Public service workers will go on a day long
nation-wide strike on Thursday over poor remuneration, after talks to
resolve the crisis collapsed on Tuesday.
Tendai Chikowore,
chairperson of the Apex Council which represents state unions, said the
government had failed to meet a Tuesday deadline to meet their demands to
raise salaries.
‘In fact, government snubbed us yesterday (Tuesday). We
were supposed to meet the Public Service Minister (Lucia Matibenga) but she
never made it to the meeting,’ Chikowore said.
The Apex boss claimed
Tuesday’s meeting was insisted upon by Matibenga and she was taken aback by
her no-show.
She told SW Radio Africa on Wednesday they were surprised at
the rationale behind the refusal by the government to resolve the issue as a
matter of urgency.
‘So there is little left for us to do regrettably
and our members want to make a statement to government that they’re angry,
by embarking on this industrial action.
The strike is expected to
hobble services in hospitals, schools and government offices as hundreds of
thousands of medical workers, teachers and public sector employees walk out
in the first big strike action of 2012.
The government of national unity
has about 230,000 employees on its payroll. They are demanding a minimum
monthly salary of $538, up from the current $250. Government has however
insisted it doesn’t have the money.
Contacted for comment Minister
Matibenga flatly refused to be drawn into discussing the planned action or
what government is doing to deal with the issue.
‘Unfortunately I’m
not going to say anything to you, or anyone who intends to ask me about the
civil servants,’ the Minister said.
Last month government was forced to
fork out $3 million in outstanding allowances to Members of Parliament,
dating back to 2008. The legislators wrote to their party principals
threatening not to pass the 2012 national budget if they were not paid
monies owed to them.
Unions blasted government over this payment, saying
they cannot continue to plead poverty after paying MPs US$15,000 each.
Raymond Majongwe, Secretary General of the Progressive Teachers Union of
Zimbabwe, expressed outrage over these payments to MP’s, when teachers are
so badly paid.
Harare, January 18, 2012 -
Zimbabwe’s ailing national airline, Air Zimbabwe on Tuesday took delivery of
an Airbus A320 aircraft in a desperate bid to revive its waning
fortunes.
The commercial passenger jet landed at Harare International
Airport on Tuesday morning where Transport, Communication and Infrastructure
Development Minister Nicholas Goche and Central Intelligence Organisation
(CIO) director-general Happyton Bonyongwe accepted it on behalf of the
Zimbabwean government.
The aircraft is now parked in the Air Zimbabwe
hangar at Harare International Airport, where insiders at the state-run
airline said it will be painted with the national flag carrier’s
colours.
However, instead of gratifying stakeholders, it is the
involvement of the dreaded CIO agents in the deal that has left many
stakeholders puzzled.
Sources said most of Air Zimbabwe’s management is
in the dark regarding the acquisition of the aircraft.
Air Zimbabwe
board chairperson Jonathan Kadzura could not confirm the delivery of the
aircraft as he said he was on leave.
“I am not aware. I am on leave so I
don’t know,” said Kadzura.
The Airbus A320 is being leased by an
Angolan-based company, China-Sonangol for five years and Air Zimbabwe will
pay $500 000 per year in lease fees. Prior to the lease agreement, the
aircraft was being leased to Air Guinea International.
Air Zimbabwe
had delayed taking delivery of the Airbus A320, which is part of a family of
short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger jet airliners
manufactured by Airbus Industries because the aircraft could not be
registered in Zimbabwe as the type of aircraft is not on the Civil Aviation
authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ) register.
It has since been registered under
a temporary registration from France while the national airline is sorting
out its registration in Namibia. The registration process is a unique
alphanumeric string that identifies a civil aircraft, in similar fashion to
a licence plate on an automobile.
Out of eight airplanes owned by Air
Zimbabwe, less than five planes are functional as some have been grounded
due to accidents and failure to secure spare parts.
A
policeman who gave evidence at an inquest into the death of Zimbabwe’s
former army commander, made the shocking claim that he had no airtime to
call the fire brigade.
Solomon Mujuru, the husband of Zimbabwe's
Vice-President Joice Mujuru, died in a house fire in August 2011.
But
some Zimbabweans suspect foul play.
Constable Augustino Chinyoka was one
of three police guards commissioned at Mujuru’s Beatrice farm on the night
of the blaze.
On Monday, he told the inquest that he noticed the fire at
2am, but they could not contact the fire brigade because they had no airtime
on their mobile phones.
Chinyoka said when the fire brigade finally
arrived at 5am, there was no water in their fire engine.
Meanwhile,
Joice Mujuru said there were many unanswered questions surrounding her
husband’s death.
Harare, January
18, 2012 - The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) and security agencies deployed
large numbers of the members at the magistrates court beginning Monday the
start of the inquest of the late army General Solomon Mujuru while the court
was spruced up to present a good image, Radio VOP has
established.
Over 35 police officers were present in the past two
days at the magistrates court to provide security and order at the
magistrates courts while the court rooms and floors were polished in
anticipation of the attendance of Vice President Joice Mujuru to her late
husband's inquest.
Members of the public were searched while some who
were wearing jeans and t-shirts were turned away although in the previous
days they were allowed to attend court, Radio VOP observed.
"We were
informed last week that the Vice President Joice Mujuru will be coming this
week to the courts. We were also told that police details inside the courts
and outside will be increased," a court official said on condition of
anonymity.
"Just check all the toilets that used to be smelly are clean
and water is running in the taps. Even the floors have been polished to
create a good image.The lawn at the front of the court was cut to spruce up
the court image. "
"The recording equipment and the many microphones
in court 8 shows you that the magistrate court was prepared for the
inquest...other court rooms ...there is no recording equipment and there is
a shortage of microphones,"he added.
Security details inside the
court were taking notes of the proceedings of the inquest and some chairs
were reserved for the police and security agents.
Mujuru's family
requested an inquest into the sudden death of their relative after they
raised suspicion on how the ex-army commander died in a fire at his
farmhouse. The inquest is expected to continue until the end of the week.
An inquest into the death of General Solomon Mujuru was temporarily
halted on Tuesday after his widow, Vice President Joice Mujuru, complained
that she had not been given access to a police report into his death prior
to the court hearing.
Speaking to journalists outside the court room
Mrs Mujuru said: “The concerns were that we were not furnished with the
documents and it is very unfair for a lawyer or family members to see the
documents during the day of the inquest.”
“I only want to say that
someone might have faltered on their part. I am the wife of the late General
Mujuru and firstly I would like to say I was not given a chance to see the
statements from the witnesses so that I could possibly assist
them.”
Mrs Mujuru said she was unaware that she had a right to see the
report 14 days before the inquest began. In the end Harare regional
magistrate Walter Chikwanha postponed the hearing to Wednesday to allow her
time to peruse the police report.
Mrs Mujuru’s remarks echo similar
sentiments by family lawyer Thakor Kewada, who on Monday complained that he
had not been furnished with all the statements from the witnesses lined up
to testify.
