http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Alex Bell
04 January 2011
Zimbabwe
has indefinitely stopped issuing birth certificates, identity cards
and
passports after a fire at the Registrar General’s office in Harare last
week, which has damaged key electrical systems.
Registrar General
Tobaiwa Mudede said at a press conference on Monday that
no key
infrastructure used in the making of the identity documents had been
damaged, but electronic systems had been disrupted in the fire on New Year’s
Eve.
“We wish to inform members of the public that the department is
currently
unable to process computerised documents until further notice,”
Mudede said.
Mudede said production computers, 18 printers and 20
scanners used in the
production of identity documents were not affected, but
the fire had hit the
electronics and made it impossible to access the
central information
database. Mudede said the damage was “localised”,
dismissing earlier media
reports on the scale of the fire.
The fire
came as thousands of Zimbabweans were desperately trying to beat a
deadline
to regularise their stay in South Africa. The Zim nationals were
given until
last Friday to apply for work or study permits or face
deportation from the
country. South Africa’s Home Affairs department has
said that more than 200
000 applications were received by the cut off date.
But with more than a
million Zimbabweans believed to be without proper
papers, there is still
uncertainty about what happens next.
The announcement of the
documentation deadline sparked a frenzied rush for
papers, with people
queuing for days at a time to get their stay in South
Africa regularised.
The whole process was hinged on the Zim nationals
proving their Zim
citizenship in the form of passports. But Zimbabwe’s Home
Affairs said it
was overwhelmed with the number of applications and could
not meet the
demand. Home Affairs co-Ministers Theresa Makone and Kembo
Mohadi revealed
last week that South Africa had offered Zimbabwe a printing
press capable of
producing 100,000 passports a day, an offer that was
declined. The
authorities have since come under fire for failing its own
citizens.
http://www.radiovop.com
04/01/2011 15:33:00
Harare, January
4, 2011 - The Cost of Living (COL) in Zimbabwe has shot up
and is now near
the US$500 mark.
In an interview, a senior Consumer Council of Zimbabwe
(CCZ) official said:
"The cost of living has gone up to US$499.96 for a
family of five. The food
basket has gone up to US$144.19 from US$142.77 in
December, 2010. The items
that went up include tea leaves, bread, fresh
milk, and fuel."
He said there could be other huge increases later this
year as Zimbabwe
grapples with more problems.
Fuel went up by an
average of eight cents last week leading to various other
increases
including transport costs for people coming to work for 2011.
This, he
said, thus made a mockery of the so-called low inflation now
conservatively
pegged at about 5 percent in Zimbabwe.
Meanwhile the lacklustre Zimbabwe
Stock Exchange (ZSE), once voted the best
performing bourse in Southern
Africa, has begun 2011 in a rather low mode
judging from trading that
occurred on Monday, January 3, the first day after
the festive
holiday.
Analysts said the ZSE would run huge losses for the year judging
by the way
trading went on during the first day on January 3,
2011.
"We expect the ZSE to perform poorly in 2011," a senior stock
market analyst
said in an interview. "This, however, is despite the fact
that we have
dollarised in Zimbabwe and thus the money is very real. It is
different from
the days of the worthless Zimbabwe dollar when the bourse
beat all sorts of
record but the money was worthless then. This is real cash
you are talking
about here."
High performers on the first day of
trading were Colcom Holdings Limited,
Delta Corporation Limited, Seed Co
Limited, Hwange Colliery Company Limited
and Econet Wireless Holdings
Limited.
The major fallers included Pelhams Limited, Apex Corporation
Limited, CBZ
Holdings Limited, African Sun Limited and OK Zimbabwe
Limited.
On the first day of trading counters that went down included
African Sun
Limited, Apex Corporation Limited, CBZ Holdings Limited and
Lafarge Limited.
Those that remained the same from the last day of
trading in 2010 were Art
Corporation Limited, Astra Holdings Limited, CFI
Holdings Limited, and
Dairibord Holdings Zimbabwe Limited.
Zimbabwean
punters are, however, still very happy because of the
dollarisation which
has allowed some of them to become real millionaires at
a time when most
people are cash-strapped and the world economy is snoozing.
Other major
African stock markets include South Africa, Morroco, Botswana
and Kenya.
http://www.zimonline.co.za
by Tobias Manyuchi Tuesday 04 January
2011
HARARE -- The Kimberley Process has granted Zimbabwe
permission to continue
conducting supervised sales of diamonds mined at the
Marange fields between
2007 and 2009, a senior government official
said.
Mines and mining development deputy minister Gift Chimanikire said
that the
KP recently wrote to the government, confirming that it could
market its
precious stones.
The issue of Zimbabwe selling the Marange
diamonds has divided the KP along
political lines with Western countries led
by the United States, Germany and
Australia as well as civil society groups
that are members of the
organisation calling for banning of the gems citing
reports of continuing
human rights abuses and rampant smuggling at the
controversial diamond
field.
But African and other countries,
including Russia, have opposed the calls to
ban the diamonds, appearing to
buy Harare’s claims that calls for banning of
the Marange stones are driven
more by the West’s dislike of President Robert
Mugabe than by concern for
human rights.
Western countries have imposed visa and financial sanctions
on the
Zimbabwean leader and his top allies as punishment for stealing
elections,
failure to uphold the rule of law and human rights.
“The
KP wrote to us communicating that diamond sales should proceed,”
Chimanikire
said on Monday.
