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Special
vote court case postponed as ZEC u-turns on voters’ roll
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Nomalanga
Moyo
SW Radio Africa
17 July 2013
Constitutional Court Judge George
Chiweshe postponed to Thursday a hearing
in which the MDC-T wanted the
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to furnish it
with the voters’ roll used in
the just-ended special vote.
Last week, the MDC-T and its deputy
chairperson of elections Morgan Komichi,
filed an application at the
ConCourt challenging the holding of the special
vote, citing disparities in
the number of police officers that applied to
take part.
The party
wanted the exercise to be delayed to July 20th while ZEC “properly
verified
and authenticated the findings on the 69,222 applications”.
It also
wanted ZEC to provide the party with a voters’ roll for the special
ballot,
which ZEC admitted it could not supply. However, the Commission
agreed to
make available a list with all the names and addresses of the
applicants.
Harrison Nkomo, the lawyer for the MDC-T, said: “When we
met today
(Wednesday), the Attorney-General indicated that it did not have
the details
of the number of officers employed by the police.
“This
was surprising because the last time we met, there had been an
agreement
that ZEC would provide that and today there would have been a
consent order
indicating a common position between the two parties.
“ZEC had agreed
that it would make available the details of all those who
would have voted
by special ballot, including the polling stations at which
they would have
voted. But now ZEC is opposing that application,” said
Nkomo.
Nkomo
added that both sides are now expected to argue their cases in
chambers
Thursday: “I am not sure about the politics behind ZEC’s position
but it was
disheartening to see that, because their initial position was
proper and
professional under the circumstances.
The MDC-T application came amid
widespread concerns about possible ballot
stuffing after it emerged that
only 44,133 police officers are on the
payroll, compared to the 69,000 who
allegedly applied to vote on 14th-15th
July.
The party also asked the
court to direct ZEC to ensure that only legitimate
police officers – minus
retirees, special constabulary or those allegedly
recruited to bump up the
numbers, such as spouses – will be allowed to vote.
Following the court
application, ZEC officials said they had no means of
verifying the figures
submitted by the police. In addition, ZEC was forced
to extend polling by
another day, a move slammed as unconstitutional by the
MDC-T.
The
three-day exercise was marred by chaos and delays, with reports that
ballot
papers were delivered very late at some stations.
This has compounded
fears that the ZEC’s supposed weaknesses are nothing but
a strategy used by
ZANU PF to build a critical chunk of ‘safe’ votes before
July
31st.
Overall, 87,000 people were expected to cast their ballots under
the special
vote but an MDC-T official stationed at the ZEC command centre
told SW Radio
Africa that so far figures indicate that about 35,000 people
voted.
Registrar-General
Blocks NGO's Attempt to Scrutinize Voters Roll
http://www.voazimbabwe.com/
Irwin
Chifera
17.07.2013
HARARE — Registrar of voters Tobaiwa Mudede on
Wednesday blocked a local
civil society organization, Research and Advocacy
Unit (RAU), from launching
a detailed analysis of the 2013 voters’ roll at
an event expected to be
attended by election observers, already in the
country for the July 31 poll.
Mr. Mudede approached the High Court and
was granted an interdict stopping
the launch which was scheduled to take
place at a local hotel.
Police officers were deployed at the hotel two
hours before the launch
forcing the RAU to cancel the launch.
RAU
director Kudakwashe Chitsike said her organisation never intended to
launch
the voters’ roll but an analysis of the register.
She said the Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission was aware of the audit of the
voters’ roll by her
organization and had acknowledged receiving the RAU
preliminary report
released June 5.
Attorney Jeremiah Bamu of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human
Rights,
representing RAU, has since written to Mr. Mudede’s lawyers asking
them to
withdraw their case alleging it was premised on wrong
information.
He said if they do not do so, RAU will file opposing papers
so the matter
can be heard urgently.
The report which RAU wanted to
launch shows a number of irregularities on
the 2013 elections voters’
roll.
The audit shows about 2 million potential voters aged below 30 are
not
registered voters and that about a 1,000 000 people on the register are
deceased.
Chitsike said the audit also shows that 63 areas have more
registered voters
than inhabitants.
Judge
Orders Attorney General to Probe Zimbabwe Police Figures
http://www.voazimbabwe.com/
Thomas
Chiripasi, Jonga Kandemiiri
17.07.2013
HARARE, WASHINGTON — Judge
president George Chiweshe on Wednesday directed
Attorney General Johannes
Tomana to investigate the number of police
officers in the country after the
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
formation of Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai questioned the number of
officers who had applied to cast ballots
in a special voting exercise that
ended Monday.
The directive by
Justice Chiweshe follows complaints by the MDC-T that the
number of police
officers who applied to vote early because they will not be
in their
constituencies during the July 31 national elections was
inflated.
Charles Nyika, an attorney representing the Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission
(ZEC), said lawyers representing MDC-T deputy chairman, Morgan
Komichi,
presented in court some documents showing that the country has
about 44,000
police officers against the 69,000 application forms that the
police
requested from the electoral body.
This was supported by
Komichi's attorney, Advocate Lewis Uriri.
Uriri said the court is
expected to take an appropriate decision given that
early voting had already
taken place in accordance with the ruling of the
Constitutional Court that
directed that polls should be conducted no later
than July 31 this
year.
In terms of the Electoral Act, special voting should take place not
less
than 16 days before general polls.
However, Nyika said nothing
will change because special voters have already
cast their
ballots.
The case was adjourned to Thursday to allow Mr. Tomana to
furnish the court
with the exact number of police officers in the
country.
MDC-T says inflating the number of police officers in the early
vote was one
of the many ways they think Zanu PF is using to rig the July 31
polls.
Meanwhile, Mr. Tsvangirai reportedly told his supporters in Gokwe
on
Wednesday that ZEC created an artificial shortage of ballot papers after
Zanu PF realized that its support among the uniformed forces is dwindling
ahead of the elections.
The accusation by Mr. Tsvangirai comes only a
day after his party's
secretary general Tendai Biti alleged that the
management of electoral
affairs had been hijacked by what he described as
“the junta” in Zanu PF.
VOA Studio 7 failed to get a comment from Zanu
PF, but for its part, ZEC,
through its deputy chairperson, Joice Kazembe,
said it failed to provide
ballot papers in time for special voting because
the printing of the ballots
was delayed by the limited time her commission
was given to prepare for the
elections following the ruling of the
Constitutional Court ordering polls to
be held no later than July
31.
Meanwhile, The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has announced that
members of
the uniformed forces and ZEC staff members, who failed to cast
their ballot
in the 2-day special voting exercise that ended in the early
hours of
Tuesday, will be allowed to do so along ordinary voters on July
31.
Announcing the extension ZEC chairperson Rita Makarau said they will
put in
place measures to prevent people from voting twice by deleting the
names of
those who managed to cast their ballots.
But MDC T spokesman
Douglas Mwonzora told reporter Jonga Kandemiiri that
what ZEC is attempting
to do is illegal.
“There is a section (in the constitution) which says
that once a person has
applied for a special vote and is on the list of
those people who are going
to vote in a special vote, they shall not be
allowed to vote in the main
election. That has to be dealt with.” Mwonzora
said.
Zimbabwe
security forces to get second chance to vote
http://www.foxnews.com/
Published July 17,
2013
HARARE (AFP) – Zimbabwean security personnel unable to cast their
ballots
during chaotic early polling this week will get another chance to
vote on
July 31, the country's elections chief announced
Wednesday.
Facing anger from police and soldiers who were unable to cast
early ballots
as planned, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) insisted
they "will be
able to vote" with the rest of the country in two weeks'
time.
The vote will determine whether President Robert Mugabe's
33-year-rule is
extended.
Early voting had been organised for police
and soldiers slated to be on duty
on election day, but thousands were unable
to vote by the time the two days
of polling closed on Monday
evening.
Election chief Rita Makarau apologised and blamed the disruption
on problems
printing the ballot papers.
On Tuesday, scores of
officers gathered in front of city hall in Harare,
hoping in vain to cast
their vote.
The disorder drew condemnation from Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai's
Movement for Democratic Change, which hopes to end Mugabe's
grip on power.
"The process is chaotic and disorganised and has exposed
ZEC as a body not
ready to the task," MDC secretary general Tendai Biti said
Tuesday.
Security forces, which fall under President Robert Mugabe's
control, have in
the past been accused of rights abuses, intimidating his
political opponents
and ballot rigging.
Police spokeswoman Charity
Charamba on Monday blamed the Movement for
Democratic Change for the early
voting problems.
She claimed the commission failed to print enough ballot
papers in time
because the final list of candidates was submitted
late.
High Court bars advocacy group from launching
voters roll audit
By Alex Bell
SW Radio Africa
17
July 2013
The High Court on Wednesday barred the
Research and Advocacy Unit (RAU) from launching an audit of Zimbabwe’s voters
roll, which has highlighted even more discrepancies ahead of
elections.
The audit follows a preliminary report
RAU released earlier this month which highlighted the critical problems
discovered in the voters roll, such as the number of registered voters in some
areas being higher than actual adults counted in last year’s national
census.
On Wednesday the group was set to
launch its detailed analysis at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Harare. But on
Wednesday morning an interdict from the High Court was handed to the group and
to the venue, blocking the launch.
Senior RAU researcher Rumbidzai Dube
told SW Radio Africa that the interdict, filed by Registrar General Tobaiwa
Mudede, was based on incorrect information. She said that Mudede had filed his
application on the ‘misconception’ that RAU was launching the full voters roll.
Mudede had argued in his application that RAU was trying ‘assume’ his powers,
and they intended to cause ‘chaos and anarchy’ within the electoral
system.
Dube explained that this was not the
case, and that RAU was only planning to launch its audit of the voters roll, not
the voters roll itself. She said Mudede had based his application only on
information contained in a NewsDay article, and no attempt was made to verify
the facts with RAU before the interdict was signed.
