Harare, July 17, 2012 - The
delegation which bid for Zimbabwe to host the United Nations World Tourism
Organisation (UNWTO) in Spain exaggerated pictorial evidence to persuade the
judge to grant the country the right to host the event a senior government
official said.
Ministry of Tourism Permanent Secretary, Sylvester
Maunganidze, said this when he gave an update of the UNWTO preparations
before the parliamentary committee on natural resources on
Monday.
"We were competing with big nations and wanted to win so we went
with pictorial evidence which was exaggerated and we won but now its reality
and we have to meet the standard presented," said
Maunganidze.
Zimbabwe will co-host the event with Zambia next year in
August.
He said a recent visit to Spain with the Minister of Tourism
Walter Mzembi revealed that the expected delegates were 1 000 more than the
3 000 they had been working with since August last year when they won the
bid to host the event.
"Most of the money promised is still on paper
making it difficult to develop Victoria Falls to levels we were aiming at.
Until such funds are made available I will be selling an imaginary Victoria
Falls," Maungidze said.
He said he was embarrassed to have to lie that
Air Zimbabwe was flying internationally when it was not.
"I cannot go
out of Zimbabwe and say we do not have an airline. I am forced to lie or
exaggerate something which I have been doing very well," said
Maunganidze.
He also said KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, which had shown
interest in flying to Zimbabwe, left the country three weeks ago citing very
high landing fees by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAAZ) the ministry of
tourism has said.
The ministry of tourism permanent secretary Sylvester
Maunganidze said had CAAZ been charging "reasonable" rates KLM would be
flying into Zimbabwe.
He said it did not make sense to charge fees that
caused international airlines to flee the country.
"KLM came here
(Zimbabwe) three weeks ago and left because the landing fees by CAAZ were
very high," Maunganidze told a parliamentary committe on Natural resources
on Tuesday.
Written by Business
Writer Tuesday, 17 July 2012 10:39
HARARE - Governance issues
in Zambia are affecting smooth preparation of the 20th session of the United
Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) General Assembly which the
country co-host next year with Zimbabwe, Tourism secretary Sylvester
Maunganidze said.
He told parliament’s Natural Resources Environment and
Tourism portfolio committee Zambia had changed tourism secretaries and
ministers at least four times since August last year, making planning
between the two host nations difficult.
“It has not been easy to
prepare to co-host, I just wanted you to know that between August last year
when we went to bid in Madrid and now I have worked with four
counterparts.
“Four permanent secretaries and four different ministers”,
he said, adding that Zambia has changed its tourism official every two
months.
Right now, Maunganidze said, Zambia has no secretary for tourism
and is expected to appoint one on Wednesday.
This is despite the
fact that the countries are supposed to meet monthly to present progress
reports and come up with a common vision ahead of the event.
Zimbabwe
is supposed to visit Zambia this week for the routine joint consultative
meeting.
“We have not been able to do anything meaningful with our
counterparts because there have been changes every two months,” Maunganidze
said.
“You should appreciate that if there are certain things that do not
happen it is because we have a Siamese twin who is handicapped across the
river and unfortunately we breathe the same oxygen,’ he added.
“I
don’t want to say we had wished we were doing it on our own but at this late
hour I feel we would have done better.”
SENIOR government officials have revealed the
chaos characterising preparations for the World Tourism Congress next year,
admitting the cash-strapped country was less than honest when winning the
bid to host the event and was now struggling to deliver on its
promises.
Zimbabwe won the bid to jointly co-host the global event with
Zambia at the Victoria Falls resort in August next year but senior
government officials admitted to Parliament that the country had exaggerated
its capacity to host the event adding most projects had either been scaled
back or abandoned due to lack of funds.
"When we went to bid for the
hosting of the event, we were competing with big nations and wanted to win
so we went with pictorial evidence which was exaggerated. That worked and we
won but now reality is creeping in and time is no longer on our side. We
have to meet the standards presented," Sylvester Maunganidze, the permanent
secretary for tourism, told a parliamentary committee on Natural resources
and tourism Tuesday.
He said organisers were struggling to secure funding
for key projects adding a convention centre which government wanted to build
ahead of the event had been shelved due to lack of money.
"Most of
the money promised is still on paper making it difficult to develop Victoria
Falls to the levels we were aiming at,” he said.
His counterpart at the
ministry of transport, Munesushe Munodawa added: “We are now looking at plan
B which will be a semi-permanent solution.
“Cabinet had approved the
construction of a permanent structure (the convention centre) but looking at
the time left and the situation on the ground we believe it is no longer
possible.
Instead a tent made up of Alminuim glass fabrication that can
last between 15-20 years will be built. The structure will be put near the
Chogum Park North of Spray View Hotel.” Maunganidze also said cooperation
with co-hosts Zambia had been less than ideal.
"Between August last
year and now I have worked with four different permanent secretaries within
the same ministry in Zambia as they keep changing,” he said.
“As I
speak now I do not have a permanent secretary across the river to exchange
notes with as a new one is expected to be appointed this week but we are
supposed to meet every month. If there are certain things that do not happen
it is because we have a Siamese twin who is handicapped.
Some 4 000
delegates are expected to attend the UNWTO General Assembly, an event
government officials have touted as signalling the turnaround of the
country’s tourism sector after a decade-long of decline.
There are fresh fears that plans are being laid by
ZANU PF to dismiss the proposed new constitution, in a move that will ensure
there are no voting rights for the Diaspora.
There is still no
confirmation about when the draft charter will be released, but ZANU PF has
repeatedly shown resistance to the document spearheaded by the COPAC
team.
Robert Mugabe’s party has been advocating for the ‘Kariba Draft’
constitution, which was a negotiated document made well before COPAC was
tasked with setting the laws for a new, democratic Zimbabwe.
More
than three years and an estimated US$75 million later, the COPAC draft is
believed to be ready for release with a referendum expected later this year.
But recent developments in Parliament have left some members of the public
questioning if this new charter will ever be allowed to be
instituted.
Last week, the Human Rights Commission Bill was passed
with a provision for a blanket amnesty for perpetrators of human rights
abuses before February 2009. The Electoral Amendment Bill was also put
before Parliament and it is in the process of being passed without the key
amendments to allow for a Diaspora vote.
SW Radio Africa has been
told that these oversights were part of a ‘horse trading’ agreement made by
the principals in government, and debate by MPs was not taken into
consideration. The MDC-T has also admitted that concessions needed to be
made to ensure the two Bills were passed, as another solid move towards
fresh elections.
The party also dismissed concerns about the Human Rights
‘omission’ Bill and the Electoral Bill, stating that, once the new
constitution is in place, amendments can be made to these Bills.
Dewa
Mavhinga from the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition told SW Radio Africa that “it
is very concerning and worrying that the Electoral Bill appears to have been
fast tracked through Parliament. We have to wonder if perhaps there is some
trickery afoot.”
“This is where some explanation is needed from the
MDC-T. Is this a case of capitulation to entrench the ZANU PF position, or
is there real intention to make the necessary amendments?” Mavhinga
asked.
His concerns were also echoed by UK based commentator Wilbert
Mukori who said the whole manner in which the Bills were passed “doesn’t
make any sense.”
