http://www.radiovop.com
Harare, January 16, 2010 - The
facilitator in the inter-party dialogue
between Zanu PF and the two
formations of the Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC), South African
President Jacob Zuma is reportedly now pushing for the
holding of fresh
elections as the only way out of continuous disagreements
by parties in
Zimbabwe's inclusive government.
Well placed sources confirmed to
Radio VOP at the weekend that Zuma's plan
was already at an advanced stage.
He will kickstart it by proposing to the
coalition partners to "park" some
of the outstanding issues, and concentrate
on those that would affect the
holding of elections.
On Friday, Zuma told a South African radio
station that he hoped the
Zimbabwean would "open up and look at the issues
from all angles".
"(Are these issues) so fundamental that we
cannot move without resolving
them? Can we park them and proceed?" said Zuma
in an interview with SAFM in
Johannesburg.
Sources in South
Africa and Zimbabwe confirmed that Zuma is now "so
convinced that the only
way out is an election, which should be held in
2011" as agreed when the
inclusive government was formed. Among other
things, Zuma will propose that
the parties should implement only those
issues that will not affect the
holding of elections. Other issues like the
appointment of Reserve Bank
Governor Gideon Gono and Attorney General
Johannes Tomana will be suspended
until after the elections.
"There has been no formal
communication of this position, but when Zuma's
team comes anytime after the
talks resume on January 17, they will present
this proposal alongside other
ideas to the negotiating teams," said the
source.
Zuma took
over the facilitation in the Zimbabwean crisis late last year
following the
partial disengagement from the inclusive government by Prime
Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai's MDC-T formation. After a SADC summit in Maputo
at the beginning
of November, the parties were ordered back to the
negotiating table, and the
talks were supposed to be completed by December
5. Continuous bickering and
subsequent postponements however saw the
negotiations spilling into the New
Year. This, according to our source, did
not go down well with Zuma and
other SADC leaders, who now believe elections
are the only way
out.
"What President Zuma will simply do is propose that all
those issues that
won't affect the holding of elections should be set aside,
so that the
inclusive government concentrates on implementing the necessary
reforms to
create a conducive environment for elections," added the
source.
Addressing a press conference in Harare on Friday, MDC-T
spokesperson Nelson
Chamisa, said they would not budge on their demand for a
resolution of the
outstanding issues.
"I am the least
qualified to comment on what President Zuma says, but we
would want all
issues resolved, as they are fundamental in our view," said
Chamisa.
"It is our view that these negotiations will bring all these
issues to
finality so that we are able to move.The talks are simply about
punctuating
our signatures with action, our colleagues (Zanu PF) are trying
to run away
from their signatures."
The global political
agreement (GPA) states that new elections have to be
held once
constitutional reforms are complete. But the process to write a
new
constitution has been dragging since July last year. A number of crucial
deadlines related to the process have already been missed.
The
new constitution also have to be in place before elections are
held.
http://www.iol.co.za
January 16 2010 at 04:37PM
By Donna
Bryson
Regional powerhouse South Africa is urging Zimbabwean leaders to
resolve
political tensions in time for elections expected next year in the
troubled
country, a spokesman for President Jacob Zuma said on
Saturday.
In an interview, spokesman Vincent Magwenya said Zuma made that
point to
Zimbabwe's delegation at a mini-summit earlier in the week. It was
a sign of
growing impatience with the slow pace of reform since a coalition
was formed
nearly a year ago between President Robert Mugabe and his
longtime rival
Morgan Tsvangirai, who is prime minister in the unity
government.
Mugabe, who has led Zimbabwe for three decades, was able to
remain president
under the coalition deal, despite accusations he has
trampled democracy and
ruined a once vibrant economy.
Magwenya said
there was reason for optimism in announcements from Zimbabwean
leaders of
preliminary agreements and their pledges to continue negotiating
on some of
the most contentious issues. But Zuma, who took office in South
Africa last
year, is concerned that tensions don't undermine 2011 elections.
"The
Zimbabweans have set themselves a deadline of 2011 (for a vote). On our
side, that is a reasonable deadline," Magwenya said. "That's why President
Zuma is quite keen to see them implementing those agreements. They now need
to move quickly."
In late 2009, Tsvangirai's and Mugabe's aides
announced that agreements on
commissions to oversee human rights, the media
and elections had been
reached. But remaining disagreements are among the
stickiest - over the
appointment of provincial governors, the central bank
chief and attorney
general; charges from Tsvangirai's party that Mugabe
supporters continue to
abuse human rights; and charges from Mugabe's party
that Tsvangirai's group
has done too little to persuade the international
community to lift
sanctions against Mugabe and his top
loyalists.
