2010 07 01 -
http://www.zimeye.org/?p=18972
By Carl-Mhlanga
for ZimEye.org
Published: July 1, 2010
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South-End-On-Sea
(ZimEye)
Stanford Biti has admitted for
the first time that he attacked MDC leaders in the United Kingdom with a bunch
of eggs. His admission comes just before an announcement by the head of a
financial investigation commission Tuesday, that they have now finalised their
findings on allegations of misappropriation of party funds in the United
Kingdom.
Said Biti:
” …actually if you want to take
the point of attacking, it could have been a reaction. They attacked us. They
know what they did to the money. We asked for an explanation which they failed
to give, which to me is an attack to me… its like when you see a motor vehicle
coming to crash you… its the way you react. Its either you push back the motor
car, or you crush into the motor car. That’s exactly what happened. Its a
reaction. They had battered us Asylum Seekers. They had screwed our money. They
even demanded that we should pay with our bodies.”
Defending himself, Biti added:
”Izzi Miyambi(right-in sun
glasses) tried to get hold of me, but fortunately enough nearly everyone at
Milton Keynes had eggs in bags; and that is how I could save myself, throw the
eggs at them. And you can actually tell that- how can one egg hit six people
(Q)
And all of them, could they not
run away (Q)
There could have been something
- they cornered me, and I eventually found the weakest point and ran away.
Biti was a ring leader in the
group that raised concerns over an alleged money scandal in MDC and caused
havoc at a Milton Keynes meeting in September last year leading to an egg
attack on the leaders. The police were called just before Biti had disappeared
from the scene. Soon afterwards, he claimed the leaders were about to kill him.
“They have torn all my
trousers…” Biti told ZimEye last year on the day of the attack, saying that he
had fled away from a Milton Keynes meeting on foot to ‘the coach station’,
about 3 miles away adding that the MDC’s senior leadership had cornered him
preparing to kill him (http://www.zimeye.org/?p=8939) . According to Biti, MDC
national Chairman, Jonathan Chawora, Peter Matsa, Custom Magaya, and the
treasurer, Gonese who he said are collaborating with Robert Mugabe had all
forced him into a corner ‘ preparing to kill’ him.
Stanford brother to Zimbabwe’s
finance minister hinted that he is fighting a just cause and that the MDC
leadership has been infiltrated by CIO operatives who are collaborating to
destablise the party. Asked what he will do in event that the commission of
inquiry’s report find no financial misconduct and rules that Chawora and Mateo
be re-instated, Biti said that he together with others will fight such a
ruling.
“That will be against the
wishes of the people. That will be a failure in the MDC…Why are we fighting
corruption if they are going to to -reinstate those people?”
“The same way we have reacted
with the Chaworas is the same we are going to react with the leadership,” he
said.
On Tuesday, HON minister,
Samuel Sipepa Nkomo head of the investigating commission, said that they have
now finished their findings and have now handed over their report to the party
president Morgan Tsvangirai.
“Its out of my hands now. I
submitted the report to the Prime Minister. I am done.” Minister Nkomo said
without going into further details.
Biti said he is being
politically persecuted by the district leadership:
” We continue to be persecuted
as a branch, I continue to be persecuted as a straight forward chairman as you
want to put it.”
Stanford Biti’s branch has been
suspended over the past 16 months.
“On the issue that our branch
is suspended. We are not suspended as a branch. I wonder which constitution are
the people who are saying our branch is suspended…which constitution they are
using (Q)
it is very difficult to suspend
a branch. There ought to be some recommendations and reasons why a branch is
suspended,” said Biti, also defying his own suspension as a branch chairman by
the district leaders.
A big rift in family
“We have had a big rift in the
family because of my stance on financial mismanagement in the UK, which is
something that has affected relationships in my family… it’s something which I
would like to comment about, what is actually happening…” Biti said
Claiming persecution, Stanford,
who is also Finance Minister Tendai Biti’s young brother, continues to hold
meetings despite a suspension of both himself and his branch but has distanced
his actions from his brother. (ZimEye, UK)
2010 07 01 -
http://news.radiovop.com/index.php/national-news/4123.html
Investigator In Diamond
Activist's Case Asks For More Time
01/07/2010 16:06:00 Millie
Phiri
Harare, July 01, 2010
A police investigator in the
case of diamond research activist, Farai Maguwu, on Thursday said he failed to
meet diamond monitor Abbey Chikane last week further delaying investigations in
the state's case, the court heard.
Maguwu has been further
remanded in custody to Friday by Harare magistrate Don Ndirowei where he will
make a ruling on whether he will be granted bail.Detective Inspector, Henry
Sostein Dowa told the court that he failed to meet Kimberley Process diamond
monitor, Chikane in South Africa to investigate on the monitors meetings with
Maguwu.
"I went South Africa , I
missed him ( Chikane)," Dowa told the court."He had gone to Israel to
attend a conference. I would want a statement regarding the conversation he had
with Maguwu and the documents he was given."
The prosecution and the police
had said they needed time to complete their investigations, which the defence
had argued has been delayed to 'fix' their client, who had been denied bail
since his arrest early last month.
However, Dowa argued that
Maguwu and his lawyers were refusing to cooperate thereby delaying
investigations. He cited refusal by the defence to give out passwords for the
confisticated computer.
"Maguwu and his defence
are prolonging investigations because they are refusing to cooperate with us.
If you do not cooperate your investigations will be prolonged," Dowa said.
Maguwu is facing charges of
publishing falsehoods against the state with the intention of 'prejudicing'
security and economic interests of Zimbabwe.
On Wednesday Maguwu told the
court that Dowa and his team of investigators camped at his house, at his food
supplies and slept on his bed while he was languishing in prison.
Henry dowa is a notorious
Zimbabwean police torturer.
In May 2003 REDRESS, an
international non-governmental organisation, learnt that he was in Kosovo.
In June 2003 REDRESS dispatched
a comprehensive dossier to the head of the United Nations Interim
Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) civilian police force (CIVPOL). CIVPOL
is made up of several thousand police officers drawn from UN member states
including Zimbabwe.
The report comprised of
shocking details from Zimbabwe toruture survivors detailing how they had
suffered at Dowa's hands. They had been subjected to electric shock toruture
and beatings on the bare soles of the feet.
In September of the same year
the UN asked the Zimbabwe government to withdraw Dowa.
The report also noted that it
was concerned that if Dowa returned to Zimbabwe he would not be brought to
justice as the rule of law did not exist.
Nothing happened to him even
though the Kosovo courts, under the authority of UNMIK had jurisdiction over
Dowa in regard to allegations of torture in Zimbabwe. UNMIK refused to pursue
the criminal prosecution on the grounds of 'scarce resources'.
2010 07 02 -
http://www.newzimbabwe.com/NEWS-2749-Police+condemn+Mutasa,+Makone/NEWS.aspx
02/07/2010 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter
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Warned ... Didymus Mutasa
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POLICE have slammed presidential
affairs minister Didymus Mutasa and his Home Affairs colleague, Theresa Makone,
after the two tried to get Mutasa’s son, who faces allegations of fraud,
released from police custody.
Mutasa, a key ally of President
Robert Mugabe and Makone, recently assigned to the home affairs portfolio by
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, are said to have visited police stations in
Mbare on Wednesday demanding the release of Mutasa’s son, Martin.
However ZRP spokesman, Wayne
Bvudzijena warned the two and said police would not brook any interference in
their work by government ministers.
"The Zimbabwe Republic
Police views seriously the behaviour of the two ministers which sought to
interfere with police work, particularly as the ministers sought to protect
accused person facing charges of wantonly seizing property outside the law and
threatening others," Bvudzijena said.
Martin is accused with
businessman Temba Mliswa - said to be minister Mutasa’s nephew - and a third individual,
of illegally seizing shareholding worth US$ 1 million in a company called
Noshio Investments.
The trio was arrested on
Monday.
Ministers Makone and Mutasa
then visited Matapi, Mbare and Stodart police stations where they allegedly
tried to intimidate officers into releasing them.
The two however, appeared in
court on Thursday and were granted US$ 400 bail each but remain in custody as
the state considers appealing the decision.
Meanwhile, the court heard that
Martin and Temba - vice president of the Affirmative Action Group (AAG)
claimed to Paul Westwood, a
director in Noshio, that they had been given permission by President Robert
Mugabe and Empowerment Minister Saviour Kasukuwereto take over the businessman’s
50 percent interest in the company.
Prosecutors told the court that
in October 2009, Westwood was involved in a shareholders' spat with a co-owner
of the company, Hammarskjold Banda, after Banda’s wife allegedly
misappropriated funds.