“ZANU PF seems to be looking at these issues as if
this is set in stone. It is clear that ZANU PF is not expecting the
constitution to ever be enacted,” Mukori said.
Two ZANU PF activists, suspected of killing
MDC-T official Cephas Magura in Mudzi two months ago, have died within two
days of each other.
Eric Katiza, one of seven youths arrested over the
murder, collapsed and died while on remand, inside Mutoko Prison last week
Tuesday. His uncle Tangwe Chionerwa, also implicated in Magura’s death,
later collapsed and died at the funeral.
Kubvoruno Choga, the
district spokesman for the MDC-T in Mudzi North, told SW Radio Africa: “We
really suspect that he (Katiza) died because of what we call in Shona
‘ngozi’.” When Chionerwa died at Katiza’s funeral, the talk in the community
was that this was ‘ngozi’.
In Shona custom it’s believed ngozi is an
avenging spirit, a spiritual agent, and one of the most dreaded sources of
misfortune and death. Writer Tabona Shoko best describes it as, “the spirit
of a person whose death came as a result of foul play or who has been
wronged and dies harbouring feelings of being mistreated.”
Choga told
us two ZANU PF MPs, Newton Kachepa (Mudzi North) and Acquilina Katsande
(Mudzi West), both attended Katiza’s funeral. To the MDC-T this confirmed
accusations that Magura’s killers took instructions from the MP’s. SW Radio
Africa last week posted video evidence of Kachepa inciting violence in
Mudzi.
In May Kachepa’s pick up truck and Katsande’s Mazda T3500 truck
were used to ferry a group of over 300 ZANU PF supporters who advanced on a
gathering of 70 MDC-T supporters who were having a rally at Chimukoko
Business Centre. The skirmishes resulted in the death of MDC-T official
Cephas Magura.
According to the testimony of a young boy herding cattle
at the time, Magura was hit with a stone by the ZANU PF gang, who continued
to assault him as he lay on the ground. He was then dragged to the roadside
and left for dead. Seven other MDC-T activists were injured and treated at
the Avenues Clinic in Harare.
While many in the community believe the
deaths of the suspected killers are related to Ngozi, Kachepa the MP said
Katiza “was already sick from elephantiasis and we suspect that is what he
died from. We are worried that he was incarcerated and they have been denied
bail despite the fact that he was sick.”
The other ZANU PF activists
who were denied bail and remanded in custody to the 27th July include David
Chimukoko, Gratiano Kazingizi, Perkins Karikoga, Biggie Office, Bob Raphael
and Phillip Katsande.
Anjin Investments, a Chinese owned multi-million
dollar company mining diamonds at Marange, is interested in launching an
airline to service the country’s domestic, regional and international
routes.
The independent NewsDay newspaper reported on Tuesday that the
company has already applied for a commercial airline licence from Civil
Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ).
Anjin is one of the four
mining firms operating in the Marange diamond fields, which has in recent
times been criticised by Finance minister Tendai Biti for not remitting
money to state coffers. It is understood that members of Robert Mugabe’s
military junta also have significant shareholdings in Anjin.
The
firm’s application to operate a commercial airline was carried in a
Government Gazette published last Friday; a signal that all the groundwork
to launch the project has long been in the planning.
An aviation
expert who works at national airline Air Zimbabwe, although confessing
ignorance of Anjin’s plans, said he does not see anyone objecting or
resisting the project.
There are rumours that Anjin Investments are being
helped by top government officials, who are silent directors in the
company.
In March this year, the national flag carrier was disbanded,
ending almost 32 years of continuous service. Transport, Communications and
Infrastructural Development Minister Nicholas Goche immediately announced a
‘rebranding’ of the airline’s company, which is now Air Zimbabwe Private
Limited.
‘This has been a well executed plan. Anjin has applied for a
licence, so once they get it, they will lease all planes used by Air
Zimbabwe and recruit its staff as well to run their new company.
‘You
can be assured most of Anjin’s workforce, including pilots and cabin crew,
will be hired from the disbanded company,’
In December the financially
crippled Air Zimbabwe Holdings cancelled all its flights to Johannesburg and
London over fears that their planes would be seized to cover outstanding
debts owed for handling service charges.
It was forced to raise $1.2
million to pay off a debt owed to U.S. Company, American General Supplies,
for aircraft spares. The American firm had impounded Air Zimbabwe’s Boeing
767-200 after it landed at London’s Gatwick Airport and had threatened to
auction the plane off, if the debt wasn’t paid off.
Zimbabwe parliament’s
public accounts committee chairperson Weber Chinyadza on Monday described
the Ministry of Home Affairs as the worst run government department saying
its employees pilfer large sums of money and it does not follow laid down
treasury procedures.
Chinyadza made the remarks as Home Affairs permanent
secretary Melusi Matshiya and the ministry’s departmental heads appeared
before the committee to answer charges of misappropriating state funds and
their failure to follow treasury regulations as clearly spelt out by the
auditor and comptroller general in detailed reports in 2009 and
2010.
Matshiya admitted that funds were being misappropriated by workers
in the immigration department. He claimed that this anomaly has been
resolved following the firing of some of the employees.
“For example
the entire immigration staff compliment in Kariba and a number ion Victoria
Falls were fired for misappropriating or stealing public funds,” he
said.
Matshiya admitted the ministry on a number of occasions used state
funds without following proper procedures because of the bureaucracy
involved in getting treasury approval.
Registrar-General Tobaiwa
Mudede, whose department falls under the Home Affairs Ministry, defended
Matshiya saying he had also acted without treasury approval on a number of
occasions.
Zimbabwe is currently operating on a shoe-string budget due to
lack of funds and the drying up of revenues from the Marange diamond
field.
Economic commentator Rejoice Ngwenya said most ministries and
government departments in Zimbabwe have limited accountability
systems.
He believes that treasury and permanent secretaries should play
a key role in plugging financial loopholes draining state
coffers.
Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency says the
country's consumer inflation dropped slightly to 3.97 percent in June from
4.02 percent in May.
At the same time, gold production went up 29
percent to 7.2 tonnes in the first six months of this year, generating $377
million in revenue.
ETHIOPIA, Addis Ababa - The embattled
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has called on the African Union (AU) to
add its voice to calls for the removal of travel restrictions impossed on
him and his Zanu (PF) party loyalists by the United States and the European
Union.
Mugabe said this while addressing the 19th Session of the AU
Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia this Monday.
Mugabe said while SADC
has done its best in calling for the removal of the sanctions, Europe and
the United States have been relentless in keeping them.
He said the
AU must be the first to provide solutions in all conflict situations on the
continent as solutions by outside organisations have not been
helpful.
Mugabe cited the example of UN Resolution 1973, which authorised
NATO to intervene in Libya, resulting in the killing of his ally Colonel
Muammar Gaddafi and a host of casualties in the North African
country.
He also called for the peaceful resolution of conflicts in Mali,
Sudan and South Sudan, as well as the Sahrawi Republic.
President
Mugabe congratulated the new AU Commission Chairperson, Dr Nkosazana
Dlamini-Zuma and thanked outgoing Chairperson Jean Ping for his contribution
to the organisation over the past four years.