"For the sake of the people of Zimbabwe who have suffered a
great deal, as
well as for the sake of stability in the region, Zimbabwe
cannot be in a
permanent state of crisis," Magwenya said.
"The region
cannot be consumed by one country for such a long time."
Zimbabwe's
economy has improved since the coalition was formed, but
continuing
political impasse makes the future uncertain. Hundreds of
thousands of
Zimbabweans have fled their collapsed economy to look for work
in South
Africa.
The influx has caused tensions, sparking concerns about a renewed
outbreak
of widespread violence against foreigners in South
Africa.
Such violence left more than 70 people dead in 2008, with most of
the
attacks in shack settlements where poor South Africans saw Zimbabweans
and
others as competition for scarce resources. There were also scattered
outbreaks in 2009, but none as deadly as those the year before.
South
African and other regional leaders had pushed for the coalition,
following a
series of inconclusive elections marred by violence blamed on
Mugabe's
loyalists. Tsvangirai has said that Zuma's predecessor took too
soft a line
on Mugabe.
Thabo Mbeki, now replaced by Zuma as regional point man on
Zimbabwe, had
argued that pushing Mugabe too hard could backfire.
In
what was seen as a sign of stepped-up intervention, Zuma appointed two
advisers and a special Zimbabwe envoy in November to work with politicians
in Zimbabwe. Magwenya said the team would be returning soon to Zimbabwe. -
Sapa-AP
http://www.zimonline.co.za
by Sebastian Nyamhangambiri Saturday
16 January 2010
HARARE - Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC party
on Friday insisted
that all issues tabled for discussion in its
power-sharing dispute with
President Robert Mugabe's ZANU PF party should be
addressed, appearing to
refute comments by South African President Jacob
Zuma that it must shelve
some of the issues for the talks to move
forward.
"I am the least qualified to comment on what President Zuma
says, but we
would want all issues resolved, as they are fundamental in our
view. These
are tangible issues," MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa told
journalists in
Harare ahead of the resumption of the talks on
Saturday.
Chamisa was responding to questions relating to a radio
interview in which
Zuma, the Southern African Development Community (SADC)
mediator in the
Zimbabwean dispute, said the MDC must be flexible in
demanding the removal
of some senior government officials to help the
dialogue aimed at saving a
power-sharing government between Tsvangirai and
Mugabe move forward.
The MDC accuses Mugabe of flouting the global
political agreement that gave
birth to the unity government after the
veteran leader refused to rescind
his unilateral appointment of two of his
allies to the key posts of central
bank governor and attorney
general.
Mugabe has also refused to swear in MDC treasurer Roy Bennett as
deputy
agriculture minister and to appoint members of Tsvangirai's party as
provincial governors.
On its part ZANU PF insists it has done the
most to uphold the power-sharing
deal and instead accuses the MDC of
reneging on promises to campaign for
lifting of Western sanctions on Mugabe
and his top allies.
The coalition partners return to the negotiating
table today to try to
resolve their differences after previous rounds of
discussions mediated by
the South African government have ended
inconclusively.
ZANU PF negotiator Nicholas Goche confirmed today's talks
adding; "Everyone
wants them finished as soon as possible. But getting
deadlines from people
who are not part of the talks puts unnecessary
pressure on us. They say if
you do not do this, aid will not
come."
In the radio interview Zuma said there was "positive and hopeful"
progress
in the negotiations.
But Chamisa said: "It would be
difficult for us to associate (the talks)
with progress. We are still
seeking sincerity on the part of ZANU PF people
who are running away from
their signatures. That (continued stalemate) has
affected business and
butter and bread issues in Zimbabwe. Everything has
been in limbo because of
this (continued stalemate)."
Mugabe and Tsvangirai formed a coalition
government nearly a year ago to end
a political crisis following an
inconclusive election. The government has
done well to stabilise Zimbabwe's
economy and end inflation that was
estimated at more than a trillion percent
at the height of the country's
economic meltdown.
As a result living
conditions for ordinary Zimbabweans have greatly improved
compared to 2008
when the country battled shortages of cash, fuel and every
basic survival
commodity.
But unending bickering between ZANU PF and MDC as well as the
coalition
government's inability to secure direct financial support from
rich Western
nations have held back the administration's efforts to rebuild
the economy.
The SADC says the ZANU PF and MDC standoff has dragged on
long enough. The
regional grouping's organ on politics and defence, also
known as the Troika,
met in neighbouring Mozambique on Thursday and praised
Zuma's efforts to
resolve the dispute threatening the Harare administration.
