(AFP) – 11 hours
ago
HARARE — Zimbabwean unions Friday called on civil servants to stage a
five-day strike next week to demand a doubling of basic wages, one day after
a stayaway was largely ignored.
"We met as civil servants
representatives and agreed to scale up our strike
and engage in a stayaway
from Monday to Friday next week," Tendai Chikowore,
spokeswoman for the
state employees' umbrella union told AFP.
The fresh call came after a
one-day strike drew a lukewarm response, as most
workers in the capital
turned up at their stations on Thursday.
Chikowore said the workers want
across-the-board pay rises including a raise
from $200 to $538 (155 euros to
420 euros) a month for the lowest-paid
government workers, medical insurance
and an allowance for workers based in
rural areas.
"We have had no
response from the government," she said. "There is total
silence and I am
not sure they really understand the magnitude of the
problem.
"We
will be reviewing our strategy as we go. We urge the police not to
harass
our members. If that happens we are prepared even to go into the
streets and
fight running battles with the police."
Civil servants, particularly
teachers, nurses and doctors, have been
striking on and off for better
salaries since 2007.
The situation came to a head in 2008, when staff
shortages forced state
hospitals to close some units and teacher strikes
left only 50 days of
classes in the whole year.
Zimbabwe's economy
has begun recovering after a decade-long downturn,
following a power-sharing
agreement by long-time rivals President Robert
Mugabe and Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai in the wake of failed 2008
polls.
But ghost workers
are a problem throughout the civil service: about a third
of government's
230,000 employees are not thought to actually exist,
according to Finance
Minister Tendai Biti.
So much of the current salary payments are being
claimed fraudulently by
people using fictional aliases.
Biti, a
Tsvangirai ally, has insisted the cash-strapped government cannot
afford to
pay higher salaries.
Mugabe has accused the minister of deliberately
sabotaging the government by
refusing the increases.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Alex Bell
20
January 2012
The Free Zimbabwe protests which are set to get underway
across the world
this weekend started with a mass demonstration in South
Africa on Friday,
where scores of people gathered to demand change in
Zimbabwe.
The protests have been organised by the MDC led by Morgan
Tsvangirai and are
targeting South Africa as the mediator in the ongoing
political stalemate.
Protesters from around the world will be calling on the
South African
government to help solve the ongoing crisis as well as force
ZANU PF and
Robert Mugabe to honour the Global Political Agreement (GPA).
Petitions with
these and other demands will be handed over to embassy and
consular staff
during the demonstrations.
The demonstration on Friday
went ahead outside the South African foreign
ministry in Pretoria, drawing
what is expected to the largest crowd of the
weekend’s other demos. The
Provincial Chairman of the MDC-T in South Africa,
Kwanele Moyo, told SW
Radio Africa on Friday that the demonstration was a
success, with at least
300 people gathering to support the action. He said
this is “just the
start,” explaining how global protests will be planned for
every
month.
On Saturday, more protests will get underway in Australia, the UK
and the
Netherlands, where people will be gathering at The Hague.
Demonstrations are
also planned in America and in Chicago, protesters will
gather at the South
African consulate (200 S Michigan Ave) at 11 am local
time. In Washington
DC, protesters will gather at the South Africa embassy
(3400 International
Drive NW) at 10am local time.
Details about the
global protests can be found on Facebook by searching
‘Free Zimbabwe Global
Protests’ or visiting the SW Radio Africa website
www.swradioafrica.com
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
By Court Writer
Friday, 20 January 2012
12:54
HARARE - Four MDC activists, a driver of a senior official of
the party and
five vendors who were arrested during clashes between vendors
and the police
recently, were yesterday denied bail by magistrate Don
Ndirowei.
The nine are Taurai Nherera,18, Simbarashe Makaha, 35, Jefias
Moyo, 39,
Leonard Dendera, 29, Muchineripi Muzengeza, 34, Patson Murimoga,
32, Samson
Nerwande, 40, Murambiwa Dzwenge, 38, and Kudakwashe Usai,
20.
The group is facing charges of public violence. Aleck Muchadehama is
representing the vendors, while Tarisai Mutangi is representing the MDC
activists.
Prosecutor David Magwegwe alleges that on January 11
police from Harare
Central police conducted an operation to arrest illegal
vendors along Nelson
Mandela Avenue, Sam Nujoma Street and Julius Nyerere
Way.
The state alleges that the joint metropolitan and state police
operation was
mounted amid reports that the men in uniform where facing
resistance from
vendors.
According to the state the vendors some of
whom are suspected to be MDC
activists previously attacked police officers,
municipal policemen,
suspected Zanu PF supporters and members of the
Zimbabwe National Army
(ZNA).
The state alleges that on January 11 in
the afternoon the accused persons
and others still at large allegedly teamed
up and assaulted uniformed police
officers — Knowledge Madeyi, Kudakwashe
Dumba, Moses Mude, Shingirai
Zinhawa, Vitalis Madziwana and another one
identified as Majon F to prevent
them from executing their constitutional
duties.
The group used stones and iron bars to assault plain-clothed
policemen.
Those attacked include Tatenda Zhou, Aaron Mutsengi and
Shadreck Matare who
were attacked along Nelson Mandela Avenue with fists and
iron bars.
The nine alleged criminals further damaged a police vehicle
with stones and
also broke windowpanes to the police post along First
Street.
When the disturbances died down later in the afternoon police
managed to
arrest Nherera and Makaha who were hiding in the Kingstones Kiosk
while the
remaining six were arrested the following day.
http://www.voanews.com
19 January
2012
Opposition parties, civil groups and ordinary Zimbabweans have
long been
critical of Registrar General Tobaiwa Mudede’s handling of
electoral matters
which has often worked to the advantage of
ZANU-PF
Sandra Nyaira | Washington
Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission Chairman Simpson Mtambanengwe says Registrar
General Tobaiwa
Mudede cannot run elections on his own, saying Mudede and
his office should
operate under the supervision of the commission in
conducting any
election.
Mtambanengwe told a media workshop in Kadoma on Wednesday that
the full
control of elections by the registrar general ended long ago in
2004.
The Electoral Commission wants the Office of the Registrar General
to be
reduced to a department operating under the supervision of the
commission.
But analysts say this proposal is likely to be rebuffed by
Mudede and
President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF, which has benefited from
Mudede’s
operations in the past.
Opposition parties, civil groups and
ordinary Zimbabweans have long been
critical of Mudede’s handling of
electoral matters. The voters roll which
the Office of the Registrar General
maintains is generally acknowledged to
be seriously corrupted, including for
instance many deceased Zimbabweans,
and voter registration is
problematic.