Calling it ‘unprocedural’ Dube also
explained how they were not given any notice of the Registrar General’s
application until the interdict was served on Wednesday.
“Ordinarily the interdict would be
procedural if the Certificate of Urgency had been properly signed and stamped
that would have allowed them to do what they did, but it wasn’t, so there was
need for them (the RG) to serve papers on us first before coming with the final
order,” Dube said.
She added: “What we have done is we
have consulted our lawyers and they are in the process of filing opposing
papers. We have also delivered a copy of our report to the Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission.”
The key findings in the audit
include:
- That there are nearly 2,000,000
potential voters aged under 30 who are unregistered.
- That there are well
over 1,000,000 people on the roll who are either deceased or have left the
country.
- That 63 constituencies have more registered voters than
inhabitants.
- There is a marked registration bias in favour of rural
constituencies.
A summary of the report can be read
here.
ZANU
PF ‘quits’ govt watchdog group, blames MDCs
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Alex Bell
SW Radio
Africa
17 July 2013
ZANU PF has reportedly quit the watchdog group
meant to be overseeing the
progress of the unity government, blaming its MDC
partners for abusing
‘resources’.
According to an article in the ZANU
PF mouthpiece Herald newspaper, ZANU PF
was pulling out of the Joint
Monitoring and Implementation Committee
(JOMIC), established as part of the
unity accord signed in late 2008 that
formed the coalition
government.
ZANU PF Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa was quoted by the
newspaper as
saying that his party had “noted with concern rampant abuse of
JOMIC assets
by the MDC formations, among them the organisation’s logo and
vehicles.”
“We are disturbed that at all the rallies of the MDC-T and
MDC, these
parties are abusing JOMIC vehicles to carry their supporters to
their
rallies. This is undermining the neutrality of JOMIC… For that reason
ZANU
PF is pulling out of JOMIC,” Chinamasa reportedly said.
JOMIC
spokesperson Joram Nyathi told SW Radio Africa that he had seen the
above
report. But he said there hasn’t been a formal communication of the
development made to the JOMIC team as of yet.
Meanwhile, SW Radio
Africa was unable to contact either Douglas Mwonzora,
the MDC-T spokesperson
or a spokesperson for their MDC partner in
government.
But political
analyst Phillip Pasirayi said the accusations leveled against
the MDC groups
are a “scapegoat” for ZANU PF to remove itself from an
organsiation that has
accountability at the centre of its mandate.
“SADC (the regional bloc)
has been trying to strengthen JOMIC and this was a
recommendation made at
the last Troika summit. But ZANU PF is not interested
in any group that is
trying to monitor and even act on human rights abuses
and other issues. ZANU
PF is responsible for human rights abuses and
stopping key reforms, so it is
clear they don’t want any part of JOMIC,”
Pasirayi said.
Zanu PF’s
pull out of JOMIC thoughtless
http://www.mdc.co.zw
Wednesday 17 July 2013
The MDC
notes with great concern the decision by Zanu PF to pull out of the
Joint
Monitoring and Implementation Committee (JOMIC), a body that was
created by
the Global Political Agreement (GPA) to monitor the
implementation of key
political processes by the inclusive government.
Despite some challenges,
JOMIC has been playing an important role of
receiving reports and complaints
in respect of issues related to the
implementation, enforcement and
execution of the GPA and the relative peace
and tranquillity that
Zimbabweans have enjoyed in the last few years was
largely a result of
JOMIC’s sterling work.
The MDC would like to state categorically that the
life of JOMIC ends with
that of the inclusive government.
JOMIC has a
strategic plan to monitor the coming elections to ensure that
they are held
under conditions of freeness and fairness.
The real reason why Zanu PF is
pulling out of JOMIC is that it wants a
chaotic election as it fears losing
in a credible one.
Its claim that it is pulling out because JOMIC has
been abused by the MDC
for political purposes is a laughable ruse to
hoodwink Zimbabwean citizens.
It is very clear that Zanu PF’s withdrawal is
part of the ‘chaos faction’s
ploy to disengage from all platforms of
negotiation with the MDC as a
precursor to the intensification of violence
and intimidation.
The merchants of chaos in Zanu PF are in panic mode and
they fear that
rigging the July election is going to be a mammoth task,
hence the chaos
that they unleashed during the Special Voting
process.
They have become so scared of the election that they are now
seeing shadows
all over the place.
This explains Mugabe’s infantile
hallucinations and scurrilous claims that
the MDC had petitioned the African
Union (AU) to convene a summit on
Zimbabwean elections, something that never
happened.
The Southern African Development Community (SADC), which is
playing an
important mediation role in Zimbabwe, has acknowledged the
important work
that JOMIC is doing and has called for the strengthening of
JOMIC’s
capacity.
When SADC dispatched its officials to work with
JOMIC, Zanu PF cried foul
and made flimsy claims that SADC was
interfering.
How can Zanu PF accuse SADC of interfering in Zimbabwe when
it is common
cause that the GPAand the inclusive government are products of
SADC
facilitation? Such disingenuousness is unacceptable to
Zimbabweans.
In spite of all this, the MDC is aware that the people of
Zimbabwe are
committed to a peaceful election that produces a government of
their choice.
They have persevered in the face of oppression and repression
by Zanu PF and
come July 31 they will get their moment of a peaceful revenge
through the
ballot box.
We call upon SADC, the AU and the UN, as
guarantors of the GPA, to rein in
Zanu PF and ensure that JOMIC continues to
play its important role of
monitoring the political processes in Zimbabwe
until a legitimate government
is elected.
YES - Together we can
complete the change!!!
EU
observer mission barred — Mumbengegwi
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
BRIDGET MANANAVIRE • 17 JULY 2013
10:22AM
HARARE - Zimbabwe has barred an observer mission from the
European Union
because they imposed sanctions on the country, Foreign
minister Simbarashe
Mumbengegwi has said.
Mubengegwi said the EU
bloc, which runs one of the biggest observer missions
in the world, was not
part of over 50 groups invited to oversee Zimbabwe’s
crucial
election.
“We have not invited any nation which imposed sanctions on us,
so the EU
will not be part of the observers,” Mumbengegwi told the Daily
News after
the launch of the Sadc Electoral Observer Mission (Seom) to
Zimbabwe in
Harare yesterday.
“They should totally remove all
sanctions if they are genuine about
re-engagement.”
Zimbabwe is
currently in a process of normalising relations with the EU and
the
US.
Mumbengegwi said the decision to bar the EU mission was a Cabinet
decision.
“I was working under Cabinet instruction, it was not my
personal decision
not to invite them, it was a Cabinet decision,” he
said.
“So I invited missions from Latin America, Africa, Asia, and so
forth. I
haven’t kept record of who has confirmed. We do not care what the
EU will
think about our elections, but we certainly do care what these
people (Sadc
mission) think.”
Apart from the EU, the Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission (Zec) also rejected an
application by the Carter Centre
founded by former US President Jimmy
Carter.
Meanwhile, the Sadc
mission dispatched 442 observers in 10 provinces and in
all 210
constituencies.
Seom acknowledged that the numbers were few to cover the
9 670 polling
stations in Zimbabwe.
“The mission will collaborate
with other observer missions, both local and
foreign in their areas of
deployment to their analysis and verification of
the information obtained,”
said Bernad Membe, the head of Seom.
“The mission implores the various
authorities and stakeholders facilitating
for this election to ensure that
political and civil liberties of the
citizens are protected to enable the
free expression of the voters.”
Cops
furnish MDC with voters' roll
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
HELEN KADIRIRE • 17 JULY 2013
9:34AM
HARARE - Two Harare Central Police Station officers have been
charged for
allegedly conniving with the MDC to get a copy of the nominal
voters’ roll
of all recruited police officers.
It is alleged that
Tendayi Gift Munyisa, 30, and Victor Jaja, 39, received
a $1 600 bribe to
furnish the political party with the documents.
The duo, were arraigned
before magistrate Anita Tshuma who remanded them to
August 14 for trial on
$50 bail.
They are being charged with causing disaffection in the police
force under
the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform)
Act.
Allegations are that on July 9, Munyisa allegedly made a phone call
to
Sergeant Shepherd Muringani who is stationed at Morris Depot, asking to
meet
him as he had an urgent matter to discuss.
It is the State’s
case that on the same day, Munyisa and Muringani met at
the main entrance to
Morris Depot and proceeded to the corner of Baines
Avenue and 9th
Street.
As they were parked there, Munyisa allegedly said to his
colleague:
“Muringani, there is a deal which can result in being beheaded,
you see this
vehicle, I have been sent by a certain police officer who has
sent me. A
soft copy of the nominal roll of all the recruits who have
registered as
voters from May 2013 up to date is required.”
The court
heard that Muringani was told that the information was needed by
MDC
officials and $1 600 was to be paid for the transaction.
Muringani,
however, told Munyisa that he was not in a position to provide
him with such
official and sensitive information as it would go against
police allegiance,
loyalty and discipline.
After the meeting, Muringani later met Assistant
Inspector Tevedzai Shonhai
and narrated to him what he had been told by
Munyisa, before reporting to
Chief Superintendent Matumbe, who is in charge
of training police recruits
and administration.
Upon being
interviewed by detectives, Munyisa implicated Jaja as the police
officer who
had sent him to obtain the nominal roll of recruits since he was
once
stationed at Morris Depot.
Zim voting delay could
cause polling chaos
http://mg.co.za/
17 JUL 2013 20:38SAPA-AP
An independent
Zimbabwe election monitoring group says many of the nation's
voters are not
likely to cast their ballots if elections are not delayed.
According
to the Election Resource Centre on Wednesday, many of the nation's
6.2-million voters will not be likely to cast their ballots if elections are
not delayed.
Less than 2% of police and officials eligible for a
special vote ahead of
crucial national polls managed to cast their ballots
in early polling
"fraught with irregularities", the resource centre said.