- ZimOnline
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=26597
January 16,
2010
By Our Correspondent
THE Zimbabwe Human Rights
Association (ZIMRIGHTS) has said many rural
Zimbabweans do not trust
politicians to correctly put through their views as
said in the constitution
making process even with the coming in of MDC
politicians into
government.The civic group said the constitution making
process might as a
result of this mistrust suffer from apathy as many people
still do not
believe that mere participation in national issues such as the
ongoing
constitution-making exercise will change their situation for the
better.
“Countrywide people are afraid to embrace their right to
express themselves
freely on issues pertaining to their governance. In light
of the impending
consultative meetings by the parliamentary Select
Committee, this
compromises the quality of data to be gathered by this
committee,” reads the
ZIMRIGHTS report titled Grassroots Views on The
Constitution launched in
Harare Friday.
“A sneak preview of the
people’s participation in governance issues has
shown rampant apathy, an
unwillingness to participate in processes they
think will not do anything to
change their situation. Some of the people
expressed concern over whether or
not their contributions to the final
constitution document will be taken
into cognizance.”
The organization said it consulted more than 65 000
people in the 10
provinces of the country in compiling the report. The
consultations were
concentrated in rural areas and were held on a ward
bases. Among some of the
issues that were mostly raised by the participants
was the presidential
tenure in which most people said the country’s
president under a new
constitution should not be less than 40 years old or
rule over the age of
60.
“The findings were that the president should
not entrench him or herself in
the presidency and refuse to relinquish power
through constitutional
amendment when the time for elections comes,” reads
the report.
They also wanted the presidential term to be limited to two
five-year terms
and that any presidential hopeful declare their assets
before they take
office. The participants in the report also wanted the new
constitution to
look at children’s rights to education in view of the
current educational
situation which has seen many school-going children
missing almost 90
percent of their learning time over the last two years due
to political
problems ranging from elections and lack of a proper
administration.
Also prominent in participant’s responses were the rights
to health, gender
equality, free speech, free movement, free assembly, and
respect for the
outcome of votes, media freedom, and equal access to
employment and land
redistribution.
Speaking at the launch function
ZIMRIGHTS chairman, Kucaca Phulu said that
there was a deep seated
skepticism among the people on whether their views
on the constitution
making process would be respected.
“People expressed skepticism on
whether their views would be considered
important hence the reluctance to
participate,” said Phulu.
Speaking at the same occasion Deputy Prime
Minister Thokozani Khupe said
Zimbabweans have a right to determine how they
want to be governed.
“People have a right to tell us the leaders how they
want to be governed.
For the past 30 years, it has been the leaders who have
been telling the
people how they are going to govern them, that must come to
an end. People
must break the silence and speak out and we will make sure
that their views
are not doctored like what has happened in the past,” said
Khupe.
However Eric Matinenga, the Minister of Constitutional and
Parliamentary
Affairs said his ministry will make sure that no document will
be tempered
with and that the will of the people would prevail.
“I am
internally optimistic that we will have a very good document from the
views
of the people and we will make sure that it is respected,” said
Matinenga.
The country’s three main political parties signed a Global
Political
Agreement (GPA) in September 2008. Under the agreement it was
agreed that a
new constitution for the country will be crafted as part of a
wider set of
reforms aimed at democratizing the country.
The proposed
constitution will pave way for free elections although there is
no legal
requirement for the unity government to call new polls immediately
after a
new constitution is in place.
Zimbabweans hope a new constitution will
guarantee human rights, strengthen
the role of Parliament and curtail the
President’s powers, as well as
guaranteeing civil, political and media
freedoms.
http://www.zimonline.co.za
by Charles Tembo Saturday 16 January
2010
HARARE - The United States (US) will move to improve ties with
the
Zimbabwean government and lift visa and financial sanctions against
President Robert Mugabe and his inner circle once the southern African
country's coalition government acts to ensure democracy and uphold human
rights, Washington's top diplomat in Harare said on
Friday.
Washington and the European Union slapped sanctions on Mugabe and
his top
lieutenants in 2002 accusing them of gross human rights violations
following
years of stolen elections, state-sanctioned murders and forced
disappearances and political violence.
The Western nations also cut
direct support to the Zimbabwean government
although maintaining
humanitarian assistance to the country.
But ambassador Charles Ray told
hundreds of students gathered in Harare to
commemorate Martin Luther King Jr
Day, that Washington was willing to turn
over a new leaf in relations with
Harare and would support a government in
Zimbabwe working to improve the
lives of ordinary citizens.
