Zim Standard
By Caiphas Chimhete
THE government
has created another "health time bomb" by relocating farmers
and vendors
from Mbare Musika to the City Sports Centre without adequately
planning for
the move, residents and traders told The Standard last week.
Following
the death of 14 people from cholera a fortnight ago, the
government panicked
and immediately ordered farmers and vendors to relocate
from Mbare Musika,
where mud, piles of garbage and flies had colonised the
area, creating a
major a health hazard.
But the new site, close to Belvedere is unsuitable for
trading activities
and many people say Chombo has literary taken the hazard
from Mbare to the
city centre.
They fear the site could become a new
breeding ground for various diseases,
which could haunt the city centre, and
nearby suburbs, particularly
Belvedere and Ridgeview. Criminal activities
can also be expected to rise.
When the site was opened for trading on
Friday, the place was still
surrounded by tall grass, had no toilets or
refuse bins. It did not even
have any makeshift structures for use by the
traders.
On the same day, municipal workers were busy slashing the grass,
clearly
pointing to the haphazard nature of the relocation carried out by
Local
Government, Public Works and Urban Development Minister, Ignatious
Chombo,
who appears to have virtually taken over the running of
Harare.
Arnold Jeki, who had ordered bananas to sell in Dzivarasekwa
suburb,
complained about litter that is already piling up because there are
no
rubbish bins.
Combined Harare Residents' Association spokesperson,
Precious Shumba, said
the move was an admission of failure by the
authorities to plan ahead.
"It's too close to the city and what they have
done is transfer the problem
from Mbare to the city. What is happening now
clearly shows that the
commission is incapable of discharging its duties,"
said Shumba, who called
for disbandment of the Sekesai Makwavarara-led
commission running the City
of Harare.
Chombo, who has fired many MDC
councils, has extended the commission's term
saying they were "doing a good
job under difficult circumstances, secondly
they have produced a turnaround
strategy for the City of Harare..."
Old Ridgeview Residential Association
spokesperson Moosa Hassan said: "I can
see a rise in criminal activities and
diseases in the area. Already there
was a serious traffic jam this morning
around 7AM. This thing was not
planned."
Ridgeview residents will
meet on Wednesday this week to discuss the way
forward, he said.
Even
the traders themselves were not impressed by the forced move from Mbare
to
the City Sports Centre.
Ambuya Hakata (63) from Marondera, who was
selling vegetables and lemons,
complained of low business, as there are no
"kombis" that directly link the
site with Harare's different residential
suburbs.
From Mbare Musika, vendors were able to get transport direct to
their
different residential areas, making the whole process
cheaper.
"Now that I have ordered my goods, I have to carry them into the
city centre
because pushcarts were banned in the city. I will have to get
transport from
Rezende Street to Chikurubi Maximum Prison," complained
Jenina Sibanda,
carrying a basket full of mangoes and tomatoes on her
head.
The absence of sleeping rooms or a place to store their produce if
they are
not all bought during the day also worried the farmers.
Mary
Gumbomunda from Rusape said: "Business here closes at 11AM and we don't
have
a place to keep our leftovers or even sleep. It means I will have to
travel
back to Mbare for the safe keep of my goods and sleep."
Some traders, who
requested anonymity, said the commission running the
affairs of Harare
should be replaced by an elected council that is
accountable to
ratepayers.
"Makwavarara and company should just go because they have
bungled not only
in Mbare, but Harare as a whole," said one
trader.
Makwavarara, a political turncoat who was handpicked by Chombo,
chairs the
commission.
"There is precedence already. I don't know if
it does not apply here.
(Solomon) Tavengwa (the late, former Harare Mayor)
was fired after Harare
had gone for five days without water but now 14
people have died and nothing
has happened," said a customer, who identified
himself only as Mike.
However, despite the mounting problem of water
shortages, sewage and
non-collection of refuse by council, the commission's
term of office has
been extended several times.
Zim Standard
By Gibbs
Dube
BULAWAYO - Fifty-one home seekers in Bulawayo have applied for the
imprisonment of the Minister of Local Government, Public Works and Urban
Development, Ignatious Chombo, for failing to implement a court order
instructing him to provide them houses under the "Pay-For-Your-House" scheme
mooted in the 1990s.
Elisha Mtshiya and 50 others, represented by
Mashobana Ncube and Mkhululi
Nyathi of Mabhikwa, Hikwa and Nyathi legal
practitioners, filed the court
application last Thursday for contempt of
court after High Court Judge
Justice Nicholas Ndou instructed Chombo and a
ministry official identified
as Mr Shadaya to allocate standard houses to
the applicants within 90 days.
The applicants were granted the court order in
January last year and were
expected to be allocated houses in May 2005 but
the Minister allegedly
failed to comply with the court edict. Mtshiya and
his colleagues were
involved in a housing scheme administered by the then
Ministry of Local
Government, Public Works and National Housing in the 1990s
under which they
made monthly financial contributions in the hope of owning
houses.
Their houses in Nkulumane suburb were allegedly taken over by
city residents
who forcibly occupied them, leaving the 51
stranded.
In the fresh application, they are seeking an order for the
High Court to
instruct the sheriff in Harare or his lawful deputies or
assistant deputies
"anywhere in Zimbabwe to make personal attachments of
Minister Chombo and
Shadaya and cause them to be delivered to any prison in
Zimbabwe within five
days of granting (the) court order".
The two,
who have 10 days to respond to the application after receiving the
court
papers, are expected to pay the cost of the application.
If they fail to
respond and are imprisoned, they will be jailed for 30
continuous days until
they provide the houses to the applicants.
Court papers in possession of
The Standard indicate that instead of
allocating houses to the applicants,
the Ministry of Local Government,
Public Works and Urban Development
allocated 51 stands to the applicants in
December last year in Cowdray Park
suburb which they rejected in favour of
standard houses.
In a letter,
dated 13 December 2005, a T Nyakujara representing the
Ministry's Permanent
Secretary wrote to Mabhikwa, Hikwa and Nyathi legal
firm indicating that the
home seekers had been allocated stands in
Bulawayo's high-density suburb,
the home of Operation Hlalani Kuhle.
It reads in part: "We request that
we negotiate a settlement of this case.
Government has offered stands to
your clients in Cowdray Park and this is
the best it can do. The Ministry
has no money to build the houses.
"The stands are available and have been
reserved for your clients. A few of
them have accepted this offer and taken
up their stands. We hope this will
assist in resolving this case
amicably."
However, the applicants rejected the offer preferring standard
houses
similar to those that they were supposed to occupy in Nkulumane
suburb.
Zim Standard
By Ndamu Sandu
A
five-member delegation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) arrives
in
the country next week for the annual Article IV Consultation exercise
ahead
of the fund's Executive Board meeting in March. While the mission
should
have been a routine visit, The Standard understands the delegation
led by
Sharmini Coorey, will review the macro-economic situation as well as
assess
the country's efforts to improve co-operation ahead of the March
meeting.
In September last year, IMF granted Zimbabwe a stay of
execution after it
postponed - for six months - its widely expected
recommendation to have the
country withdrawn from the
fund.
Compulsory withdrawal is the last step in a series of measures that
the IMF
applies to members that fail to meet its obligations under the
Articles of
Agreement.
IMF spokesperson Gita Bhatt confirmed the
visit. "A staff team will visit
Harare during January 25 to February 1, 2006
to review the macroeconomic
situation and assess Zimbabwe's efforts to
improve cooperation with the Fund
ahead of the next Board meeting expected
in March 2006," Bhatt said.
