(AFP) – 10 hours ago
HARARE —
Zimbabwean teachers said Saturday they will suspend their 11-day
strike to
consider the government's offer of an pay rise that fell nearly 90
percent
short of their demands.
The Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe went
on strike on June 22 to
demand that the government raise their salaries from
the current $200 a
month to $500 a month.
Government late Friday
offered teachers an average increase of $34, said
union leader Takavafira
Zhou.
"The award by government of an average of 34 dollars falls far
short of our
expectations," he said.
"We will go back and
re-strategise and get ready to fight another day. There
are a number of
issues that should be addressed, including the issues of
transport and
housing allowances," he said, adding that teachers would
return to the
classroom on Monday.
The strike was only partially observed as the rival
Zimbabwe Teachers
Association, which is aligned with veteran President
Robert Mugabe, had
discouraged teachers from joining the
stayaway.
The Consumer Council of Zimbabwe says that an average family of
five needs
$500 a month to survive, but the cash-strapped government insists
that
figure is unaffordable as the nation claws its way back from a
decade-long
economic collapse.
The country's public-sector workers,
particularly teachers, nurses and
doctors, have been striking on and off for
better salaries and working
conditions since 2008.
Many have left the
country to work overseas, while those who have remained
behind often resort
to moonlighting as small-time traders to supplement
their
pay.
Teachers also want a review of their housing and transport allowance
and the
removal of "ghost workers" from the government
payroll.
Zimbabwe has 105,000 teachers on the payroll, but Zhou's union
estimates
only about 77,000 are working.
Inflated payroll numbers are
a problem throughout the civil service, with
Finance Minister Tendai Biti
estimating that about one-third of the
government's 230,000 employees do not
exist.
http://www.voanews.com
01 July
2011
The lowest-paid government worker will now receive a basic
salary of $153,
up from $128, though some economists say the government
doesn't have the
means to afford even this modest wage increase
Irwin
Chifera & Sandra Nyaira | Washington
Unions representing
Zimbabwe's government workers agreed Friday to accept a
pay rise boosting
salaries of the lowest-paid state workers to $253 a month
starting this
month.
Entry-level government workers will receive US$153 a month
compared with
US$128 previously, including a US$50 housing allowance and a
US$44 travel
allowance.
The Apex Council, which represents all
Zimbabwean civil servants, accepted
the increase although the Progressive
Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe, whose
members have been on strike since early
this week, dismissed the increment
as paltry.
PTUZ General Secretary
Raymond Majongwe stormed out of a news conference
called by the Apex Council
to announce the negotiated salary increase.
Majongwe later told VOA that
the Apex Council, the Zimbabwe Teachers
Association and others were selling
out by accepting "peanuts."
The Apex Council includes representatives of
the Progressive Teachers Union,
the Zimbabwe Teachers Association, the
Teachers Union of Zimbabwe, the
Public Service Association and the College
Lecturers’ Association of
Zimbabwe.
Apex Council President Tendai
Chikowore said the pay rise would take affect
in July and would remain in
place through December 31, with a review to take
place in January.
“A
protracted process of negotiations and consultations between government
and
the leadership of the Apex Council has resulted in an agreement,"
Chikowore
said, adding that the objective now was to push wages up to the
poverty line
around US$500.
“We don’t need a spirit medium to speak on our behalf,"
said Majongwe. "We
are very disappointed and we want to state categorically
that we are
unhappy.”
Other union leaders accused Majongwe of
grandstanding, noting that his PTUZ
had accepted the increase during
negotiations only to renege at the news
conference.
ZIMTA Chief
Executive Sifiso Ndlovu said civil servants are elated they are
getting even
a modest pay rise that will help make ends meet. He said the
government can
afford it.
But economist John Robertson said he doesn’t see where the
government will
find the money, and commentator Rejoice Ngwenya, reached at
a Nyanga seminar
on the Zimbabwean economy, said revenues are insufficient
to fund the
increase.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
By Everson Mushava, Staff Writer
Saturday, 02
July 2011 11:36
HARARE - The salary increase for civil servants
promised by President Robert
Mugabe turned out to be a paltry $31 each, a
development which triggered a
nasty fallout between unions with some taking
it while others emphatically
said no.
The paltry increase comes
at a time when Mugabe, government ministers and
officials blow tens of
millions of dollars on useless foreign trips.
Hundreds of millions of
dollars of money realised from diamond sales have
not found their way to
treasury amid reports that influential individuals in
the country are busy
lining their pockets.
Some hard pressed civil servants, most of whom are
living from hand to mouth
Civil servants get pay rise immediately dismissed
the increment as a mockery
and vowed to press ahead with strike
action.
The Zimbabwe Teachers’ Union (Zimta), Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe
(TUZ) and
Public Service Association representatives accepted the increment.
The three
unions are generally regarded as pro-Zanu PF.
But the
militant group, Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) said
their
counterparts were “sell outs” for accepting such a “ridiculous
figure”.
PTUZ secretary-general Raymond Majongwe stormed out of the press
conference
in protest and exchanged harsh words with TUZ chief executive
Manuel Nyawo
outside the press conference room at Zimta house in
Harare.
The press conference to announce the paltry increment was being
conducted by
Apex Council.
Majongwe called the increment a “pretence
and a cruel insult” to the
conscience of civil servants who had been
negotiating for a pay rise for
over six months and vowed to continue with
the strike to pressure government
for better salaries.
In the new
salary structure, the lowest paid civil servant will earn a basic
salary of
$159 up from $128 per month, realising a $31 increment with effect
from
yesterday.
Housing allowance has been upped to $50 from $30 with
transport allowance
rising marginally from $28 to $44.
Cumulatively,
the lowest civil servant will earn $243 from about $180 a
month.
The
salary hike agreement was reached in a meeting between the Apex council,
the
mother body for government worker unions and the government negotiating
team, the National Joint Negotiating Council in Harare
yesterday.
Apex council chairperson Tendai Chikowore said she welcomed
the provisional
salary increment that came after protracted negotiations
with the
government. The negotiations included a meeting between Mugabe and
civil
servants’ representatives in April this year.
Mugabe promised
to double the salaries by June. After failing to honour his
promise,
teachers led by PTUZ embarked on a strike that Majongwe yesterday
said would
continue.