He said: "Our position is that the people of
Zimbabweans deserve a country
that fulfils their legitimate need; we would
very much like to see the
situation evolve into one where people can
exercise their rights freely,
right to earn a living to be free from torture
or oppression and self
determination.
"It's just basic common sense
if you have a society where people can't
fulfil their potential, how can
that society fulfil its potential. If you
hold people back you hold society
back."
Turning to the issue of the punitive measures against Mugabe and
his top
allies Ray said: "I have hope that there will be an improvement in
the
situation here so that there can be movement in the US. It's an issue
that
gets discussed a lot between me and the policy makers in
Washington."
The power-sharing government of Mugabe, Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai and
Deputy Premier Arthur Mutambara has done well to
stabilise Zimbabwe's
economy and end inflation that was estimated at more
than a trillion percent
at the height of the country's economic meltdown
last year.
But unending squabbles between Mugabe's ZANU PF party and
Tsvangirai's MDC
as well as the coalition government's inability to secure
direct financial
support from rich Western nations have held back the
administration's
efforts to rebuild the economy. - ZimOnline
http://www1.voanews.com/
Attorney Tawanda Zhuwarara, representing the students, said police
brought
them before the Bindura magistrate's court on charges that they took
part in
a gathering which was likely to create a public
disturbance
Gibbs Dube | Washington 15 January
2010
Twenty-seven students of the Bindura University of Science
Education
arrested Thursday for allegedly taking part in protests over the
university's
decision to prevent those who had not paid tuition fees from
taking
examinations were released Friday on their personal recognizance by a
local
magistrate.
Attorney Tawanda Zhuwarara, representing the
students, said police brought
them before the Bindura magistrate's court on
charges that they took part in
a gathering which was likely to create a
public disturbance.
Zhuwarara, a member of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human
Rights, told VOA
Studio 7 reporter Gibbs Dube that most of the arrested
students were not
involved in the protests but had been picked up by police
all the same.
He said one of the students was seriously injured in the
protest and was
later admitted to Bindura Provincial
Hospital.
Zimbabwe National Students Union President Joshua Chinyere and
Secretary
General Grant Tabvurei were among the 27 detained by police after
protests
of a university move to bar students who have not paid tuition fees
from
completing their semester-end and final examinations.
The
student leaders allegedly staged protests after failing to reach an
agreement with university authorities to allow all students to take their
exams.
ZINASU National Coordinator Mfundo Mlilo said his organization
appealed for
government intervention which seemed to have played an
important role in the
university's decision not to oppose their release
without cash bail.
The Ministry of Higher Education sent its director of
students affairs,
Eureka Ndlovu, to Bindura University late this week to
stabilize the
situation after police launched a crackdown on the protesting
students.
ZINASU said 40 percent of the 2,000 students at the university
stood to miss
taking their examinations for failure to pay fees of US$400 to
US$850.
http://www.zimonline.co.za
by Own Correspondent Saturday 16 January
2010
HARARE – Zimbabwe is still supplying power to Namibia despite
announcement
to the contrary by Energy Minister Elias Mudzuri earlier this
week, the
Zimbabwean embassy in Windhoek and Namibian power utility NamPower
have
said.
In a statement on Friday, the embassy said the Zimbabwe
Electricity Supply
Authority (ZESA) had not cut power supplies to
Namibia.
“ZESA is committed to upholding the contract and the country
will not renege
on its power obligations to Namibia,” the embassy
said.
NamPower also announced that it is still receiving power from ZESA
under the
terms of a 2007 deal in which the Namibian power utility provided
a US$40
million loan to refurbish ZESA’s 400MW Hwange Power Station. In
return ZESA
was supposed to supply 150MW of power to Namibia for five
years.
NamPower spokesman John Kaimu in statement said the company was
still
awaiting formal communication from ZESA over its reported decision to
stop
power supplies to the country.
“ZESA has not formally
communicated to us the reported power suspension,”
said Kaimu. “NamPower and
ZESA agreed on the modalities in which the loan
would be advanced and
managed and the eventual export of power to Namibia
once the first unit at
Hwange has been refurbished.”
He said ZESA had the capacity to meet its
end of the deal after NamPower
committed funds towards the refurbishment of
Hwange Power Station.
“We are confident ZESA as the Zimbabwean power
utility has the capacity to
honour its side of the bargain,” said
Kaimu.
ZESA has however managed to maintain power exports to Namibia
through
imports from regional utilities where it currently sources 35
percent of its
power, prompting Mudzuri to order ZESA to stop exports to
Namibia since the
Hwange Power Station was not working properly.
