Associated Press
Jul 20, 1:31 PM EDT
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) -- Zimbabwe's
constitutional affairs minister says an
all-party panel has finally
completed a draft of the country's new
constitution after three years of
bitter political wrangling.
Eric Matinenga said Friday copies of the new
constitution will be
distributed ahead of a planned referendum in line with
the terms of a power
sharing agreement brokered by regional leaders
following violent and
disputed elections in 2008.
President Robert
Mugabe, the southern African nation's authoritarian ruler
since 1980, has
called for early elections to end the nation's fragile unity
government,
even without a new constitution.
Matinenga said the proposed constitution
will limit the presidency to two
five-year terms in the future. But
88-year-old Mugabe will still be able to
run for office.
Mugabe's
party has been accused of trying to sabotage changes threatening
its long
entrenched powers.
http://in.reuters.com/
By Nelson
Banya
HARARE | Fri Jul 20, 2012 8:21pm IST
(Reuters) - Zimbabwe
has finished drafting a new constitution that limits
the powers of the
president while strengthening those of parliament, a key
but much-delayed
precursor to elections, a legislative committee said on
Friday.
In a
statement, the inter-party body said it had finished a draft of the
charter,
which will now be reviewed by President Robert Mugabe and Prime
Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai, partners in an uneasy coalition government
formed after a
disputed vote in 2008.
The draft, seen by Reuters on Friday, imposes two
five-year terms on the
presidency, which currently has no term
limit.
It also curbs the sweeping powers of the president by requiring
lawmakers'
approval for the dissolution of parliament, declaration of war
and public
emergencies. However, the president retains authority over senior
appointments.
The charter affirms freedom of expression and the
press, while giving
increased powers to provincial governing councils - a
key demand of
Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), which
accuses Mugabe's
ZANU-PF of centralising power.
A referendum on the
charter is set to be held before the end of this year,
ahead of an election
expected in 2013.
Mugabe has been pushing for an early election to end
the coalition but seems
to have backed off after southern African leaders,
fearing a repeat of the
bloody 2008 vote, insisted on a vote only after a
new constitution and
electoral law reforms.
However, the southern
African nation is set to hold by-elections this year
to fill 38 vacant
parliamentary seats after a Supreme Court order last week
to fill three
vacant constituencies by August 30.
Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa
told parliament the by-elections would
also include 35 other vacant seats,
state media reported on Friday.
"We can't hold by-elections in three
vacant constituencies only, but in 38
parliamentary vacant seats and in all
vacant seats in local authorities,"
Chinamasa was quoted by the Herald
newspaper as telling the Senate.
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com
Staff Reporter 47 minutes
ago
HARARE - Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs Minister,
Advocate Eric
Matinenga says he believes the final draft of the proposed new
constitution
is a good piece of legislation which conforms to international
best
practices.
Advocate Matinenga made the remarks while briefing
the media on some of the
most contentious issues that had been presented in
the drafting of the new
constitution.
View the final draft of the new
constitution here
He expressed belief that if a referendum is conducted,
the draft will sail
through.
According to the draft constitution, the
office of the Presidency and other
Public Office will be limited to two
terms.
Presidential candidates shall follow the system of nominating two
running
mates who will automatically become vice to the winner and shall
succeed in
the case of death or eventualities to the head of state, putting
to rest
succession disputes.
The House of Assembly will have 66 seats
reserved for women legislators,
while Senate will be on proportional
representation.
The Bill of Rights has been expanded from the current
political and civil
rights, to include economic, social, cultural and
environmental spheres.
The death penalty shall not be handed down to
women, while men aged 70 years
and above shall not be executed, with the
penalty only applying in cases of
aggravated murder.
The draft
constitution also provides that any person born in Zimbabwe shall
automatically be a citizen.
What is left is for the parties and
principals to determine whether they are
agreeable to the positions in the
draft to allow the holding of a
referendum.
http://www.voanews.com
19 July
2012
Blessing Zulu | Washington
Zimbabwe’s new draft
constitution has abolished the death sentence for women
and those under the
age of 21 and above 70 years, but pro-life activists say
it does not go far
enough.
Also, some legal experts and human rights groups worry the move
may be used
to protect senior Zanu PF officials accused of gross rights
abuses in the
previous elections.
The alleged violations have seen
President Robert Mugabe and some 200
members of his inner circle being hit
with travel and financial sanctions by
the U.S. and the European
Union.
Rights groups pushing for the total removal of the death penalty,
including
Amnesty International say the charter, which will be adopted if
approved in
a referendum latter this year - falls short.
Among other
notable aspects, the new charter adopts the American and
Malawian system
where a presidential candidate has a running mate who
automatically takes
over if the head of state is incapacitated or unable to
continue.
It
also restores the right to vote for so-called aliens or Zimbabweans with
one
foreign parent, who for long have been disenfranchised and denied
passports.
Parliamentary and Constitutional Affairs Minister Eric
Matinenga told VOA
that he has written to the cabinet secretary informing
him that the draft is
complete and ready for submission to unity government
principals and the
cabinet.
The charter, to replace the current
constitution that has been amended 19
times, will also be presented before
an All-Stakeholders Conference in the
next few weeks before going for a
national referendum.
Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa confirmed
negotiators from the three
unity parties appended their signatures to the
draft as a sign of approval,
adding they now wait to hear from the
principals.
The three co-chairpersons of the parliamentary panel writing
the new charter
also met with other committee members in Harare Thursday to
officially hand
over the document.
Co-chairman Munyaradzi Paul
Mangwana of Zanu PF told VOA the process is now
complete and his party will
call for a special politburo session next week
to discuss the constitutional
draft.
Douglas Mwonzora, Copac co-chair representing the MDC formation of
Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said the document was final, adding no one
in the
community wants to go back to political bickering over the content.
By Tichaona Sibanda
20 July 2012
Zimbabweans in the Diaspora will be disappointed to note that dual citizenship is not enshrined in the new constitution, whose draft was released this week.
Despite statements from MDC-T officials in COPAC that dual citizenship was in the constitution, the draft of the new charter is vague on the issue.
The only section where it is mentioned is on powers of Parliament in regard to citizenship. Part 3.8 of Chapter 3 says: “ An Act of Parliament may make provision, consistent with this chapter, for the prohibition or permitting of dual citizenship in respect of citizens by descent or registration.”
It’s well been understood that dual citizenship is a contentious issue for ZANU PF and clearly COPAC failed to find common ground, and so it is now just a matter referred to Parliament.
Lawyer and pro-democracy activist Dewa Mavhinga told SW Radio Africa’s Election Watch program that he strongly believes the matter on dual citizenship was deliberately omitted by COPAC.
‘It’s a political position. It’s no coincidence that one party in the negotiations felt uneasy letting millions of Zimbabweans vote in the next election.
‘This is a gross omission which is obviously very disappointing, which does not therefore give hope that perhaps as Zimbabweans living outside the country we could claim our fundamental rights to vote,’ Mavhinga said.
Mavhinga explained that legally, the gap left on dual citizenship, if not clearly expressed in the constitution will come into conflict with the current constitution.
‘As it is, the new draft doesn’t prohibit dual citizenship, it just leaves it to the next parliament to deal with the matter. In the meantime, we know of cases of Zimbabweans who have been convicted of having dual citizenship, like the former Finance Minister Chris Kuruneri.
‘Since it is silent on that, if the new constitution is adopted, a person can have both a Zimbabwe passport and a passport of another country and can move freely in the country without being arrested. But you will simply not be recognised as an individual who holds dual citizenship until Parliament deliberates on it,’ Mavhinga added.
The current constitution is explicit on dual citizenship. Part IV of the chapter of the constitution, drawn up during the Lancaster House talks in London just before independence, states that ‘subject to this section, no citizen of Zimbabwe who is of full age and sound mind shall be entitled to be a citizen of a foreign country.’
View the final draft of the new constitution here
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By
Tichaona Sibanda
20 July 2012
The first Vice-President of Zimbabwe
will assume office, to complete the
term of the President, if he dies,
resigns or becomes incapacitated,
according to the new draft
constitution.
Chapter 5 of the draft on the Executive, part 5.14 states
that if the
President dies, resigns or is removed from office, the first
Vice-President
assumes office as President until the expiry of the former
President’s term
of office.