Zimbabwe has been in continuous arrears to
the IMF since February 2001 but
has been making efforts in the past 14
months to settle its arrears. As of
Friday Zimbabwe owed IMF US$136.7
million after making a payment of US$163.5
million last year and US$9.5
million in the first quarter of 2006.
The country's authorities have
promised to settle all its arrears by
December this year. The former
Czechoslovakia (axed in 1954) is the only
country to be booted out of the
184 -member group in the history of the
lending institution.
In its
last Article IV consultation, the IMF painted a gloomy picture for
Zimbabwe
forecasting a decline in real GDP of 7 % in 2005, mainly due to
difficulties
in agriculture. It said that the fiscal deficit would widen to
14 % of GDP
and contribute - together with the RBZ's expanding quasi-fiscal
activity -
to a pick up in inflation to 320% by end of 2005. Figures
released by the
Central Statistical Office point that year-on -year
inflation for December
had risen to 585.8% from 502.4% in November.
Zim Standard
By Foster
Dongozi
MOVEMENT for Democratic Change (MDC) president, Morgan Tsvangirai
has
written a letter to President Robert Mugabe, protesting against the
politicisation of senior army, police and intelligence officers, turning
them into Zanu PF functionaries.
The letter which was copied to the
Secretary General of the United Nations,
Kofi Annan, the African Union and
SADC was delivered to Mugabe's Munhumutapa
offices, last week.
The
President is currently on his annual vacation and has reportedly been
holidaying in Thailand.
Tsvangirai's letter appears to have been
prompted by recent statements made
by Major General Martin Chedondo, who
told soldiers during a pass-out parade
in Gweru that the MDC should be
destroyed and that its leader, Tsvangirai,
should be treated as the
country's number one enemy.
Tsvangirai in his letter said: "Let me say
this to you for the record: A
physical elimination of myself and some of my
colleagues in the MDC
leadership will not solve your political problems. If
anything, such
dastardly and cowardly acts will definitely have an
incendiary and therefore
totally destructive effect on the country. It is
therefore quite clear that
under your direct command, and under the present
Zimbabwe Defence Forces and
ZRP officer corps, the army and police are being
transformed into organised
armed combat units of your political
party."
He said despite Mugabe's efforts to politicise the security arms,
only the
senior army officers had been politicised.
"We are aware
that your instructions as expressed by the officer corps of
the army and the
police have not percolated to the lower levels of the
patriotic ordinary
soldiers and policemen and women, whose loyalty to the
Zimbabwean nation
undoubtedly goes beyond narrow allegiances to political
parties."
Tsvangirai warned Mugabe that, by pushing senior army and
police officers
into active politics, Mugabe was creating a potentially
explosive situation
which constituted a serious threat to the future
stability and integrity of
the country.
"You are no doubt aware that
Africa is replete with examples of the
disastrous consequences of
deliberately politicising the officer corps of
the army and the police and
the bloody fractious outcome of that. Is this
the legacy you want to leave
behind?
"We are well aware that that this politicisation of the army,
police and CIO
and senior civil servants is a product of your desperate
attempt to
ruthlessly quash all political opposition, both inside and
outside your
party, ahead of your inevitable departure from office. This
will enable you
to craft, engineer and implement an illegitimate succession
plan to position
of State President in which a hand-picked successor will
inherit your
despotic rule."
He said the politicisation of the
uniformed forces had created a situation
in which unarmed civilians were now
pitted against armed wings of the civil
service.
"These organs of the
Zimbabwe public service are now operating virtually as
active partisan units
of your political party in what is supposed to be a
civilian political
contest between two civilian political parties. It has
become, instead, a
contest between the civilian political formation that I
lead and the
civil-military junta that you preside over."
Tsvangirai said a clear
example that the military had been politicised was
the 2002 Press conference
in which members of the uniformed forces declared
that they would not accept
an MDC victory in the presidential elections.
"It was a direct threat to
mount a coup d'etat against an MDC government,
should it come to power. As
Commander of the ZDF, we can safely assume that
they were acting under your
direct orders."
Zim Standard
By our
correspondent
CHINHOYI - Zanu PF Provincial Office in Mashonaland West is
fuelling the
black market after commandeering fuel meant for newly resettled
farmers.
However, the bulk of the fuel is finding its way into the lucrative
parallel
market. Initially the ruling party was being allocated fuel so that
it could
resell it and raise funds for the Zanu PF National Conference held
in
Esigodini in December.
But as late as last week the ruling party's
office in Chinhoyi was a hive of
activities as provincial party stalwarts,
Chinhoyi urban councillors and
their friends were buying fuel, which ended
up on the parallel market at
Gwayagwaya Musika, where a litre can fetch as
much as $140 000.
The fuel is collected from a depot situated in Chinhoyi's
industrial sites.
Many farmers, who are supposed to receive priority
allocation under the
government's programme intended to boost agricultural
production this year,
are being left out, thereby compromising food security
in the country at a
time when the country is relying on the international
community to help feed
an estimated 3 million people by next month, rising
to 5 million, in dire
need of food aid.
A farmer, who failed to get
fuel, told The Standard that the Zanu PF party's
offices were vetting those
who will benefit in order to prevent "unpatriotic
citizens" from accessing
the fuel.
He said: "This scheme is being abused and I swear that as much
as we have
received good rains, we will not harvest enough to feed the
nation."
However, investigations by The Standard revealed that the bulk
of fuel ended
up on the parallel market at Gwayagwaya Musika.
Efforts
by The Standard to get comment from the Zanu PF Mashonaland West
provincial
chairman, John Mafa, over several days were unsuccessful as his
mobile phone
was constantly out of reach.
However, a report compiled by E Mavingire,
the party's youth and security
officer for Mashonaland West and copied to
Zanu PF's Secretary for
Administration, the Minister of State for State
Enterprises, Anti-monopolies
and Anti-corruption, Paul Mangwana, and the
chairman of war veterans in the
province, expresses concern over the party's
involvement in fuelling the
black market.
Headed How the party is
being destroyed in Mash West, the report outlines
how the provincial office
in Mashonaland West orders fuel from NOCZIM.
The report says: "Off (sic)
course, people are desperate for fuel and they
will buy at any prize (sic),
but should it be Zanu (PF) selling that fuel at
the black market rate to its
own people? What do the general people say? How
do we stop the fuel black
market when we are fuelling it? There is no prize
(sic) of the fuel on the
invoice. Where is the accountability?
"I believe Govt and party organs
should be decentralised to monitor the 'big
fish' in the province. The
ministry of anti-corruption should be within the
people so that they can be
sensitive to the people's difficulties. At the
moment we do not even know
whether the department exists.
"The party's security department should be
protected from these 'big fish'
in the province as they normally are
confined (sic) to the office or are
removed if they begin to 'see too much'.
Kuona-haufaniri kuona but to be a
puppet."
Zim Standard
By Valentine
Maponga
MORGAN Tsvangirai, the embattled opposition Movement for
Democratic Change
(MDC) leader has appealed to the Supreme Court to have
results of the
presidential election of 2002 nullified and a new election
date set, against
a High Court judgement.
Tsvangirai has been
fighting since 12 April 2002, to have the result of the
hotly contested
presidential election of 9 - 11 March 2002 set aside.
President Robert
Mugabe was declared the winner of the controversial
election.
However,
Tsvangirai argues that the election result should be set aside
because it
was not conducted in full compliance with the Zimbabwean law.
