http://www.thestandard.co.zw
July 14, 2013 in News,
Politics
JUDGE President, George Chiweshe will tomorrow hear an
application by MDC-T
challenging the holding of postal voting exercise
citing irregularities as
Zimbabwe pays the price for hurriedly organising
polls without following
proper processes.
REPORT BY NDAMU
SANDU
The two-day postal voting exercise begins today and MDCT wants the
court to
direct the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) to conduct the
special ballot
exercise on or before July 20.
The country is set to
hold watershed elections on July 31 to end the life of
the inclusive
government formed in 2009.
About 87 000 people are expected to cast their
ballots under the special
vote. Of that, police officers form the bulk at 69
000, a figure hotly
disputed by the MDC-T who said that 44 133 police
officers are on the
payroll.
In an application filed by MDC-T and its
deputy chairperson of the election
directorate, Morgan Komichi, the party
wants the special voting exercise to
be postponed until ZEC “has properly
verified and authenticated the findings
on the 69 222 applications whereupon
same should be made public so as not to
mar the elections with
irregularities potentially arising from a disputed
special vote”.
The
respondents in the case are ZEC, co-ministers of Home Affairs Kembo
Mohadi
and Theresa Makone, commissioner general of the Zimbabwe Republic
Police
Augustine Chihuri and minister of Finance, Tendai Biti.
It requested the
court to direct ZEC to set up mechanisms by which the
special voting
exercise shall be transparent, its beneficiaries fully
verifiable and that
ZEC shall not exceed the official number of police
officers in the special
voting exercise.
MDC-T said in the application that Commissioner General
of the police who is
cited as the third respondent had failed to explain to
MDC-T the disparities
on the number of police officers to cast special
ballots.
“Applicant have a valid and reasonable apprehension that the
special ballot
box is fraught with malignant disparities caused by the lack
of transparency
on who actually constitutes the 69 222 police officers who
have applied for
the special ballot vote when in fact the official figures
show a glaringly
low figure of just about 44 113,” MDC-T said.
The
police had in the past said the number of officers seeking special
ballots
had increased to accommodate special constabulary that would assist
on the
polls day.
MDC-T wants the court to direct ZEC to set specific measures by
which it
should abide in order to ensure that the privilege of the special
ballot is
not abused to the potential detriment of the credibility of the
national
ballot.
To that end, MDC-T said, it sought that ZEC be
directed to report back to
the court and conduct the special ballot on or
before July 20 which is the
last day on which the special ballot should be
conducted in terms of the
Constitution.
In his founding affidavit,
Komichi said the official number of polling
stations across Zimbabwe is just
under 10 000 and an approximate number of
40 000 police officers would be
required.
“The excess of 29 000 cannot and should not be held as being a
reasonable
safety precaution in case some of the deployed officers cannot
attend at the
polling stations to which they are deployed,” Komichi
said.
“Moreover, it cannot be argued that all police officers will be
deployed
away from their wards within which they are registered; in the same
way it
cannot be argued that all police officers are registered voters. This
renders the apparent dichotomy in the figures even more
glaring.
MDC-T is represented by Harrison Nkomo and Taona Nyamakura of
Mtetwa and
Nyambirai legal practitioners.
MDC formations accuse Zanu
PF of fast-tracking election processes to
facilitate rigging. Zanu PF says
the MDC formations are afraid of polls as
ministers want to continue
enjoying the comfort of government.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
July 14, 2013 in News,
Politics
THE Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) is treading on a thin
line as the
electoral body prepares to conduct and supervise the July 31
polls amid
mixed views over its performance.
REPORT BY PATRICE
MAKOVA
ZEC has long been perceived as being biased.
In the March
2008 elections, when the electoral body was chaired by Justice
George
Chiweshe, results were suppressed for several weeks while securocrats
allegedly decided on a plan of action.
A Presidential election
run-off was eventually ordered on June 27 after no
candidate garnered a 51%
majority, amid concerns that the long delay in
issuing results was an
attempt to rig the outcome in favour of President
Robert
Mugabe.
MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai had won the first round with 47%
of the vote,
with Mugabe getting 43%.
But the results of the
subsequent run-off were not recognised as credible by
the international
community due to widespread violence and intimidation of
opposition
supporters.
While some analysts were of the opinion that the new
leadership of ZEC was
doing its best to be professional and transparent,
especially after Justice
Rita Makarau took over as chairperson, others say
the electoral body is
still compromised because of its long association with
the government.
Makarau was appointed ZEC chairperson in March, a few
days before the
Constitutional Referendum, taking over from Justice Simpson
Mutambanengwe
who resigned in February for unclear reasons after two years
at the helm of
the institution.
Elections Resource Centre (ERC)
director, Tawanda Chimhini said Makarau had
brought some breath of fresh air
to the electoral body.
Makarau has tried to not only engage with election
stakeholders, but also to
be accountable through answering raised concerns
in a “balanced and sober”
manner, he said.
“She has also provided
some balance to ZEC given the baggage that members of
the former commission
carry,” said Chimhini.
But overall, he said, ZEC has appeared more
interested in approaching the
July 31 election quantitatively rather than
qualitatively.
“For instance, the preoccupation appears to be to complete
electoral
processes at a cosmetic level rather that fulfilling their
constitutional
mandate of delivery processes that allow full, equal and
effective
participation in a transparent and credible electoral process,”
said
Chimhini.
Political analyst, Clever Bere said Makarau has so far
been firm and tried
to bring credibility to the electoral
processes.
“But the decision not to accredit the Jimmy Carter Foundation
has done harm
to their efforts. The running of the election itself is the
one thing that
is going to give us the opportunity to get to see her true
credentials,” he
said.
Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition (CiZC) executive
director, MacDonald Lewanika
said the entrance of Makarau as ZEC chairperson
was a good thing as she was
a respectable judge.
He said Makarau has
shown that she has the capacity to make critical
decisions, citing the
extension of the sitting of the nomination courts and
voter registration to
midnight of June 28 and July 09 respectively.
“She is responsive to
urgent issues, but what has happened so far is not
enough to judge her
conclusively,” said Lewanika.
But he said ZEC’s performance would be
judged on the way it conducts itself
during the ongoing campaign period and
the efficiency and transparency in
dealing with poll
results.
Lewanika said ZEC has been hesitant to take responsibility and
ownership of
some of the electoral processes such as the voter registration
exercise,
carried out by the Registrar General’s Office.
He said the
nomination court sat with no observers in place, while Civil
Society
Organisations (CSO’s) were only recently accredited to conduct some
form of
voter education.
The CiZC director said the electoral body has also
failed to prevent biased
reporting and hate speech by state-controlled
media. The Electoral Act
compels public media to ensure fair coverage of all
political parties during
the campaign period.
Zimbabwe Elections
Support Network (ZESN) chairperson, Rev Solomon Zwana
also agreed that ZEC
has tried its best in consulting stakeholders and being
objective as much as
possible.
But Zwana said ZEC has on the other hand shown serious
limitation in
controlling supporting organisations such as the Police and
the RG’s office.