‘The second Vice-President assumes office
as first Vice-President until the
expiry of the former President’s term of
office. And upon assuming office as
President, the former first
Vice-President must appoint a qualified person
to be second Vice-President
until the expiry of the former President’s term
of office,’ the new charter
says.
If you put this into perspective, whoever Robert Mugabe nominates
as his
running mate for the first Vice-Presidency in the next election, will
automatically succeed him if he fails to complete the 5
year-term.
Zimbabwe is set to go for harmonized elections, possibly next
year, when
Mugabe will be 89 years and because of his advanced age and poor
health, few
people doubt he will go the distance if he gets
elected.
Some analysts believe he may step down to allow his anointed
first
Vice-President to take over, because by the time the first term ended
Mugabe
would be 94 years old.
If he wins and decides to step down,
that gesture will once and for all
settle the highly divisive succession
battle in his party. As it is Joice
Mujuru, the first Vice-President, might
take over the reins, ahead of
presidential hopeful, Emmerson Mnangagwa, the
Defence Minister.
Under the current constitution if Mugabe fails to
finish his term, for what
ever reason, a nominee from his party will fill in
the gap for 90 days until
a new Presidential poll can be held.
The
one question that hasn’t been answered is why Zimbabwe needs two Vice
Presidents in the first place.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
Written by Gift Phiri, Chief Writer
Friday,
20 July 2012 12:03
HARARE - President Robert Mugabe has
successfully sunk a constitutional
clause that could have stopped him from
seeking another term, according to
an official draft of a new constitution
released yesterday.
The parliamentary committee driving the
constitutional reforms released the
final consolidated draft constitution
that retains an all-powerful
president; but with powers to make appointments
without parliamentary
oversight severely curtailed.
Mugabe had
threatened to withhold his assent to a draft that had
disqualified him as a
presidential candidate.
The first draft said: “A person is disqualified
for election as President if
he or she has already held office for one or
more periods, whether
continuous or not, amounting to 10 years.”
But
the draft, officially released yesterday but dated July 17, 2012, says:
“A
person is disqualified for election as President or Vice President if he
or
she has already held office as President under this Constitution for two
terms, whether continuous or not, and for the purpose of this subsection
three or more years’ service is deemed to be a full term.”
Mugabe,
faces the toughest challenge of his 32-year rule in forthcoming
watershed
elections where he will stand as his Zanu PF party’s flag bearer.
The
parliament select committee said the Second All Stakeholders Conference
will
probably be held in one month’s time.
Copac spokesperson Jessie Majome
said there were bound to be changes.
“There have been several other
drafts, there are repeated changes,” she
said.
Parliamentarians
leading the process say the draft could herald the birth of
what is being
hailed as “the birth of the second republic”.
Significantly, the draft
constitution removes prosecuting power from the
Attorney-General who becomes
only a legal advisor to the President while a
new National Prosecuting
Authority is created.
The draft constitution retains the death penalty
but only for “aggravated
murder”, prohibits gay marriages and gives women a
good deal on the question
of gender parity in Parliament.
While the
draft acknowledges 50-50 representation it also provides that
Parliament
shall not be rendered unconstitutional by failure to meet the
envisaged
quota.
The debate over a new constitution began in 2009, then surged and
receded
with each national crisis.
Finally, the parties have agreed
to a proposed document after a lot of
trade-offs, and the draft will be
presented to Zimbabweans at an
all-stakeholders conference next month.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Alex Bell
20 July
2012
Robert Mugabe and key members of his inner circle are set to remain
on the
list of targeted restrictive sanctions imposed by Europe, despite a
review
of the measures taking place next Monday.
European Union (EU)
Ministers will be meeting in Brussels Monday and key
decisions about
Zimbabwe’s future are set to be made. Chief among these are
a review of the
sanctions still in place, which include a ban on direct
government to
government aid, and the targeted restrictive measures against
Mugabe and his
cronies.
It is understood that EU ministers are already agreed on
relaxing the
measures to try and prompt more reform in Zimbabwe, a decision
that will be
conditional on these reforms actually taking place. It is
widely expected
that the decade long ban on direct government aid will be
lifted, while the
restrictive measures against some individuals and
companies might also be
conditionally suspended.
Sources in Brussels
quoted by the Reuters news agency have said that the
measures against Mugabe
himself and his inner circle will definitely remain,
a position supported by
the UK. The Foreign Office was quoted this week as
saying the measures on
Mugabe will not be relaxed.
But the apparent softening in stance towards
the Mugabe regime has riled
many critics, with some arguing that any
loosening of the measures is the
same as rewarding the regime for its human
rights abuses.
Piers Pigou from the International Crisis Group told SW
Radio Africa on
Friday that whatever decision the EU takes is not a
guarantee of reform, but
“the old formula of waiting for reform clearly has
not worked.”
“Yes, there is the cynical argument that there are many
reforms that could
take place without the measures being lifted and it’s all
a question of
political will,” Pigou said.
He added: “But what this
does do is put the ball firmly into Zimbabwe’s
court and SADC’s court in
terms of a narrowed down reform agenda. And,
whatever is taken away can
always be reintroduced.”
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com
Staff Reporter 23 hours 49 minutes
ago
While the European Union is discussing the lifting of illegal
sanctions
imposed on Zimbabwe, the United States of America maintains that
the embargo
can only be lifted if the country goes through a referendum and
holds
credible elections.
Outgoing US Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Mr
Charles Ray made the remarks after
paying a courtesy call on Vice President
Joice Mujuru at her Munhumutapa
offices in Harare, to bid her
farewell.
Ambassador Ray says he does not subscribe to measures that are
not flexible,
adding that countries must desist from being obsessed with the
negatives but
must focus on the positives to move forward.
He however
maintained that unless Zimbabwe goes through a referendum and
holds
elections, the embargo will remain.
"Once this country has completed its
constitutional referendum process and
holds a credible election reflective
of the views of the people, then there
is no other justification for keeping
the sanctions," said Ambassador Ray.
The British government has backed EU
moves to lift more sanctions on
Zimbabwe to encourage free and fair
elections, a foreign office minister has
told the BBC.
Henry
Bellingham said the "conditional" suspension would be a "big step".
And
it would depend on "a really credible referendum" on reforms being held
before elections next year.
EU ministers meet on Monday to decide
whether to lift bans on direct cash
aid for the Zimbabwe government, as well
as visa and asset curbs.
Mr Bellingham said the UK was keen to show
support for moves by the Southern
Africa Development Community (SADC) to
ease pressure on Zimbabwe.
He said: "If we get agreement in the EU, it
will be a conditional
suspension, not of all the measures but a very large
number of them, sending
a very strong signal that because SADC has made
positive moves in terms of
Zimbabwe then the EU will respond."
The EU
has already lifted some of its sanctions against top Zimbabwean
officials,
to support what it said was the power-sharing government's
"significant
progress" on tackling the country's economic crisis.
President Robert
Mugabe and more than 100 key members of his inner circle
remain the subject
of restrictions, which include asset freezes and bans on
travelling to
European countries.
The Foreign Office has said the restrictions on Mr
Mugabe must remain in
place.
Earlier on, the Nigerian Ambassador to
Zimbabwe, Ambassador Mamman Nuhu also
paid a familiarisation courtesy call
on Vice President Mujuru.
Ambassador Nuhu, who has been in the country
since August last year, said he
briefed the Mujuru on political disturbances
being perpetuated by the
hard-line Islamist group, the Boko Haram in
Nigeria.
The third envoy to pay a courtesy call was the new Zambian
Ambassador to
Zimbabwe, Mrs Ndiyoi Mutiti.
Ambassador Mutiti said the
two discussed various bilateral issues and also
the forthcoming UNWTO
conference which Zimbabwe is co-hosting with Zambia in
2013.
Zambia
and Zimbabwe have the potential to assist each other to develop
tourism and
strengthen bilateral trade.
Meanwhile, Vice President Mujuru also met the
visiting Russian delegation,
which expressed interest in enhancing economic
cooperation with Zimbabwe in
areas of mining, power generation, energy and
infrastructure development.
Mujuru said despite strong bilateral ties,
the two countries are not fully
exploiting economic partnerships, adding
that Zimbabwe is currently
exporting a large number of raw materials due to
lack of value addition.