“I got a copy of a subpoena with three witnesses, yet I know
there are over 22 witnesses. All I was to do was sit and listen and take
notes, totally unprepared. It put me into the boxing ring with my hands tied
behind my back,” Kewada said.
Meanwhile Mrs Mujuru had a go at the
incompetence of the police details guarding her husband’s farm. She said
they were clearly unaware of the importance of the place they were guarding
and had only been deployed there for six weeks.
“One would wonder how
much they would have familiarised themselves with that particular area where
they would be performing their security duties,” she said.
Political
analyst Pedzisai Ruhanya told SW Radio Africa that Mrs Mujuru was now seeing
first hand how incompetent the police force was. He said the police force
had been turned into a political institution, “that was serving a few thugs.
It’s important that she has seen it for herself that the police force in
Zimbabwe is not fit for purpose. No one was arrested” over Mujuru’s death,”
he said.
Ruhanya added that the police had contradicted evidence from a
security guard who said he heard what sounded like gunfire. The police on
duty have also claimed their cellphones had no airtime to make calls for
help and the communication radios had not been working for six weeks. He
said the police also claim not to have seen who the other person travelling
in the car with Mujuru was.
Ruhanya said the whole chain of command,
up to police commissioner Augustine Chihuri, needed to resign or be fired.
He also accused the police of doing all they could to obstruct attempts by
the inquest to find out exactly what did happen to Mujuru.
“Firstly
they failed to properly investigate this gruesome murder of our liberation
war hero. Now they come to court and during the inquest proceedings all they
are trying to do is to block all possible leads and evidence to uncover what
sounds like a political killing. They failed to do their own investigations
so why can’t they keep away from court proceedings,” Ruhanya said.
A
journalist covering the inquest told SW Radio Africa on Wednesday that most
of the witnesses giving testimonies at the inquest appeared visibly
frightened and were speaking in very low tones of voice. The magistrate had
to ask most of them, especially police officers, to speak up more loudly.
UNIONS representing the country’s civil servants were left
seething Tuesday and vowed to go on a nationwide strike this week after
Public Service Minister, Lucia Matibenga allegedly snubbed a scheduled
meeting.
Government employees are pushing for a minimum salary of US$538
per month but the cash-strapped administration claims it does not have the
resources to meet their demands.
Union leaders said they spend four
hours kicking their heels, waiting for the Minister on Tuesday.
"She
didn't come and to make matters worse, she was relaying information through
her principal director," Zimbabwe Teachers Association (Zimta) chief, Tendai
Chikowore said.
"She betrayed our trust. She was new in the office and we
agreed to give her the few days she asked for, but now she has snubbed
us."
Manuel Nyawo, CEO of the Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (TUZ) added: "We
sat for four hours without seeing anyone and this has never happened in the
history of negotiations.”
Matibenga – who is said to have attended an
inter-ministerial meeting earlier in the day -- refused to be drawn on the
allegations.
"I am not going to answer any questions regarding that issue
whenever, wherever," she told The Herald. The unions said they would now
mobilize for a nationwide strike on Thursday.
"Tomorrow (today) we will
reach all corners and sectors in the country and Thursday there will be no
business in all Government departments,” said Chikowore who also heads the
Apex Council, an umbrella body for the all the civil service
unions.
TUZ’s Nyawo added: "Matibenga was playing hide-and-seek because
we understand the inter-ministerial meeting ended way before 2pm," he
said. "She is going to see the truth on Thursday and all we calling for is
solidarity and collaborative efforts from the workers."
The more
militant, but smaller, Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) ordered
its members not to report for work when schools opened last week while the
other unions opted to give the government time to meet their
demands.
"Our colleagues have seen the light and we are happy they
are joining us to fight this monster,” PTUZ secretary general, Raymnond
Majongwe said.
The Chiredzi land seizure case involving white farmers accused of
“illegally occupying State Land without a permit” was postponed for a period
of two months this week, after the magistrate failed to turn up on
Monday.
The farmers’ properties in Zimbabwe were confiscated illegally by
the government, as part of the so-called land redistribution programme. But
it is actually top officials in the Mugabe regime who are grabbing prime
land, using violence and intimidation.
After losing all their land
and agricultural equipment without compensation, the farmers refused to
vacate their houses on the farms and are now facing charges of “illegal
occupation”.
The group facing charges includes South African Peter
Henning, Mauritian nationals Benoit Lagesse and Benoit Fayd’herbe and Swiss
national Theresa Warth. Zimbabwean Robert Style is also accused of refusing
to leave his property.
Foreign nationals are supposed to be protected
by bilateral property agreements signed by Zimbabwe. But this was ignored.
Zim authorities also dismissed a ruling by the regional human rights
tribunal in Namibia, which said Zimbabwe’s land redistribution was racially
discriminatory and constitutionally illegal.
Meanwhile ZANU-PF chefs
continue to harass the remaining white, commercial farmers in a campaign to
grab the last few properties in the country. Lawless mobs are reported to be
intimidating farmers and their families in Masvingo, the Chiredzi lowveld
area and Manicaland.
The coalition government has unfortunately done
nothing to stop the illegal invasions and bring back the rule of law and of
course ZANU-PF supporters still operate with impunity.
Rights
lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa said stakeholders are inadequately represented on the
parliamentary committee responsible for the revision process, citing
interference with the document's drafters
Violet Gonda |
Washington
The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights said Tuesday that
the current constitutional revision process lacks openness and transparency
and the basic document that it eventually produces will lack
legitimacy.
The group predicted that the current process will only
produce a transitional document with a new constitution to be written under
a new substantive government. Zimbabwe is currently governed by a
chronically divided government of national unity.
Human rights lawyer
Beatrice Mtetwa launched a publication from the group entitled "Zimbabwe's
Constitutional Drafts - Comparisons and Recommendations."
Mtetwa said
stakeholders are inadequately represented on the parliamentary committee
responsible for the revision process, citing interference with the
document's drafters.
Mtetwa said it was regrettable that the
constitution is being drafted in polarized and repressive environment, with
meetings to discuss issues being banned.
The book reviews key
provisions of three constitutional drafts produced since 2000 and sets out
issues that it argued must be addressed in any proper
constitution.
Douglas Mwonzora, co-chairman of the parliamentary
committee for the Movement for Democratic Change formation of Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai welcomed the publication. The other two governing parties
could not be reached for comment.
Arnold Tsunga, director of the
Africa Regional Program of the International Commission of Jurists, said the
position of the human rights lawyers is consistent with the thinking of many
in the country. He said policymakers need to react in a sensitive and
sensible manner especially as the recommendations are coming from experts in
the field.
“The government that is there is a product of the mediation by
the Southern African Development Community. For it to come to an end its
going to be important for this government to adopt some form of constitution
which then allows for SADC to certify that Zimbabweans are now firmly in
control of their own destiny and are no longer under the supervision or
oversight of SADC, in terms of political reforms,” Tsunga said.
He
said that the "forces of resistance" to change are so strong it is unlikely
that people will be able to effectively define their own future in the form
of a new constitution.
