http://www.sabcnews.com/
January 03
2011 , 1:00:00
At least ten thousand applications of undocumented
Zimbabweans who applied
for special dispensation have been rejected. Acting
Chief Director of
permits at the Department of Home Affairs, Jacob Mamabolo
says the rejected
applications will undergo a review process before they are
final.
Mr. Mamabolo added that the department has recorded a total of
2-thousand
382 people who handed over illegal documents and are subsequently
applying
for amnesty. He says they have adjudicated 46-thousand applications
so far
and gave an account of their current status.
Last week Friday,
Home Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma assured
Zimbabweans who have
applied for legal documentation that her department
will do its best to
speed up the process of issuing permits.
She said, “At this moment we are
still doing a consolidation of the final
numbers that came in on Friday. So
the next steps are for us is to now
consolidate our adjudication process in
the back office, make sure that we
issue the labels and of course we are
going to look at those applications
that came in without the necessary
supporting documents such as passports.
And that will actually constitute
the next critical steps, until we have
answered to each one of the
applications that came through our offices.”
http://www.bloomberg.com
By Brian
Latham and Mike Cohen - Jan 4, 2011 12:23 AM GMT+1000
South Africa
may start deporting more than 1.2 million Zimbabweans in April
after they
missed a deadline to legalize their residency, Lawyers For Human
Rights
said.
Almost 255,000 Zimbabweans applied to legalize their residency
before the
Dec. 31 deadline, South Africa’s government said while ruling out
an
extension to the process. A “conservative” estimate by Johannesburg’s
University of The Witwatersrand is that there are 1.5 million Zimbabweans in
South Africa, Kaajal Ramjathan-Keogh, the head of the refugee and migrant
rights program for Lawyers for Human Rights, said.
“This leaves a
very significant number of people unprotected,” she said in
an interview
from Johannesburg today. After the applications have been
adjudicated by
about April, deportations are likely to begin, she said,
adding that the
group has lobbied unsuccessfully for the deadline to be
extended.
Zimbabweans started flooding into neighboring South Africa
following the
collapse of their economy and an upsurge in political violence
sparked by
President Robert Mugabe’s policies of forcibly acquiring mainly
white-owned
commercial farms, which began in 2000, and a series of violent
elections.
Mugabe’s Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front party
has ruled the
country in coalition with the Movement for Democratic Change
since February
2009 and elections are due to take place this
year.
“Those who have not applied deliberately took the decision not to
regularize
their status and will have to bear the consequences,” Ronnie
Mamoepa, a
spokesman for the Department of Home Affairs, said today by phone
from the
capital, Pretoria. “We must now adjudicate the
applications.”
‘Arrest and Deportation’
Lines of as long as 2.5
kilometers (1.6 miles) formed outside some Home
Affairs offices in
Johannesburg last week as Zimbabweans tried to get
registered, Business Day
newspaper reported on Dec. 29.
“The Department of Home Affairs has
informed us that while applications are
being processed there will be no
deportations, however these persons will be
vulnerable to arrest and
deportation in the near future,” Ramjathan-Keogh
said in a separate
statement on Dec. 29.
Many Zimbabweans in South Africa are not eligible
for residency permits
because they are unemployed or have part-time jobs,
according to Braam
Hanekom, director of People Against Suffering,
Suppression, Oppression and
Poverty, an organization that aims to assist
immigrants.
Job Competition
The presence of foreign migrants has
sparked resentment among South Africa’s
poor who view them as competitors
for jobs and housing. Xenophobic violence
in May 2008 claimed more than 60
lives and drove thousands from their homes.
South Africa’s government in
September rescinded an April 2009 decision not
to deport illegal Zimbabwean
immigrants and gave them until the end of the
year to request work or
business permits, student visas or refugee status.
Applicants had to show
proof that they had applied for a Zimbabwean
passport.
“The
Zimbabwean authorities have been very slow to cooperate,” Hanekom said
by
phone today from Cape Town. “None of the Zimbabweans down here in South
Africa are likely to vote for Mugabe, so denying them passports” is in his
interest.
The Zimbabwean government rejected an offer of a passport-
making machine
that would have helped produce the documentation, said
Theresa Makone,
Zimbabwe’s joint home affairs minister and a member of the
MDC.