About 80 000
police, soldiers and officials will be on duty during the July
31 vote.
Earlier on Wednesday, the state commission said in a statement
it apologised
to the uniformed forces, state officials "and to political
parties and the
nation at large" and acknowledged "substantial numbers" of
voters were
turned away during the special voting on Sunday and Monday that
spilled into
Tuesday.
"All persons who were deprived of the
opportunity to vote will be able to
vote on July 31 when the rest of the
electorate votes," it said.
Voting papers and equipment were not
delivered in time at most of the 210
voting posts, and the resource centre
blamed delays in printing the
materials. Zimbabweans are scheduled to vote
at 9 600 polling stations for
countrywide vote that is two weeks
away.
The resource centre said the nation faced "further shame and
embarrassment"
if polls were not delayed. It said Nigeria in 2011 postponed
elections twice
for logistical reasons and went on to have a fair
poll.
'A chaos faction'
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's party, in
a shaky coalition with
longtime President Robert Mugabe since the last
violent and disputed
elections in 2008, said in a separate statement the
special voting exposed
the commission's inability to hold a credible
election at the end of the
month.
Tendai Biti, the third ranking
official in Tsvangirai's party who is also
the finance minister, alleged "a
chaos faction" in Mugabe's party was trying
to derail election procedures to
sow confusion across the country for their
own gain at the
polls.
"This election is illegitimate and unfair. We are participating
because the
people are tired and want change. We are going to soldier on,"
Biti said in
the statement. – Sapa-AP
Two
million youths fail to register to vote
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
July 17, 2013 in Elections 2013,
News, Politics
OVER two million potential voters aged under 30 years
failed to register
during the recently concluded shambolic voter
registration exercise, while
63 out of 210 constituencies have more
registered voters than the actual
population in those areas, it has
emerged.
Herbert Moyo
According to findings contained in a
research conducted by the Research and
Advocacy Unit (RAU) which the
organisation intended to present in a more
detailed discussion on Wednesday
morning in Harare, a further one million
people, who are either deceased or
emigrated are still on the voters’ roll,
The launch was, however, blocked
by the Registrar-General’s Office through a
High Court interdict delivered
to the organisation and Crowne Plaza, which
was supposed to host the
function.
This, according to RAU, means that over 29% of the total adult
population is
unregistered.
The report said 41 other constituencies
deviate from the average number of
voters per constituency by more than the
permitted 20%.
RAU also found a “marked registration bias in favour of
rural
constituencies” generally perceived to be Zanu PF
strongholds.
“The registration rate in purely rural constituencies, from
which Zanu PF is
regarded as drawing the bulk of its support, is thus
considerably higher
(94%) than that in purely urban constituencies (74%)
from which the MDC
formations are regarded as drawing most of their support,
that is, about 20%
more. This is particularly so in the over 65+ age bands,”
wrote RAU.
RAU also found that some people’s names appear on the voters
roll even
though they have never registered to vote while the suffixes of
the national
registration numbers of 44 000 voters have been altered
.
RAU described the interdict as “unprocedural and an abuse of the
justice
system and court process.”
Doubts
over AU summit on Zim elections
http://www.thezimbabwean.co/
17.07.13
by Edgar
Gweshe
The two MDC formations say they are yet to receive formal
communication from
the African Union concerning the continental body’s
summit on Zimbabwe’s
elections which is reportedly scheduled for July
19.
President Robert Mugabe revealed on Monday at a Zanu (PF) rally in
Marondera
that the AU was set to hold the summit after it was petitioned by
the MDCs.
The two MDCs contend that Zanu (PF) has created an uneven
playing ground
ahead of the polls through the party’s reluctance to
implement reforms
pertaining to the media and security sector among
others.
The parties allege that Mugabe is pushing Zimbabwe into a rushed
election
that will lack in credibility.
“They (the MDCs) have taken
the matter to the AU, which used to be our OAU.
So we have sent Chinamasa to
be prepared on the 19th of July.
They want to postpone elections, but
that will never happen with the
absolute deceitful British who are
supporting that,” said Mugabe.
MDC-T spokesperson, Douglas Mwonzora,
could neither confirm nor deny whether
the summit was still on.
“We
have not received any communication at the moment. We do not know
whether
the summit is on or not because so far, there is no communication
that has
been sent to us,” said Mwonzora.
The deputy spokesperson of the MDC led
by Welshman Ncube, Kurauone Chihwayi,
said: “No one knows whether that
summit is on or not. We have not received
any communication or invitation to
attend the summit and I don’t have
information pertaining to any kind of
presentation that the President
(Welshman Ncube) is going to make at the
summit,” said Chihwayi.
Mugabe on Monday vowed that the July 31 date for
election will stand no
matter the outcome of the AU summit.
2
000 Zimbabwe war vets demand compensation
http://www.zimdiaspora.com/
WEDNESDAY, 17 JULY 2013 18:26
EDITOR NEWS
ABOUT 2 000 people have been camping at a farm on the
outskirts of Harare
for the past two months demanding compensation from
government for
participating in the liberation struggle.
The group —
consisting of both men and women most of them aged above 50 who
have been
camping at a farm near the Koala Abattoir adjacent to the
Harare-Chitungwiza
Highway — are from all the provinces in the country and
are demanding to be
addressed by President Robert Mugabe. They do not claim
to have fought in
the war of liberation, but say they crossed the border and
participated in
the struggle in various ways, including nursing freedom
fighters and doing
other chores outside the country.
Efforts to get a comment from Mugabe’s
spokesperson George Charamba
yesterday were fruitless.
On Monday,
when a our correspondent visited the farm, some members of the
group wearing
Zanu PF regalia were reading the party’s manifesto under
trees.
Contacted for comment yesterday, the chairman of the Zimbabwe
National
Liberation War Veterans’ Association, Jabulani Sibanda, said he was
aware of
the presence of the group at the farm.
“They are people who
were in the struggle, but did not receive military
training that qualifies
them in terms of the War Veterans Act to be regarded
as war veterans,” he
said.
“Some of them were teachers and nurses, for instance, but they were
part of
the war. They have genuine grievances and I spoke to some of their
leaders
and some of these comrades have started going back to help the party
campaign and win the elections. Their issues will be attended to after the
elections when the party (Zanu PF) has won the elections.”
In 1997,
former freedom fighters staged demonstrations forcing government to
capitulate and give them Z$50 000 each as gratuity for taking part in the
15-year war.
Sources close to the group said although they did not
receive any military
training, they wanted government to pay them pensions
and gratuities in the
same manner their counterparts who “received military
training” during the
liberation struggle and considered “war veterans” under
the War Veterans Act
were compensated.
“These people spend the whole
day milling around and occasionally go to town
saying they are going to the
Zanu PF headquarters,” said a source. “They say
they are waiting to be
addressed by Mugabe on the processing of their
gratuities and
pensions.”
Local farmers have raised concerns of a looming health
disaster as the site
does not have adequate sanitary facilities.
The
people are also reportedly demanding food from local farmers as well as
transport to take them to Zanu PF headquarters – Newsday.
Presidential
campaign hots up as poll nears
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Tichaona Sibanda
SW Radio
Africa
17 July 2013
With just two weeks left to polling day, the
presidential campaign tempo
picked up over the last 48 hours as the three
leading candidates targeted
each other with the incumbent being challenged
over the legacy he wishes to
leave for Zimbabwe.
Presidential
aspirants Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and MDC leader
Welshman Ncube
have challenged President Robert Mugabe to retire from
politics after the
July 31st General Election.
Tsvangirai has been telling supporters at his
rallies in the Midlands North
province that it was time for Zimbabweans to
elect youthful leadership to
steer the country to the next stage of
development. Ncube, speaking in
Manicaland province, told Mugabe to be ready
for stiff competition for the
top seat.
Political analysts believe
the forthcoming presidential election is going to
elicit the ‘mother of all
political battles’ as the presidential hopefuls
strive to win the right to
occupy State House.
While Mugabe had the luxury to break from his
campaign trail on Wednesday in
order to attend King Letsie III’s 50th
birthday celebrations in Lesotho,
Tsvangirai continued with his quest for
the top job by addressing thousands
of his supporters at Gokwe
centre
The MDC-T leader asked Zimbabweans to shun politicians who do not
offer them
practical solutions to their challenges. He said politicians,
while
campaigning for the various positions and seats, should tell
Zimbabweans
their plans for the country, instead of engaging in useless
political
rhetoric.
He reminded people in Gokwe to judge presidential
aspirants by their
development records, saying the party had brought about
economic stability
after years of mismanagement by the former ZANU PF ruling
party.
Tendai Goneso, an active party member, told SW Radio Africa that a
‘massive
change of attitudes’ was swinging the vote in Tsvangirai’s favour.
He said
it is evident from the rallies the premier has held so far that that
ZANU PF
has no new ideas to solve the problems of Zimbabwe, adding that ‘the
MDC-T
hasn’t bussed or paid anybody’ to attend their rallies while ZANU PF
has
been bussing people to their rallies and distributing
freebies.
Meanwhile mystery surrounds the source of information that saw
Mugabe
angrily accuse the MDC of taking the Zimbabwean election issue to the
AU,
claiming they were seeking a postponement.
The 89 year-old
presidential candidate vowed not to accept any such move,
saying he had
ordered Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa to convey the
rejection message
to the AU.
Surprisingly, both the MDC parties and the regional SADC bloc
have said they
know nothing about a special African Union (AU) summit on
Zimbabwe which
Mugabe said was due on Friday.
Independent
Zimbabwe poll monitors foresee more poll chaos, call for election
postponement
http://www.foxnews.com/
Published July 17, 2013
Associated Press
HARARE,
Zimbabwe – An independent Zimbabwe election monitoring group says
less than
10 percent of police and officials eligible for a special vote
ahead of
crucial national polls managed to cast their ballots in two days of
chaotic
polling.