“This relates to diamonds mined by Mbada and Canadille
between 2007 and
2009.That was the situation in December, Zimbabwe was given
the go ahead to
market its diamonds,” he added.
Chimanikire however
said he could not provide exact figures of the
quantities to be auctioned as
he was not in the office.
ZimOnline was unable to independently verify
Chimanikire’s claims with the
KP’s Zimbabwe monitor, Abbey
Chikane.
Before Zimbabwe conducted two supervised sales this year, it was
believed to
be sitting on more than six million carats of
diamonds.
The KP temporarily stopped Zimbabwe from selling diamonds from
the Marange
fields, also known as Chiadzwa, in 2009 over allegations of
human rights
abuses in the extraction of the gems and failure to meet
minimum
requirements for trading in the precious stones.
Chikane, a
South African diamond expert and founding chairperson of the KP
was
appointed to monitor Zimbabwe as it implemented measures to meet
requirements of the watchdog.
After his second visit to the country
to check on compliance, Chikane
certified that Zimbabwe had satisfied
requirements of the KP and should be
allowed to sell its
diamonds.
Zimbabwe was subsequently allowed to hold two supervised sales
while
awaiting the KP to meet to discuss Chikane’s report.
The
subsequent KP meetings in Israel and Russia failed to reach a decision
over
the issue since the diamond trade watchdog works by consensus.
Meanwhile,
DRC has taken over the KPS chair from Israel. -- ZimOnline
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Alex
Bell
04 January 2011
The international diamond trade watchdog, the
Kimberley Process (KP), was on
Tuesday warned against setting a “dangerous
precedent” over its handling of
Zimbabwe’s diamond crisis.
Leading
diamond rights activist Farai Maguwu told SW Radio Africa that the
group’s
refusal to take tough action against Zimbabwe, and its
non-compliance with
international trade standards, was a major concern. The
KP is still to
decide on Zimbabwe’s future after member states failed to
reach consensus on
whether or not to allow full exports from the country to
resume. KP members
are still negotiating an agreement with the Zimbabwean
authorities, which
Maguwu warned would be filled with concessions to the
government.
“What we have seen in the Zimbabwe case is bullying. The
fact that the KP
continues to tolerate this bullying and still goes to
lengths to accommodate
Zimbabwe, well it’s a danger to the credibility of
the KP and what it stands
for,” Maguwu said.
The activist, who heads
the Mutare based Centre for Research and Development
(CRD) added: “If they
don’t stand up against Zimbabwe then they (the KP) are
setting a very
dangerous precedent that it cannot deal with serious
non-compliance.”
The CRD head also said that the KP in its current
form is outdated,
explaining that its original mandate is limiting what
action it can take
now. Maguwu said that the narrow definition of a blood
diamond, as one that
supports rebel movements, needs to be
changed.
“We now have a situation where legitimate governments are using
diamonds to
hold onto power,” Maguwu said. “Diamonds are being used as
instruments of
repression and the KP needs to change to deal with
this.”
The KP has faced serious criticism for what observers have called
a
‘toothless’ approach to Zimbabwe’s diamond situation. Rights groups like
Global Witness and Partnership Africa Canada have both called for a reform
of the KP, accusing it of allowing the trade in blood diamonds to continue.
There have also been online petitions by ethical jewellery groups like
Brilliant Earth, with the public adding their voice to calls for a complete
overhaul of the monitoring body.
Zimbabwe was suspended from trade in
2009 over human rights abuses at the
Chiadzwa alluvial diamond fields, where
the military has been accused of
violence, forced labour, smuggling and
murder. The KP, which was started to
end the trade in blood diamonds,
resisted pressure to ban the country
completely. Instead, mining authorities
were given a six month deadline to
fall in line with international trade
standards. That deadline was
accompanied by a ‘Join Work Plan’ which
included the demilitarisation of the
Chiadzwa area.
This has not
happened and there have been ongoing reports of smuggling and
harassment by
military officers. Despite this, the KP has continued its
lenient treatment
of the Zimbabwe situation, allowing two auctions of
stockpiled diamonds last
year. The sales were meant to pave the way for full
exports to resume, but
KP members have not come to a working agreement with
Zimbabwe about the
future. The group’s outgoing chairman Boaz Hirsch has now
sent out a revised
draft of the agreement that was drafted by KP members in
Brussels in late
November 2010. This original agreement was not accepted by
Zimbabwe.
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 (Chiadzwa) to
a successful
close."
Hirsch will be handing over Chairmanship of the
KP to the Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC) this year, which already has
human rights groups
worried. The CRD’s Maguwu said on Tuesday that the DRC’s
incoming
Chairmanship was a “disaster” for the KP.
“The DRC is a
classic example of having a resource curse,” Maguwu said.
“There’s not much
they can offer when it comes to Zimbabwe’s compliance when
they themselves
are not compliant with trade standards.”
http://www.panapress.com
Harare, Zimbabwe (PANA) - Agriculture
officials in Zimbabwe said Tuesday
large swarms of armyworms had invaded
farms in the main cropping northern
and eastern areas of the country,
threatening to severely reduce crop
output.
They said the pests were
mainly targeting the maize crop, the country's
staple food.
Godfrey
Chikwenhere, a director at the Plant Protection Institute, said the
armyworm
was spreading, and feared vast areas in the two regions would be
destroyed
by the pests, which were also targeting sorghum crops.
He said teams had
been dispatched to the affected areas, but progress was
slow.