Speaking through an interpreter, Russian business
delegation leader, who is
also the Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, Mr
Georgy Kalamanov said his
country has already identified various projects
and has crafted a Bilateral
Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement
(BIPPA) which is now awaiting
signing.
Russia already has mining
interests in the country and the Russian economy
is the world’s 9th largest
by nominal GDP.
http://www.timeslive.co.za
Vladimir Mzaca | 20 July, 2012 00:02
The
passage yesterday of the Electoral Amendment Bill through the House of
Assembly follows the recent finalisation of the country's draft
constitution.
The electoral law amendment stipulates that
presidential election results
should be announced within five days of
voting.
Police will also not be allowed in polling stations. A polling
station-based
voters' roll will not be adopted.
An electoral court
will also be established.
"We are particularly pleased with the provision
on the voters' roll and the
role to be played by police. It is structured in
a manner that seeks to curb
political violence,'' said Douglas Mwonzora, a
Movement for Democratic
Change spokesman and co-chairman of the
constitution-making process.
The draft constitution is expected to be
handed to the various parties in
the coalition government
shortly.
The Southern African Development Community's mediator on
Zimbabwe, President
Jacob Zuma, is expected to visit the country soon to
assess progress made in
the talks, Zanu PF negotiator Patrick Chinamasa
said.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com/
19/07/2012 00:00:00
by Staff
Reporter
ZIMBABWE will hold a mini-general election before
the end of the year to
comply with a Supreme Court ruling, Justice Minister
Patrick Chinamasa said
in Parliament on Thursday.
Three former MDC
MPs who were expelled by their party in 2009 took President
Robert Mugabe
and the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to court to force
by-elections in
their former constituencies.
Last week, the Supreme Court threw out
Mugabe’s appeal against a High Court
order for the by-elections to be held.
The government had argued it did not
have money.
Mugabe must gazette
election dates by August 30, according to the Supreme
Court.
Chinamasa told the Senate that the Supreme Court ruling had
wider
implications beyond the three constituencies – Lupane East, Nkayi
South and
Bulilima East.
“Countrywide, we will have to run harmonised
elections for all vacant seats
in both Parliament and local authorities,”
Chinamasa said in reply to a
question by Rushinga Senator Damian Mumvuri
(Zanu PF).
Chinamasa said there were THIRTY EIGHT vacant seats in the
Senate and House
of Assembly, and more than 200 in rural and urban councils
mainly as a
result of deaths.
He told Senators: “The implication (of
the ruling) is that the situation in
38 parliamentary vacant constituencies
is similar to the situation in the
three constituencies. The implication is
we can’t hold by-elections in three
vacant constituencies only, but in 38
parliamentary vacant seats and in all
vacant seats in local authorities as
well.”
Chinamasa admitted the government had no budget for the elections,
but said
the rule of law dictated that the court ruling must be
respected.
According to the government’s own estimates, the by-elections
could cost
close to US$40 million. Only on Thursday, Finance Minister Tendai
Biti was
warning that the country was nearly bankrupt because the government
was
“eating more than it killed”.
President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF
party has been demanding elections this
year, but the party has faced
resistance from its MDC rivals who insist on
political and electoral reforms
to be implemented first, including the
adoption of a new
constitution.
This week, the House of Assembly passed the Electoral
Amendment Bill and a
new draft constitution was forwarded to President
Robert Mugabe and his MDC
coalition partners Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai and Industry Minister
Welshman Ncube. It could be put to a public
referendum as early as
September.
Zanu PF officials are planning
to use the Supreme Court judgement to corner
the MDC factions. If the MDC
parties enter the by-elections, Zanu PF will
use that to blow holes into the
two parties’ earlier arguments that free and
fair elections are not possible
before reforms.
Nathaniel Manheru, a pro-government polemicist who writes
a weekly column in
the state-run Herald newspaper, said last Saturday that
if the MDC parties
field candidates in the mini-by elections, they would
have done their
earlier arguments about “outstanding issues” a lot of
damage.
The rug has also been pulled from underneath the feet of the
regional trade
bloc, SADC, which has also been applying brakes to Mugabe’s
election push,
he added.
“Until this court decision, the whole debate
has evolved as if only GPA
[Global Political Agreement] principals, watched
by SADC through its
facilitator [South African President Jacob Zuma], have
been the only factors
at play. The Supreme Court has now shown this was a
mistaken overrating of
persons and institutions which, in any event, are
themselves the players in
the game about to begin. It has shown it is a
game-changer, indeed the
writer of rules of the game which SADC seeks to
referee,” Manheru wrote.
“This is a key adjustment to the whole electoral
equation in which all sorts
of political arguments, not least among them the
bogey of ‘outstanding
issues’, were being summoned to extend indefinitely
the saccharine but
increasingly illegal governing moment.
“If the MDC
formations needed until June next year ‘to level the playing
field’, they
now have until August this year to do so. And we are in July!”
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
20/07/2012 00:00:00
by
AFP
UNIONS Friday called on civil servants to protest next
week to demand a near
doubling of basic wages, after the finance minister
ruled out any increases
due to budget cuts.
"We are calling for a
mass demonstration by all civil servants in Harare on
Tuesday," Tendai
Chikowore, spokeswoman for the state employees' umbrella
union, told
AFP.
"We are demonstrating against the government. The grievances are
long-standing. We want a review of our basic salaries, rural allowances,
transport and housing allowances."
Chikowore said the workers want
across-the-board pay rises, including a
raise from $286 to $560 a month for
the lowest-paid government workers.
"The basic salary was not reviewed in
January and we thought the government
in its wisdom would be sensitive and
make provision for an increase in our
basic salaries in the budget," she
said.
Finance Minister Tendai Biti ruled out any wage hikes for this year
when he
presented the mid-term budget Wednesday, saying lower-than-expected
revenues
had forced the government to trim its spending from the planned $4
billion
to $3.6 billion.
"Indeed, even in the absence of such
(salary) reviews, government faces the
real danger of defaulting on salary
payment," he said Wednesday.
"Hence, we need not take the current monthly
payments for granted but
seriously appreciate the limited fiscal space for
wage adjustments."
Biti also blamed the budget crunch on overspending on
foreign travel, and
said the government had taken on 10,000 new employees
without following
proper hiring procedures.
About one-third of the
government's 230,000 employees were already believed
to be "ghost workers" -
fictitious names that allow others to receive
salaries fraudulently,
according to Biti.
After a decade-long crisis, Zimbabwe's economy has
begun recovering
following a power-sharing agreement between long-time
rivals President
Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai in the
wake of failed
2008 polls.
But the recovery remains fragile. The
government has lowered its growth
forecast for the year from 9.4 percent to
5.6 percent, Biti said Wednesday.
Mugabe has accused Biti, a Tsvangirai ally,
of deliberately sabotaging the
government by refusing any salary increases.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By
Alex Bell
20 July 2012
A property buying spree in South Africa by a
top crony of Robert Mugabe’s is
suspected to be part of a money laundering
exercise, to process the illicit
profits of Zimbabwe’s still controversial
diamond trade.
An investigation by South Africa’s Mail & Guardian has
followed the multi
million rand spending spree by Robert Mhlanga, a reported
close friend of
the Mugabe family and Robert Mugabe’s former personal pilot.
Mhlanga is also
the Chairman of the Mbada diamond firm operating at the
Chiadzwa diamond
fields, where reports of smuggling and illegal dealings are
still surfacing.
The Mail & Guardian report states that Mhlanga has
been on R185-million
property-buying spree in the past year, acquiring prime
real estate on the
Durban north coast and in one of the plushest areas of
Sandton in
Johannesburg.
“Mhlanga’s property dealings have raised
eyebrows, not least because he
appears content to pay up to six times the
going rate for the properties he
buys. Speculation is rife in Zimbabwe that
Mhlanga represents the Mugabe
family’s interests in Marange and has been
buying properties on their
behalf, although his role as a proxy for the
Mugabes could not be proved by
the Mail & Guardian,” the newspaper
reported.
The paper explained that Mhlanga’s modus operandi is to buy a
“shelf company
with an obscure name”, which he would then use as a vehicle
through which to
buy property. Mhlanga is traceable as the sole director of
these companies
and, through the company names, to records of property sales
at deeds
offices.