“That limitation has affected their capacity to
deliver,” he said. “If they
[ZEC] are the core of the electoral process,
then they need to have
authority and control over everything.”
Zwana
said the country’s legislation has to be amended to ensure that ZEC
was in
full control of all supportive institutions during the election
period.
But Bulawayo Agenda executive director, Thabani Nyoni said
showing a
friendly face and merely consulting stakeholders without taking on
board
their suggestions was not enough to convince people that ZEC was
acting
above board.
He said it was difficult for ZEC to do work
considered credible considering
the organisation’s history and strong links
with Zanu PF and securocrats.
Nyoni said while ZEC was saying it was
ready to conduct the elections;
treasury has indicated that there was no
money for the exercise.
He said there was no clarity on how 87 000
people, mostly police officers
and soldiers, were allowed to take part in
the special vote which begins
today.
Only time will tell whether
Makarau and ZEC will be able to stand up to the
massive pressures from the
political and military establishments in order to
organise credible
elections, analysts said.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
July 14, 2013 in News,
Politics
ZANU PF supporters and State security agents contributed to 55%
of the major
human rights violations in the past six months, a report by a
local
non-governmental organisation has revealed.
REPORT BY BY TAPIWA
ZIVIRA AND PHYLLIS MBANJE
According to a Heal Zimbabwe Trust (HZT)
analysis between January and June
this year, Zanu PF supporters contributed
to 29% of the human rights
violation cases in the country.
At least
13% of the violations were attributed to police and intelligence
personnel
with 10% each to war veterans and soldiers.
Police and army are headed by
Commissioner General, Augustine Chihuri and
General Constantine Chiwenga
respectively and both have vowed that they
would not salute anyone without
liberation war credentials.
Chihuri has openly said he supports Zanu PF
leader, President Robert Mugabe
although his position requires that he be
apolitical.
HZT communications and research manager, Sitabile Dewa said:
“The covert
forms of political violence, which are arson, abductions
assault,
harassment, intimidation and forced rally attendances were in most
cases
perpetrated by Zanu PF supporters on other members of different
political
parties, especially MDC-T.
Another emerging trend was that
of assault used as a form of punishment on
those that are deemed as
sell-outs.”
Dewa said politically-motivated violence was worsened by the
intra-party
conflicts that emerged during the Zanu PF and MDC-T primary
elections held
last month.
The other contributors to violations were
identified as youths. Zanu PF and
MDC-T accounted for 19%, traditional and
political leaders 16% and officials
from the Registrar General’s Office
accounted for 3%.
Reports of increased violence are coming as the country
prepares for
elections on July 31. The MDC-T has complained that the
electoral playing
field was not yet level to allow free, fair and credible
polls.
MDC-T leader, Morgan Tsvangirai had insisted on sweeping
electoral, media
and security sector reforms but his quest was doomed when
Mugabe proclaimed
July 31 as the poll date.
Police, army and veterans
of the liberation struggle have often been used as
instruments of violence
and intimidation in previous elections.
The MDC-T claims 200 of its
supporters died at the hands of Zanu PF
supporters and state security agents
during the violent 2008 elections.
HZT director Rashid Mahiya, whose
organisation is running a peace campaign,
said: “These elections were
supposed to take place in an environment in
which reforms that are meant to
ensure security of citizens and free
participation of everyone have been
implemented.”
Meanwhile, a US-based organisation has said the harassment,
intimidation and
violence perpetrated against civic actors by the government
was undermining
the credibility of the forthcoming elections.
In a
recent report the Robert F Kennedy Centre for Justice and Human Rights
(JFK
centre) said an atmosphere of intimidation and violence still existed
in
Zimbabwe.
It attributed this to government’s crackdown on civil society
and the human
rights community, including arbitrary detention of activists
and opposition
supporters.
Titled, A Promise in Peril: How Widespread
Rights Violations Undermine
Zimbabwe’s Elections, the report was compiled
after a visit by an
international delegation organised by the RFK Centre in
March 2013.
“The routine intimidation, harassment, and arbitrary criminal
prosecutions
of human rights defenders, lawyers, and political activists in
Zimbabwe
threaten the rights of all citizens to participate freely in public
affairs,” said Kerry Kennedy, president of the RFK Centre. “With an
election upcoming, the government must ensure an electoral environment that
is consistent with international standards.”
Kennedy was part of a
delegation that also attended the trial of top lawyer,
Beatrice Mtetwa who
is being accused of “obstruction of justice”.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
July 14, 2013 in Local,
Politics
A grand coalition to unseat President Robert Mugabe is failing
to
materialise because some political leaders are pushing for self-serving
agendas rather than national interest, analysts have noted.
REPORT BY
BY CAIPHAS CHIMHETE
They said if major political parties had united in
the 2008 election, Mugabe
would have been voted out of office to usher
Zimbabwe into a new and
progressive political dispensation.
During
the elections, MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai got 47% votes and Simba
Makoni
of Mavambo/Kusile/Dawn polled 8%.
If Tsvangirai and Makoni had come
together, they would have easily defeated
Mugabe who got 43% and avoided a
run-off.
Analysts said Mugabe, who has been ruling the country for over
three
decades, could prevail in the July 31 harmonised elections if leaders
of
major political parties in the country remained divided and continued to
pursue self-fulfilling agendas.
Attempts by the MDC-T, MDC, Zapu,
Zanu Ndonga and Mavambo/Kusile/Dawn to
form a coalition against Zanu PF in
the past few months have failed amid
accusations and counter
accusations.
This has resulted in two coalitions being formed along
tribal and regional
lines.
MDC-T has joined hands with Simba Makoni’s
Mavambo and Zanu Ndonga and their
leaders come from Manicaland
province.
On the other hand, MDC led by Welshman Ncube and Zapu leader
Dumiso
Dabengwa, both from Matabeleland, have also formed their
alliance.
Other than enunciating their party policies to the electorate,
the party
leaders are spending most of their time taking a pick at each
other at
campaign meetings, an indication that it is unlikely that they
could come
together before the elections.
On Friday, Ncube described
the coalition led by MDC-T as fake.
University of Zimbabwe law lecturer,
Professor Greg Lennington said it was
unfortunate that major political
parties in the country had failed to form a
coalition.
“I think it would
have enhanced their prospects of winning the upcoming
elections had they
formed an alliance,” he said. “It’s very unfortunate.”
He urged the party
leaders to stop forming alliances along tribal and
regional lines as nobody
would benefit from that.
THERE IS STILL TIME FOR AN ALLIANCE —
NKOMO
Political analyst, Dumisani Nkomo said no political party had the
luxury of
thinking it had the majority following.
He said every vote
was important if the political parties wanted to remove
Mugabe and Zanu PF
from power.
“When dealing with a dictatorship, it’s also possible that
where certain
political parties has no people, elections might be rigged in
favour of
those parties to ensure there is no outright winner,” said
Nkomo.
“So if there is a coalition, Zanu PF cannot rig in favour of any
party other
than itself. It can play with the smaller figures to prevent
victory for one
political party.”