He says
some of the laws and regulations used to conduct the election were
not in
line with the Zimbabwe Constitution, and were therefore invalid.
"The
officials and institutions who conducted the election did not comply
with
some important parts of the Zimbabwe constitution and other relevant
laws."
According to documents recently filed before the Supreme
Court, Tsvangirai
is appealing against "paragraphs 2 and 3" of the High
Court judgement of 28
November which was handed down by Justice Ben
Hlatshwayo.
Justice Hlatshwayo dismissed the opposition leader's
application to have the
presidential poll results declared null and void and
order an election
rerun. He however, gave no reasons for the
dismissal.
Tsvangirai's lawyers are arguing that Justice Hlatshwayo erred
by failing to
find that the validation contained in the Electoral
(Modification) Notice
2002, SI 41D/2002, was unlawful and not in accordance
with the principles of
the Electoral Law.
". as a consequence the
Presidential Election of March 2002 was not
conducted in accordance with the
Electoral Act and the Principles set out in
that Act," reads part of the
appeal seeking an order for a rerun of the
poll.
In the appeal,
Tsvangirai also argues the laws which were used to conduct
the election were
in breach of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.
"The learned Judge erred in
failing to consider and in failing to find that
section 158 of the Electoral
Act (chapter 2:01) was contrary to the
Constitution of Zimbabwe, and
accordingly that section and all laws
purportedly in terms of that section
are void and of no force and effect,"
reads part of the arguments by
Tsvangirai's lawyers Coglan, Welsh and Guest.
Section 158 of the
Electoral Act delegates to the President of Zimbabwe the
power to amend the
electoral law mentioned in the Constitution. This may
include the power to
make deletions from or additions to election laws.
Consequently,
according to the lawyers, this invalidates the 2002
presidential election
because the conduct and outcome of the election was
strongly influenced by
regulations made under section 158.
Zim Standard
By our staff
BULAWAYO -
The Member of Parliament for Makokoba, Thokozani Khuphe, is in
the race to
take over the Vice presidency of the Movement for Democratic
(MDC) from
veteran trade unionist Gibson Sibanda. Sibanda, who belongs to
pro-Senate
faction, has spurned efforts by MDC president Morgan Tsvangirai
to
reconcile, paving the way for the selection of a new vice president of
the
faction at next month's congress.
There are indications that more people
could be interested in the position
but are keeping their cards close to
their chests amid reports that moves to
re-unite Tsvangirai and Sibanda have
not been exhausted.
Reacting to some MDC members' suggestions that she could
be one of the
contestants, Khuphe said she was more than willing to
represent Zimbabweans
as the vice president of the party.
The
42-year-old single mother of three children, said: "If it was two years
ago,
I may have declined to take up such a position, but now I have the
confidence and experience to tackle political issues in any position,
especially the vice presidency of the party. I see no problem at all if I am
elevated to the second most powerful position in the MDC.
"If people
are saying that (elevation to the post of vice president), I will
represent
them fully and I am committed to do everything for them."
She was one of
the founding members of the opposition party and said
"currently I am in the
MDC with President Tsvangirai. As far as I am
concerned we have only one
party led by Tsvangirai".
A spokesman for the Tsvangirai group, Nelson
Chamisa, could not be drawn to
comment on the issue saying this would be
decided by the people at the
forthcoming congress scheduled for the first
week of March.
"I cannot say right now whether the person who will occupy
the vice
presidency of the party will be a man or woman. I believe that
party
structures will have to make a decision on that issue," Chamisa
said.
Meanwhile Professor Welshman Ncube, one of the leaders of the
pro-Senate
faction of the MDC says appeared to offer prospects of bringing
together the
two sides.
He said: "We know that many people across the
country are upset by the
division in the party. From Gokwe, to Nkayi to
Mutoko people have told us
their anguish. They have said the MDC was our
only hope. The MDC was our
only way out of the Mugabe madness.
"Men
and women have come to us literally in tears. We have agonised long and
hard
over the division. But we found that if we support peaceful, democratic
change in Zimbabwe, how do we make accommodation with what Morgan is
saying?"
Ncube then outlined three conditions for reuniting the two
sides. They say
that Tsvangirai must agree to: abide by the partyıs
democratic constitution
and accept collective decision-making; embrace
non-violence as a core
principle and refuse to use the coercion of militia;
and consult with the
party elected officials when making decisions, not seek
the opinions of a
kitchen cabinet of unelected officials and then overrule
decisions of the
National Executive and announce the decision as a fait
accompli.
Ncube said: "We need to demonstrate democracy to regain the
confidence of
the people. We cannot accept an all powerful president of the
party who does
what he likes. That is like Mugabe. We still hope to reach an
accommodation."
But he appeared to send a different signal when he
said their faction had
tentatively set 25 February as the date for their
congress. He did not
indicate the venue. Tsvangirai's faction is reportedly
planning its congress
for 18 and 19 March.
Zim Standard
By Caiphas
Chimhete
A CRITICAL shortage of farm labour could seriously
undermine prospects
of a bumper harvest this season despite the good rains
that have fallen,
agriculture experts have warned.
They said
this has been further exacerbated by the scarcity of farming
inputs such as
seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and fuel.
Zimbabwe Farmer's
Union (ZFU) executive director, Dzarira Kwenda,
attributed the shortage of
labour to increased arable area created by the
land reform programme, lack
of incentives in the sector and resistance by
workers to work for black
commercial farmers.
The government's chaotic land reform programme,
which started with
invasions of white-owned commercial farms in 2000,
displaced more than 350
farm workers.
"Some of the farm workers
are going into illegal gold panning or into
towns where there are better
opportunities. However, others got A1 land
under the land reform programme
and they are now farmers themselves," Kwenda
said.
About 6 000
former white commercial farms were subdivided and
allocated to 140 000
small-scale farmers, some of whom were former farm
workers.
Although some of the resettled farmers were allocated productive land,
they
are failing to utilise it and are cutting down trees on the farms for
sale
as firewood, which can be seen along major roads.
General
Agricultural and Plantation Workers' Union of Zimbabwe
(Gapwuz) secretary
general, Getrude Hambira, attributed the current labour
shortage to poor
wages. She also said that most of the new farmers cannot
afford to give
their workers subsidised food as had became the norm with the
former farm
owners.
"The workers are leaving but others are still on the farms
but are
doing other things which give them more money," said Hambira, whose
organisation has a membership of about 50 000 farm workers.
Presently, the stipulated monthly salary for commercial farm worker is
set
at $1.1 million but Hambira said they want it increased to about $3
million
a month.
However, according to the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe
(CCZ) a family
of six now requires about $16.7 million to live a normal
life.
Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers' Union (ZCFU) grains and cereal
chairman,
Denford Chimbwanda, attributed the current shortage of labour to
low prices
of commodities that are gazetted by government. He said with a
tonne of
maize gazetted at $2.6 million, it would not be sustainable for a
farmer to
pay good wages.
Chimbwanda said apart from gazetting
low prices, the government also
delays in announcing the prices of
commodities making it difficult to plan
for the future, even hiring
labour.
"If we hire workers and pay them well without considering
the price of
our commodities we will fail to cover labour costs and run a
loss," he said.
Kwenda, who urged AgriBank to release loans to
farmers in time to
enable farmers to pay their workers, also shared
Chimbwanda's concerns.
"Casual labour is paid weekly, if you fail
to pay in time, the workers
will go to the next farm, so what we need is
early disbursement of funds
from the bank," said Kwenda, who could not
estimate decline that would be
caused by the labour crisis.
