http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com/letters/19690-myths-and-realities-of-uk-policy-towards-zimbabwe.html
Saturday,
07 February 2009 15:46
Myth 1: The United Kingdom wants Zimbabwe to
collapse to help bring about regime change.
Reality: The United Kingdom is
seriously concerned about the deepening humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe,
generated by Zanu (PF) policy, and the suffering this is causing for the
Zimbabwean people. The Department for International Development is currently
running the United Kingdom’s largest ever aid programme to Zimbabwe, and will
spend around £49 million this financial year. British funding has supported the
livelihoods of small farmers, helped treat HIV, improved maternal and child
health, supplied essential medicines, protected orphans and assisted migrants
and internally displaced people. This is in addition to contributions to the
World Food Programme’s food aid operations (£9 million this year) and the £10
million package to help fight the current cholera outbreak. The only thing
pressing Zimbabwe towards collapse is regime policy.
Myth 2: Western
economic sanctions are causing suffering and hardship in Zimbabwe.
Reality:
The United Kingdom has no unilateral or economic sanctions against Zimbabwe. The
current range of European Union targeted measures is directed against those 178
individuals and organisations in Zimbabwe responsible for the worst excesses of
the current regime, in terms of human rights abuse, corruption and undermining
the rule of law. The measures have no adverse effect on ordinary people or
humanitarian assistance to Zimbabwe.
Myth 3: Sanctions have denied
Zimbabwe access to funding from international financial
institutions.
Reality: The World Bank and International Monetary Fund
suspended credit to Zimbabwe because the Mugabe government defaulted on its debt
servicing payments. Other potential lenders have taken a similar view of the
regime’s credit worthiness.
Myth 4: The United Kingdom reneged on its
commitments to fund land reform in Zimbabwe.
Reality: The UK put substantial
funding into land reform in the 1980s and 1990s (£44 million). This stopped when
it became apparent that much land was not being given to the landless poor, but
to senior members of the regime. Reviving the rural economy will be essential
for Zimbabwe’s future prosperity. As in the past, the United Kingdom remains
willing to work with others to support a fair and transparent land reform
process, which will help the poor. The United Kingdom is willing to consider
supporting such a land reform process as part of a wider recovery package for
Zimbabwe. But we have never agreed to accept responsibility for compensation for
land illegally seized - as articulated in key judgements by Zimbabwe’s Supreme
Court, under Zimbabwe’s Constitution as it stood in 2001.
Myth 5: The
United Kingdom wants military intervention in Zimbabwe.
Reality: Those
working for a better Zimbabwe, which respects the rule of law and basic human
rights, are not calling for military intervention. They are pursuing their
vision by democratic means. Their focus, and ours, is foremost on the
humanitarian situation and what can be done to alleviate suffering. The myth of
military intervention is generated by the regime to distract attention from its
responsibility for the crisis and its inability to resolve it.
Myth 6:
The United Kingdom planted cholera before independence and is actively spreading
the disease to wage biological warfare against the regime.
Reality: The
cholera outbreak - on top of a major food crisis - is the direct consequence of
regime mismanagement and Zanu (PF)’s catastrophic policies. The outbreak has
been caused by the breakdown of basic water and sanitation services, and the
collapse of the health system and broader public services. The United Kingdom
has been deeply concerned by the worsening humanitarian situation. In November
2008, we made available a £10 million package of responses to the cholera
epidemic, including essential medicines and drugs to keep people alive through
the crisis.
Myth 7: The United Kingdom will not accept any inclusive
government.
Reality: It is up to the people of Zimbabwe - and them alone - to
decide what government they will accept. But it is clear that at least 60% of
the population voted for change in March 2008, and they are yet to see their
will respected. It is also clear that long-term donor support will be key to
stemming Zimbabwe’s decline. If Zimbabwe is going to attract that support, it
requires a durable government that reflects the will of the people and is
capable of delivering genuine reform. Given Mugabe’s resistance to change to
date, his failed economic policies and his propensity to rail against the
outside world, it is unlikely that any government involving Mugabe will inspire
donor confidence and attract the support it so badly needs.
Myth 8: The
United Kingdom has never accepted the Global Political Agreement signed on 15
September 2008 and wants regime change, not power-sharing.
Reality: It is not
for the United Kingdom to accept or reject anything. This is a process led by
Zimbabweans. We want to see a better future for the people of Zimbabwe. The key
for us is how the agreement plays out in practice - will a new administration
demonstrate a genuine commitment to change and reform?
But we are sceptical
that power-sharing involving Mugabe will work. In principle, we stand ready to
support any inclusive government. But the extent and nature of our support will
be determined by the actions taken on the ground by any new administration to
reverse the political, economic and social decline. In particular, we would want
to see full and equal access to humanitarian assistance; commitment to
macroeconomic stabilisation; restoration of the rule of law; commitment to the
democratic process and respect for internationally accepted standards of human
rights.