More heads are likely to roll this week as the MDC-T
plans to act on more “foul-mouthed” officials that made statements deemed to
be against party policy.
Several senior party officials confirmed in
interviews with NewsDay yesterday that a crackdown was looming and that
heads would roll.
The officials who spoke in confidence said the
clampdown, which started last week with deputy spokesperson Tabitha Khumalo
being demoted for advocating for the decriminalisation of commercial sex
work, was now targeting three legislators — Eddie Cross (Bulawayo South MP),
Sithembile Mlotshwa (Matobo Senator) and Morgan Femai (Chikomo
Senator).
Cross also serves as the party’s policy
coordinator.
Although MDC-T national spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora
yesterday confirmed the crackdown, he declined to name those likely to face
the axe.
“I can confirm that we are looking at incidences where there are
allegations raised against officials emanating from what they are alleged to
have said or done,” said Mwonzora.
“The party stands for certain
well-known values and these include integrity, decency and respect of
culture and religious beliefs of Zimbabwe. Our officials are to abide, to
follow and respect the values that have been developed over the years. If
they don’t, the party will take disciplinary action,” he said.
“What
we are doing is that we are looking at each case individually, like the
circumstances under which these utterances were made. For example, where
others were joking and there happened to have been a journalist, it’s
different when a policy pronouncement is made,” he said.
The
impeccable sources told NewsDay yesterday that the party leadership was not
happy with recent utterances made by senior party officials, among them
Cross, Mlotshwa and Femai.
Cross, on his website, recently insinuated
that Zimbabweans would deal with Zanu PF hardliners and army generals once
the MDC-T got into power.
“Under such circumstances the temptation to
take the law into their own hands would simply be too great for the people
of this country who have suffered at the hands of the Zanu PF hierarchy; it
would be payback time. In my view most of the leaders of Zanu PF would be
well advised to leave the country for their own safety,” wrote Cross in his
article — “A warning to hardliners”.
His statements were viewed as
implying that Tsvangirai would unleash retributive action against Zanu PF
sympathisers once elected into office.
Femai caused a stir recently when
he allegedly said women should avoid looking attractive as a way of curbing
the spread of HIV and Aids.
He was quoted in the media as saying women
should dress shabbily, sport bald heads and lose weight to reduce their
attractiveness.
The senator allegedly said this at a workshop for
Parliamentarians in Kadoma. He, however, later said he had been joking to
lighten the atmosphere in the seminar and that he had been surprised to find
that published in newspapers.
Mlotshwa, the MDC-T Senator for Matobo,
also stirred a storm when she said people should have sex once a month and
that men should be injected with drugs that reduce their libido.
She
also called for prisoners to be given sex toys to satisfy their sexual
appetite. Khumalo made headlines when she called for the decriminalisation
of commercial sex work and promised to assist commercial sex workers form a
trade union.
“It is here to stay and we should bite the bullet.
Pleasure engineering did not begin in Bulawayo or Zimbabwe but in the Garden
of Eden and one of those pleasure engineers was Eve,” Khumalo was quoted as
saying.
She has become the latest victim of the MDC-T purge after she was
demoted from her post of deputy spokesperson. She has not yet been
reassigned. She said she respected her “redeployment” but accused the media
of sensationalising her comments on prostitution.
“The party is
restructuring according to the letter that I received. It’s not about what I
feel personally. I chose to be a member of the party and obviously there are
leaders, “she said.
More than 130 employees at the national power supply authority ZESA,
have been suspended, after threatening to strike last week over the
utility’s failure to award pay rises.
The Zimbabwe Energy Workers’
Union (ZEWU) a week ago issued an ultimatum to ZESA and other private
players, to either meet their demands or face a nationwide strike. The
workers want the salary increase that was meant to be awarded to them after
a legal dispute in June.
ZEWU President Angeline Chitambo told
journalists in Harare last week the Union grouping had resolved to embark on
the strike, accusing ZESA chief executive Josh Chifamba of not honouring an
arbitration order from last month. The order promised a new salary structure
would be awarded to the energy sector on June 18th.
But instead of
honouring the order, ZESA has suspended 132 employees without pay or
benefits. The Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ), which voiced
solidarity with the energy workers, said: “Such a primitive and barbaric way
of handling labour disputes, reminiscent of the colonial era, must be
condemned with the contempt it deserves. We want to reiterate that these
workers have a legitimate expectation which must be respected both as
citizens and workers,” the PTUZ said.
European countries have this week been sending mixed messages
on Zimbabwe’s future, in terms of the restrictive ‘shopping sanctions’ still
in place against the Robert Mugabe regime.
A top level meeting of the
European Union (EU) at the end of the month is set to discuss the European
bloc’s plans to re engage with Zimbabwe. But there is confusion about
whether or not this ‘reengagement’ will include a decision to lift the
sanctions to help encourage reform.
According to the Financial Times
newspaper, the UK has floated a proposal to ease EU sanctions on Zimbabwe in
exchange for further democratic reforms. This is reportedly being sold as a
“strategic shift” in the EU’s stance towards Zimbabwe. The newspaper
reported on Monday that under the UK plan, asset freezes and visa bans
affecting dozens of Zimbabwean officials would be suspended if a
constitutional referendum proceeds peacefully.
This report came at the
same time that an EU spokesman said the restrictive sanctions would not be
lifted any time soon. Michael Mann, spokesperson for EU foreign policy chief
Catherine Ashton, said: “There is no question of lifting sanctions against
Mugabe or anyone involved in continued abuses of human rights, incitement to
violence, etc – that is simply not up for discussion.”
These comments
from Ashton’s office were in response to reports earlier this month that the
lifting of the measures was being discussed, ahead of the EU Council
meeting.
Political analyst Professor John Makumbe told SW Radio Africa on
Tuesday that a wholesale lifting of the measures was unlikely, but he said
it is possible that attempts to encourage reform will be made.
“I
think the sanctions on some individuals may be suspended as a way of waving
a carrot. I don’t think it will work because the government is only doing a
piecemeal job of implementing reforms. But the EU will still want to wave a
carrot rather than crack the whip,” Makumbe said.
Meanwhile, a British MP
on Tuesday argued in Parliament that the sanctions need to be extended to
include what he called a ‘mafia’ operating at the Chiadzwa diamond fields.
Peter Hain, a former Minister for Africa, used, as evidence, a report by
human rights group Global Witness, which said that money is being siphoned
from the diamond fields to finance a “parallel government” in
Zimbabwe.
Hain told SW Radio Africa on Monday that a “small corrupt
mafia” in Chiadzwa was lining their pockets with diamond profits, and laying
the path for another violent election in Zimbabwe.
“The evidence
presented shows conclusively that the whole way the diamonds are being mined
to line the pockets of this mafia, suggest they have the resources to ensure
the elections may not be free or fair. We cannot allow this to happen,” Hain
said.
Harare, July 17, 2012 - Photojournalist Aaron Ufumeli
was on Tuesday arrested while covering a demonstration organised to protest
arbitrary arrests of women after 9pm in some parts of the
capital.
The peaceful protest was organised by the Women’s Movement at
the popular Africa Unity Square in Harare.
Ufumeli, who works for the
privately owned NewsDay, was arrested around 9:30 am by an unidentified
police officer while taking pictures of what appeared to be a confrontation
between a police officer and one of the demonstrators.