Zimbabwe requires 1.8 million tones of maize for annual consumption
and
another 500 000 tonnes of strategic reserves.
Commercial Farmers'
Union (CFU) president, Doug Taylor-Freeme, also
confirmed there was general
shortage of labour on the commercial farms. He
said the horticultural sector
was the most affected because it is
labour-intensive.
Taylor-Freeme said: "Some workers moved into towns where there are
better
opportunities. Coupled with the shortage of seed, fuel and
fertilizer, the
labour crisis has reduced the time available for tillage and
this could have
a negative impact on national output."
He said the actual impact of
labour shortage in the farms would only
be quantifiable when planting
ends.
Zim Standard
By our
staff
BULAWAYO - The Deputy Minister of Environment and Tourism, Andrew
Langa, has
appeared before a Gwanda magistrate accused of threatening to
shoot an
aspiring Member of Parliament in the run-up to the March 2005
parliamentary
elections.
Langa, who is also the Member of Parliament
for Insiza, was not asked to
plead to charges of contravening sections of
the Miscellaneous Offences Act
when he appeared for an initial remand before
Gwanda magistrate Takudzwa
Gwazemba.
The State claims that on 22 January
last year Langa found his rival,
Siyabonga Malandu-Ncube of the Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC),
checking his name on the voters' roll at Avoca
Primary School in preparation
for the March polls.
The State alleges
that the minister, who was in the company of his election
crew and
policemen, was not happy with the presence of Malandu-Ncube,
resulting in
him charging at his rival.
While charging at the MDC candidate, "the
accused said he was going to shoot
him and nothing was going to happen to
him as he was from the ruling party,"
says the State.
The minister
was remanded out of custody and the trial has been set for 2
February
Zim Standard
By a correspondent
VENDORS
displaced by "Operation Murambatsvina" are up in arms with the
Chinhoyi
Council over extra payments they are being asked to pay for the
construction
of market stalls.
Following the clean up operation, the council ordered
Chinhoyi vendors to
pay $2.7m so that "proper structures" could be built for
them.
The project was backed by the Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises
Development headed by Sithembiso Nyoni who officially commissioned a site
for the construction of the flea market structures. Nyoni also promised that
her ministry would provide funds for the project.
But the council
says no money has been received from her ministry.
Angry vendors told The
Standard that they were shocked to learn that the
council was demanding $5m
from them for the stalls to be completed.
Zim Standard
By
Nqobani Ndlovu
BULAWAYO - THE government is spending at least $47 million
a week on hotel
bills for the Governor of Matabeleland North, Thokozile
Mathuthu, who is
staying at a three-star hotel in the city.
The
Standard has established that Mathuthu is staying at the Rainbow Hotel
and
has reportedly been occupying a double room which costs $6 million a
day.
Apart from her accommodation that includes breakfast, the government
pays
for her dinner which, on average, costs $800 000.
Rainbow Hotel
charges $5 million a night for a single bed and breakfast, $6
million for a
double bed and breakfast and $800 000 for lunch and dinner.
Mathuthu
confirmed that she has been staying at the three-star hotel but
charged that
The Standard wanted to scandalise her "yet there is no
governor's house in
Matabeleland North and alternative accommodation in
Bulawayo".
She
said: "I will be happy if you were to find alternative accommodation for
me.
Where should I sleep? I cannot go and sleep in the streets. I do not see
where the issue of costs (accommodation and dinner) come in, you just want
to scandalise the whole issue."
She could not be drawn to say why she
was staying at the hotel when she used
to live in the city before she was
appointed Governor and Resident Minister
for Matabeleland North
Province.
She declined to say when she started staying at the hotel,
although she is
believed to have moved into the hotel a couple of months
ago.
Hotel management declined to shed light on the issue or say whether
she was
staying with her husband, James, and their children.
The
Divisional Manager of Rainbow Hotel, who only identified herself as
Mawumbe
said: "It will not be in my best interest to release that
information. It is
best for you to contact the Governor's office since they
are the ones that
made the booking."
She however referred the paper to the hotel group's
chief executive officer,
Pascal Changunda, who said: "We are not in a
position to comment on the
matter."
The Standard has learnt that
Mathuthu has a house in the city, reportedly in
the high-density suburb of
Njube.
The Governor also conducts her day-to-day office business of
Matabeleland
North from Mhlanhlandlela government complex in Bulawayo as the
government
has not yet built offices for Local Government staff in the
Northern
Province.
Efforts to contact the Minister of Local
Government, Public Works and
National Housing, Ignatius Chombo, were
fruitless. He was not answering his
mobile phone.
Matabeleland North
is one of the most underdeveloped provinces in the
country yet the province
has abundant natural resources that could be used
effectively to boost its
growth.
State development programmes that have been initiated in the
province have
not taken off due to limited financial resources. They include
the
still-born Lupane State University initiative, methane gas project and
Zambezi water scheme.
Zim Standard
By Caiphas
Chimhete
CASES of cholera continue to be reported in Harare despite
claims by
government that the situation is firmly under control, The
Standard has been
told.
Health officials last week said although the
number of cases had gone down,
cholera patients were still being treated and
admitted at Harare's
infectious disease referral hospitals, Beatrice Road
Infectious Diseases
Hospital and Wilkins Hospital.
"We are still
receiving new cases of cholera although the numbers have
dropped. We
admitted two more people yesterday (Tuesday)," said a senior
official at
Beatrice Hospital.
Cholera, a severe intestinal infection caused by
ingestion of contaminated
food or water, has killed at least 14 people
countrywide in the past three
weeks. More than 180 cases have so far been
reported since the outbreak of
the disease three weeks ago.
The
official at Beatrice Hospital said: "All hospitals have been ordered not
to
speak to the Press because the situation embarrasses the government."
He
said eight of the 15 people who were still admitted at the hospital were
discharged on Wednesday while Emerenciance Mashindi, who was pregnant, was
referred to Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals.
The Standard could not
obtain figures from Wilkins but officials at the
hospital also confirmed
that they were still dealing with cholera cases.
Addressing a Press
conference after touring Mbare Musika on Wednesday, the
Minister of Health
and Child Welfare, David Parirenyatwa, insisted that the
situation was under
control and that there were no more new cases of cholera
being
reported.
"We have alerted our provincial medical directors and all
hospitals are
ready to deal with the situation. In fact, the situation is
under control,"
Parirenyatwa said.
But the president of the Zimbabwe
Medical Association (Zima), Dr Billy
Rigava, said it would be folly to
believe that cholera had been eradicated
when conditions that caused the
outbreak were still prevalent.
Rigava, who blamed the Ministry of Health
and Child Welfare for failing to
contain the preventable disease, said the
country could safely only say it
is safe from cholera three weeks after the
last case has been detected.
"The ministry of health should take the
blame for failing to contain a
preventable disease. It's a preventable
condition, there is no excuse for
failing to prevent it," Rigava
said.
He said the outbreak was a clear indication of the collapse of the
country's
health delivery system.
The Zima president said government
can not wish away cholera unless it
addresses issues regarding the provision
of clean running water and ensures
refuse collection and the removal of
rubble left behind after the the
controversial "Operation Murambatsvina",
which left nearly one million
Zimbabweans homeless.
For nearly a year
now, Harare City Council has failed to regularly collect
refuse in the city,
leading to the current outbreak of cholera and other
water-borne diseases.
The council has also been struggling to provide clean
running water with
some Harare residents resorting to digging wells or
fetching water from
unprotected and polluted streams, exposing themselves to
water-borne
diseases.