He said it was not too late for the
parties to forge an alliance.
“Remember in 2008, Makoni came on the
political scene a few weeks before
elections but managed to get 8%,” said
Nkomo.
‘Tsvangirai, Ncube the real deal’
National Association of
Non-governmental Organisations (Nango) chairperson,
Effie Ncube said the two
coalitions were neither tribal nor regional but
political.
He said the
only winning coalition in Zimbabwe was the one that involved
Tsvangirai and
Ncube.
“This is just politics,” he said. “In this election, Tsvangirai
needs Ncube
[Welshman] and Ncube needs Tsvangirai so they need to urgently
reach an
agreement.”
But he was quick to point out that at the moment the
“leader of change” in
Zimbabwe was Tsvangirai.
“He [Tsvangirai] must
ensure that every anti-Zanu PF vote is a vote for
Tsvangirai. No single vote
must be lost,” said Effie Ncube. “He must make
sure that Ncube, Dabengwa,
Makoni and Ndonga are all on board.”
The Nango boss said Makoni’s
political support could have decreased since
2008 because the former Sadc
executive secretary disappeared from the
political scene after the polls,
only to reappear now.
Makoni could not be reached to comment on whether
he had brought to the
coalition those “senior Zanu PF officials” who were
supposed to defect to
his party when he launched Mavambo just before the
2008 elections.
Presidential aspirant, Kisinoti Mukwazhe blamed the MDC-T
for the failure of
the coalition. He said they had agreed to rally behind
Tsvangirai under the
banner “One Zimbabwe, one Presidential
Candidate”.
“But the MDC-T technical team killed the project because they
thought they
are too big and wanted to steal the thunder,” said Mukwazhe,
who claimed to
have been part of the initial coalition
negotiations.
Efforts to get a comment from MDC-T spokesperson, Douglas
Mwonzora were
fruitless yesterday.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
July 14, 2013 in News, Politics
MDC
presidential candidate, Welshman Ncube has vowed to stop Zanu PF
candidate,
President Robert Mugabe from “stealing” the forthcoming election.
REPORT
BY MOSES CHIBAYA
The 89-year-old has been accused of rigging previous
elections, a charge his
party has denied.
Ncube together with other
opposition parties are already suspecting Mugabe
of employing rigging
tactics such as inflating the number of police officers
that are supposed to
vote today and tomorrow.
Addressing about 1 000 supporters at Chikomba in
Mashonaland East province
on Friday at the launch of the party’s election
campaign Ncube said despite
the unfair playing field he will not boycott the
election.
“Boycotting is not an option. We must fight this election, we
must fight in
rain or in thunder. You don’t concede ground to the crooks
that are running
this election. We are not cowards, we will not run away,”
said Ncube.
ZAPU leader, Dumiso Dabengwa who has formed an alliance with
Ncube a week
ago, said they were going to rely on election agents to prevent
Mugabe from
“rigging” the election.
Ncube ruled out a coalition with
MDC-T describing Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai as a “smaller
devil”.
He said they differed in principle.
Ncube said he had
fielded 203 House of Assembly candidates out of the 210
contested
constituencies
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
July 14, 2013 in News, Politics
PRESIDENT
Robert Mugabe yesterday begged thousands of members of the
Apostolic Sect to
vote for him in this month’s make-or-break harmonised
elections.
REPORT BY ELIAS MLAMBO & OUR
CORRESPONDENT
Addressing several thousands members of Apostolic Sect at
Mafararikwa Shrine
in Marange, Mugabe, who was clad in white robes and
holding a staff that is
the trademark of the worshippers, promised to
address problems faced by the
worshippers.
Mugabe — who was
accompanied by his wife Grace also clad in white robes —
pledged to build a
high school for members of the sect. The 89-year-old
president urged the
members to vote “wisely to safeguard the gains of
independence.”
“Your plight is within my heart and we will ensure
your wishes are fulfilled
once Zanu PF is voted into government,” Mugabe
said.
The Zanu PF leader took a swipe at the MDC formations accusing them
of
“representing the interests of the whites”.
Mugabe, a devout
Catholic, slammed white-controlled churches saying they
promoted
homosexuality.
He repeated his statement that gays and lesbians were
“worse than dogs”.
Mugabe said he was surprised that US President, Barack
Obama advocated for
the rights of homosexuals.
“I am surprised that
Obama says gays should have rights, what rights? It is
totally against our
culture and this demeans us because we don’t associate
with such people, I
feel pity for our students scattered across borders as
they copy these
cultures,” he said.
Although church elders predicted a resounding victory
for Zanu PF, ordinary
church members who spoke to The Standard said they
should not be forced to
vote for the former ruling party.
“We have
our own choices and we will not vote for people who failed to
fulfil their
promises during their tenure,” said one member who requested
anonymity.
Another female member of the church said that for 33 years
they have heard
the same Zanu PF promises which have not been
fulfilled.
Also present at the shrine were Indigenisation minister
Saviour Kasukuwere,
Information minister Webster Shamu, CIO boss Happison
Bonyongwe and other
senior Zanu PF officials.
Mugabe and Zanu PF’s
election loss to the MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai in
2008 shook them and
jolted them into action. Since then, Mugabe and Zanu PF
are pulling out all
the stops to mobilise voters.
The party has been trying hard to endear
itself to churches.
The battle for the church vote on
The battle
for the church vote is not new. in 2010 after MDC-T leader Morgan
Tsvangirai
was forced to cancel his scheduled visit to the Zion Christian
Church Mbungo
Shrine in Defe, Gokwe, after state security agents reportedly
threatened and
intimidated the church with unspecified action.
This year, Tsvangirai has
also been on a religious crusade attending a
series of “prayer for peace”
rallies, mass prayer meetings mainly organised
by the Zimbabwe National
Pastors’ Conference, a grouping of mostly
Pentecostal church
leaders.
Early last year Vice-President Joice Mujuru visited Mafararikwa
for the
church’s ceremony where she addressed more thousands of
people.
Mujuru was assured of more than a million votes. Whether this
will
materialise or not remains to be seen.
Since then, Mujuru, who
is a member of the Salvation Army, has been
criss-crossing the country
addressing several indigenous church gatherings
like the ZCC and the
Vapostori sect.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
July 14, 2013 in News, Politics
PRESIDENT
Robert Mugabe has set up parallel structures to campaign for him
as he is
suspicious of some of his top lieutenants in Zanu PF, it has
emerged.
REPORT BY OUR STAFF
Sources said Mugabe feared that
some party bigwigs, positioning themselves
to succeed him, could
deliberately sabotage him through a protest vote
commonly referred to as
bhora musango.
An official close to Zanu PF said Mugabe had set up his
own “commissariat
department” to spearhead his campaign and organise
logistics, including
distribution of regalia.
“He has roped in the
military and intelligence officials to coordinate his
campaign,” he said.
“Very senior military officers have been deployed to
each and every district
specifically to campaign for Mugabe.”