Mtambanengwe told the workshop he had held discussions with
Mudede who he
said was “sensitive” when it came to his role in elections. He
said he will
meet the registrar again on January 27 to discuss what is to be
done about
the voters roll.
Commenting, Election Resource Center
Director Tawanda Chimhini said
Mtambanengwe’s position regarding the Office
of the Registrar General is
welcome as the reform he proposes would be a
good step toward broader
electoral reform.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
The Harare Residents’ Trust (HRT) is
alarmed at the rate of suspected
cholera outbreaks in residential areas,
with the latest reports indicating
that there is an outbreak in Kuwadzana
and surrounding areas.
20.01.1203:48pm
by Harare Residents’
Trust
Residents in the area are reported to have been drinking water
from the
borehole at their local clinic. Suspicions are that the borehole
water may
be contaminated, something the HRT has not yet verified with
authorities.
But residents have stopped drinking water from that
borehole.
This morning, Thursday 19 January 2012, almost 40 residents
experienced
severe stomach aches which forced them to visit Kuwadzana Clinic
which is
the only clinic servicing Kuwadzana, Crowborough, Kuwadzana
Extension,
Whitecliff and surrounding areas.
A few nurses were
available and the accounts clerk was reported to have gone
away for tea for
almost two hours. The immediate assumption was that the
staff at the clinic
was on strike.
A Medicins Sans Frontier vehicle was transporting
residents to Beatrice
Diseases Infectious Hospital, near Mbare where they
were being treated.
Medicins Sans Frontiers driver with whom the HRT
Community Coordinator, Mrs.
Regina Bakuri spoke to reported that the
outbreak started yesterday
(Wednesday 18 January 2012) and he had
transported 40 residents to Beatrice
Hospital where they were attended to
and today he had gone with another 35
plus people. The Health officials at
the clinic were not responsive to the
issue at hand and continued with their
strike while jeopardising the lives
of over one hundred Kuwadzana
residents.
The HRT noted that the most affected were children under the
age of six and
yet the nurses were not moved by that. Those who were taken
to Beatrice
Hospital were able to receive free medical attention and many
have been
admitted. The City Health Department needs to urgently look into
the
situation in Kuwadzana in order for people to receive treatment at the
local
clinic. The clinic in Kuwadzana Extension remains closed even after
construction was completed.
The City Health department may consider
immediate use of that facility to
ease pressure on the mobile clinic.
Community health workers were seen
distributing water purification tablets
towards the end of the day and one
can only wonder if such tablets are
readily available. Why are they only
being distributed when people are
already affected instead of taking
preventative measures? City health
department head Dr. Stanley Mungofa needs
to seriously intervene before
lives are lost.
The city must guarantee adequate clean water supplies to
avoid the 2008
cholera outbreak that left nearly 4 000 people dead and
thousands others
sick. There are rising fears that this could be the
beginning of another
outbreak and residents have no alternative source of
clean water.
http://nehandaradio.com/
January 20, 2012 1:17
am
HARARE- Some 29 parliamentary seats now stand vacant since the
formation of
the coalition government although a 12-month moratorium on
by-elections
expired in September 2009. Assistant Clerk of Parliament Johane
Gandiwa said
the seats fell vacant after the incumbents died, were elevated
or expelled
from the House of Assembly.
“We have 17 vacant seats in
the House of Assembly and 12 seats in the
Senate. Eleven legislators from
the House of Assembly died while political
parties expelled four
parliamentarians. Two others were elevated to top
posts, creating the
vacancies,” Gandiwa said.
In total, Zanu PF now has 16 vacant seats,
eight of which are in the House
of Assembly. MDC-T has eight vacancies of
which four are in the House of
Assembly. MDC factions headed by Professor
Welshman Ncube and Professor
Arthur Mutambara have now lost three
legislators in the House of Assembly.
Zanu-PF now has 91 (from 99) House
of Assembly representatives.
MDC-T has 96 (from 100) and the other MDCs
have a total of seven (10) and it
is not clear to which faction some of them
belong.
In the Senate, Zanu-PF now has 22 (from 30) members, MDC-T 20
(from 24) and
the MDC factions remain with six.
In total, 21
legislators have died and of these 12 belonged to Zanu PF,
seven were MDC-T
representatives and two were chiefs. The deaths occurred
between December
2008 and January 2012.
The Matobo North seat fell vacant after
Lovemore Moyo was elected House of
Assembly Speaker.
Four more
constituencies were left unrepresented after MDC-N dismissed three
legislators for Nkayi South, Lupane East and Bulilima East, Abednico Bhebhe,
Jabuliso Mguni and Norman Mpofu respectively.
Zanu-PF expelled Tracy
Mutinhiri (Marondera East).
Mr Gandiwa said vacancies in the Senate
emerged after the death of Vice
President Joseph Msika, Chief Bidi
(Matabeleland South), Chief G Chimombe
(Manicaland) and four Zanu-PF and
three MDC-T senators and Harare
Metropolitan Province Governor David
Karimanzira.
Those elevated are former Chegutu MP Edna Madzongwe, who is
the president of
the Senate, Midlands Governor Jason Machaya (former Gokwe
South MP) and
Masvingo Governor Titus Maluleke (former MP
Chiredzi).
The Zimbabwe Election Support Network has said in its Ballot
update that it
was concerned by the fact that some constituencies are not
able to
participate in national governance through parliamentary
representation.
“ZESN remains concerned about the lack of representation
and urges the
Government to find ways to deal with these problems. Zimbabwe
is a
representative Government and lack of representation prejudices these
constituencies as their issues and views cannot find expression on the
national agenda,” the bulletin said.
The bulletin said it was high
time the Government found a solution to ensure
that all Zimbabweans are
represented. In 2009, the Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission said it was broke
and could not afford to conduct elections. ZEC
is gearing for presidential
and general elections expected this year and
they require US$200 million.
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Tererai
Karimakwenda
20 January, 2012
The group of Chiredzi farmers accused of
“occupying state land illegally”
will have to wait until March for a ruling
in their case, after the
magistrate delayed his decision at a hearing on
Tuesday.
SW Radio Africa had reported earlier this week that the
magistrate failed to
turn up on Monday. That information was provided by a
trusted source
involved in the case, who has since informed us that it was
the defence
lawyer who failed to show up on 16 January, causing a one-day
delay.
South African Peter Henning, Zimbabwean Robert Style, Swiss
national Theresa
Warth and Mauritians Benoit Lagesse and Benoit Fayd’herbe
refused to vacate
their houses on the farms after government seized all
their land and
agricultural equipment without compensation.