Myth 9: The United Kingdom is directing Morgan Tsvangirai’s
actions.
Reality: The United Kingdom maintains contact with a wide range of
actors in Zimbabwean society, including politicians, so that we can assess how
best to help the people of Zimbabwe. Morgan Tsvangirai won the elections in
March 2008 and leads the largest party in the House of Assembly. He and the MDC
have democratic legitimacy, and only a regime that does not would suggest that
he needs any guidance from outsiders.
Myth 10: The problems in Zimbabwe
stem from a bilateral dispute between the United Kingdom and the Mugabe regime
over land.
Reality: Mugabe likes to portray Zimbabwe’s problems in
imperialist, often racist, terms to deflect attention from the catastrophe he
has created. International opinion, such as that expressed by the Group Of
Elders, including former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, is increasingly of the
view that a chronic and wilful failure of social and economic policy lies at the
heart of Zimbabwe’s crisis. The United Nations has taken a keen interest. UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has called for a fair and sustainable political
solution in Zimbabwe as soon as possible. It is also becoming clear that an
increasing number of African countries (e.g. Kenya, Botswana, Nigeria) are of
the view that Mugabe’s time is coming to an end.
British
Embassy
Harare
______________________________________________
http://www.fingaz.co.zw/top-stories/378-journalists-join-eu-sanctions-list
Friday,
06 February 2009 13:17
THE European Union (EU) has added seven journalists
with the state media on its expanded list of targeted sanctions released last
week.
The bloc said the scribes helped to stifle freedom of expression in
Zimbabwe, a country whose media laws are deemed repressive.
Among the media
practitioners are Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) chief correspondent,
Reuben Barwe; diplomatic correspondent, Judith Makwanya and current affairs
producer Musorowegomo Mukosi.
Others include ZBC's acting chief executive
officer (CEO) Happison Muchechetere, Zimba-bwe Newspapers (CEO) Justin Mutasa,
The Herald editor Pikirayi Deketeke, senior assistant editor Caesar Zvayi (The
Herald), and The Sunday Mail's political editor, Munyaradzi Huni.
The EU said
the journalists whipped up government orchestrated terror campaign before and
during the June 2008 presidential run-off and were involved in activities that
seriously undermined freedom of expression and the media in Zimbabwe.
In
addition, Jongwe Printers, a company owned by ZANU-PF and the political party's
mouthpiece The Voice, were also placed on the sanctions list.
This means it
would be difficult for the company to access imported spares and raw materials
for its operations.
The hierarchy of the state's information department,
including former information minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu, his deputy Bright
Matonga and permanent secretary George Charamba are on the EU targeted sanctions
list including Media and Information Commission chairman Tafataona
Mahoso.
The EU list includes companies and individuals placed on the US
sanctions roll in December last year for their association with President Robert
Mugabe's
government.
______________________________________________
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com/local/19692-winners-of-sadc-tribunal-ruling-allege-clampdown.html
Saturday,
07 February 2009 17:34
BULAWAYO
Matabeleland North police have allegedly
launched a clampdown on farmers who recently won the backing of a regional court
to remain on their farms.
Justice Luis Mondlane, the president of the Sadc
tribunal ruled that the applicants had a clear legal title to their farms and
should receive fair compensation from the government for their properties lost
during the violent land reform programme.
Several of these farmers in the
province who were involved in the landmark Sadc Tribunal farms test case were
reportedly targeted after Edmore Veterai, the Officer Commanding Matabeleland
North allegedly ordered their arrest.
Veterai, who denies ordering their
arrest, is himself entangled in farm disputes in Matabeleland North and Masvingo
with farmers protected by the Sadc ruling.
Christopher Jarret and Garry
Godfrey who were forced off their farms as far back as 2002 were arrested in
Bulawayo last Thursday on allegations they violated sections of the
Consequential Provisions of the Land Acquisition Act.
“The police picked me
and Chris Jarret on Thursday afternoon after we were accused of having refused
to vacate farms that had been acquired under the law,” Godfrey said.
“We were
detained at Donnington Police Station where we were forced to sleep on the
floor.
“We were only taken to a prosecutor, a Mr Ndebele the following day
who then told the police that we had no case to answer as we had vacated the
farms as way back as 2002.”
He said the order for their arrest came from
Veterai who led the takeover of Dave Jourbert’s Portwe Estates in Matabeleland
North and is also trying to force Digby Nesbitt off his farm in
Masvingo.
“These police officers wanted to lock us up and then cook up a case
against us,” Godfrey added.
“Unfortunately for them, the prosecutor told them
that there was no prima facie case against us and this led to our
release.
Veterai however denied that he had caused the arrest of the
farmers.
“ For the police to arrest people committing crimes, it does not
need me or anyone in the top hierarchy of the police to give instructions that
they be arrested,” he said, adding some of the farmers were arrested for
vandalising property on farms.
Veterai said the farmers were determined to
mislead the public.
The white farmers sought relief at the tribunal after
exhausting all legal channels in Zimbabwe.