Zimta denounced the strike saying the action was too
premature.
Chikowore yesterday said the salary increment had moved the
least paid civil
servant to 50 percent of poverty datum line of $502, hence
was acceptable.
“The issues relating to the reintroduction of the rural
allowances and the
education allowances have been agreed to. However, there
payment has been
deferred to a time when the government has generated
sufficient revenue,”
said Chikowore.
Majongwe, on the other hand,
described the whole salary structure as a
“rigged process”.
He said
transport and housing allowances were “committed money”, not
disposable
income. Because of that his organisation would only recognise the
$31
increase effected on the basic salary.
“Is that negotiation when you go
in to simply receive set figures that had
already been leaked in the Herald
about three weeks ago? Then you call a
press conference to announce an
increase of $31 to the nation. It’s
atrocious,” he said, adding that the
whole negotiating was politicised.
“Even the outcome of the negotiations
has been politicised. That is why
there was a stampede to thank President
Mugabe as an individual as if the
money is coming from an individual’s
pocket,” said Majongwe, fuming with
anger.
Majongwe said the
increment was unacceptable to rural teachers who did not
get incentives from
parents and were the ones hard hit by “this pretentious
agreement”.
College Lecturers Association of Zimbabwe president David
Dzatsunga said
while he appreciated the government’s effort, he would need
to consult his
members first before they could call off the
strike.
He said the increment fell far too short of his expectations.
College
lecturers have been on strike since Tuesday pressing for higher
salaries.
“We will decide as a separate entity on the course of action to
take in
light of this development,” said Dzatsunga.
Zimta chief executive
officer Sifiso Ndlovu described Majongwe as a “novice
in union politics” who
was not “purely” a teacher and had limited experience
in trade union
procedures when engaging the government.
Since April when President
Mugabe promised a pay rise for civil servants, a
political battlefield had
been triggered with Zanu PF accusing Finance
Minister Tendai Biti of
sabotaging government effort.
Biti said government coffers were dry and
could not sustain any increase
unless funds were availed to him.
http://www.zimonline.co.za
by Edward Jones Saturday 02 July
2011
HARARE – Zimbabwean rights groups have said the
international community
should apply more pressure to Harare to adopt a
clear roadmap to new
elections while demanding the demilitarisation of the
Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission as a condition to a free and fair
vote.
The Zimbabwe Europe Network (ZEN), a coalition of rights groups
that
includes the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, told a meeting of foreign
donors in Brussels that it was deeply concerned with the slow progress in
implementing the global political agreement.
The unity government
formed in 2009 between President Robert Mugabe and
Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai has managed to stabilise the economy but
has failed to undertake
critical media, electoral and security reforms
needed to democratise the
country.
ZEN said there was still widespread state-sanctioned violence,
partisan
application of the law and a rise in the deployment of soldiers in
the
countryside to campaign for Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party.
“There is a
general consensus amongst civil society that, due to the
prevailing
political environment, Zimbabwe is not ready for elections in
2011 without
extensive constitutional and legislative reforms as outlined in
the GPA,
including the constitutional reform process, media and electoral
reforms,”
ZEN said.
Mugabe, who turns 88 next year wants fresh presidential and
parliamentary
elections held this year and accuses his Movement for
Democratic Change
(MDC) rivals of stalling on a new constitution to delay
the polls.
But the MDC says without a new constitution, an overhaul to
security and
electoral laws, the election will be heavily tilted in favour
of the
octogenarian leader and his ZANU-PF party.
Tension has been
rising in the country in the past weeks with the MDC
accusing ZANU-PF (which
controls the police and the prosecution service) of
political persecution by
arresting members of the party’s top leadership.
ZANU-PF and MDC
political negotiators were expected to meet yesterday to try
come up with
timelines to the electoral roadmap that was adopted by Southern
African
Development Community (SADC) leaders at a summit last month.
ZEN said
SADC together with African Union and United Nations should help
deploy
peace-keeping monitors at least three months ahead of elections to
avoid
state-sponsored violence.
Zimbabwe’s previous elections have been marked
by violence since
independence in 1980 and the security service has been
accused of helping
ZANU-PF supporters, war veterans and youth militia in a
violent campaign
against Mugabe’s opponents, especially the
MDC.
ZANU-PF denies the charge, instead the former ruling party says this
is
propaganda peddled by MDC to gain international sympathy and justify its
losses at the ballot box.
Last week Brigadier-General Douglas
Nyikayaramba said the military was
justified to dabble in politics, adding
that the army would die to keep
Mugabe in power, in comments that angered
ordinary Zimbabweans and raised
fears the military could block the MDC from
taking power even if it won the
next elections.
“All soldiers
currently deployed across the country should be returned and
confined to
their barracks; all service chiefs should publicly commit to
restricting
their activities to their constitutional mandate and separating
themselves
completely from interference in political and electoral matters,”
ZEN said
in its presentation to Western donors.
The organisation said donors
should increase financial and technical support
to civic society groups to
ensure continued monitoring of the mining of
diamonds from the controversial
Chiadzwa fields to make sure the resource is
not used to fund political
violence.
Five companies have been licenced to mine diamonds in Chiadzwa,
including
three owned by the Chinese, but production figures and earnings
have rarely
been made public, leading to allegations that Mugabe loyalists
were also
involved in illegal mining of the gemstones. -- ZimOnline
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
By Bridget Mananavire, Staff
Writer
Saturday, 02 July 2011 11:47
HARARE - The Zimbabwe Election
Support Network (ZESN) says it welcomes the
crafting of an election roadmap
but remains worried by the lack of binding
landmarks.
The roadmap
negotiations lack effective mechanisms for smooth power transfer
in the
event that there is a change of government.
“ZESN welcomes the crafting
of the roadmap to elections and the emphasis on
reforms before any election
can be conducted. The spirit and letter of the
GPA should be respected as
the country needs to heal before an election is
conducted,” ZESN said in its
monthly update on electoral issues.
“However, ZESN is concerned about the
absence of definitive and enforceable
timelines in the roadmap leaving it
rather open ended. In addition, the
roadmap does not deal with the issue of
national healing which is critical
to the conduct of any election in
Zimbabwe considering our history of
deep-seated election related
conflict.“
More crucially ZESN said it remained worried that the roadmap
does not
provide for elements of power transfer in the event of a change in
the
country’s political guard.