Mugabe in the 2008 elections lost
to MDC-T leader, Morgan Tsvangirai in
several constituencies where his own
Zanu PF MPs had won. The MPs were
blamed for campaigning for themselves
while de-campaigning for Mugabe as
part of the protest vote.
The Zanu
PF official said this time around, Mugabe had his own budget
separate from
the party one.
He was using the funds to print his campaign regalia such
a t-shirts, caps,
as well as posters.
The official said in the wake
of revelations that funds, goods and other
things donated to him in the past
have been diverted, Mugabe now preferred
to be in direct control of his
campaign.
“This election is different because the party has no money. It
is the
individuals who have the money but they do not want to donate
directly to
the party,” he said.
Mugabe gave away his plan when he
told a recent central committee meeting
that he would secure funding for
cars for Zanu PF candidates. He did not
reveal where he would get the
resources.
There is speculation the cash could be coming from
well-wishers in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo or from his Chinese
friends. Proceeds from
the diamond sales which are not going to treasury
could also be utilised,
The Standard was told.
Another official said
as the election draws closer and the political
temperature rise, securocrats
were openly going to campaign for Zanu PF.
“For them, a lot is at stake
and they will begin to show their true colours
soon. To them Mugabe has to
win by any means necessary,” said the official.
The official said
spanners were being put along the way for the MDC-T.
“The party will soon
find it difficult to penetrate rural areas because of
the deployment of the
military. Villagers fear to attend MDC-T rallies
because they fear being
targeted afterwards,” the official said.
Zanu PF spokesperson, Rugare
Gumbo could not be reached for comment
yesterday.
The use of the
military to campaign for Mugabe is however set to raise
eyebrows. Under the
new constitution, securocrats are not supposed to be
partisan.
In the
June 2008 Presidential election run-off, the military spearheaded
Mugabe’s
re-election bid and was accused to committing widespread violence
and
intimidation. The MDC-T said over 200 of its supporters were killed in
state-sponsored violence.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
July 14, 2013 in News,
Politics
Candidates from across the political divide have started to make
grandiose
promises, two weeks before the July 31 polls.
REPORT BY
PATRICE MAKOVA
A lot is being pledged by candidates, some of it sounding
almost
unattainable.
The Standard spoke to a number of first-time
candidates, who were all
confident of winning, with some literally promising
milk and honey.
Varaidzo Mupunga (25) is one of the youngest contestants
in the
parliamentary election.
Representing Zanu PF in the Harare
West constituency, Mupunga today launches
a door-to-door campaign as she
steps up efforts to market herself.
She said if elected, she would lobby
for the formulation and implementation
of policies that are
pro-development.
Mupunga said top on her agenda was service delivery,
particularly the
provision of clean water and a constant supply of
electricity.
“I also promise to deliver community-based security that
people of Harare
West trust,” she said.
She said as a youth, seconded
by Zanu PF to the Joint Monitoring and
Implementation Committee (Jomic) as a
liaison officer, she was keen to see
peace prevailing during the campaign
period.
Mupunga faces off with incumbent and deputy Women’s Affairs
minister, Jessie
Majome of MDC-T, Julius Mudakuvaka of ZDP, Salome Rice of
MDC and Francis
Sibanda of Zapu.
Independent candidates are also in
the race. Glen Dhliwayo is an independent
candidate in Highfield West. He
promised to promote small to medium
enterprises in the
constituency.
Dhliwayo said Gazaland in the constituency had the potential to
be the hub
of SMEs that would create jobs and income for thousands in the
area.
“Together with the community, we shall come up with plans to
transform
Gazaland into a thriving centre for SMEs that will absorb some of
our
unemployed youths,” he said.
Dhliwayo said many youths ended up
getting involved in drug abuse and crime
because they had nothing to
do.
“We need vibrant and relevant community programmes that are designed
and run
by the youths themselves so that they succeed,” he said. Dhliwayo
is
contesting the likes of Moses Manyengawana of MDC-T and Emmanuel Juta of
Zanu PF.
Former Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) Radio 2 disk
jockey, Ezra
Tshisa Sibanda is contesting the Vungu constituency on an MDC-T
ticket and
was confident of making it to the August House.
He said if
elected, his priority would be to build roads, provide food to
villagers
affected by drought, as well as establish irrigation and other
income
generating projects. Sibanda is contesting against Josphat Madubeko
of Zanu
PF and Ritta Ndlovu of MDC.
Another popular former ZBC Radio 2 DJ, Eric
Knight is standing in Mbare
constituency, again on an MDC-T
ticket.
Knight promised to change the lives of residents of Mbare, one of
the
poorest suburbs in the country.
If elected, he said he would
facilitate the development of small- scale and
big businesses in order to
create jobs for thousands of unemployed youths.
Knight pledged to improve
housing, education and cleanliness in the suburb.
He promised to improve
security by tackling Chipangano, the Zanu PF militia
accused of political
violence. Knight is contesting against Zanu PF
politburo member, Tendai
Savanhu.
But it is not only the MDC-T which has attracted television and
radio
personalities. Robson Mhandu, a well-known television personality and
former
general manager at ZBC is representing Zanu PF in Chitungwiza
North.
Mhandu said he was inspired to join politics by the ideals of
President
Robert Mugabe and the realisation that some of the technocrats and
educated
people who benefitted from Zanu PF’s education policies have
abandoned him
and the party.
“I bring quality, professional and
mature leadership. I have the knowledge,
skills and right attitude to
execute people-driven projects,” he said.
The television personality said
if elected, his priorities included
providing decent housing, social
amenities, transport, safety and security
as well as clean water,
electricity, health and good roads.
Mhandu will battle it out with
Godfrey Sithole of MDC-T, John Magengezha of
Mavambo/Kusile, Angela
Chigonero of MDC and Terrence Utaumire of UMD.
Chihwayi promises
people-centred leadership
Kurauone Chihwayi is contesting the Kuwadzana
constituency on a ticket of
the Professor Welshman Ncube-led MDC.
He
describes himself as a “silent assassin who is simply responding to a
calling.”
“I am offering people centred leadership, sound,
accountable and competent
leadership that is reliable, hardworking and
accessible and open to
criticism,” said Chihwayi.
He promised
non-partisan economic empowerment programmes for youths and
women.
Chihwayi said he has a package of working solutions for the
people of
Kuwadzana.
He claimed that his main rival, Public Service
minister Lucia Matibenga of
MDC-T was a “non-resident in Kuwadzana.”
Matibenga could not be reached for
comment.
“I have never lost in any
battle and failure is not an option. Total
transformation of lives is my
first priority. I am a God-fearing incoming
legislator who is on a mission
to diligently and effectively serve the
people of Kuwadzana,” said the MDC
deputy spokesperson.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
July 14, 2013 in News,
Politics
MDC-T aspiring parliamentary candidate for St Mary’s
Constituency in
Chitungwiza, Unganayi Dickson Tarusenga says he will not
promise the
electorate heaven on earth but only has one pledge to make — to
listen to
people’s needs and strive to address them.
REPORT BY
CHRISTOPHER MAHOVE
“I have learnt my lessons from the previous MPs, so I
am going to start on a
higher level in as far as working with the people of
St Mary’s is concerned.
