like other ministries, the
Ministry of Agriculture continues to lose skilled
and experienced workers to
other regional countries.
He called upon the Public Service Commission to
improve the conditions of
service in the agricultural industry.
Dr
Made also urged the Department of Agricultural Engineering to work with
A2
farmers in providing back-up services on appropriate equipment,
technology
and servicing their tractors.
However, the department was also facing
problems of staff shortages.
The Herald
(Harare)
February 7, 2006
Posted to the web February 7,
2006
Harare
CHITUNGWIZA small maize millers are crying foul over
the way Grain Marketing
Board Aspindale depot is allocating maize to
millers.
The small millers are alleging that they are being allocated 30
tonnes of
maize per week which they grind for public consumption, while the
bigger
companies get 400 tonnes per week, which they resell, thereby causing
unwarranted maize-meal shortages on the market.
Asked for comment,
GMB chief executive officer Retired Colonel Samuel Muvuti
dismissed the
allegations as unfounded and irresponsible.
"These are false allegations
as we all know that the parastatal like many
others, is facing foreign
currency shortages and we have logistical problems
which all millers are
supposed to know.
"Noone is getting 400 tonnes. That's absurd. At the
moment we have a
derailment problem on the Maputo route causing a major blow
to our import
efforts," Rtd Colonel Muvuti said.
Mr Joshua Munemo,
managing director of a Chitungwiza milling company said
big millers were
short-changing the public.
"We get 30 tonnes of maize a week, which we
grind in one day and sell to the
public. The so-called big millers get 400
tonnes and we don't see their
maize-meal in the shops," he added.
Mr
Munemo also warned the Government that the actions of the big companies
could cause maize-meal shortages.
"We are warning the Government to
watch out for maize-meal shortages due to
unscrupulous dealings by some
individuals at the GMB," he said.
The millers also alleged that some
Government officials who own milling
companies were being given special
preference over small maize millers.
"Some Government officials pass with
six or seven truck loads without having
to wait for longer periods. We wait
for days trying to get the purchased
maize and pay more for transportation,"
said Mr Munemo.
It is further alleged that when the big millers get the
bulk of the
subsidised maize they later resell it at exorbitant
prices.
"The big companies are not milling, they resell to other bigger
companies
which make stockfeeds or pop-corn which is more profitable whilst
the staple
food is scarce on the market.
"More tonnage should be
given to millers who operate in more populated areas
such as Chitungwiza to
alleviate shortages as they deal directly with the
people," said Mr
Munemo.
Retired Colonel Muvuti dismissed the claims as misinformation on
the part of
the millers.
"They are making stories out of nothing and
we should think of other better
things for national development other than
false allegations," he said.
The parastatal has been rocked by scandals
in recent years as transparency
by officials in their dealings comes as a
secondary matter leaving it on the
same footing as the National Oil Company
of Zimbabwe.
Early this year, police launched investigations into
allegations that
officials at GMB Rusape Depot were operating a syndicate
that was smuggling
agricultural inputs and grain from stocks for resale on
the illegal parallel
market at exorbitant prices.
Last week, GMB
suspended a loss control manager for allegedly facilitating
illegal movement
of grain from farmers to millers in violation of the GMB
Act.
Daily Mirror, Zimbabwe
The Daily Mirror
Reporter
issue date :2006-Feb-07
MDC's pro-Senate camp failed to field
a candidate for the Chegutu mayoral
elections by close of the nomination
court last Friday, leaving Morgan
Tsvangirai's faction to battle it out with
Zanu PF on March 4.
In an interview yesterday, the Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission (ZEC)
spokesperson Utoile Silaigwana said Martin Zimani of Zanu
PF and MDC's
anti-Senate candidate Francis Dhlakama, were the only
contestants for the
mayoral post.