“We
can’t import power to export to Namibia when Hwange Power Station is not
producing,” Mudzuri told ZimOnline on Monday. “That deal was for Hwange only
and it must not affect the entire operations of the country. It can only be
implemented if Hwange is properly running. I have ordered ZESA not to supply
electricity to Namibia until Hwange is running.”
Zimbabwe currently
generates 1 100MW far below the required 2 000MW.
ZESA’s inability over
the years to boost generation capacity at its ageing
power stations and a
critical shortage of foreign currency to import
adequate electricity from
neighbouring countries has left Zimbabwe grappling
with severe power
shortages.
The Zimbabwean energy firm says cash-rich foreign investors
remain reluctant
to provide funding badly needed to boost power generation
because of
uncertainty about the country’s future political and economic
direction.
A coalition government formed by President Robert Mugabe,
Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai and deputy Premier Arthur Mutambara has
brought a degree
of stability to Zimbabwe’s political situation but the
future remains
uncertain.
Incessant squabbling between Mugabe and
Tsvangirai has left political
analysts wondering about the Harare coalition
government’s long-term
viability while most potential investors appear to
have adopted a wait and
see attitude before they can consider making any
significant investments in
the country. – ZimOnline
http://www.mg.co.za
JOHN KELLEY | HARARE, ZIMBABWE - Jan 16
2010 06:49
After seven years in the cricket wilderness, Zimbabwe is at
last showing
real potential for a possible return to full Test
status.
A new league structure of regional first class matches, funded
jointly by
the International Cricket Council (ICC) and local sponsors, is
energising
the game here.
Players are being paid US dollar match
fees, win bonuses and awards for
centuries or five-wicket
hauls.
Under a team of full-time coaches headed by David Houghton and
former
national captain Heath Streak, about 80 young and experienced players
have
shown such progress over the last three months that convener of
national
selectors Alistair Campbell predicts Zimbabwe will be playing Tests
in two
years. Houghton believes it might only be one year.
Cricket in
Zimbabwe was getting nowhere after being forced out of Tests
following a
series of embarrassingly bad results.
Sri Lanka, New Zealand and England
were the main instigators by declining to
meet future
commitments.
But instead of rebuilding a first class domestic league and
concentrating on
three- or four-day matches, they almost exclusively played
the quick-fire
versions.
All that changed with an exploratory visit
to Zimbabwe last year by former
West Indies captain Conrad Hunte at the head
of an ICC delegation. Hunte
hatched a plan designed to springboard
Zimbabwe's return to Tests.
His idea was for franchised teams to be
established in five main regions
with local characteristics and names such
as the Mountaineers (Eastern
Districts), Southern Rocks (Bulawayo) and
Mashonaland Eagles (Harare) so as
to foster healthy rivalry within a
first-class professional league
structure.
It began with the new
2009-10 season in September.
Kenyon Ziehl, who runs the Midlands team,
said: "Our league is fully
professional on player salaries, each regional
franchise having a chief
executive, general manager, enthusiastic committee
and proper accounting.
"Because of this set-up our national squad will
consequently get better and
better and there are early signs of
this."
As it happens, Zimbabwe remains on the official ICC "forward
programme" of
Tests with series scheduled this year against the West Indies,
Australia and
England. These won't happen, but the fixtures have not been
removed.
According to Houghton, a former senior Zimbabwe batsman (he once
scored 266
runs against Sri Lanka), "Once we get the fast bowling sorted out
by Heath
Streak as national bowling coach -- it is presently not up to
strength -- I
reckon we will be ready."
Houghton has been working
with national coaching director Andy Waller, a
former Test all-rounder, and
other coaches.
The new Zimbabwe league has already attracted several
former Test players,
such as Dion Ebrahim, Hamilton Masakadza (a recent
double century), Vusi
Sibanda (averaging 100 in the league), Tatenda Taibu
and John Rennie.
There are also efforts being made to secure the return,
in the England
off-season, of Sean Ervine (Hampshire) and Murray Goodwin
(Sussex), the
latter in recent years being consistently at or near the top
of the English
County Cricket batting averages.
In addition, Ray
Price, Greg Lamb (Northants), Rickey Wessels (son of former
South Africa
captain Kepler), Graeme Cremer, Gavin Ewing, Elton Chigumbura,
present
captain Prosper Utseya and Charles Coventry (197 runs in a recent
ODI) form
the basis of a national squad.
They will be off to the West Indies next
month for ODI's and Twenty-20s.
Ziehl foresees a series of four-day
matches being arranged "before very
long" against Test nation sides so as to
provide further experience and
incentive.