The Election Resource Center said Wednesday two days of voting
for 80,000
police, soldiers and officials who will be on duty on July 31 was
"fraught
with irregularities." Voting papers were not delivered in time at
most of
the 210 voting posts.
The official Electoral Commission
blamed delays in printing the materials.
The resource center said the
nation faced "further shame and embarrassment"
over the full poll just two
weeks away. It said Nigeria in 2011 postponed
elections twice for logistical
reasons and went on to have a fair poll.
Defiant
prosecutors deny bail to two Beitbridge residents
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
Staff
reporter
SW Radio Africa
17 July 2013
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human
Rights report that two Beitbridge residents are
in remand prison after a
defiant prosecutor vetoed a bail order granted in
their favour.
Itai
Gombe and Alice Mugariro were arrested in Beitbridge in Matabeleland
South
province on 10th July and charged with assault. The allegations are
that
they attacked and tore the clothing of two ZANU PF members, with whom
they
had a fight.
They were granted $50 bail each when they appeared at
Beitbridge Magistrates
court on 12th July.
But prosecutors invoked
Section 121 of the Criminal Evidence and Procedure
Act to suspend the bail
order for seven days, pending the filing of an
appeal by the State in the
High Court.
Zimbabwe’s human rights lawyers said that this Section 21
‘has been
selectively and unlawfully applied by the AG’s office against
human rights
defenders and legitimate political activists in order to
persecute these
individuals, even where courts have found no evidence that
they would pose a
threat to the interests of justice, society or the State,
if they were to be
released on bail.’
They added that there is an
urgent need for such repressive and
unconstitutional practices to be brought
to an end and for accused persons
to be afforded their basic rights and
freedoms.
Chitungwiza
rally tragedy
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
Staff reporter
SW Radio Africa
17 July
2013
It has been confirmed that one person died at President Mugabe’s
rally in
Chitungwiza on Tuesday. Several others were injured.
It was
reported that the tragedy happened at Chibuku Stadium after the
stadium
doors had been locked to stop more people entering as there was
already a
large crowd inside. But when the doors were opened to allow an
ambulance to
leave a stampede happened.
Speaking to the state media, police
spokesperson Charity Charamba said: “One
unidentified female adult, aged
approximately 52, was injured in a stampede
that occurred when people were
stopped from entering the stadium which had
exceed its capacity. She later
died at Chitungwiza (Central) Hospital.
Police are appealing to relatives to
proceed to Chitungwiza Police Station
and see the
officer-in-charge.”
The hospital’s chief executive, Dr Obadiah Moyo, said
they had attended to
61 cases. He said that 25 of those were from the
stadium but that the others
were from a lorry accident at Manyame Bridge
that was carrying people to the
rally.
Although the state media has
been reporting that Zanu-PF’s star rallies have
been ‘drawing bumper crowds’
many reports say that there is forced
attendance at Mugabe’s rallies. We
have also received reports that in
Chitungwiza ZANU PF youths forced people
to shut down their businesses and
flea markets and made them go to the
rally. In addition wrapping cloths, t
shirts and food were promised, to
persuade many people to attend.
In a country with an estimated 90%
unemployment rate the offer of any free
goods could be enough to cause a
stampede.
Zec
not ready for polls: MDC
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
MUGOVE TAFIRENYIKA • 17 JULY 2013
10:29AM
HARARE - Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC has said the
chaotic special
vote has exposed the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec)’s
lack of
preparedness for a free, fair and credible July 31 poll.
MDC
secretary-general Tendai Biti told a press conference in Harare
yesterday
that though his party has respect for Zec commissioners and its
chairperson
Justice Rita Makarau, it was dismayed by the actions of the
electoral body’s
secretariat, which he alleged was taking instructions from
a “chaos faction”
of Zanu PF.
Biti said the MDC had been vindicated in its calls for
reconstitution of the
Zec secretariat.
“It is evident that our fears
are being vindicated,” he said.
Since the special voting exercise started
on Sunday, the process has been
marred by delays in the dispatching of
ballot papers, administrative
blunders and blatant violation of the
electoral law.
“Some observers are still demanding a free and fair
election but that is too
late. The election is immoral, illegal and unfair,”
Biti said.
“We are really worried about Zec and we have lost our
institutional respect
despite our respect for some individuals because it
has been hijacked by the
Junta and our claims that it needs restructuring
have been vindicated.
“It is self evident that there is a disconnect
between the commission’s apex
and its junior officials in the provinces as
there are clear violations of
the electoral processes. Clearly there is a
hidden hand behind the chaos
after some people suddenly realised that this
group (of officers) is not a
captive constituency so they have taken over
the process.”
The MDC secretary-general complained that in some areas
such as Manicaland,
Mashonaland Central and Masvingo, their election agents
were turned away
allegedly because they were not accredited yet they had
been duly endorsed
by the electoral commission.
He said in Harare’s
Mount Pleasant, voting was not a secret as voters were
being called into the
polling station before voting, a situation he
described as “regrettable and
totally unsustainable”.
“Voting in some areas was characterised by
inadequacy of ballot papers
because those printed had no relationship
whatsoever with the over 70 000
that applied for special voting,” Biti
said.
“In Mabvuku-Tafara they totally discarded the voters’ roll and
anyone could
simply vote; while in Nkayi illegal electoral practices were
reported where
Zanu PF candidates slaughtered beasts for Zec officials just
100m away from
the polling station.”
Biti said he was happy that some
members of the force had leaked information
to the MDC “because they were
tired of being used by Zanu PF.”
He said his party was putting in place
mechanisms to stop the shenanigans
which include approaching the courts,
engaging Zec and Sadc and “other means
which I clearly cannot
disclose”.
“When you force people to cheat, you may realise that they are
not with you
because right now we have been informed that in Kwekwe for
example, fake
force numbers were created.
“It is unacceptable and
illegal. Zec discarded the voters’ roll and is using
illegal election
practices,” he said.
Biti queried why 70 000 applications had been made
when the police had an
estimated contingent of 45 000.
“No one is
recruited without Treasury concurrence,” said Biti, adding that
the MDC had
managed to get hold of a copy of the full list of civil servants
who had
applied for special voting and will be analysing it comprehensively
to
expose any rigging that may occur.
Joyce Kazembe, Zec deputy chairperson,
ruled out electoral malpractice at a
Monday press conference.
“We
have adequate security. Because of time limitations, we were not able to
ask
for a printed voters’ roll, but we have lists which are open for
inspection
by the public and scrutiny,” she said.
“We had not anticipated court
challenges, but we are ready for the polls. By
end of next week, all ballot
papers will be ready as we gear for the
harmonised elections on July
31.”
Baba Jukwa:
‘Zanu PF To Push For Election Date Shift’
http://www.zimeye.org/
By Baba Jukwa
Published:
July 17, 2013
Zimbabwe’s self styled whistle blower, Baba Jukwa,
claims that Zanu PF is
planning to push for a shift of the poll date after
realizing that the
Special Voting process did not go according to plan and
in Zanu PF’s favour.
Baba Jukwa claims that a plan being hetched at
Justice Minister Patrick
Chinamasa’s office under the watchful eye of
Emmerson Mnangagwa is to push
the African Union (AU) and Zimbabwe’s
Constitutional Court to shift the
election date from 31 July. Chinamasa is
set to attend AU Summit on
Zimbabwe, according to president
Mugabe.
This new development as claimed by Baba Jukwa contrast an earlier
assertion
by Mugabe on Monday that he and his party are not moving an inch
from the
initial set poll date whatever outcome from the
Summit.
“They (the MDCs) have taken the matter to the AU, which used to
be our OAU
(Organisation of African Unity), so we have sent (Justice
Minister Patrick)
Chinamasa to be prepared on the 19th of July. They want to
postpone
elections, but that will never happen with the absolute deceitful
British
who are supporting that,” Mugabe told Zanu PF supporters in
Marondera.
Writes Baba Jukwa:
Zimbabwe our team have gathered that
Chinamasa, Mnangagwa, Chihuri,
Kasukuwere, Jonathan, Chiwenga, Zimondi,
Misheck Sibanda, Rita Makarau, and
others we are yet to confirm name met and
were plotting in Chinamasa’s
office. Mnangagwa was the chief plotter. They
want to push the AU and the
local CON Court to shift the election date
because the special vote did not
deliver what they wanted.
See the
latest video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6SdlS2G5mA
1st TV to the rescue
after Zim loses SABC signal
http://mg.co.za/
17 JUL 2013 15:40STUART THEMBISILE
LEWIS
For Zimbabweans who have lamented the loss of the SABC signal
north of the
border, a new independent voice has been launched as elections
approach.
New free-to-air satellite TV channel, 1st TV, says it aims
to bring an
independent voice to Zimbabwe's almost entirely state-owned
broadcasting
sector.
With just over two weeks to go until the
Zimbabwean elections, a new
free-to-air TV station will be hitting airwaves
within the country on
Friday. Billed as Zimbabwe's "first independent
television station", 1st TV
will be broadcast by satellite into the country
and will be available on the
Wiztech free-to-air decoders.
Devices
like the Wiztech have been widely used by Zimbabweans to access
international radio and television broadcasts. Up until very recently, most
of the traffic has been owned by South African channels but unencrypted
access to these was cut off earlier this month.
South African signal
carrier Sentech was issued with a court order in early
2011 instructing it
to encrypt access to SABC 1, 2 and 3 to prevent the
channels from being
pirated across the border. The order came out of
litigation by eBotswana,
sister channel to South Africa's e.tv, attempting
to limit illegal
competition within Botswana's borders.
Sentech finally complied with the
order and started encrypting at the
beginning of July 2013. Zimbabweans, who
were able to watch the unencrypted
SABC channels through Philibao
free-to-air decoders, were consequently
deprived of access to non-ZBC
channels.