"Two candidates, Francis Dhlakama of
the anti-Senate MDC and Martin Zimani
of Zanu PF will contest the Chegutu
mayoral elections. The pro-Senate MDC
will not take part in the elections
because it did not provide a candidate
by the close of nomination court on
Friday," Silaigwana said. Both MDC rival
factions had approached Dhlakama
for the top post before the incumbent mayor
dumped Sibanda for
Tsvangirai.
Dhlakama, whose term expired last December, claimed in an
interview with The
Daily Mirror last month that both factions had approached
him to contest the
poll on their tickets. He said: "Personally, I am
prepared to stand again
for the post because I feel I haven't done what I
set out to do. One thing
that is pleasing is that the two factions (in the
MDC) approached me and it
shows that they feel I should stand for
them."
Yesterday, Welshman Ncube of the pro-Senate camp was evasive on why
the
faction failed to provide a candidate for the poll when contacted for
comment.
"I thought we did field a candidate," he said. Asked the name of
the
candidate the faction fielded, Ncube replied: "I have no idea. I don't
know." He then advised this newspaper to contact him later, but repeated
efforts to reach him were fruitless. On the other hand, Zanu PF unanimously
elected Zimani to contest the post on the ruling party's
ticket.
Mashonaland West chairman John Mafa said the party was confident
Zimani
would emerge the victor. "They were a number of candidates vying for
the
post in the party such as Muchenje, John Karembera, Dzapasi and
Kunonga,
but Zimani was unanimously chosen to represent Zanu PF," said
Mafa.
He said the election of Zimani was with the blessing of top Zanu PF
officials like secretary for information and publicity, Nathan Shamuyarira,
Senate Speaker Edna Madzongwe, Policy implementation minister Webster Shamu
and all members of the central committee in the province.
"The decision
to choose Zimani was agreed at a meeting with central
committee members in
the province. We are going to take Chegutu from the
MDC," said Mafa. Zanu PF
goes into the local authority elections with seven
wards already in the
bag after both MDC factions failed to field
candidates in ward elections in
Rusape, Gutu, Zvimba, Buhera, Kadoma, Mutoko
and Zvimba.
"Of the 14 local
authority ward elections, only seven would be contested.
The other seven
went to Zanu PF unopposed," said Silaigwana. Ward
councillors who were
elected unopposed were Everisto Manyengavana (ward 7:
Rusape), Patrick
Chimbare (ward 16:Buhera), Dandira Danson Kurauone (ward
35: Gutu), Jeffrey
Muruzi (ward 3: Kadoma), Ravidzai Yabote (ward 7: Mutoko)
and Walter
Chidhakwa Kufakunesu (ward 21: Zvimba).
The Chegutu mayoral elections and
other polls taking place next month across
the country will gauge the
strength of the MDC following the October 12,
2005 split over differences on
the Senate issue. Since the division, MDC's
performance in elections has
been pathetic with Zanu PF winning four out of
five contested ward elections
last month. The ruling party won two wards in
Chitungwiza, a known MDC
territory, where both factions had fielded
candidates.
Tichaona Chapfika
of Zanu PF got 917 votes beating Rangarirai Mutingwende of
the pro-Senate
camp and Appronia Choruwa (anti-Senate faction) who polled
257 and 212
respectively. The Tsvangirai camp won a single ward in
Zvishavane where
Masocha Magwanhiri beat Zanu PF's Tapiwa Mushayabasa while
Sibanda's faction
participated in some wards, but got no votes.
Daily Mirror, Zimbabwe
From Our Correspondent in Chinhoyi
issue date
:2006-Feb-07
AN ambitious 300-hectare irrigation scheme at Gache-Gache
has failed to take
off due to lack of funds to electrify the
income-generating project.
Kariba District Administrator Jim Kadziya told The
Daily Mirror recently
that $25 billion was needed to connect the scheme to
the ZESA power lines,
but the project has failed to secure the required
funds.
"Getting connected to the ZESA power lines which are about 10
kilometres
away from the scheme has been hampered by unavailability of
funds. The
project was initially expected to cost $2,9 billion, but now the
cost has
risen to $25 billion due to the hyper-inflationary economic
conditions," the
DA said.