Good results from such
matches will be critical if they are they to presage
a formal application by
Zimbabwe Cricket to the ICC for a new and
rejuvenated Zimbabwe to resume its
place as a Test cricket nation. - AFP
http://www.zimonline.co.za
by Simplicious Chirinda Saturday
16 January 2010
HARARE - A Zimbabwean civic society group on Friday
warned that the country's
constitutional reform process might suffer from
apathy as many Zimbabweans
do not feel the proposed changes will be adequate
to guarantee basic
freedoms and democracy.
The Zimbabwe Human Rights
Association (ZIMRIGHTS) in its report gathering
the views of the people on
the ongoing constitution making process warned
that were reluctant to
participate in the reform process.
"Countrywide people are afraid to
embrace their right to express themselves
freely on issues pertaining to
their governance," read the ZIMRIGHTS report
titled "Grassroots Views on the
Constitution" launched in Harare yesterday.
"In light of the impending
consultative meetings by the parliamentary select
committee, this
compromises the quality of data to be gathered by this
committee.
"A
sneak preview of the people's participation in governance issues has
shown
rampant apathy, an unwillingness to participate in processes they
think will
not do anything to change their situation. Some of the people
expressed
concern over whether or not their contributions to the final
constitution
document will be taken into cognisance."
The rights watchdog consulted
more than 65 000 people mostly in rural areas
of the country's 10 provinces
in coming up with the report.
Among some of the issues raised by the
participants were the presidential
tenure in which most people said the
country's president under a new
constitution should not be lees than 40
years old or rule over the age of
60. They also wanted the presidential term
to be limited to two five-year
terms and that any presidential hopefuls
declare their assets before they
take office.
"The findings were that
the president should not entrench him or herself in
the presidency and
refuse to relinquish power through constitutional
amendment when the time
for elections comes," read the report.
ZIMRIGHTS chairman Kucaca Phulu
told ZimOnline that there was a deep-seated
scepticism among the people on
whether their views on the constitution
making process would be
respected.
"People expressed scepticism on whether their views would be
considered
important hence the reluctance to participate," said
Phulu.
Speaking at the same occasion Deputy Prime Minister Thokozani
Khupe said
Zimbabweans have a right to determine how they want to be
governed.
"People have a right to tell us the leaders how they want to be
governed.
For the past 30 years, it has been the leaders who have been
telling the
people how they are going to govern them, that must come to an
end. People
must break the silence and speak out and we will make sure that
their views
are not doctored like what has happened in the past," said
Khupe.
The Constitutional Parliamentary Committee (COPAC) driving the
reforms, on
Thursday said that it would request that President Robert
Mugabe, Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and his deputy Arthur Mutambara
make a joint
public statement denouncing political violence in order to
reassure citizens
they will not be victimised for expressing their views
about the way they
want to be governed.
The proposed new constitution
is part of the requirements of a September
2008 power-sharing deal between
Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Mutambara that gave
birth to the Harare coalition
government last February. - ZimOnline
Dear Family and
Friends,
After a short break it's always wonderful to come home to
Zimbabwe
and be reminded of so many things that we take for granted, not
the
least of which is the balmy weather and clear blue sky. Its that
time
of year when the new crop of birds have just learnt to fly and
our
neighbourhoods are alive with flycatchers and fire-finches,
waxbills
and weavers. The egrets and ibises are out of their nests, all
fluffy
and gangly and still screeching for free meals and the bee eaters
and
lilac breasted rollers are back, reminding us how lucky we are
to
witness this spectacle every day.
Zimbabwe is, however, a place of
such contrasts that often you just
shake your head and laugh at the absurdity
of it all. A visiting
relation phoned the airport last week to reconfirm her
ticket and
check on the departure time of her flight to the UK. "Aaaah,"
said
the woman on the Air Zimbabwe Information desk, " just pitch
up!"
We did indeed "just pitch up" as instructed and what a bleak place
we
found a little before midnight at our country's ironically
named
International Airport.
The only thing alive was the car park -
charging an outrageous 2 US
dollars for a period of less than 15 minutes.
Inside the main
terminal there is no departure or arrivals board, no
information at
all on which flights are coming or going and even the
main
Information and Enquires desk was closed and deserted despite
the
scheduled departure of an international flight. The shops were
all
closed too so no chance of a cold drink or newspaper or that
last
souvenir to buy. This is Zimbabwe's front desk, the shop window
for
the world to see and what a sad disgrace it is.
Getting home from
the airport a little before one in the morning,
after a hair raising journey
where there are no road markings, no
cats eyes in the tar, no street lights
and most passing vehicles with
faulty, missing or non existent lights and
reflectors, the delights of
Zimbabwe grow dim. An enormous spider is sitting
on the kitchen door.