While others were making promises that they could
not fulfill, my promises
are need and talent-based,” said
Tarusenga.
He added: “What it means is that it is the people who should
approach their
MP with their needs or projects and I will support them. That
way, I would
have been different from those who promised to build bridges
where there are
no rivers.”
Tarusenga said the MDC-T’s policy, which
was development-oriented, made his
life much easier as his mission was to
help the electorate develop their
constituency.
“If I become the MP,
chances of which are very high because the MDC-T
supporters are in the
majority in St Mary’s, and our party leader, Morgan
Tsvangirai becomes the
president, my work will be very easy as I will be
implementing the party’s
policies,” he said.
The MDC-T policy — Jobs, Upliftment, Investment
Capital and the Environment
(JUICE) — is a framework to create jobs and
build a strong and growing
economy that is financially and environmentally
sustainable, he said.
Presently, eight out of every 10 people in Zimbabwe
are unemployed.
But who is this man? Where is he coming from? What are
his aspirations?
The current MDC-T district chairperson for St Mary’s,
Tarusenga has been a
member of the party since its formation in 1999. He has
been the district
secretary for St Mary’s from 2000 to 2011.
A
veteran trade unionist with more than 30 years of experience, Tarusenga is
the ZCTU second deputy secretary general and the Federation of Food and
Allied Workers Union general secretary.
He said he decided to stand
as a parliamentary candidate after noticing the
lack of representation of
the workers’ movement in the house of assembly.
The 52-year-old trade
unionist said he plans to advance workers’ interests
and provide the missing
link between labour and the legislature.
“Where I come from [ZCTU], is
where the MDC was formed and I have held
several influential positions in
the party since its formation,” said
Tarusenga. “So it was very easy for me
to solicit the support of the
electorate. I should say that they respect me
as a long-serving cadre of the
party and as a trade union leader.”
So
determined is Tarusenga that he has already written to church leaders,
business community special interest group leaders, old people’s
organisations, civic groups and the youths in the constituency proposing to
set up a community development committee.
The committee, he said,
would spearhead the identification of challenges,
opportunities and projects
in the constituency and seek their prescriptive
solutions.
Tarusenga
has survived political violence
Unganayi Dickson Tarusenga said he is a
victim of the Zanu PF election
violence, having been abducted and beaten by
uniformed forces on June 27
2008. He was left for dead after being dumped at
Mukuvisi River.
The incident led to his wife suffering a heart attack and
dying the
following day, he claimed.
His house in Manyame Park has
been a target of Zanu PF attacks in 2001,
2002, 2005 and 2008. During the
attacks his family was harassed and
subjected to various forms of
abuse.
This however, Tarusenga said — especially the death of his wife —
had given
him more reason to want to remove Zanu PF from power.
“What
I know is that for one to succeed in politics, they should go through
these
challenges in life. As for me, politics has now become part of me, I
eat
politics, sleep politics and dream politics,” he said.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
July 14, 2013 in Community
News
THE pain that is etched on her face gives her a gauntly
look.
Tears fill her sunken eyes before they fall unbidden down her hollow
cheeks.
BY PHYLLIS MBANJE
“The tsikamutandas [witch hunters]
called me a witch in front of the whole
village, my whole family was there,”
said 63-year-old Keresencia* from
Masvori village in Chiwundura communal
lands in Midlands province.
From that day when she was labelled a witch,
even her close friends started
shunning her.
She explained how it all
started: “They came to our village in April and a
meeting was held. I did
not worry because I knew that I was not a witch and
had never practised
witchcraft.”
The villagers were told that traditional leaders in the area
had given their
blessings to the men who claimed to possess powers to heal,
sniff out
witches and kill sandawanas [goblins].
But to her horror,
Keresencia was labelled a witch responsible for the death
of most of her
family members.
Her family paid the three beasts that the “fraudsters”
asked for to conduct
an exorcism that would strip her of the “witch
spirit”.
“I refused to go through the process because I knew that those
tsikamutandas
had lied,” she said. “It is common knowledge that most of my
late relatives
succumbed to the dreadful disease, Aids.”
Angered by her
defiance, the family then chased her away from the family
compound.
They built for her a shack on the periphery of the
village.
“They have ‘poisoned’ my children against me and they no longer want
to see
me,” she told Standardcommunity.
Her family ostracised her and
barred her from accessing food from the family
granary.
She survived
on handouts from well-wishers who only came in the cover of
darkness, for
fear of being reprimanded by the other villagers.
Her plight is not in
isolation as there are many, mostly women, who have
been wrongly accused of
being witches by witch-hunters in the country.
Police later swooped down
on the three alleged witch-hunters — Stewart
Seramwe, Mufundisi Sekandeni
and Tawanda Dzhori — and charged them for
contravening Section 99 of the
Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act,
which makes it an offence for
any person to accuse another of practising
witchcraft.
The trio had
covered 39 villages in Chiwundura before the arrest.
While the law is clear
on that no one should accuse another of being a
witch, most people still
trust the witch-hunters to solve their social
problems. They have wreaked
havoc in communities such as Gokwe, Chikomba
district, Zishavane and
Chiwundura.
Not only have they fleeced the public of their hard-earned
cash, they have
also torn families apart by their accusations.
The
village heads have been blamed for giving reign to the “fraudsters” who
demand three beasts or US$350 as payment for their services.
Police
have repeatedly warned the public, but owing to supersitious beliefs,
many
still believe that the witch-hunters have real supernatural powers.
Last
week, villagers from Gokwe South demanded a meeting with the police and
told
them that they wanted the services of the tsikamutandas.
In a similar
situation, villagers from Chikomba also resisted efforts by
police to stop
the activities of these witch-hunters.
A local headman, Matienga Mukapairi
Mhurushomana allowed them to conduct a
“cleansing ceremony”.
“If
their services are above board, how come they seem to avoid the urban
areas?
Witches are everywhere,” he said.
Pastor Nevermore Mukandi of Alive
Ministries International said the whole
concept of the tsikamutandas was not
biblical.
“The bible is very clear, we are not to dabble in ceremonies of
the dark
side because there is only one God,” he said.
“People should
not consult anyone else but to seek answers through much
prayer and
petition.”
Zinatha against witch-hunters
Zimbabwe National
Traditional Healers Association (Zinatha) director
general, George Kandiero
said his organisation was against the
witch-hunters.
“Zinatha is
against witch-hunting especially the way these tsikamutandas are
doing it.
It is supposed to be a cleansing ceremony of households with the
authority
of the village heads,” said Kandiero.
“These negative elements are now
abusing structures which have always been
part of our culture.”
He
also challenged the tsikamutandas to come and carry out their ceremonies
in
the urban areas.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
July 14, 2013 in Community News
THERE has been a
public outcry following the police clampdown on female
patrons in various
night spots in Harare in the past two weeks, under an
operation dubbed
Zvanyanya (It’s too much).
BY PHYLLIS MBANJE
Police rounded up
about 53 women they encountered in bars, night clubs, in
the city centre and
Avenues area and force-marched them to Harare Central
Police
Station.