The report also quotes an economic analyst who says
the inflated rate at
which Mhlanga is buying the properties is cause for
suspicion.
“There could be money laundering happening, where basically
you’re paying a
lot more than it’s worth but there is some other agreement
with the guy who’s
selling it to you where a percentage of the transaction
flows back to you
later in some other transaction down the line,” the
analyst was quoted as
saying.
The Mail & Guardian report has come
on the back of international warnings
that Zimbabwe’s diamond trade was
illicitly funding a parallel government.
Last month, a report by
international human rights group Global Witness
turned the spotlight on
these suspicions, detailing that the CIO and army
are securing off-budget
support from China in exchange for diamond profits.
The report also
singled out Mbada diamonds and its actions, including a
suspicious 25%
handover of the company’s shares to other companies that have
been linked
back to Mhlanga himself. Nick Donovan from Global Witness told
SW Radio
Africa on Friday that although they have no evidence of money
laundering,
there is room for suspicion.
“We know there is some kind of connection.
So he’s probably benefiting in
some way,” Donovan explained.
He
added: “Ever since the government of national unity was formed, there
has
been a search for off-budget funding by the security forces and some
members
of ZANU PF. As soon as the MDC got control of the Treasury and
clipped the
wings of the reserve bank, ZANU PF had to find another source of
funding,
other than printing money.”
Zimbabwe’s Finance Minister Tendai Biti
meanwhile has also been forced to
slash the national budget and induce
higher taxes, blaming a “worrying”
shortfall in the diamond revenue once
expected to reach the national
coffers. Last year Biti said about US$600
million in diamond revenue was
expected after the lifting of an
international trade suspension.
But since then, Biti has admitted that
this has not happened and recently
revealed that absolutely no money was
coming from at least one of the firms
operating there.
“We thought by
June about half of the amount would have been achieved. I am
very worried
about the amount coming from diamond sales which is way below
what we
anticipated,” Biti said this week.
http://www.radiovop.com/
By Professor Matodzi
Harare, July 20, 2012 - Controversial Youth
Development, Indigenisation and
Empowerment Minister, Saviour Kasukuwere
risks losing his ministerial
portfolio after a civil society activist took
his challenge of the
composition of the bloated cabinet to the Supreme
Court.
The Supreme
Court on Thursday heard an application filed by Moven Kufa, a
civil society
activist and The Voice for Democracy Trust seeking the Court
to cut cabinet
ministerial portfolios to 31 from 41.
Kufa brought his application on the
basis that the bloated executive is
unlawfully chewing up taxpayers’
money.
On Thursday, Kufa’s lawyer, Advocate David Ochieng, insisted that
Mugabe and
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai had breached the Constitution by
appointing
10 more ministers instead of 31. Ochieng argued that the
appointment of the
ministers by Mugabe in consultation with Tsvangirai were
unconstitutional
and therefore null and void. He also argued that the
bloated executive is
unlawfully chewing up taxpayers’ money.
Apart
from challenging the appointment of Kasukuwere, Kufa is also
contesting the
selection of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation
Development Minister
Joseph Made, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister
Walter Mzembi,
Minister of State in Vice-President John Nkomo’s Office Flora
Bhuka,
Minister of State in Vice-President Joice Mujuru’s Office Sylvester
Nguni,
Minister of Health Henry Madzorera, Minister of National Housing and
Social
Amenities Giles Mutsekwa and co-Minister of the Organ on National
Healing
and Regional Integration Sekai Holland.
If Kasukuwere’s appointment
together with that of the other ministers is
ruled invalid it could put Zanu
(PF) and Mugabe’s indigenisation drive off
the rails. The former ruling
party and its octogenarian leader have in
recent months been using the
indigenisation and empowerment drive as a
political campaign tool aimed at
winning citizens vote ahead of a planned
general election.
Mugabe and
Tsvangirai’s lawyer, Advocate Lewis Uriri, opposed Kufa’s
application and
argued that Zanu (PF), MDC-T and MDC parties must also be
cited as
respondents in the matter because they were responsible for
nominating the
ministers, whose appointment is being challenged by Kufa.
Chief Justice
Chidyausiku reserved judgment in the matter.
Mugabe and Tsvangirai
appointed a total of 41 government ministers in
February 2009 after the
formation of the coalition government.
http://www.voanews.com/
19 July
2012
Thomas
Chiripasi | Harare
Zimbabwe's Supreme Court reserved judgment
Thursday in a lawsuit by a civil
activist challenging the 2009 appointment
of ten extra ministers in
violation of the constitution.
Voice of
Democracy Trust director Moven Kufa wants the ministerial posts
lopped from
41 to 31 in line with the nation's charter. But after hearing
arguments, the
court said it was not ready to make a determination.
While President
Robert Mugabe's Zanu PF party and the two formations of the
MDC had agreed
after protracted negotiations to create a cabinet with 31
ministers, they
went on to violate the constitutional provision by adding
ten more
posts.
High Court Judge President George Chiweshe last year ruled that
indeed the
number of cabinet ministers was not in sync with the
constitution, but said
he could not grant Kufa's application fearing it
would destabilize the unity
government.
This prompted him to appeal
to the Supreme Court. Kufa's lawyer, David
Ocheing told the constitutional
court that the High Court had erred in its
ruling.
"The nub of the
argument is that by appointing more ministers than the
constitution allows,
the president acted illegally and those appointments
must be set aside,"
said Ocheing.
But Advocate Lewis Uriri, representing Mr. Mugabe, Prime
Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai and the ten affected ministers, said Kufa had no
legal standing
to litigate in the first place.
"The appellants in the
matter do not have the legal standing to bring the
application that they
did, in that they do not have a sufficient legal
interest special to
themselves as opposed to the generality of the
population," Uriri
argued.
"In other words, there is no right in our law to seek to
vindicate a public
interest, a violation that is alleged to related to the
whole of the
population."
Uriri also argued that the use of the word
“shall” in the Constitution was
directory. As such, he said the appeal must
be dismissed.
But Ochieng countered that every citizen had a right to
ensure those in
positions of authority adhered to the governing
charter.
Article 20 of Schedule 8 of the Zimbabwe Constitution amended
following the
formation of the coalition government in 2009 reads; “There
shall be
thirty-one ministers with fifteen nominated by Zanu PF, thirteen by
MDC-T
and three by MDC-M.”
If Kufa's appeal is granted, 10 ministers,
including Henry Madzorera,
Saviour Kasukuwere, Walter Mzembi, Sekai Holland,
Giles Mutsekwa, Sylvester
Nguni, Joseph Made and Flora Bhuka will lose their
posts.
http://www.voanews.com
Sebastian
Mhofu
July 20, 2012
HARARE — The Zimbabwe government has begun an
investigation into reports of
severe adverse effects - including deaths -
from an immunization program
against polio and measles it conducted last
month. On Friday, Henry
Madzorera, Zimbabwe’s health minister, said the
program was important
because it cuts down the number of childhood deaths
from these diseases.
Zimbabwean Health Minister Henry Madzorera
attributed the negative physical
reactions some children have to
vaccinations to malnutrition, among other
factors. He also said the
children may already have other diseases when
they get
vaccinated.
"Zimbabwe has among the highest maternal and child death
rates in the
world," said Madzorera. "So some events are coincidental due
to the high
frequency of child deaths, but also child morbidity. However,
vaccination
remains a key intervention in giving a child a chance of life.
But the
frequency and magnitude of adverse events becomes higher on these
children
who are already sick."
In Zimbabwe, vaccination of children
has in the past met with resistance
from some parents, who say their
children became ill after getting the
shots.
The June vaccination
program sponsored by the United Nations children's
agency (UNICEF) and Japan
drew attention when a child died in Masvingo,
about 300 kilometers south of
Harare.
Deputy Health Minister Douglas Mombeshora confirmed the death and
suggested
other factors, not just the vaccination, may have caused the
death.
“The child was severely malnourished," said Mombeshora. "We also
discovered
that the parents were on ART [AIDS] therapy. The parents had not
come to say
they are on treatment. That they are on treatment and the low
weight on the
child [was] mostly likely [because] the child was HIV
positive.”
It remains to be seen if skeptical parents will listen to such
an
explanation and expose their children to immunization
programs.