ZBC (the Zimbabwean Broadcasting Corporation) is state-owned
and has a
monopoly on airwaves in the country. Its content has been
criticised as
pro-Zanu-PF propaganda by many Zimbabweans. ZBC only competes
with two other
commercial radio stations owned by a businessperson within
the ruling party
and the state-owned Herald newspaper,
respectively.
Influence and guide the channel
The station said it aims
to fill the gap vacated by the SABC channels with
"impartial, factual news"
as well as popular films and television shows. If
successful, the channel
has a massive audience waiting for it.
Research conducted in 2011 as part
of the Zimbabwe all media and products'
surveys showed there are
three-million decoders in the country. The majority
of these are free-to-air
decoders, which will be able to receive 1st TV's
broadcasts.
1st TV
also intends to have a large social media presence, which they hope
will
allow ordinary Zimbabweans to influence and guide the channel.
The team
behind the new channel include former ZBC producer-presenter Temba
Hove,
Short Wave Radio Violet Gonda and executive producer Andrew Chadwick,
formerly of Sky News.
Zimbabwe media landscape to open up?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/
17 July 2013
Last updated at 14:55 GMT
Andrew Harding, Africa
correspondent
It is an
intriguing twist in an already dramatic and fractious pre-election
campaign
in Zimbabwe.
As Zimbabweans prepare to decide whether to grant President
Robert Mugabe
another term in office at the end of this month, a brand new
television
channel has just been unveiled - after weeks of rushed and
secretive
preparations - promising to offer viewers "quality, independent
information"
in sharp contrast to the "biased reporting of the state
media".
1st TV will be beamed into Zimbabwe from abroad by satellite -
and is hoping
to reach "3 million viewers plus", or roughly a quarter of the
population.
The source of the station's funding is, for now, a
secret.
"The majority of our investors are private," said executive
producer Andrew
Chadwick, a former communications director for Zimbabwe's
Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai.
"We've also received support from
groups supporting human rights, freedom
and democracy.
"But none of
them want to be named because of the vindictive nature of some
of the
authorities within Zimbabwe."
Mr Chadwick insisted that 1st TV was not
looking to swing the election
towards Mr Tsvangirai's Movement for
Democratic Change party.
"That's not our job. We plan to provide
Zimbabweans with independent
information to allow them to make decisions,"
he said.
"It can only have a positive effect in a country where all
electronic
broadcast media are effectively controlled by one
party.
"Why do we have a country that's been independent for 33 years but
has no
independent television?" asked Mr Chadwick.
'It is
hostile'
The state media, including television channel ZBC, are openly loyal
to Mr
Mugabe and his Zanu-PF party.
For years the president has
consistently avoided implementing agreed media
reforms and other changes
widely seen as essential to holding free and fair
elections.
There is
growing international concern about the upcoming elections, with
human
rights groups warning of a crackdown on activists, and new allegations
that
the electoral roll has been tampered with on a massive scale in order
to
exclude millions of young and urban voters considered likely to vote
against
Mr Mugabe.
The new station will be based in Johannesburg, South Africa,
and will rely
on agencies, freelancers and other contributors to supply
news.
"We're not doing anything illegal," said Mr Chadwick. "We will be
approaching Zanu-PF to ask them to participate in our editorial programmes
and for advertising."
But reached by telephone in Harare, Zanu-PF
spokesman Rugare Gumbo said his
party would have nothing to do with the new
station.
"We don't welcome it. It's hostile. We only deal with
information that
emanates from Zimbabwe. They are welcome to come and
register in Zimbabwe
and follow the normal procedures," said Mr
Gumbo.
1st TV is scrambling to meet its target of starting to broadcast
at 18:00
local time (16:00 GMT) this Friday.
It will be carried on a
free-to-air satellite platform and will include
South African soap operas,
comedy and discussion programmes, as well as
contributions from the growing
number of Zimbabweans with access to mobile
phones and the internet.
Land
reform made poverty worse: study
http://www.thezimbabwean.co/
17.07.13
by Thabani
Dube
The land reform programme that began in 2000 impoverished rural
Zimbabweans
by depriving farm workers of a means of survival, according to a
Poverty
Reduction Forum Trust’s study.
“The broad structural and
economic results of Zimbabwe’s land and agrarian
reform programme and its
impact on rural development forced commercial farm
workers to revert to
already overcrowded rural areas,” PRFT said.
Mineral-rich
The report
analysis was carried out in April this year in the diamond rich
Zimunya,
Marange and Odzi areas of Manicaland.
“The area is endowed with minerals
and natural resources like the famous
Chiadzwa diamonds, but its inhabitants
are far from living decent lives,”
noted the report.
PRFT said when
the land reform came people expected it to ease overcrowding
in rural areas,
reduce poverty and resettle communal dwellers.
“The discovery of diamonds
in the Marange fields has not benefited Mutare
rural. Only a few locals
managed to benefit from the gems rush before the
area was
government-controlled. Much of the mining profits go to private
miners and
the national coffers as tax revenue,” said PRFT.
PRFT is a civil society
organisation whose mission it is to conduct poverty
related research and
advocate for and facilitate national dialogue on
sustainable poverty
reduction and human development issues in Zimbabwe.
Similar studies have
been conducted in urban areas like Mutare, Harare and
Bulawayo in
2012.
HIV and AIDS
“Most rural farmers have poor marketing of their
little produce as they
often lack access to information and bargaining
power. Middle men get farm
produce from communal farmers for a pittance and
then resell it at a greater
profit in urban areas,” noted PRFT.
PRFT
added that the HIV and AIDS pandemic had exacerbated rural poverty by
decimating human resources.
“The pandemic has increased the number of
orphans and vulnerable children,
school absenteeism for both teachers and
children as some are ill and others
have to assume caring roles for sick
parents,” PRFT said.
In Zimunya rural, especially in Dora area, the study
noted that the majority
of the rural dwellers had resorted to deforestation
to sell as firewood.
“Their lives have become running battles with the
Environmental Management
Agency and the Zimbabwe Republic Police as they try
to avoid arrest for
environmental damage,” reads part of the
report.
Sand for sale
Another group in Zimunya community have resorted
to selling river and pit
sand to urban dwellers. “These people wake up as
early as 2am to do their
business before the law enforcement agencies start
patrolling the area,”
said PRFT.
The study discovered that rural
unemployment is gendered and also affects
the youth more than other age
groups.
“An interview with one of the sex workers now frequenting Odzi
clinic for
anti-retroviral drugs revealed that women are forced into
prostitution in
the area as they seek to make money from either tourists or
prospective
diamond mine investors,” reads the report.
PRFT said that
in order to reduce rural poverty, it was necessary to develop
alternatives
to current sources of livelihood, empowerment of women and
youth.
“Free health care, education for all, rural development and
the integration
of small farmers into the market structure would improve the
living
standards of the poor,” said PRFT.
Voters
grill political parties
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
MARGARET CHINOWAITA, COMMUNITY AFFAIRS EDITOR • 17
JULY 2013 8:07AM
HARARE - As elections draw near, Zanu PF is dangling 1
600 stands in the
Gumbeze area of Marondera Central.
Zanu PF is also
offering money to youths, chickens for rearing for old
people over 65, two
weeks before the plebiscite.
Stewart Matereke, Marondera Central Ward 2
political commissar made the
announcement at a meeting organised by the
Centre for Community Development
in Zimbabwe (CCDZ).
The meeting was
meant for three political parties in the Global Political
Agreement, to
speak about peace and also say what they are offering to
communities in the
coming elections.
Matereke, clad in a bomber jacket and sneakers, said:
“This would be given
to everyone despite belonging to Zanu PF. Everyone
would be given stands,
money for projects and we do not forget the elderly.
The old would be given
chickens for rearing. Zanu PF is a party for
everyone, so everyone who comes
to us would be given these
items.”
The ward political commissar’s statement seem to have angered
members of the
audience and one elderly man stood up sharply and said: “We
do not want to
be taken for advantage. You Zanu PF people have always
offered us
non-existent stands in Gumbeze area.
“In 1985 you offered
us the same stands but we never got them. You should
have respect for the
people, we are thinking individuals and this time we
will not be
hoodwinked.”
A woman who did not identify herself for fear of
victimisation said Zanu PF
should desist from using the same tactics each
election because people are
wiser.
“This has become a habit of Zanu
PF to want to offer us things before
elections. If I am given this stand I
know I would be asked to become a
member of Zanu PF, failure of which I
would be chucked out of the house.
This is Zanu PF tricks, we know them.
Where were they with the goods over
the years?”
However a well-spoken
Matereke assured the audience that this time Zanu PF
was standing by its
words. “You should try us this time because you can
actually acquire your
residential stand, money for a project and chickens so
you can start a
business.”
Another resident of Marondera Central complained that a place
in Ward Five
at Chitanda Shopping Centre was turned into a Zanu PF political
base.
He said members of the MDC were being threatened and harassed when
they pass
through the shopping centre wearing their party
regalia.
However, Jonathan Gumbodete, Welshman Ncube-led MDC aspiring
councillor for
Ward 10 and Funnel Mlambo, Morgan Tsvangirai-led MDC
chairperson for Ward 7
said their political parties were offering jobs in
the coming elections.
The audience however, took them to task asking them
how they were going to
create jobs in Zimbabwe. Gumbodete said: “We are
going to attract investors
that would come in with jobs and we are going to
institute order in the
industrial and commercial sectors that can result in
job creation. Our
Manifesto speaks of these things.”
Mlambo said
besides jobs, Tsvangirai-led MDC would focus on health,
education and the
general well-being of the people.
Meanwhile, George Makoni the CCDZ’s
communication officer said: “CCDZ will
continue to encourage dialogue,
tolerance and peaceful co-existence between
all Zimbabweans. People should
vote for candidates of their choice from an
informed
position."