This follows
incidents of arrests of women by the police, particularly in Harare’s
Central Business District.
Police confiscated Ufumeli’s camera for about
twenty minutes, insisting that the photographs that he had taken be
deleted.
Ufumeli had to call Harare police spokesperson inspector James
Sabau to come and clarify the issue with the police. He was only released
after Sabau liaised with the arresting details. His camera was only returned
to him around 10 am after he had deleted the photographs in question at the
police’s insistence.
No charges were preferred against him.
In
a statement to the media, the Media Institute of Southern Africa-Zimbabwe
condemned the police’s actions as unwarranted heavy handedness against
journalists conducting their lawful professional duties.
“Such
actions only serve to tarnish the image of Zimbabwe as an intolerant police
state and should thus be condemned in the strongest terms possible,” read
part of the MISA-Zimbabwe statement.
Hundreds of women from various walks of life
today converged at Africa Unity Square just opposite the parliament building
protesting against continued arrests and harassment of women in Zimbabwe on
grounds of loitering, soliciting and prostitution. 17.07.1205:02pm by
Moses Chibaya
“This program is an action against arbitrary arrest
of women that the police is carrying out at the moment on the basis
soliciting. They are interfering with the freedom of movement of women. Many
of the women here have been arrested and harassed so we have decided to take
action,” Tsitsi Dangarembga who was the spokesperson said.
She added:
“It depends on who arrest the women some police will say it is on the basis
of loitering. Loitering is not a crime or an offense in Zimbabwe that law
was repealed.”
But Harare provincial spokesperson James Sabau said they
don’t just arrest everyone, saying they arrest women with the regalia meant
to lure clients.
“I would love these women to come on wearing the regalia
that they will be wearing when they are on the streets. It’s unfortunate
when you see them it’s very different on how they look during the
night.
“We have arrested some men in brothels for soliciting. We have
made some raids using private vehicles where these women flock to the car
wearing robs and we arrest them.
“We are appealing to people to come
and report if they have complaints. We did send our police officers to
arrest people loitering on the streets in specific areas that are known for
prostitution and not in beer halls,” Sabau said.
Dangarembga said
they are going to hand a petition to the co-minister of home affairs and the
police.
“We have a petition which we are going to send to the police and
also to the co ministers of home affairs .We have outlined our grievances
that women were part of the liberation struggle and we have been working
with the rest of the nation to build this country and therefore we expect to
be treated as equal as full citizens of this country and also enjoy our
citizens’ rights.”
Part of the petition reads as follows: “Concerned with
the apparent discrimination and stereotyping of Zimbabwean women by the
State through the targeting of only women during the arrests, as noted by
the deliberate naming of its operations only to target women such as:
Operation ‘Chipo chiroorwa’ (Chipo get married), Operation ‘Chengetedza
hunhu’ (Maintain Dignity), Operation ‘Dyira Bonus kumba’ (Take your bonus
money home and others”
Unconfirmed reports suggest the late General Solomon Mujuru left
behind an estate worth an estimated US$9 billion, sources said on
Tuesday.
The sources, citing correspondence between lawyers representing
the general’s family and children, said it looks like there is going to be a
big battle for the estate. Complicating matters is the fact that many of the
children were born to women other than his wife Joice.
Earlier this
year Vice President Joice Mujuru shocked guests at a memorial service for
her late husband by lifting the lid on his cheating love life, describing
him as a womanizer. She also promised to welcome children fathered by the
General out of wedlock, as long as DNA tests proved the
paternity.
‘If there is anywhere where my husband reached, he left a
mark in my house. Any child who comes to claim that he belongs to the Mujuru
family, he will have to undergo DNA tests,’ the Vice-President
said.
Since that announcement SW Radio Africa is reliably informed that
the number children claiming to have been sired by the whisky loving General
has risen to almost 50, from an initial 15.
Mujuru, one of Zimbabwe’s
most decorated army generals, died in a fire at his farm in Beatrice, about
100km south west of Harare. He was 62. The business mogul was husband to the
current Vice President Joice.
Before his death Mujuru was well known for
his diverse business ventures, which included mining, agriculture,
transport, tourism and investment in the construction industry.
A
finance expert told us that for the executor to come out with such a huge
figure he would have looked at anything that had a value, such as money in
banks, houses and land, including farmland, businesses, or business
assets.
‘There is lot of things that they also look at and that includes
investments such as stocks and shares, including family shares and personal
belongings,’ the expert said.
But Luke Zunga, an economic analyst
told us he believed that the figure will be reduced considerably when the
executor and lawyers settle Mujuru’s debts and liabilities.
‘These
can be outstanding mortgages, bank overdrafts and taxes paid out to the
treasury. But Mujuru is one of many top ZANU PF officials to have amassed so
much wealth over a long period of time.
‘These people have been in power
for more than 30 years and can you imagine the impunity, with which they
corruptly amassed that wealth without any hindrance from the police or
anyone,’ Zunga said.
Although extremely rich and powerful, Mujuru
remained modest and assuming and always shied away from the limelight. He
however displayed a ruthless streak when building his substantial business
empire.
In 2001 he targeted white commercial farmer Guy Watson-Smith and
violently removed him off his two farms in Beatrice. Ironically he died on
one of these farms.
Watson-Smith was made to leave the Alamein and
Elim farms with only his briefcase. Mujuru sold off all his property
including lorries, tractors, irrigation equipment and household furniture.
The farmer and his family fled to South Africa soon after their lawyers
filed a High Court application against Mujuru, who had taken assets worth an
estimated US$2.5 million. Watson-Smiths lawyers in the case were attacked
and assaulted.
Another insight into Mujuru’s character was to come when
he sued the now defunct Horizon Magazine over a story he felt was
defamatory. On realising that the editor of the magazine, Andy Moyse, was
white Mujuru is reported to have told the court: “If I had known white
people had defamed me, I would have shot them.”
Before his wife
became vice-president, she was known for blocking a bid to set up Zimbabwe’s
first mobile phone network in the early 1990s. As Information Minister she
blocked Econet long enough for Telecel to set up. Telecel was part owned by
her husband.
In April 2004 Mujuru controversially took over the River
Ranch diamond mine, with the help of Adel Abdul Rahman al Aujan, a
millionaire Saudi real estate developer. The previous owners Adele and
Michael Farquhar were forced off the property by police at gunpoint. Despite
the courts passing judgement in favour of the Farquhar’s, Mujuru continued
to occupy and mine the area.
When the Mineral Marketing Corporation of
Zimbabwe refused to buy the diamonds from this mine, Mujuru flexed his
muscles in the ZANU PF Central Committee and had the entire board replaced.
Allegations have been made that the mine is being used to launder some of
the diamond plunder from contracts in the Democratic Republic of Congo,
secured by Mujuru and his allies. This is because their production numbers
don’t tally with revenue.
SW Radio Africa also revealed how Mujuru’s
daughter, Nyasha del Campo, tried to set up a deal on behalf of her parents
involving illegal gold from the DRC. She and her husband Pedro live in the
Spanish capital Madrid and set up two companies there, allegedly with the
help and financial support of the parents. The deal involved shipping about
US$35 million worth of gold nuggets per month to
Switzerland.