“The roadmap also does not provide for
power transfer which is critical in
any country undergoing a transition.
ZESN recommends that timeframes be
provided for in the document so that
performance can be evaluated against
time,” ZESN stated in the update
released yesterday.
ZESN said utterances by Army Brigadier Douglas
Nyikayaramba’s is a sign of
deep seated lack of professionalism in the
security sector, a situation
which makes security sector reform an immediate
necessity.
“ZESN calls for the professionalisation of the security sector
and the
removal of military personnel in electoral issues. The role of the
security
sector should be limited to law and order and national security,
not
interfering with electoral processes,” said ZESN adding that national
healing remains an outstanding issue in the country’s
communities.
Furthermore the network called upon the Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission (ZEC)
to ensure that the voters’ roll is up to date, complete and
comprehensive
through a transparent, inclusive and participatory
process.
“The voters’ roll can determine the integrity or lack of
integrity of an
election,” said ZESN.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
By Thelma Chikwanha, Community Affairs Editor
Saturday,
02 July 2011 11:44
HARARE - A High Court judge yesterday granted bail
to 12 MDC activists who
were arrested in connection with the murder of a
policeman in Glen View last
month.
The activists were arrested
following the death of Inspector Petros Mutedza
during a public brawl at a
shopping centre in Glen View last month.
Among those granted bail were
the MDC national executive member Last
Maengahama who was granted a $1 000
bail while the other eleven were granted
a $ 300 bail but with stringent
reporting conditions.
They have to report to the nearest police station
three times a week on
Monday, Wednesday and Friday and surrender their
passports.
Justice Tendai Uchena however did not give bail to twelve
others saying they
were a flight risk.
Among those denied bail are
Tungamirai Madzokere and Oddrey Sydney Chirombe,
Rebecca Mafukeni, Yvonne
Musarurwa, Cynthia Manjoro, Edson Maengahama,
Lazarus Maengahama, Lloyd
Chitanda, Stenford Mangwiro, Phineas Nhatarikwa,
Tendai Chinyama, Jefias
Moyo and Abina Rutsito.
The other eleven activists granted bail are
Gabriel Shumba, Stephen
Takaedzwa, Linda Muradzikwa, Tafadzwa Billiard,
Simon Mudimu, Dube
Zwelibanzi, Simon Mapanzure, Edwin Muingiri, Francis
Vambai, Augustine
Tengenyika and Gapara Nyamadzawo.
Meanwhile, the
activists also appeared before Magistrate Shane Kubonera for
a routine
remand hearing which was postponed to July 14 2011.
The activists who are
being represented by Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights
(ZLHR) had applied
for permanent stay of prosecution until their case of
torture which they
allegedly suffered while in police custody was concluded.
ZLHR’s
spokesperson Kumbirai Mafunda said his organisation was concerned
about the
continued arrest of Glen View residents.
“We have handed over the appeal
to the Supreme Court with copies to the ZRP
and the Attorney General. What
this means is that our clients should not be
prosecuted until the courts
have dealt with the torture issues which they
raised when they were first
brought before the court,” said Mafunda.
“As you are aware the 24 accused
persons were seriously tortured by the
police while in their custody and we
need that to be addressed first, before
their case is heard.
“As
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights representing these people, we strongly
believe that the police tortured them because they had some visible wounds
when they appeared before the court.
One of them, Cynthia Manjoro,
told the court that she was beaten on her
knees by the police using an empty
bottle and it’s a clear indication of
torture.”
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC
party says it has unearthed plans by
President Robert Mugabe to rig next
year's presidential election, just as
the beleaguered GNU begins gearing up
for the crunch ballot which the aging
dictator is widely expected to
lose.
02.07.1101:09pm
Chief Reporter
His plot hinges on
inflating the number of eligible voters and multiple
registration of Zanu
(PF) supporters in different constituencies to allow
them to vote several
times. The second part of the strategy involves
relocating thousands of
urban dwellers on the register to rural
constituencies.
The plot was
unveiled by MDC secretary-general Tendai Biti at an MDC rally
held in
Kuwadzana on Wednesday evening. He described the rigging plans as a
"stinking plot."
“On the current voters’ roll, there are over six
million registered voters.
In reality we have about only two million genuine
voters and the rest are
ghost voters," Biti said.
“You will find an
area that is infested only with snakes and birds being
recorded as having 45
000 registered voters, while an urban area with
thousands of people will
only have 8 000 registered voters. Therefore, we
need to clean up the
voters’ roll before we go for the next elections to
avoid a repeat of what
happened in the past,” he said.
The plan has been tailor-made to fit Zanu
(PF)'s overall presidential
election strategy. A pilot phase proved
successful in the 2008 run-off
election where a shambolic voters roll was
used. Registrar General Tobaiwa
Mudede insists the roll is clean, and has
challenged civil society groups
questioning the integrity of the register to
inspect it.
The South African Institute of Race Relations said in a
recent report the
register has “an impossible figure” of more than 40,000
people older than
100 years. The voters register contains names of 132,540
people more than 90
years-old, 4,368 of who didn’t appear on previous rolls,
SAIRR said.
The report is based on a digital copy of Zimbabwe’s October
2010 voters’
roll, which hasn’t been publicly released. A total of 16,828
names on the
roll were for people born on Jan. 1, 1901, it said. But Mudede
dismisses
these claims.
"Our system is programmed in such a way that
it rejects any person below 18
years of age on data entry. Therefore minor
children cannot appear on the
voters' roll," he said.
"The RG has
repeatedly requested the organisations that are making these
allegations to
come with names, or evidence for verification. To date such
information has
not been submitted to us."
Claims of people with more than 100 years
appearing on the voters' roll is
surprising as the Electoral Act did not
discriminate such people from having
their names on the roll, he
said.
"You don't want these people to attain 100 years, you don't want
them to be
alive? The law does not say once one attains 100 years he/she
should be
removed. It is their right to vote unless they come to say they
want to be
removed. We will, however, still advise them that it is their
right to
vote," said Mudede.
On claims that the voter register
contained names of dead people, he said:
"If these are the ‘ghosts'
political parties are talking about, then they
must draw comfort in that the
system currently in place would require
positive identification before one
is allowed to vote, which may not be the
case with a dead
person."