Those caught in the dragnet included dancers, sex workers and
even those who
had simply accompanied their male counterparts for
drinks.
They were charged with soliciting in public places.
The
police also pulled out women booked at city lodges despite protests from
one
of the managers who showed the officers an operating licence.
Musasa
Project director, Netty Musanhu on Thursday said it was infuriating
that
after all the noise about a new Constitution with all the provisions
specific to women, police go on “to make a mockery of the whole
issue”.
“So are we supposed to then go and vote freely when police can
just arrest
us willy nilly? Women fought alongside men during the liberation
struggle so
it really does not make sense that only women are being
arrested,” she said.
“What they are telling us is that it is not safe for
women to go out. Women
then are not free and should go back to the bush and
fight another
liberation war.”
Musanhu also said it was unfair that
women were now being discriminated
against in terms of how and where they
socialised.
Commenting on the charge of soliciting in public places, she
said it took
two people to commit the “crime”.
“This is a demand and
supply scenario. As long as there is demand out there,
the problem will not
go away,” said Musanhu. “This kind of behaviour will
force us to do the
naming and shaming because we hear there are some police
officers who demand
free sex from the sex workers.”
The on-going operation has resulted in
women shunning the night spots for
fear of being arrested and this has
caused a slump in business over the past
few days.
On Wednesday and
Thursday last week, most clubs in town were deserted as
both men and
fear-stricken women stayed away.
The few patrons that turned up and night
club operators who spoke to
Standardcommunity criticised the police for
targeting innocent women.
“Is it a crime for females to go to a pub, is
it a crime?” said one
distraught night club owner who preferred anonymity
for fear of
victimisation by the police.
“I do not think the police
actions are lawful. How can you assume that any
woman who enters a club is
there to solicit for customers? It is only those
with a warped mind who
think like that,” he added.
The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR),
who are representing some of
the women, said the arrested women were placed
on initial remand after a
number of them failed to raise the US$100 fine or
the US$200 bail.
They were charged under Section 81(2) of the Criminal
Law (Codification and
Reform) Act, which criminalises solicitation in a
public place.
Thirty-seven of the arrested women pleaded guilty but could
not raise the
fine and the remaining 16 pleaded not guilty and were granted
US$200 bail.
ZLHR has accused the police of assaulting some of the women
who had been
placed on initial remand.
They were reportedly beaten
with batons and were subjected to inhuman and
degrading
treatment.
“They were even denied sanitary wear while they were in
custody,” read part
of the statement from the ZLHR.
‘Police conduct
grossly unfair’
Deputy Minister for Women’s Affairs, Gender and Community
Development and
MDC candidate for Harare West, Jessie Majome said arresting
women in bars
was “barbaric, draconian and grossly unfair”.
“This is
so primitive and downright unconstitutional. Police acted outside
the
mandate of the Constitution by infringing on the right to freedom and
movement for these women.”
Majome said it was ironic that a new
Constitution dictated equal rights for
men and women but on the ground it
was a different story.
“As women, we have been robbed of that opportunity
to freely exercise our
rights. This is not the way to address social ills.
There has got to be a
better way which does not discriminate against women,”
she said, adding that
it was shameful that female police officers were part
of the operation.
The operation is a sequel to another infamous “Chipo
Chiroorwa,” which also
targeted female patrons a few months back.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
July 14, 2013 in Community
News
CHIMANIMANI EAST — Villagers in Doldridge Estates are appealing to
the
government to establish clinics in their area, as the nearest health
centre
is over 20 km away.
BY OUR CORRESPONDENT
The roads in
the area — at the border of Chimanimani East and Chipinge
Central
constituencies — are also in a poor state, forcing most public
transporters
to shun the route.
Those that are still servicing the area charge high
fares, because of lack
of competition and this has discouraged some
villagers from seeking
medication.
Transporters charge between US$3
and US$5 for a single trip to the nearest
hospital in Chipinge, which is 22
km away.
Villagers who spoke to Standardcommunity last week said their
plea to the
local political leadership to have a clinic closer seemed to
have fallen on
deaf ears.
One of the villagers, Grace Mukamba (32),
said she has to sell buckets of
maize or livestock to raise transport and
consultation fees each time she
needed to visit a health centre for medical
assistance.
“We have no choice but to sell our maize to raise transport
fees to get to
the hospital. As if that’s not enough, I am supposed to raise
the
consultation fee and money for drugs,” said Mukamba. “This is far beyond
our
reach, because we are poor and we can’t raise such amounts. What we need
is
just a clinic closer to home.”
Women, children and those initiated
on anti-retroviral therapy (ART) are the
worst affected, as they cannot walk
such long distances.
“The situation is very difficult for us as women because
we need to care for
the sick, as well as take them for treatment at a
hospital,” said one of the
villagers who requested anonymity.
“Our
political leadership promised us a clinic when they were voted into
office,
but they just come and go without fulfilling their pledge.”
A clinic
project, which was initiated by former Chipinge Central MP, Alice
Chitima
suffered a stillbirth due to financial constraints.
However, touched by the
plight of the villagers, a local timber producer —
Wattle Company — recently
donated building material, enough to construct a
clinic and staff houses at
Makondo village in Doldridge.
The material included door and window
frames, timber, cement and doors.
Under the deal, villagers would be
expected to provide labour for
construction and moulding of
bricks.
Wattle Company executive director, Joseph Musemwa said the
company took
pride in supporting the community that kept it
going.
“We have been involved in the construction of roads, but we also
discovered
that health was a critical sector that should not be left out,”
said
Musemwa.
He said the establishment of a clinic in Doldridge
community would also
benefit the company’s employees who work in the
surrounding timber
plantations.
Former Chimanimani East MP and deputy
Minister of Economic Planning and
Investments Promotion, Samuel Undenge said
the donation would help improve
health delivery service in the
area.
“I am happy that this company has come to the rescue of the people
here. The
centre [clinic] will improve the health delivery system in the
area,” he
said.
The absence of clinics in some rural areas in
Zimbabwe forces people to seek
medication from prophets and traditional
healers.
It is estimated that Zimbabwe has two doctors per every 10 000
patients and
seven nurses per every 10 000 patients.
‘WE WANT
GOVERNMENT TO INTERVENE’
Some pregnant women opt to rent or stay with
relatives in Chipinge town just
before going to labour, as they could not
risk giving birth at home under
unhygienic conditions.
Chipo Sithole
(48), said some patients were too old and could notwalk long
distances.
“People should not die because there is no clinic. It must
be the will of
God. We are poor and we are forced to sell our food and
livestock because we
need to access medical facilities,” said
Sithole.
Beauty Mhlanga also urged government to come to their
rescue.
“Even the poor should also have access to proper medical facilities
and
care. We cannot travel to Chipinge district hospital to get treatment
for
simple ailments, such as colds and headache, “she said.
“We need help
from our government.”