A magistrate in Bulawayo ruled
on Monday that activists Jenni Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu will have to
defend themselves against kidnap and theft charges, even though the key
witnesses denied the incident ever happened and contradicted police
statements.
Williams and Mahlangu, leaders of Women of Zimbabwe Arise
(WOZA), were in the Bulawayo Magistrates Court for a ruling on their
application to have the case dropped without having to present a
defence.
Williams told SW Radio Africa she had expected that the ruling
would be in their favour, given that both key witnesses for the state
testified that they were never victimized by the two activists. But to their
surprise Magistrate Goodluck Sangweni ruled that the case must
continue.
“It’s quite rare for every single witness to disown police
statements in their verbal evidence and we really thought it would be a
ruling for us,” Williams explained. She added that no reasons were given by
the magistrate for the decision, even though he had two weeks to make the
ruling.
Defence lawyer Kossam Ncube immediately advised the magistrate
that he would apply to the High Court to have the decision reviewed. Ncube
asked for a written copy of the reasons for dismissal of the WOZA
application, and the judge agreed to provide it on Friday.
Williams
said: “There is a process by which decisions of magistrates are reviewed,
especially when it is startling like this and against the trend. Once we get
the reasons we will then take it to the High Court to be
reviewed.”
The police claim that their key witness, Emma Mabhena, was
forced into a vehicle and kidnapped by the WOZA leaders last year. But when
Mabhena testified last month she strongly denied this, insisting that
written statements presented by the police were different from what she told
them.
Williams said the magistrates’ decision was “more than just the
harassment of human rights activists” but also “malicious prosecution” by
the police.
The United Nations has asked the government for
permission for a team to monitor food distribution in order to ensure
impartiality and allay fears by international
donors. 18.01.1202:41pm by Chipo Sithole
Zanu (PF) has
regularly been accused, particularly since 2000, of using food aid as a
political weapon to curry favour with rural communities and starve its
opponents. Diplomatic sources told The Zimbabwean this week that the World
Food Programme had made a formal request for a monitoring team to President
Robert Mugabe.
The sources said a meeting was scheduled for end of
January when Mugabe is back in office after his holidays. Social Welfare
Minister Paurina Mpariwa, who is in charge of food and humanitarian relief,
could not be reached for comment as she was said to be out of office on
business.
A spokesman for the local UN humanitarian office said: “This is
a matter that is still being discussed and therefore we cannot
comment.”
But the diplomatic sources said the WFP, alarmed by growing
donor indifference to appeals for food donations for Zimbabwe, had told
Mugabe that only a UN monitoring team would let the international community
fears.
They said donations to Zimbabwe, one of the countries hardest hit
by the humanitarian crisis in southern Africa, had been hampered by reports
that Zanu (PF) was starving MDC supporters.
Zanu (PF) has in the past
refuted charges that it is using government-sourced food aid to punish Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangvirai’s supporters by refusing them access to
international food aid.“The WFP made it clear in the letter that the
international community did not see any credibility in the government’s
denials that it had politicised food aid,” said a senior official with an
international non-governmental organisation.
“Basically the WFP is saying
that if he (Mugabe) had nothing to hide, then he should let in the
international community verify on their own whether the Grain Marketing
Board was being partisan in its handling of food aid,” he added.
The
state-run GMB is the only agency allowed to buy and sell grain. The
diplomatic sources said it was not clear if Mugabe will spurn or accept the
WFP’s offer. There have been several well-documented reports by local and
international newspapers of hungry villagers, mostly in outlying rural
arrears, being refused food as punishment for backing the MDC.
Zanu
(PF) has also been accused of vote-buying, with its candidates for the
forthcoming polls allegedly handing out GMB-sourced maize to voters as a way
of influencing their choice. Several people in rural areas and even in the
capital Harare have reported that they were asked to produce Zanu (PF)
membership cards before being permitted to buy maize from the
GMB.
Donors have indicated they cannot commit aid to Zimbabwe while the
government is prepared to help only the sector of the population that agrees
with it politically, the sources said.
Support continues to grow for this weekend’s ‘Free Zimbabwe’
protests taking place around the world, which are set to kick off in South
Africa on Friday.
The Free Zimbabwe Global Protests have been organised
by the MDC-T and are targeting South Africa, as the mediator in Zimbabwe’s
political stalemate. Protesters will be calling on South Africa’s government
and President Jacob Zuma to come up with a solution to the ongoing crisis,
including forcing ZANU PF to abide by the terms of the Global Political
Agreement (GPA).
Zuma is also being urged to prevent Robert Mugabe from
calling early elections as well as ensuring that conditions are right before
a poll is held.
The protests are kicking off with a mass
demonstration outside the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Friday and will
continue across the globe on Saturday, with action in Australia, the UK,
America and the Netherlands.
Netherlands based Zimbabwean student and MDC
member, Zwelithini Viki, told SW Radio Africa on Wednesday that a protest
will be held at The Hague on Saturday. He said President Zuma needs to be
pressured into taking a stronger stance against ZANU PF, saying: “We believe
Zuma is treating (Robert) Mugabe with kid gloves.”
“We want to tell
Zuma that it is time to pull up his socks which is why we are joining the
movement on Saturday and handing over a petition to the South African
embassy,” Viki explained.
Viki also encouraged other Zimbabweans to join
the protests: “Real freedom lies in their own hands.”
“There is no
way that ZANU PF is going to give up power on a silver plate. We Zimbabweans
must do whatever we can to force ZANU PF to cede power. That can only happen
if we unite,” Viki said.
For more information on the protests visit
Facebook and search for ‘Free Zimbabwe Global Protests’ or visit the SW
Radio Africa website www.swradioafrica.com
THE Met Office has warned of severe flooding in parts of
Zimbabwe as rains pound the country following a two-week dry
spell.
Forecasters are warning that between Thursday and Wednesday, the
country will see the heaviest rainfall activity since the first rains in
November.
“The forecast indicates an increase of heavy rains throughout,
reaching peak between January 19 and 25. It is likely that amounts exceeding
80mm in 24 hours will be recorded in some areas," said Tichaona Zinyemba,
the Meteorological Services Department’s duty forecaster.
Flood
alerts have been issued for low-lying areas including Kariba, Victoria
Falls, Tsholotsho, Binga, Muzarabani, Hwange, parts of Masvingo and the
Limpopo Valley.
A mid-summer dry spell was causing concern for
farmers, particularly in parts of Matabeleland South, Hwange and Mberengwa
whose crops were wilting in punishing heat. But the Met Office is warning
farmers to brace for a new kind of problem: flash floods.
"Already,
satellite images are showing that the whole country is being affected by
thunderstorm activities accompanied by lightning. There is heightened risk
of flash flooding, principally in susceptible places and poorly drained
soils," Zinyemba added.
The Civil Protection Unit has been put on high
alert while the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) and fixed phone
company TelOne are braced for disruptions to their services.
Bulawayo,
January 18 January 2012 - Bulawayo residents will this weekend brave the ire
of the state when they meet for the Gukurahundi victims commemorations
service at a venue yet to be announced in the country’s second biggest
city.