A senior ZESA Rural Electrification Agency
(REA) official confirmed that the
irrigation scheme could only be connected
to the power grid after payment
had been made.
"REA needs a full payment
of $25 billion from the project sponsors before
they could connect the
irrigation scheme," he said.
When fully operational, the project is expected
to improve the livelihoods
of about 200 families from Binga, Hurungwe and
Nyaminyami areas with each
family getting a 1,5 hectare plot under
irrigation
"With the warm weather in Kariba district the irrigation scheme
would allow
plot holders to do double seasoning - that is cropping during
both summer
and winter. Paprika does especially well in our district,"
Kadziya said.
Beneficiaries of the scheme have been identified from the
people who were
affected by the construction of the Kariba Dam. The worst
affected were
people from Binga, Hurungwe and Nyaminyami.
The Zambezi
River Authority (ZRA) and the National Aids Council (NAC) have
pledged to
buy irrigation equipment for the scheme once electricity is
available.
The Herald
(Harare)
February 7, 2006
Posted to the web February 7,
2006
Harare
OLD Windsor Primary School, which opened its doors in
Goromonzi district in
2003, is now a force to reckon with.
Last year
the school came tops in the Grade 7 examinations, beating 71 other
schools
and registering an 83 percent pass rate.
Situated in Ruwa about 21km
outside Harare on the Mutare Road, Old Windsor
is owned by a Chinese
investor, Mr Ching-Chou Tsai.
There are plans to introduce Chinese as a
subject and distance learning for
"O" and "A" Levels and professional
studies.
The introduction of Chinese will be welcomed especially by
Zimbabweans who
travel to China regularly on business.
"Due to the
language problem, there is a bottleneck. We are there to fill
the gap. We
believe that we could do something to help both countries," Mr
Ching-Chou
Tsai said.
The school opened its doors in 2003 with 215 pupils in Grades
1 to 6.
Work on the school started in 1998 with an investment of US$5
million and
was completed in 2002 with support from Government, Metropolitan
Bank and
Beverley Building Society.
"It was a hard time especially
during the economic challenges in Zimbabwe,
but my father didn't mind
because he had a dream for the school and the
nation," said Mr Ken Tsai, son
to Mr Ching-Chou Tsai.
Mr Ken Tsai, the first administrator and executive
director of the school,
recently returned from Britain where he graduated
with master's degrees in
computer/Internet design and education.
His
family believes a good environment, modern equipment, sufficient
textbooks
and good teachers are the key to quality education anywhere in the
world.
"Education is the only way that can change and improve a
person's future
even a country's future. We want (to lay the foundation for)
the best
quality education in Zimbabwe.
"Our emphasis goes beyond the
academic to include sport, teamwork . . . We
even care about our students'
health," Ken added.
Plans were in the pipeline to establish a high school
next to the primary
school.
He commended the excellent relations that
existed between China and
Zimbabwe, as evidenced by increasing travel
between the two countries.
The school is run by a board of governors and
employs 17 teachers.
The Chronicle
Business
Reporter
ZIMBABWE'S tobacco industry requires about $150 billion for
curing the crop
ahead of the marketing season expected to start next
month.
Tobacco Growers Trust chairman, Mr Wilfanos Mashingaidze, told
Business
Chronicle last week that TGT, and other stakeholders were involved
in talks
with banks about funding, which would be used to purchase coal and
diesel.
"We are talking to the banks to see if we can come to some sought of
agreement. Coal and diesel are the major products required in the curing
process of tobacco and we are hopeful that the majority of growers would get
assistance from banks," he added.
Mr Mashingaidze said that tobacco
growers had submitted loan applications to
the Agricultural Development Bank
of Zimbabwe (Agribank).
He said that other banks were not willing to provide
loans to the farmers
citing uncertainties in the agricultural sector.
Mr
Mashingaidze said that many farmers had also accessed loans under the
Agricultural Sector Productivity Enhancement Facility (ASPEF) administered
by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.