Firstar, a company with offices in Europe, said Mujuru’s
daughter offered to sell them the gold from the DRC. The company said it
withdrew from the deal when it realized who Nyasha was. The company also
claimed that Vice President Joice Mujuru then phoned their Chief Executive
in Europe, demanding that the decision be reversed.
The retired
general once declared he didn’t fight the liberation war to end up a poor
man.
Johannesburg, July 17, 2012
- The 21st Movement Free Zimbabwe Global Protest will this Saturday target
countries that are arming the Mugabe regime, which has a record of violence
during elections and is on an international arms embargo.
A statement
by the Co-ordinator, Den Moyo, said the 2008 harmonised election in Zimbabwe
was a blood bath due to the arms of war used by the regime against innocent
civilians.
"As we work towards the next Zimbabwean elections in 2013
there is need for a peaceful environment to prevail so that Zimbabwean can
vote without fear of the army, the CIO and the police, the known
perpetrators of violence in the 2008 election," he noted in the
statement.
"The efforts being made by some known countries to further arm
the Mugabe regime is a worrying development that should not be allowed to
prevail."
"The 21st Movement is an international movement of Zimbabweans
from all walks of life who are dedicated to lobbying the international
community to take note of the deceitful regime in Harare, which claims to be
implementing a roadmap to peace, yet elements in the government are
preparing for war. This month's protest aims to stop the arms proliferation
to the strife-torn nation."
"The 21st Movement is demanding that: the
United Nations adopts the international arms embargo on Zimbabwe that has
already been subscribed to by the EU and the US; that Russia and China show
that they do not support dictators violating human rights, by not selling
arms to Zimbabwe; and that Brazil stops selling to the regime teargas, which
is the most direct weapon used against human rights and political
activists."
Recent media reports indicated that the Mugabe regime had
agreed to mortgage the nation’s platinum deposits to the Russians in
exchange of helicopter gunships. The helicopters will be unserviceable in a
few years while Russians will continue exploiting our platinum for years to
come.
On the 21st of July petitions under the theme “United Nations – No
Weapons of War to Zimbabwe” will be delivered to the UN Secretary General
Ban Ki Moon targeting the UN Arms Trade Treaty Conference taking place in
New York, and to all UN Offices worldwide while demonstrations will be held
at Russian Embassies the world over.
The UN Headquarters
demonstrators in New York will gather at 405 East 42nd Street NY near the UN
Headquarters. In London the demonstrators will meet at the Zimbabwean
Embassy, 429 The Strand which is the usual venue of the Vigil
Protest.
David Kadzutu, the MDC UK South West District organising
secretary, said, after a briefing at the Vigil the demonstrators would go to
the Russian Embassy where they will present their petition. “We should not
be shy to do what we know is good for our country,” he said.
"On
record there are three countries currently known to trade weapons of war
with Zimbabwe, namely, China (Firearms, ammunition, rocket launchers,
grenades), Russia (Military Helicopters) and Brazil (Teargas canisters).
These weapons are being purchased to wage a war against the country's
citizens as we move towards the next general elections expected in 2013,"
noted the statement.
"We believe stolen revenue from diamonds and
other minerals is used to purchase these unnecessary weapons at a time when
Zimbabwe has huge national debts to the World Bank, IMF, and the ADB, and a
crumbling economy. The Health Services, Education, Water and Sanitation
sectors are in shambles leading to outbreaks of chronic diseases such as
cholera and typhoid."
Russia and China have been at the forefront of
propping up the dictatorial Mugabe regime and protecting it from scrutiny by
the UN Security Council, just as they have blocked resolutions to condemn
the violence that the Assad Regime is perpetrating on its own people in
Syria."
"In August the 21st Movement will target Mozambican Embassies to
deliver a message to President Armando Guebuza, who will assume the SADC
Chairmanship that month, that he must not reverse gains on Zimbabwe attained
at the SADC Luanda Summit in Angola. In September Mugabe is expected to
visit New York for the UN General Assembly; the world must be reminded of
his tyrannical rule. We are keeping up the pressure and we know that the
dictator is feeling it, whether he acknowledges or not."
The U.S.
Ambassador-designate to Zimbabwe, Bruce Wharton, says if confirmed by
Congress, he will work to enable Zimbabwe become a just, prosperous and
democratic state that meets the needs of its people, contributes to
development in the region, and plays an important role in world
affairs.
Addressing the U.S. Senate committee on foreign relations last
week, Wharton said he remained optimistic about Zimbabwe’s future, adding
his country stands ready to “alter the current restrictions on our
relationship with Zimbabwe and to forge stronger economic and political
ties.”
Wharton, who's not new to Zimbabwe after serving as the U.S.
Public Affairs Officer in Harare from 1999 to 2003, will replace outgoing
Ambassador Charles Ray, if confirmed.
The full implementation of the
Global Political Agreement that saw the formation of the unity government,
he said, progress on the Southern African Development Community’s road map
toward elections, and well-managed and credible elections would trigger the
U.S. "to open a much more dynamic relationship" with what he says is one of
Africa's most important countries.
Wharton said America’s policy on
Zimbabwe was not about regime change, adding the U.S. only supports
principles, not parties or people.
"However, when the right to
self-determination is denied, as it has been in Zimbabwe through
restrictions on citizen rights, through political violence, and fraudulent
and mismanaged elections, the United States cannot stand idly by," he
said.
"We have taken principled steps to demonstrate our concern about
the actions of those responsible for, and those who profit from,
miscarriages of the promise Zimbabwe offered at independence.
"We
will always stand up for the rights of Zimbabweans to speak, write, read,
meet, organize, and fully participate in their nation’s political
processes.
"We will not always agree with the government of Zimbabwe,
but we will always attempt to maintain a respectful and open
dialogue."
Wharton, currently deputy assistant secretary in the State
Department bureau of African Affairs, said America remained open and willing
to work with the government to support free and fair
elections.
Commenting, democracy manager Joy Mabenge of the Institute for
a Democratic Alternative for Zimbabwe said Wharton is coming back to
Zimbabwe at a crucial time where things could get better or get worse as the
country heads to possible polls next year.
"The politics that the
Ambassador is going to come into is fundamentally different from the
politics Ambassador Charles Ray and Christopher Dell were in," said Mabenge.
"The politics when everyone else is expecting Zimbabwe to at least get
through a transition that might take the country to a sustainable
democracy."
"His politics will have to do with engagement on the issues
of re-engagement, but his uphill task is to deal with issues that are likely
to happen within the transitional politics."
HUNDREDS of newly-wed couples could have their unions
nullified over fears the ceremonies were conducted by fake marriage
officers, Registrar General Tobaiwa Mudede warned on Monday.
Zimbabwe
reformed its marriage procedures in March by issuing new certificates which
are computerised and harder to counterfeit.
The move was part of measures
aimed at curbing multiple marriages, marriages of convenience and
immigration fraud. Foreigners are now required to produce proof from their
home countries that they are not married. Before the reforms, the country had
1,966 marriage officers – mainly magistrates and church
ministers.
But Mudede says they have only issued 1,253 new marriage
registers since March after failing to account for some 716 marriage
officers.