The wife was suspended but the
decision which infuriated the couple who then connived with Mliswa, Mutasa and
a third individual to elbow Westwood out of the business.
Prosecutors alleged Mliswa,
Martin Mutasa and three other individuals went to Noshio Investments’ offices
in December last year claiming Minister Kasukuwere had allowed them to take
over the company.
Mliswa is said to have further
claimed President Mugabe was aware of the takeover adding it was in line with
government policy.
They told Westwood they had
taken over 50 percent of the company’s shares and threatened him with death if
he resisted the seizure.
The court heard that Mliswa
then called a meeting with Noshio workers where he informed them he had assumed
control and warned them against taking orders from Westwood.
It is alleged that Mliswa
further threatened Westwood, who stopped visiting the company premises after
bouncers were hired to man the entrance.
Westwood is said to have been
prejudiced of shares worth US$ 1 050 000.
2010 06 24 -
The Financial Gazette
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http://www.financialgazette.co.zw/top-stories/4575-zanu-pf-dissolves-succession-committee.html
Thursday, 24 June 2010 15:20
Staff Reporter
ZANU-PF has dissolved a
committee constituted last year to manage its divisive succession politics in a
move that entrenches President Robert Mugabe’s leadership and effectively kills
any attempts to replace him. The Financial Gazette can exclusively reveal that
the Politburo Succession Committ-ee that was widely seen as aimed at avoiding a
major fallout within the liberation war party should the President and first
secretary of ZANU-PF leave office, has also been incapacitated by mistrusts
within the grouping whose members have vested interests in the top post.
ZANU-PF Politburo member,
Didymus Mutasa, and the party’s national spokesperson, Rugare Gumbo, this week
confirmed the dissolution of the committee
“Committee yesuccession hapana
zvayakazoita (the succession committee never got off the ground), it was found
to be unnecessary,” said Mutasa.
Gumbo also added his voice
saying the committee was rendered “unnecessary”. “The committee has never met
since it was constituted last year. There was a reason (for its establishment)
then, but it was later felt it was unnecessary, maybe in future, ichauya hayo
(it will be re-established),” said Gumbo.
The succession committee was
ironically composed of ZANU-PF stalwarts with power ambitions who included
Vice-President John Nkomo, the party’s secretary for legal affairs, Emmerson
Mnangagwa, former army commander, Solomon Mujuru, Women's League chairperson, Oppah
Muchinguri, secretary for national security, Sydney Sekeramai, and Mutasa.
Nkomo once expressed his
interest to take over the reigns of the party should President Mugabe
relinquish power, a post also eyed by the former army commander’s wife,
Vice-President Joice Mujuru and Mnangagwa.
The succession issue has always
been a hot potato in ZANU-PF that resulted in a witch-hunt in 2004, after some
provincial chairpersons were sacked for allegedly plotting against the party’s
leadership in the so-called Tsholotsho saga.
This is not the first time such
a committee has failed to tackle the succession issue.
A similar committee was
dissolved in 2003 as the party ran towards a drama-filled 2004 congress.
A source in the party’s higher
echelons said the latest succession committee was a toothless bulldog.
The source added that the party
had to keep quiet of the succession issue as there were growing fears that the
matter might tear ZANU-PF apart after fierce debates had rocked Politburo
meetings over the procedure to choose President Mugabe’s successor.
The latest dissolution of the
committee comes at a time ZANU-PF is seeking to advocate unlimited tenure in
office for the President in the new constitution and that executive authority
be vested in the President and Cabinet.
2010 07 01 -
http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/Content.aspx?id=113510
HANS PIENAAR
PUBLISHED: 2010/07/01 02:04:45
PM
It is a “shameful business” to
hear that the vuvuzela, which is part of South African sport and customs, is
mostly being made in China, says Stellenbosch University theologian and former
politician Allan Boesak.
Dr Boesak was responding to
questions about the World Cup at the handing over of a report on his three-year
long globalisation research project to Archbishop emeritus Desmond Tutu in Cape
Town today. Entitled “Dreaming a Different World”, it was co-presented by Dr
Johann Weusmann, vice-president of the Evangelical Reformed Church in Germany.
Dr Boesak said, while pointing
to Archbishop Tutu who was wearing a Bafana Bafana sport shirt, that SA had
just fought long battles to have the vuvuzela endorsed as a “part of our South
African culture” in the face of complaints and attempts to get it banned at
World Cup events, when the news came that it was mostly being made in China.
Earlier he had highlighted the
plight of the South African textile industry, where thousands of jobs had been
lost due to cheap clothing imports from China. The industry was one of the case
studies taken up in the project’s report.
“If the vuvuzela had been made
here, how many jobs would have been saved?” Dr Boesak asked. “I cannot
understand why we give in so easily to foreign pressure”, when it comes to
South Africa’s local products.
“It makes me wonder what else
is being signed away?” Dr Boesak asked.
“Dreaming a different world” is
an emanation of the Accra Confession, a status confessionis drawn up in 2004 in
Accra, which defined the global economic injustices leading to vast
inequalities between the North and the South, or developed and developing
countries, as a sin against God.
The Accra Confession was
re-endorsed last week during the launch of the new 80-million strong World
Council of Reformed Churches as part of the articles of faith that every member
has to adopt, along with the Belhar Confession against apartheid, in which Dr
Boesak was the driving force.
The Evangelical Reformed Church
in Germany embarked on a project to study the effects of globalisation in the
context of the Accra Confession in 2007, and decided to partner up with the
Uniting Reformed Church in SA to get a proper perspective from a developing
country.
Both Dr Boesak and Dr Weusmann
admitted there were strong disagreements, but that these had been sorted out
over the past six months. “Both churches have now accepted this as our common
good. We realise it is unfinished business, because this report won’t change
the world.”
Much of the “very activist”
report is devoted to economic issues, and is explicitly meant as ammunition in
what is seen as the battle against domination of a world financial elite that
is operating according to an “empire logic”. Just as Christ rose against the
Roman empire, it is the duty of Christians to resist the new global capitalist
empire, its writers say.
Separate chapters are devoted
to the global food crisis, financial markets (“closing the financial casino”),
global water affairs, ecology and militarism. It sets out a detailed programme
for international controls for “breaking the dominance of financial markets
over the real economy”.
Archbishop Tutu put the report in
the context of climate change, saying the countries “most responsible for
devastating changes are the least vulnerable to the consequences, of which the
price is being paid by the poor and the weak”.
He also raised the matter of
the Russian spy arrests in the US. “It was like a replay of an old movie. We
thought we had moved on to greater equality, that we would all work together,
but the end of the Cold War had filled us with false hope.”
2010 07 01 -
http://www.talkzimbabwe.com/biti-admits-has-no-anti-corruption-policy-cms-530
By: Our reporter
Posted: Thursday, July 1, 2010
11:39 pm
INCREASINGLY frustrated Finance
Minister Tendai Biti says his ministry does not have a credible anti-corruption
policy, and is finding it hard to find a credible way of rooting it out within
the civil service.
Mr Biti complains that
corruption has become part of the civil service culture, adding that he is
close to powerless when it comes to fighting corruption in Zimbabwe.
"The solution goes beyond
the legal solution, because you can have 20 anti-corruption commissions in
Zimbabwe but you cannot stop corruption," Mr Biti said, in response to a
media question about whether his ministry had a credible anti-corruption
policy.
The minister fell short of
admitting that he was not doing anything at all to contain corruption.
The highly pessimistic Minister
- who at one point wanted Zimbabwe declared a Highly Indebted Poor Country
despite its natural resources wealth - said an anti-corruption programme in any
case would be complicated.
"You need to deal with the
structural issues that are at the epicentre of corruption. We need to deal with
the corruption drivers," Mr Biti said.
"Some of the problems are
shortages in this non-performing economy. This creates distortions and
shortages and that is when middlemen arise. We have to deliver and match
demand. We are now used to shortcuts," the Minister added.
"There are so many people
who now have false role models, where you find a crook driving a Hummer, and
you think that is a role model," he lamented.
2010 07 01 -
Select Committee Co-Chairman
Douglas Mwonzora said that after a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Arthur
Mutambara about problems in the outreach process, the three governing parties
would seek to resolve them
Gibbs Dube
Washington 01 July 2010
Two weeks into Zimbabwe's
constitutional revision public consultation process, the parliamentary select
committee in charge of the operation is seeking US$ 3 million in supplementary
funding for equipment and travel expenses from the government and the United
Nations Development Fund, sources said Thursday.
Select Committee Co-Chairman
Douglas Mwonzora told VOA that following a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister
Arthur Mutambara about problems in the outreach process, the three governing
parties were expected to meet to try to resolve them, especially that of
political intimidation violence which has cropped up in certain areas.