UNICEF procured the immunization drugs after receiving funding
from the
Japanese government.
Peter Salama, the head of UNICEF in
Harare, also says that many children are
sick from other diseases when they
get vaccinated to prevent measles and
polio. He says the vaccines are
safe.
"Some of those children are already sick," Salama explained. "They
have
diarrhea, particularly in winter months, they have respiratory
infections.
Parents associate vaccination with their illness, so much of
these reports
turn out to be coincidental. We only procure WHO pre-qualified
vaccines.
That is the case for Zimbabwe and for other countries in the
world. "
The week-long immunization program in June vaccinated against
polio and
measles and targeted more than two million children. With official
figures
showing that 100 children die every day in Zimbabwe, the
immunization
program is seen as the most cost-effective way to reduce child
illness and
child mortality.
Zimbabwe's healthcare sector fell into
complete disorder several years ago,
after years of political turmoil and
the collapse of the economy. Now,
thanks to international agencies such as
UNICEF and WHO, there seems to be
some recovery.
http://nehandaradio.com
July 20, 2012 5:57
pm
By Richard Chidza
HARARE – Tourism minister Walter
Mzembi has sought President Robert Mugabe
and his deputy Joice Mujuru’s help
in a vicious fight against top Zanu PF
chefs who have invaded wildlife
conservancies with the backing of some top
army officials.
Highly
placed sources told the Daily News Mzembi has been involved in a
nasty fight
with Shuvai Mahofa, a former Zanu PF MP and deputy minister over
the
invasion of a wildlife conservancy and poaching.
Mzembi fears anarchy
prevailing in the conservancies will dent the country’s
image ahead of the
United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) general
assembly
conference which Zimbabwe is co-hosting with Zambia next year.
The event
is viewed as key to jumpstarting Zimbabwe’s tourism sector which
has
suffered the brunt of bad publicity generated by a decade of political
turmoil.
Wildlife conservation activists claimed in interviews with
the Daily News
that Mahofa had strong backing from serving and retired
military commanders,
some of whom have interests in the conservancies where
poaching is rife.
Parks and Wildlife director general Vitalis Chadenga
confirmed that poaching
is rampant in the conservancies under dispute.
Mzembi says he wants Mahofa,
feared war veteran Francis Zimuto aka Black
Jesus and a white farmer
identified as Ken Drummond stopped from decimating
animals in the lucrative
ranch.
A letter sent to Mugabe and Mujuru
and seen by the Daily News states that
Mahofa is acting
illegally.
“The High Court of Zimbabwe has ruled to suspend Mahofa’s
lease agreement
and that Forever African Safaris are the rightful occupiers
of the ranch in
the Save Valley Conservancy,” reads the
communication.
“The World Tourism Summit is scheduled for 2013 in
Victoria Falls Zimbabwe,
yet National Parks director Vitalis Chadenga and
Natural Resources minister
Francis Nhema continue to ignore the fact that
Savuli has been invaded on
the strength of ‘documents from their
offices’.”
Mzembi, who enjoys the support of local chiefs and ordinary
people in the
Lowveld, refused to comment on the dispute. He however took a
swipe at
officials who were using their political links to amass wealth at
the
expense of ordinary people.
“The nation has been witnessing the
blatant abuse of well-meaning policies
by greedy individuals who have
benefited ‘70 times seven times’ from
virtually every empowerment policy
that has been pronounced,” he said.
“An indigenisation move that benefits
the same persons over and over again
immediately lends itself to scrutiny
and interrogation. Instead we are
witnessing some of the unintended
consequences of well-meaning programmes
that end up providing raison d’etre
and justification for an attitude of
entitlement and impunity fronted as
empowerment by the greedy fringe of our
society. This must be checked,”
Mzembi said.
“However I am reluctant to comment on the matter before I
talk to minister
Nhema under whose ambit conservancies’ fall suffice to say
I am disturbed by
the negative impact of these developments on tourism,”
said Mzembi. Chadenga
said poaching was widespread.
“People are
hunting without permits but we have instructed our Masvingo
office to act,”
he said. He however defended Mahofa, saying whites in the
area were the ones
causing problems.
“As far as we are concerned Mahofa has a valid lease
and the problem that is
in the conservancy is to do with co-existence.
Mahofa got a 25-year lease
under the Wildlife Best Land Reform Policy that
seeks to open conservation
to black Zimbabweans.
“It is true I have
received protests from in particular the German
ambassador but my response
was that what we have is a co-existence issue and
nothing more,” Chadenga
said. Chadenga rubbished Mzembi’s claims that the
dispute could affect the
tourism event.
“There will be a greater threat to the UNWTO general
assembly if we do not
allow Zimbabweans with valid leases to co-exist with
former white owners,”
he said. A spokesperson for Forever African Safaris,
Wilfried Pabst told the
Daily News Zimbabwe’s hosting of the UNWTO general
assembly is in danger.
“The situation is so bad and it is highly likely
that several European
countries could declare a tourism moratorium on
Zimbabwe categorising the
country as a danger to wildlife,” he said. He
added the firm has two High
Court orders against Mahofa that authorities are
ignoring.
Nhema was unavailable for comment, but minister of State in
Mujuru’s office
Sylvester Nguni was angry at how the Daily News got hold of
the documents.
“I am disappointed that people seeking our help see it fit
to involve the
media, waylaying the deputy president of the country into a
media trap?
“They have already passed judgement that we will not be of much
help so you
are not going to get a comment from us and I am not sure they
will get much
help,” an angry Nguni said.
A wildlife conservationist
Jonny Rodrigues ,who chairs the Zimbabwe
Conservation Task Force, also
claimed the army is heavily involved. “There
is involvement of serving and
retired army generals as well as Zanu PF
bigwigs who are using people like
Mahofa and others as pawns to get
conservancies and land.
Mahofa
denied the allegation. “These people are South Africans and I cannot
be
fighting foreigners. It is my property and I do not want to see anyone. I
was supposed to share it with retired Colonel Claudius Makova but he refused
and now it is mine alone and I do not even want to see a soldier.
“I
surrendered all other farms that I had to my children and they have their
own leases. The poaching that is so prevalent in the conservancy is because
whites are resisting sharing with blacks,” said Mahofa. Nhema said Mahofa
was the rightful owner of the property. Daily News
http://www.zimdiaspora.com
Friday, 20 July 2012 06:25 peter
nyoni News
E-learning facilities will be rolled out to 1,000 schools in
Zimbabwe by the
end of the year, the country's minister of Information and
Communications
Technology (ICT) Nelson Chamisa has said.
Speaking to
Techzim, the politician revealed this ambitious plan could
significantly
improve the educational outcomes of students.
He revealed his long-term
goal will be to have e-learning courses in the
country's 8,000 schools by
2015.
Techzim said it is "optimistic" about the scheme, but does not know
where
the money for these virtual learning environments will come
from.
Mr Chamisa stated ministers will monitor the first phase of the
roll-out,
before handing the reigns to schools and allowing them to take
care of the
facilities themselves, budgeting for the expense of online
learning through
their regular costs.
The costs of this large-scale
e-learning scheme will be "built into the
schooling system" through school
fees or the government, the minister
continued.
However, the
publication argued more certainty will be required in the
funding model
going forward, predicting that Zimbabwe might have to "bring
out the begging
bowl" and approach international finance sources if families
and the state
cannot find the money for the project.
The politician explained some of
the costs involved in a nationwide online
training scheme will include
software, hardware and connectivity.
Furthermore, solar power plants will
have to be set up in regions without
any electricity, he
remarked.
When online learning courses are widespread, children in the
Zimbabwean
countryside will have the same competitive advantages as those in
Australia,
Beijing and New York, Mr Chamisa argued.
"We are moving
from the traditional schools to the modern school," he
declared.
The
politician has been a strong advocate of computing technology, telling
the
Zimbabwe ICT 2010 Achievers Awards that "ICTs are bound to play an
increasingly prominent and pivotal role as a key enabler of renewed and
sustainable growth" - Virtual College.
http://www.agrimoney.com/
12:54
UK, 20th Jul 2012
Credit shortages, subsidy hiccups and high energy costs have dashed
hopes of
a rebound in wheat production in Zimbabwe, leaving a country once
known as
the breadbasket of southern Africa facing another year of record
imports.