The
authorities claim the farm seizures were part of the so-called land
redistribution programme. But it was actually top officials within ZANU-PF
illegally grabbing prime land through violence and intimidation.
On
Tuesday the court concluded the trial of Mauritian farmer, Ben Fayd’herbe,
and a ruling is expected on 27 January. The other cases were remanded to 14
March, further delaying trials that have been dragging on in the courts for
about three years.
One of the farmers said they are expecting a
90-day eviction order, which
Fayd’herbe can challenge in a higher court. The
delays have become a
familiar ZANU-PF tactic, as they keep everyone tied up
in legal proceedings
while prolonging their grip on power in
Zimbabwe.
Foreign nationals are also supposed to be protected by
bilateral property
agreements signed by Zimbabwe, but are not being honored.
Zim authorities
also dismissed a ruling by the regional human rights
tribunal in Namibia,
which said the land redistribution was racially
discriminatory and
constitutionally illegal.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Alex Bell
20
January 2012
Hundreds of members of the MDC-T Youth Assembly on Friday
held a peaceful
march in central Masvingo Town demanding the “immediate and
unconditional”
release of party activists still being held behind
bars.
The march started from Main Street and ended at the Civic Centre
where
National Youth Assembly leaders addressed the youths, calling for the
immediate release of Youth Assembly Chairman Solomon Madzore and seven other
party members. The youths moved around the city centre wielding placards
denouncing Johannes Tomana, the Attorney-General and ZANU PF politicians for
using the courts to persecute and not prosecute MDC members, the independent
media and civic society members.
Madzore and the other seven have
remained behind bars since last year in
connection with the death of Glen
View policeman Petros Mutedza. The eight
are part of a group of 28 MDC-T
members who have been charged in connection
with the death, which is said to
have happened during a bar fight back in
May 2011.
Madzore was
arrested in October last year and efforts to have him released
on bail have
failed. The other seven who are still detained were also denied
bail
following their arrest in May. The seven are: Glen View Ward 32
Councillor
Tungamirai Madzokere, Rebecca Mafikeni, Phenias Nhatarikwa,
Lazarus
Maengahama, Stanford Maengahama, Yvonne Musarurwa and Stanford
Mangwiro.
Clifford Hlatywayo, the Youth Assembly spokesperson
described the march
as a success, telling SW Radio Africa on Friday that at
least 300 youth
members joined the action. He also said that their message
was “loud and
clear”. He added that the demonstrations will spread
throughout the country
calling for changes in the judicial and took a swipe
at ZANU PF for
politicising the system.
A similar protest last
weekend resulted in at least 50 MDC-T youths being
assaulted by police in
Bulawayo after their arrest. They had gathered for a
planned “Free Madzore”
demonstration due to take place the same day. The
group was eventually
released without charge.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Seventeen members of Women of
Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) arrested at 8:30am 19
Jan 2012 have now all been
released from custody. The police are to proceed
by way of summons if they
can unearth an offence once the investigation is
complete. WOZA is deeply
concerned at the treatment of our young members,
five of whom are deeply
traumatised.
20.01.1206:29am
by WOZA
WOZA leaders met the
activists to hear their testimonies. Many of the young
women were wearing an
identical and fashionable blouse - that seemed to make
them stand out for
arrest.
Nicole and Patience received the brunt of the violence and told
chilling
accounts. A female officer based at Donnington police station -
officer
Matshaya set upon some of the members standing at the complex and
beckoned
to them loudly announcing 'WOZA people today I am going to fix
you'. The
disciplined non violent activists were then bundled into a van and
taken to
Donnington Police station.
Matshaya and 5 other officers
then proceeded to torture the women by making
them sit still on 'air
chairs', a very painful position. The six officers
forced over the head of
Nicole a plastic bag ordering her to kick her foot
when ready to 'talk'
before she suffocates.
One officer knocked a broomstick on the heads of
others all the while
threatening them to admit to planning a protest. They
were not planning a
protest and even if they were participating in a
peaceful protest is not
illegal in Zimbabwe. They had merely gone to the
shopping centre upon
hearing that there would be a sale.
Officer
Matshaya then escorted the members to Central Police station where
Officer
George Levison Ngwenya of Law and Order was ready to receive them.
He set
upon Patience Mahlangu beating her and drawing blood accusing her of
being a
Satanist. All the 16 were threatened and harassed as their details
were
being recorded. The single male member was separated and
released.
Officer Ngwenya then announced to the your women - ' we are
going to remove
your panties and beat your bottoms. Fortunately the lawyer
arrived at that
moment and the officers then had to back down. The lawyers
remained with the
activists through the recording of profile information.
The police also
insisted that they will photograph the activist so that they
can be
identified in any future demonstration.
As the activists left
the police station at 330pm, Officer Ngwenya followed
them outside to tell
them 'when you see me around town don't hate me I was
just doing my job'.
WOZA question when the job of a police officer changed
to a perpetrator of
violence and torturer of women?
Meanwhile WOZA leaders Jennifer Williams
and Magodonga Mahlangu will appear
in Tredgold Magistrates court at 9am 20
January 2012 for Magistrate Sangweni
to read his reasons for dismissing the
application for discharge at close of
state case in a continuation of the
Kidnap and Theft Trial.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Little known Raymond Chamba on
Thursday launched his bid for the presidency
as an independent
candidate.
20.01.1211:26am
by Fungi Kwaramba
Chamba, however,
does not see himself as the next president of Zimbabwe. He
says he wants to
give his ideas to Zimbabweans so that they can make a
choice to move away
from the current politics which he said border on
pettiness..
“The
coddling of mediocrity and denigration of excellence has desecrated the
hopes of our forefathers and dreamers thereafter. Let’s stop normalizing the
abnormal, the grotesque political freak-show that is the GNU as presently
constructed. Political pimps, old ringmasters, petty egoists and narrow
ethno-centrists need to be put to pasture,” said Chamba.
Chamba who
expressed his admiration of incumbent president Robert Mugabe
said that he
remains Zanu PF inside his heart but decried the factionalism
in the old
party which he said has led to factionalism.
The talkative presidential
hopeful who is 41 said that he is ready for
elections to end the current
dispensation which he said is dominated by
seasoned clowns.
“A
Zimbabwe circus republic of the unwilling weak majority spellbound and
presided over by seasoned political clowns and ringmasters has run its full
course and season. It’s time to pass the baton,” said Chamba to an audience
of eight people.
Chamba despite claiming to be a Zanu PF faithful
said that the look east
policy is retrogressive and said that his
campaigning will seek to make
people see the imperatives of opening up to
the outside world.