In Bindura, Mashonaland
Central, state security agents were said to have hijacked the process. Bindura
resident Saymore Mhene said security agents had taken over meetings at some
locations.
Themba Sibanda, a freelance
journalist based in Bulawayo who has been following the outreach in
Matabeleland, said participants in meetings have been confused by the talking
points outreach teams are using, which present ordinary Zimbabweans with
various options that they are sufficiently prepared to assess.
Sibanda said most people in the
Sitezi communal lands in Gwanda West district, Plumtree town and the Umguza
communal lands have been giving one-word responses as they do not understand
the issues.
He said those people
undertaking the exercise need to explain such issues to the public.
Branches of Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change formation outside Zimbabwe
will be launching constitutional revision outreach programs in the next few
days despite short funding.
Maxwell Shumba, chairman of the
MDC executive committee for the United States, said outreach programs are
shortly to begin there as well as in Ireland, Britain and South Africa.
Shumba said his party has
received copies of the talking points from outreach organizers. He said the
party hopes to involve all Zimbabweans in its outreach drive whatever their
political affiliation.
Shumba told VOA Studio 7
reporter Gibbs Dube that although the party faces financial challenges it hopes
to run programs in most parts of the world.
For perspective on the troubled
outreach exercise, VOA Studio 7 reporter Sandra Nyaira turned to Joy Mabenge of
the Institute for a Democratic Alternative for Zimbabwe and Emelia Muchawa of
the Women’s Coalition, who said her organization was concerned that in certain
areas the process has not been entirely free.
2010 07 01 -
http://www.talkzimbabwe.com/minister-mutasas-son-mliswa-remanded-in-custody-cms-528
By: TH-TZG
Posted: Thursday, July 1, 2010
11:12 pm
PRESIDENTIAL Affairs Minister
Didymus Mutasa and Home Affairs co-Minister Theresa Makone on Wednesday went to
Mbare, Matapi and Stodart police stations allegedly demanding the release of
Mutasa’s son.
Martin Mutasa (47) was arrested
on Monday along with businessman Temba Mliswa (38) and George Marere (36) for
allegedly seizing shareholding worth US$ 1 million in a company.
Mliswa is a nephew to Minister
Mutasa.
Three other people - including
a director of the company and his wife - have since been arrested on the same
charges.
Martin Mutasa, Mliswa and
Marere appeared before a Harare magistrate yesterday.
However, according to police,
on Wednesday Ministers Mutasa and Makone tried to "intimidate"
officers into releasing Martin Mutasa.
Article continues below
Chief police spokesperson
Senior Assistant Commissioner Wayne Bvudzijena yesterday said: "The
Zimbabwe Republic Police views seriously the behaviour of the two ministers
which sought to interfere with police work, particularly as the ministers
sought to protect accused person facing charges of wantonly seizing property
outside the law and threatening others."
Snr Asst Comm Bvudzijena said
the behaviour contravened Section 184 (1) of the Criminal Law (Codification and
Reform) Act by defeating or obstructing the course of justice.
The law states that any person
who "by an act of omission, causes judicial proceedings to be defeated or
obstructed, intending to defeat or obstruct the proceedings or realising that
there is a real risk or possibility that the proceedings may be defeated or
obstructed; or;
"Knowing that a police
officer is investigating the commission of a crime or realising that there is a
real risk or possibility that a police officer may be investigating the
commission or suspected commission of a crime, and who, by any act or omission,
causes such investigation to be defeated or obstructed, intending to defeat or
obstruct the investigation or realising that there is real risk or possibility
that the investigation maybe defeated or obstructed;
"Hinders or disturbs a
police officer in the execution of his or her duty, knowing that the police
officer is a police officer executing his or her duty or realising that there
is a real risk or possibility that the police officer may be a police officer
executing his or her duty; shall be guilty of defeating or obstructing the
course of justice."
Snr Asst Comm Bvudzijena would
not disclose what action they were taking against the ministers.
Martin Mutasa, Mliswa and
Marere yesterday appeared before Harare magistrate Mr Don Ndirowei to answer to
fraud charges.
They were granted US$ 400 bail
each, but will remain in custody after the State invoked Section 121 of the
Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act.
The section empowers the State
to keep suspects in remand prison for seven days while it considers appealing
against the granting of bail.
The trio is represented by
lawyer Mr Charles Chinyama of Chinyama and Partners while Mrs Phyllis Zvenyika
prosecuted.
Minister Mutasa made an
appearance at the courts in the company of his lawyer, Mr Gerald Mlotshwa.
Three others - Hammarskjold
Banda, his wife Brendaly and Alfred Mwatiwamba - last Friday appeared in court
on the same charges and are out of custody on US$ 100 bail.
Mliswa, who is the vice
president of the Affirmative Action Group, is accused of misrepresenting to
businessman Paul Westwood that President Mugabe and Youth, Indigenisation and
Empowerment Minister Saviour Kasukuwere had given them the go-ahead to take
over 50 percent of his company, Noshio Investments Limited.
Westwood held 50 percent of the
company that is valued at US$ 2,1 million while one of the accused, Banda,
owned the other half.
The State alleges that in
October 2009, Westwood and Banda had a dispute over alleged misappropriation of
funds by Banda’s wife, Brendaly, who was the company’s finance and human
resources manager.
She had reportedly withdrawn
US$ 25 000 without Westwood’s knowledge.
The company resolved to suspend
Brendaly in October, a decision that did not go down well with Banda.
It is alleged the husband and
wife connived with Martin Mutasa, Mliswa, Marere and Mwatiwamba to seize control
of the company.
The State says in August 2009,
Banda borrowed US$ 100 000 from Mliswa at 5 percent interest per month.
He, however, allegedly failed
to repay the loan at the agreed rate.
Mliswa is said to have demanded
that he surrender his Noshio shares to him to offset the debt.
On December 18, Mliswa, Martin
Mutasa, Mwatiwamba, Brendaly and a Nigel Murambiwa allegedly went to Noshio
Investments offices claiming Minister Kasukuwere had allowed them to take over
the company.
Mliswa is alleged to have
claimed President Mugabe was aware of the takeover and it was in line with
Government policy.
The five allegedly told
Westwood they had taken 50 percent of the company’s shares and threatened him
with death if he resisted.
The State says Mliswa called a
meeting with Noshio workers during which he informed them he had assumed
control and warned them against taking orders from Westwood.
It is alleged that Mliswa
further threatened Westwood, who stopped visiting the company premises after
bouncers were hired to man the entrance.
As a result, the State alleges,
Westwood lost shareholding worth US$ 1 050 000.
2010 07 01 -
http://www.talkzimbabwe.com/24-mdc-t-members-defect-cms-526
By: TC.
Posted: Thursday, July 1, 2010
8:51 pm
TWENTY-four MDC-T members in
Mbembesi yesterday defected from the party to join the MDC formation led by
Professor Authur Mutambara.
The party members cited MDC-T
leader, Mr Morgan Tsvangirai’s “anti-Matabeleland stance” as the reason for
them to jump ship.
The 24 resigned in front of MDC
member of the national executive, Mr Jeffret Bafana Khumalo, at one of the
party member’s homesteads in Ntabazinduna.
They asked Mr Collen Tshuma,
the Umguza District organising secretary, to hand back the MDC-T membership
cards to the Matabeleland North leadership.
MDC-T spokesperson Mr Nelson
Chamisa said he had not received a report of the defection and said his party
was going strong.
“We did not receive anything
like that (defections) and our party is going strong. We do not have a policy
of sidelining any province because our party is one,” he said.
Article continues below
Mr Tshuma was one of those who
defected alongside Mr Themba Nyathi, who was responsible for information and
publicity in Ward 4, Mr Samson Dube the Ward 5 chairperson, Ward 4 youth
chairman, Mr Nqobizitha Dube, and Mrs Beauty Sibanda from the youth wing, among
others.
Mr Tshuma said the members had
decided to join MDC after realising that the MDC-T leadership was against the
people of Matabeleland.
He said the manner the party
was handling party projects and national appointments was testimony that the
MDC-T leadership had nothing to offer to the people of Matabeleland.
“We have worked in the party
for 10 years but we did not receive recognition for our efforts. We have
suggested projects and written several project proposals but nothing has ever
come to us because we, the people of Matabeleland, are seen as second-class
citizens,” he said.
“He fired Gorden Moyo (Minister
Moyo, who was moved from the Prime Minister’s Officer to the Ministry of
Parastatals and State Enterprises) and (Youth Development, Indigenisation and
Economic Empowerment deputy Minister) Thamsanqa Mahlangu, our youth leader who
is from Matabeleland. This is testimony that the people of Matabeleland are not
valued.”