Zimbabwe's farmers will produce 20,000 tonnes of wheat in
2012-13, well
below the 75,000 tonnes that the government initially
targeted, and historic
harvest levels, US Department of Agriculture
officials said.
"Wheat production is on a declining trend since 2001,
when Zimbabwe produced
more than 300,000 tonnes," the USDA's South Africa
bureau said in a report.
"A number of constraints, such as unreliable
power supplies for irrigating
the crop, dilapidated irrigation
infrastructure, and late payments by the
[state-run] Grain Marketing Board,
have contributed to the declining trend
in wheat production," the briefing
said.
Thanks to "erratic rainfall", the harvest of corn, the source of
the food
staple mealy meal, looks set to decline too, by more than one-third
to
900,000 tonnes.
'Little wheat-planting activity'
Zimbabwe's
wheat production should be more resilient - against weather
upsets, at least
- as the crop is typically planted under irrigation, in the
April-to-May
period,
However, the sowings window "passed with very little
wheat-planting
activity" after fertilizer companies failed to release
nutrients targets by
a government-backed $20m support programme.
This
was "due to the government's failure to settle a $50m debt dating back
several seasons", the USDA said, adding the state also owes money to "the
majority of" farmers for wheat deliveries made in October.
As a
further financial setback to farmers, loans for inputs are only on
offer for
up to 90 days, "mainly due to the unavailability of credit because
of
Zimbabwe's high country risk", while farmers report paying interest rates
of
30% a year on loans.
The country's economic situation has in fact
significantly improved since
the administration of President Robert Mugabe
began power sharing with the
opposition Movement for Democratic Change was
implemented three years ago.
Inflation, which hit 500 trillion per cent
in 2008, has fallen to less than
5%, and the economy expanded by more than
7% a year.
Power struggle
Even growers who did get wheat into the
ground have faced high costs of
irrigating it, estimated at $700-800 per
hectare, on top of charges of
$350-500 for inputs and labour, according to
the Zimbabwe Farmers Union.
For output to be viable requires electricity
prices of about $0.03 per
kilowatt hour, rather than the $0.14 per kilowatt
hour farmers are charged,
the union said.
The USDA officials estimate
Zimbabwe's wheat imports reaching a record
250,000 tonnes in 2012-13 for a
fourth successive season.
In the October-to-April period, Russia was the
biggest exporter to Zimbabwe,
with 25,722 tonnes, with Argentina another
major supplier.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/
Members of the newly formed Matabeleland
Civil Society Forum (MCSF) will not
endorse the draft constitution if key
minimum conditions on the issue on
devolution of power which the forum have
came up with is not captured in the
constitution.
20.07.1212:13pm
by
Zwanai Sithole Harare
MCSF spokesperson, Dumisani Nkomo told the
Zimbabwean that the forum will
not accept a provincial assembly without
legislative powers.
"The role of the current provincial structure in the
draft constitution is
more of a coordinating organ that a executive one. We
want an executive
provincial assembly with powers to prosecute and control
the natural
resources in respective provinces .Anything short of that will
not be
acceptable," said Nkomo.
Nkomo said before deciding whether to
urge their members to endorse or
reject the proposed draft constitution, the
forum will first of all
articulate their views and lobby at the second all
stakeholders' conference.
Nkomo said MCSF members will this week convene
a crucial meeting where the
civic society groups are expected to come up
with a clear position on the
issue.
"Our main thrust is devolution of
power, public finances and the truth
commission. We are aware that other
civic organisations are busy addressing
other issues in the draft
constitution," he said.
Over 400 delegates are expected to attend the
meeting. The consortium formed
early this month by like-minded civic society
groups, is aimed at advocating
for the inclusion of devolution of power into
the new constitution.
http://www.mdc.co.zw
Thursday, 19 July 2012
Issue - 397
Buhera - Buhera
South Ward 30 chairman, Showman Mudiwa was yesterday
arrested and detained
by police at Birchneough Bridge police post for
allegedly trying to incite
violence and was fined $20.
Mudiwa was seen putting up MDC posters close
to the venue of a Zanu PF
rally. Mudiwa was pinning the posters as part of
preparations for a
scheduled district activity to be held at the end of the
month.
The MDC condemns the unjustifiable arrest of its members by police
and the
partisan justice delivery system.
Mberengwa - The house
belonging to Esau Gwatipedza Dube, the MDC
Parliamentary candidate for
Mberengwa West in the 2008 elections was petrol
bombed by known Zanu PF
youths militia early this month in Chingechuru
Village, Ward 33, Mberengwa
West.
The Zanu PF youths, led by one Lovemore Nzwirashe Hove broke into
Dube’s
house in the early hours of Sunday, 8 July and threw a petrol bomb
into the
lounge. No-one was injured in the attack although there were six
minor
children and several family members sleeping inside the house. Part of
the
house was damaged extensively and property worth thousands of dollars
was
destroyed.
Hove, Simbarashe Ndlovu and Nkambeni Ndlovu were
positively identified as
they fled from the scene by one Madyira, Dube’s
employee who gave the Zanu
thugs a chase. The three Zanu PF thugs are
well-known for terrorising
villagers with impunity with the blessing of
Rugare Gumbo, the Mberengwa
West MP and Zanu PF national
spokesperson.
The arson attack was reported at Sandawana Police Station
but the police
only reacted 24 hours later. No arrests have been made to
date and efforts
by Dube to get a police RRB number have proved fruitless as
the police claim
the incident is not important.
The people’s struggle
for real change – Let’s finish it!!!
http://www.mdc.co.zw
Friday, 20 July
2012
High Court judge, Justice Chinembiri Bhunu has ruled that
Nyamadzawo Gapare,
one of the 29 MDC activists being falsely accused of
murdering a police
officer in Glen View last year be transferred from Harare
Central Hospital
to the Avenues Clinic for better treatment.
The
order was made after the State and defence lawyers had agreed on the
position that Gapare was critically ill and should receive treatment from a
private hospital.
A private doctor examined Gapare at the prison
hospital on Wednesday and
recommended his transfer to a private hospital
with better facilities.
“The application to have Nyamadzawo Gapare
treated at a private institution
be and is hereby granted. The Commissioner
of Prisons is hereby authorised
to have the said Nyamadzawo Gapare
transferred to the Avenues Clinic for
treatment in terms of the proposed
medical management plan,” Justice Bhunu
said in his ruling.
The
transfer of Gapare to a private hospital has halted the murder trial to
proceed at the High Court until he recovers because the court cannot sit in
the absence of one of the suspects. The application for Gapare to seek
private treatment was made on Monday and the High Court had to visit him at
the Harare Central Prison Hospital to ascertain his condition.
The
people’s struggle for real change – Let’s finish it!!!
http://www.mdc.co.zw
Friday, 20
July 2012
The MDC
welcomes the long overdue action taken by the Minister of Finance to
force
greater transparency and accountability in the operations of those
companies
mining diamonds in the Marange area of Zimbabwe.
Diamonds were first
discovered there in 2006 and the State immediately took
steps to wrest
control of the find from the company African Consolidated
Resources Limited.
In the chaos that ensued up to 40 000 informal miners’
extracted diamonds
and in the subsequent rush, buyers from the whole world
descended on the
City of Mutare to buy diamonds.
In 2008, recognizing the size and value
of the discovery, the State moved to
take control and in the process
hundreds of miners were killed and maimed by
the security forces in an
exercise they called “No Return”. Since then a
number of secretive,
politically aligned companies have taken up claims on
the site and now
assert that they are the largest diamond mines in the
world.
Despite
assertions by the Minister of Mines that production could reach $2
billion
dollars in 2012 and agreements that they would contribute $600
million
towards the revenues of the State, the actual flow of funds to the
Treasury
has been miniscule and as a direct result the budget revenue
targets are not
being achieved and a harsh revision of the budget has had to
be introduced
by the Minister of Finance.
The facts are that the companies now
operating at Chiadzwa are operating 9
crushing and sorting plants and are
capable to processing 6 million tonnes
of diamond bearing aggregates a year.
Experts estimate that the companies
are retrieving between 1 and 7 carats
per tonne and that gross revenues to
the companies are between $2 and $5
billion a year.