“Our present diplomatic tiff with the Western world is
effectively
retrogressive. On the strength of misdirected diplomatic bravura
we have
effectively managed to turn the overthrow of the shackles of white
settler
minority discrimination into a new politically elite led deliverance
into
the manacles of Chinese irresponsible, minimalist investments and
laissez –faire local labor abuse,” said Chamba.
Chamba, who is based
in the united states of america said he is going to
mount a media campaign
that will see him being publicly endorsed by American
hip-hop mega stars and
evangelists.
Chamba joins the list politicians who add satire to the
country political
mix such as Job Sikhala of the MDC 99 and Daniel, another
independent
candidate.
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Lance Guma
20 January
2012
The parliamentary select committee (COPAC), tasked with coming up
with a new
constitution, is being accused of blowing almost US$100 000 a
week in
accommodation, travel and sitting allowances for its
members.
A report in the weekly Zimbabwe Independent newspaper quoted a
source who
said: “Committee members are receiving US$125 a day each as
sitting
allowances; getting full-board accommodation in five-star hotels or
lodges
that cost around US$200 a day, and receive fuel allocation for
transport.”
In addition the 15-man technical team assisting the three
drafters to write
the constitution is said to be receiving higher
allowances. According to
Douglas Mwonzora, one of the COPAC co-chairs, the
allowances being paid had
been agreed to by Robert Mugabe, Morgan Tsvangirai
and Arthur Mutambara.
“COPAC does not set its own salaries and
allowances. The allowances are set
by the management committee which is made
up of the representatives of the
principals as well as United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP),” Mwonzora
said.
At the ZANU PF
conference in December last year, party leader Robert Mugabe
threatened to
undermine the constitution-making process if the draft did not
include ZANU
PF’s position. With the process now at drafting stage, ZANU PF
has already
betrayed the fact they feel the MDC-T positions have dominated.
Early
this month War vets leader Jabulani Sibanda, called on Mugabe to
dissolve
parliament and announce a date for fresh elections. Sibanda,
notorious for
his tour of terror in the Masvingo and Manicaland provinces,
claimed COPAC
had failed to deliver a draft constitution which is acceptable
to
them.
Accusations that COPAC are deliberately delaying the constitution
making
process to make more money for its members, have provided ammunition
to ZANU
PF and its support structures including the war
vets.
Meanwhile it’s been revealed that the majority of people who
contributed in
the constitutional outreach want the maximum age for a
presidential
candidate to be 70 years. Although it’s unlikely such a clause
will be
incorporated into the draft, it would have meant Mugabe, at 88 this
year,
would not be able to stand.
Such a clause would also mean
Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU) leader
Dumiso Dabengwa, 73 this year,
would not be able to stand. A source told SW
Radio Africa that “at this
stage only the three drafters know what sort of
clauses have been
incorporated into the draft. All this talk of age limits
is just
speculation.”
Friday, 20 January 2012
Police in Victoria Falls today
arrested a bookshop owner, Sinekiwe Matore for selling the President
Tsvangirai’s book, At the Deep at End at her shop.
Matore is the owner of
Rosepet Bookshop in central Victoria Falls Town. The police officers are also
looking for Matore’s business partner, Mlamuli Mabhena.
On 17 January
2012, the police raided the bookshop and confiscated all the 10 books in stock,
which they took to the police station before asking Matore and Mabhena to
produce invoices showing how they had purchased the books.
The receipts
produced showed the books had been purchased at a bookshop in
Harare.
However, today, Friday, one police officer who identified himself
as Officer Shiri from the Law and Order Section went to Rosepet and arrested
Matore.
At the police station, the police had planted some subversive
material, red cards and small MDC flags inside all the 10 books. One of the
subversive materials has a list of 11 Zanu PF officials including Robert Mugabe
which claims that they should be eliminated.
The Victoria Falls police
are now desperate to place false charges against the two bookshop owners by the
planting seditious material in order take them to court.
Last year,
senior MDC officials at Harvest House, the MDC headquarters, unearthed a plot by
State security agents to plant incriminating evidence at the party offices, the
Prime Minister’s offices and his residence in order to arrest several senior
party officials.
At the Deep End is an autobiography of President
Tsvangirai and was officially launched last December. At its launch at Harare’s
Book Café, At the Deep End sold a staggering 235 copies within two hours, with
the President at hand to personally autograph them.
The 663 page book
chronicles President Tsvangirai’s personal and political life.
The book,
according to President Tsvangirai, was titled At the Deep End on account of the
challenges he has faced, some of which were “knife-edge and like being thrown at
the deep end”.
“I had to swim and overcome all the obstacles,” the
President says.
He said that so much had been written about him from
other people’s perspectives and not from his own view-point.
The book is
doing well in Zimbabwe, South Africa and the SADC region at large while it is
also selling well in Europe, USA and Australia.
At the Deep End was
written by President Tsvangirai in collaboration with his former spokesperson
and veteran journalist, Tagwirei William Bango. The book was published by
Penguin Books of South Africa.
Those who would like to order copies
can contact Edith on 263 772 248 568.
The people's struggle for
real change - Lets finish it!!!
--
MDC Information
& Publicity Department
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
By Pindai Dube
Friday, 20 January 2012
10:02
BULAWAYO - Bulawayo High Court Judge Justice Lawrence Kamocha
will today
make a ruling on an application by three Matabeleland South
villagers who
are seeking a court order instructing Home Affairs minister
Kembo Mohadi to
vacate their farm.
Given Mbedzi, Alfheli Nare and
Kumbirai Ncube are seeking a High Court order
barring Mohadi, his wife
Tambudzani and his son Campbell respectively from
trying to evict them from
their Plot Number 1 of Lot 9 of Jopembe Block in
Matabeleland
South.
The Mohadis want to evict the villagers to pave way for their
22-year-old
son.
The ruling will be made today at Justice Kamochas’
Chambers at 10am.
Justice Kamocha took over the case after Justice
Nicholas Ndou recused
himself from the matter.
According to the
urgent chamber application filed on their behalf by
Zibusiso Ncube, the trio
want the minister’s 22-year-old son Campbell, his
mother Tambudzani and
their employees, Danisa Muleya and Samuel Sibanda to
remove all their
property and the locks they installed at Mbedzi’s Plot
Number 1 of Lot 9 of
Jopembe Block in an attempt to evict them.
Mbezi also alleges that the
Mohadis wanted to shoot him and his colleagues
with an AK 47 at his farm but
the firearm jammed twice.