BY NKULULEKO
SIBANDA
______________________________________________
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/138226.php
07 Feb 2009 -
1:00 PST
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) continues to
provide assistance to the people of Zimbabwe, who are in the midst of an
expanding humanitarian crisis. An ailing economy, food shortages and the cholera
epidemic have left the people of Zimbabwe in danger of other health
risks.
USAID, through the President's Malaria Initiative, is supporting
emergency Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) to shore up gaps in the country's
usually strong spraying efforts. While the country retains adequate stocks of
malaria drugs, less than half of the usual level of indoor mosquito spraying has
occurred. The program will reach 20 districts that would have otherwise gone
without this integral malaria protection mechanism. The Ministry of Health in
Zimbabwe has stated that this accelerated program will avert 4 million cases and
will save 3,000 to 4,000 lives.
The timing of this intervention is vitally
important as it will cover a large portion of the population just in time for
the season of highest malaria transmittance. Malaria cases in Zimbabwe begin to
rise in February and peak in April and May.
Indoor Residual Spraying shortens
the lifetime of mosquitoes that carry the malaria parasite. When a mosquito
lands in a home that has been sprayed, the mosquito is killed or its life is
shortened so that it cannot pass parasites from one person to another.
USAID
provided emergency funding of $ 200,000 along with the UK's Department for
International Development's (DFID) providing 200,000 pounds Sterling to enable
the National Malaria Control Program to launch a two-month "Accelerated IRS"
program in February and March, before peak transmission in April and May. The
two responded immediately, procuring equipment, mobilizing teams and transport,
and disbursing equipment for approximately 821 spray operators.
For more
information about USAID's malaria programs visit:
http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/global_health/id/malaria/index.html and
http://pmi.gov .
U.S. Agency for International
Development
http://www.usaid.gov
______________________________________________
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=18350&Itemid=103
Saturday,
07 February 2009
Zimbabwe’s new inclusive government is inheriting an
unprecedented US$ 4,69 billion external debt that has seen the country’s credit
rating plummet to very low levels.
From US$ 4,671 billion in 2007, the debt
climbed to US$ 4,69 last year because of mounting arrears as the country failed
to pay back multilateral creditors, owed 44 percent of the US$ 4,69 billion
debt, with bilateral and commercial creditors owed 50 percent and six percent
respectively.
The debt kept mounting because of the Zanu (PF) administration
was unable to make regular repayments of principal debt, which was US$ 1,3
billion in 2002.
Now the new government between MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai
and President Robert Mugabe is inheriting the huge bill and will be required to
clear the arrears before accessing new funding from world lenders who are also
committing resources to the devastating global financial crunch.
Zimbabwe,
mired in the worst economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1980, has
experienced dwindling supplies of foreign currency because of strained relations
with multilateral lenders and the collapse of its agricultural base, the
country’s major hard currency
earner.
The southern African country has
been unable to access balance of payments support since 2000 following human
rights abuses by Mugabe’s administration.
The IMF in 2007 came very close to
expelling Zimbabwe after repeatedly failing to pay back loans advanced to it.
The central bank saved the day at the last minute after clearing the
arrears.
______________________________________________
http://www.fingaz.co.zw/category-table/352-rbz-needs-us500m-to-sort-out-cash-woes-gono
Friday,
06 February 2009 12:41 Staff Reporter
THE Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ)
requires US$ 500 million in fresh investment to enable its subsidiary, Fidelity
Printers and Refiners, cope with the excessive demand for banknotes.
Gideon
Gono, the RBZ governor, revealed this week that printing capacity at Fidelity
Printers and Refiners can only run two million pieces per day and growing this
capacity to meet the demand for bank notes would require US$ 500 million in
investment costs and a minimum lead time of 24 months.
"With the daily fixed
two million pieces limit, the growing demand for currency can only be met
through increases in the denominations of the notes," said Gono. "The stubborn
reality, which is beyond the control of the central bank, has been lost to those
in our country who, while they do not want to take responsibility for anything,
are nevertheless very quick to blame the governor for the high denominations as
if there is any other alternative given the ever growing demand for cash in a
hyperinflationary environment," he added.
Zimbabwe has been going through
serious cash shortages because of hyperinflation.
In a bid to quench the
appetite for cash the central bank has in the past introduced high denomination
notes while in some instances the lender of the last resort has had to slash
zeros off the country's currency.
This week Gono lopped off 12 zeros from the
Zimbabwe dollar and introduced a new family of currency denominations ranging
from $ 1 to $ 500.
While the bank is also encouraging the use of the Real
Time Gross Settlement system, cheques and the Point of Sale to reduce the demand
for bank notes, the retail sector is now rejecting these modes of payment as the
currency has lost its role as an acceptable medium of exchange.
The cash
shortages became more acute after a German firm unilaterally cut a 50-year-old
contract to supply Fidelity Printers and Refiners with currency-printing paper,
machinery, spares and inks without notice in July last year.