The SAIRR said the Zimbabwe voters register “is not only a
wholly incredible
document but an extremely dangerous one, which lends
itself to all manner of
electoral manipulation and ballot
stuffing.”
The list of potential voters used in Zimbabwe’s previous
parliamentary and
presidential elections contained “at least” two million
fictitious voters,
it said. The registrar general should be replaced ahead
of a referendum,
expected to take place this year, and elections, the
Johannesburg-based
institute said in its report.
But President
Mugabe's Zanu (PF) insists Mudede will run the next elections.
Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC has called for the removal of Mudede
in the
administration of polls and called for a biometric voters roll.
Biti told
the rally: “Voting in future will also not be as cumbersome as it
was
before. We will ensure that voters are able to register to vote and
exercise
their right. The police will not be involved in the voting process
like
before - they will only be there to provide protection and maintaining
peace”.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
02/07/2011 00:00:00
by Business
Reporter
DEPUTY Prime Minister, Arthur Mutambara, says Zimbabwe is
practically broke
with the national debt now outstripping the country’s
gross domestic product
(GDP).
"Zimbabwe's GDP is zero," Mutambara
told delegates to a recent book launch
in Harare.
"If you owe some
one US$7 billion and your GDP is US$7 billion then you do o
not have any
money.”
Zimbabwe’s national debt is said to be more than US$7 billion,
outstripping
the country’s GDP which is estimated at just over US$6
billion.
"We are heavily borrowed and we do not have a GDP to talk about,"
Mutambara
said.
Early last month, the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) said Zimbabwe was in
“debt distress” with a large and unsustainable
external debt stock which
represented 118 percent of GDP at the end of
2010.
The bulk of the debt was also said to be in arrears.
Central
Bank Chief, Gideon Gono also said the country’s national debt to GDP
ratio
was out of sink with international best practice.
“The country’s total
external debt stock amounted to US$6 929 million as at
31 December 2010,
representing 103 percent of GDP, a level which is above
the international
debt sustainability benchmark of 60 percent,” Gono said in
a monetary policy
review presented in January.
“The bulk of the country’s external debt is
owed to multilateral creditors,
which account for 36 percent of the
country’s total debt.”
Gono said bilateral and commercial creditors were
owed 33 percent and 31
percent, respectively with central government
remaining the largest debtor
at 57 percent while parastatals and the private
sector owed 35 percent and 8
percent, respectively.
In a statement
issued following consultations with local authorities in
June, the IMF
welcomed the government’s strategy for arrears clearance and
re-engagement
with the international community.
The government was however urged to
refrain from further “non-concessional
borrowing and to seek better terms
for recently contracted debt”.
http://www.voanews.com/
01 July
2011
There is concern in Pretoria that President Rupiah Banda
of Zambia and
Mozambican President Armando Guebuza have not sent delegates
to bolster
Harare's Joint Monitoring and Implementation
Committee
Blessing Zulu | Washington
A senior aide to
South African President Jacob Zuma, regional mediator in
the chronically
troubled Zimbabwean government, said Friday that Mr. Zuma
has asked
President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai to
increase
cooperation.
Zuma foreign affairs adviser Lindiwe Zulu said Mr. Zuma, who
represents the
Southern African Development Community, has been concerned at
the
deterioration of relations among the parties in the Harare unity
government
parties in recent weeks despite the resolutions for reform
adopted at the
recent SADC summit in Johannesburg.
Sources said there
is also concern in Pretoria that President Rupiah Banda
of Zambia and
Mozambican President Armando Guebuza have not yet sent
delegates to bolster
Harare's Joint Monitoring and Implementation
Committee - a SADC
resolution.
Zulu said Pretoria has decided not to dispatch a South
African
representative to work with JOMIC having decided that its current
facilitation team is up to the task.
Reflecting some confusion in the
regional body, SADC Executive Secretary
Tomaz Salomão told VOA Studio 7
reporter Blessing Zulu that as far as he is
concerned the SADC delegates to
JOMIC have already been appointed.
Zimbabwean Justice Minister Patrick
Chinamasa, chief negotiator for
President Mugabe's ZANU-PF, would not
comment on the state of current talks
among the governing
parties.
But Energy Minister Elton Mangoma, negotiator for Mr.
Tsvangirai's Movement
for Democratic Change, said Mr. Zuma had a conflicting
commitment that
obliged him to postpone his participation in talks that were
to have opened
in Harare this weekend.
International relations expert
Clifford Mashiri said Mr Zuma must stay
involved and not outsource
resolution of the conflict to the belligerent
parties.
http://www.voanews.com
June 30,
2011
Peta Thornycroft
| Johannesburg
There is growing confusion over whether
Zimbabwe can legally export rough
diamonds from its military-run Marange
fields under the Kimberley Process,
the mechanism meant to stop the flow of
so-called "blood diamonds." Experts
have conflicting views on whether
Zimbabwe is complying with Kimberley
Process rules.
Zimbabwean
Finance Minister Tendai Biti has repeatedly said he wants revenue
from the
Marange fields so he can increase public sector wages. But he
added that he
wants the Kimberley Process to achieve a consensus on
Zimbabwe.
Kimberley Process Chairman Mathieu Yamba, from the
Democratic Republic of
Congo, says Zimbabwe can legally export the Marange
diamonds. But
international human-rights groups, backed by some Western
countries,
including the United States, say consensus on Zimbabwe was not
reached at
the recent Kimberley Process meeting in Kinshasa.
The
process was created to stem the flow of so-called blood diamonds used by
armed groups and rebels to finance wars. Human-rights groups say Zimbabwe's
military has beaten, tortured, and killed civilians to exercise control of
the Marange fields.
Research Director Alan Martin of Partnership
Africa Canada, a
non-governmental organization that has done considerable
research on human
rights abuses committed by Zimbabwean security forces in
2008. He says
Zimbabwe should not be allowed to export diamonds from the
Marange area.
“The military and police remain very much in charge of how
diamonds are
produced in Marange, which is sort of like guns and alcohol -
and the two do
not go together,” Martin said.
Mining minister
blamed
Martin blames Mining Minister Obert Mpofu and his ZANU-PF party
colleagues
in government for obstructing the country's progress toward
exporting
certified diamonds.