The
pests were being sprayed, but it appeared the efforts were not enough to
control the outbreak.
Zimbabwe is often hit by outbreaks of armyworm
which it fails to deal with
effectively because of lack of resources such as
chemicals.
Chikwenhere said the government had enough chemicals this
time, but lacked
manpower to spray the pests.
"Farmers should also
participate in the control of armyworm. We have enough
chemicals, 4,000
kilogrammes of Carbaryl 85 wettable powder," he said.
-0- PANA RS/SEG
4Jan2011
04 january 2011 12:10:47
http://www.newzimbabwe.com/
04/01/2011 00:00:00
by Ngoni
Chanakira
AGRICULTURE Minister Herbert Murerwa has confirmed that at
least one white
former commercial farmer has been allowed back on his land
after the
government kicked out the black beneficiary for not using the
property.
The white farmer – who cannot be named as authorities want to
protect him
from victimization by war veterans – had also been challenging
the
government’s acquisition of the property in the courts.
“Yes I
can confirm that we gave back the farm to the white commercial farmer
last
year. However this was mainly because the black farmer was not farming
at
all,” Murerwa said in an interview.
“I want to warn all those who are not
take us seriously that we will
repossess their farms if they do not do
anything on them expecting
everything from government.”
The
government has been threatening to repossess land from beneficiaries of
its
controversial farming reforms who are not making productive use of the
land.
President Robert Mugabe recently said he was outraged to learn
that some of
the new farmers were giving their lands back to white ex-owners
in leasehold
deals under which the pairs share profits.
Some 120
evicted farmers have since returned to their properties under the
lease
deals.
New farmers continue to find it difficult to put their lands to
productive
use due to the lack of resources as financial institutions are
largely
reluctant to provide funding.
However, Murerwa insisted that
the fact that farming was a capital intensive
business was no reason to
allow vast tracts of land to lie fallow.
“Yes it is very expensive to
farm especially buying inputs such as
fertilizers. But I can say some black
farmers are doing well.
“These include Ambassador Chris Mutsvangwa and
Paddy Zhanda as well as
President Robert Mugabe. They are doing the nation
proud,” he said.
After suffering a decline over the last decade due to
the reforms and
droughts Zimbabwe’s agriculture is now on the recovery
path.
Production of tobacco – a key export for the country – is
particularly
booming with thousands of small-scale farmers joining the
industry.
"If you go back 10 years, we had 8,500 growers growing on
average about 10
hectares each. This year we had 50,000 growing units
growing on average
one-and-a-third hectares," Andrew Matibiri, chief
executive of the Tobacco
and Marketing Industry Board (TIMB) said
recently.
Export earnings from the crop are this year expected to reach
US$500 million
compared to the $US274 million realized last year.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tichaona
Sibanda
4 January 2011
Sharp differences have surfaced in the MDC-M
over the party’s decision to
sideline incumbent President Arthur Mutambara
from seeking re-election.
The party’s hardliners from the three
Mashonaland provinces have declared
that the move against Mutambara is a
‘coup’ and are reportedly going to
revolt during the
congress.
Delegates from the southern region, backed by some of the
party’s
influential leaders, have however staunchly pushed for party
Secretary
General Welshman Ncube to take over, describing last minute
manoeuvres to
derail the congress as “the work of enemies.”
Panic has
set in within the party after some delegates issued a threat to
disrupt or
boycott the weekend congress because of “unresolved issues.”
SW Radio
Africa correspondent Simon Muchemwa said on Tuesday the simmering
disgruntlements are perceived as a potential ‘flash point’ needing
correction, or there would be ‘open warfare’ during the
congress.
“The generality of the delegates feel they want to know how
Arthur Mutambara
was sidelined against standing for the presidency, to a
point where he threw
in the towel weeks before the congress. Many of these
delegates see it as a
coup against Mutambara and they are not comfortable
with that,” Muchemwa
said.
Despite being battered and buffeted by
criticism from within and outside his
party, Mutambara seems to have found,
at the last minute, delegates wishing
to fight in his
corner.
Delegates from Masvingo province have refused to nominate Ncube,
accusing
him of blocking Mutambara from standing again. This move seems to
have had a
domino effect, forcing some delegates from Mashonaland to speak
out, with
just three days to go before the congress.
But a pro-Ncube
supporter dismissed attempts to disrupt the congress as
wishful thinking,
boasting that nothing at this late hour will prevent the
former University
of Zimbabwe law lecturer from his ‘coronation’ on
Saturday.
“I think
this talk of trying to force Mutambara’s issue on the agenda at the
congress
is coming from desperate people who are being hoodwinked into
believing he
can do a Houdini and bounce back as president. The man has
simply lost the
support and trust of many of the party supporters,” an MDC-M
official
said.
The official added: “If Mutambara wants to embarrass himself let
him dare
stand against Ncube and see how he would be trounced in an
election.”
Mutambara will only know if his position as Deputy Prime
Minister in the
unity government is secure after the election of a new
standing committee on
Saturday.
Ncube, the frontrunner to take over
the party leadership told SW Radio
Africa on Monday the deployment of party
cadres in government is a matter
which is determined by the standing
committee.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
by Irene Madongo
04
January 2010
Fresh from a court victory in which scores of their members
were removed
from remand, Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) are now seeking an
audience with
Theresa Makone, the Co-Minister of Home Affairs, to present
their grievances
over police misconduct.
On Monday, the Harare
Magistrate’s court ruled that 83 WOZA members should
be removed from remand.