Chased, Killed
“It is regrettable that the offer was turned
down by the registrar general’s
office,” she said today in telephone
interview from Harare, the capital.
“They cited security concerns, but what
those concerns are requires further
investigation.”
Tobias Mudede,
Zimbabwe’s registrar general, did not answer three calls to
his office in
Harare. Zimbabwean human rights organizations Sokwanele and
the Zimbabwe
Election Support Network have accused Mudede of bias toward
Mugabe’s
party.
“The situation is desperate,” said Nixon Kaseke, who sells
Zimbabwean art
along South Africa’s east coast with his brother Brezhnev.
“We have no
papers for South Africa, but business here supports our families
back home,
where there is no business and no tourists to buy
art.”
The brothers, who operate from the back of a pickup truck outside
shopping
malls, plan to remain in South Africa until they are
deported.
With South Africa’s current unemployment rate at 25.3 percent,
the highest
of 62 countries tracked by Bloomberg, the continued presence of
illegal
migrants may spell more unrest.
“There is no work here, why
should we welcome foreigners?” Siyabonga
Tshabeni, a part-time gardener in
Scottburgh, 80 kilometers (50 miles) south
of the eastern port city of
Durban, said in an interview today. “If the
government doesn’t chase them
way, we will chase them away and some will be
killed.”
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/
Jan 3, 2011, 10:32 GMT
Harare
- Authorities in Zimbabwe on Monday confirmed an outbreak of cholera
in
Mbare, one of Harare's oldest suburbs, with at least 20 households having
reportedly been affected.
The report comes amid fears that the
disease may be spreading again across
the poverty-stricken
country.
Portia Munangazira, a doctor and director in Zimbabwe's Ministry
of Health,
told the German Press Agency dpa Monday that Harare was still
struggling to
eradicate the pandemic, which claimed over 4,000 lives and
affected
thousands more nationwide in 2008.
'We leant a lot from the
experience of 2008/2009, but we can't stop it
(cholera). We still have
determinants of cholera,' she said.
She noted ongoing problems with water
quality and lack of proper waste
disposal. A particular problem is sewage
flowing into wells for drinking
water. Munangazira said it is certain that
the sewage is carrying cholera.
'We are worried that there is an outbreak
both in urban and rural areas,'
she said.
Residents in Mbare have
told dpa that problems with the sewer system have
resulted in raw sewage
contaminating drinking water.
Last year Zimbabwe recorded 14 deaths due
to cholera.
http://www.nation.co.ke/
Posted Monday, January 3 2011 at
19:10
HARARE, Monday
Zimbabweans today expressed relief over
indications that elections will most
likely be deferred to the latter part
of the year.
State media reported at the weekend that the postponement of
the elections
would be necessitated by outstanding work on the crafting of a
new
constitution, which will most likely be completed after
June.
Citing unnamed sources, The Sunday Mail said “intervening
complications” in
the implementation of the power-sharing Global Political
Agreement (GPA) by
the three parties in the inclusive government would also
stall the holding
of national elections.
“Talk of elections has been
unsettling me.
‘‘The wounds inflicted on many people during and after the
elections in 2008
are still to heal, and I feared a resurgence of violence
if the elections
were held any time soon,” said Mr Christopher
Mandizha.
Several other people expressed the same sentiments, echoing
calls by the
business community and other civic organizations who have since
called for a
postponement of the elections until conditions
allow.
Zanu-PF leader, President Robert Mugabe, had at the end of 2010
said that
the elections should be held by June at the latest.
Mugabe,
who is in a shaky coalition with leaders of two MDC factions Prime
Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara, is
getting
increasingly disenchanted with the coalition which he says is not
pulling
together.
According to the GPA, the inclusive government’s life is
supposed to end in
February to pave way for fresh elections. (Xinhua)
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com/
02 January, 2011 07:05:00
NDUDUZO TSHUMA | BULAWAYO
MDC-M leader, Deputy Prime Minister Arthur
Mutambara, could be demoted to
the Ministry of Industry and Trade should the
party’s congress elevate
Welshman Ncube to the position of party president,
well-placed party sources
said Sunday.
The MDC-M will hold its
congress in Harare at the weekend where 5 000
delegates are expected to
attend.