“The figures speak for themselves. It means the difference
might have been pseudo marriage officers,” Mudede told a news conference in
Harare.
“We still challenge them to come forward if they are pure
(marriage) officers to be free from this blemish. As for now, no one has
come out in the open and the marriages they solemnised in the past will be
cancelled.” Mudede said they were “working hard to reduce fraud which
involves marriage officers and those being solemnised.”
Meanwhile,
Mudede announced they were banning mass weddings which are common in
churches.
“This is treacherous because one should not issue many marriage
certificates at the same time. Many reverends were just doing it for
monetary benefits and this should stop,” he said.
Books, wheelchairs and medical supplies donated by
American-based humanitarian organization – Compassionate Justice Intl, have
finally been distributed to various beneficiaries in the southern parts of
Zimbabwe. 17.07.1201:01pm by Mxolisi Ncube
These were
contained in a third container to be sent to underprivileged people in the
country by the organisation founded by celebrated Kansas-based writer and
humanitarian, Bob Scott.
“The container arrived in Zimbabwe in the middle
of June and the distribution began a few days later,” said Scott, who is
also the CJI’s Director.
“We donated the books and medical supplies
to Hope for Mtshabezi. They in turn donated supplies to Mtshabezi Hospital,
the village of Mbezingwe and two other groups; Days for Girls, which teaches
young girls about women's issues and Chris and Norma Ferguson, who work with
11 schools in the Matopo Hills area.”
An official from one of the
organisations paid tribute to the author, who rose to world prominence with
his touching book, “Saving Zimbabwe; Life, Death & Hope in Africa”,
which has received rave reviews worldwide.
The donated supplies included
16 000 books and more than 500 boxes of medical supplies, wheel chairs and
walkers, which were meant for the benefit of charitable institutions and
nearby schools that are struggling to break-even, following more than a
decade of an economic meltdown in the country.
This was the first
time the organization sent a container to Matabeleland, after the first two
went to Harare, but the organization has donated several other basics to the
people in Matabeleland before.
“I will always feel the importance of
supporting Zimbabwean organisations already working in the country. I look
for people who have been personally sacrificing their time and resources
trying to make a difference. The HfM team is most all health professionals
leaving here in the US, but who - out of their own pockets, return home to
Zimbabwe and try and help out. I want to strengthen their hands by giving
them something that can make a huge difference,” Scott has said previously.
South Africa says 281 of
the country's endangered rhinoceros have been killed by poachers in the
first six months of the year.
The Environment Department said Tuesday
that the huge Kruger National Park adjacent to neighbors Mozambique and
Zimbabwe was the worst hit, losing 164 rhinos.
The figures in the
midyear review indicate that poaching is still on the rise in South Africa,
where 448 rhinos were killed last year, up from 333 in 2010.
The
department said 176 people have been arrested since January, 153 of them
alleged poachers, with the others being couriers, buyers or
exporters.
South Africa is home to some 20,000 rhinos, more than any
other country.
Demand for powdered rhino horn has soared in Asia where it
is used in traditional medicines and is believed to relieve cancer symptoms.
The Zimbabwean mining sector has huge potential to grow,
speakers agreed at an Africa mining congress in Sandton on
Tuesday.
They said the mining sector could help Zimbabwe overcome its
economic problems and commended that country for seeking a legislative
framework to suit economic growth.
Sheila Galloway, executive
director at Utho Strategic Investments, said much of Zimbabwe's minerals
were untapped.
“You have a land mass that is 60 percent rich with
different minerals. Most of these are untapped,” she said.
Prince
Mupazviriho, permanent secretary of the ministry of mines in Zimbabwe,
echoed Galloway's views, adding that the much-feared indigenisation policy
was not a problem.
“Indigenisation is not nationalisation. It is not
forced on an investor,” he said.
Mupazviriho said foreign investors
were expected to find a local partner who would then own 51 percent of the
investment, with the rest belonging to the investor.
The Mail &
Guardian reported in March that the controversial law (indigenisation)
orders foreign-owned companies, such as mines, banks, and retailers, to
submit plans on how they would give up a majority share to
locals.
The government had, however, not explained how the process
would be undertaken.
Ted Blom, chairman of the congress, said
minerals did not belong to the government but to the country and its
people.
“The government is merely a coach for intervening for a period of
time,” said Blom.
The congress identified some obstacles facing the
mining industry in Zimbabwe.
“Energy still remains a major problem.
There is no doubt about it,” said Galloway.
The Zimbabwean government
only started introducing programmes to address energy supply in the past two
years.
Galloway said her company was providing technical expertise in the
introduction of independent power producers in Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe's
minerals are among the most untapped in the world, investment adviser Sheila
Galloway said on Tuesday.
“You have a land mass that is 60 percent rich
with different minerals. You have at least 60 different varieties of
minerals. Most of these are untapped,” she told an Africa mining congress in
Sandton, Johannesburg.
Exploration taking place in Zimbabwe was merely
“scratching the surface”.
Galloway, executive director of Utho Strategic
Investments, said Zimbabwe had a legislative framework that made it easy for
investors to come into the mining sector.
But problems with energy
supply remained an obstacle.
“Energy still remains a major problem. There
is no doubt about it,” she said.
“It has only been in the last two
years that government has really started pushing the programmes to address
this issue.”
Galloway said, in the past government waited for investors
to come to the fold and this delayed power generation projects.
These
were being addressed through the introduction of independent power
producers.
- Utho Strategic Investments is a corporate and project
advisory business specialising in infrastructure already functional in
Zimbabwe. - Sapa
ZESN Commends Supreme Court Ruling On By Elections
ZESN
COMMENDS SUPREME COURT RULING ON BY ELECTIONS
Harare- 17 July
2012-
The Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) welcomes the decision by the
Supreme Court directing the President to set the election date for by-elections
in three vacant House of Assembly constituencies in Matabeleland. ZESN commends
the Supreme Court for reaffirming the right of individuals to participate in
government. The Supreme Court has expressly showed that people are entitled to
choose representatives and to be represented. ZESN further congratulates the
three former legislators who instituted this court action.
The posts became vacant
after three MDC legislators Abednico Bhebhe, (Nkayi South) Njabulo Mguni
(Bulilima East) and Norman Mpofu (Lupane East), were expelled from the party and
subsequently relieved of their parliamentary positions in 2009.
However it is sad to
note that this decision has taken so long as it comes close to the end of the
life of the current Parliament in June 2013. In addition, if these by elections
are to be held, the parliamentarians will serve for less than 12 months making
this decision a hollow consolation to the people considering the time that they
have spent without representatives. ZESN also expresses similar concerns over
the remaining 27 constituencies where by-elections are also due.