The group was initially arrested in September 2010
after a peaceful protest
to mark International Peace Day. They were held for
three nights in what
they describe as filthy prison cells reeking with raw
sewage.
On
Tuesday, WOZA co-leader Magodonga Mahlangu, said that instead of
protecting
the public, the police are still harassing people. The
organisation now
wants to meet with Home-Affairs Co-Minister Theresa Makone
to address this
issue.
“We want to show her our displeasure. We are concerned about
policing in
Zimbabwe,” Mahlangu said.
After the arrest of the 83
members, WOZA’s case was postponed several times,
further adding to their
frustration. WOZA has said that since the arrest of
the 83, they appeared
five times in court. Many of the arrested group was
unable to travel during
the Christmas period as they were waiting for their
hearing.
In
December 2010 the Supreme Court declared that Mahlangu and WOZA’s other
leader Jenni Williams, were wrongfully imprisoned over another demonstration
in 2008. The two described how they were also thrown into overcrowded police
cells unfit for human occupation.
“The police are using the courts
system in Zimbabwe as a way of punishing
people,” Mahlangu said, adding: “It
is not a joke for 83 people to be
appearing in a court on a regular
basis.”
The WOZA leaders hope their meeting with Minister Makone will be
better than
one they had with her predecessor Giles Mutsekwa and her current
co-Minister
Kembo Mohadi last year. Mahlangu said in March 2010 WOZA had met
with the
then Minister Mutsekwa and ZANU PF’s Mohadi to discuss how police
were
abusing laws to make unnecessary arrests.
“Giles and Kembo both
defended POSA (Public Order and Security Act) and even
their lawyers were
embarrassed,” Mahlangu said.
Mahlangu said the police were using POSA to
stop demonstrations being held,
even though a section within the act says
that non-political organisations
can go ahead with such meetings.
“We
will continue to fight for our rights. We are pushing for a referendum
on
the constitution. There are a lot of violations of the current
constitution,” Mahlangu said.
http://www.zimeye.org/?p=25609
Published: January 4,
2011
By-Nyasha Mtoko
Harare - Deputy Justice Minister Obert Gutu
said the country’s prisons are
not suitable for human habitation and should
be demolished to meet new world
class standards.
Senator Gutu’s
recommendations come after his prisons tour late last year
where he went on
a personal fact finding mission on the state of the country’s
prisons.
“Some of our prisons were built more than 100 years ago and
can no longer
cope up with high numbers of inmates now, some need to be
revamped and
others deserve to be completely closed down and come up with
new ones. A
very good example of such a move is what is happening at Mazoe
Prison where
a new modern prison complex is being constructed,” Deputy
Minister Gutu said
in an interview.
Harare-prison-copyGutu added that
prisons should be transformed into
rehabilitation centres rather than the
current situation where they are
being used as punishment
centres.
“We need to move from conventional prisons to correctional
facilities where
you have inmates who are properly rehabilitated and become
useful members of
the society when they are released rather than making them
die hard
criminals, “he added.
Zimbabwe prisons are characterised by
congestion, with inmates at some point
resorting to having sleeping
shifts.
According to prison officers at Harare Remand prison which has a
holding
capacity of 600 inmates they are currently holding over 1200
prisoners.
This causes the spread of diseases such as Tuberculosis and
cholera.
http://www.radiovop.com/
04/01/2011
15:27:00
Mwenezi, January 04, 2011 - Zanu (PF) legislator for
Mwenezi, Kudakwashe
Basikiti, is using children here to campaign for the
lifting of sanctions
imposed on his party members by the west for human
rights abuses.
Basikiti early this week mobilised hundreds of mostly
orphaned children in
his constituency and made them sign a petition
demanding the immediate
lifting of sanctions imposed by the west on his
fellow Zanu (PF) members.
“This petition by the orphans, disabled and the
disadvantaged groups in
Mwenezi is a message to the British and American
Governments and their
western allies that ...the sanctions you imposed on
Zimbabwe and our leaders
is affecting us directly here,” he told reporters
at Neshuro growth point.
The petition which Basikiti said was this week
going to be forwarded to the
American and British Embassies in Harare read:
“The suffering we are having
today is a result of the debilitating sanctions
which led to the deaths of
our parents because they could not afford proper
medication.”
Basikiti said the deaths of all parents of the children whom
he used to
campaign against sanctions was a result of lack of medication due
to
sanctions imposed by the west.
Zanu (PF) is using the issue of
sanctions to lure support from the people
whose rights it abused over the
past decade.
The west imposed sanctions on more than 200 senior Zanu (PF)
members in 2002
after the liberation party violated human and property
rights through the
controversial and chaotic land reform.
For the
sanctions to be lifted the west has said Zanu (PF) should implement
the
Global Political Agreement it signed two years ago with the two MDC
factions
when the inclusive government was formed.
Zanu (PF) has refused further
concessions with its rival the Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) until
sanctions are removed.
Addressing the Zanu (PF) people’s 11th conference
in Mutare in December last
year, President Robert Mugabe threatened to seize
western companies
operating in the country if sanctions
remain.
Meanwhile Acting President John Nkomo said in Masvingo on Monday
that the
unity government could be extended to 2013 if sanctions were
removed.
Although Mugabe has hinted he wants elections to be held mid
year, this week
there were reports that the polls could be delayed until a
new constitution
is in place.
A parliamentary committee led committee
was last year running a process to
gather views from the public on the new
constitution of Zimbabwe amidst
chaos and violence.