Speculation is rife within the party that if Ncube, who looks
almost certain
to ascend to the helm of MDC-M, is elevated to party
president, Mutambara
would be redeployed to fill Ncube’s former post in
government as Minister of
Industry and Trade.
The party’s national
spokesperson Edwin Mushoriwa would yesterday neither
confirm nor deny the
assertion, saying the power to effect such changes in
the party was in the
hands of the standing committee which would be elected
after the party’s
congress.
“The committee will do everything relating to human resources
movement,” he
said.
Mushoriwa dismissed as baseless sentiments by
constitutional expert Lovemore
Madhuku that only President Robert Mugabe
could remove Mutambara from the
post of Deputy Prime Minister.
“The
Global Political Agreement stipulates that one of the Deputy Prime
Ministers
and a certain number of ministers should come from MDC (M),” said
Mushoriwa.
“Legally, any changes can be done but right now we do not
want to do the job
of the standing committee before it is even
elected.”
Party insiders Sunday told NewsDay Mutambara was most likely to
be moved to
Ncube’s portfolio.
“It only makes sense for Mutambara to
take over Ncube’s old position. In any
case he will be more qualified to run
that ministry,” said a party source
speaking on condition of
anonymity.
“The GPA states that Robert Mugabe shall be President and
Morgan Tsvangirai
Prime Minister and goes on to say the two MDC formations
will provide a
Deputy Prime Minister each without mentioning names.
Technically this means
that Mutambara can be recalled as
DPM.”
Another party source said Mutambara’s redeployment would depend on
his ego.
“It remains to be seen if he will agree to change from a DPM to
a minister,”
the source said.
“However, in the event that Ncube is
elevated to the presidency, the most
logical thing is that he should be DPM.
It does not make sense that the
party’s most senior person holds an inferior
position to someone who has
lost support of the party
members.”
“After the congress, names will be forwarded to President
Mugabe for the
changes to be effected. So when he (President Mugabe) comes
from his annual
leave, chances are high that he will be swearing in a new
DPM and
ministers.”
The robotics professor, who switched academics
for politics, said a
fortnight ago that he would not stand for the party
presidency or any other
post at the congress where fireworks were
imminent.
Mutambara was invited by party secretary-general Welshman Ncube
to lead
MDC-M in February 2006 following the split of the MDC in 2005 over
participation in that year’s Senate election called by Zanu PF.
The
DPM, widely viewed in political circles as a bundle of confusion, said
the
congress had caused divisions in his party, but hoped his withdrawal
from
the race would lead to unity.
Mutambara was a student activist between
1988 and 1989, leading
anti-government protests at the University of
Zimbabwe which led to his
arrest and imprisonment.
His critics have,
however, accused him of being President Mugabe’s praise
singer, one of the
reasons why his popularity has nosedived.
Ncube was Sunday quoted in the
media as saying Mutambara would not be
recalled. He however said in the same
report the party’s standing committee
had the powers to make such decisions.
- NewsDay
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tichaona
Sibanda
3 January 2011
Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara’s
position in government will only be
decided by a new standing committee that
will be elected into office during
the party’s congress on
Saturday.
Professor Welshman Ncube, the MDC-M Secretary-General told SW Radio
Africa
on Monday the deployment of party cadres in government is a matter
which is
determined by the standing committee.
The MDC-M will be
holding their congress in Harare starting on Saturday.
Already, Mutambara
has indicated he will not be seeking re-election for the
party presidency,
almost clearing the way for Ncube to take over the hot
seat.
Eleven
of the party’s 12 provinces have completed their nominations and
Ncube has
secured nominations from all the provinces except Masvingo
province, which
still favours Mutambara to remain at the helm of the party.
“I do not
know who exactly will be in that (standing) committee but by the
end of the
congress on Saturday we will be in a better position to know. My
personal
view however is that the team in government from my party has done
exceptionally well compared to other parties that have over a dozen
ministers,” Ncube said.
Ncube, the powerbroker in the MDC-M and who
is heavily tipped to take over
the party presidency from Mutambara, said it
might not be necessary to
redeploy people.
“Whether or not to retain
Mutambara in government will not be my decision.
It will be a collective
decision by the new standing committee,” he added.