Also speaking after touring Mbare, where uncollected garbage
and human waste
are attracting swarms of flies and other vermin, Harare City
Council town
clerk, Nomutsa Chideya, attributed the council's failure to
service the city
to the shortage of fuel, vehicles and the charging of
unsustainable service
fees by the local authority.
Presently, Harare
has 14 refuse collection trucks instead of the required
90. Only one is
servicing the whole of Mbare.
"In a week's time, we would have finished
cleaning up Mbare and the vendors
will be back here," said Chideya, who
struggled to explain why the council
only reacted after 14 people succumbed
to cholera.
Zim Standard
Comment
THE unplanned closure of Mbare Musika last week by the
commission running
the City of Harare is an act of undisguised scapegoating.
If the market
poses a health hazard, clearly the culprit is the commission,
which has
failed to ensure refuse is collected regularly. It is this failure
to carry
out its responsibilities that has contributed to outbreaks of
diseases.
The commission, in trying to cover up for its incompetence, is
victimising
innocent people who are trying to eke out a living by marketing
their
produce.
The government should not tolerate such ineptitude while
residents must
demand an explanation on how exactly the rates they pay are
being used.
Growers and stall-holders pay the local authority in order to
conduct
business at Mbare Musika but the revenue is not being ploughed back
to
improve the environment at the market.
The late Solomon Tawengwa
and the entire council he headed were fired after
Harare went for five days
without water. The justification for their removal
was that their failure to
ensure regularity of water supplies to residents
of Harare posed a health
hazard. The commission running the City of Harare
has not only threatened
the health of ratepayers for months by its failure
to collect refuse, attend
to burst water pipes and stem laval flows of
sewerage, but also offers
little prospect of doing so. It should not be
tolerated a day
longer.
If the people supposedly running the capital were MDC officials
the
government would have dismissed them a long time ago because there is
overwhelming evidence of incompetence. However, because they are members of
the ruling party they are protected. Worse still, they are unaccountable to
the residents whose lives they blight.
Some may argue the government,
Zanu PF and their useless commissioners have
conspired to threaten the
health of the residents of Harare so that the
commission can accomplish what
"Operation Murambatsvina" could not!
It can certainly be argued that as a
result of its failure to carry out its
duties properly the commission
contributed to the death from cholera and
other water-borne illnesses of
several people in Harare while others were
admitted to hospitals for
treatment.
The commission likes to suggest that it is unable to collect
refuse because
of the current shortage of fuel or inadequate
trucks.
It is also ironic that while we are being told the council has no
fuel for
utilities such as refuse collection, luxury vehicles driven by the
commissioners and other senior council officials continue to run around on
errands, some of which clearly have little to do with service delivery to
residents.
But that is besides the point. Newly resettled farmers
have been able to
draw fuel from NOCZIM; and there is no reason why the
commission, which has
the backing of, government, could not do the
same.There is a compelling case
for the capital to be allocated fuel just as
the resettled farmers were but
there is no one keen on serving the interests
of Harare's ratepayers.
If, on the other hand, it is true the commission
has no capacity, then it
should not have terminated refuse collection
contracts by private companies.
Another approach would be to call for refuse
collection tenders by companies
who are able to source their own
fuel.
The commission says it will take a week to clean up Mbare Musika,
but what
is going to happen once it is reopened and more rubbish piles up?
Why should
hard-pressed ratepayers tolerate such poor planning? And the
consequences
for those neighbouring the relocated market in Belvedere where
there are
homes, schools and a five-star hotel are too ghastly to
contemplate. It is
not difficult to imagine hordes of flies invading the
Sheraton lobby!
The commission has failed and it deserves to be fired
because it it isnot
serving the interests of anyone, not even those of the
ruling Zanu PF. It is
tragic that the government seems intent on retaining
people who do not do
its cause or reputation any good. If the government
wants to be popular
among voters it must start by appointing people who can
deliver and not
those who can shout loudest Zanu PF slogans.
The
Minister of Local Government has no business directing the operations of
the
commission on a daily basis. If, as his actions suggest, they have
failed
the city, he should sack them. More to the point he should permit
elections
for an accountable council.
In May last year the market was closed,
ostensibly to clean up and improve
the site. Clearly it was a lie because if
the clean up was undertaken and if
there were regular removals of refuse,
none of the drastic action taken last
week would have been
necessary.
What the commission is doing is to penalise innocent people
trying to make a
living in these difficult times. And the government and the
ruling party are
surprised when people turn against them - when they
demonstrate such
insensitivity to the plight of the majority!
The
connection between last week's drastic move and "Operation
Murambatsvina" is
that the drivers of these unplanned actions can be traced
to Town
House.
The unplanned action showed insensitivity and contradicted efforts
by
central government aimed at encouraging growers and farmers to produce
sufficient requirements for the nation. There is nothing more demoralising
for a farmer than spending back-breaking days producing something that has
no market.
The closure of the market demonstrates eloquently the
failure by the
commission to consult stakeholders.
Zim Standard
Sundayopinion by Takura
Zhangazha
THE year 2006 is far from one of optimism in Zimbabwe. Apart
from what goes
on in individual families such as births, marriages or the
leaving of the
country of a loved one for the proverbial "greener pastures"
it promises to
be a difficult year with little to look forward
to.
This is not because I wish to spread my pessimistic tentacles to the
whole
nation and get everyone (who can afford them) on anti-depressants. No,
that
is not my intention.
It's really because the last five years have
been a huge millstone around
the neck of the ordinary Zimbabwean, whether
they be in the informal trade
of "dealing", the civil service, the private
sector or in the media. But
just in case a number of us do not want to be
too shocked and suffer
debilitating strokes when bad things continue to
happen in 2006, I intend to
forecast the political and social weather in
Zimbabwe for the next twelve
months. I will begin with the
obvious:
There is likely to be more tinkering with the Constitution of
Zimbabwe by
the Zanu PF government. This is obvious and there is already a
bit of a buzz
in a number of social circles about the impending changes. It
will not come
as much of a shock for most people that Zanu PF will change
the Constitution
in order for there to be an extension to the term of office
of the President
with provision for the putting into place an acting
presidency for two
years.
This might not be done immediately because
the ruling party is busy
concocting an enactment bill that will enable it to
take away passports from
those it does not like.
I project the debate
about and around this development to pick up in the
middle of the year
through the rather vocal Patrick Chinamasa, chorused by
our rather inept
parliamentarians. The legislative changes will begin
initiation towards the
end of the year and the changes are likely to become
effective in early
2007.
It should also be quite obvious to the generality of Zimbabweans
that the
much-touted Operation Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle will come to nought.
The
aftermath of Operation Murambatsvina will still be felt by all and
sundry
across the length and breadth of the country.
The government's
Operation Garikai will stall, with problems arising out of
squabbles with
the United Nations as well as the shortage of funds to
resettle so many
people that were displaced. Informal settlements will
re-emerge with a
vengeance; to be temporarily destroyed by the loyalist
police force assisted
by the brainwashed National Youth Service youngsters.
It is also
increasingly clear that elected local councils will remain a
thing of the
past in the foreseeable future. The remaining city councils,
including
Bulawayo and Masvingo will be found wanting in one false respect
or the
other by Minister of Local Government, Public Works and Urban
Development,
Ignatious Chombo, and a lot more Zanu PF apologists will find
themselves in
dilapidated local council offices with nothing to do and no
mandate
whatsoever from the people walking the streets of their cities.