“It has its destiny in its own hands.
[If] It can have respectful
negotiations with the Kimberly Process, it will
probably get its way, but up
to now it has not done that,” Martin
said.
He says, for example, Mpofu has had two years to draw up a plan to
involve
small-scale miners in exploiting alluvial Marange diamonds, but has
failed
to produce a plan.
“They have insulted people, refused to
negotiate, obfuscated, lied,
threatened, intimidated, et cetera, which is
the normal way ZANU works.
This is a matter of ZANU locking itself into a
room, throwing away the key
and blaming us for the fact it can not get out
of the room,” Martin said.
Protest walkout
At last week’s
Kimberley Process meeting in Kinshasa, Partnership Africa
Canada walked out
in protest of Chairman Yamba's decision to certify
Zimbabwe’s
diamonds.
Veteran diamond writer and analyst Chaim Evan-Zohar has been
highly critical
of previous human-rights abuses in Marange. He was a member
of a Kimberley
Process review mission that inspected Marange diamond mines
last year.
He says Marange mines have now complied with Kimberley Process
rules and
regulations, and that Chairman Yamba's decision in Kinshasa was
correct in
ruling that rough stones from Marange can be exported
legally.
He says Kimberley Process rules have been politicized in the
Zimbabwe
controversy, which has undermined the international
regulator.
“Because of the politicization of the Kimberley system, which
has brought in
all kinds of other elements, which are more detrimental even
[to] the
Kimberley Process itself, than to Zimbabwe,” Zohar said.
He
said with or without Kimberley Process approval, Zimbabwe has and will
find
ways of selling its diamonds.
“Zimbabwe finds ways to get its diamonds
out to the market one way or
another. Kimberley Process has deviated from
its own procedures and rules
and core purpose, that is a problem. Sanity
should return to the Kimberley
Process and there is a way it can be done,”
Zohar said.
Zohar adds that retailers depend on their own due diligence,
not the
Kimberley Process, to ensure diamonds came from ethical
mines.
Although most African states say they agree that Zimbabwe’s
Marange diamonds
can now be legally exported, Alan Martin says some African
diamond producers
fear being tainted with the Zimbabwe
brush.
Consumers to have final say
He says consumers will have the
last say and that there is ongoing debate
about the evolution of the
Kimberley Process to keep on top of changing
realities.
“Look at
countries such as Botswana. Botswana understand(s) the centrality
of their
diamond industry to their economic livelihood. Countries like
Zimbabwe, we
do not have much hope for, we understand that. Over time you
are going to
see countries which do respect human rights, that do understand
the
integrity of diamonds to their economies, they will make that move,”
Martin
said.
In a related controversy, Zimbabwe's finance minister Biti says the
state
treasury has received no income during 2011 from the diamond mines in
Marange, in which the government is a 50-percent shareholder. That would
cripple any plan to increase public-sector wages, which Biti is facing
enormous pressure to do.
Several reliable sources in southeastern
Zimbabwe, who asked not to be
named, recently told VOA that diamonds are
being smuggled out of the Marange
fields. The sources said junior soldiers
in nighttime partnerships with
civilian diggers regularly facilitate the
smuggling of the stones.
http://bulawayo24.com
by Lincon Moyo
2011July02
18:42:36
Welshman Ncube led MDC formation Mayor of Gwanda Lionel De
Necker is on the
run after expressing his views on fundamental issues of
Zimbabwe. He and the
MDC-N Youth Assembly Secretary for Recruiting
Kudakwashe Munengiwa expressed
their views on the fundamental issues of the
country which angered the ZANU
PF watch dogs.
Freedom of Expression
in Zimbabwe is of major concern because anyone who
speaks out becomes prey
to the police, recently The Standard reporter
Patience Nyangowe and Editor
Nevanji Madanhire were arrested.
This is not a out of the ordinary
scenario. Many have been victims of the
ZRP for non-issues and freedom of
expression. This reminds us of the Stallin
Era whereby who ever demonstrated
mental freeness was an enermy of the
state. De Necker since his election to
the Mayor's office he has done
nothing more than well serving people of
Gwanda. From early age he
demonstrated good leadership qualities that could
be of great use to the
state in the near future. But this stands questioned
with the current ZANU
PF defence forces state.
The radical Kudakwashe
Munengiwa popularly known for his scandal in COPAC of
threatening to strip
nacked to proove that he is male, is also in the run.
He also voiced out
basic principles that a country should abide by in order
to be rendered free
and fair. Thus in its essence provoking the ZRP which
have now resorted to
putting him and mayor Deneker behind bars.
Every opposition political
activist in Zimbabwe is regarded as a state
enermy that deserve nothing more
than staying behind bars.
Recently the former Student leader Solomon
Madzore of the MDC-T and some of
his cdes where in hiding because the ZRP
were chasing after them, accusing
them of murder.
For as long as one
is not a ZANU PF cadre he is viewed as a national threat
in the eyes of the
ZRP.
Journalists are not exempt from state enermity in the view of ZRP.
Political
parties have condemned in strongest terms the arrest of The
Standard
reporter Patience Nyangowe and Editor Nevanji Madanhire by the
ZRP.
Welshman Ncube led MDC spokesperson Kurauwone Chiwayi said "Our
party
believes that there could have been ways that the police may have
expressed
their displeasure through reporting to the Voluntary Media Council
, the
Media Information Commission or possibly they may have approached the
courts
for redress as the law on defamation dictates without arresting the
media
practitioners."
"We wish to point that any arrest and detention
of journalists while
carrying out their duties reminds us of the fascist
times where the enemies
of truth and angels of darkness proffered all ways
to disturb the flow of
information" Said Chiwayi
Tsvangirai led MDC
spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora couldn't be reached for
comment.
http://www.financialgazette.co.zw/
Friday, 01 July 2011 10:53
Dumisani
Ndlela, Deputy Editor-in-Chief
ZANU-PF's old guard, with the exception of
President Robert Mugabe, faces an
uncertain future at primary polls likely
to be held before the end of August
as pressure mounts for the infusion of
new blood ahead of possible elections
to end a trouble-torn inclusive
government. The move is said to be meant to
enhance the former liberation
war party's chances of overturning a combined
victory by the Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) formations in the 2008
harmonised elections.