Gono said if
people insist on withdrawing all their money from the banks it will leave the
RBZ with no choice but to sacrifice the banking public's convenience by letting
them have all their money, but in large denominations because of printing
capacity constraints.
"It is both an engineering and a physical challenge
which I as governor and my team can do very little about even with the best
heart and will in the world.
"As Zimbabweans, we must thus tell each other
the truth about what is and what is not possible. It is not possible to have our
cake and eat it at the same time.
"It is therefore regrettable that some
stakeholders here at home who should know better, have labelled the cash
shortages as 'Reserve Bank mischief', and thus, have gone about campaigning for
physical harm to come the way of the central bank team and the governor in our
personal capacities.
"This demonstrates beyond doubt that some important and
yet 'do nothing' elements in our society have sunk to new lows without precedent
in the history of false imaginations," said
Gono.
______________________________________________
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com/business/19681-chinamasa-gono-policy-statements-confusing-experts.html
Saturday,
07 February 2009 14:17
DIFFERENCES in the exchange rate used in preparing the
monetary policy and national budget statements will make the two policies
unworkable, analysts warned last week.
The two policies give direction on
where the country’s economy is going.
Nearly two weeks ago, acting Finance
Minister Patrick Chinamasa presented a US$ 1.9 billion balanced budget that
hinged on 11 deliverables that include reducing inflation and infrastructure
rehabilitation among others.
On Monday Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ)
governor Gideon Gono said the apex bank would stick to its core business of
price stability, exchange rate management and contain money supply
growth.
Analysts contend that there were differences on the exchange rate
used by both Chinamasa and Gono.
In presenting the 2009 budget, Chinamasa
used a United Nations exchange rate of $ 35 billion per US$ .
On Monday Gono
proposed an exchange rate of $ 20 trillion per US$ but analysts are wary that
such discrepancies will impact on the workability of the policies.
“The
budget has an exchange rate of $ 35 billion per US$ , Gono has an exchange rate
of $ 20 trillion and one wonders that at the end of the day, which exchange rate
are they going to use,” said Daniel Ndlela, an independent economist. “This is a
glaring contradiction.”
Ndlela said finally authorities saw light by agreeing
to end price controls, quasi-fiscal activities and returning water management to
local authorities but it came at a huge cost.
He said the budget and monetary
policy statements would be refined by a new administration coming in by the end
of the week. “The only thing that the new government will not interfere with is
the abolition of 12 zeroes,” he said.
In total Gono has removed 25 zeroes
from the currency since assuming the hot seat in 2003. The removal of zeroes,
driven by the country’s record-breaking inflation means that savings have been
wiped out.
Ndlela says the budget’s success hinges on three conditions: the
formation of an inclusive government that will mobilise resources; substantial
foreign currency inflows and restoration of macro economic
stability.
Analysts say the use of multiple currencies is unworkable as
people were shunning the local unit.
Both Chinamasa and Gono said the use of
US$ , Rand, Pula, Pound Sterling and Euro alongside the Zimbabwean dollar will
give people a wide selection on which currency to use.
But Hawkins disagreed
saying: “You can’t have multiple currencies when nobody wants the local
currency, that’s the basic weakness of the two policies.
He says the exchange
rate used is unrealistic and this means that the policies had been premised on
false assumptions.
MDC-T said Chinamasa and Gono’s presentations were
addressing the symptoms of the problems. They said only a political solution
will restore the country to its former glory.
“Our economy needs open heart
surgery and not painkillers,” said Elton Mangoma, the MDC secretary for Economic
Affairs, “we need to bite the bullet. Only a political solution will address the
challenges facing the country”.
BY OUR
STAFF
______________________________________________
http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2009Feb07/0,4670,AFZimbabwe,00.html
Saturday,
February 07, 2009
By DONNA BRYSON, Associated Press Writer
JOHANNESBURG,
South Africa
Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu said Saturday he doubts
that Zimbabwe's unity government deal can work and insisted the solution to the
country's crisis is the departure of its longtime leader, Robert Mugabe.
Tutu
has called on the international community to use the threat of force if
necessary to get Mugabe to step down.
"I haven't changed," he told reporters
Saturday. "He's had an innings. It was a good innings and then he messed up. Let
him step down."
Mugabe, in power since independence from Britain in 1980, is
accused of destroying the southern African nation's once-vibrant economy through
corruption and mismanagement, and of trampling on the human rights of its
people.
Zimbabwe's main opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, is to be prime
minister and Mugabe is to remain president in a unity government expected to be
inaugurated next week.
Tsvangirai, under pressure from regional leaders and
eager to address Zimbabwe's growing humanitarian crisis, agreed to join the
coalition despite the continued jailing and harassment of dissidents and deep
reservations about Mugabe's willingness to share power.
Tutu, the retired
Anglican archbishop of Cape Town, said the deal should be given a chance, "but
many are not particularly hopeful." He said Mugabe would have to be closely
monitored to ensure the coalition does not turn out to be a "charade."