He lamented poor funding for the sector,
which he said would affect the
total crop output and quality.
"There is
an urgent need for the provision of funds to ensure that the
curing process
is done according to schedule," said Mr Mashingaidze.
The tobacco industry is
this year expecting an output of more than 65
million kg of flue-cured
tobacco, down from the initial projections of 160
kgs due to input shortages
and storms, which hit parts of Mashonaland West.
Mr Mashingaidze said that
coal deliveries had significantly improved in the
past three weeks.
"The
growers are no longer facing difficulties in procuring coal because
deliveries have significantly improved but the major worry is of accessing
funds to purchase it," he said.
At its peak in 2000, a record 237 million
kgs of the golden leaf were
produced, earning US$400 million. The earnings
have however, dropped to
US$137 million in 2004 and US$118 million last year
due to poor funding,
land preparations and shortages of critical
inputs.
Mr Mashingaidze said that the Government and private sector should
formulate
policies to revive tobacco farming, which is the country's top
foreign
currency earner despite its depressed state.
Institure of War and Peace Reporting
The total collapse of the game matches the country's overall
decline.
By Tino Zhakata in Harare (AR No.53, 7-Feb-06)
In the
context of what is really important, the game of cricket comes very
low on
most sane people's lists.
However, its calamitous disintegration in
Zimbabwe is a symbol of the wider
collapse of a country, which was once
Africa's "breadbasket", but is now the
continent's basket case - something
so flawed that it is almost beyond help.
The country has the world's
fastest declining economy, with inflation
approaching 600 per cent. It has
seen nearly a million poor people driven
from their homes in the
government's Operation Murambatsvina (Operation
Drive Out the Filth). Some
5000 mostly white-owned commercial farms have
been confiscated and given to
loyalist supporters of President Robert Mugabe
in government, the judiciary
and armed forces.
In just the last few weeks, Zimbabwe Cricket, the
game's governing body
here, has lost its Test Match status, and now the
domestic game finds itself
without any Test-class players and probably soon
without any professional
cricketers at all. Its remaining thirty-five
first-class cricketers have
gone on strike in protest against corrupt
administration and because their
fees and salaries have not been paid for
several months. Most plan to quit
the country.
"It is without
question the nastiest mess professional cricketers have ever
found
themselves in during peace time," said leading British cricket writer
Scyld
Berry.
Unfortunately, it is an only too familiar Zimbabwean crisis. It
surfaced
during the 2003 World Cup when Henry Olonga, Zimbabwe's first black
international cricketer, and his white colleague Andy Flower, the country's
greatest ever batsman, took to the field in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second
city, wearing black armbands "to mourn the death of democracy in our belovèd
country".
It continued when the country's remaining top world-class
cricketers, such
as Flower and his brother Grant, Heath Streak, Sean Ervine
and some fifteen
others, quit Zimbabwe, citing racism among administrators,
especially from
the managing director of Zimbabwe Cricket, Ozias Bvute,
Mugabe's personal
enforcer on the national cricket board.
When a
board member questioned why President Mugabe was Zimbabwe Cricket's
patron,
Bvute threatened him, "If the member knows what is good for his
health, he
will desist from asking such questions."
The game in this country
effectively died when its young Test captain, the
brilliant 22-year-old
Tatenda Taibu, fled the country last December to
pursue his career in
Bangladesh, citing the fact that he and his family had
been physically
threatened by a cricket official following his allegations
of
maladministration by Bvute and Zimbabwe Cricket chairman Peter
Chingoka.
Now the country's residual first-class players, none of whom
would get into
any of the world's nine other Test Match teams, have gone on
strike. Their
complaint is mainly about unpaid fees and salaries totalling
around a
million US dollars. Zimbabwe's leading human rights lawyer,
Beatrice Mtetwa,
is representing them in a High Court action against
Zimbabwe Cricket in an
attempt to release funds.