On Wednesday last week, Prime
Minister Tsvangirai announced 16 ministerial changes to the line-up of MDC-T
ministers in the inclusive Government.
Political analysts from
Matabeleland such as Mr Israel Moyo and Mr Paul Siwela, however, said Mr
Tsvangirai should have considered politicians from Matabeleland for some
Cabinet posts in the reshuffle.
There was also an outcry when
the MDC-T joined the inclusive Government with the people of Matabeleland
feeling hard done by his decision to include a few ministers from the region
despite the party having enjoyed a lot of support from the region since its
formation.
Analysts said the failure to
replace Mr Mahlangu and the reassignment of Minister Moyo from the Prime
Minister’s Office was an indication that PM Tsvangirai was on a crusade to
sideline politicians from the region.
Mr Tshuma said the MDC should
be people-centred and also take seriously the concerns of the people from
Matabeleland.
Mr Tshuma said the people from
his party should advocate devolution of power to protect their interests.
Mr Khumalo welcomed the members
to the MDC and took the opportunity to advise them to advocate the devolution
of power and proportional representation when the constitution outreach teams
reach the area.
The MDC is supporting the
devolution of power and proportional representation.
“I stayed in the United Kingdom
for seven years. In that country the Scots rule themselves, the Welsh rule
themselves and the Irish are fighting to rule themselves. It does not mean that
the country is split. It simply means that the decisions are made at local
level. Devolution of power would result in the national cake being shared in a
transparent manner,” said Mr Khumalo, the former Member of Parliament for
Pelandaba.
“We also want proportional
representation to ensure that even the small parties are represented in
Parliament. This system ensures that all votes count. The first-past-the-post
system which we are using doesn’t help us because it says if someone gets 50
votes and another person gets 51, the 50 votes don’t count.
“We want a system where all
votes count so that the rights of the people are protected.”
2010 07 01 -
http://www.talkzimbabwe.com/zim-stockpiling-us-1-7bn-worth-of-diamonds-mpofu-cms-525
By: Our reporter
Posted: Thursday, July 1, 2010
5:48 pm
ZIMBABWE stockpiles of diamonds
worth approximately $ 1.7 billion, which it will start selling through the
Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe soon without waiting for approval
from the Kimberley Process, the government has said.
Mines Minister Obert Mpofu
pledged that the sale of 4.5m carats of diamonds would go ahead as early as
next week.
The country will soon lift a
ban on diamond sale which it had imposed pending KP approval.
Minister Mpofu told The
Zimbabwe Guardian on Friday that “hostile nations” such as the US, Canada and
Australia had failed to persuade the Kimberley Process governments to withdraw
their certification from Zimbabwe’s exports.
He added that their efforts to
ban block Zimbabwe's certification had nothing to do with Zimbabwe's ability to
comply with the minimum requirement of the KP; but was a political move.
The same countries have imposed
illegal sanctions on Zimbabwe which have been responsible for the deaths of
hundreds of thousands of people in the country.
The $ 1.7bn that the government
could gain from selling its entire stockpile of gems would amount to about 17
per cent of the annual value of the global diamond trade. This makes Zimbabwe a
key player in the global diamond industry.
President Mugabe says the
proceeds from the diamond sale should help Zimbabwe meet its socio-economic
objectives; a move that will anger the opposing western countries that want to
see Zimbabwe remain in economic, social and political crisis.
2010 07 02 -
http://www.newsday.co.zw/article/2010-07-02-mugabe-named-in-mliswa-saga
CHARLES LAITON
Jul 02 2010 09:45
President Robert Mugabe and
Minister of Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment, Saviour
Kasukuwere, have been named in an alleged criminal company seizure that has
landed controversial businessman Temba Mliswa in remand prison.
Court documents in NewsDay’s
possession say Mliswa attempted to take over a motor accessories company in
Msasa, Harare, allegedly with the blessings of minister Kasukuwere.
Court papers say Mliswa claims
President Mugabe was aware of the seizure.
Mliswa and his three alleged
accomplices appeared in court yesterday where a magistrate granted them $ 400
bail before the state invoked Section 121 of the Criminal Procedure and
Evidence Act to nullify the bail and confine them to remand prison.
Minister of State in the
President’s Office Didymus Mutasa, who is believed to be a relative of Mliswa
and one of the alleged accomplices Martin Mutasa, were at the courts early in
the morning, but left before Mliswa arrived under police escort an hour later.
Mliswa has reportedly blamed
Police Commissioner General Augustine Chihuri for his troubles saying the police
boss was biased in the matter.
He even accused Chihuri of
corruption and other acts of misconduct that he threatened to expose.
“Chihuri must be brought before
a commission of inquiry to answer questions of unlawful detention of innocent
people,” Mliswa charged.
“I will not be intimidated by
him because he is a top cop, the police have a bad record of harassing and
torturing people, we cannot weed out corruption until people like Chihuri are
removed.”
Invoking Section 121 to
withdraw Mliswa’s bail, the state said the businessman was of a violent
disposition.
His attack on Chihuri as a
corrupt . . . . . .
2010 07 02 -
http://www.newsday.co.zw/article/2010-07-02-missing-mdct-activists-found
KELVIN JAKACHIRA
Jul 02 2010 09:55
The three MDC-T activists,
allegedly abducted by state security agents last week during a
constitution-making outreach programme in Mashonaland East, have been found
after three days of extensive searching.
Yesterday, the MDC-T said
Rodreck Shamuyarira, Temba Masimura and another activist identified only as
Mukunyadze were detained at Marondera police station accused of inciting
violence.
The party said the activists
were made to pay admission of guilt fines and released.
Nelson Chamisa, the party
spokesperson, said the families of the three and the MDC-T had searched
unsuccessfully for the activists.
It was baffling therefore,
Chamisa said, that the men were suddenly found at a police station where
earlier searches had drawn a blank.
He said the matter would be
raised with the leadership of the inclusive government.
“They were arrested for
allegedly inciting violence (but) clearly these guys were taken under
mysterious circumstances,” Chamisa told NewsDay.
“They had not committed any
crimes. It’s a bizarre case. We are taking this up with the political leaders.”
Chamisa added: “It is not only
despicable but unacceptable. The whole issue is to keep them under lock and
key.”
He said the alleged abductions
were a calculated attempt to thwart MDC- T activism in the country.
Police national spokesperson,
Wayne Bvudzijena said the three were not abducted but arrested for criminal activities.
“If they got arrested, how do
they become abducted?” Bvudzijena asked.
“They are facing charges which
they have to answer.”
The MDC-T on Monday alleged two
of the activists were abducted in Chief Svosve’s area by a group of armed men
driving a white double-cab CAM truck.
The party alleged Shamuyarira
was the first to be abducted at Twoboy Business Centre, while Masimara was
kidnapped in Village 17 in ward 21 of Marondera East.
Makunyadze was allegedly
abducted outside Marondera Hotel.
The party said the three were
allegedly targeted because they had been instrumental in mobilising party
supporters in Marondera East to participate in the ongoing constitution-making
outreach meetings.
2010 07 02 -
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2010 07 01 -
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_15427579?nclick_check=1
By ANGUS SHAW Associated Press
writer
Posted: 07/02/2010 03:43:51 AM
PDT
Updated: 07/02/2010 05:34:07 AM
PDT
HARARE
Zimbabwe
Germany's government said
Friday it will cut off aid to Zimbabwe unless illegal and violent occupiers are
removed from a farm owned by a German national.
In a Friday protest note to the
Zimbabwe foreign ministry, Germany noted the occupation of the eastern Zimbabwe
property owned by German investor Heinrich von Pezold violates a decade-old
investment agreement between the two countries.
Germany said the farm seizure
and looting on the property could imperil aid. Last year, Germany gave $ 50
million to the southern African country.
The note said Germany
"will not be in a position to support a government which tolerates the
blunt theft" of the land where houses, equipment and $ 120,000 worth of
corn, the staple food, had been looted.
An armed and alcohol-drinking
mob stormed the estate June 18 and held two farm managers hostage in their homes,
the note issued by the German Embassy said.
Police arrived later but
"did not endeavor to end the hostage taking. Property rights should be
dealt with in court and not by applying raw violence," it said.
The German government called on
authorities to end the occupation, and noted that the situation had created
large financial losses in food crops, timber and tea and coffee operations for
von Pezold, the largest German investor in Zimbabwe.
Ripened coffee worth $ 500,000
was rotting on the bushes, the note said.
Germany's government also said
the occupation violated international law and demonstrated a lack of commitment
from senior Zimbabwean officials to honor investment agreements.
Farmers' organizations also protested
the arrest Thursday of South African national Mike Odendaal for allegedly not
vacating his farm in southeastern Zimbabwe under an eviction notice.