ZESN therefore hopes
that in future such decisions will be arrived at early, at least within six
months after the institution of court action. We reiterate our call to the State to uphold, protect and guarantee people’s
right to political participation enshrined in the Constitution and many Human
Rights Instruments that Zimbabwe is party to. End//
Vince Musewe
says it is in the 'second economy' that the action is taking
place
The Zimbabwe economy: new perspectives
The fascinating
development over the last five years or so has been the emergence of a
static and retrogressive first economy accompanied, surprisingly, by a
somewhat resilient second economy
I must disappoint my judicious readers,
who may be waiting for me to deal with the topic, "Moving Zimbabwe Forwards
Despite the Politics" in this episode as I promised. However, it came to my
mind that, in order for some to fully welcome my thoughts on the subject
matter, it would be prudent for me to first deal with the structure of the
Zimbabwean economy first, which has changed somewhat over the last few
years. I shall then keep my promise in my next instalment, where I intend to
share my thoughts on how we can move our country forwards, despite the
distressingly slow grinding wheels of politics.
I want to suggest
here that post colonial Zimbabwe essentially inherited three distinct
economies:
A first economy, which is predominantly urban, driven mainly
by financial institutions, and fuelled by commercial agriculture and mining.
It is within this economy that the country's economic policy is manufactured
and implemented. It also within this economy that your politicians, bankers,
opportunists, and prophets of indigenization reside.
A second
economy, which provides labour to the first economy, and consumes its
products and services. It is within this economy that the majority of
Zimbabweans reside.
And lastly, a rural subsistence economy that is,
to a large extent, dependent for survival on regular incomes from those
within the second economy.
The land repossession and the monetary
policies between 2000 and 2008 effectively decimated this structure. This
has resulted in the shrinking of the first economy due to decreasing
agricultural output, an unstable currency, and lack of access to operational
and expansion capital. This has been followed by diminishing employment and
consumption levels in the second economy, and the marginalisation of the
rural or third economy.
The fascinating development over the last five
years or so has been the emergence of a static and retrogressive first
economy, accompanied, surprisingly, by a somewhat resilient second economy
that is no longer totally dependent on employment from this now less
significant first economy. Added to this, are the Diaspora remittances that
have, to a considerable extent, increased disposable incomes within the
second economy. The third, or rural economy has remained stagnant, but
somehow self sufficient, mainly because it has been boosted by small holder
farmers, no longer depend on second economy income remittances.
Over
the last few years, Zimbabwe's second economy has emerged as vibrant and
creative in the face of a shrinking job market. It is there that formerly
employed individuals have created their own small entities that service the
day to day basic consumption needs of the people, with little interaction
the first economy. In it are the technicians and craftsmen that used to
provide labour to the first economy. Also found in it today are landlords,
lodgers, traders, money changers, home industry housewives, chicken growers,
airtime vendors, petty opportunists, peddlers of all sorts, drunkards and so
on.
This second economy has become central in the lives of a very large
portion of the economically active population. It is highly liquid and
hugely profitable for retailers who have noticed that the cheese has moved.
I would wager that in excess of 80% of the population resides in this
economy, but I stand to be corrected by the imminent population
census.
Now given the above structural and behavioural economic shifts, I
strongly believe that it is within the second economy where future economic
growth lies. It is within this second economy that considerable potential
exists, and I expect our investment and economic planning strategies ,our
budgeting processes, indigenization policies, and monetary policies to be
informed by, and affirm these developments, so that we can create an economy
that benefits ordinary Zimbabweans and improves the distribution of
wealth.
This second economy is really where the action is, and I would
expect our local companies to have strategies and desires to effectively
access this sector. Some already have, but I sense some complacency by most
local companies informed by old habits and sheer ignorance to understand
that indeed the cheese has moved.
These developments present
significant opportunities for those who those who understand emerging
trends.
My estimation on how we can move the economy forward despite the
politics are informed by these trends and I shall then deal with how this
can be done in my next article.
Vince Musewe is an independent
economist currently in Harare. You may contact him on vtmusewe@gmail.com
By Mandivamba Rukuni, a discussion
paper in the Zimbabwe Land Series
Introduction
An important recommendation of the Commission of
Inquiry into Land Tenure Systems in Zimbabwe (1994) that I chaired was that
Zimbabwe should maintain a multi-form tenure regime. The commission recommended
that each tenure instrument be made more secure by explicitly identifying the
land rights and ensuring greater continuity of those rights by the holder.
Moreover, legal and institutional provisions and capacities can enforce such
rights for all land, including land held under customary tenure. In this article
I will make recommendations on how to strengthen the multi-form tenure system
and discuss how this can be applied to improving land investment and values
again in Zimbabwe. Those interested in exploring the principles, theory and
practice in securing land rights for sustainable development should read my
other article. [1]
Under what conditions is agricultural land
bankable?
Banks and
financing institutions look at two main things in financing a farming business:
viability/profitability and collateral security.
Viability or profitability is the first necessary condition for any financing.
Farmers with a track record at a bank can continue to get financing without much
separate or additional collateral security. If a farmer is making money and
his/her business dealings are open to the bank, the bank will increase their
trust of the farmer and their business over time. Just having a
title does not necessarily lead to financing, particularly for new and
inexperienced farmers with no track record of farming profitably. Banking is
ultimately about trust.This point is crucial to remember in
the debate on tenure in Zimbabwe (and Africa generally), as this debate has
become quite ideological. In most of industrializing Asia, agricultural growth
was maintained at a high level based on small farms with no collateral security
because the business environment and economic policies were
favourable.
Banks in Zimbabwe are also looking forward to
the resolution of disputed land, as discussed in my last article. Government
urgently needs to review and update the land administration systems, so that the
government and local government systems, the judiciary and the finance sector
all have access to one registry and administrative system that is sufficiently
accurate, reliable and decentralized to provincial and districts centres, where
transactions can be completed and disputes resolved amicably. Tenure security is
ultimately about capacity to protect and enforce land rights.
The
needs and challenges in reforming tenure
Following the Fast Track land reform program,
Government is now seeking to improve tenure security for the farmers and allow
farmers to use their land holdings as collateral security to raise finance for
development and farming operations. The current 99-Year Lease is still
inadequate for banking purposes. On the other hand, the Government is sceptical
about giving freehold title for the fear that white farmers buying land again
may reverse the gains of land reform. So the question is “How does policy
arrive at a secure tenure that is bankable whilst at the same time maintaining
the gains of land reform?” Bankability and sustainable development issues
also apply to all other land tenure instruments in Zimbabwe besides the 99-Year
Lease.
A
quick look at the current tenure instruments
The following are the current tenure instruments
in Zimbabwe:
Traditional usufruct on State
Land for Communal Areas
Freehold Title for some Large
Scale Commercial and some Small Scale Commercial farms
Short-term Leases for some
Small Scale Commercial farms, and some Large Scale farms
99
-Year leases for a few so far of the A2 resettlement
Offer letters for most A2
resettlement who still hope to qualify for a 99-Year Lease
Permits for Model A Old
Resettlement and for A1 Fast Track resettlement
The Constitution and the future consolidated
land law(s) will have to be clearer for every category of land as to what rights
the land occupier will have. Land tenure security can generally be defined
as the certainty of continuous use.To secure tenure, land rights
for each category of land occupier have to be clear and enforceable. Each tenure
regime should enjoy the same 4 categories of rights. What differ are specifics
of each of the 4 categories of rights and how that is administered and
enforced.
The BASKET OF
LAND RIGHTS includes:
Use rights: rights to
grow crops, trees, make permanent improvement, harvest trees and fruits, and so
on.