The rural
district councils will remain untouched, with the occasional
firing of one
or so such councillors for misappropriation of council funds
only to bounce
back after political intervention from some war veterans.
The Zimbabwe
National Water Authority will continue its failure to deliver
clean water to
residents in Harare, Chitungwiza and anywhere else where it
has been ordered
to operate. It will also fail to provide Bulawayo with
enough water reserves
and the Zambezi Water Project will remain, what it has
always been - a
pipe-dream.
The National Constitutional Assembly, the Zimbabwe Congress
of Trade Unions,
the Zimbabwe Social Forum and the student unions will
continue with their
demonstrations in the streets of major
cities.
The public will continue to observe them in admiration but will
not join
them. There is, however, the possibility that there will be
spontaneous but
brief demonstrations in some high-density areas in Harare
over sanitary
issues, prices of basic commodities and the occasional
accusations of
witchcraft of a neighbour (usually an elderly single
woman).
Zanu PF will also stage its own demonstrations against
organisations such as
the United Nations, some overwhelmed mayor (I foresee
Kariba as a likely
target).
Turning to the volatile political
situation in the opposition Movement for
Democratic Change, the two factions
of the beleaguered party will hold their
congresses with the surprising
permission of the police. Morgan Tsvangirai
will be re-elected as president
of the party, whilst Gift Chimanikire will
be the head of the other party
claiming the same name. Welshman Ncube will
retain his post as secretary
general and Paul Themba Nyathi will be in on a
chance to be the vice
president.
Gibson Sibanda will not attend any of the events and perhaps
the Tsvangirai
faction will leave the deputy president's post vacant for him
to reconsider.
There will definitely be a new secretary general in the
Tsvangirai aligned
membership but it's too close to call on who that might
be. It definitely,
judging from the spats, won't be a powerful
schemer.
I also foresee during 2006 the former Minister of Information
and Publicity
in the President's Office, Jonathan Moyo, finally being forced
to behave
like an MP and not an individual who knows it all. His flurry of
emails,
articles published in various online publications will dissipate,
and he
will find more solace in his constituency than in attempting
nationalist
politics.
The United People's Movement and its attendant
"we will rock them" slogan
will become the stuff for pub jokes on an
intermittent basis. Moyo might,
however, consider joining one of the MDC
factions after the battle over
which one retains the party name has been
settled in the courts.
It is also a foregone conclusion that Zimbabwe
Broadcasting Holdings,
although holding monopoly of the electronic media,
will fail to broadcast to
the entire country and continue to be ignored.
Radio and television stations
under the ZBH will still fail to reach out to
the entire country because
they will have purchased obsolete equipment from
China or the stuff they
will get from Iran will be delayed in its arrival
because of the bad
relations of the latter country with the United States of
America.
There shall again be no other television stations throughout
this year
because of the Broadcasting Services Act and the general
ineptitude of the
Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe. It will also be
because that relatively
unknown entity called Transmedia will still not have
the necessary equipment
to make it possible. Multi-Choice and its Digital
Satellite Television will
continue to be the media of choice for those that
can afford it.
But perhaps the most depressing news for the media in
Zimbabwe is that
Tafataona Mahoso will remain head of the Media and
Information Commission
and continue writing his insipid articles for The
Sunday Mail accusing
everyone but himself of curtailing freedom of
expression. His MIC, however,
will be regularly subject to six month
renewals of contracts with Bright
Matonga increasingly flexing his muscles
in the Ministry of Information and
Publicity.
George Charamba will
continue writing his immature Nathaniel Manheru pieces
while hoping Matonga
does not raise his influence within the Ministry. And
sadly, never mind the
optimism, the government is too paranoid to allow The
Daily News and The
Daily News on Sunday back on the streets. The Weekly
Tribune and the
Business Tribune might come back though.
The lot of journalists will
remain classified as "dangerous" by the
government throughout the year and
Zimbabwe will remain high up on the list
of countries with the worst working
environment for journalists.
And because of a collapsing health services
sector and prohibitive costs,
Zimbabweans will increasingly resort to
prophets and n'angas. It will not be
because Zimbabweans have suddenly
become more superstitious, but because
there will be no hospitals to bother
going to, unless you are rich and
shameless. N'angas shall begin to have all
sorts of explanations for
illnesses they have never seen before while
prophets shall probably have to
store water (in case of water cuts) in order
to cope with the demand of the
real holy waters.
Continued on
Pg10
And, of course, the doctors shall go on strike as usual, and the
nurses
shall join in while city council ambulance drivers and other health
personnel follow suit.
On the education front, our children will
continue sharing books, with no
lessons going on as their under-paid
teachers spend more time selling boiled
eggs and other wares to other
staffers and pupils to make ends meet. Many
pupils will be forced to skip
classes because of hunger as they will have
left home without a single
morsel in their stomachs and not having a lunch
box prepared
either
Football and other sporting activities will continue to be run
disastrously.
No glimmer of hope there, even if Zimbabwe does well at the
African Cup of
Nations. ZIFA will continue on its path that is devoid of
professionalism,
the Premier Soccer League will still be bedevilled by
problems of
administration and junior football will not rise an iota beyond
national
high schools annual football tournament. Cricket will finally be
removed
from the embarrassment of playing Test matches with a depleted side
and
rugby will continue its lacklustre performances to minnows such as
Namibia
and Uganda.
The entertainment industry will stagnate. While
Urban Grooves will have its
occasional flashes from the same artistes,
recording studios continue to
make a killing from ambitious but non-creative
"artistes". The film industry
will not produce any new blockbuster and where
a production will be done, it
will. Like Yellow Card, be heavily sponsored
by donors and will have an
apparent and unexciting message. The lack of
other radio and television
stations will mean entertainers will remain poor
and unrecognised while
others will remain censored by ZBH with only
patriotic songs being played or
shown.
But perhaps the saddest truth
of all is that Zimbabweans are likely to grow
poorer as the year progresses.
Inflation will continue to cause sleepless
nights for many of us, including
the "dealers" and disposable income will
have the fifteenth nail plunged
into its coffin. We might be reduced to
eating one meal a day, forego
lunches, and view beef as a luxury. Soya mince
shall invariably rise in
price because of demand and bread shall be the
luxury of a birthday party.
The government shall perhaps subsidise potatoes,
which the President urged
all of us to eat.
And, of course, the doctors shall go on strike as
usual, and the nurses
shall join in while city council ambulance drivers and
other health
personnel follow suit.
On the education front, our
children will continue sharing books, with no
lessons going on as their
under-paid teachers spend more time selling boiled
eggs and other food
stuffs to other staffers and pupils to make ends meet.
Many pupils will be
forced to skip classes because of hunger as they will
have left home without
a single morsel in their stomachs and not having a
lunch box prepared
either
Football and other sporting activities will continue to be run
disastrously.
No glimmer of hope there, even if Zimbabwe does well at the
African Cup of
Nations. ZIFA will continue on its path that is devoid of
professionalism;
the Premier Soccer League will still be bedevilled by
problems of
administration and junior football will not rise an iota beyond
national
high schools annual football tournament. Cricket will finally be
removed
from the embarrassment of playing Test matches with a depleted side
and
rugby will continue its lacklustre performances to minnows such as
Namibia
and Uganda.
The entertainment industry will stagnate. While
Urban Grooves will have its
occasional flashes from the same artistes,
recording studios continue to
make a killing from ambitious but non-creative
"artistes". The film industry
will not produce any new blockbusters and
where a production will be done,
it will, Like Yellow Card, be heavily
sponsored by donors and will have an
apparent and unexciting message. The
lack of other radio and television
stations will mean entertainers will
remain poor and unrecognised while
others will remain censored by ZBH with
only patriotic songs being played or
shown.