Nkomo told an
anti-sanctions meeting for his party held at the Great
Zimbabwe University
(GZU): “We are now telling the MDC that they are the
ones who called for
sanctions, therefore they have to undo what they did if
they do not want
elections next year. We are not going to budge."
“No sanctions removal
means we are going to the polls-both parliamentary and
presidential,” Nkomo
said, much to the applause of the party supporters.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
By Chengetai Zvauya
Tuesday, 04 January
2011 17:11
HARARE - The presence of soldiers from the Presidential
Guard Unit based in
Domboshawa who are roaming Chinamhora communal lands has
caused panic among
villagers in Pote, Runhanga, Molife, Mungate and Mutonda
Villages.
The soilders, who are moving in groups, are interacting
with the villagers
and sometimes join in the social activities of the
villagers.
Andrew Muchenge, a villager in Domboshava, which falls under
Goromonzi North
Constituency, said people were living in constant fear of
the soldiers.
''We dont understand why the soldiers are moving everyday
in our area. I
dont know whether we are in war situation. The soldiers are
not beating us
but their presence here is causing a lot of alarm and panic
amongst the
people. They are also attending village funerals.
This is
very unwelcome as we are just peasant farmers, who want to go about
our
farming peacefully.''
Many villagers refused to discuss the presence of
the soldiers for fear of
victimisation. Goromonzi North Constituency falls
under Zanu PF legislator
Beatrice Nyamupinga.
The deployment of
soldiers started last month when the Ministry of Defence
Forces embarked on
the programme resulting in the deployment of soldiers in
Gokwe , Masvingo
Bikita and Chipinge districts.
Most of the rural areas that were
strongholds of Zanu PF were grabbed by the
MDC in the 2008 elections as the
rural electorate switched their vote to
support the MDC.
MDC
President Morgan Tsvangirai has denounced the deployment of the
soldiers in
the rural areas countrywide.
Defence Forces spokesperson Ben Ncube was
not available for comment.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
By Thelma Chikwanha
Tuesday, 04
January 2011 16:55
HARARE - Government should set up a multi-sectoral
investigation into
politically motivated rape in Zimbabwe to ensure that
there is no impunity
for perpetrators of the violent crime.
The call
was made by the Research and Advocacy Unit (RAU) and Zimbabwe
Association of
Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR) in their latest report
entitled “No hiding
Place : Politically Motivated Rape of Women In
Zimbabwe.”
A sample
of 27 women who had been abused made the basis of the study which
indicated
that 89 percent of the rapes occurred during the 2008 elections.
Of the 27
women, 21 were severely beaten up prior to the rape.
“More than
three-quarters [21] were victims of multiple rape, with an
average of three
rapists per incident. One woman reported a total of 13
perpetrators, and 14
women reported three or more perpetrators to their
rape. One woman reported
three separate rape incidences in June 2008 by a
total of 13,” reads part of
the report.
The spine chilling report also narrates incidents of women
being brutally
abused by having sharp objects like bottles and sticks
inserted into their
private parts. It also points out the far reaching
consequences of rape
which include HIV and AIDS and children born out of
rape among other social
and health issues.
Women interviewed in the
report appeared depressed while some of them said
that they had not received
immediate medical attention and post trauma
services.
The report,
based on clinical data, urged government to enforce national
sexual violence
laws and adhere to the Global Political Agreement (GPA)
which clearly states
that violence dehumanises and engender feelings of
hatred.
“Violence
against women should be addressed to ensure that there are no
lingering
feelings of hatred and anger in society which can be the cause of
future
conflict, especially in light of the fact that there is likely to be
an
election before the end of 2011.
“Talk of elections is gathering momentum
with the latest utterances from
President Mugabe that we do not want to pass
June 2011 without elections.
Therefore Zimbabweans should anticipate
violence as this is the norm during
recent election campaign periods,” reads
part of the report.
According to the report, politically motivated rape
is not a new phenomenon
to Zimbabwean women who have always been used as
weapons of war. The report
says that women were raped during the liberation
struggle by freedom
fighters and again in the early 1980’s during
Gukurahundi.
The SADC Protocol on Gender and Development which Zimbabwe
is a party to,
states that the country must ensure that perpetrators of
gender based
violence, rape femicide, sexual harassment, female genital
mutilation and
all other forms of gender based violence are tried by a court
of competent
jurisdiction.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
By Reagan Mashavave
Tuesday, 04 January 2011
09:55
HARARE - The MDC has extended indefinitely a probe into alleged
misconduct
by senior officials at its Harvest House offices in Harare,
despite initial
promises - made two months ago - to complete the probe
within a week.
Toendepi Shonhe, the MDC director general was
suspended from duty in
November over allegations of engaging in an affair
with a married
subordinate, Sandra Mutsimba, from the party's information
department.
Mutsimba was also suspended.
The duo were suspended
after widespread media coverage that suggested the
two were in an adulterous
affair despite Mutsimba being married. Mutsimba
has however denied ever
being married.
In November the MDC said the investigation would take
eight days to
complete, but on Monday party spokesperson, Nelson Chamisa
said the probe
was yet to be completed.
"The report has not yet been
formally presented to the leadership,” Chamisa
said. “The investigation team
has asked for more time to finish their
investigations. Once the report has
been completed it will be made public.
"We have said the report will be
made public, there is nothing to hide. It
is no use for us to produce a half
-baked report."