In an interview, the pressure group Ibhetshu LikaZulu’s
spokesperson Mqondisi Moyo, said they hoped to map the way forward on the
“genocide” at the service.
“We will have the commemorations at a
venue yet to be announced, but it will be around Bulawayo. If we are to do
it at a hall, we will have to seek for police clearance and if it’s in a
church, we will not seek for police clearance because it would be classified
as a church service,” he said.
The Gukurahundi operation by the
government of Zimbabwe under Robert Mugabe between 1983 and 1987 is
estimated by the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) to have
killed over 20 000 people in Matabeleland and Midlands provinces.
The
gukurahundi massacres only ended after the late Joshua Nkomo's Zapu and
Mugabe’s Zanu (PF) party signed a unity agreement on 22 December
1987.
Two weeks ago Zimbabwean police dismissed an Anglican clergy
retreat labelling it a political gathering without clearance.
Moyo
said the theme for this year is “Towards Restorative Justice”.
“We will
be bringing lawyers to the event with the hope that they will explain how
the issue of victims and perpetrators in light of the continued plight of
the victims. We have invited political parties, civic organisations, the
general public and the churches to the event.
"We are currently sending
out invitations,” he said.
Moyo said the organisation would on 28 January
this year join the rest of the world in commemorating Genocide Day.
Harare, January 18, 2012 - A Zimbabwean
magistrate on Tuesday referred a case involving journalists from a privately
owned newspaper to the Supreme Court, saying Section 96 of the constitution
may be unconstitutional.
The editor of The Standard, Nevhanji Madanhire
and reporter Nqaba Matshazi were charged with criminally defaming, Reserve
Bank advisor Munyaradzi Kereke.
This was after the paper published a
story alleging that Green Card Medical Aid Society faced viability
problems.
Kereke, a senior adviser to the Reserve Bank governor Gideon,
owns the medical insurance firm.
In her ruling, the magistrate,
Sandra Mupindu said Section 96(1) contravened freedom expression and
particularly infringed on journalists’ and the media’s right to carry out
their duties.
Representing the journalists, Advocate Eric Morris
successfully argued that criminal defamation laws were archaic and most
democracies had decriminalised defamation.
Morris said Britain, from
which Zimbabwe adopted its penal code, had struck off criminal defamation
from its constitution because it was found to infringe on freedom of
expression.
For the State, Tapiwa Kasema had argued against the case
being referred to Supreme Court, saying the application was frivolous and
vexatious.
He argued that the case could be tried by the lower court.
The Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) has expressed anger
over the actions of Masvingo police, after two student leaders were
assaulted and arrested in the province last week.
ZINASU Bulawayo
Chairman Joram Chikwadze and the Union’s Masvingo Chairman Prosper
Tiringindi, were only released on bail on Monday, almost a week after their
arrest last Tuesday.
The pair was detained after leading a group of
graduate teachers in trying to find answers from the provincial education
department, over its failure to place the teachers in positions for this
year.
ZINASU’s Chikwadze told SW Radio Africa on Wednesday that these
placements are critical for the students to graduate, adding that “for two
months these student teachers have been coming every day to the offices in
Masvingo trying to find answers.”
“We understand that there are 4,000
vacancies in schools around the province, but these roles are being filled
corruptly,” Chikwadze said.
He added: “Last week we decided to try and
mobilise the students and distribute fliers about what was going on. But the
police were called in and there was just chaos.”
The student leader
explained that police descended on the informal protest and started
assaulting students. Chikwadze and his fellow student leader Tiringindi were
also assaulted before being arrested.
They have been charged under the
Criminal Law Act for ‘Conduct likely to provoke the breach of peace’, and
‘Inciting violence’. Chikwadze said that they were finally released on bail
this week, despite the police not yet filing a proper docket.
“This
is just the oppressive nature of the police and we really regret that,” he
said, adding: “Unfortunately the student teacher placements have still not
been resolved.”
Illegal trade in wild plants and
animals continues to flourish and the smuggling boom is proving hard to
control worldwide, says a wildlife expert. 18.01.1210:48am by Tonderayi
Matonho
“Bio-piracy, the illegal trade in animals and plants is
indeed, big business, involving the pillaging of millions of species each
year,” said Willie Nduku, of WildLife and Environment Zimbabwe.
The
smuggling boom is proving hard to control as it threatens the natural
resource base of the developing world.
Zimbabwe has been currently
hit by local and regional wildlife poachers around its national parks,
especially targeting rhinos, elephants (for ivory), buffalo kudu and eland
(for their skin and game meat).
“Bio-piracy is now estimated to be the
world’s third biggest criminal activity after arms and drug smuggling,” says
Nduku, a seasoned wildlife and environment conservationist.
There are
also challenges associated with biotechnology that include importation of
genetically modified organisms and bio-terrorism, he said.
Experts note
that bio-terrorism posed a challenge in the application of biotechnology and
there was need for an ethics committee to monitor such issues in every
country.
According to UNESCO, it is a requirement that a bio-ethics
committee be established as the global wildlife trade is big and diverse
ranging from animals, medicinal products and live plants.
Executive
Director of the Zimbabwe National Environment Trust, Joseph Tasosa said:
“Alongside these bio-ethics committees there is need to reinforce
sustainable management of forest resources by local communities as they have
known how to make use of these resources and products for generations. “With
the escalating rate of the smuggling boom, paying the heaviest price is the
developing world, home to many of the exotic and indigenous flora and fauna
sought after by Northern consumers,” he said.
“With a widespread of
such sustainable techniques among local communities that still have an
abundance of natural resource bases, the pillaging of millions of species by
poachers and smugglers, can be controlled,” said Toga Fakarayi of BirdLife
Zimbabwe.
The Convention On International Trade in Endangered Species
regulates international trade in 30 000 different species through TRAFFIC, a
highly-diversified monitoring system.
However, TRAFFIC elephant
expert Tom Milliken, quoted recently in a local independent daily, said: “As
most large-scale ivory seizures fail to result in any arrests, I fear the
criminals are winning.”
Rampant poaching, land degradation and mining within the
National Parks continues to put strain on the environment and the country’s
wildlife population. 18.01.1212:29pm by Rejoice Ndlovu
A
baby elephant found wandering on the Kario/Makuti Road was rescued this week
by locals Andries Scholtz and Bryce and Lara Clemence.
It is believed
that the family of the young calf was frightened off by something, as their
tracks led deep into the bush. Working alongside the National Parks staff,
the elephant was taken to Mwanga Lodge outside Harare. He has been named
Kunda and lodge owners Gordon and Debbir Putterill have appealed for
donations to pay for the special milk required to feed the
calf.
Elsewhere in the country, 88 hippos, 45 buffaloes, 30 elephants
and two kudus were found dead in Mana Pools National Park. Tests confirm
that the hippos died of anthrax, but the cause of death of the other animals
has not yet been confirmed.
The Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force has
confirmed that 23 rhinos were last year killed by poachers, which is a
slight improvement on the 30 that were killed in 2010.