Odendaal was released by police
and was leaving his land at Chipinge, 400 kilometers (250 miles) southeast of
Harare, on Friday, headed for South Africa.
On June 26, he had won a High
Court ruling that struck down the eviction, allowed him to stay on the farm and
ordered authorities to remove illegal occupiers.
Deon Theron, head of the
Commercial Farmers Union in Zimbabwe, said Odendaal had "had enough"
after months of threats and legal wrangling.
"This again shows a total
disrespect for the law," Theron told The Associated Press.
The South African support group
AfriForum said South African officials in Zimbabwe and in South Africa ignored
pleas from Odendaal and other South Africans forced from land protected by
bilateral trade and investment deals.
"It leaves a bitter taste
in the mouth when one sees that the South African government turns its back on
its own citizens who are subject to human rights violations in Zimbabwe,"
the group said in a statement.
Often violent land seizures
began in 2000, disrupting the agriculture-based economy. Some 300 white farmers
remain on their land and more than half of them are facing eviction orders.
About 4,000 have been forced
from their farms since 2000 under a program President Robert Mugabe insisted
was to correct colonial era imbalances in land ownership. Many prime farms were
allocated to Mugabe cronies and still lie idle.
2010 07 02 -
http://www.ptinews.com/news/758922_ZC-chief-Chingoka-justifies-Howard-s-rejection-
STAFF WRITER 14:0 HRS IST
Melbourne, Jul 2 (PTI) Part of
the African bloc that thwarted John Howard's bid for the ICC vice-president's
post, Zimbabwe Cricket chief Peter Chingoka said the former Australian Prime Minister
was rejected as he was not experienced enough for the job.
Chingoka said it "goes
without saying" that Australia and New Zealand have to put forth an
experienced name and the candidate should be "somebody who's come through
hands-on in cricket".
"No one has a problem with
an Australian candidate, no one has a problem with a New Zealand candidate - if
it's an individual we can accept," Chingoka told 'The Age'.
"There is a lot of talent
in Australia and New Zealand.
2010 07 02 -
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=84&art_id=vn20100702044736816C568726
July 02 2010 at 09:39AM
By Stanley Gama
Mercury Foreign Service
Zimbabwean police have arrested
South African farmer Mike Odendaal on allegations of occupying his farm
"illegally" despite his being armed with a court order allowing him
to stay and saying invaders of his land are to be moved.
The Bilateral Investment
Promotion and Protection Agreement signed between Zimbabwe and South Africa in
2009 did nothing to stop him losing his farm.
Odendaal was granted a high
court order on June 26 allowing him to remain on Wolvedraai Farm in Chipinge
after suspected Zanu-PF officials had invaded it.
He was arrested on Thursday and
released later without being charged, apparently after intervention by
officials from the South African embassy.
Police spokesperson Wayne
Bvudzijena could not be reached for comment.
Commercial Farmers Union
vice-president Charles Taffs confirmed the arrest. "He (Odendaal) was
arrested and released after South African embassy officials intervened, and is
now out of the farm looking for a job," he said. "The high court
order he has and the agreement were ignored. For three weeks he was not allowed
on his farm, and his personal property was looted.
"He was allowed at the
farm only on Wednesday and was allowed to collect a few furniture items, but he
is missing vehicles and some equipment.
"This clearly shows that
the rule of law in this country does not exist because there is a court order
and the agreement, yet Odendaal loses his farm. This is no longer a farming
issue but an investment issue."
In South Africa, AfriForum
condemned the arrest and farm invasion and blasted the South African government.
"It leaves a bitter taste
in the mouth when one sees the South African government turns its back on its
citizens who are subject to human rights violations in Zimbabwe, while it rolls
out the red carpet for Robert Mugabe at the World Cup," said Kallie Kriel,
AfriForum chief executive officer.
Afriforum would take legal
action against the government for reneging on an undertaking, made a court
order in 2009, to protect South Africans' property in Zimbabwe.
This article was originally
published on page 5 of The Mercury on July 02, 2010
2010 07 02 -
http://www.newsday.co.zw/article/2010-07-02-the-hangover-after-soccer
Jul 02 2010 10:10
What will it be like waking up
in South Africa on Monday July 12 (Q)
Will the silence created by the
lack of vuvuzelas be deafening (Q)
Will people still remember what
it was like to live and breathe and operate without the enormity of the Fifa
spectacle on their front stoep (Q)
Will children recall what
school is like, or even what it’s for, as the promise of “education for all”
hangs in the air, still out of reach (Q)
Will politicians resume
delivering rhetoric rather than results, and will xenophobic thugs remember
their goal of getting rid of their fellow Africans (Q)
In the cold light of morning,
the issues one faces after a night of pleasure and passion are often awkward.
Depending on how well the
encounter delivered to expectation, there is often a sense of being let down,
of regret and self-recrimination.
No doubt the month- long season
of euphoria that accompanied South Africa’s infatuation with the World Cup
Soccer will yield results that are no different for the country and its
neighbours.
We will wake up to a world
where our problems have not gone away, and our solutions have not suddenly
emerged. The South African president will still have to figure out how to
service his numerous partners to their satisfaction.
No more embarrassing stories of
straying spouses, please (though my feminist friends are calling this “a
victory for women!”). More importantly, the centuries of unresolved anger and
indignation that are part of South Africa’s heritage will still be simmering,
and in fact are likely to boil over, expressed in the language that nation
understands best - violence.
In what is increasingly
referred to as a “climate of threats” it is becoming clear that the sweet
spirit surrounding the World Cup was a brief respite from the frightening
reality facing many foreigners living and working in South Africa.
We can only hope that the
interest being shown by human rights organisations will translate to real
protection on the ground.
In Zimbabwe July 12 will no
doubt still find us waiting for our “outstanding issues” to come in and sit
down, preferably at the same table.
In some ways it’s too early to
speak of a morning after with reference to our current government. There is a
sense of “after what?” because after all the union in the so-called unity
government has proved elusive, and it is regularly reiterated that the marriage
remains unconsummated.
But in reality the feeling of
excitement, optimism and expectation with which we initially greeted the Global
Political Agreement constituted the dizzy heights from which our sense of
anticlimax arose.
And as often happens in any
morning after situation, the attendant feelings of being somewhat taken
advantage of and definitely disenchanted, have lingered.
The great “lateral thinking”
guru, Edward de Bono reckons that every creative idea is obvious in hindsight.
I wonder, (in hindsight) how many of our social and political initiatives fall
into this category.
Some are so obvious at the
outset that you would be tempted to rewrite de Bono and say “every obvious idea
is creative in hindsight!”
The hope offered by modern
technology suggests that the morning after need not be too ugly or unpalatable
an affair. To absolve you from the consequences of your failure to plan ahead,
you can now take a pill, not only to prevent pregnancy, but also to protect you
from HIV (or so I am reliably informed). I wonder then what would be the
morning after pill for South Africa. Perhaps Julius Malema could recommend an
anger management policy (Q)
Zimbabwe’s pill would be an
interesting affair. An annulment is the best way of cancelling a marriage that
never really was. A way of saying “Err, sorry. Ndanga ndakadhakwa, and I didn’t
really get a good look at you.
Now that I can see clearly, I
realise you are not the person I want to have babies with!” Sounds dreadful,
but it is an available solution. The only problem is - what happens after that
(Q)
The hopes which may have been
offered by a new constitution have been dashed as the constitution-making
process has turned out to be its own source of controversy and divergent views.
And of course this in turn
affects the arguments for and against elections, compounding our sense of being
trapped in a slow-moving nightmare. Somewhere in Zimbabwe’s political
wilderness, there is a solution. Whether that solution will come in time to do
some damage control in our morning after situation, remains to be seen.
Lateral thinking is about
reasoning that is not immediately obvious and about ideas that may not be
obtainable by using only traditional step-by-step logic.
Surely this is what we need.
Perhaps we should offer a prize for the most creative idea, or the most obvious
one - whichever serves us best!
In the meantime we will squeeze
as much of what’s left of the feel-good factor offered by our neighbour’s
soccer fiesta and party while we can. Bear in mind, the morning after is still
a whole ten days away!
l Thembe Sachikonye writes in
her personal capacity
2010 07 02 -
http://www.newsday.co.zw/article/2010-07-02-lawyers-sue-kasukuwere
FELUNA NLEYA
Jul 02 2010 09:50
Youth Minister Saviour
Kasukuwere is being sued by a Harare law firm for allegedly failing to settle a
$ 3 778 debt in legal fees.