“Elections come and go but the community will remain, there is
more which
unites us than what divides us in our communities. The programme
will be
taken to all provinces, even after the elections, for it is CCDZ’s
firm
belief that peace and development are intertwine.”
MDC-T
Manifesto: Election Manifesto 2013
Dowload the full manifesto
here:
Introduction: Message from the
President
This election represents a crossroads for our country. Over three
decades ago, we engaged in a liberation struggle and were successful. Since
then, we have experienced political and economic turmoil, international
isolation, and severe hardships for our families because of unemployment,
unprecedented hyperinflation, high cost of living, lack of food and decline in
healthcare and education services. Zimbabweans deserve better. Zimbabweans
deserve a government that cares and works for the people.
Unemployment remains the biggest challenge facing our country
today. Our young people graduating from high school, colleges and universities
want jobs. Yet businesses have been shutting down over the years and emigrating
to more competitive economic environments. An MDC government will ensure
Zimbabwe is open for business. We will responsibly align and manage our nation’s
resources to meet this challenge and restore Zimbabwe’s
prosperity.
You and I know we have come a long way since the early days of the
party in 1999. We have gone through many trials and tribulations. We have lost
some of our cadres along the way; limbs have been broken, livelihoods destroyed
and houses have been burnt down. Many of us, including myself, have suffered
grave personal losses. But what defines us is our resilience and our ability to
see opportunity in the face of adversity. We will never forget the sacrifices
that have been made. It is our historic mission to meet the demands of the
present generation, to fulfil the dreams of our cadres who are no longer with us
and the aspirations of generations that will come after us.
You will recall that one of our founding objectives was to change
the Lancaster House Constitution and replace it with a new, people-driven and
democratic constitution. This year marked a historic moment when the people of
Zimbabwe overwhelmingly voted for a new constitution. As the Chairperson of the
National Constitutional Assembly at its formation, I am humbled by the
achievement of this landmark moment in our nation’s history. But, fellow
citizens, now that we have the new Constitution, we must convert the stated
rules and principles into reality. You can only trust those who championed the
Constitution to make it work and you know that it was the MDC that fought hard
and drove the constitution-making process. As leader of Government, I will take
the lead in defending the Constitution and making it work for the people of
Zimbabwe.
The MDC will work for the people, all the people, regardless of
race, gender, religion, ethnic affiliation or political party. By joining
together we can build a better future. The MDC is the future. It’s the people
who make Zimbabwe great and an MDC government will partner with the people to
return Zimbabwe to greatness and its rightful place in the family of nations. We
are faithful and obedient sons and daughters of the Almighty God under whose
wise guidance and stewardship this country will find its way to the top
again.
We are a party of excellence and our pledge is to improve the
quality of life for every
Zimbabwean.
ZANU PF
Manifesto: Team Zanu PF 2013
Download the full manifesto
here.
Introduction from the Manifesto:
Zimbabwe has truly come of age with a proud global reputation of
resilience, survival and real achievement in winning the goals of the people
against unprecedented odds.
Under Zanu PF and President Mugabe’s
leadership, Zimbabwe has become one of the most indigenised and empowered
countries in the developing world in terms of the untold livelihood
opportunities that have been availed to the indigenous population.
The opportunities have widened and
deepened since independence as a direct result of Zanu PF’s pro-people policies
such as the hugely successful land reform programme which is now widely
acknowledged as a major source of economic prosperity for the country.
Zanu PF’s empowerment policies have not
been diminished by the daunting challenges that have come in the way over the
last decade such as the illegal economic sanctions and the illegal regime-change
machinations of the British government and its allies in the EU, US and the
White Commonwealth.
Thanks to the leadership of Zanu PF, the
people’s responses to these challenges have been gallantly
exemplary.
Against this proud backdrop, this
People’s Manifesto for the 2013 harmonised elections explains why an
overwhelming majority of Zimbabweans are voting for Zanu PF, by chronicling how
the Party will enable Zimbabweans to take back the economy to meet the goals of
the people as a direct response to their grievances and
needs.
This will be done against the backdrop of
major Zanu PF achievements in recent years. The goals of the people that the
Zanu PF Government will consolidate, widen and deepen after the forthcoming
elections include the following: Independence, Sovereignty, Unity, Security,
Respect for the values and ideals of the liberation struggle, Patriotism, Gender
equality, Respect for the elderly, Economic prosperity, Achievement, Equity,
Peace, Freedom and democracy, Non-violence, Tolerance, Stability, The youth as
the future, Employment, Housing for all, Respect for persons with disabilities,
Development, Freedom of worship.
For example, in the past decade, Zanu PF
has indigenised 12,117,000 hectares of land which was previously in the hands of
3,500 beneficiaries of colonialism and illegal and racist Rhodesian rule and has
resettled 276,600 households that have created over one million jobs that have
become a source of livelihood with enormous trickle down effects on the economy.
The People’s Manifesto also details what
Zanu PF is going to do in the same vein and for the same reasons over the next
five years.
This includes creating value of US$7,3
billion from the indigenisation of 1,138 companies across 14 key sectors of the
economy and over US$1,844,223,157,000 created from the idle value of empowerment
assets unlocked from parastatals, local authorities, mineral rights and claims
and from the State to capacitate Agribank with US$2 billion to finance the
stimulation of agricultural productivity; to capacitate IDBZ with US$3 billion
to finance the rehabilitation and construction of physical infrastructure; and
US$2 billion to finance the rehabilitation of social infrastructure and to
capacitate Sedco with US$300 million to fund innovative women’s and youths
initiatives.
These initiatives will create 2,265
million jobs across key sectors of the economy and contribute to export
earnings, food security and to the fiscus among many other benefits including
urban housing, and construction or peri-urban farms acquired during the land
reform exercise.
In addition, Zanu PF’s Indigenisation and
Empowerment initiatives outlined in this People’s Manifesto will see an average
GDP growth rate of nine percent by 2018 up from the current 4,4 percent; 250,000
low income housing units will be built; 1,250 public houses and buildings will
be rehabilitated; 2,500 shell factories, flea and vendor market stands will be
created; 310 clinics and 300 schools will be built and a new Parliament Complex
will be constructed in Mt Hampden.
Zanu PF’s pro-people policy interventions
have always been informed by an unwavering determination and revolutionary
commitment to address and meet the goals of all Zimbabweans regardless of their
social, economic, cultural or ethnic affinity, background or
affiliation.
In particular, the beneficiaries of the
policy interventions will include rural and urban communities, youths, women,
war veterans, war collaborators, ex-detainees, ex-restrictees, indigenous
business enterprises, professionals, academics, workers, farmers, civil
servants, teachers, students, sports men and women, artists, parents and
children, small and medium scale enterprises, schools, churches, patriotic NGOs,
traditional leaders and indeed, all citizens and
residents.
Other key
post-election deliverables
As part of taking back the economy over
the next five years after the elections, the Zanu PF Government will unlock
value from the following currently idle assets within the Zimbabwe economy in
order to augment the US$7,3 billion of assets to be unlocked from the
indigenisation of 1,138 foreign-owned companies to capacitate IDBZ, Agribank and
Sedco:
- US$1,844,223,157,000
of idle assets based on the technically determined or indicated economic or
mining viability of Zimbabwe’s unexploited but measured mineral
reserves.
- US$7,681,078,582 of
idle assets in the custody of parastatals.
- US$1,357,010,326
idle assets with local authorities.
- Support of the
following programmes led by the President and First Secretary of Zanu PF, Cde
R.G Mugabe:
- US$19,572,000
Presidential Scholarship Programme
- US$27,200,000
Presidential Support Programme for Chiefs
- US$5,900,498
National Presidential Youth Initiative
- US$300,000,000
Presidential Agricultural Input Support Scheme
- Establish the Harare
Stock Exchange (HSE), including under it an exclusive platform called IndigeNex
for exclusive participation by indigenous individuals and 100 percent indigenous
companies to generate incomes and create employment.
- Recapitalise and
capacitate all sectors of the national economy using value unlocked from idle
assets.
- Reduce the urban
housing backlog by, among other interventions, urgently regularising the tenure
of urban dwellers that were allocated housing and commercial stands on
peri-urban farms under the Land Reform Programme.
- Maintain proficient,
technologically competent and well-motivated defence and security capabilities.
- Restore sanity and
eliminate corruption, particularly in urban councils.
- Give bankable
leasehold security of tenure to all agricultural beneficiaries of the Land
Reform Programme.
- Institute measures
to legalise artisanal mining (makorokoza).
- Ensure food security
as a central pillar of Zimbabwe’s sovereignty by launching a targeted national
programme to spearhead, coordinate and promote production, processing, marketing
and utilisation of nutritions for both rural and urban
communities.
- Give national
languages the same status as English in accordance with the new
Constitution.
- Promote and fund the
development of local content in the music industry and the preservation of
national cultural norms and values through education and other national
platforms.
- Create more and
vibrant opportunities for the youth by establishing a twenty-five percent quota
as threshold for their participation across all sectors of the state and the
economy.
- Repatriate
Zimbabwe’s sanctions-bled human capital from the diaspora.
- Engage Britain and
its EU, US and White Commonwealth allies to unconditionally lift illegal
sanctions, stop their sustained regime-change onslaught and normalise relations
with
Zimbabwe.
18,000 voices call for
violence free elections in Zimbabwe
Today, Amnesty colleagues and I will present
7,000 action cards to the South African High Commission and an 11,000 strong
petition to the Tanzanian High Commission in London, calling for
violence-free elections in Zimbabwe.
What have South Africa
and Tanzania got to do with these elections?
Well, the answer is quite simple; they’re two countries
which could play a crucial role in ensuring Zimbabwe’s elections are peaceful.
Both countries hold key roles within the Southern African Development Community
(SADC), a body of 15 countries, whose pressure on the Zimbabwe authorities over
the next two weeks could be vital in preventing a repeat of the violence that
has accompanied previous Zimbabwean elections.