“Whilst the
improved figures are encouraging, it is still completely unacceptable for
even one rhino to be killed in view of the fact that they are an endangered
species,” a statement from the organisation reads.
Thirty-seven poachers
and illegal horn dealers were arrested and a total of 100 rhino were
immobilized for ear notching and horn implanting to facilitate individual
identification and monitoring in the field. In addition to this, a US-based
animal protection group, the International Rhino Foundation launched
"Operation Stop Poaching Now" to raise funds to equip rangers in Zimbabwe
and South Africa with kits to help them track rhino poachers.
Another
worry for conservationists is the mining activity that has been reported
inside Hwange National Park. It has been confirmed that three coal mining
developments have been established in the area; two adjoining the park and
one inside the park. There are concerns that the increased human activity
and the construction of roads will lead to an increase in
poaching.
“According to the Park and Wildlife Act, nobody may mine within
a national park unless they have a written agreement from the Minister of
Environment and Tourism and, to date, it has not been established whether
any of the three mines has such an agreement,” a statement from ZCTF
reads.
The organisation also raised concerns that land invaders in the
Chiredzi River Conservancy were continuing to cause destruction in the area.
The cutting down of trees for firewood and increased levels of poaching has
been heavily criticised by ZCTF.
By Gift Phiri, Senior Writer Wednesday,
18 January 2012 08:50
HARARE - Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai does
not have constitutional powers to remove police chief Augustine Chihuri and
Defence Forces Commander Constantine Chiwenga from office, even though the
power-sharing Global Political Agreement (GPA) allows him to have a say in
their appointments, a research think-tank has said.
Tsvangirai’s
MDC and the breakaway MDC faction led by Industry minister Welshman Ncube
are pushing for the appointment of a new Commissioner-General of Police and
a new head of the Defence Forces when the terms of the incumbents Augustine
Chihuri and Constantine Chiwenga expire.
But it has since emerged that
the power to remove the Commissioner-General and the Commander of the
Defence Forces from office is that of the Commander-in-Chief alone or the
President, and he may do so “for any reason” — though in so doing must
consult with Cabinet.
Prime Minister Tsvangirai has openly declared that
Chihuri, who joined the law-enforcement agency at independence as a patrol
officer, and Chiwenga, who joined the army as a private under the name
Dominic Chinenge in 1980, must be relieved of their duties, claiming the two
men’s close links to Zanu PF have led to politicisation of security
organs.
In a report titled: Zimbabwe’s Security Sector — Who Calls the
Shots, Derek Matyszak of Harare-based think-tank, the Research and Advocacy
Unit, says the Prime Minister lacks the legal powers to enforce what he
wants.
“With the agreement of the Prime Minister, the President appoints
the Commissioner-General of Police, who has general command of the Police
Force,” says the report. “The power to remove the Commissioner-General from
office is that of the President alone, and he may do so ‘for any reason’ —
though in so doing must consult with Cabinet and must cause Parliament to be
informed as soon as is practicable of the removal,” states the
report.
The report says Mugabe has broadly defined powers in relation to
the dismissals that Tsvangirai doesn’t enjoy.
The power-sharing
Global Political Agreement (GPA) mandates Mugabe to consult Tsvangirai when
making senior appointments.
Article 20.1.3(p) of Schedule 8 to the
Constitution -- which overrides any provisions elsewhere in the Constitution
to the contrary -- requires that any appointment made in terms of the
Constitution, as in the case of the Commander of the Defence Forces, or
appointment in terms of any Act of Parliament, as in the case of the
Commanders of the Army or Air Force, be made only after the consent of the
Prime Minister has been first secured.
But the President has largely
retained his wide sweeping powers that the Prime Minister doesn’t enjoy,
including the power to appoint any person to a commissioned rank and the
exclusive power to appoint or promote any person to a rank above major or
squadron leader. In other words, the PM might have a say in the hiring
process if Mugabe strictly follows the GPA, the power to hire not to
fire.
“Similarly, provided due process has been followed, he (Mugabe) has
the exclusive power to cancel the commission of any (army) officer who must
then be discharged by the Commander of the Defence Force,” states the
report.
“Resignations of officers require the acceptance of the
President, before the member may be relieved of his or her duties, unless
the minister exempts the member from obtaining presidential approval. The
President may place any commissioned officer on a ‘retired list’, who then,
notwithstanding such retirement, is entitled to retain his or her rank and
to wear his or her uniform on ‘appropriate occasions’.”
The current
Commander of the Defence Forces, Chiwenga, was appointed to replace the
ailing Vitalis Zvinavashe in January of 2004, and Philip Sibanda was
appointed to replace him as Commander of the Army.
Their terms were
renewed in January 2008 before the provisions requiring the consent of the
Prime Minister had been enacted.
The reappointment of the Commander of
the Air Force, Perence Shiri will also fall due in September 2012, and the
same considerations apply.
Chihuri, an ex-combatant who received his
military training at Mgagau in Tanzania and operated in the Mt Darwin area,
took over command of the police force from Henry Mukurazhizha in 1991 as
acting commissioner and eventually became substantive commissioner in
1993.
Mugabe promoted him to Commissioner-General in 2008 and extended
his tenure by four years. Mugabe has repeatedly renewed his term, and is
likely to do so again without consulting Tsvangirai, authoritative official
sources say.
Since 2000, Chihuri and his police force have faced
criticism for alleged political bias against opposition parties and what is
claimed to be police complicity in systematic violation of rights to freedom
of expression, association and assembly.
Official sources say the top
police echelons have become deeply embedded in Zanu PF politics that they
are preoccupied with it, penetrated by it and now participate individually
and collectively in it.
A senior police source said yesterday: “His
(Chihuri) term is being renewed. The PM doesn't have power to stop the
extension, even your minister (Theresa Makone). You know Tsvangirai doesn’t
have power don’t you? I can tell you Mugabe has full confidence in the
Commissioner-General.”
Sources say President Mugabe’s nephew, Innocent
Matibiri, who has the distinction of being one of the only two senior police
officers to get to the top without serving at the rank of senior assistant
commissioner, was girding his loins to take over, but Chihuri is likely to
stay put.
The same goes for Godwin Matanga, a veteran police officer who
is the most senior among all the deputy commissioners and a Zanla guerrilla,
sources say.
Official sources say Chiwenga, who recently graduated
from the University of Zimbabwe with a Masters Degree in International
Relations, was harbouring presidential ambitions and is now referred to as
“Zim 2”.
He has openly declared support for Mugabe and Zanu PF and was
referred to by his subordinates in private briefings with US diplomats as a
“political general”.
Matyszak implores the two MDC’s to explore both
political and legal avenues to address this security sector
poser.
“Amendments to both the Defence and Police Acts can remove the
over-weaning power of the presidency, and, similarly, amendments to the
National Security Council Act can ensure that the security sector is placed
under wholly civilian oversight,” Matyszak says in his report.