The minister allegedly engaged
a legal firm to represent Zanu PF activists arrested for political violence
during the bloody run-up to the 2008 presidential run-off. The law firm - MT
Chiwaridzo and Co Legal Practitioners - successfully applied for bail pending
appeal for the two Zanu PF activists at the High Court. But Kasukuwere failed
to settle the debts leading to the court action.
The two, Godfrey Tsenengamu and
Vitalis Hozo were arrested, charged and convicted for public violence in 2008
for the violent role they played in a bid to secure the re-election of Zanu PF
and its President, Robert Mugabe.
Kasukuwere, according to the
lawyers, is now denying owing any money to the law firm saying he had nothing
to do with their engagement.
In his defence Kasukuwere’s
lawyers Mutamangira and Associates said the lawsuit had been directed to the
wrong person since their client did not engage the lawyers. Zanu PF has of late
been accused by its embattled supporters and activists of abandoning them
during their time of need. Lawyers too have reportedly stopped representing
Zanu PF and its activists saying the party is failing to settle legal fees.
2010 07 02 -
http://www.newsday.co.zw/article/2010-07-02-land-reform-sinks-coffee-production
VICTORIA MTOMBA
Jul 02 2010 10:08
Zimbabwe’s coffee production
has declined 850% in the past five years after the number of producers of the
cash crop fell as a result of the fast-track land reform, which led to the
alienation of coffee estates for other purposes, according to the European
Commission (EC).
The EC has been supporting
small-holder coffee producers from Honde Valley in Manicaland since 1982 and
has injected £7,6 million in the sector over the years, including funding the
establishment of Mutare Mill where most small-scale producers sell their
produce.
From 125 commercial farmers and
2 600 small-scale producers in 2002, the number of registered coffee farmers
has declined to just four commercial farms and 200 registered small-scale
farmers to date, according to Josephat Rushinga, the general manager for
Zimbabwe Coffee Mill.
As the industry contracted,
national coffee output also slumped steeply to 268 tonnes in 2010 from just
under 2 500 tonnes in 2005. It had been on a downward trend since 1990 when
output hit a peak of 15 000 tonnes, dropping to 10 000 tonnes in 2002
Most of the small-scale farmers
are located in Honde Valley, jointly producing about 50 tonnes or 1% of the
total throughput at Mutare Mill, which has an installed milling capacity of 4
000 tonnes.
The collapse of Zimbabwe’s
coffee production has also hit the coffee milling industry, now operating with
plenty of unused milling capacity. The total installed milling capacity is
estimated at around 50 000 tonnes of green coffee.
The country has coffee milling
facilities that include Zimbabwe Coffee Mill Limited, the Grain Marketing Board
and at least ten Export Processing Zones, which are now running far below their
viable thresholds.
Rushinga says the shortages of
throughput were arising from challenges related to working capital to procure
inputs and finance overheads.
“We are failing to acquire
loans from banks as there is no security currently. Last week a coffee
commercial farmer lost a farm to the land reform programme,” said Rushinga.
He urged the government to
carry out a land audit and model training programmes for coffee producers to
propagate intensive farming. “Coffee production requires a lot of training,
which is currently unavailable in the country,” Rushinga added.
Coffee is is mostly used for
producing drinking coffee and chocolate.
2010 07 02 -
http://allafrica.com/stories/201007020185.html
BusinessDay
Sarah Hudleston
2 July 2010
Johannesburg
ZIMBABWEAN Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai should pull out of the government of national unity to
prevent his Movement for Democratic Change from becoming irrelevant, the head
of Zimbabwe's National Constitutional Alliance said yesterday.
Lovemore Madhuku told delegates
to a conference held by rights group Zimbabwe Democracy Now at the University
of the Witwatersrand yesterday that the MDC could lose credibility and support
if it did not act soon. He said the next election should take place before May
next year.
"If the MDC is not
careful, it will be difficult for it to stand on a platform and promise change,
because the people will not believe it," he said. The unity government
"is a clear strategy on the part of the Mugabe government to cheat the
people. It has succeeded in divorcing the MDC from its partners in the 2008
election," Mr Madhuku said.
He said there were unbridgeable
differences over ideas for a new constitution for Zimbabwe.
It appeared to him that Mr
Tsvangirai had believed that the formation of the unity government would lead
to the writing of a new constitution.
However, Mr Madhuku said, the
whole process had become a farce. "I have reports from reliable sources
that whenever the constitutional consultation team is headed to a particular
area, ( it) is often completely evacuated.
"The team of 700 people
involved in this exercise have no option but to sit in a hotel in Harare. I can
assure you that no people-driven constitution is being written.
"The only way to test what
is produced, is by holding a free and fair referendum," Mr Madhuku told
the conference.
Meanwhile, from Harare
yesterday came the announcement that the Zimbabwean government had agreed to
speed up the release of election results and bar police interference in voting
in future.
Justice Minister Patrick
Chinamasa said Zimbabwe's cabinet had agreed to amendments to the electoral
law, and that Attorney- General Johannes Tomana would be drafting a bill to be
debated by parliament in coming months.
"The parties have agreed
to amend the Electoral Act so that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission is obliged
to declare presidential election results not more than five days after the day
of voting," he said.
The proposed amendments would
also bar police officers - who were accused in the 2008 poll of abusing their
power to help disabled or illiterate voters to cast their ballots - from
"taking part or interfering with the electoral process beyond maintaining
law and order".
With Sapa-AFP
2010 07 02 -
http://www.busrep.co.za/index.php?from=rss_&fArticleId=5539096
July 2, 2010
Zimbabwe police accused two
ministers of obstructing justice by trying to release three men charged with
pressuring a white businessman to surrender part of his company to them, a
spokesman said on Friday.
One of the ministers is an ally
of President Robert Mugabe, who has been trying to force foreign-owned
companies, including mines and banks, to sell majority shares to local blacks.
Critics said this will further damage a staggering economy battling to recover
from a decade-long crisis.
Minister of State for
Presidential Affairs Didymus Mutasa visited two police stations in Harare this
week demanding the release of his son, who had been arrested with two other
men, a police spokesman said.
Mutasa went to the stations
with Home Affairs Minister Theresa Makone, who is in charge of the police, the
spokesman said.
Makone is a senior figure from
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), which
formed a unity government with Mugabe's ZANU-PF party more than a year ago to
try to end a decade-long political and economic crisis.
In a statement in the state
Herald newspaper, Senior Assistant Commissioner Wayne Bvudzijena said the two
ministers had sought to obstruct justice - but he did not say whether they
would face charges.
"The ministers sought to
protect (an) accused person facing charges of wantonly seizing property outside
the law and threatening others," he said.
A Harare magistrate court
granted the three accused men bail on Thursday but they remain in police
custody after the state appealed against their release.
Mutasa and Makone were not
available for immediate comment. - Reuters
2010 07 02 -
http://www.busrep.co.za/index.php?from=rss_&fArticleId=5539101
* IFC loan to help SME lending
in impoverished countries
July 2, 2010
The World Bank's International
Finance Corporation (IFC) has lent $ 175 million to pan-African banking group
Ecobank Transnational to boost the financial sector in several countries.
In a statement obtained on
Friday, the IFC said providing cash to a "regionally systemic financial
institution" would increase lending to small and medium-sized businesses
in some of the world's poorest countries.
Ecobank has the most extensive
network of any independent African bank, operating branches from Ghana to
Zambia, but saw profits fall last year due to an aggressive expansion push into
30 countries across the continent of a billion people.
Chief executive Arnold Ekpe
told Reuters last month that new branches should start making money this year,
making 2010 results "substantially better" than 2009.
Ekpe also said
Togo-incorporated Ecobank would raise $ 500 million this year in Tier 2
capital, in the second phase of a plan to raise $ 3 billion in new capital
since 2008.
Ecobank raised $ 778 million
last year through an initial public offering and by other means. It has stopped
its geographical expansion after opening in Tanzania this year.
Ecobank is listed in Lagos and
Accra and on the West African regional bourse. - Reuters
2010 07 02 -
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com/zimbabwe/5540.html
02 July, 2010 01:40:00
The Telegraph (UK)
Mrs Chapman, who has kept her
married name despite being divorced, introduced her new husband to her father
during their honeymoon in 2002 in Zimbabwe, where Vasily Kushchenko was serving
as a diplomat.
Britiain's MI5 is investigating
whether a former KGB agent recruited his daughter, Anna Chapman, to work for
the country’s secret services while living in London.
Mrs Chapman told her British
ex-husband that her father, Vasily Kushchenko, was a “high ranking” officer in
the Russian security forces, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.
On Wednesday an MI5 officer
interviewed Alex Chapman at his home in Bournemouth, Dorset, as part of the
Security Service’s investigation into the background of Mrs Chapman, 28, who
has been accused of spying in the US.