He said they ran for their lives but his
67-year-old mother Philani Ndou
and Soforia were shoved into the Mohadis’
vehicle and taken back to his plot
where his property was strewn all over
the yard.
He said the Mohadis and their agents forced the pair to remove
the property
at gunpoint.
Mbedzi said he feared for his life as the
threats by the Mohadis’ were real.
The application comes after Mbedzi,
his mother, Philani, Soforia and her son
Knowledge Muleya, Alifa Mbedzi and
James Mbedzi appeared at Gwanda
Magistrates’ Courts two weeks ago facing
charges of malicious damage to
property.
They will be back in court
on March 6 for routine remand over the matter.
http://www.radiovop.com/
Bulawayo, January 20, 2012 Mthwakazi
Liberation Front (MLF) secretary
general, Paul Siwela, the former movement’s
secretary general, John Gazi and
deputy secretary for security, Charles
Thomas, who are facing treason
charges have been taken into the state’s
custody ahead of their trial on
February 07.
The state alleges the
trio some time last year distributed flyers calling
upon members of the
public and security forces to turn against the
Government and join Mthwakazi
Republic, a state which they allegedly want to
establish after secession
from the rest of the country.
Siwela and Thomas were out of custody on $2
000 bail while Gazi is serving a
10 months jail term for a fraud involving a
building in the city.
Siwela’s wife confirmed that her husband and Thomas
had been taken in by the
state.
“They had gone for remand hearing and
were to be indicted. It was said, by
the state, they are now supposed to be
in custody. As I speak to you right
now, they are being held at the cells in
the magistrate’s courts and will be
taken to Khami Prison later,” she said
on Thursday.
The trio appeared before Tawanda Muchemwa.
“You are
to be indicted in the High Court of Zimbabwe sitting at Harare on
February
7, 2012,” Muchemwa ruled.
When the three were asked if they were against
the indictment, they all
consented.
Court officials said, Siwela and
Thomas’ locking up means the $2 000 bails
which they previously paid no
longer apply and were to apply to the High
Court for bail
again.
Gazi, Thomas and Siwela have not been asked to plead to the
treason charge
11 months since the treason case opened at the Bulawayo
magistrate courts.
Lawyer Sindiso Shepherd Mazibisa of Cheda and partners
is representing the
trio.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
By Tendai Kamhungira and Xolisani
Ncube
Friday, 20 January 2012 13:30
HARARE - A maid to the late
retired army general Solomon Mujuru says she
heard gunshots on the day he
died in a reported fire outbreak at his farm in
Beatrice.
Giving
evidence at Harare Magistrates’ Courts where an inquest into Mujuru’s
death
is underway, Rosemary Short also revealed that the General had frosty
relations with police guarding him, prompting Mujuru to warn the maid to
take care of her own security matters since he believed the officers were
unreliable.
Tears streamed down Short’s cheeks as she recounted her
last moments with
Mujuru to regional magistrate in the Chief Magistrate’s
office, Walter
Chikwanha for the second day running.
In her evidence,
Short said she had heard gunshots on the night Mujuru died.
She becomes the
second person after Clemence Runhari, a private guard, to
tell the court of
gunshots being heard on the fateful night.
Short talked about the
gunshots after Tendai Munda- warara, a nephew to the
late general, quizzed
her on the type of sounds she had heard on the night.
She tried to avoid
discussing the subject of alleged gunshots, forcing
Mundawarara to re-
peatedly press her on the matter until she opened up.
“I heard the sound
of gun- shots,” she said.
“When the police officer (Obert Mark) arrived
at my quarters, he told me
that the sounds were from asbestos sheets that
were bursting and he also
told me the smell was coming from property which
was burnt from the General’s
house,” she said.
Short told the court
that ini- tially she did not take the sound of gunshots
seriously because
police officers occasionally fired shots claiming they
were shooting snakes
or alerting people of their presence at the farm. She
later said the whole
incident left her confused.
Mujuru’s icy relations with police details
“who had over- stayed” at the
farm also came under the
spotlight.
According to Short, the late Mujuru had had a misunder- standing
with
officers at the farm over an assault incident that had taken place at
the
farm earlier.
"He left the court in stitches when he claimed that
he sprinted 300 metres
in 30 sec- onds to alert his colleague after being
terrified by the sounds
he heard from Muju- ru’s house.
She said
police officers as- saulted a farm worker while they were drunk,
prompting
the late national hero to quiz them over the incident.
“It was from that
day that the police officers would avoid the General,”
Short said after she
had been asked by Mu- juru’s brother, Joel, to explain
the nature of the
relationship between the late General and police officers.
“Can you
confirm that the General informed you that (at the time) you had no
security
at the farm and you were guard- ing yourself?’’ asked Tirivanhu
Mudariki, a
friend to the late General.
Short confirmed that Mujuru had confided in
her that the po- lice officers
providing security were not doing their job
well and instructed her not to
give them food.
“For the General to
approach me, it was because I was the one who would
provide them with food
whenever their stocks ran out.
“The General told me not to give them food
because he was not happy with the
way they were carrying out their duties,”
Short said.
Short also disclosed that the police officers had overstayed
at the farm and
one time the late Retired General had sug- gested that he
wanted them out.
While media reports had earlier suggested a seven-
centimetre candle started
the fire that is suspected to have eventually
killed Mujuru, Short — who has
been an employee at the Mujuru farm for the
past 10 years — ruled out the
assertion.
She told the court that she
did not leave a matchbox in Mujuru’s bedroom
when she left for her quarters
on the day.
She further claimed that there was no way Mujuru could have
carried a match
box on him since the General was not a smoker.
Giving
her evidence, Short said it was unusual for Mu- juru to leave
groceries in
an unlocked vehicle as well as parking the car close to a door
he would not
use.
According to further infor- mation proffered by Short, keys to
Mujuru’s
vehicle have not yet been found.
During the hearing yester-
day, Clemence Chimbari from the Attorney General’s
Office produced a bunch
of keys which Short confirmed as keys that Mujuru
used for his entry into
the main house.
Short concurred with Chimbari that the keys he had
produced were the ones
Mujuru had said he had forgotten in
Harare.
The keys produced by Chim- bari are said to have been found in
Mujuru’s
bedroom after the fire, together with two separate
bunches.
By yesterday, 14 witnesses had testified and 28 more are
expected to give
evidence be- fore Chikwanha.
Yesterday, three more
wit- nesses testified after Short had finished giving
her evidence with one
Samuel Lewis, a farm security guard denying what he
had told police during
their ini- tial investigations that he heard gunshots
on the day Mujuru
died.