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
July 14, 2013 in Opinion
Since 2000, land
reform and lately indigenisation and economic empowerment
were among the top
priorities of Zanu PF government. Unfortunately, other
equally important
sectors such as rural development and provision of decent
housing for both
rural and urban dwellers did not receive deserving
attention.
This
write up focuses on the MDC-T’s housing policy as contained their
Agenda for
Real Transformation (ART) document with the aim of unpacking what
the party
is offering to the electorate.
The housing policy is anchored on the
undeniable fact that shelter is one of
the main basic human necessities and
they set out to treat the issue of
housing as a priority sector. This
recognition is a good starting point, as
access to decent shelter will be
treated as an entitlement on the part of
the citizen while the government
will be obliged to provide such services.
The MDC-T acknowledges that the
situation on the ground is bad. This differs
from deceitful overtures
peddled by Zanu PF that all is well in country.
Unfortunately, the voters
of this day can no longer afford to be duped and
hoodwinked into thinking
that things are well. For any programme or project
to be successful, it is
important that the problem be established clearly,
before any intervention
is implemented. The causes of the problem also needs
to be identified with
clarity. On page 93 of the ART under item 4, the MDCT
policy clearly states
what happened since 1980 that led to the current
housing problem in the
country.
The MDC-T noted that Zimbabwe has about 700 000 housing units
against a
demand of two million units, meaning that there is a cumulative
backlog of
1,3 million housing units. This backlog is leading to
overcrowding and the
establishment of informal settlements. Opening up the
problem in this way
shows that the MDC-T government will be prepared to
tackle the real issues
confronting the nation.
The MDC-T housing
policy has a broader vision to the concept of shelter. For
instance,
inadequate maintenance of housing units, general settlement
amenities and
offsite public utilities is identified as another dimension of
housing
challenge. For Zanu PF, provision of such services is not an issue,
what is
only important to them is giving land to the people. This is why in
Harare
there are multiple shanty settlements.
Ironically, these areas without
electricity, clean water and other basic
services are deemed Zanu PF
strongholds. The MDC-T housing policy reiterates
that, the provision of
housing should be accompanied by the supply of other
basic facilities such
as safe drinking water, good sanitation and accessible
roads, schools and
hospital.
A classic example is the Hopley area where thousands of small
pieces of land
were given to the poor urbanites on the pretext that they
support Zanu PF.
The MDC-T also accepts that the housing problem is not a
problem for urban
dwellers alone as the rural people are equally affected.
In rural areas the
MDC-T notes that the problem manifests itself in the poor
quality of
housing, built using sub-standard and non-durable materials and
often lack
adequate lighting and ventilation as well as lacking in basic
services such
as safe water supplies and other basic sanitary
facilities.
In short, the MDC-T offers quite an all-inclusive housing
policy that seeks
to uplift both urban and rural settlements through a
collaborative effort by
various stakeholders. The only challenge that might
derail the process is
the issue of corruption and nepotism. Therefore, there
is need to deal
decisively with corruption and maladministration otherwise
the policies will
remain good on paper without leading to tangible
realities.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
July 14, 2013 in Opinion
Get out
Zimbabweans. It is your right. Cast your vote!
SUNDAY DISCOURSE WITH DR
LINDIWE CHOPAMBA-MUTIMUSAKWA
The good and compelling reason you must cast
your vote first and foremost,
as citizens of a democratic country, is it is
your inalienable right to
elect the kind of a leader you want to take you
and your country forward.
You have heard them at rallies, hopefully you
have read their party and
individual manifestos, you have seen and heard
them during debates, so
election day is your day to change your destiny,
when you get into the
privacy of the voting enclave.
We have had many
elections before, but never before has an election held so
much potential
and inherent risks for our country.
Let us keep and observe peace.
Elections come and go, leaders too come and
go, but the citizens remain. No
leader is worth dying for. This is an
election not war.
Commitment to a
political party must never be placed before our commitment
to the higher
authority — God.
When we join a group, political party or a church, we
are telling the world
who we are. We must understand that we are defining
ourselves.
Do we vote for those who promise to uphold the Constitution
but
intentionally and inevitably trample on it? Do we continue to vote for
those
who have repeatedly shown that they lack personal integrity? How can
immoral
people, who cannot be trusted, lead us anywhere but to destruction?
When the
wicked rule, the people mourn.
When we enter the voting
booth and vote for that alternative candidate, we
are taking a stand. We are
saying that we will not be an accomplice in the
slaughter of innocent
people, the starving to death of the helpless and poor
among us.
Our vote
will not mean victory. It may not make any difference to anyone
else. We
will be in the minority, and minority has always been the lot of
those who
choose obedience to God rather than submission to the rule of man.
Whether in
the lion’s den, the fiery furnace or voting booth, we need to
take a stand.
Our choices may be meaningless to others but I believe it
means something to
God.
Some people do not value casting their votes; election is too serious
and
precious an event to be left entirely in the hands of political parties
and
politicians.
Now the time has come for us to get involved in the
democratic process of
the nation we all love so much and for that we should
all come out and cast
our vote.
Showing up at the poll station on voting
day sets a good example for others.
Remember, fathers and mothers, brothers
and sisters, your children observe
all that you do and will learn from your
example, right or wrong as it may
be.
Discuss the candidates with your
families and make a point of mentioning
your vote.
Negativity, backbiting
and blistering accusations cause nothing but division
between the candidates
and their respective parties.
Negativity causes division; it brings out the
worst in people, hate,
discrimination, injustice and violence.
This
election should emphasise unity, highlighting the positives and
proposing
plans to build upon them.
The leaders should not be divisive and arrogant in
their attacks.
We are a country which has been through so much for the last
30 years or so
such as Entumbane Massacre, Gukurahundi just to mention a
few, financial
collapse and overall deterioration in our quality of
life.
We are a nation which needs to embrace the attitude of love,
compassion,
patience, understanding and charity in our everyday lives.
It
certainly isn’t easy to do but we must make an effort to incorporate
these
traits as part of our national character.
That being said, we must vote with
our conscience, vote for what is right
and just not only for ourselves but
for the common good of the country.
We must not allow the political rhetoric
to influence our beliefs. The
negativity of the campaign must not force us
to vote for the lesser of the
two evils.
Whether we like it or not, we
are our brother’s keeper. We all have a vested
interest in one another. We
want all to succeed and contribute to the
safety, stability and prosperity
of our country.
All of us recognise the importance of leadership when we vote
for our
political leaders. We all realise that it matters who is in the
office, so
we must participate in an election to choose the best
candidates.
Avoid wasting your vote
Every political party’s beliefs change
over time, so should your vote. If
you blindly vote for any political party
simply because you have always
voted that way in the past then in my
opinion, there is a good chance that
your vote will be wasted, the ultimate
outcome will not be what you
intended.
Vote for the person, not the
party
You must be sure that the person you are voting for truly represents
your
beliefs. You need to know your candidates well.
Do not cast a hope
vote
A sure way to waste your vote is voting for a person or party in hope
that
they will change in the direction you desire. Voting for them just
encourages them to continue down the path they were going. Actually voting
for them just increases the speed with which they proceed in the direction
they were going, not your direction. A hope vote is a wasted vote.