This
comes as it emerged that the party's election machinery has been oiled
for a
possible election this year despite apparent agitation for a national
vote
to be held after electoral and constitutional reforms expected to be
completed next year.
ZANU-PF has already started laying the ground for
possible primary elections
before the end of August. This would be a month
in advance of an expected
referendum on the national constitution as agreed
by principals to the
Global Political Agreement (GPA), the document that
culminated in the
formation of the inclusive government and laid the ground
rules for the
democratisation of the country's political arena.
The
Financial Gazette can exclusively reveal that pressure has been brought
to
bear on the party's old guard - blamed for weakening ZANU-PF by fanning
internecine factional fights within the party's rank and file - to pave way
for new blood to revatilise and unify the fractious party ahead of
make-or-break national polls.
The feeling among members of a crack team
led by Retired Air Marshal Henry
Muchena, appointed ZANU-PF director early
this year, is that the
socialist-leaning party has lost ground to rivals
because of the imposition
of tired political figures with nothing new to
offer to an expectant
electorate.
Muchena's team is therefore determined
to open the floodgates to young Turks
that are impatiently skulking in the
periphery for a chance on leadership
positions.
ZANU-PF critics say the
party's major letdown has been its failure to renew
itself by attracting
young leaders to understudy the current crop of leaders
and subsequently
take over.
But there are also fears that the restructuring could widen the
rift between
the young Turks and the old guard if not handled properly. rom
Page 1
Despite benefiting from the land reforms, most members of the old
guard
still survive on politics and are still to sort out their retirement
plans,
hence, they are unlikely to step aside without a fight.
Muchena's
team, whose brief is shrouded in secrecy even among some of the
most senior
members of the party, has assured President Mugabe that the
primaries would
this time around produce an outcome reflecting the will of
the
people.
ZANU-PF bigwigs claiming Godfather status in their respective
provinces have
been rebuked for undermining the party by imposing candidates
against the
will of the people and have been told to stay away from the
primary election
process to avoid embarrassment.
Insiders within the
party said the message from Muchena's team has been loud
and clear: No one
would be allowed to meddle in internal party elections
after the current
crop of leaders failed to secure President Mugabe victory
in the 2008
elections.
President Mugabe lost to Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai in
March, but the
MDC-T leader failed to garner enough votes to be declared a
winner, forcing
a run-off in June that was won by the incumbent after the
former trade
unionist pulled out because of alleged violence against his
supporters.
In the last election, the party witnessed a discrepant voting
pattern that
suggested factionalism had undermined the vote against the
party's
Presidential candidate.
Sources indicated that the party's
election directorate has been placed on
notice for possible primary
elections to be superintended by Muchena's team.
Muchena was seconded to the
party headquarters early this year even before
his resignation from the Air
Force of Zimbabwe to contain factionalism,
which has distressed President
Mugabe, endorsed at the last congress as the
party's Presidential candidate
in forthcoming elections.
Muchena, a veteran of Zimbabwe's liberation war, is
working closely with a
cabal of trusted retired and serving service chiefs
to ensure that top
provincial leaders are proscribed from interfering with
the primary election
process.
The move comes as hostilities between the
army and former opposition leader,
Prime Minister Tsvangirai, escalated,
with the army insisting that President
Mugabe should rule for life.
The
military has already sounded early warnings that it would be going for
broke
to thwart any prospects for Tsvangirai in forthcoming polls,
statements that
have bolstered the MDC-T's call for reforms within the
security
sector.
Tsvangirai, the MDC-T leader, admitted late last year that his party
had
failed to earn the recognition of the former fighters and the serving
security chiefs despite guarantees of protection should his party assume
power.
Top services chiefs have recently intensified their resistance
against a
possible MDC-T leadership in the country, with several of them
making public
pronouncements against the Prime
Minister.
Brigadier-General Douglas Nyikayaramba, who indicated in a recent
interview
with a weekly newspaper that President Mugabe should rule for
life,
described Tsvangirai as "a major security threat" in the
country.
In a retaliatory attack, Tsvangirai told a party rally that
Zimbabwe's
service chiefs were "day dreamers" and that they wanted to
intimidate him
out of the inclusive government so they could "call a snap
election with no
election guidelines and roadmap".
"They (military)
should stop scaring us and intimidating us with empty
threats because we are
not scared," Tsvangirai said.
ZANU-PF secretary for administration, Didymus
Mutasa, confirmed the party
was seized with the issue of elections and that
a Politburo meeting that was
planned for yesterday to discuss the issue had
been called off because of
the absence of President Mugabe.
The Politburo
is ZANU-PF's decision-making body in-between congresses.
"It's what we were
going to discuss at the Politburo meeting, but we've not
sat down because
the Politburo meeting has been called off," said Mutasa.
He indicated that
once the Politburo discussed the issue of primary
elections, it would be
tabled immediately before the Central Committee and
then the National
Consultative Assembly. These meetings, said Mutasa, would
be held "one after
the other".
"That resolution (not to impose candidates), was agreed at the
ZANU-PF
conference in Mutare in December," said Mutasa.
The Central
Committee is the policy-making organ of the party while the
National
Consultative Assembly comprises of members of the Central
Committee,
National Assembly of the Women's League and their deputies, the
10
provincial executive councils and former members of the Central Committee
on
account of their contribution to the liberation struggle or development
of
the country after independence.
The assembly receives, hears and debates any
major matters of policy as the
President or the Central Committee from time
to time determine. It also
makes recommendations to the Central Committee on
any matters of policy
relating to the party or government.
It meets at
least twice a year.
Rugare Gumbo, the party's spokesperson, said he could not
discuss issues
that had not yet been tabled before the Politburo.
"We
have not deliberated on that (primary elections) because the Politburo
did
not meet so I can't comment," said Gumbo.
ZANU-PF's secretary for the
commissariat, Webster Shamu, said he could not
comment on the issue unless
he is authorised to do so by Gumbo.
http://www.dailynews.co.zw
By Leigh Pauline
Saturday, 02 July 2011
11:51
HARARE - Media freedom lobby groups say the fresh crackdown on
journalists
is a sign that media freedom is sliding backwards under the
coalition
government despite promises at its inception to open it up.