He left the court in stitches when he claimed that he sprint- ed
300 metres
in 30 seconds to alert his colleague after being terrified by the
sounds he
heard from Mujuru’s house.
Ernest Nyamanja, another
security guard at the farm and Apronia Chitashu, a
niece to the late
General, also testified.
The matter continues today with four more
witnesses lined as the inquest
enters its fifth day.
The inquest is
being conducted in terms of Section Six of the Inquest Act
which reads: “The
proceedings and evidence at an inquest shall be directed
solely to
ascertaining (a) who the deceased was; (b) how, when and where the
deceased
came to his death.”
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com/
by 19/01/2012
18:18:00
Ineffectiveness of security personnel guarding the late
Retired General
Solomon Mujuru’s house at his Ruzambu Farm in Beatrice came
under the
spotlight as the inquest to establish the cause of his death
entered day 4
at Rotten Row Magistrate Court in Harare.
The trio
would reportedly fire guns at will and assaulted a farm worker. Gen
Mujuru's
maid, Ms Rosemary Short, said relations between her boss and the
policemen
had deteriorated to an extent that he stopped her from giving them
food.
She said constables Obert Mark, Augustinos Chinyoka and Lazarus
Handikatari
disturbed peace at the farm.
Ms Short was testifying at the
ongoing inquest into the death of Gen Mujuru
in a fire on August 15 last
year.
The hearing is being presided over by provi-ncial magistrate Mr Walter
Chikwanha at the Harare Magistrates' Courts.
"The police officers'
relations with Gen Mu-juru were sour," said Ms Short.
"He told me that
the officers were avoiding him and he wanted them changed,
but he let them
stay because they had only a few days left.
"Gen Mujuru was always concerned
with security at the farm and at one time
he told me that there was
virtually no security at the farm and that we were
actually guarding
ourselves."
Ms Short said when she asked the cops why they were always
firing their
guns, they told her that they wanted to scare those who might
want to attack
the farmhouse.
At times the policemen said they were
firing at snakes.
Ms Short said relations between Gen Mujuru and the
policemen further
deteriorated when they severely assaulted a farm
worker.
The worker, Ms Short said, was thrown into a ditch full of water
after the
assault and was only rescued by his wife.
He was taken to
hospital where he was treated for the injuries.
The farm worker had
apparently fought a workmate at the local bar.
Ms Short said the policemen
were drunk when they assaulted the worker.
"Gen Mujuru asked them if they
had carried out any investigations into the
matter and they said they had
not."
"He wondered what type of police officers they were when they rushed to
act
without carrying out investigations.
"I used to give the policemen
food when theirs had run out, but Gen Mujuru
stopped me from doing so
because he was not happy with the way they
conducted their
duties."
Ms Short - who worked for Gen Mujuru since 2000 - said policemen
who used to
guard the farmhouse in the past would spend only 42 weeks at the
farm.
But the three, who were on duty on the fateful night, had stayed
longer.
Ms Short said there was nothing flammable in Gen Mujuru's bedroom
that could
start a fire.
But Mr Chikwanha ordered the State to
determine how flammable some of the
items said to have been in the house
were.
Ms Short said there were chemicals to treat livestock, kits for
operating
cattle, bottles of dish washing liquid, oven cleaner, window
cleaner,
scouring powder, toilet cleaner, candles, boxes of
matches
and petroleum jelly.
She confirmed that a bunch of keys
found in the main bedroom after the fire
was the bunch which Gen Mujuru
kept, but said that Gen Mujuru had told her
that he had left the keys in
Harare when he asked her that night for her key
to the kitchen door.
Ms
Short did not know how the General's keys were discovered in the bedroom
when Gen Mujuru had told her that he did not have them.
A television
set and malfunctioning air conditioners were the only
electrical appliances
in the main bedroom, she said.
Ms Short did not accept what other witnesses
said, that the fire could have
started in the geyser or the air
conditioner.
Gen Mujuru, Ms Short said, did not smoke and kept neither
matches nor a
cigarette lighter. Ms Short was surprised to
discover
that Gen Mujuru did not lock doors to his car that night and
left groceries
in the vehicle.
"He never did that since I worked for
him," she said. "He never left his car
open with groceries inside."
Ms
Short heard explosions during the night before Const Mark woke her to
tell
her that the house was on fire.
At first she thought the sounds were of
gunfire because the cops used to
fire their guns anytime, but Const Mark
told her that the noise was from
exploding asbestos sheets.
Ms Short said
she did not talk about the sounds to the investigating police
officers
because she was overwhelmed by the events.
A security guard at the farm,
Mr Samuel Lewis, said he also heard explosions
before he teamed up with
another guard at the next gate to go to the main
house to investigate.
He
heard from those at the main house that it was the asbestos sheets that
were
exploding.
Mr Lewis said he saw Gen Mujuru around 8pm alone in the car when
he left to
visit the nearby shops.
Gen Mujuru returned to the
farmhouse alone.
Mr Lewis raised laughter in the courtroom when he said he
ran more than 300
metres in half a minute.
The 13th witness, Ernest
Nyamanja, a security guard at the late general's
shop since 2002, said he
met him on the night of the inferno.
"I saw the General at around 8pm at
the gate leading into the shop premises
and I spoke to him and he told me
that he wanted to go to Rosy's (Ms
Short's) place," he said.
Mr Nyamanja
opened the gate and the General went to the maid's house before
returning in
about five minutes.
Asked by Ms Sharon Fero of the Attorney General's Office,
who was leading
the evidence, on Gen Mujuru's state of sobriety, Nyamanja
said he did not
look drunk and was in his normal senses.
"After
sometime, police details who came from the direction of the General's
house
approached me and told me that Gen Mujuru's house was on fire," he
said.
"I asked the policeman whether he (Gen Mujuru) had come out of the
house,
but he told me that he had not come out."
The security guard said
he suggested to the policeman that it followed that
Gen Mujuru had been
burnt inside the house.
The policeman, he said, told him that he was not
aware of the state of Gen
Mujuru given that the house was on fire.
Asked
by the Mujuru family lawyer Mr Takor Kewada whether he heard any noise
from
the farm house, Nyamanja said: "I heard sound of something bursting but
I
could not tell what it was given the considerable distance (from the shop
to
Mujuru residence)."
Another witness Ms Apronia Chitashu, a shopkeeper at
the farm who said Gen
Mujuru was her uncle, said she went to bed at 9pm on
August 15.
She said she heard a knock at her door at around 2:30am and when
she came
out she saw Mr Nyamanja who told her that Gen Mujuru's house was on
fire.