Tutu
spoke seated next to Kumi Naidoo, an international anti-poverty advocate in the
18th day of a hunger strike that aimed to put pressure on Mugabe. Naidoo also
expressed reservations about the unity government's prospects for success, but
said "now we need to trust the judgment of the people on the ground in
Zimbabwe."
Naidoo called on Mugabe to release political prisoners, allow
humanitarian organizations to work freely, and repeal restrictions on free
speech and assembly.
In Zimbabwe's capital Saturday, human rights groups said
several prisoners linked to Tsvangirai's opposition party were at risk of dying
in jail. At least three, including a 72-year-old man, were in critical
condition, according to doctors who examined them in their cells
Friday.
Police are accused of torturing the detainees and have ignored
several court orders demanding that the prisoners be sent to private medical
facilities.
"We might end up with losing lives. We are very concerned. These
people are very sick," said Dr. Douglas Gwatidzo, director of the Zimbabwe
Association of Doctors for Human Rights.
On Friday, a judge ended the treason
trial of a top Tsvangirai aide, which was seen as a sign that Mugabe's party
wants the coalition to work. Still, scores of opposition members and human
rights activists remain jailed in what observers in and outside Zimbabwe say was
a crackdown on dissidents as power-sharing negotiations faltered.
Tsvangirai
reluctantly agreed Jan. 30 to move forward on a unity government deal without
having resolved disputes over Cabinet posts and the treatment of dissidents. The
agreement has been stalled since September.
Tsvangirai won more votes than
Mugabe in the opening round of presidential balloting last March, but pulled out
of a June runoff because of violence against opposition supporters.
International observers have called the June runoff a sham.
The standoff
since the March vote has kept the country's leaders from addressing the
country's devastating economic and social collapse. A cholera epidemic has
killed more than 3,300 people and infected 60,000 since August and the world's
highest inflation rate has left millions of Zimbabweans dependent on
international food aid to survive.
___
Associated Press Writer Angus Shaw
in Harare, Zimbabwe contributed to this report.
Copyright 2009 The Associated
Press.
______________________________________________
http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/Zimbabwe/0,,2-11-1662_2466114,00.html
07/02/2009
22:52 - (SA)
JOHANNESBURG
Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu said
Saturday he doubts that Zimbabwe's unity government deal can work and insisted
the solution to the country's crisis is the departure of its longtime leader,
Robert Mugabe.
Tutu has called on the international community to use the
threat of force if necessary to get Mugabe to step down.
"I haven't changed,"
he told reporters Saturday. "He's had an innings. It was a good innings and then
he messed up. Let him step down."
Mugabe, in power since independence from
Britain in 1980, is accused of destroying the southern African nation's
once-vibrant economy through corruption and mismanagement, and of trampling on
the human rights of its people.
Zimbabwe's main opposition leader, Morgan
Tsvangirai, is to be prime minister and Mugabe is to remain president in a unity
government expected to be inaugurated next week.
Tsvangirai, under pressure
from regional leaders and eager to address Zimbabwe's growing humanitarian
crisis, agreed to join the coalition despite the continued jailing and
harassment of dissidents and deep reservations about Mugabe's willingness to
share power.
Police torturing detainees
Tutu, the retired Anglican
archbishop of Cape Town, said the deal should be given a chance, "but many are
not particularly hopeful." He said Mugabe would have to be closely monitored to
ensure the coalition does not turn out to be a "charade".
Tutu spoke seated
next to Kumi Naidoo, an international anti-poverty advocate in the 18th day of a
hunger strike that aimed to put pressure on Mugabe. Naidoo also expressed
reservations about the unity government's prospects for success, but said "now
we need to trust the judgment of the people on the ground in
Zimbabwe".
Naidoo called on Mugabe to release political prisoners, allow
humanitarian organizations to work freely, and repeal restrictions on free
speech and assembly.
In Zimbabwe's capital on Saturday, human rights groups
said several prisoners linked to Tsvangirai's opposition party were at risk of
dying in jail. At least three, including a 72-year-old man, were in critical
condition, according to doctors who examined them in their cells
Friday.
Police are accused of torturing the detainees and have ignored
several court orders demanding that the prisoners be sent to private medical
facilities.
"We might end up with losing lives. We are very concerned. These
people are very sick," said Dr Douglas Gwatidzo, director of the Zimbabwe
Association of Doctors for Human Rights.
Associated Press Writer Angus Shaw
in Harare, Zimbabwe contributed to this report.
-
SAPA
_____________________________________________
http://www.fingaz.co.zw/top-stories/373-will-unity-government-hold
Financial
Gazette - Harare, Zimbabwe
Friday, 06 February 2009 13:09
MOVEMENT for
Democratic Change (MDC-T) leader Morgan Tsvangirai’s announcement last Friday
that his party’s national council had resolved to join the long awaited
all-inclusive government was greeted with deafening jubilation outside the
party’s Harvest House headquarters in Harare.