The
country’s political parties agreed under the Global Political Agreement
(GPA) to repeal repressive media laws and reform other laws that affect the
media.
The Media Institute of Southern Africa (Misa) chairperson
Loughty Dube said
the arrest of journalist this week is an act of
intimidation.
“The continued harassment of journalists is a wider
campaign to intimidate
the media,” said Dube saying the police should use
appropriate mechanisms to
lodge complaints against the media.
The
Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ) said the arrest of Standard
journalists
this week is a telling sign that the situation for journalists
might get
worse as the country draws close to elections.
“There is a lot of freedom
of speech in the country but the question is, is
there freedom after
speech?” said.
Forster Dongozi, ZUJ secretary-general adding that
“freedom of speech is not
tolerated by the authorities” and “is under threat
in the country.”
Dongozi said the attacks on journalists are likely to
increase as the
country draws closer to elections.
He said the fresh
attacks on freedom of speech are “scare tactics” designed
to intimidate
opposition to the government saying the arrests of journalists
this week is
a fresh attempt to “crush or crack anything that gets in the
way.”
Nevanji Madanhire, the editor of the weekly Standard newspaper
was on
Thursday charged of criminal defamation. The charges are related to a
story
published in his paper under the headline, “MDC T fears for missing
Timba’s
life.”
Iden Witherell, Chairman of the Zimbabwe National
Editors Forum (Znef) said
the arrest is a sign of opposition to media
freedom and need to be fought.
“The essence of a democratic system lies
in the ability of voters to make an
informed decision at the polls, that
means they should have access to a
diversity of views,” said
Witherell.
“The arrest of journalists and editors represents a severe
curtailment of
the democratic process and needs to be resisted every step of
the way so
Zimbabweans can exercise the liberties to which they are
entitled, most
notably freedom of expression.”
The government has so
far failed to deliver on promises to free up the
media. Under the GPA
political parties agreed to license new newspapers,
radio stations and
recognise the crucial role that the media plays in
multi-party
democracy.”
However, although a host of newspapers have been licensed no
single
broadcasting licence has been issued and no media law has so far been
changed.
The Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act
(Aippa), considered
one of the most repressive media laws in the region, has
routinely been used
to silence the media.
A Zanu PF politburo member
was this week said to be plotting the arrest of
the country’s top
journalists from the independent Press including the Daily
News.
A
day after the Daily News warned of the plot against journalists, the two
from the Standard were arrested.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Seven more people were recently
charged in Seshego Magistrates following the
stoning to death of Zimbabwean
Godfrey Sibanda two weeks ago.
02.07.1101:34pm
Mkhululi
Chimoio
This brings the number of people charged for the xenophobic
attack to 19,
including one ANC official.
Last week, six houses
allegedly illegally occupied by foreigners were set on
fire in the area.
About 20 Zimbabweans, including women and kids escaped
with their lives and
are now staying at the Polokwane Police Station. All of
their belongings
were burnt by the mob.
Polokwane Police Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said,
“We arrested the
suspected ringleader behind the burning of the RDP houses
and he will be
charged with arson. This week we arrested seven more suspects
following the
death of Godfrey Sibanda.”
Last month Provincial ANC
spokesman David Masondo said, “I am shocked and
disgusted by the killing of
a Zimbabwean national in what appears to be a
struggle over jobs and housing
Seshego. Such violent acts are not are
unacceptable because they are
incompatible with the democratic South Africa
we fought for.
“The
allegation that the Zimbabwean killed two South Africans during a
robbery is
not justification for South Africans to take law into their own
hands. We
call on all South Africans to refrain from further attacks.”
All 19 face
charges of incitement, public violence, malicious damage to
property, arson
and murder. The councillor and 11 others are out on bail and
will be back in
court on 16 August.
http://www.radiovop.com/
9 hours 36 minutes
ago
Harare, July 02, 2011 – 31 disadvantaged students are set to
attend top
American Universities following the unveiling of $7 million worth
of
scholarships by the United States Embassy.
The students, drawn
from the country’s 10 provinces, were praised by Prime
Minister, Morgan
Tsvangirai, for earning places at top American
universities and
colleges.
The US Student Achievers Program (USAP) is run by the Embassy’s
Public
Affair Section in Harare.
Among the 2011 USAP group, three
students are physically disabled, several
are the heads of their households
having lost both parents,
and others are the offspring of street and market
vendors.
One scholarship recipient worked as a gold panner to pay his A’
level fees
and another will be the first Zimbabwean student in a
wheelchair
to study in the United States.
“Today we celebrate the
potential of education to change our nations’
futures. This is a ceremony
to mark the meeting of merit and
opportunity, as well as the power of
investing in the capacity of our youth
for the future of society,” said
Charles Ray, US Ambassador to
Zimbabwe.
“And while we do this, it is
also an opportunity to note the impact of
positive cooperation between our
two nations, Zimbabwe and the United
States of America. Education is crucial
to the success of both countries.
As we share education resources for the
benefit of our
young citizens, we both grow stronger.”
Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai was guest of honor at the event and hailed
the USAP
initiative while encouraging students to exhibit the
true Zimbabwean spirit
of hospitality and hard work.
“You must know that as your Prime Minister,
I attended a humble primary
school in rural Buhera and I did not have the
great
opportunity afforded to you today. So go and be good students, respect
your
hosts and work hard. Exhibit the true Zimbabwean spirit, that
of
hospitality and hard-work. Be vigilant,” said the Prime
Minister.
In his congratulatory message, the Education, Sports, Arts and
Culture
Minister, David Coltart, welcomed U.S. support to education
in
Zimbabwe.
“This year’s scholarship awards will enable more students
to pursue their
goals and career paths through higher education, something
they
might not otherwise have been able to do. Indeed, this generous support
is
particularly welcome at a time when families are facing
increased
financial pressures,” wrote the minister.
The US Student Achievers
Programme (USAP) is a one-year intensive counseling
program that assists
academically talented but economically
disadvantaged A’ level students to
obtain full scholarships to top US
colleges and universities.
The
programme helps the students research the best academic programs for
their
talents, prepare for standardized American university
entrance exams, and
write application essays.