MI5 is trying to discover
whether Mrs Chapman, who has British citizenship and a British passport, could
have spied on Britain or was recruited here.
Alex Chapman, a 30-year-old
trainee psychologist, married the then Anna Kushchenko in Moscow in 2002, five
months after they met in a London nightclub.
They divorced in 2006 but have
remained in touch ever since.
Mr Chapman told The Daily
Telegraph: “Anna told me her father had been high up in the ranks of the KGB.
She said he had been an agent in 'old Russia’.
“Her father controlled
everything in her life, and I felt she would have done anything for her dad.
“When I saw that she had been
arrested on suspicion of spying it didn’t come as much of a surprise to be
honest.
“Towards the end of our
marriage she became very secretive, going for meetings on her own with 'Russian
friends’, and I guess it might have been because she was in contact with the
Russian government.”
Public school-educated Mr
Chapman said he received a visit from MI5 on Wednesday morning, following the
arrest last weekend of his ex-wife in the US together with nine others
suspected of being part of a spy ring tasked with infiltrating political
circles.
“The officer told me she would
need everything and I told her what I knew,” he said. “It’s just totally weird
to think that my ex-wife could be involved in something like this.”
Mrs Chapman, who has kept her
married name despite being divorced, introduced her new husband to her father
during their honeymoon in 2002 in Zimbabwe, where Vasily Kushchenko was serving
as a diplomat.
“I asked her what her father’s
job was and Anna just said he was there to represent the Russian government in
certain areas of government,” said Mr Chapman.
“He didn’t trust anyone. He
asked me why I had chosen a Russian bride and asked what business I had in
Russia, and I said none.
“He was scary. He would never
introduce me to other Russian people who came to the house and he always seemed
to have a lot more security than the other diplomats. He had a Land Rover with
blacked out windows and there was always one car in front of it and one car
behind.”
Mrs Chapman moved to London in
2002 and had a succession of well-paid jobs, including a six-month spell
working for the small business banking division of Barclays and a period
working for a hedge fund called Navigator Asset Management.
MI5 is thought to be
investigating whether she handled the accounts of wealthy individuals, and
whether there could be any security implications for Britain.
Mrs Chapman later set up her
own internet estate agency, and after moving back to Russia in 2006 when her
marriage ended, relocated to the US in 2007 where she established another
online property venture.
Insurance broker’s son Mr
Chapman, who spent his childhood in Bermuda, said his ex-wife had always
disliked Americans, complaining about their accent, but suddenly decided in
2007 that she was desperate to go there to exploit “business opportunities”.
He said: “She had met a rich
American man who had taken her to the States and when she came back she said
she loved it.
“She moved over there to set up
her internet property company and it always seemed to be in the red, but it
took off suddenly in 2009 and she said she was employing 50 people.
“I couldn’t understand how she
could pay them. At some point someone had pumped a lot of money into it.”
Yesterday nine of the 11
alleged spies, none of whom has been formally charged, appeared in court in the
US seeking bail, but Mrs Chapman was not among them, as she was refused bail at
a hearing on Monday. Telegraph
……
2010 07 02 -
.. ..
http://www.newzimbabwe.com/news-2751-PM+no+better+than+Mugabe+Dabengwa/news.aspx
02/07/2010 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * *
Makoni a braai stick ... Dumiso
Dabengwa
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * *
INTERIM ZAPU leader, Dumiso
Dabengwa says Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is no different from President
Robert Mugabe and dismissed Dr Simba Makoni as a “braai stick” he used to
ensure none of the main presidential contenders in 2008 won an outright
mandate.
Speaking to party members at
Gwamayaya in Nkayi North on Wednesday, Dabengwa said he had used ex-finance
minister, Makoni, to stop both Mugabe and Tsvangirai from winning an outright
majority in the disputed elections.
He said after failing to
convince Mugabe to step down for a younger leader and having misgivings about
Tsvangirai’s leadership capabilities, a decision was made to stop the veteran
Zanu PF leader and his MDC-T rival from winning and indisputable mandate to
govern.
The former Home Affairs
minster, now leading efforts to revive PF ZAPU, was the only senior Zanu PF
member to ditch the party and back Makoni’s bid for the presidency in 2008.
Makoni took 8.3 percent of the
presidential vote thus preventing both Mugabe (43.2 percent) and Tsvangirai
(47.9 percent) from winning outright in the first round.
Dabengwa said the decision to
back Makoni was informed by a conviction that a “one-on-one electoral battle
between Mugabe and Tsvangirai would spawn disastrous consequences for the
country, who-ever won”.
“We used Makoni to stop both
the old man and Tsvangirai whose track record we did not feel would make him a
good president. Makoni was a braai stick. You put away the braai stick when you
have finished roasting and then enjoy your meat,” the former Zipra supremo
said.
The ZAPU leader launched a
withering attack on Tsvangirai claiming the premier was no different from
Mugabe “in his attitude and actions”. He further criticised Tsvangirai for
refusing to enter into a coalition with other opposition groups adding the
MDC-T leader wanted his party to be the only dominant political player in the
country.
Dabengwa said the strategy to
use Makoni had paid-off as both Mugabe and Tsvangirai were forced to negotiate
a coalition government leading to the relative easing of political tensions and
the improvement of the country’s economy.
“We achieved our aim of stopping
both devils from being in power alone. We are now eating the braai. That is why
ZAPU is back. Let us enjoy the braai. It is now anyone’s game and we are in
with a very strong chance,” he said.
Thenjiwe Lesabe, another former
senior Zanu PF official also told the meeting that Dabengwa had “never been
Zanu PF at heart” despite sitting in the party’s high councils and serving
under Mugabe as a cabinet minister.
“He (Dabengwa) was never
Zanu-PF in his heart even during the Unity Accord period. He could have joined
Zanu when he was imprisoned for five years during Gukurahundi. Zanu promised
him freedom within minutes if he left ZAPU and joined Zanu, but (Dabengwa) and
his late fellow Zipra commander Lookout Masuku (said they) would rather die in
prison than join Zanu,” Lesabe said.
She added that Dabengwa only
joined the new government after the 1987 Unity Accord when “ordered” to do so
by the late PF ZAPU leader and national vice president Joshua Nkomo.
“Most of us were very excited
about being ministers and riding the new Mercedes Benz (vehicles), but Dabengwa
was not impressed. It took an order from his commander-in-chief (Nkomo) to join
Zanu, and being the soldier he is, he obeyed that order but his heart was not
in Zanu.
“Nkomo told him: ‘pretend you
don’t feel your wounds my boy, Zanu will kill all the people if we don’t join
them’,” Lesabe said.
…
2010 07 01 -
http://news.radiovop.com/index.php/national-news/4123.html?print
01/07/2010 16:06:00
Millie Phiri
Harare, July 01, 2010
A police investigator in the
case of diamond research activist, Farai Maguwu, on Thursday said he failed to
meet diamond monitor Abbey Chikane last week further delaying investigations in
the state's case, the court heard.
Maguwu has been further
remanded in custody to Friday by Harare magistrate Don Ndirowei where he will
make a ruling on whether he will be granted bail.Detective Inspector, Henry
Sostein Dowa told the court that he failed to meet Kimberley Process diamond
monitor, Chikane in South Africa to investigate on the monitors meetings with
Maguwu.
"I went South Africa , I
missed him ( Chikane)," Dowa told the court."He had gone to Israel to
attend a conference. I would want a statement regarding the conversation he had
with Maguwu and the documents he was given."
The prosecution and the police
had said they needed time to complete their investigations, which the defence
had argued has been delayed to 'fix' their client, who had been denied bail
since his arrest early last month.
However, Dowa argued that Maguwu
and his lawyers were refusing to cooperate thereby delaying investigations. He
cited refusal by the defence to give out passwords for the confisticated
computer.
"Maguwu and his defence
are prolonging investigations because they are refusing to cooperate with us.
If you do not cooperate your investigations will be prolonged," Dowa said.
Maguwu is facing charges of
publishing falsehoods against the state with the intention of 'prejudicing'
security and economic interests of Zimbabwe.
On Wednesday Maguwu told the
court that Dowa and his team of investigators camped at his house, at his food
supplies and slept on his bed while he was languishing in prison.
Henry dowa is a notorious
Zimbabwean police torturer.
In May 2003 REDRESS, an
international non-governmental organisation, learnt that he was in Kosovo.
In June 2003 REDRESS dispatched
a comprehensive dossier to the head of the United Nations Interim
Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) civilian police force (CIVPOL). CIVPOL
is made up of several thousand police officers drawn from UN member states
including Zimbabwe.