But perhaps the saddest
truth of all is that Zimbabweans are likely to grow
poorer as the year
progresses. Inflation will continue to cause sleepless
nights for many of
us, including the "dealers" and disposable income will
have the fifteenth
nail plunged into its coffin. We might be reduced to
eating one meal a day,
forego lunches, and view beef as a luxury. Soya mince
shall invariably rise
in price because of demand and bread shall be the
luxury of a birthday
party. The government shall perhaps subsidise potatoes,
which the President
urged all of us to eat.
Zim Standard
Sundayopinion by
Marko Phiri
THE crappiest television ever seen! That is the billing that
best summaries
Zimbabwe's sole television station programming. How best can
one describe a
television station known more for being soporific than
stimulating?
A few years ago, television programming in Zimbabwe was
considered among the
best in the region and viewers made sure they were in
front of the small
screen at a particular time. Those were the days, for
example, when Mondays
nights had the much loved mini series, Tuesday nights
had Transworld Sport,
Thursday had Astra Paints Movie of the Week and
weekend sport had European
soccer.
The weekends had programming that
literally kept the kids off the streets.
Back then a whole neighbourhood
would boast of less than five homes with
television sets such that those
blessed with the small screen were virtual
gods as children lined up to be
accepted into neighbour's living rooms.
The nostalgia is just
mind-blowing as it points to a country on the edge of
some zany kingdom
judging by the rapid race to mediocrity.
There were no stories then of
men and women earning a living as licence
inspectors risking being lynched
by incensed viewers. But then now, these
same people "only doing their job"
find themselves working as some kind of
daredevils as irate viewers wonder
rather violently why they should be
bothered with paying
licences.
What is not so funny about these developments at Zimbabwe
television is that
the sole broadcaster was, as the story goes, transformed
into a big yawn
after the rise of Jonathan Moyo. But then, more
interestingly, even after he
left and now with brickbats being thrown his
direction by his erstwhile
comrades, the same crap is still being
shown.
So why not throw away the bath water together with the baby? Do we
not still
hear his so-called compositions as the country psyches up itself
for the
African Cup of Nations? But then you can trust these men forcing
themselves
on us to miss the plot many light years from now.
Why not
cleanse the television of all vestiges of this man then if all the
ranting
by government clowns is to be taken seriously?
For many here and for whom
paid-for entertainment is beyond reach,
television provided the best form of
home entertainment and this was way
before the advent of DVDs, but certainly
after the advent of Zanu PF! Now,
for a family that cannot afford a night
out at the movies and those fancy
gadgets, it means life in Zimbabwe is one
big bore. Life at Wha Wha must
have been better!
These families could
easily die of ennui. But the biggest irony of it all is
that the men and
women in charge, from the government officials to the
people at the helm of
this crappy station their children feast on foreign
programmes through
satellite TV.
These children would disown their super-rich parents for
subjecting them to
local television.
This is a station that sees it
fit to show ruling party big wigs with fat
necks for hours feasting during
some fund-raising gala or dinner dance for
the national team while a good
number of families go hungry and don't give a
hoot about
football.
Local television has gone through a metamorphosis so radical it
is no
surprise that there is a proliferation of video clubs across the
country.
Where were these entrepreneurs five years ago?
A station
that cannot even show great children programmes like the Tom and
Jerry Kids
and still claim to be people-friendly is easily the greatest joke
this side
of the Sahara. Who in their right minds would take seriously
threats about
arrest for not paying their licence fees to be sent to sleep,
if not to an
early grave?
But then because Zimbabwean society has shown zero consumer
resistance, you
can bet your posterior the threats of arrest will be taken
seriously by
many. Still, it is more of the disregard of people's thoughts
and
perspectives by the regime itself which by some claim to omniscience
defines
the so-called national ethos.
It defines for grown men what
is good for them and you just have to ask what
makes them think they are
guardians of moral rectitude. What difference then
do these men have with
regimes like the Talibans and other rabid Islamists
who decide young lovers
should not hold hands in public?
Bore them to death; let them have it and
see what they will do about it,
appears to be the sadistic resolve of those
at whose mercy we find
ourselves.
Too bad, families have to point
fingers at the Devil when fathers die while
sitting in front of the
television. In America the land of litigation, you
can bet lawyers would
feast on the government.
There are so many fronts here to inspire street
protests, so one has to
imagine police battering demonstrators who are
complaining about lousy
television programmes.
But then the regime
has shown it will not take any popular protests lying
down.
Localise,
yes, but don't trivialise. Locally produced programmes would kill
South
African producers with laughter because the drive to create pseudo-SA
local
productions is so amateurish one just wonders what the heck we are
being
subjected to.
What did we do to deserve this?
But then, do those
in authority appreciate broadcasting professionalism or
as in most other
spheres where Zanu PF has extended its grabby hands,
mediocrity
rules.
What do you expect when the only qualification one needs to having
participated, even by proxy, in the liberation struggle to be a broadcaster
or television journalist.
Jonathan Moyo was once quoted stating that
he preferred to work with young
inexperienced journalists whom he could
mould into his propaganda tools -
the results of his endeavours are now
certainly showing.
Zim Standard
By our staff
PRESSURE
mounts on beleaguered Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) Governor
Gideon Gono
after year-on-year inflation galloped by 83.4 percentage points
in December
with economic analysts predicting a further increase in the next
months.
The Central Statistical Office (CSO) last week
announced that year-on-year
inflation is now pegged at 585.8% up from the
November rate of 502.4
percent.
The fourth quarter monetary policy
review statement for 2005 is expected
this month and Gono is in an
unenviable position of making his predictions
of inflation figures falling
down to please a restive population begging for
respite from incessant
prices increases.
The price increases have left the majority of
Zimbabweans living below the
poverty datum line. Economic analyst, John
Robertson, said there were
powerful market forces at play which are going to
push up inflation and the
inflation figures are likely to surpass the all
time high of 622.3% this
month.
"There are forces of supply and
demand which cannot be pushed aside that are
fuelling inflation and
inflation will continue to rise on the back of
increases in school fees,
medical fees and the expected salary increments
especially in the civil
service," Robertson said.
He added that Gono's hands were tied because
his powers were limited and
most of his predictions were turning out to be
mere political rhetoric.
"Gono is hoping that expectation will lead to fact
but that will not happen
as everything is tied to politics," added
Robertson.
Another economist who declined to be named said the RBZ needs
to come to the
realisation that monetary authorities cannot tame inflation
only.
"There are a lot of exogenous factors taking place beyond the
control of
monetary authorities," the economic analyst said. He said the
Governor had
done what he needed to do like cutting down on money supply
growth, which he
said had decelerated in 2005 as compared to
2004.
Daniel Ndlela, an economic consultant, said inflation was going to
rise
above 600% in the next few months after increases in school and medical
fees, fuel price increases and also salary increments. He said Gono's
predictions were fast losing credibility because they were being proved
wrong each and every time new inflation data is released.
"People
used to hang on his statement but this time around there is nothing
to hang
on and people have become disillusioned," said Ndlela.
Efforts to contact
Gono were unsuccessful as he was expected back in the
office later in the
week.
In his third quarter monetary policy review statement, Gono had
predicted
annual inflation to reach levels to fall tobetween 280-300 %, and
of between
50-80% by December 2006, but this is looking highly unlikely.