Dark brown and very hairy and with fearsome fangs, the
baboon spider
is easily the size of the palm of my hand and he just sits,
waiting.
This is very much the state of Zimbabwe in this first month of
the
new decade - we are sitting, waiting. Waiting for our leaders to
stop
arguing, waiting for farm grabbing to stop, waiting for law and
order
to be restored and waiting for a new constitution leading to a
free
and fair election. An election where winners are winners and
take
power and losers are losers and step down.
Despite all our
troubles here, our hearts go out to the people of
Haiti after the devastating
earthquake, our thoughts are with them.
Until next week, thanks for reading,
love cathy. c Copyright cathy
buckle 16 January 2010 www.cathybuckle.com
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 16 January, 2010
A new
website, learnShona.com, is offering Zimbabweans in the diaspora the
opportunity to learn the Shona language for the first time or to take their
Shona language skills to the next level. learnShona.com's Shona language
courses are unique in that they are fun, practical and designed to be
learned anywhere, at any time. They are in an mp3 format that even mobile
phones can play these days. All of which makes it much easier to overcome
the 'chore factor' that often impedes language learning.
Best of all,
learnShona.com's Shona language Beginner courses are being
offered for free
to people who refer other users. learnShona.com also offers
Shona language
Youth, Refresher and Tourist courses, along with Vocabulary
and Grammar
builders. They are all designed to take the level of Shona
language learning
beyond anything currently available on the internet today.
"learnShona.com is
all about preserving Zimbabwean culture in the diaspora"
said its founder,
Nyasha Madavo.
"There are 3 million of us abroad, and a great deal of us are
either
forgetting the language or have met partners or have children for
whom Shona
is almost a foreign language. learnShona.com aims to change this
in a fun
and easy way by making learning the Shona language faster than ever
before."
Background
learnShona.com was launched in late 2009 and provides
mp3 based Shona
language courses. The courses range from Beginner to
Refresher courses,
which are at a very advanced level of Shona language.
learnShona.com aims to
make the Shona language as easy as possible to
learn.
Contact Information
Founder: Nyasha Madavo
Email: Nyasha.madavo@exceltasks.
http://www.zimonline.co.za
by Mutumwa Mawere Saturday 16
January 2010
OPINION: As we continue the journey to discover the men
and women who helped
shape the corporate and political history of Africa, we
are reminded that it
does not take a crowd to make a difference.
Very
few individuals were responsible for setting the foundations of what we
now
take for granted.
Individuals who were ahead of their time made the
critical decisions that
needed to be made and in so doing impacted on the
future of Africa.
Our corporate history would not be complete without
mentioning the name of
Sir Otto John Beit, the younger brother of Sir Alfred
Beit, who was born in
Hamburg, Germany on December 7 1865 into a Jewish
family.
He was the son of Siegfried Beit and Laura Caroline Hahn. He
married Lillian
Carter, daughter of Thomas Lane Carter and died on December
7 1930 at the
age of 65.
He went to England at the age of 23 where he
joined the stock broking firm
of Wernher, Beit & Co, a company in which
his brother, Alfred Beit who had
moved to England in 1888 was a
partner.
In 1890, he left for South Africa to gain experience in the
diamond industry
where he remained for six years before returning to England
where he
naturalised as a citizen in 1896.
Although his stay in South
Africa was short, he made a mark. He played a
critical role in the
development of Rand Gold Mines and became a member of
the Hermann Eckstein's
firm, H Eckstein & Co.
On his return to London, he continued his
career as a stockbroker and
continued his association with the mining
interests that his brother had in
South Africa.
Like his brother,
Otto's worldview was greatly influenced by Cecil John
Rhodes at whose house
he resided at the time of the Jameson Raid.
He subscribed to Rhodes'
imperialist vision and that explains why he chose
to naturalise as a citizen
of Great Britain instead of acquiring South
African citizenship or retaining
his German citizenship.
To Rhodes, it was important that his close
friends identify with his vision.
Both brothers appreciated why it was
important for them to assimilate
themselves into the English
civilisation.
The institutional and legal framework that informed the
colonial project had
to be underpinned by a civilisation that could produce
the outcomes sought
in Africa, that is, accelerated accumulation of
wealth.
He was a director of the Rhodesia Railways Limited, a company
that played a
critical role in the logistics and supply chain
industry.
He was also a Governing Body of Imperial College from 1912
through 1930 the
year of his death. He was a Trustee of the Rhodes Trust and
the Beit Railway
Trust for Rhodesia.