Transfer rights:
rights to sell, give, mortgage, lease, rent or bequeath
Exclusion rights:
rights to exclude others from using or transferring
Enforcement rights:
refer to the legal, judicial, institutional and administrative provisions to
guarantee use, transfer, and exclusion rights and to resolve
disputes.
How can
all these tenure instruments be made more secure?
Here are my recommendations in strengthening
further the current instruments:
Traditional usufruct on State Land for Communal
Areas:
Communal Lands should cease to be State Land and
the State should recognise in the constitution and law, the validity of
customary rights as follows:
Constitutional provisions:The national Constitution should recognise traditional and customary land
rights unconditionally. Whosoever enjoys such rights can legally claim them even
if they do not hold a formal title, permit, lease, or any piece of paper in
order to own and defend those rights. This is because the traditional systems
know how to recognise customary rights and adjudicate.
Modernise don’t Westernise customary
tenure: Customary tenure recognises the same basket of rights
and is as secure as any Western title system if its integrity is restored and
strengthened. While land registration may be desirable in the long run, this
should be carried out in a series of well-considered phases so as to avoid
prejudicing those holding customary rights to land. In essence this is process
of registering the customary rights, not changing the rules of ownership.
Strengthen capacity of communities to administer
and adjudicate:Before any system of registration can
be affected, it is important to reform the laws and the local administration
systems so that they have the capacity to engage and strengthen customary land
rights systems. This capacity has to be built all the way down to the community
level where traditional systems will continue to play a central role in
administering the system. Community level land boards and administrative
structures are essential for adjudication and dispute resolution as well as
updating the land registers.
Voluntary before systematic
registration:Once land administration capacity is
evident at community level and well integrated and part of the modernized
traditional system, then voluntary registration of land can begin. Land
registration is costly for government, the community and the land occupier, and
it is important for Zimbabwe to avoid systematic land titling, as the costs may
outstrip the benefits. Voluntary registration to start with will eventually pave
the way for comprehensive systematic titling using the evolutionary principle.
GPS and satellite imagery technology has reduced the cost and speed of titling.
The social and community processes, however, need time and have to be based on
principles of mutual respect, mutual accountability, and mutual benefit between
government, traditional communities, and customary land-rights holders in
question.
Family
Trusts and Foundations:In the medium to long run it
should be possible to offer a Deed of Grant to the Family Trust or jointly held
by spouses for arable and residential land. Inheritance should be with the
surviving spouse and then surviving children who can anoint an heir or form a
family trust or company.
Common
property land: For grazing land and other common land the Deed
of Grant should be made in the name of a Community Trust or Foundation who will
look after the natural resources and pass appropriate by-laws with the power to
exclude other communities.
Traditional Councils:The
Traditional Councils from village to District level should be incorporated into
the National Judicial system, including powers to constitute with other local
stakeholder representatives, as a Land Board or Local Administrative Court
assisted by Government officials from Lands, Justice and Agriculture
Ministries.
Tradability:Arable and
residential land should be tradable legally only between dwellers of communal
lands.
No
consolidation of land holdings should be allowed legally until
Zimbabwe has reached a minimum of 50% urban population ratio and until the
national unemployment figures are sustainably within single digit percentage
range.
Foreigners:No sales of
customary land to foreigners should be allowed.
Freehold Title for some Large Scale Commercial and
Small Scale Commercial farms:
This tenure tool should be maintained. No sales
to foreigners should be allowed. Foreigners should be allowed short to medium
term rental leases on land with title deeds.
Short-term Leases on Small Scale Commercial
farms:
Any leases older than 10 years should be
converted to a Deed of Grant without further delay. The Deed should be granted
in the name of both spouses. Where the original leaseholders are deceased, then
the Deed should be granted in consultation with all surviving children so that
either the grant goes to the heir-apparent child and his or her spouse.
Alternatively, the surviving family establishes a Family Trust or Company with
appointed Trustees or Directors making decisions. This group of farms all
started in the colonial period when black ‘master farmers’ where allocated
small-scale farms on a short term lease that they could convert to a title (deed
of grant). Although all of them had the right to convert to title, most did
not.
99-year leases for some of the A2
resettlement:
The 99-Year Lease should be strengthened as
follows:
Compensate previous
owner: Quittance will strengthen the 99-Year Lease by avoiding
legal contestation. Since government has to compensate for ‘improvements only’,
the lease holder should assist government by contributing at least a portion of
the value of improvements acquired, as well as through annual rentals, even if
initially these are nominal;
Include a 10-year sunset clause for
land development: The leaseholder should in a maximum of 10 years
fulfil State requirements in land improvements (fence, homestead, water, etc.)
to be considered a serious landowner and farmer.
If the land holder fails to fulfil this
condition in 10 years then the State should repossess the land and offers fair
compensation for any improvements;
If the leaseholder wishes to exit before the 10
years then she/he can either sell the lease to the State for the value of
improvements or sell it to another qualified A2 beneficiary.
Simplify the 99-Year
Lease so that collateral rights and State rights have equal
recourse at law in foreclosure.
Sale of 99-Year
leases: Sales should be legal and allowed only between buyers and
sellers in the same category of land reform.
No consolidation of holdings should
be permitted until Zimbabwe is a fully industrial
nation.
Offer
letters for A2 resettlement:
Holders of these should be given the following
options:
Apply for a 99-Year lease by going through the
process discussed above;
Sell the Offer Letter either to another willing
purchaser who qualifies as above;
Sell Offer Letter back to the State for a
nominal fee and land to be reallocated on a stricter basis for
qualifying.
Permits for Model A Old Resettlement and
A1:
Should be revised as follows:
Deed of Grant for arable and residential land
should be given in favour of joint ownership by spouses or a family trust.
Inheritance should be with the surviving spouse and then surviving children who
can anoint an heir or form a family trust or company.
For grazing land and other common land the Deed
of Grant should be made in the name of a Community Trust or Foundation who will
look after the natural resources and pass appropriate by-laws with the power to
exclude other communities encroaching on their common property.
The system of land administration needs
strengthening on similar lines to what I have outlined for Communal Lands so as
to pave the way for voluntary and systematic titling and land registration. This
can happen sooner for resettlement areas.
If we look at the process of commercialising
land, then all resettlement land should be first and communal land
last.
Need
for residential land for rural citizens as part of a “Zimbabwean
dream”
All Zimbabweans deserve to live in a country
where there is abundant and affordable food, and that each family has a home. My
recommendation is that the Government shifts its policy from emphasising
expensive urban housing to encouraging smaller rural settlements. Every Zimbabwe
boy and girl at attaining the age of majority should qualify for a land grant
from the local community in areas designated as “rural residential areas”. The
size can vary from 0.1 to 0.4 of a hectare or so. She or he can apply to any
local land board with automatic title. This is also a way of dealing with the
gender balance in land, affording young Zimbabweans to own their own piece of
land for housing before they get married. Botswana has applied this policy
successfully.
[1]Rukuni M. 1999. Land tenure, governance, and
prospects for sustainable development in Africa. Policy Brief #6. Natural
Resources policy Consultative Group for Africa. Washington DC. Natural Resources
Institute.
This entry was
posted by Sokwanele on Tuesday, July 17th, 2012 at 12:18
pm