“In
the advent of a probable election, these are steps that should be given a
high priority by Parliament, and all who are concerned that such election is
free from interference by partisan state agencies.”‘
Three
members of the notorious Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) this
afternoon severely assaulted a mechanic, Bornface Mvemve as he was
test-driving an MDC vehicle in Harare.
The mechanic, Mvemve (32) said
the incident took place just after the round-about in Msasa as he was
driving towards the city centre. Narrating the incident, Bornface said as he
was driving, a grey Nissan Hardbody double cab with no number plates
overtook him and suddenly blocked his way.
Three men in black suits,
including the driver, disembarked. Two of the men who were drinking beer
began to assault the mechanic and poured beer all over him. After that they
smashed both the front and the rear windscreens of the party vehicle. They
then hurriedly left the scene.
Bornface, injured on his neck and collar
bone and was immediately rushed to a city hospital where he is receiving
treatment.
The CIO and other security agents are refusing to reform and
have constantly attacked MDC members at the instigation of ZANU (PF). Last
week, the police arrested MDC shop assistants manning the party regalia shop
at Harvest House following clashes with vendors.
MDC is also
concerned with the continued renewal of service chiefs’ contracts as they
have been partisan towards ZANU (PF) in the discharge of their duties. Two
of the culprits, Defence Forces Commander Constantine Chiwenga and Police
Chief Augustine Chihuri’s contracts are expiring next
month.
SHURUGWI – Blooming
trees, thick bushes, valleys and evergreen grasslands were the beauty of
Shurugwi. The long winding Boterekwa River and magnificent scenery made the
area a hit with tourists from all over the world. This beauty has long been
taken away by gold panning activities which left trails of destruction as
panners recklessly hunt for gold deposits in the district.
With the
escalating cost of living, high unemployment and poverty, illegal panners
from all over Zimbabwe have flocked Mangwende and Ruchanyu resettlement
areas 25 kilometers north east of Shurugwi in search of precious stones.
Mangwende and Ruchanyu resettlement areas fall under Chief Nhema in Shurugwi
which is located in the mineral-rich Great Dyke belt 33km outside Gweru.
Minerals such as gold, chromite, nickel and platinum are mined around the
town.
These minerals are a magnet for people from across the country with
the notorious makorokoza have turned the area into a scavenging ground
despite frantic efforts by the police to stop them.
They leave behind
a trail of destruction; devastated fields and forests, mud-choked rivers,
and mercury-tainted water.
“Immense damage is being done, but such is
life. You destroy to get what you want,” explains Ephraim Chitiga, a gold
panner from Mberengwa.
“Unemployment is the reason why I am here; if I
had a job do you think I could be here?”asked Chitiga,
Chitiga
graduated from Midlands State University in 2008 with a BA Honours degree in
African Languages and Culture, but has never been formally employed.
Desperate to survive Chitiga found himself doing odd jobs in Zimbabwe and
neighbouring South Africa. He finally ended his journey in the deep and
dangerous open shafts of the mines in the Mangwende area.
“Getting a job
is something I have scratched off my mind. It’s not easy. I have been to
South Africa where I ended up harvesting grapes in the farms and herding
goats. Now I have found solace in gold panning,” Chitiga said
The
transition from other money earning activities to mining is one made out of
desperation because nothing else seems to be working out.
Alphas Makado
(35) of Mangwende resettlement area under Chief Nhema in Shurugwi received a
small farming plot under the government’s land reform programme in 1999. He
was very confident and optimistic after he acquired the asset.
With
land being the backbone of peasantry economy in Zimbabwe, the 1999 land
reform programme ensured many farmers transfer from the densely populated
communal areas to virgin arable land forcibly acquired from white owners.
The new setup was set to improve the lives of many, but soon became a dreary
nightmare which most find difficult to elude.
Having failed to get a
job in the city, Makado looked forward to get a life from the soil.
Unfortunately for Makado the enthusiasm to produce was stifled by lack of
funds to buy inputs. This combined with erratic and unpredictable climatic
regime in Zimbabwe which is characterized by droughts forced him and his
family to shelve farming and ventured into gold-panning,
instead.
Makado’s story is typical of the life experienced by
thousands of families living in the resettlement areas of Mangwende,
Ruchanyu and Gutsaruzhinji/Dopota co-operative and other places
surrounding Shurugwi.
“I do not have money to buy maize seeds and
fertilizers as I am not formally employed so I have no alternative, but to
explore the gold deposits in my field for survival” said Zinyama, one of the
resettled peasant farmers since 1999. Lack of agricultural inputs and an
ever expanding family among other things forced him to suspend his farming
activities and turn to searching for gold.
Several fields in Hidden
Treasure and Village 4, 5, and 17 along Mutebekwi River have been turned
into unauthorized gold claims, with owners hiring panners to harvest the
precious mineral.
“I acquired this land during the land redistribution
exercise, but I no longer use it. Panners mine on it and give me a fraction
of their findings,” added Zinyama.
Mike Muyambo (31) and his wife
Theresa Rekatai (23) from Chipinge also found themselves in the same
predicament. Poverty, looming drought and unemployment drove this couple all
the way from Chipinge to Wanderer Mine which is North West of
Shurugwi.
In typical excavator style, Muyambo went down into the deep
shaft and came back with a sack full of ore which he mechanically loaded
onto his back and proceeded to the river where he sadly narrated his
story.
“There is nothing I can do, if I remain in the village I will
become a thief. Even here money is hard to come by. If you work very hard
you can only get enough to take you to the next day,” said
Muyambo.
Gold panning is a difficult and dangerous profession for a woman
to undertake as it involves deep underground shafts and a lot of bullying
from other panners which sometimes degenerates into
fist-fights.
Rekatai has adapted to the violent scenes at illegal panning
points. She is a very tough and no nonsense woman, and because of that she
enjoyed respect from most men around. Clad in a muddy plastered skirt and a
tattered t-shirt, wooden panning dish in hand, she remains alert of other
responsibilities back home.
“We use this wooden dish to process the
ore, but it needs patience especially if the ore is too much,” said
Rekatai.
Women in Zimbabwe continue to join in the gold rush despite the
dangers of collapsing shafts, lack of proper and clean sanitary wear and
crowded squatter settlements.
“I have to carry the burden of looking
after the children as well as helping my husband in the pits. I leave our
children in other people’s care or take them along to sit by the pits. It’s
not easy as it involves hard work and a lot of bullying,” said Miriam
Marizhe who is from the area and has joined the panners in their search for
precious minerals.
Despite being the source of livelihood for many, gold
panning has proved costly to the environment. Deep underground shafts,
cutting down of trees, veld fires have turned the land into dongas and
gulleys with siltation damaging major rivers servicing the community leading
to severe drought.
Sekuru Morgan Munatsi, the village elder lamented the
presence of the panners in the area and showed great dismay on the damage
caused so far.
“We are very worried about these activities and we always
wonder what this area would be like in 5-10 years time if this goes
unabated,”
Mrs. Chakahuwa, the ward 14 councilor expressed great concern
over this development saying the land has been turned into a
wreck.