The three-member investigation committee is comprised of
lawyer, Innocent
Chagonda and two MDC national executive members Lucia
Matibenga and Norman
Mabhena.
MDC sources said the investigation
committee was facing resistance from some
members who insist relationships
were nothing new at Harvest House, saying
even the late national chairman
Isaac Matongo was in a relationship with
Evelyn Masaiti, whom he later
married.
http://www.voanews.com/
Activists
said their biggest concern is the seeming inability of the Harare
government
to produce enough passports to meet the demand from many
thousands of
Zimbabweans in South Africa
Tatenda Gumbo | Washington 03 January
2011
South Africa's December 31 deadline for Zimbabweans to apply for
permits to
work, study or run a business there has passed, civic activists
say much
work remains to be done adding that the documentation drive missed
a great
number of Zimbabweans.
The Zimbabwe Exiles Forum and a South
African pressure group, People Against
Suffering, Suppression, Oppression
and Poverty or Passop, said their biggest
concern remains the apparent
inability of the Harare government to produce
enough passports to meet the
demand from many thousands of Zimbabweans in
South Africa.
South
African officials said about a quarter of a million permit
applications were
received by the December 31 deadline – though it is not
clear how many of
those were complete given widespread difficulties among
Zimbabwean obtaining
new passports. The Harare government can only turn out
some 500 passports a
day, sources have said.
The organizations said the Harare government
seemed less committed to the
process than South African authorities. Passop
Director Braam Hanekom said
the next phase of the documentation process will
depend very much on the
response by Harare.
Civic activists said more
than a million Zimbabweans remain undocumented
after they failed to meet the
deadline. And with South African authorities
adamant that the deadline will
not be extended, activists say they see a
large-scale deportations
ahead.
South African officials said those who failed to apply will have
to bear the
consequences, but have said there will be no deportations until
the
documention drive is finished.
http://www.voanews.com/
Spokesman
Nelson Chamisa of the MDC formation of Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai said
his party wants a presidential ballot before general
elections – and only
under the right circumstances
Ntungamili Nkomo, Jonga Kandemiiri &
Thomas Chiripasi 03 January 2011
Zimbabwe's 2011 political year opened
with both formations of the Movement
for Democratic Change insisting no
elections should be held without broad
political and electoral reforms to
prevent another disputed outcome as in
2008.
President Robert Mugabe
and his long-ruling ZANU-PF party have pressed for
dissolution of the
inclusive government and new elections by midyear –
though a report in the
state-run Sunday Mail quoted unnamed ZANU-PF sources
saying elections could
be deferred to allow for the completion of
constitutional
revision.
Spokesman Nelson Chamisa of the MDC formation of Prime Minister
Morgan
Tsvangirai told VOA Studio 7 reporter Jonga Kandemiiri that his party
wants
a presidential ballot before general elections – and under the right
circumstances.
"We should not put the cart before the horse. We need
to clearly define the
conditions that are necessary for the holding of a
free and fair vote
first," Chamisa said.
His sentiments were echoed
by Edwin Mushoriwa, spokesman for the MDC wing of
Deputy Prime Minister
Arthur Mutambara who said his party wants full
consummation of the 2008
Global Political Agreement for power sharing before
any
election.
"It's premature to talk of elections unless certain milestones
provided for
in the GPA have been attained," Mushoriwa said.
But
ZANU-PF Chief Parliamentary Whip Joram Gumbo told VOA Studio 7 reporter
Ntungamili Nkomo that his party insists on a general vote after the initial
two-year tenure of the unity government expires in February.
"There
is no reason why we should not go for elections when the life of the
inclusive government expires," Gumbo declared.
Elsewhere, VOA Studio
7 correspondent Thomas Chiripasi reported that a
provincial branch of the
Mutambara MDC formation placed the name of the
deputy prime minister in
nomination for the job of secretary general though
he has said he won't seek
any post.
The party's elective congress will be held in Harare at the
weekend. Party
Secretary General Welshman Ncube, also Minister of Industry
and Commerce, is
widely billed to be elected the next president of the
formation, which has
experienced deep divisions and a number of defections
to the larger MDC of
Prime Minister Tsvangirai.
http://www.zimdiaspora.com/
Tuesday, 04 January
2011 13:26 Editor News
Investigative reporter
HARARE - When most
white landowners were scurrying for cover from marauding
Zanu PF youths, one
Charles Davy was enjoying himself at Matetsi Wildlife
Enterprises. A hunter
by day and a Zanu PF collaborator by night aptly
describes the man behind
the name, Charles Davy.
To many, he is an animal saviour. He owns many
conservatives from Matetsi to
Zambia. Charles Davy is a hunter, an animal
philanthropist, is that all? Far
from it.
Six months of undercover
investigations on Charles Davy revealed that he has
funded Zanu PF since
2002 and has partnered senior Zanu PF officials in
illicit rhino horn trade.
The officials are Webster Shamu and Emmerson
Mnangagwa.
A
confidential report acquired by this reporter confirmed the
above.
Circumstances are that at the beginning of Zimbabwe’s land reform
program
found his vast business empire threatened. President Mugabe and Zanu
PF
targeted white landowners. To this end, Davy hatched a plan to save his
land. Paying homage to the militia party that was terrorizing blacks and
whites alike became his master plan and key to his continued stay.