Let me take you back. The last time Zimbabwe went to
the polls in 2008, violence spread across the country after the first round of
polling. Much of it was state-sponsored and resulted in more than 200 people killed, 10,000 injured and
28,000 forced to flee their homes. The violence was so widespread that the hospitals even ran out of
crutches. Political activists and human rights defenders were often targeted, as
were the young and old.
Our researcher described to me recently the horror and
the sadness he felt after interviewing an 84 year old woman that year. She had
been beaten so badly it resulted in a broken arm, leg and bruises all over her
body. Her crime? All she did was not attend a rally organised by the ruling
ZANU–PF party, let by President Mugabe. ‘In a society that is supposed to
respect the elderly, that was just too much’ he told me.
But this is where SADC comes into play. You’ve been
emailing and campaigning for SADC to take a strong stance now, to prevent
violence, intimidation and harassment from marring this election.
Today we’ll take your messages to them - we'll update
this blog today as we go!
Your message to South
Africa: Vote for human rights
We’ve just handed in over 7,000 action cards sent in by
you from around the UK. South Africa is a key influencer because it holds a
formal mediating role, on behalf of SADC, between Zimbabwe’s main political
parties. SADC’s intervention in 2008 helped to stem the violence and their
influence that helped bring the main political parties together to form a
‘Government of National Unity’.
Although we hope it won’t get to that point, it could
be South Africa’s intervention as a mediator that will be crucial again this
year.
Tanzania: key to
keeping peace in the region
Tanzania is the current chair of the SADC ‘Organ on
Politics, Defence and Security’. In plain English, this is the SADC grouping
responsible for peace and security within the region, and why they were the
target of our 11,000-strong petition.
SADC is also one of the few international bodies which
will have observers at the 31 July election. For Amnesty this means they have
both the opportunity and a responsibility to record any human rights violations
and abuses they observe and monitor human rights conditions beyond polling
stations and their immediate vicinity, since often serious human rights abuses
happen outside of these locations.
In other words: please act as human rights monitors as
well as election observers.
Next steps for a
violence- and intimidation free election
Your petition signatures and action cards are now with
the Tanzanian and South African High Commissions, and we’re confident your
voices have been heard. The key test now will be whether violence erupts during
the elections, and the response of SADC.
We’ll be very closely monitoring the elections,
especially the treatment of human rights activists. Hopefully we won’t need you,
but be ready to take action if we do. Follow us on Twitter or Facebook to keep
up-to-date with the campaign.
Expectations
are low as Zimbabwe goes to the polls
http://www.timeslive.co.za/
The Times Editorial | 17 July, 2013
00:15
Zimbabwe always was going to need a miracle if it was going to be
transformed from a gerrymandered ''power-sharing'' government that had the
effect of preserving the rule of Robert Mugabe even though his Zanu-PF party
had been defeated at the bloody 2008 polls.
When Mugabe declared July
31 as the election date last month - pointing out
that he was merely
complying with an order of his constitutional court - he
set in motion a
chain of events that will ensure the polls are almost
certainly deeply
flawed.
To their credit, the leaders of the Southern African Development
Community,
among them President Jacob Zuma, managed to persuade the ageing
president to
go back to court to ask for a bit more time. But the
application was denied.
So, when millions of Zimbabweans go to the polls
again in two weeks, they
will cast their votes even though the state media
is still firmly in
Mugabe's hands, the police and army are Zanu-PF loyalists
and the judiciary
is untransformed.
Moreover, the Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission is patently unready for the
mammoth task awaiting it. Long
queues, the late delivery of ballot papers
and allegations of rigging marked
the recently concluded special vote for
the security services who will be on
duty on July 31. If it cannot cope with
a relatively manageable special
vote, how on earth is it going to pull off a
general election?
SADC
and African Union observers will be on duty - their counterparts from
nations that enforced sanctions against Mugabe and his inner circle have
been excluded - but their presence will not be enough to ensure a poll that
meets basic international standards.
But, provided the irregularities
are not too extensive and there is no
wide-scale violence, as there was in
2008, the SADC will probably find
itself signing off on the
vote.
Democracy? No. More like democracy of a special type.
Robert
Mugabe's Zimbabwe cannot survive an era of internet openness
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
The old dictator
is offering a huge reward for the identity of an internet
mole embarrassing
his government. But it won't work
By Samuel Napthine3:21PM BST 17 Jul
2013
This week Zimbabwe leader Robert Mugabe revealed a $300,000
reward to anyone
who will uncover the identity of an internet mole known as
“Baba Jukwa”. But
in a country which is getting ever more connected to the
internet, can they
really stop government secrets being
revealed?
Three out of five people in Zimbabwe now have direct access to
social media
in Zimbabwe, and with Baba Jukwa’s revealing of information
through Facebook
people are becoming more and more aware of what is going on
in their
government. In a country which has been governed by a strict and
corrupt
ruler for more than 30 years this sudden access to the internet will
surely
result in backlash or even revolution.
We have already seen
the internet used as a tool of protest in recent years.
With the 2011 Arab
Spring starting from an internet campaign, it led to
street rioting and
inevitably a new government in countries in north Africa,
there is nothing
to say this change will not spread south and spark mass
protests in Zimbabwe
and perhaps elsewhere.
The internet is also challenging the old ways of
Mugabe; his policies and
tactics are no longer viable in the internet age.
He may be offering a
reward for the identity of the mole, but it is not
money the people of
Zimbabwe want, it is transparency in government. In a
country which has long
controlled its population through propaganda in the
media, people are
finally discovering truth about their government. Money
will not solve this
problem, and nor will Mugabe’s old fashioned tactics: it
is honesty and
which will.
Unlike other dictatorships, such as North
Korea, Zimbabwe has embraced the
internet, and now the country will never be
able to get rid of it and the
information it has unleashed. This is a threat
Mugabe has never known before
and evidently does not know how to tackle.
Even if Mugabe does catch Jukwa
it will not solve his problem: because the
internet is anonymous and as long
as it is there as a platform people will
use it. The mole could even be in
another country, and Mugabe would be
powerless to stop him.
With his 90th birthday looming Mugabe’s days are
limited, and if his 32-year
regime comes to an end the government will find
it hard to resist change.
Change is imminent in Zimbabwe and with an
election occurring at the end of
the month the internet will in no doubt be
used heavily. At the last
election violence was used as a tactic by the
military, and there is no
question it will be again, but with a population
now largely online, and
sharing information which up until now has been
carefully handled by the
government, freedom will ultimately triumph.
My Vote Zimbabwe
http://www.rnw.nl/africa/category/tags-africa/my-vote
Listen
to various voters' stories here.
Open Letter To The African Union July2013
By
Andrew M Manyevere*
Events in Zimbabwe and, in particular,
those that reveal nakedly the
historical and dictatorial stance that
Zimbabwe and Zimbabweans endured for
thirty three years, has now come to
fruition under your watch Excellences
Never have we seen a leader who
failed a nation to prosper protected under
rubrics of nationalism and
liberation struggle as we see done for Zimbabwe
tyranny leadership. To the
effect that one third of a country’s population
resides abroad, with perhaps
one half of this population residing in the
neighbouring South Africa, is
evidence that, irrespective of what anyone can
say of Zimbabwe leadership,
all is not well politically in Zimbabwe.
Despite African Union’s good
faith on Zimbabwe and the hope that Zimbabwe
would, after the 2009
Government of National Unity (GNU) agreement, achieve
political sanity to
carry a free and fair election, Zanu leadership has not
repented and
reveals, beyond a shadow of doubt that she will not settle for
a second
position in Zimbabwean politics.
We need observe that even though some of
the Zanu leadership took part in
the country’s liberation struggle, the
pretext is no license to crucify
people by a tyrannical leadership. Signs of
dictatorship are empirically
evident that Zanu leadership has desired and
still desire to:
1. Isolate the nation from the rest of the world
with the objective to
carry her poor governance stance shamelessly and
increase human abuse
activities, hopefully, without interference from either
African Union or
United Nations.
2. Return the country’s
economy and politics back to the 2005 through
2009 phase when the rule of
law, value of human life and that of the money
lost its purpose to Zanu.
Zanu never rectified the situation.
3. Perpetuate political chaos
in the country through creation of false
popularity by forcing people to
attend rallies through reprisal methods
clandestinely employed by night
under cover of darkness. Establish political
monopoly in governance at the
expense of any other political formation in
the country through, in part,
the deployment of thugs into rural areas as
well as armed central
intelligence organization (CIO) guys who use covet
methods to deal with
people.
No doubt, Zanu has in preparation for the 2013 electoral rigging,
begun
implementing elections outside agreed scales. Statistics on voters
are
suspicious. No one is able to confirm or inspect the voter’s role. The
Police, the military and special constabulary so-called special time to vote
has already opened a Pandora box on statistical differences between the real
number of serving men and women and those put forward by Zanu. Without a
clear inspection at all these elements, it is difficult policing
fairness.
Repeatedly Zanu has failed to run free and fair elections in
the past, let
alone to accept defeat. The human suffering, intimidation and
trauma through
arson and violence are apparently growing into the scene by
the day each day
as election dates draw close.
It is not part of Zanu
political DNA to control violence. For Zanu
leadership to have failed
changing the 1970s liberation army sentiments in
the then joint army into a
unitary professional military force after
thirty-three years is not
deliberate on the part of Zanu leadership but
failure to grow and watch
democracy succeed.
As diaspora, we do not see the need to shade blood
fighting with a corrupt
army, police and Zanu political appendages. We
appeal and endorse the
Zimbabweans’ petition to seek the AU intervention and
speak out to protect
people rights in Zimbabwe. Zanu has nakedly abused
people, in particular the
rural population. Zanu has denied rural areas
information and sparingly
allocated scarce commodities to chosen sections of
the population to capture
votes.