“The situation is getting worrisome as you can see the land is
being ruined, making it very difficult to cultivate. We tried to cover some
of the shafts, but everyday new ones surface,” said councilor
Chakahuwa.
She cited poverty and unemployment as the major reason
for these activities and appealed to the government for agricultural inputs
and food aid.
“We urge the government to assist with agricultural inputs
and food aid or introduce projects and cooperatives in the area for people
to work on because if people are hungry, panning becomes an option,”
Chakahuwa added.
Meanwhile, Environmental Management Agency (EMA)
officials noted with great concern the extent to which the panners are
damaging the environment making agriculture an unreliable source of
livelihood.
EMA’s Environment Publicity and Education Manager,
Mr. Steady Kangata said whereas mining is a prescribed act under the Mines
and Minerals Act, whoever involved should be
registered.
“Panning has been the source of livelihood for many
families, but at the same time has caused deforestation and siltation
resulting climate change and perennial droughts in the country.” said
Kangata.
State Enterprises Minister Gorden Moyo said the Cabinet agreed
recently that the salaries of the top public sector executives must be
reduced from $10,000 to between $3,000 to $5,000 a month
Gibbs Dube |
Washington
Zimbabwean State Enterprises Minister Gorden Moyo said
Tuesday that the government has decided to stop financing all state
enterprises and parastatals that do not adopt more reasonable pay scales for
top executives earning at least US$10,000 a month.
Moyo said
parastatals and state companies without audited books and annual plans will
be deprived of funding to force them to slash big salaries earned by top
executives.
The minister said the Cabinet agreed recently that the
salaries of the top executives must be reduced from US$10,000 to between
US$3,000 to US$5,000 a month.
Moyo said salaries earned by top
executives are unjustifiable. “The majority of private firms making profits
are not paying their executives such huge sums of money,” he said.
Alec Hogg wonders how much of David
Brown's decision to leave a R6.6m a year job as head of Impala Platinum to
"pursue personal interests" has to do with the Group's Zimbabwean
assets Author: Alec Hogg Posted: Wednesday , 18 Jan 2012
MOOI
RIVER -
The news on Wednesday that Impala Platinum CEO David Brown has
tendered his resignation reminded me of our live on-air conversation last
August. Brown had been doing his best to play down the impact of irrational
political decisions on the group's important Zimplats operations. So I
pushed the point a little further than normal. The transcript makes
interesting reading, especially today:
ALEC HOGG: As the CEO, would
you stake your job on Zimbabwe not indigenising, on not grabbing half of
your company there?
DAVID BROWN: Well, I would certainly hope that that
is not going to happen. Quite clearly we firmly believe we've been a model
investor for the last ten years in Zimbabwe. I think Zimbabwe has given
shareholders a very positive return up to date, and certainly my outlook is
that ja, I'm very confident we will get the thing resolved.
ALEC
HOGG: Would you stake your job on it?
DAVID BROWN: [Laughs] Oh,
absolutely.
I'm still not sure if that was a nervous or confident laugh.
But there was definitely atmosphere in the studio after we closed out the
show. Had he been forced to overstep the mark in that interview? Following
the company line rather than telling us what he really
believed?
After Wednesday's announcement that Brown will be leaving the
world's second largest platinum group at the end of June to "pursue his own
interests" you've got to wonder. The situation for foreign companies
operating in Zimbabwe has deteriorated further in the past five months.
Anyone betting on President Robert Mugabe making a grab for Zimplats would
get lower odds today than when Brown and I had that conversation in August.
Impala's share price dropped 400c on this afternoon's announcement, shedding
2.5% to R171.20. So I'm not the only one with a suspicious
mind.
Brown, a chartered accountant, joined the Implats board as the CFO
13 years ago, later taking over from Keith Rumble as CEO in 2006. Notably,
today's official announcement from the group says "He was instrumental in
the development of Implats' Zimbabwean assets...."
Impala says it has
identified a successor and "is currently in the process of finalising this
appointment." That could mean Chairman Khotso Mokhele has just heard from
headhunters that someone on the board is available. Or not. Tellingly, the
release adds that an announcement about the appointment will be made "in due
course". If the person is identified, why not now? All of this is hardly a
model in succession planning. It's also not what investors should expect
from a R108bn group, one of the most valuable on the JSE.
There is sure
to be a far more interesting story than the sanitised version in Wednesday's
press release. We look forward to sharing the real reasons why 49-year-old'
Brown is giving up his R6.6m a year job. A position that also brought
benefits from a share option scheme which ensured he owns Impala shares
worth R15.4m even at today's relative depressed price levels.
This
article first appeared on Alec Hogg's daily blog: www.alechogg.com
BULAWAYO ,
Jan 18, 2012 (IPS) - Tinashe Zuze’s story is a typical one of Zimbabwe’s
professionals who have shunned formal employment. Instead of working for
someone else, Zuze left his job as a bank teller and entered into the world
of "wheeling and dealing" in illegal foreign currency.
It turned many
into wealthy business people overnight since "the day the dollar died."
Economists call it Black Friday. On Nov. 14, 1997 the Zimbabwean dollar
crashed under the weight of unbudgeted spending.
The cause was President
Robert Mugabe’s handsome payouts or "gratuities" to veterans of the 1970s
liberation struggle. The overspending sent the country’s economy into a
spiral, which is still being felt today.
Zuze's fortunes faired well at
first, and then took a turn for the worse. He first acquired stupendous
wealth during the "crazy days" of illegal foreign currency dealing in the
early 2000s. But he fell on hard times after the introduction of the
multi-currency regime in 2009. But he was not defeated and re- invented
himself as an importer of second-hand vehicles from Japan.
"It’s been a
terrible life," he mused.
But as the country prepares for elections,
which long-time ruler Mugabe wants held this year and which will bring an
end to Zimbabwe’s crisis-ridden coalition government, calls have emerged
from some political elites for currency reforms to bring back the Zimbabwean
dollar.
"I don’t understand why anyone has the gall to call for the
return of the Zim dollar," he said.
"This is the money that
impoverished many people and forced me to do all kinds of deals and I recall
having stacks and stacks of these dollars and failing to get rid of the
useless notes," Zuze said.
At the height of the economic chaos in
November 2008, consumers had to carry sacks and wheelbarrows of cash just to
buy small items like milk or bread. Overnight, the cost of bread jumped from
two million Zimbabwean dollars to 35 million. It was considered by some
analysts as one of the worst cases of hyperinflation of all
time.
Since the introduction of the multi-currency regime, where
transactions are now carried out in the United States dollar, South African
Rand and the Botswana Pula, what was once the world’s fastest- shrinking
economy is now on the path of slow but sure growth. Proof of this can been
seen in the stores as shop shelves are now full after years of botched
government price controls spurred acute shortages of basic
commodities.
However, Mugabe’s Zimbabwe African National Union -
Patriotic Front (Zanu PF), the party widely blamed for the country’s
economic ruin, has increased its calls for the return of the local currency
ahead of elections. The party has criticised the United States greenback for
perpetuating the country’s global economic hegemony.