Ms Chitashu told the court that Gen Mujuru's body was found in the
lounge.
She did not hear any sounds during the night.
Four other witnesses
are expected to testify today.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com/
20/01/2012 00:00:00
by Staff
Reporter
THE grisly manner of General Solomon Mujuru’s death was
again dredged up in
court Friday when his gardener described how rescuers
found his body
engulfed in flames and had to use buckets of water to douse
the fire.
There was a hushed silence in the courtroom as the General’s
gardner,
Tawanda Madondo related how Mujuru’s body was discovered still
ablaze and
rescuers needed more than one bucket of water to put the flames
out.
Madondo was one of the five witnesses who gave evidence as the
inquest into
the mysterious death of the ex-army chief and independence war
hero entered
its fifth day .
Mujuru’s charred remains were discovered
in one of the rooms after the main
farmhouse at his Beatrice property was
gutted by an, as yet, unexplained
fire last August, prompting speculation
that the influential Zanu PF
power-broker may have been
murdered.
Gardner, Madondo told the inquest that he had been woken up by
a police
officer at around 2:26 am and told to go to the farmhouse and show
them the
General’s bedroom.
He said it however, took them about an
hour and a half to get to the gutted
property. Mujuru’s maid, Rosemary
Short, told the inquest early in the week
that the workers compound is
located some three kilometres away from the
farmhouse.
“When we got
to the farmhouse the bedroom was completely gutted by fire.”
Madondo said
adding that after a while one of the police officers announced
that he had
located the General’s body.
Madondo said they found the remains still on
fire adding one of the officers
had to use two buckets of water to put out
the flames.
The Mujuru family’s lawyer, Thakor Kewada, again rapped the
ZRP officers on
duty that August 15 night, wondering why they would waste
time running
around looking for the gardener instead of smashing the windows
of the house
and trying to rescue the General.
“I put it across that
instead of the police running around looking for the
gardener, they could
have broken all the windows and tried to locate the
General” Kewada
said.
“It was a complete waste of time on the part of the officer to walk
around
the compound for all that time that could have been used to try and
find the
General.”
Kewada blasted the ZRP officers for being negligent
and non-committal in
their duties.
Some of the officers admitted in
their evidence that they had fallen asleep
and only woke up when the whole
house was ablaze and the fire too intense
for them to try and rescue
Mujuru.
Mujuru’s maid also testified that the General was so appalled
by officers’
performance that he had contemplated dismissing them just days
before his
horrific death.
Four more witnesses testified on Friday
but Kewada said their evidence was
not very useful since their involvement
in the events of that night was
marginal.
The inquest was adjourned to
the 24th of January when more witnesses are
expected to give evidence.
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com
Staff
Reporter 5 hours 2 minutes ago
HARARE – The proceedings into the
inquest to establish the circumstances
surrounding the mysterious death of
retired General Solomon Tapfumanei
Mujuru were adjourned to next Tuesday
after twenty witnesses testified.
Proceedings were subdued as none of the
fife witnesses summoned to testify
were proximately linked to the events
which led to the mysterious fire
incident which claimed the life of the most
decorated General in
post-independent Zimbabwe, Retired General Solomon
Mujuru.
Tawanda Madondo, who came in as the fifteenth witness and who was
employed
as a farm gardener, narrated how he had joined others in
extinguishing the
fire on the morning of the 16th of August at Ruzambo Farm
main house, after
being called by one police officer.
When quizzed by
the Mujuru family’s legal representative, Mr. Thakor Kewada,
on whether it
was logical for the police officers to look for help from the
compound
whilst the house was on fire, Tawanda said it would have been
prudent for
the officers to break through the window and attempt to locate
and rescue
the General.
Emannuel Musona, the farm welder and the sixteenth witness,
had nothing to
offer as evidence, given that he only heard of the fire
incident when he
reported for work around 6 am on the 16th of August
2011.
Similarly the seventeenth, witnesses Biara Ewire, a private
security guard,
knew of the fire incident after it had passed, but Ruzambo
Farm clerk since
1995, Steven Harineyi, took part in the extinguishing of
the fire at the
farm house and was part of the group that discovered the
charred remains of
the late General close to the veranda
door.
Sarudzai Nyakudya, a State employee responsible for the welfare of
house
maids, came in as the nineteenth witness and only narrated how she had
received a telephone call from Rosemary Short who indicated that she was not
feeling well on the morning of the 15th. She did not see the General on the
day in question.
The final witnesses of the days proceedings, Samuel
Gamanya the Farm Manager
at Blackistone farm which is next to Ruzambo Farm,
only narrated how he had
spoken to the General during the evening of the
night before the fire
incident. He also brought a lighter moment when he
switched from Shona to
English after having detected sarcasm from the state
interpreter.
After the proceedings, Mr. Kewada said that most of the
witnesses summoned
for the day had little to offer in trying to establish
the missing link in
the investigations.
The late Generals elder
brother, Mr. Joel Mujuru, commended the efforts made
by the parties to the
inquest to establish the cause of his brothers death.
Regional Magistrate
Mr. Walter Chikwanha then adjourned the inquest
proceedings to Tuesday next
week after the State prosecutors and the legal
council had requested the
deferment.
The inquest into the 2011 mysterious fire death of
Solomon Mujuru, Zimbabwe’s
former army chief and liberation war hero, is
hearing testimony from some 40
witnesses. The proceedings in Harare will go
into next week - longer than
anticipated. Some controversial and also
contradictory evidence on several
key issues has marked the inquest this
week.
Rosemary Short, Solomon Mujuru’s housekeeper, testified that the
relationship between him and his police security detail had soured and he
complained they were reckless - including randomly discharging their
weapons.
The retired Army chief’s home in Beatrice, south of Harare,
was guarded by
both police and a private security company. Some question why
Mujuru did not
escape the fire that that killed him last August with such a
protection
force.
Testimony from staff, police and private security
this week as was
frequently contradictory about the events immediately
preceding the fire.
The guard at the outer perimeter gate said Mujuru
arrived home in a light
truck, sober and accompanied by a male passenger.
But the police officer at
the inner perimeter gate testified Mujuru was
drunk, alone in the vehicle
with a suit draped over the passenger
seat.
One police officer testified that he and two colleagues were
actually
sleeping before they were alerted to the fire - prompting criticism
from
widow and Vice President Joice Mujuru.
“So this person in
particular was wrong in sleeping on duty," she accused.
"Taking
circumstances in which these things happened, it is really shocking.
And you
say to yourself, is this how a person can discharge himself when he
is
supposed to do his duty.”