The Secretary-General
told us one thing that is going to change after the
congress is the style in
which the party is to be run by the new leaders.
Ncube said he doesn’t
envisage a scene where there would be fundamental
changes in policies and
direction of the party.
“In respect of style there would be change there,” he
said, adding that
there is always a possibility of an alliance with other
parties to stand a
chance of dislodging ZANU PF from power.
“It is
the nature of politics to be in an alliance to enhance the chances of
winning an election but we will not go out of our way to devote time seeking
alliances,” Ncube said.
He explained that he was hurt when in 2008 he
devoted much of time to seek
an alliance with the MDC-T, only to be snubbed
at the last minute. He said
he would not make that same mistake
again.
“Our fingers got burnt when we tried it two years ago so we want
to spend
our energy this time on building our party and refocusing on what
needs to
be done to move forward. But if an alliance comes, all the better,”
Ncube
said.
http://www.radiovop.com
03/01/2011
13:29:00
Bulawayo, January 03, 2011 - The new state owned Lupane
University in
Matabeleland North has been rocked by reports of financial
mismanagement and
abuse of authority which has slowed down construction
progress at the
institution, workers have alleged.
Workers who spoke
to Radio VOP accused the University’s Acting
Vice –Chancellor, Maclean Bhala
of working in cahoorts with the University’s
deputy bursar Smile Sibanda,
acting registrar Cecilia Makoni and acting
director of
works and physical
planning, HB Ndlovu, to divert university funds including
US$1 million which
the workers alleged was invested on the money market
without the approval of
both the government and the university council.
The government in June
last year gave Lupane State University US$1, 5
million and the money was
supposed to be used for construction purposes at
the university site in
Lupane.
"There is no transparency over interest accrued on this
investment and this
is evidence of naked corruption and mismanagement of
funds,” alleged a
lecturer at the institute.
The disgruntled workers
also accused the acting –vice chancellor and the
deputy bursar of failing to
pay workers their bonuses together with their
last year’s November salaries
when the funds were readily available.
“They took workers' bonuses
without their consent and invested it. This is
proof of their corrupt
tendencies because it is illegal for them to invest
workers bonuses without
their consent," said a lecturer who would not want
to be named.
The
bonuses were only paid out on in mid December "after immense pressure
from
the workers committee".
The workers said the university had slashed
allowances for workers at a time
when senior management was buying expensive
office furniture.
The University’s Information and Public relations
officer, Zwelithini
Dlamini dismissed the allegations as malicious,
inflammatory and
mischievous.
Dlamini said although retention
allowances should be paid monthly, funds
were not permitting and as a result
the allowances were only paid when the
money was available.
He also
rubbished claims that the acting vice –chancellor authorised the
investment
of university money on the money market.
http://www.israelidiamond.co.il/
03.01.11, 09:31
/ World
In a last-ditch attempt to bring Kimberley Process member nations
to a
consensus on Zimbabwe's diamonds, outgoing KP Chair Boaz Hirsch has
sent out
a revised draft of the Jerusalem Agreement that was drafted in
Brussels in
late November.
In a cover letter sent out with the
revised version of the agreement, Hirsch
wrote that he considers the draft
his last effort as KP chairman to "bring
the issue of exports of rough
diamonds from [the Marange diamond fields] to
a successful
close."
Hirsch reminded members that by resolving the issue of Zimbabwe's
diamonds,
KP members would demonstrate that they are unwilling to let
differences
"undermine" the KP's "notable success" in eliminating trade in
conflict
diamonds.
The revised agreement features an amendment to the
"violence clause," which
had garnered objections from Zimbabwe. The revised
clause now states that
the KP Working Group on Monitoring (WGM) can accept
reports on serious
breaches of the Joint Work Plan commitments from any
three members, rather
than from any two.
All KP members have been
asked to submit their positions on the revised
agreement by January 10. In a
cover letter sent with the revised draft,
Hirsch said he had coordinated
with incoming KP Chair Mathieu Yamba of the
Democratic Republic of Congo to
receive correspondence sent to the Israeli
e-mail address between January 1
and January 10.
http://www.sabcnews.com
January 03 2011 ,
1:22:00
Sherwin Bryce-Pease, New York
South Africa's Permanent
Representative to the United Nations says he is
geared up for the country's
second stint on the Security Council. South
Africa officially became a
member of the council on January 1st. Ambassador
Baso Sangqu says they have
learnt important lessons from their first term,
with Africa likely to
dominate the council's agenda forthwith.