Do not
vote for the lesser of the two evils
How are the candidates going to get the
message that you are unhappy with
their representation if you continually
vote for them and they continue
doing what you do not like. Rewarding
someone for doing what you do not want
them to do is a setback.
The
alternative would be to vote for a third party candidate if one is
available
and they represent what you believe in.
Investors recognise the importance of
business leadership when they say that
“A good leader can make a success of
a weak business plan, but a poor leader
can ruin even the best
plan.”
Leaders set directions for the rest of us; they help us see what lies
ahead.
They help us visualise what we might achieve and they encourage us
and
inspire us. Without good leadership a group of human beings get lost in
their arguments and conflict, because we see things differently and lean
towards different solutions.
Leadership helps to point us in the same
direction and harness our efforts
jointly.
*Lindiwe
Chopamba-Mutimusakwa is the author of A Graveyard of Buried Hopes
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
July 14, 2013 in Opinion
Over
the past few weeks I have found myself losing faith in my fellow
Zimbabwean
citizens in terms of their capacity to uphold democratic
principles, as
espoused in the founding documents of the two main political
parties, my own
MDC-T led by Morgan Tsvangirai and its main rival Zanu PF.
Sunday Opinion
with Geoffrey Nyarota
My loss of faith can be traced back to Sunday, June
9 2013, the day on which
the confirmation of sitting Member of Parliament
for Makoni South Province,
Pishai Muchauraya took place at Mutungagore
Business Centre in the
constituency. The process was marred by a number of
irregularities which
culminated in a petition being submitted to the MDC-T
leadership at Harvest
House in Harare.
The party failed to address
the very serious issues raised in the petition,
resulting in a decision
being taken in the constituency for me to submit my
papers at the Nomination
Court as an independent candidate. Our strategy was
that we would campaign
for party president, Morgan Tsvangirai, and myself as
parliamentary
candidate. Our slogan is, “Tsvangirai kuState House; Nyarota
kuParliament”
[Tsvangirai to State House; Nyarota to Parliament].
In Makoni South
Tsvangirai will obviously benefit from association with my
name than that of
my rival.
But since nomination day, June 28, the independent candidates —
and there is
a huge number of them — have been bombarded with exhortations
and pleas to
withdraw their nominations in favour of the very rival
candidates who stole
the ballot from them on June 9, as in the case of
Makoni South. The song has
remained the same: “Withdraw your nomination so
that you don’t split the
vote in your constituency”.
Spearheading
this campaign against the independents was none other than Prof
Jonathan
Moyo, the two-term MP for Tsholotsho. In an exceedingly long
article in The
Sunday Mail, he confessed that he had cut a lonely figure in
the House of
Assembly over the past five years. He therefore admonished us
not to stand
on the basis of his own experience.
But Moyo’s predicament is not
surprising. In fact, it was predictable, given
his background. Straight from
the Tsholotsho debacle he fell out with Zanu
PF. He then approached the
MDC-T and worked out a deal with them as a result
of which, the party did
not nominate another candidate in his constituency
for the 2008 election. He
therefore won through the grace of the MDC-T.
Having secured the
parliamentary seat Moyo then did the unthinkable —
abandoned the MDC-T and
took the seat back to Zanu PF. Being such a maverick
and Machiavellian
politician, is it any surprise that Moyo was lonely in
Parliament? Fellow
politicians hated him with a passion on both sides of the
House. Now he has
the temerity to suggest that because he was lonely, every
other independent
MP will have no allies in the House.
The so-called analysts are now
filling newspaper columns with versions of
this arrant
nonsense.
Talking of analysts, just who identifies Zimbabwe’s burgeoning
ranks of
analysts? If they are really worth their salt, they should conduct
research
and inform their fellow countrymen on why there are so many
independent
election candidates in 2013. What is the cause of this strange
phenomenon?
They would be rendering a better service to Zimbabwe instead of
focusing on
de-campaigning the large number of the independent candidates,
some of them
hard-working and quite popular.
Independent candidates
have no resources, they declare. This may be true but
none of the analysts
takes the trouble to check the balances in the
candidates’ bank accounts or
their ability to borrow or to fund-raise. So
how do the analysts know the
state of the candidates’ finances?
As it is, the conscience of a son of
Makoni South was stung by the
disclosure in the press that independent
candidates did not have resources
to fund their campaigns. He telephoned me
about my needs on Friday, July 5.
By the evening of Sunday, July 7, a
consignment of freshly printed posters
and fliers were delivered to my
homestead at Gwangwadza Township in
Nyazura — all printed for
free.
The independent candidates have now been labelled as rebels, not by
the
parties, but by the press. As this perception that we are rebels gains
credence I have been approached by a host of people — ranging from fellow
politicians, lawyers, a banker and the host of analysts through their
newspaper articles, among others.
All of them have pleaded with me to
withdraw my nomination. Their reason has
been the same. It has been that so
that Muchauraya and I do not split the
vote in Makoni South.
On
questioning they have all confessed that they have never set foot in
Makoni
South. None of them has taken time to consider the reasons that set
in
motion the emergence of the independent candidates in the first place —
election rigging.
*Geoffrey Nyarota is a parliamentary candidate for
Makoni South Constituency
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
July 14, 2013 in Editorial
Manoeuvres
by President Robert Mugabe to bring the Zimbabwe dollar back in
circulation
should be condemned in the strongest terms.
The Standard
Editorial
Addressing his supporters at the launch of Zanu PF’s election
manifesto
recently, Mugabe said he had held discussions with central bank
chief,
Gideon Gono, on how a “gold-backed” Zimbabwe dollar could be
revived.
While many might dismiss statements made during campaigning as
mere
politicking, Mugabe’s pronouncement betrays a deep-seated longing in
Zanu PF
to bring back the banished currency as part of its survival
strategy.
Since 2010, Zanu PF officials have been agitating for the
return of the
local currency and the matter has been discussed at the
party’s conferences.
The Zim dollar, which was printed willy nilly from
2006 up to 2008, was used
to fund programmes such as the farm mechanisation
which mainly benefited
those connected to the then ruling
party.
Party chefs had access to the worthless dollars, which they used
to buy
forex on the black market, and in the process amassed riches. These
people
no longer have the same privileges under a multi-currency regime
hence their
desire to go back to the past.
What Mugabe is failing to
appreciate is that the Zim dollar is deeply
unpopular with Zimbabweans who
suffered during the days of hyperinflation.
Only those with short
memories would forget the long-winding queues at
banks, supermarkets,
service stations and the general economic meltdown that
occurred as
hyperinflation soared to 231 million percent.
The multi-currency regime,
though not perfect, has brought stability to the
economy and shop shelves
are bustling with products.
The people spoke in 2007-2008 when they
started transacting in foreign
currency and their will should be
respected.
The Zim dollar can only be considered once all the
fundamentals needed for a
solid currency are in place.
By advocating
the return of the Zim dollar, Mugabe has not only shown that
he does not
have the interests of people at heart but is bereft of ideas as
he seeks
re-election.