Vice president Mujuru - speaking outside the
inquest venue - also complained
that her family and lawyers had not been
given access to key court documents
until after the inquest began rather
than the required 14 days ahead.
“The concerns were that we were not
served with papers that we were supposed
to as from yesterday," she noted.
"So it is very unfair for a lawyer or for
the family to then follow the
proceedings. So for them to then continue with
whatever supposed to be done,
was going to be unfair on the part of the
family.”
There has been
speculation that a candle or a cigarette may have caused the
fire - that
killed Solomon Mujuru, 62, on August 16.
But housekeeper Short testified
Mujuru did not smoke and there were no
candles, matches or cigarette
lighters in the bedroom - where the blaze is
believed to have
started.
His widow and others have said the bedroom had large, low
windows and doors
with access to the outside -so they cannot understand why
he did not escape.
Testimony continues next week into the death of this
hero of Zimbabwe’s
liberation war - who had a key role in helping President
Robert Mugabe into
power. They had a falling out in 2008 - possibly because
it became widely
accepted that Mujuru was pushing for his wife to replace
the aging
president.
Some analysts say that despite her husband’s
passing, Joice Mujuru is the
only senior member of the ZANU-PF party,
including Mugabe, who could
actually beat Movement for Democratic Change,
MDC, leader Morgan Tsvangirai
in a free and fair election.
The three
main parties including the MDC and ZANU-PF have been in a
so-called
"inclusive" government since 2009.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com/
19/01/2012 00:00:00
by
Sapa
THE process of documenting more than 250 000 Zimbabweans living
in South
Africa has almost been completed, a senior home affairs official
said on
Thursday.
Director General, Mkuseli Apleni said 255 282
Zimbabweans had been granted
permits to make their stay legal. Another 20
480 applications had to be
finalised.
He hoped that the process would
be completed by the end of March.
In April 2010, Pretoria announced a
moratorium on the deportation of
Zimbabweans.
They were granted a
special dispensation to get documents and make their
stay in South Africa
legal.
Zimbabweans had until December 2010 to apply.
A total of
275 762 applications for permits were received, according to
South Africa's
home affairs department.
Apleni rejected claims reportedly made last
month by Zimbabwe's Home Affairs
Co-Minister Kembo Mohadi that a second
phase to document Zimbabweans was in
the pipeline.
"We have said it
is closed forever. If there are those who did not take up
that offer, they
are now here illegally."
Local media quoted Mohadi as saying Zimbabwean
officials would be meeting
their South African counterparts in the new year
to begin "the second
phase".
"Last year, we engaged the South African
government on regularising our
people, but many were initially suspicious.
They thought that we wanted to
arrest them," he was quoted as
saying.
"But they are now coming up in large numbers and we hope we will
be able to
have them regularised."
Apleni said there were plans afoot
for the regularisation of other nationals
from Southern African Development
Community (SADC) countries, but this did
not involve Zimbabwe.
"After
Zimbabwe the (Home Affairs) Minister (Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma) will
look at
what the next country will be in this process," he said. It will be
a SADC
country."
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
By Business Writer/miningmx.com
Friday,
20 January 2012 12:49
HARARE - Regulatory uncertainty, which has
dashed hopes of a new dawn for
Zimbabwe’s mining industry in 2011, will
continue to weigh heavily on
investor sentiment this year amid the
advancement of indigenisation and
looming elections.
The African
Development Bank (AfDB) recently warned that the indigenisation
law — which
has forced foreign-owned mining firms to abandon majority
stakes — would put
a further damper on investment in 2012.
Several economists and mining
executives inside Zimbabwe agree that a
rethink is needed on the
controversial empowerment drive.
“Mining companies are currently not
looking at further investment and
expansion of projects because the
environment is still uncertain,” said an
economist at a Zimbabwean financial
institution."
“This year will certainly bring a lot of headaches for
mining executives. We
have already seen the government approve an increase
in royalties for gold
and platinum, and it could worsen if elections are
called.”
Some firms have already felt the brunt of these
changes.
Caledonia Mining Corporation, which operates the Blanket gold
mine in
southern Zimbabwe, almost lost its assets after the government said
the
company had been unwilling to comply with the controversial
expropriation
law.
The government has also approved a hike in
royalties for gold and platinum —
to seven percent, from 4,5 percent, and to
10 percent from five percent,
respectively — while platinum miners also face
a new law forcing them to set
up refineries in the country.
The AfDB
warned that an increase in royalties would curtail production,
while early
elections could slow down growth in the whole economy.
“The increase in
royalties can result in a fall in production as those firms
mining in
low-grade areas will face an increase in the unit cost of
production; hence
they will be forced to slash output. "
“This also implies that potential
investors could be discouraged from
investing…. by the increased cost of
production and the reduction in
profitability.”
Another economist,
Eric Bloc, pointed out that the new mining royalties were
“higher than what
other mining countries” in the region were charging, and
agrees that these
would “reduce the profitability of the mining sector” and
act as a deterrent
to new investors.
He was quoted saying that platinum production by
JSE-listed Impala Platinum’s
Zimbabwe unit, Zimplats, could plummet in
2012.
He said this after the Zimbabwean government slapped the company,
which also
jointly runs the Mimosa project together with Aquarius Platinum,
with a $28
million tax claim on back-dated royalties for
platinum.
Mining companies in Zimbabwe are also likely to be hit by a
surging demand
for wage increases.
This has already affected Canadian
gold miner New Dawn Mining, which runs
the Turk and Angelus gold mines,
after employees stopped production earlier
this year.
New Dawn said
the job action would significantly jeopardise plans to further
increase
production at its existing properties to a run rate of 100 000
ounces of
annualised gold production by December 2014.
However, some are still
succeeding in raking in profits.
These include Mwana Africa, whose Freda
Rebecca gold mine doubled production
to 21 893 ounces for the third quarter,
significantly up from 10 915 ounces
in the same period in
2010.
Indications were that Mwana will either maintain or improve its
performance.
The Mimosa joint venture between Zimplats and Aquarius was
also expecting to
raise platinum output while Anglo Platinum’s recently
commissioned Unki
project was expected to ramp up production in line with
expected targets.
Finance minister Tendai Biti in his 2012 national
budget announced the
upward review of royalty fees for gold and platinum
from 4,5 percent and
five percent to seven percent and 10 percent,
respectively, in order to
maximise the contribution of mineral resources to
the fiscus with effect
from January 1, 2012.
The minister said the
decision had been driven by the need for the mining
sector to make a
meaningful contribution to the nation’s fiscus after only
collection a
paltry $44,1 million from royalties during the period under
review, compared
to sales of $1,7 billion.