The decision relayed in the
afternoon to thousands of MDC-T supporters who had been waiting anxiously since
morning, was immediately welcomed by continental and global leaders who gave the
unity pact the thumbs up.
Tsvangirai, who since signing the September 15
Global Political Agreement (GPA) had been holding back on the power-sharing deal
citing outstanding issues, said he would write to regional leaders, the
guarantors of the deal, restating his position on the equitable and fair
distribution of ministerial portfolios, stressing the need for the issue to be
resolved before his envisaged swearing in as Prime Minister on February
11.
Tsvangirai said the national council had resolved that all political
prisoners, including Jestina Mukoko, the director of the Zimbabwe Peace Project
currently languishing in Chikurubi Maximum Prison on charges of banditry, be
released before he is sworn in.
Political analysts this week expressed
guarded optimism on whether the unity government would hold, in view of
Tsvangirai’s ultimatum.
The analysts said while the ultimatum seems
reasonable and justified, it carries the risk of hardening the entrenched
positions of ZANU-PF and MDC-M which they said wanted a Government of National
Unity (GNU) in place “like yesterday.”
They agreed that while some of the
issues raised by Tsvangirai and his party could be sorted out by the Joint
Monitoring and Implementation Committee (JOMIC), launched by the three main
political parties with the assistance of the Southern African Development
Community (SADC)’s facilitation team on January 30, it was highly unlikely the
prime minister-designate's deadline would be met.
This could throw spanners
in the works.
JOMIC, which comprises 12 senior officials from ZANU-PF, MDC-T
and MDC-M, was to meet in South Africa on Tuesday this week to resolve the
outstanding issues raised by Tsvangirai.
Apart from the fair distribution of
ministries and release of political prisoners, Tsvangirai is demanding the
reversal of the unilateral appointments by President Robert Mugabe of provincial
governors, Attorney-General Johannes Tomana, Central Bank Governor Gideon Gono
and the composition and constitution of the National Security Council.
“The
demands by the MDC-T articulated after its national council resolved to enter
into the government put the whole arrangement to test,” Ernest Mudzengi, the
director of the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) said.
“What happens if
these demands are not met by the date prescribed by MDC-T?
We might be back
to square one with the MDC-T again refusing to join the so-called unity
government.”
He said unlike ZANU-PF and MDC-M which appeared content with the
power-sharing agreement, the MDC-T was moving with caution as it was still
suspicious of the intentions of the other two parties in the deal.
“The issue
of security could be another threat to the GNU. What guarantees do we have that
abductions will cease when the unity government is operational considering that
MDC-T supporters were made to disappear when the parties were in negotiations,”
Mudzengi said.
He said the co-sharing of the Ministry of Home Affairs would
prove to be the litmus test for the GNU.
“It has never been successfully
applied anywhere in the world. It was disastrous during the internal settlement.
Zimbabwe needs effective and impartial policing, but we have a problem in the
current person in charge of police, who is sympathetic to one of the parties in
this agreement.”
Useni Sibanda, the coordinator of the Christian Alliance of
Zimbabwe, said the church welcomed the optimism of the signatories to the
GPA.
“Our position as Christian Alliance is that we welcome the finalisation
of the talks as they have taken too long to be concluded,” Sibanda said.
“But
we are cautiously optimistic until we have seen the first 100 days of the
GNU.”
Sibanda said the churches’ priority was national healing after eight
years of polarisation and political rivalry especially between ZANU-PF and
MDC-T.
“We will be advocating a legal framework to be set up for the national
healing process,” he added. “It is the Christian Alliance position that this
national healing process must come up from the communities, not prescribed by
politicians.
“It should come from a national debate and consultations so that
we arrive at transitional justice.”
Officials close to Tsvangirai said the
MDC-T leader was optimistic the GNU would stick.
On Monday he held briefings
with civic society and church leaders and told them he was confident all his
demands would be met by February 11.
“He asked us to organise a service for
his inauguration,” said a church leader, speaking strictly on condition he is
not named.
Tsvangirai met with civic society representatives, including the
NCA, the Crisis Coalition, the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights and ZimRights
to share views on the way
forward.
______________________________________________
http://www.zimdiaspora.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=673:this-time-next-year-mugabe-will-be-gone-madzore&catid=67:art&Itemid=171
Business,
Education & Opinion
By Peta Thornycroft
A Zimbabwean judge ended the
treason trial of a top opposition leader this week, another indication that
President Robert Mugabe's party wants a proposed coalition government to
work.
Magistrate Olivia Mariga ruled that Movement for Democratic Change
secretary-general Tendai Biti had been improperly arrested on charges of
plotting to overthrow Mugabe's government.
The MDC had accused the government
of basing the treason case against Biti on a forged document.
Ending the Biti
case removed a major irritant between the MDC and Mugabe's Zanu-PF party and
raised hopes for the power-sharing government due to be formed next
week.