Analysts are in
agreement that Zimbabwe’s economic crisis has created extremes of both
wealth and poverty, destroying the middle class in the process, as salaries
remain stagnant, creating ideal conditions for wildcat strikes. But
economists and ordinary members of the public are concerned that the return
of the dollar could spell disaster.
Respected Bulawayo economist Dr. Eric
Bloch, who also sits on the board of Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, said the
re-introduction of the local currency would be a "total disaster" for the
economy.
"The return of the Zimbabwean dollar will fuel massive inflation
and return the country to the economic chaos of 2008 as in real terms the
currency will be valueless," Bloch told IPS.
"I agree with Finance
Minister Tendai Biti that the country should maintain the present situation
where the country is using the U.S. dollar. The Zimbabwean dollar means the
country will not be able to access international lines of credit as this
hinges on the ability to generate foreign currency," he said.
For
political analyst and academic Donald Sithole, the return of the Zimbabwean
dollar could be a recipe for social upheaval.
"We have seen it elsewhere,
disgruntled masses taking to the streets not because of political grievances
but increasingly to demand economic justice, and the history of the Zimbabwe
dollar era could point to the return of worse strife for ordinary people,"
Sithole told IPS.
"The global financial crisis ought to be a lesson. But
we are obviously seeing complacent politicians who think the street protests
seen across the world will not happen here because of their renowned
repression. But people can only take this to a limited extent. I believe we
are treading on dangerous ground," he said.
As the school term opened
early January, teacher unions hinted they would boycott classes as they call
for for salary increases at a time when the government has approved hefty
allowance increments for legislators.
"These people want the return of
the dollar so that they can loot our resources like they used to," said
Gamaliel Siziba, a secondary school headmaster, referring to long-standing
accusations of institutionalised corruption against Zanu PF
officials.
"This is just insane. We are led by educated people but these
are the solutions they offer for economic recovery," Siziba said.
He
is not the only one against the return of the failed currency.
Vegetable
vendor Catherine Moyo is of the opinion that the return of the local
currency will bring untold suffering.
"It looks to me that all of us,
besides the politicians, know that the return of the (Zimbabwean) dollar
will only mean more suffering as this will mean that forex will disappear
from our streets," Moyo said. A thriving illegal foreign currency market had
been blamed for the artificial price distortions for basic commodities in
2008.
In 1982 a handful of Zimbabwean and South African
couples sold their suburban homes, pooled their proceeds and purchased an
under-developed 6,500 acre farm on the outskirts of Bulawayo. They named it ‘The
New Adams Farm’ and formed the Community of Reconciliation. Their dream was to
see white and black Zimbabweans living together in perfect harmony, ending
racial tension, violence, and hurt. The community grew, with many from the
communities around benefitting from their love and gen
by Cat
Frampton
The group from
Mbizingwe with Pierre de Jagger.
On night in 1986,
a group of people who saw themselves as liberators of black people from their
white oppressors killed the 16 white men, women and children with an axe,
forcing some of the members of the black community to watch. While Glynis, the
14-year-old daughter of one of the founding members was being led off to be
killed, she asked her father, “How should I pray?” He responded, “Pray for these
men as they are now the ones that need our prayers”. One by one they were
killed; and while each of them remained silent, they could be seen uttering
prayers under their breaths for their killers. The community who had been
‘liberated’ wept; these were their friends, their family. Those who committed
the massacre were never brought to justice.
Pierre de Jagger
is a South African working and living on a farm in the Matopo Hills area. Many
people told him that he was crazy to farm there as the farming conditions are
not good. Pierre asked Brian Oldrieve, the founder of Foundations for Farming,
“am I crazy for wanting to farm here, can it be done?” Brian answered him
“anytime you want to ask the question can I farm here, look at nature - if God
is farming there then so can we”.
So Pierre set up
home and started to teach Foundations for Farming’s conservation agriculture
principles to the communities around him. The first group of people that he
taught told him that for the past nine years they had failed completely to reap
a harvest. Their main reason for these failures was poor and erratic rainfall.
Pierre taught them Foundations for Farming, a method that conserves both soil
and water. One of the principles is to start small, be faithful with the small
and then grow from there. He encouraged the farmers to do a 10x10metre plot
using the Foundations methods. When he returned at the end of the season to see
how they were getting on the community was excited. For the first time in their
lives they saw maize plants taller than themselves.
The following
year, Pierre trained 150 people from the village. He did not have enough money
to give inputs to all, so he selected the best 50, and gave them inputs to plant
a 50m x 50m plot using Foundations for Farming methods. The previous year, the
150 farmers from the village had harvested a combined yield of 3-5 tonnes of
maize. With just the 50 farmers in the second year, the village harvest was 75
tonnes of maize – a whopping 2,400% increase! And this was from only 50X50m
plots, not the full extent of land available to them. One of the most common
complaints when teaching Foundations for Farming is that the method is too much
work with all the digging. But this fallacy was exposed when one of the 50
farmers said “I used to plough 2.5ha with oxen and get 50kg. Now I dig holes in
a 50x50m plot and I get 1,500kg’. Ploughing with oxen is too much work for the
yield you get from it! Not to mention the cost.”
Following this
success, Pierre received an invitation from the village of Mbizingwe, where the
Community of Reconciliation had been murdered back in 1986. Many people warned
Pierre against going to Mbizingwe. The village had been ostracised. No NGOs
worked there. He prayed long and hard and finally in 2009 he felt God saying it
was now time to go.
He led with a
message of repentance and told how God had sent him, a man brought up as a
racist Afrikaner, to help them as a sign of His love, grace and power to help
people change their ways. He shared how God had changed his heart towards black
Africans and now had given his life to helping those in poverty. He suggested
they start by changing the way they steward the land. He was very nervous about
sharing such a challenging message as a white man.
On the last day of
the training, an old man came and took the plate from the woman who was serving
and served Pierre lunch himself. He was told later that this man was one of
those who had taken part in the massacre. His action signified to the community
that he accepted Pierre and his message and teaching. It meant a lot to those
watching, although no one said a word.
More than any
other village he has trained, the people of Mbizingwe have surprised
Pierre.
Most villages have
become totally dependent on external assistance. Not so with this group. They
knew what they needed, but they had absolutely no expectation that he would do
it for them. The organised themselves with remarkable efficiency and
independence.
The community
donated part of their harvest to de Jagger’s orphanage.
This community
that has been feared and hated for so long is moving out of isolation and
poverty. The hope is that Mbizingwe will become a ‘light on a hill’ to the
surrounding communities. God is in the process of redeeming the community and
using what is despised in this world to bring about
transformation.
And the prayers of
those murdered did not go unheard. Bob Scott wrote a book on the tragedy. In it
he says “One of the greatest gifts one person can give to another is ‘true
esteem’. Our actions speak much louder than our words. Africa is looking for a
new kind of white man, one who will give more than he takes. The ones who lived
on the New Adams and Olive Tree Farms were like that; they made the ultimate
sacrifice on behalf of their brothers – regardless of race”. - See Bob Scott’s
book ‘Saving Zimbabwe’ here