Sangqu will lead South Africa's
charge on the council and after a difficult
first term with controversial
votes on Zimbabwe and Myanmar, at times
attracting the ire of some nations,
he hopes to articulate their positions
better.
Sangqu said: "The
issue of communication,:we believe we didn't do as much as
we could in terms
of ensuring that we communicate much better, much faster,
with the South
African public and I believe that we've learned..... we have
been already
preparing to increase our capacity as far as that is
concerned."
With
the African Union endorsing her candidacy and subsequent election to
the
Council, SA represents not only country interests but the interests of
the
continent as well. Sudan's referendum, possible elections in Zimbabwe,
and
peace in Somalia are likely to feature prominently, while the situation
in
Ivory Coast continues to deteriorate.
"Ivory Coast will very much be the
issue that we would have to deal with, -
as you know there is a stand off
now with regards to who is the leader, but
we are comforted by the fact that
Ecowas is taking a lead on this matter,
and Ecowas leadership is engaged in
mediation efforts and we believe these
should yield positive results sooner
rather than later," Sangqu added.
As a council member, South Africa now
has to lead from the front on such
issues.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
03/01/2011 00:00:00
by Edmore
Munongo
Several brotherhood associations have occurred throughout the
history of
mankind and some have even arisen to cultist levels. All this has
occurred
as a result of the strong human belief that your brother is the
closest
person to your natural existence.
In the environment that I
grew up in at the University of Zimbabwe,
brotherhood defined a relationship
where you can share virtually
everything -- and I mean everything. For fear
of being labeled as a
feminist, the reference to the word brotherhood in
this article will also
refer to sisterhood.
Some of the most known
brotherhoods include the Catholic Marist Brotherhood
which left a mark in
the education systems in our country. Remember the ever
popular Marist
brothers of Nyanga and the infallible Marist brothers of
Kutama. And even
the great Gokomere High School is a product of this mighty
brotherhood.
The African American blood brotherhood epitomises a
different level of
brotherhood. This is a brotherhood which led to the union
called the
Crusader whose purpose was to assert the rights of the African
Americans and
defend them against lynching and racist attacks.
After
Ghana got its independence in 1957, its leader Kwame Nkrumah became a
champion of African brotherhood. He preached the gospel of neocolonialism
and to his intelligence was born the Organisation of African Unity, now the
African Union.
Neo-colonialism, according to Nkhrumah, was that
concept where the former
colonial masters were now putting on a different
jacket of aid and this
was supposed to be reciprocated with ‘democracy and
the rule of law’ in
those countries that had to receive the aid. This is the
concept that
brought the Britton Woods institutions like the IMF and the
World Bank.
Nkrumah’s African brotherhood dream has become a ‘see no evil
hear no evil’
organisation when the other brother’s actions are at question.
The biggest
victims of the brotherhood have been those people of Africa who
are in the
troubled areas.
When Kenya had its problems after the
elections and many were killed, the
African Union that Nkrumah gave birth to
could not say anything for fear of
offending the African brother. This
marked a tragedy of the African
brotherhood. Here we had a brotherhood of
the few who are in a position of
authority, who use their close network to
protect each other in the name of
guarding against
neocolonialism.
When Zimbabwe went through the same process, the African
Union had to go
against the report of their observer team which was led by
the former
Nigerian General Babangida. The General declared that the
elections were not
free and fair. But for fear of offending their fellow
brother who was under
siege, Babangida was accused of being influenced by
Tony Blair. At the end
of the day, the people of Zimbabwe
suffered.
The economy was put under sanctions and hundreds of thousands
were driven
into the diaspora where they have to live as second class
citizens. They had
to be hosted by other African brothers who view them as a
cowardly bunch
that failed to rise against their own leadership. But, what
can the ordinary
people do to break such a powerful
brotherhood?