Signed agreements with the State make provision for at
least half of this
revenue to be paid to the State. This compares to the
Botswana joint venture
with de Beers Limited which pays to the Botswana
government an average of 73
per cent of gross revenue from raw diamond
sales.
To correct this state of affairs, the Minister of Finance has now
stated
that he will force the companies concerned to accept full State
supervision
and control of all raw diamond production, grading and sales.
The Zimbabwe
Revenue Authority will then ensure that payments are made to
the Treasury
before the balance of proceeds is paid to the mine
operators.
The MDC welcomes this move and believes that this single
measure has the
potential to transform the State finances and make urgent
expenditure a
possibility. However, the question will remain, where are the
billions of
dollars that have been extracted from the Marange diamond fields
since the
State assumed control in 2008?
The people’s struggle for
real change – Let’s finish it!!!
http://www.mdc.co.zw
Friday,
20 July 2012
Two
days ago, the world celebrated Nelson Mandela Day and I wish to start by
joining everyone across the globe in celebrating the life and work of this
wonderful fighter for freedom.
In one of his many works, the veteran
freedom icon made a profound
observation, “To be free is not to cast your
chains, but to live in a way
that respects and enhances the life of
others.”
In Ghana, one of Africa’s greatest statesmen, Kwameh Nkrumah, is
known for
his adage; “Seek ye first the political kingdom, and all else will
be given
unto you...”
While this remains another profound statement,
it assumed that independence
and freedom are the same narrative, and that
freedom would naturally come on
its own after independence.
Fifty
years later, it is important to investigate whether Africa has made
great
strides towards democracy. While there have been positive
developments,
there are others whose record has been associated with
advancing tyranny and
oppression of the same people they liberated.
Democracy is universal and
as Africa, we cannot accept to be sovereign but
with a minimum threshold of
democracy and basic freedoms. Let me hasten to
say from the outset that the
struggle for democracy in Africa has been
piecemeal, pedantic and
painful.
From Tangier to Table Bay, from the coast of Gabon to
Mozambique, Africa’s
story has been a painful and sad narrative. It began as
a story of
subjugation and foreign domination by colonial powers that sought
to supress
people, to subjugate them, to pilfer their resources and to
curtail their
rights.
The struggle for independence in the various
African countries marked the
first phase of a people that deserved universal
standards of equality,
democracy and good governance. Like everyone else
across the globe, we
refused to be treated as second class citizens in the
countries of our
birth.
Thus, the nationalist movement represented
our initial quest to democratise
our environment by seeking the same
universal standards of equality and
freedom. One by one, all African nations
gained their independence and we
all celebrated when the last bastion of a
racist edifice collapsed with the
advent of a new South Africa in
1994.
While we have raised our own sovereign flags after independence,
some of the
new leadership in Africa betrayed the continent’s collective
struggle and
inherited the same traits and culture of impunity, corruption,
repression,
misgovernance and personal aggrandisement.
We have had to
wage a new struggle for democracy against some of the former
nationalists
who have perfected the same repression that so many sons and
daughters of
our continent fought against for almost a century.
Because the new
governments after independence have refused to accept that
this is the brave
21st century; indeed the new and modern era underpinned by
a new culture of
multi-party democracy, tolerance, peace, stability and
economic
development.
We have struggled in Africa to accept diversity, to be
tolerant to divergent
views and to create institutions that broaden rather
than diminish the
people’s basic rights and freedoms.
As an
opposition leader in our democratic struggle in Zimbabwe, I was
treated with
scorn, vilified with impunity and generally treated as an
enemy. How dare I
have a different view?
This intolerance polarised the nation, scarred
society and the people
suffered as a consequence.
When the inclusive
government was formed after protracted negotiations in
2009, I became Prime
Minister, sharing national responsibilities with
President Mugabe. I had won
an election but did not win power because of
certain pillars in the State
(securocrats) that decided not to allow the
will of the people to prevail.
Now the barriers of suspicion are slowly
collapsing and I am now an opponent
and not an enemy.
The misfortune of Africa is that some of our leaders
have helped to confirm
and to entrench the negative stereotype of a
continent of political
violence, conflict, disease, hunger and
war.
They have pilfered national resources, pick-pocketed the collective
people’s
struggle and shut their ears to the loud national demand for
democracy and
good governance. They have personalised national institutions,
perfected the
art of political patronage and undermined their own
legacy.
It is the same culture that brought about the spring revolutions
when
nations and their people became impatient with repressive leaders. It
is sad
that what began as a march towards democracy has been negated by
internecine
conflict and a reversal of that march as characterised by the
events in
Egypt and Libya.
But whatever the current developments, the
situation in those countries will
never be the same again as people continue
with their brave march towards
democracy.
There are many lessons for
all of us arising from these spring revolutions,
whatever their
shortcomings. The first lesson is that political leaders can
only take the
people for granted at their own risk. When those gatherings
began in Tahrir
square in Cairo, it was clear that the people were yearning
to be
heard.
The second is that we must listen more to the people; because God
gave us
one mouth and two ears so that we could listen more than we talk
down to the
citizens that we govern.
The third lesson from the Arab
springs is that you must retire at your prime
because overstaying in office
certainly leads to a time of diminishing
returns when our age and competence
cannot cope with the dictates of a new
era. Like any product, there is
always a sell-by date, even for politicians.
The fourth and most
important lesson is that we must always respect the will
of the people,
guaranteed by security of the vote, security of the people
and security of
the people’s mandate.
Any government and leadership that claims to be in
charge should have the
clear mandate of its people.
What we have seen
in coalitions such as the one in my country, Zimbabwe,
demonstrates a
serious breach and betrayal of the will of the people because
those who lost
the election were brought back into government through the
formation of
undemocratic “inclusive” governments.
Inclusive governments that are
exclusive to the people’s will. They have
become more of elite pacts that
the true expression of the will of the
people.
In West Africa, sad
developments have retarded the march towards democracy.
Fundamentalist
groups such as Boko Haram have wreaked havoc and killed
innocent citizens.
In Mali and Guinea Bissau, the soldiers have refused to
stick to the
barracks, opting instead to subvert civilian processes and to
overthrow
elected civilian governments.
We must as a continent embrace democracy
and create and nurture those
institutions that promote and protect the
rights and freedoms of ordinary
citizens. Any professional security
institution must respect the
Constitution and protect the people. Any
subversion of civilian authority
undermines democracy. That challenge for us
as the new crop of African
leaders is to consign repression and
misgovernance to the dustbins and to
create a new society with new
values.
We are a new generation which must focus on building strong
economies,
creating jobs and developing a qualitative and affordable social
delivery
system especially in the fields of health and education. We must
embrace
ICTs and become part of the global village. ICTs will enable us to
realise
our full potential and bring all citizens to the same level in terms
of
economic development and access to information.
One sees signs of
hope; signs of a continent rising to the challenge and
beginning to assert
its political and economic rights. I was saying in my
discussions here in
Japan that we have moved from Afro-pessimism to
Afro-optimism underpinned by
a brave progression towards democratic
governance.
Our negative
history as a continent and as individual countries has not
blighted us to
new opportunities and the prospect of a new era for our
people.
There
has been massive economic revival in Rwanda despite its tortuous and
painful
national story while the big economies of South Africa and Nigeria
continue
to inspire the rest of the continent.
There is renewed hope following the
new government of South Sudan, there is
some modicum of stability and a
sense of back-to-serious-business in the
Ivory Coast while there have been
peaceful transitions in Senegal, Malawi,
Zambia and
Lesotho.
President Joyce Banda came into office this year to join
Liberian President
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as the only two female Presidents
in Africa,
signalling a great stride in the struggle by the women on our
continent.
Just before I left Zimbabwe, there was a deafening chorus by
Africa’s women
in support of Dr Nkosazana-Dhlamini Zuma as the first female
chair of the
African Union Commission! So I am positive about this continent
and its
prospect for democracy. I have often said that Africa is the
opportunity
continent because of its vast resources and its hospitable and
hard-working
people.
I also wish to state that democracy and
democratisation alone unclothed by a
meaningful change in people’s lives is
dangerous. Democracy must be
underpinned by wealth creation, jobs and food
security.
Finally, it would be remiss of me to leave this platform
without seeking
your support for the delicate transition process towards
democracy that
taking place in Zimbabwe. We have a coalition government
following the
election of 2008 which I and my party won.