We are not impressed that Zanu does
not want international observers in the
coming elections. That alone should
tell the story why. We do not approve
of Zanu personal attacks on other
world leaders, as this does not augur well
for good international relations.
We find Zanu’s attack on other world
nations neither in the national
interest nor in global interest except to
serve personal interests of Zanu
and its leadership.
While we respect the policy of territorial integrity,
we respect more the
people’s voice in each country and urge the AU to revise
her mandate if she
has to foster the concept and practice of United States
of Africa. It is our
considered opinion that Zanu leadership abuse of power
and the electorate is
one case neglected by the AU for far too long. We
repose faith in
collective responsibility of the continent leadership over
human protection
and territories ‘democracy.
· The
author is a Zimbabwean human right activist in Canada.
Bill Watch 29/2013 of 17th July [Legislation Update]
BILL WATCH
29/2013
[17th July 2013]
Legislation
Update
Acts of 2013 Already
Gazetted
Constitution of
Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 20) Act, 2013 [No. 1/2013] on 22nd May
2013
Money
Laundering and Proceeds of Crime Act, 2013 [No. 4/2013] on 21st June,
2013
Bills Passed by
Parliament not yet Gazetted as Acts
The following Acts
await gazetting following Parliament’s passing of the relevant Bills in its
dying days:
·
Electricity Amendment
Act
·
Securities Amendment
Act
·
Microfinance
Act
·
Income Tax
Act.
No Reforms of Acts
Curtailing Civil Liberties
Apart from
the new Constitution, and the Bills recently pushed through by the Minister of
Finance, there has been very little legislative activity this year. Parliament
had plenty of time to handle more Bills, but none of the hoped-for democratic
reform Bills indicated in the Global Political Agreement and Short Term Economic
Recovery Plan were presented by the inclusive government. Attempts to go an
alternative route and get reforms passed by introducing Private Members Bills
were finally blocked by court proceedings culminating in the Supreme Court
judgment ruling out such Bills for the remainder of the GPA. This means that
POSA and AIPPA, and repressive provisions of the Criminal Law Code, remain as
they were for the 2008 elections, with all their considerable potential for
frustrating the levelling of the electoral playing field and the holding of
free, fair and credible elections.
SI 85/2013 –
Electoral Act Amendment – Never Laid Before Parliament
SI 85/2013
– the Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) (Amendment of Electoral Act)
Regulations gazetted on 12th June – was made under powers conferred on the
President by the Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) Act. Section 4 of
this Act requires copies of all such regulations to be laid before Parliament
“no later than the eighth day on which Parliament sits next after the
regulations were made”. After 12th June, Parliament sat on another seven
days [13th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 25th, 26th and 27th June] before adjourning for
good. The regulations were not laid before either House on any one of those
last seven days. Now that the Seventh Parliament has expired, it is impossible
for the SI to be laid, and Minister Chinamasa and the President are off the
hook.
Comment:
This adds one more item to the list of legally unsatisfactory aspects of the
transition to the new Constitution. But at this late stage the Constitutional
Court, having already endorsed the 31st July election, is obviously unlikely to
entertain further legal objections to the basis of the electoral process now
under way.
SI 85 is a
temporary measure, valid for 180 days only – enough to provide for the coming
election. In mid-December, on the 181st day, the SI will fall away completely,
leaving the Electoral Act as it was before the SI was gazetted on 12th June. So
a high priority early task for the next Government and Parliament will be the
passing of a Bill to bring the Electoral Law into line with the new Constitution
– preferably a Bill for an entirely new Electoral Act rather than another
amending Bill.
Quorum
Query on Parliament’s Passing of Income Tax Bill
A
suggestion is doing the rounds to the effect that the Income Tax Bill was not
validly passed by the House of Assembly. It is said that there was no quorum in
place at the relevant time. The quorum for the House of Assembly was 25 MPs –
the figure fixed by section 54 of the former Constitution.
There
is no merit in the suggestion of invalidity. 68 MPs were recorded as present
when the sitting started at 2.15 pm on the day in question, 25th June. Even if
the number of MPs in the House later dropped below 25, that alone does not
invalidate any of the afternoon’s proceedings because no MP raised a “no quorum”
objection. This lack of objection is the important point, because section 54 of
the former Constitution states that it is only if a “no quorum” objection is
taken by an MP in the House that proceedings will have to be discontinued.
[If an objection is taken, section 54 allows MPs a period of 7 minutes, as
prescribed in Standing Orders, to reach the Chamber. During those seven minutes
the division bells, audible throughout Parliament building, are rung to summon
MPs, and it is only thereafter, if a quorum still cannot be assembled, that the
House must adjourn without concluding its business.]
Cabinet Meetings
Suspended
The President told
Ministers at the Cabinet meeting on 2nd July that there would be no further
Cabinet meetings before the elections. Press stories then speculated that
President Mugabe and the permanent secretaries of Government Ministries would
now be running the Government to the exclusion of Ministers. Later, an official
statement on 8th July from the Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet
explained the situation as follows:
·
Cabinet meetings are
temporarily suspended to allow Cabinet members to concentrated attention on the
elections
·
Ministers may be
summoned to attend Cabinet meetings in the usual manner should the need
arise.
Comment:
Whatever the factual situation in individual Ministries over the next three
weeks, the legal and constitutional position is as stated in paragraph 15 of
Sixth Schedule to the new Constitution:
·
the
posts of Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Ministers and all Ministers and Deputy
Ministers all continue in existence until the person elected as President in the
coming elections assumes office after the elections
·
the
persons holding these posts on 22nd May remain in
them.
It
follows that Ministers retain their powers and functions until the winner of the
coming Presidential election is sworn in as President – in early August or, if
there has to be a run-off election, in mid-September [the date for the run-off
election, if any, is Wednesday 11th September].
Paragraph
15 of the Sixth Schedule to the new Constitution applies “notwithstanding any
provision of the former Constitution” – which means that the President cannot
dismiss the Prime Minister or the Deputy Prime Ministers, or any of the
Ministers or Deputy Ministers, in reliance on the former Constitution.
Government
Gazette
[NOT
available from Veritas]
Statutory
Instruments
Collective
bargaining agreement SI
specifies wages and allowances for workers in the soft drinks manufacturing
industry for the year 2013.
Radiation
protection SI
99/2013 enacts the highly technical Radiation Protection (Naturally Occurring
Radioactive Material) Regulations. A licensing system is set up for generation,
possession, distribution etc of naturally occurring radioactive material [NORM]
“whose radionuclide concentrations have been increased by or as a result of
human practices”. Radiation protection standards, measures to protect
workers, waste disposal and safety criteria for products are among other matters
covered. The preamble to the regulations recites that they were made in terms
of the Radiation Protection Act, and in consultation with the Board of the
Radiation Protection Authority, by the “Office of the President and
Cabinet”.
[Note:
As the Radiation Protection Act confers regulation-making power on “the
Minister”, meaning a Minister to whom the President has assigned responsibility
for the Act, and as the regulations were not made by a Minister but by an
Office, the regulations may well be invalid. It is true that the President by
SI 162/2012 assigned the Radiation Protection Act to the “Office of the
President and Cabinet”, but as pointed out in Bill Watch 49/2012 of 22nd October
2012, this assignment is of doubtful validity and therefore challengeable in
court. Perhaps the next assignment of Acts, under the new Constitution, will
avoid repetition of this error.]
Public
service vehicles SI
100/2013 enacts new fees for the Road Motor Transportation (Public Service
Vehicles) Regulations, replacing fees of 2009.
Collective
bargaining agreement SI
98/2013 sets out minimum wages and allowances for workers in the Detergents,
Edible Oils and Fats industry for 2013, following an arbitration
award.
Local
authority by-laws
Kariba Municipality has amended burial fees [SI 102/2013] and rents, water and
supplementary charges in Nyamhunga and Mahombekombe townships [SI
103/2013].
General
Notices
National
monuments GN
354/2013 notifies the declaration by the co-Ministers of Home Affairs of various
sites as national monuments, including the National Heroes Acre, Sikombela
Restriction camp, and several provincial heroes acres.
Elections
notices
These notices are listed below.
Latest
Website Postings
NEW since Bill Watch
28/2013:
· GN 361/2013** – Presidential Candidates
· GN 362/2013** – National Assembly Constituency Candidates
· GN 363/2013** – Addresses of Constituency Elections
Officers
· GN 364/2013** – Party Lists for National Assembly, Senate
and Provincial Councils
· GN 366/2013** – Withdrawals of National Assembly
Constituency Candidates
· GN 347/2013** – ZRP Promotions
Notice
· Electoral Act as amended
[incorporating amendments made by SI 85/2013]
· MDC-T and ZANU-PF election
manifestos
** Please
note these items are available on the Veritas website veritaszim.net but
are not available by email
·
Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime
Act, 2013 (Act No. 4/2013)*
· Electricity Amendment Bill
[passed by Parliament 26th June, not yet gazetted as an
Act]
· Minister of Justice and Legal
Affairs’
application to the Constitutional Court for a two-week extension of the
harmonised elections polling date
· South African
Constitutional Court judgment in Government of the Republic of Zimbabwe v
Fick & Others [delivered on 27th June. The judgment dismisses the
Government’s appeal against the enforcement in South Africa of a SADC Tribunal
costs award in favour of complainants in the Campbell case.]
· Public holidays for 2013
[GN 348/2013]
*still
available by email if requested from veritas@mango.zw
Other recent postings:
· SI 85/2013 [regulations
amending the Electoral Act]
· SI 86/2013 and SI 96/2013
[Election proclamation and correction]
· SI 88/2013 [Electoral Electoral (Nomination of Candidates) Regulations
· SI 89/3012 [Electoral (Accreditation of Observers)
Regulations
· Constitutional Court order
in Mawere v Registrar-General & Others [the dual citizenship
case].
Veritas makes every
effort to ensure reliable information, but cannot take legal responsibility for
information supplied