Mugabe is understood to have signed Constitutional Amendment 19 after
it sailed through parliament and the Senate on Thursday.
It provides the
legislative foundation for a unity government, heralding what many Zimbabweans
hope will be the beginning of the end of Mugabe's era.
Front benchers of both
Zanu-PF and members of on both sides of the house burst into song as they left
the House of Assembly after adopting the bill: "We are now in agreement," they
sang, in a refrain used by both parties at political rallies.
Abdenico Bhebe,
MP for Nkayi, one of the driest and poorest areas of south-western Zimbabwe,
said: "Every fight must come to an end, and this is evidence that people are
willing to try and work together to resolve the problems bedevilling the
country."
Paul Madzore, MP for a western Harare township where cholera is
raging, said: "At least people in Zanu-PF have now come to the realisation that
they are the main problem in Zimbabwe, and this time next year, Mugabe will be
gone."
Only two Western diplomats - one British - were in the speakers'
gallery during the 110-minute debate to push the amendment through a mutilated
set of standing orders, which had earlier been fast-tracked through
parliamentary processes to enable Mugabe to seize white farms.
Several
African diplomats shook hands and grinned when the amendment was adopted by 184
legislators in the 210-seat parliament, which has several vacancies following
the deaths of MPs since the March 2008 elections.
The amendment also passed
easily through the upper house, the Senate, shortly afterwards.
"I am
cautiously optimistic but I am not under any illusions of the problems ahead,"
said MDC Senator David Coltart.
"This is the second time we have been given a
chance as a nation," he said, referring to the British-designed talks at
Lancaster House in London which ended the civil war and white rule in
1980.
"Lancaster House failed because the draconian legislation of the
Rhodesia Front was not amended, We didn't renounce violence and we placed too
much emphasis on the letter of the law instead of the spirit of the
law."
Amendment 19 came before parliament despite MDC statements the day
before that it would be delayed because of Zanu-PF foot-dragging.
MDC leader
Morgan Tsvangirai rushed to Cape Town to consult President Kgalema Motlanthe,
and this may have kick-started the process back on track.
At a Southern
African Development Community summit last week, regional leaders had set the
Zimbabweans a timetable to form a new government, including passage of
Constitutional Amendment 19 by February 4.
The passing of the bill now means
Tsvangirai could still be sworn in as prime minister - and Arthur Mutambara,
leader of another MDC faction, as deputy prime minister - by February 11, as the
SADC timetable requires.
Then cabinet ministers could be sworn in by the
scheduled date of February 13, and the unity government could then be under
way.
But while MDC legislators were putting their names to what they hope is
the start of a new, more democratic era in Zimbabwe, Zanu-PF supporters, army
and police and militia were still evicting white farmers off their land and
detaining them.
Chris Jarret, who was kicked off his farm six years ago, was
arrested this week in Bulawayo because police said he had failed to pick up his
personal property when he was kicked off his land.
Two others, Gary Godfrey,
who had managed to survive on a small piece of his original farm, was picked up
by police 60km north of Bulawayo.
In a nearby district, Paul Rogers, who also
continued to farm nine years after the land grab began because his property was
never listed for "acquisition", was also arrested.
"Police arrived with an
eviction order, but had the wrong name of the farm, but took him anyway,"
according to the men's spokesperson in Bulawayo, Mac Crawford.
"These guys
had been to the SADC Tribunal in November, which granted an order protecting
them from any interference from the state."
Another three white farmers have
been in detention for three weeks, accused of training terrorists. The three ran
outdoor adventure courses for school children about 50km south-east of
Harare.
Four smallholding owners on the northern outskirts of Harare have
been evicted in the past week, and on Thursday, well-known mining consultant
John Holloway and his wife Sue, a teacher, were under siege on their plot in the
Christon Bank suburb, west of Harare.
Every day, more farmers who have
survived Mugabe's land seizures are being summonsed to court to defend
accusations that they are illegally remaining on their properties.
"This
sudden rush appears to be connected with the establishment of a unity
government. In other words, some people feel that time is running out for taking
farms, so they have stepped up pressure to get in before it happens," said one
farmer, who asked not to be named. -
Sapa-AFP
____________________________________________
http://www.fingaz.co.zw/top-stories/374-mukoko-court-throws-out-latest-application
Financial
Gazette - Harare, Zimbabwe
Friday, 06 February 2009 13:10
HUMAN rights
monitor and director of the Zimbabwe Peace Project, Jestina Mukoko, has for the
umpteenth time lost her bid for freedom after High Court Judge, Alfias
Chitakunye, rejected her request to be set free.
Chitakunye dismissed
Mukoko's application on the grounds that the former news anchor had not
undergone formal remand hearing proceedings in the Magistrates' Court.
Mukoko
has been languishing in Chikurubi Maximum Prison since last year on allegations
she hired and trained insurgents in Botswana to forcibly remove President Robert
Mugabe and his government from power.