It
marked the beginning of his marriage with Zanu PF. Despite spirited
denials
by Mr. Davy, secret documents have exposed what he really is. He has
not
only funded terror to save his wildlife business but he has treated his
workers worse than animals. One of his former workers had this to say, “At
one time our pay was less than US 15 cents per month and many of us slept on
bare floors without blankets. We couldn’t do anything, because he told us
that President Mugabe ‘knew’ him. We just suffered”
In July of 2009
Mr. Davy met with President Mugabe. The meeting was arranged
by Minister
Mnangagwa. The report says that Webster Shamu and Mr Davy have
met several
times in Chegutu, twice in July 2010. Again, Mr. Davy has
managed to meet
President Rupiah Banda of Zambia and DRC Joseph Kabila in
the course of his
‘business’.
HHK Safaris surprised many when they solely landed all
government owned
concessions. But the truth was Mr. Davy had paid a fortune
which sources in
the state security organ peg at a whopping USD44 000 in
2001. The money was
crucial in President Mugabe’s presidential crusade that
left many dead,
raped and homeless. To Davy, the money meant
concessions.
His concessions covered central Midlands, Matetsi safaris,
Sabi area, the
south western and south eastern of lake Kariba and some parts
of Gonarezhou
in the lowveld. HHK safaris became the marketing arm on behalf
of several
Zanu PF owned concessions. Famba Safaris owned by
Webster
Shamu, Khanondo owned by Obert Mpofu, Unit 6 owned by General
Chiwenga among
others.
Recent security reports implicate Mr. Davy and his accomplices in
illegal
rhino trade. According to a secret report in our possession army
intelligence officers led by one Colonel Dube based at Defence
House
in Harare provide guns and helicopter. On the other hand Ministers
Shamu and
Mnangagwa cushion the groups from any prosecution and arrests.
Joceline
Chiwenga, wife to Army General Constantine Chiwenga is fingered in
the
secret report as part of the rhino horn racket.
According to the secret
reports Chirisa is owned by Famba Safaris in which
Minister Shamu is a
significant shareholder, Unit 1 and Kasibi held by
Matetsi Wildlife, Chete
owned by Burmakino Travel and Tours, Omay by
National Safaris and Lemco
owned by Mazunga Safari. The report further
alleges that HHK Safaris
represent Famba Safaris internationally.
In the report proceeds from
Famba Safaris have been managed and distributed
using Matetsi bank accounts.
Zanu PF’s Shamu and Mr. Davy are approved the
transaction. Traced
transactions point to international transfers handled
and destined for
offshore accounts in the United Kingdom, South Africa and
Switzerland the
report further alleges.
In his homage Mr Davy funded part of Mnangagwa’s
2005 election campaign and
footed all costs of Shamu’s campaign in 2005.
Again, Mr Davy donated
undisclosed amounts in foreign currency to Shamu for
his 2008 campaign.
The report further reveals that In May 2008 Charles
Davy met Shamu at Wild
Geese lodge near Mazowe. The meeting was for his
donation to Zanu PF
Mashonaland West campaign. The money was handed over to
then Mash Wet
Chairman John Mafa.
The secret Intelligence report
points to Charles Davy as being involved in
the smuggling of ivory to China
and Vietnam using his Chinese links in Asia.
Two individuals have been
involved, one Lee Hu Ming and a businessman now
with Sino Zim. Information
at hand shows the involvement of army
intelligence from Harare’s Defence
House as well as from 1 Commando base. At
Defense House Mr. Davy’s contact
is Col Dube.
In the operation army Helicopters disguised as army Red
Cross ambulances or
test flights land in Hwange National Park to pick ivory
belonging to Charles
Davy and partners. Secret details from
the
National Parks show that Mr. Davy’s has sold trophies extending him
into
areas under government jurisdiction. Action against him on account of
orders
from Hon Mnangagwa and Shamu
The report show commandos hired
from 1 Commando Barracks stay at HKK Safaris
when poaching in Hwange
National. In many other cases they are given
accommodation at Matetsi or
Bubye.
NB: In our next issue we will publish the secret document.
http://af.reuters.com
Tue Jan 4, 2011 9:50am GMT
By
Cris Chinaka
HARARE Jan 4 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe heads into a political
storm in the new
year with President Robert Mugabe pushing for an early
election opposed by
rivals and threatening to nationalise foreign firms in
revenge for Western
sanctions.
Political hardliners around Mugabe are
also threatening rival Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai with treason charges
over leaked secret briefings with
U.S. officials.
While Mugabe and
Tsvangirai agreed last month to resume discussions to
address rifts in their
power-sharing government, no progress has been made
as Mugabe's ZANU-PF
party beats war drums for an election it wants by
mid-2011.
Mugabe,
forced into a unity government with Tsvangirai's Movement for
Democratic
Change (MDC) after a disputed 2008 election, is not keen on
extending the
coalition and wants a referendum on a new constitution in
early 2011 and a
general election by June - two years ahead of schedule.
The MDC, which
had suggested early elections to break deadlocks in the
coalition, now says
the climate is not conducive for a free and fair vote
and is demanding
political reforms before any polls.
So far, Mugabe has dismissed
criticism that the early poll and his targeting
of foreign firms pose a
serious risk to Zimbabwe's economic recovery and
social
stability.
NATIONALISATION THREAT
Mugabe has warned ZANU-PF will
nationalise firms from countries that have
imposed sanctions over his
state's suspected human rights abuses, arguing
they cannot operate freely
while Western powers punish his party.