The close relationship between
Rhodes and the Beit brothers continued after
his death. They became like
family and kept the Rhodes legacy alive.
They understood more than
Rhodes' natural family what kind of world he
wanted to see and more
specifically what kind of Africa he wanted to see.
It is rare that many
of us can bequeath our wealth and legacy to
non-relatives. What was
remarkable about South Africa in its early years of
industrialisation was
that it brought people together. The only minimum
condition was that one had
to be white to participate in the opportunity
ladder. It did not matter
where you were born in Europe what mattered was
the network one could build
in the land of promise.
Rhodes understood that the rewards had to be
internalised by the actors.
Otto whose brother died in July 1906 founded
the Beit Memorial Trust for
Medical Research and also the Beit Fellowship at
Imperial College in 1913 in
memory of his brother who had opened the door to
wealth for him.
He also founded the Beit Fellowship for Scientific
Research at Imperial
College. He was a founder member of the Royal Institute
of International
Affairs and in 1912 became a member of the Governing
Council.
He became involved in land settlement schemes in Southern Africa
through his
involvement as a trustee of both the Rhodes and Beit Trusts. He
served as a
director of the British South Africa Company that Rhodes had
helped
establish.
Beitbridge, the gateway between South Africa and
Zimbabwe, was named after
his brother while the bridge to cross the Zambezi
River at Chirundu was
named after Otto.
To get into Zimbabwe, one had
to go through one Beit brother and to get out
of Zimbabwe into Zambia one
still needed to go through the other Beit
brother.
The two important
bridges to Zimbabwe were built with private funds and the
role of the Beit
family in making this possible cannot be overstated.
The original bridge
to cross the Zambezi is known as the Otto Beit Bridge.
It was built during
1938 and 1939 by the Cleveland Bridge Company; with
financing provided by
the Beit Trust that funded most of central and
Southern Africa's colonial
era bridges including the Kafue Bridge and the
Luangwa Bridge.
The
Otto Bridge was the first modern suspension bridge to be built outside
the
United States with parallel wire cables.
The new bridge was only built
between 1999 and 2003 with state funds
exposing the fact that the generation
of people like the Beits had vanished.
How many of our generation of
entrepreneurs can boast of the achievements
and contribution to Africa of
people like Otto? Anytime we think of a major
infrastructural project, we
have to look at the state.
The resources that the Beit brothers used to
build these major projects as
well as for philanthropy were generated from
Africa and yet they were
magnanimous enough to plough back where they had
harvested.
However, the choice of investments is instructive. Anyone who
invests in
infrastructure must be thinking of the long-term. Our investment
horizon
tends to be short and consumption focused.
To the extent that
Rhodes played a critical part in transforming the Beit
brothers' worldview,
it would not be misplaced to conclude that were it not
for Rhodes, the
critical infrastructural investments that still remain
visible would not be
there.
The Otto bridge cost £186 000 to build and was opened on May 24
1939 after
Otto's death by his widow. He died at 65 having accomplished so
much and
bequeathed a legacy that we all have to study and
appreciate.
He could have taken the view that Africa's future did not
matter. However,
he became a torchbearer for both Rhodes and Alfred's
legacies.
He was invested as Fellow, Royal Society (FRS) as well as
Officer, Most
Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of
Jerusalem.
He was invested as a Knight Commander, Order of St Michael and
St George
(KCMG). He was created 1st Baronet Beit, of Tewin Water, Welwyn,
co.
Hertford (UK) in 1924.
The University of Cape Town as well as the
University of Edinburgh awarded
him the honorary degrees of Doctor of
Law.
Although Otto is dead, he works still live with us. The objects that
he
helped create as a creative capitalist are far too many to enumerate.
What
is significant is that he walked the Rhodes talk and did not betray
what
Rhodes stood for.
The British scientific and cultural landscape
was impacted by Otto just as
much as the southern African landscape was
indelibly shaped by the actions
and choices made by the Beit
brothers.
Although Rhodes died in 1902, his legacy continued and Otto
played a vital
part in keeping the flame glowing. It is only when we attempt
to review
whence we came that we can better appreciate that capitalism could
produce
outcomes that may not be as toxic as we now associate it
with.
Otto was a financier, philanthropist and art connoisseur par
excellence.
Next time you cross the Zambezi River just pause to think about
this
remarkable man who had no obligation to plough back what he and his
brother
had benefited from Africa and was not compelled to make the choices
that he
made.
Can we consider him to be less African than many of us
who live beyond 65
and yet have nothing to show for it? - ZimOnline