At the same time,
former national coach Phil Simmons, a former top West
Indian Test batsman,
is suing Zimbabwe Cricket for illegal dismissal last
August and seeking
reinstatement of his salary of 10,500 US dollars a month.
Zimbabwe
Cricket offered to pay off the cricketers' arrears in increasingly
worthless
local Zimbabwe dollars at an old rate of 25,000 to one US dollar,
when the
real rate on the street is now more than 150,000 to one US dollar.
The
government, awash with inflation, has just issued a new 50,000 dollar
banknote. It sounds a lot, but it is not even enough to buy a loaf of
bread.
"I'm sure that the taking of legal action signals the end for
cricket in
Zimbabwe," a former international player told IWPR.
And
Clive Field, the players' representative, said, "Zimbabwe Cricket has
really
had it now. The players are simply walking away. Some have made it
clear
they want to get their dues and pursue their careers elsewhere."
The
country's best Test Match fast bowler, Tinashe Panyangara, has been
signed
by a minor English club, Holton-le-Clay, in the Lincolnshire League.
He is
finalising his work permit with the British authorities.
Dion Ebrahim,
currently the most experienced Test player and the country's
former
vice-captain, is quitting to pursue academic studies in Britain.
Plans by
Douglas Hondo, a fast bowler and perhaps the country's most popular
cricketer, and Prosper Utseya, at 20 one of Zimbabwe's most promising young
internationals, to relaunch their cricket careers abroad are at advanced
stages.
Players have made plans to leave the country because they are
unsure that
even if they win their court case that Zimbabwe Cricket has the
money to pay
them. The board made huge losses last year despite receiving
substantial
payments from the Dubai-based International Cricket Council,
ICC, which runs
world cricket. Last December, the homes of Bvute and
Chingoka were raided by
Reserve Bank fraud squad investigators. They were
grilled about alleged
misuse of foreign funds, totalling some 22 million US
dollars, earned by
Zimbabwe Cricket from Test matches and one-day
internationals. The two men
have not been prosecuted.
Even before the
players decided to quit en masse, Mugabe had killed the game
stone dead. In
early January, he told the government to take over Zimbabwe
Cricket - in
defiance of ICC regulations that national administrations must
not be in
government hands. Mugabe appointed a senior army man, Brigadier
Gibson
Mashingaidze, chairman of the government's Sports and Recreation
Commission,
to run Zimbabwe Cricket.
Mashingaidze immediately sacked all Asian and
white administrators in
Zimbabwe Cricket and withdrew the country from Test
Match cricket before the
other nine members of the ICC demanded Zimbabwe's
expulsion. Brigadier
Mashingaidze said Zimbabwe would continue to play
one-day internationals,
but without any first-class players that will be
impossible. Already the
West Indies and Pakistan are considering suing
Zimbabwe Cricket for failing
to fulfil contractual obligations by sending
the country's best cricketers
on impending and long-planned scheduled tours
to those two countries.
After the government took over cricket
administration, players'
representative Clive Field said, "I think we're
stuffed, more stuffed than
we've ever been. If this is the bunch that's
going to help deliver cricket,
I don't know what they are going to be
delivering at the end of it.
"I don't think it's going to be cricket.
It's going to be a corpse."
Tino Zhakata is the pseudonym of an IWPR
contributor in Zimbabwe.
Nepal News
Nepal's hopes of reaching the super league of the ICC U-19
World Cup cricket
tournament came to an end on Tuesday after Zimbabwe
defeated Nepal by 2 runs
in the second match held in the Colombo Cricket
ground on Tuesday.
Nepal opted to field first after winning the toss.
Zimbabwe made 201 runs in
49.5 overs losing all wickets. At one point, the
Africans were reduced to
90-6 but they recovered to reach 201.
Seam
bowler Paras Khadra was superb for Nepal taking 4-28 in 9 overs while
opening bowler Amrit Bhattarai was impressive with 1-27 in 10 overs.