[ID:nLDE6BE0TZ]
The threat
adds to worries of foreign investors in the resource-rich state,
which
introduced a law saying 51 percent of firms worth over $500,000 should
be
owned by black Zimbabweans.
Mugabe signed an Indigenisation and Economic
Empowerment Act in 2008 and the
government has issued regulations providing
details of how foreign-owned
companies should achieve at least 51 percent
blacks within five years.
There are, however, sharp differences on the
policy which his rivals say
could hurt economic recovery.
What to
watch:
- How Mugabe reacts to any extension of travel, investment and
financial
sanctions against his associates at annual review meetings of the
European
Union in February.
- Timelines and details of how the
government plans to proceed with the
empowerment programme in the different
economic sectors, which would address
investor fears.
TREASON
CHARGE
Attorney-General Johannes Tomana has ordered a probe against
Tsvangirai over
State Department cables released by WikiLeaks about his
briefings with U.S.
ambassador Charles Ray, which some of Mugabe's officials
see as "bordering
on treason".
According to another confidential U.S.
cable dated October 2009 on
WikiLeaks, a senior MDC official suggested that
the United States should
contribute to a fund to buy off security service
chiefs to achieve regime
change in Zimbabwe.
What to watch:
-
The probe gives Mugabe's camp options to pursue treason charges against
MDC
leadership, but political analysts say this could be part of a
psychological
war against Tsvangirai.
ELECTION RESISTANCE
Attempts by
backbenchers in parliament across the political divide to resist
an early
election appear to have failed.
But Tsvangirai's MDC and a smaller MDC
faction, which is also in the unity
government, still hope to lobby leaders
in the Southern African Development
Community (SADC) to pressure Mugabe
against early elections.
What to watch:
- MDC diplomatic campaign,
and any reaction from influential regional
leaders, especially South African
President Jacob Zuma who is the region's
mediator in the Zimbabwe political
crisis.
CRACKDOWN ON CRITICS
A ZANU-PF annual conference held two
weeks ago, which formally endorsed
Mugabe as candidate for elections in
2011, passed resolutions threatening to
expel foreign diplomats and to ban
non-governmental organisations "meddling,
and interfering in Zimbabwe's
internal political affairs".
Analysts say while Tsvangirai and his
lieutenants have legitimate complaints
against Mugabe over outstanding
reforms, there is growing frustration among
his supporters that he is being
outwitted by Mugabe, a cunning political
veteran.
White farmers who
have lost their properties under Mugabe's land seizures
over the last decade
say Tsvangirai has lost his voice on their case -- an
issue the MDC fears
Mugabe would use to portray him as a stooge.
A traditionally supportive
private media has turned increasingly critical of
Tsvangirai's leadership,
calling on him to exploit public goodwill in his
fight against
Mugabe.
Mugabe, 86, and in power since independence from Britain in 1980,
sees the
MDC as a political puppet playing to a Western gallery. The MDC
denies this
and in turn dismisses Mugabe as a power-crazy
dictator.
What to watch:
- Any moves against foreign-funded civic
organisations involved in election
education and monitoring work.
-
Tsvangirai's supporters walking out of some government functions and
demonstrating against some of Mugabe's officials, in media stunts which
could invite police reaction.
CONSTITUTION
Although a
multi-party parliamentary committee leading a constitutional
review process
says it will respect the wishes of ordinary Zimbabweans, the
final charter
is a likely compromise between ZANU-PF and the MDC who both
lack a
two-thirds majority in parliament needed to pass the new supreme law
on
their own.
A referendum on a version in which there is no agreement
between the two
parties could lead to violence.
Tsvangirai says
Mugabe has already used his traditional political shock
troops -- liberation
war veterans, party youth brigades and security
forces -- to whip up support
in the countryside, which has allowed ZANU-PF
to dominate public debate on
the new constitution.
ZANU-PF denies the charge and says Tsvangirai is
already preparing an excuse
for his party's defeat.
What to
watch:
- Compromise deal. Many Zimbabweans hope that a new charter,
replacing the
pre-independence document, will strengthen the role of
parliament, curtail
presidential powers and guarantee civil, political and
media liberties.
MEDIA REFORMS
The Coalition has licensed several
private newspapers after establishing a
new media commission, but Tsvangirai
has so far failed to push Mugabe to
open up radio and
television.
Mugabe's officials say they are still looking at the issue --
nearly two
years after the power-sharing government was set up -- and
analysts say this
will become more difficult as the country heads towards
elections.
They have also resisted calls to repeal tough media laws
barring foreign
journalists from working long-term in the country and still
quietly restrict
visiting journalists.
What to watch:
-
Authorities rejecting applications for private broadcast licences, raising
further friction within the coalition.
RIGHTS ABUSES
Although
the unity government has set up an independent human rights
commission to
handle abuses, critics say it is taking too long to start work
and an
atmosphere of fear still exists in the country.
Rights groups say
Mugabe's supporters have increased psychological pressure
on the MDC, and
are threatening a wave of violence similar to one that
marred the 2008
elections.
Mugabe has ignored demands by Tsvangirai for security sector
reforms, and in
a demonstration of his political impotence, the MDC leader
has been stopped
by police or forced to postpone some meetings with
supporters in township
halls in the capital.
What to watch:
-
Changes to security laws but with limited impact. Parliament is debating
changes to a tough Public Order and Security Act, that calls on political
parties to obtain police clearance to hold rallies.
Still, the police
may ignore the law even if it is amended. (Editing by Jon
Herskovitz)