But what has
been frustrating is our non-implementation of the Global
Political Agreement
as directed by SADC.
The SADC-brokered negotiation being facilitated by
South Africa led to an
agreement by all parties to implement key electoral,
media and political
reforms that will create a conducive environment for the
holding of a free
and fair poll.
As we prepare for the next election,
I urge all of you to support the call
for a free and fair election in
Zimbabwe in which the people’s will is
respected and protected. I urge all
of you to be ambassadors of democracy;
torch bearers for a peaceful
environment in our country that will enable
citizens to cast their vote
without let or hindrance.
The people of Zimbabwe would greatly benefit
from a global campaign to end
violence and to ensure a credible poll in our
country.
I urge you all to support SADC and the regional effort in
stabilising the
situation in Zimbabwe so that the people in our country are
allowed to
choose their own government without violence and intimidation. I
call upon
every one of you to stand by us in this delicate moment, aware
that we must
all become global citizens ready to defend peace and democracy
everywhere.
The struggle against apartheid and indeed the new global
pressure against
repression, terrorism and violence everywhere on the globe
is evidence that
the world will no longer stand and watch while a people
elsewhere are
brutalised and killed.
The struggle in Zimbabwe is an
extra-ordinary struggle by ordinary people
keen to create a new culture and
a new country with new values.
A new Zimbabwe with a legitimately elected
government and in which the
ordinary citizen will be free to pursue and live
their dream. With
everyone’s support and prayers, that new Zimbabwe is
possible within our
lifetime.
I thank you.
http://mg.co.za/
20 Jul 2012 07:31 - Editorial
For too long
Zimbabwe has been afflicted by an atmosphere that is at once
febrile and
frozen.
Anxiety runs high, rumours bubble ceaselessly to the surface,
and very
little real progress takes place.
Zanu-PF with its hands on
the guns – and the diamonds holds the blocking
stake in the global political
agreement, and the Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) is so keen to hold
on to any of the available levers that it
accepts compromise after
unsatisfactory compromise. But now there are signs
of real
movement.
The completion of a draft constitution appears to represent an
imperfect
but important step toward the restoration of democracy. There are
real
threats to this process, however, particularly from the security
establishment and its political proxies, who seek to cling to power at all
costs. It is crucial to ensure that they cannot scupper the constitutional
process.
One way to weaken the hardliners is to listen to the growing
chorus of
voices for the dropping of European Union and United States
sanctions that
target the Zanu-PF elite. The Southern African Development
Community has
long been arguing that the sanctions harden attitudes and make
it more
difficult to secure reform commitments from President Robert Mugabe
and his
party. Indeed, sanctions are the glue that holds together an
otherwise fractious Zanu-PF leadership and provide a key campaign platform
for Mugabe. Remove them, and you deprive him of his excuse for
miserable
economic performance and a shared sense of injustice with the
generals.
This argument is now having an impact in Western capitals.
The European
Union is ambivalent in public, but appears to be edging toward
easing some
key restrictions, and Bruce Wharton, US President Barack Obama’s
nominee for
ambassador to Zimbabwe, made conciliatory noises in senate
testimony this
week. “We do need to make it clear that our policies are
flexible … and we
should be able to adjust them in response to democratic
progress, progress
on the rule of law on the ground in Zimbabwe,” he
reportedly said.
A tougher line
The diplomatic grapevine suggests that
Britain is taking a tougher line, but
there can be little doubt that a new
consensus is beginning to emerge in the
international community. There is a
real possibility, of course, that all
this represents an effort to wish
change into being, and a risk that it will
lead to a settlement that gives
up too much justice for peace.
Certainly that is a charge that can be
levelled at the establishment of a
Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission with no
powers to investigate events prior
to 2009. That means continuing impunity
for the Gukhurahundi massacres of
the 1980s, the political violence of 2002
to 2008, and the mass demolitions
of Operation Murambatsvina in
2005.
Compromises like this may be difficult for supporters of the MDC
leader,
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, to stomach.
Hard to
stomach, too, is the scale of the looting of Zimbabwe’s resources
that has
only accelerated during the sanctions era. As we report this week,
eye-watering sums are being siphoned off to South Africa and, no doubt, to
other countries too. Any credible path forward for Zimbabwe will have to
deal with this issue.
Off course none of this progress will mean
anything unless an environment
for generally free and fair elections can be
secured.
Right now, however, we have to give a cautious nod of welcome,
even to
compromised progress, and support calls for the lifting of sanctions
that
are probably more helpful to Mugabe now than they are to proponents of
change.
http://www.cathybuckle.com
July 20, 2012, 1:33
pm
It seems the much-delayed constitution may finally be ready and,
having been
signed by all the negotiators, will be handed to the GPA
principals today,
Friday. Will Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF actually stand by
the new
constitution or will they play their usual dirty tricks behind the
scenes
and undermine or even sink it? That is the question all Zimbabweans
must be
asking themselves.
Meanwhile, Robert Mugabe was at the AU
conference in Addis Ababa,
calling for the removal of sanctions. In the UK,
Peter Hain, a British MP
and one-time anti-apartheid activist was doing the
reverse and calling for
sanctions not only to remain but to be extended.
And, at the EU we are told
no decision has yet been made but today comes the
news that the UK. will
back the move to lift sanctions; it will apparently
be a ‘conditional’
suspension of sanctions. Clearly, Zimbabwe not yet done
enough to convince
the world that the country is on track towards ‘free and
fair’ elections but
at least the voters roll is public knowledge and online
for all to see. Is
Zimbabwe now ready for ‘free and fair elections’? Perhaps
more to the point
is whether Mugabe will get away with another rigged
election? The online
voters roll shows that there are 5.6 million names on
the roll; how many of
them are centenarians or even actually alive is
uncertain. While Tobiah
Mudede, a fanatical Zanu PF supporter, remains in
place as Registrar General
those questions are bound to be asked, given our
past experience of the man.
Events on the ground suggest that Zanu PF
is definitely in election
mode. The army is already openly campaigning for
Mugabe’s party in the
Rusape/Nyazura area. Truck loads of soldiers were seen
arriving and dropping
off military personnel in a so-called ‘exercise’ which
involves nothing
more –at the moment – than wandering around the villages.
Zanu PF has
reportedly spent $14 million on top-of-the-range new vehicles
for the
election campaign. Where that money came from is anyone’s guess;
this week
we heard that Zimbabwe has no money to host the World Tourism
Conference. At
the same time, revelations about Zimbabwe’s huge mineral
wealth – and
diamonds particularly – continue to create high expectations.
Yesterday the
Minister of Finance, Tendayi Biti, was forced to cut the
budget, citing poor
diamond revenue as the cause while the economy
apparently ‘loses momentum’.
The growth forecast has been cut to 5.6% for
2012 as the country struggles
to attract foreign investment. Needless to
say, Saviour Kasukuwere’s
‘Indigenisation’ has effectively deterred foreign
investors but this morning
came the rather puzzling announcement that new
investors will not have to
comply with indigenisation. What was the point of
‘indigenisation’ at all if
it is selective in its application? We hear that
Zanu PF are relying on
‘Indigenisation’ to win them the next election but
it’s hard to imagine
ordinary Zimbabwean voters being swayed by that
argument when they know from
experience that ‘indigenisation’ simply means
giving to those that already
have. Interesting to see that the Chinese have
already asked to be exempted
from ‘indigenisation’ in the case of Zimasco
(chrome and steel).
It is Zimbabwe’s huge mineral wealth that has
dominated the financial
news this week. There are allegedly 60 different
types of minerals just
waiting to be exploited but energy supply is still
the big problem as Zesa
collapses under its huge debts. The hope that
Chiadzwa diamonds would solve
all the country’s problems has been shown to
be exaggerated. The government
had expected the diamonds to generate $600
million but between January and
June this year they only realised $416
million. Perhaps the original
estimate was hopelessly optimistic but
whatever the reason the disappointing
reality of diamond revenue has upset
Zanu PF’s hopes for assured victory at
the polls. Even the security chiefs
are worried that perhaps Zanu PF might
not win. Without Zanu PF protection
the generals stand to lose everything.
Payback time is looming!
Yours
in the (continuing) struggle Pauline Henson.
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