Off-spinner Ratan Rauniyar captured 1-29 in his 10 over spell.
In
reply, Nepal could only muster 199 runs in 50 overs losing nine wickets.
Kaniska Chaugain was the highest scorer for Nepal with 78 runs while Sarad
Bheswakar and Paras Khadka scored 38 and 28 runs respectively.
At one
point, Nepal was cruising at 150-4 in reply, but they lost two quick
wickets
to reach 158-6. Nepal still had a chance to win at the end but
Zimbabwean
bowler Gary Balance took two wickets in the final over with his
leg-spin to
secure a victory that all but guarantees Zimbabwe a place in the
Super
League.
It was brave captaincy from S Williams to go with the spinners in
the last
over as a couple of bad balls would have cost them the
match.
"We had a look at the Nepal batsmen and could see that while they
were fine
with the ball coming onto the bat, they struggled when they had to
wait for
the ball to come to them. So in the last couple of overs, we made a
deliberate attempt to take the pace off the ball and the spinners saved us,"
the Zimbabwean captain said.
The two sides are part of Group D that
also includes England and Ireland,
who Zimbabwe beat in their opening match
on Sunday.
Nepal will take on European qualifier Ireland on Thursday in
its last match
of the league phase.
Earlier, England defeated Nepal
by 77 runs in the tournament on Monday.
Nepal had defeated Scotland and
Namibia in practice matches played before
the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup
2006 campaign.
The top two teams from each group qualify for the Super
League series while
the bottom two go to the Plate Championship. Nepal can
get the opportunity
to play in plate championship despite this
loss.
Sixteen countries are taking part in the tournament. nepalnews.com
pb/bt Feb
07 06
Related News
Mail and Guardian
Johannesburg, South Africa
07
February 2006 01:10
South African farmers called for
compromise on Tuesday after the
lands commissioner said that large-scale
expropriation of farms would start
next month.
"It is in
everyone's interest that land claims be completed as
soon as possible but it
needs to take place in a fair manner," said Annelize
Crosby, land affairs
adviser at Agri South Africa, the biggest organisation
representing white
farmers.
"You cannot go around taking land left, right and
centre. It
would be wrong to penalise farmers because they want fair prices
for their
properties," she told Agence France-Presse.
South Africa's chief land claims commissioner Tozi Gwanya said
on Monday
that the "willing buyer, willing seller" model would no longer
apply to land
restitution because many white farmers wanted more money than
the government
was prepared to pay.
"There are in excess of 7 000 claims
that have been
outstanding," he said, referring to efforts by the government
to redress
apartheid-era land grabs in which many members of the black
majority lost
ancestral holdings.
"We have been
negotiating with some white farmers for two or
three years especially in
four provinces -- Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West
and KwaZulu-Natal -- and
this has to stop," he said.
"From March, we will begin
expropriating land for which
negotiations have gone on for that period or
more," he said, explaining that
a six-month deadline would be imposed on new
cases.
But Crosby said the land claims commission needed to
keep the
complexity of the process in mind.
"The process
started in 1994 and we are now in 2006 but there
are many reasons why it is
taking so long. In some cases we are dealing with
really big land claims
that stretch across many farms. This involves many
farmers and also whole
communities instead of only individuals claiming back
their land. It makes
the process very complicated," said Crosby.
She acknowledged
that there might be some farmers trying to take
advantage of the
situation.
"But one should also keep in mind that the value
of land has
been on the increase in the past few years. We need to find a
middle ground
here. It is unfair to lay all the blame at the farmers'
doors."
The willing buyer-willing seller principle has been
at the core
of the post-apartheid land drive, guaranteeing that land will be
acquired by
the state at fair prices.
South Africa has
said that it will not follow the path of
Zimbabwe where thousands of
white-owned farms have been seized by President
Robert Mugabe's government
since 2000 and given to landless farmers.
Black ownership of
land in South Africa has increased from 13%
at the end of apartheid in 1994
to 16%. - Sapa-AFP