Botswana has since denied accusations
that the country was being used as a training ground to cause commotion in
Zimbabwe
Harare lawyer, Harrison Nkomo, said Chitakunye dismissed his
application seeking leave to appeal to the Supreme Court, but added he would
appeal directly anyway.
"Judge Chitakunye dismissed Mukoko's bail application
and then dismissed my appeal to seek leave in the Supreme Court," Nkomo said.
"However, this does not stop me from seeking leave of appeal directly to the
Supreme Court of which I am going to do."
Asked how he thought the High Court
Judge came to that decision seeing that the charges were already leveled against
Mukoko, Nkomo said: "I do not what to be seen to be disrespectful to
judges."
Normally, charges against accused persons emanate from police
stations and are either altered or rejected in Set Down offices of the
Magistrates' Court before they are presented and read out to the alleged culprit
on initial remand.
Mukoko, who was abducted from her home in Norton by state
security agents on December 3 and held incommunicado until December 22 when she
was officially handed over to the police, has been challenging her continued
incarceration arguing she was unlawfully denied her liberty from the time she
was kidnapped.
However, her plea has fallen on deaf ears as evidenced by her
continued stay in prison.
Mukoko, whom the Attorney General, Johannes Tomana,
said was a security risk, is now sceptical of a fair trial after the
government's top lawyer openly declared he was ZANU-PF.
She first appeared in
court on December 24 last year alongside several MDC-T activists facing banditry
charges and allegations of terrorist bombings, which they have denied.
Mukoko
claims she was tortured during her 19 days of detention to admit to the crime
prompting the courts to direct that she be medically examined to prove her
accusations.
__________________________________________
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gQv6je8QdN2Rcpmjy2olPS63mYTQ
2009
02 07
HARARE (AFP)
Zimbabwean rights groups Saturday flayed the government
for detaining opposition activists on terrorism-related charges for more than
three months despite court rulings that the action was illegal.
Irene Petras,
director of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, told a news conference that more
than 30 Movement for Democratic Change party members including 72-year-old
Fidelis Chiramba remained in custody.
"He (Chiramba) is the most extreme case
amongst all political prisoners who remain incarcerated whilst politicians
congratulate themselves about progress made in moving towards the establishment
of an inclusive government," Petras said.
President Robert Mugabe's long
ruling ZANU-PF party and the MDC on Thursday agreed to a power sharing deal
which would see Tsvangirai being sworn in as prime minister this month after
disputed elections last year.
"We believe that the manner in which Mr
Chiramba and his fellow political prisoners are being treated is a reflection of
the lack of sincerity of politicians in ensuring that the security of all
persons in Zimbabwe remains paramount."
The detainees include Ghandi
Mudzingwa - a former personal assistant of opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai.
They were rounded up by the secret services on allegations of bombing various
police stations, bridges and committing acts of terror.
Chiramba was arrested
on October 31 along other several others, Petras said adding that the
septuagenarian had been incarcerated for 100 days and had not received medical
attention despite court rulings.
Douglas Gwatidzo, chairman of the Zimbabwe
Doctors of Human Rights also condemned the continued detentions, saying the
activists had been severely tortured.
"Mr Chiramba continues to be denied
access to adequate medical treatment," Gwatidzo said.
"He (Chiramba) was
taken to the Avenues clinic for treatment. He exhibited evidence of congestive
cardiac failure secondary to severe hypertension. He still exhibits evidence of
soft tissue injuries secondary to his assault."
Gwatidzo said other activists
were also "in danger and need adequate attention and care in a functional
hospital."
_____________________________________________
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com/local/19701-abductees-denied-treatment.html
Saturday,
07 February 2009 21:51
EIGHT MDC-T supporters and human rights activists
abducted by state security agents last year were on Friday denied access to
treatment at a Harare private clinic despite recommendations by doctors that
they needed urgent hospitalisation.
The prisoners, who include opposition
activists and civil rights leaders, are being held at Chikurubi Maximum Security
Prison on charges of sabotage, banditry and terrorism.
They were taken to the
Avenues Clinic under heavy guard from prison officers, and medical staff
recommended that the prisoners should be admitted to the hospital so that their
conditions could be closely monitored.
Dr Douglas Gwatidzo of Zimbabwe
Doctors for Human Rights (Zdhr) said the eight who suffered from different
ailments were in a “grave condition.”
But the prison officers who said they
had been instructed to take the abductees back to Chikurubi ignored the advice.
Zdhr doctors were also not allowed access to their patients.
“We were denied
access to examine their medical condition and they were only brought to the
Avenues Clinic and quickly taken away by prison officers despite the fact that
medical authorities had recommended their admission,” Gwatidzo told a press
conference yesterday.
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (Zlhr) says there are
32 political prisoners at Chikurubi and the conditions of 11 of them could not
be ascertained.
Gwatidzo said of particular concern was the condition of
MDC-T district chairperson for Zvimba South Fidelis Chiramba who was abducted on
October 31.
BY EDGAR
GWESHE
_____________________________________________