Thabo Mbeki, the recalled former President of South Africa,
will be noted in
history for his commitment to the legacy of the African
brotherhood. This he
confirmed when he first delivered his famous ‘I am an
African’ speech to the
South African Parliament when he was still Deputy
President. On May 18,
1996, Mbeki delivered what others have called the best
speech of his life.
Part of the speech reads:
‘My mind and my
knowledge of myself is formed by the victories that are the
jewels in our
African crown, the victories we earned from Isandhlwana to
Khartoum, as
Ethiopians and as the Ashanti of Ghana, as the Berbers of the
desert…
I have seen our country torn asunder as … my people, engaged
one another in
a titanic battle, the one redress a wrong that had been
caused by one to
another and the other, to defend the indefensible. I have
seen what happens
when one person has superiority of force over another,
when the stronger
appropriate to themselves the prerogative even to annul
the injunction that
God created all men and women in His image.’
One
wonders if ‘The African’ really remembered these great words when he
said
there was no crisis in Zimbabwe. After being tasked by fellow brothers
to
help the fellow Africans at the crossroads, Mbeki went to Harare. The one
time Jewel of Africa and bread basket of SADC was reeling under inflation of
more than one billion, and the currency was worthless.
Supermarkets
which used to be awash with food and clothes were selling
firewood. Still he
came out and said there was no crisis in Zimbabwe. How
exactly does this man
define a crisis? Probably to him a crisis was only
going to be an earthquake
or a volcanic eruption with lava flowing through
the streets of the once
great City of Harare.
All this was done to try and protect the African
brother whose survival was
under threat.
The same Mbeki was sent by
the group of African brothers to Sudan to help
the suffering people of
Darfur, and to the amazement of those who are being
woken up by the sounds
of machine guns every day; those whose relative walk
through the land mines
day and night and those whose permanent homes have
become the refugee tents;
the man said there was no war in Sudan. Do we have
to sink so low to defend
our brothers? How do we define our brothers?
African Brotherhood is a
betrayal like the Ibgo community that betrayed
Okonko the hero of the
greatest African novel written by Chinua Achebe.
According to Achebe, when
Oconto took the first step to fight for his
fatherland, he looked around and
from the responses of his fellow
countrymen, he realised they were not going
to war, and he went away to
commit suicide. This was betrayal and the climax
of a tragedy.
http://www.morningmirror.africanherd.com
There are many unsung heroes in Zimbabwe, and one of those
very
special people is Matron Mary Winifred Brewster who was on
Thursday
awarded an MBE!
In Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth's New Year's
Honours List, (Diplomatic
Service and Overseas) Mary Brewster was bestowed
as a Member of the
British Empire for services to the sick and the elderly
in Zimbabwe.
Mary Brewster was born in Yorkshire and came to Rhodesia in
1049 as an
SRN, and her first posting was Enkeldoorn (Now called Chivu)
She
arrived on the train from Cape Town and then went by Donkey cart
to
Enkeldoorn accompanied, on his bicycle, by the Rev Shearly Cripps
a
most famous Rhodesian character.
Matron worked in Chipinga (now
Chipinge), and Shabani (now Zvishavane)
She was the Matron in Charge at
Bulawayo Central Hospital from 1977 to
1983 when she retired.
She came
back into service in 1988 to Edith Duly Nursing Home in
Bulawayo where she
was the Nursing Matron and in charge of the Home.
Edith Duly Nursing
Home is a geriatric Nursing Home in Bulawayo, the
only one in Matabeleland.
The home is now taking in many patients
from other institutions which have
been forced to close due to the
economic climate in Zimbabwe.
They now
take in Downs patients, Alzheimers, the terminally ill, the
mentally ill and
many patients who cannot be cared for elsewhere. The
Home has beds for 76 of
which at least half are occupied by the the
less fortunate.
Matron has
worked tirelessly for her fellow man for 61 years and
retired from the
nursing Home in 2010 aged 84 !
She was at the Home by sunrise and left at
sunset, her every
Christmas, Easter, Sunday and Saturday was the Home as
well as the
working days in between.
Thank you Matron Brewster and
congratulations from us all in Zimbabwe.
It's not enough to have lived.
We should be determined to live for
something. May I suggest that it be
creating joy for others, sharing
what we have for the betterment of
personkind, bringing hope to the
lost and love to the lonely. --Leo
Buscaglia