The US Student Achiever Program (USAP),
established in 1999 in Zimbabwe, has
been replicated by 15 other US
Embassies around the
world, including Embassies in Bangladesh, Brazil,
Colombia, Ecuador, Latvia,
Madagascar, Malawi, Mongolia, Nigeria, South
Africa, Uganda,
and Zambia.
Since it began in Harare, over 200
Zimbabwean students have won full
scholarships covering tuition and fees,
room and board, books and
other expenses for four year bachelor degree
studies in the U.S.
Sir Ronald Sanders
Published: Jul
02, 2011
At midnight on April 18, 1980 as the flag of independent Zimbabwe was raised for the first time, Tanzania’s president, Julius Nyerere, told the new prime minister, Robert Mugabe, that he had inherited “the jewel of Africa.” Since then the “jewel” has become extremely tarnished. Today, Zimbabwe has the highest ratio of debt to GDP in the world, its talented people have fled the country and so too have hundreds of thousands of its unskilled workers. “Catastrophe: what went wrong in Zimbabwe?” is the title of a soon to be released book by Richard Bourne, senior research fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies at London University. The book will be published by Zed Books, London. Much has already been written about Zimbabwe and its decline since its independence in 1980. There is also a great deal of literature on Southern Rhodesia, as Zimbabwe was known before independence, particularly the Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) by a white minority regime led by Ian Smith. What has not yet been attempted is an account of how a country that emerged with such international goodwill and with considerable natural resources and markets for its products could decline so drastically in 30 years. Bourne’s book is a well-researched investigation of this question. The contention of the book is that the central cause of Zimbabwe’s problems – what caused the racism that characterized the country as Southern Rhodesia; what bedeviled the constitutional conference leading to its independence; and what eventually led to its economic collapse, political instability and human rights atrocities – is land. Cecil John Rhodes was one of the biggest rogues to have entered Africa. The Rhodes scholarship, which he endowed at Oxford University, was provided on the back of the most nefarious land grab, in what is now Zimbabwe, ever orchestrated by one man. In 1888, he duped King Lobengula of the Ndebele into signing over to Rhodes’ chartered company complete charge over the metals and minerals in his kingdom “together with full power to do all things that they may deem necessary to win and procure the same”. At the point of a gun thereafter, he proceeded
to displace Africans from their land and had no compunction in calling the land
he seized “Rhodesia”, after himself. |
Clifford Chitupa Mashiri, 02/07/11
It was shocking to learn that
Zimbabwe’s coalition Cabinet has approved the
Electoral Amendment Bill which
bars those in the Diaspora from voting in the
next elections. Even more
scary is the possibility that the offending Bill
could be fast-tracked
through Parliament after it was gazetted on Monday
27th June 2011 and become
law soon.
We pray that the Parliamentary Legal Committee will find the
intention of
the Bill to be discriminatory and inconsistent with the
Constitution. The
Bill is favouring those said to be in public service
abroad while punishing
those abroad who supported the country through
remittance of billions of
foreign currency and food at a time when Zimbabwe
was on its knees. It would
be a very BIG mistake if the Parliament passes
the Bill in its present
retrogressive form.
MPs may want to remember
some mistakes of the first Parliament of Zimbabwe
which have had drastic
consequences for the country starting with the
removal of dual citizenship
from the Constitution which barred the Diaspora
vote possibly contributing
to the indecisive elections leading to today’s
GNU. Then there was the
amendment of the Constitution to provide for an
executive presidency whose
powers have caused serious problems including
undermining the rule of law,
human rights and coming to the rescue of
Zanu-pf party at election time. For
example Robert Mugabe has more electoral
powers than more than one million
ordinary Zimbabweans by virtue of his
presidential powers to appoint 30
parliamentarians when 6 million voters can
only choose less than 180
parliamentarians.
Legal efforts to reverse the militarization of
elections suffered a major
blow in 2002 after MDC president Morgan
Tsvangirai requested that all staff
members of the Electoral Supervisory
Commission of the registrar General who
were members of the defence forces,
police, or prison services ‘immediately’
cease to act in such capacity.
However, the ‘urgent chamber application’
made on 1 March 2002 was not
proceeded with after the provisions of the
Electoral Act were amended by
Robert Mugabe on March 5, 2002 through a
Statutory Instrument No. 41D:
Electoral Act (Modification) Notice, 2002
(pursuant to S158 of the Electoral
Act).
By 2001 President Robert Mugabe had legislated 450 times by decree
through
Statutory Instruments covering various Acts of Parliament including
the
Electoral Act (See The Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum Special Report:
Enforcing the Rule of Law in Zimbabwe, September 2001, page 22 of 56). As
would be expected, said the ZHR NGO Forum, in such heavy use of Statutory
Instruments, there have been errors and more worrying
illegalities.
The prerogative of mercy is another area in which Robert
Mugabe has “bent
the law” to his own purposes said the ZHR NGO Forum. Of all
his personal
pardons, GN457A/2000 most angered ordinary Zimbabweans. On 6
October 2000,
the President amnestied those involved in political violence
from the
beginning of January to the end of July 2000, covering both the
Constitutional Referendum and the General Election but reportedly declining
to include members of ZAPU imprisoned for some 15 years on similar charges
(The Financial Gazette, 19/10/00). Some 1 300 people were thought to have
been amnestied, but Government played down on the numbers.
Sometimes
legal redress expected under the best practice model appears very
straightforward only to be soon shrouded in mystery. For instance, in
Buhera North, the High Court declared that the Zanu-pf candidate, Kenneth
Manyonda had not been duly elected, thereby vindicating the petitioner the
MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, however, Zanu-pf appealed. After the appeal
was filed, the tapes of the court record were stolen from a locked office at
the High Court, and the judge’s notebooks mysteriously went missing and the
case was never heard by the Supreme Court.
On December 8, 2000, after
the legal process had begun, Mugabe attempted to
cancel, under the Electoral
Act s158 all the MDC’s legal challenges to the
June 2000 election results
(Statutory Instrument 318/2000, Electoral Act
(Modification) No3 Notice 2000
(Regulations) although it was not issued
under the Presidential Powers
(Temporary Measures Act.
It is therefore, important that before
elections, Zimbabwe should abolish or
curtail the use of presidential
temporary powers and amnesty for political
crimes.
©Clifford Chitupa
Mashiri, Political Analyst, London,
zimanalysis2009@gmail.com