Economic
analysts are unanimous that the major inflation drivers were supply
constraints especially of raw materials and foreign currency and these
needed to be addressed before the inflation battle could be won.
Zim Standard
By Ndamu
Sandu
SERIOUS operational and financial problems besetting the National
Railways
of Zimbabwe (NRZ) have paralysed operations at the parastatal
resulting in
failure to fulfil its mandate as a transporter,
Standardbusiness can reveal.
In a document entitled the Turn
Around Strategic Plan, the Tripartite
Turn-around Committee (TTC) lays bare
NRZ's technical and financial hitches
that have been attributed to the
decline in the tonnage moved by the
parastatal.
The document reveals
that tonnage moved by NRZ had been on a free fall from
12.3 million tonnes
in 1999 to 5.8 million tonnes in 2003. The drop in
volume of traffic
correlated with the drop in the number of mainline
locomotives available for
use.
In the period under review, mainline locomotive availability fell to
26 in
2003 from a peak of 52 in 1999. Members of the TTC were drawn from the
NRZ
board and management, Zimbabwe Amalgamated Railway Workers' Union,
Railway
Artisan Union, Railway Association of Enginemen and officials from
the
ministries of Transport and Finance and Economic
Development.
Figures also reveal that profitability of the organisation
has been
declining. In 1999 operating (deficit)/surplus as a percentage of
operating
revenue stood at 35% but fell to 15% (in 2000) and -5% (2001).
Operating
(deficit)/surplus as a percentage of operating revenue shot up to
15% in
2002 and 42.5% in 2003.
The document attributed the positive
operating profit balance in 2002 and
2003 to under expenditure on
maintenance, the main issue being the failure
to secure foreign
currency.
Investigations last week unravelled that of the 175 locomotives
available,
118 were overdue for service. The locomotives were diesel
electric (DE),
electric (EL1) and steam.
Of the DE11 locos, 8 out of
13 were overdue, DE10 (41 out of 59), EL1 (11
out of 15), DE9 (43 out of
64), DE6 (nil) and steam (15 out of 15). This
effectively means that as of
June 2004, only 21 of the 56 serviceable
locomotives were
rail-worthy.
The document says the reliability of the overhauled
locomotives is
compromised by the failure to adhere to running maintenance
schedules, due
to lack of consumable spares.
The replacement costs
for a DE10A and DE11A were estimated US$2 million and
US$2.5 million
respectively. According to the report 44% of the wagon
fleet's life expired
as of June 2003. The service of a wagon is 40 years. A
total of 2 744 wagons
from a fleet of 10 713 were out of service.
From a fleet size of 6 837 of
the high-sided iron, 1 823 were out of
service. Of the drop-sided iron
wagons, 386 from a fleet of 1 891 were out
of service. Of the 703 tanks, 431
were available. NRZ had 63 container
wagons out of service from a fleet of
450 while of the 832 covered wagons,
200 were out of service.
With a
replacement value for each wagon billed at US$75 000, it meant that a
good
number of wagons had to be parked awaiting spares.
As at 14 June 2004,
304 coaches were overdue for service from a fleet of
314. The document says
the condition of the old brown coaches, which are
used for the commuter
service and on some of the inter-city routes "is
particularly bad". It says
that most of these "do not have any lighting
inside due to obsolete
components and some have worn out floors and
vandalised doors".
Staff
turnover has also haunted NRZ. In the four years to 2003, the
parastatal
lost over 200 skilled personnel to the Diaspora. Skills were lost
in the
engineering and computing fields from engineers, technicians,
programmers
and artisans.
The document said the exodus, compounded by low complements
through natural
attrition had negatively affected
productivity.
Standardbusiness was reliably informed that as part of its
recapitalisation,
NRZ had sought and received central bank authority to get
funding from key
customers.
The recapitalisation - which started in
July 2003 - is aimed at restoring
capacity in terms of locomotives, wagons,
coaches and infrastructure.
Standardbusiness can reveal that NRZ and its
major customers had set aside
US$23.4 million for the repair of 45
locomotives.
NRZ's major customers who injected funds include Stuttafords
Glens and Inter
Trans Mover, Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC), Zimbabwe Sugar
Sales (ZSS),
Ziscosteel and New Limpopo Projects Investment. However only 13
locomotives
from a pool of 45 had undergone repairs.
In addition NRZ
had also benefited from its major customers for the repair
of wagons. NRZ's
major customers - Bindura Nickel Corporation, ZIMASCO,
Triangle and Hippo,
ZPC and ZSS - financed the repair of wagons to the tune
of US$2.4 million.
According to the report, 81 wagons had not passed through
the repair stage
from a fleet of 829.
NRZ is among other parastatals and local authorities
set to benefit from the
$3 trillion Parastatals and Local Authorities'
Re-orientation Programme
(PLARP) supervised by the RBZ. According to PLARP,
parastatals and local
authorities have to adhere to strict vetting to access
funds for productive
purposes.
Analysts say the problems at NRZ are
the consequences of interference by the
Minister, Christopher Mushohwe.
Analysts say Mushohwe's interference was
inimical to the implementation of
the turn-around strategy at the
parastatal, a charge he denies. In his
dissolution of the Sam Geza-led NRZ
board, Mushohwe cited failure to
implement a sound turn-around programme as
one of the reasons behind the
dissolution. But Geza hit back accusing
Mushohwe as the stumbling block in
the implementation of the parastatal's
turn-around.
Zim Standard
By our staff
THE economic
and political crisis in Zimbabwe has sparked debate on the
functions and
influence of labour unions with analysts doubting their
effectiveness.
But labour unions have defended their sovereignty
saying the worker could be
worse off without their representation.
Labour
consultant, Ndumiso Sibanda said the influence of unions had waned
with most
failing to negotiate salary increments that match inflation.
"In my view,
it is a question of economic fundamentals that are not in
place. A lot of
workers lost their jobs because of the under-performing
economy. When
workers lose their jobs, the strength of the union wanes,"
said
Sibanda.
"The union cannot ask for a living wage from companies
performing below
capacity. For example, a company operating at 40 % capacity
cannot give
salaries that match inflation. As such the unions' capacity to
negotiate is
eroded. Consequently, the workers begin to feel that the unions
are not
helpful," he added.
The Total Consumption Poverty Datum Line
now stands at $17,3 million, a
figure above the minimum salary of $900
000.
This, according to analysts, is a test case ofunions' ability to
negotiate
for "suitable" salary increments.
Last year salary
negotiations were characterised by deadlocks with
management and workers
failing to agree on increments and a similar
situation is expected this
year.
Zimbabwe Congress of Unions Secretary General, Wellington Chibebe
conceded
that confidence in unions had waned but blamed government for their
ineffectiveness.
"Given the economic situation workers could be worse
if there were no labour
unions. We are very much vibrant although somebody
looking on from the
terraces sees a different picture," said
Chibebe.
"Unions submit their position papers during salary negotiations
but we
cannot have adjustments that match inflation because of the economic
meltdown. Trade unions cannot be blamed for that. The fault lies on the
government, which is failing to fulfil its duty and improve the lives of its
people."
He said it would be a fallacy to describe trade unions as
'irrelevant'
because it is through their efforts that tax brackets and Value
Added Tax
were reduced from 45% to 35 % and 17, 5 % to 15 %
respectively.
Sibanda said having two unions - ZCTU and the
government-alligned Zimbabwe
Federation of Trade Unions - was also
compromising the interest of the
worker.