The report comprised of
shocking details from Zimbabwe toruture survivors detailing how they had
suffered at Dowa's hands. They had been subjected to electric shock toruture
and beatings on the bare soles of the feet.
In September of the same year
the UN asked the Zimbabwe government to withdraw Dowa.
The report also noted that it
was concerned that if Dowa returned to Zimbabwe he would not be brought to
justice as the rule of law did not exist.
Nothing happened to him even
though the Kosovo courts, under the authority of UNMIK had jurisdiction over
Dowa in regard to allegations of torture in Zimbabwe. UNMIK refused to pursue
the criminal prosecution on the grounds of 'scarce resources'.
2010 07 02 -
http://www.diamonds.net/news/NewsItem.aspx?ArticleID=31572
By Jeff Miller
Posted: 07/02/10 09:57
RAPAPORT... Centre for Research
and Development director Farai Maguwu was again denied bail today in Zimbabwe
following a court hearing, according to a source. Maguwu was jailed 28 days ago
for allegedly giving what the state claimed were falsified documents to
Kimberley Process monitor Abbey Chikane. Maguwu remains at the prison's
hospital suffering from conditions believed brought on by abuse and exposure to
extreme cold.
Investigator inspector Henry
Dowa told the Harare court that police needed more time to investigate the case
and that Maguwu remained a flight risk. He also said it remained difficult for
investigators to reach Abbey Chikane, as he is "very mobile," to
record a statement on the matter and to request the surrender of documents
allegedly given by Maguwu. Dowa said he went to South Africa to meet with
Chikane, but upon arrival found out that the monitor was in Israel for the
Kimberley Process plenary.
"Chikane's statement is
irrelevant," said Maguwu's attorney Beatrice Mtetwa. "(Chikane's)
document is not forming the basis of the charge Maguwu is facing. It is
inconceivable that an officer of 25 years experience would go to South Africa
without proper appointment. He did not provide any evidence that he went to South
Africa."
Dowa told the court that he'd
traveled to South Africa using his police identification only as his passport
had expired, but the dates of his travel appeared to be in dispute.
Police said they needed more
time to access to a laptop seized from Maguwu's home. Mtetwa said specifically
that access to the laptop was not an issue since charges emanated from the
document that is already in possession of the court and therefore it was
unnecessary to look for further information in the laptop.
Dowa added that police have
engaged INTERPOL to locate those who allegedly corresponded with Maguwu, but
was unable to document this correspondence.
In defense of Maguwu, Mtetwa
concluded to the court that Dowa had not in fact been investigating the case as
he claimed, nor had he investigated charges that her client had been tortured
in Zimbabwe prison. She added that Dowa himself had been involved with cases of
prison abuse and torture in Kosovo. Furthermore, she argued that Dowa had not
even emailed Chikane and others to request an appointment or evidence. Dowa
denied the Kosovo torture claim.
Mtetwa is already working on an
appeal following the hearing.
The source concluded: "We
have reached a stage where the state gets all it asks of the court and the
accused suffers in jail. We have also reached a stage where it matters not what
the arguments or evidence reveal, the stakes are so high, nothing matters. It
is disappointing but not discouraging. As long as nothing kills him, one day
they will have to watch him walk free."
Additional reporting by Acquire
Media.
2010 07 02 -
AfriForum
PRETORIA, South Africa
July 2, 2010
African Press Organization
(APO)/
AfriForum has announced that a
South African farming in Zimbabwe, Mike Odendaal, was wrongfully arrested by
the Zimbabwean police this morning on grounds that he is living on his farm,
Wolvedraai, “illegally”. According to AfriForum, this arrest took place despite
the fact that Odendaal was granted a court order by the Zimbabwean High Court
on 26 June 2010, in terms of which he and his family could stay on on this farm
while farm settlers had to be removed from it.
According to Kallie Kriel, CEO
of AfriForum, these events are especially distressing because Odendaal had been
appealing to the South African embassy in Zimbabwe for urgent assistance for
the past three weeks to no avail. “It leaves a bitter taste in the mouth when
one sees that the South African government turns its back on its own citizens
who are subject to human rights violations in Zimbabwe, while the same South
African government at the same time rolls out the red carpet for Robert Mugabe
at the Soccer World Cup Tournament,” Kriel said. Kriel is of the opinion that
Mugabe rather deserves a red card than a red carpet.
Kriel indicated that the South
African government’s neglect to assist Odendaal, serves as further motivation
for AfriForum to hold the South African government to account in court soon,
because of the latter’s failure to protect the lives and property of South
Africans in Zimbabwe. AfriForum’s senior legal team is currently preparing
court documents to ask the High Court to order the South African government to
indicate which steps will be taken to intercede on behalf of South Africans in
Zimbabwe.
Several South African citizens
who are farming in Zimbabwe, according to Kriel have been targeted with
intensified onslaughts by land grabbers. In terms of the settlement reached
between AfriForum and the South African government re the BIPPA agreement,
formalised as a court order in November 2009 by the North Gauteng High Court in
Pretoria, the South African government undertook to maintain the rights and
remedies of South African victims of Zimbabwe’s illegal land redistribution
programme. In terms of the affidavits of the Minister, made for the court case,
as well as the subsequent court order, the South Africans have a right to
protection as defined by this investment and trade agreement.
SOURCE
AfriForum
2010 07 01 -
Written by Radio VOP
Thursday, 01 July 2010 15:40
Harare
Temba Mliswa, (Pictured) the
maverick Zanu PF official and businessman who was arrested following an outburst
against police commissioner Augustine Chihuri is due to appear in court
Thursday charged with fraud and forgery.
Police sources told Radio VOP
that investigations were still in progress to determine how the controversial
Mliswa acquired 51 percent stake in vehicles repair company, Noshio Motors from
one Hammerskjold Banda who was in partnership with businessman Paul Westwood.
Now, Westwood, believed to be a
close associate of Chihuri, is arguing that Mliswa’s acquisition of the
majority shares from Banda was fraudulently done.
He is also saying that Mliswa
brought with him youth to threaten him if he did not completely relinquish his
stake.
But Mliswa believed that it was
Chihuri who wanted to fix him because he was corruptly benefitting from Westwood
and for calling him a corrupt commissioner in the media.
Mliswa is detained at Matapi
police station. He claimed to Radio VOP before he was arrested that Chihuri was
corruptly involved with Westwood and they want to make him suffer in jail and
take over his shares.
He said had been informed that
he was going to be tortured on the instructions of Chihuri.
“I am on my to the police
station and I know they want to arrest me on the instructions of Chihuri who is
the most corrupt police officer in the country. He is promoting corruption in
country instead of stopping it. Right now he is being involved with Westwood to
have me persecuted just because he is corrupt. They want to take my company
after making sure I rot in jail.
“President Mugabe must fire
Chihuri because as long as he is at the helm of the police, corruption will
never stop in Zimbabwe. He is tarnishing the image of the police through what
he is doing. The police here just arrest people for doing nothing and abuse
people’s rights through people like Chihuri,” said Mliswa. -
2010 07 02 -
Written by Radio VOP
Friday, 02 July 2010 15:01
Harare
Obert Mpofu, mines minister,
misled the Zimbabwe Cabinet on Tuesday that the Kimberley Process (KP) meeting
held last week in Tel Aviv, Israel, cleared diamonds from Chiadzwa for export,
it has emerged. (Pictured: Mines Minister Obert Mpofu)
Apart from misleading the
Cabinet, including President Robert Mugabe, Mpofu also misrepresented facts to
the Cabinet when he said the KP had approved the sale of the gems when in fact
nothing of that sort had happened. Ministers on Thursday said Cabinet refused
to approve the sale of the diamonds outside the KP. One minister said Cabinet
demanded to see the KP certification first before they could approve the sale
of the gems.
“We are shocked by Mpofu,” said
one Minister. “He just lies. We never approved anything of that sort because we
demanded to see the KP certification first before we could approve the sale of
diamonds.” Mpofu is accused ot lying in Cabinet that the KP had adopted a
report by Abbey Chikane, the controversial KP monitor to Zimbabwe.
The World Diamond Council (WDC)
has also accused Mpofu of lying. The KP announced last week it reached a
deadlock after four days of intense negotiations and the matter was referred to
a WDC unprecedented mini- summit at its July 2010 annual meeting in Russia.
2010 07 02 -
Written by Bulawayo Progressive
Residents Association
Friday, 02 July 2010 14:52
Residents of Bulawayo have
attacked members of the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) for their silence over
the rampant reports of trafficking and ritual murders in the city. It appears
that some individuals who have been promised Toyota Quantum (kombis) in return
for human heads are on the loose, instilling a deep sense of fear and
uncertainty within Bulawayo residents. Residents have reported that incidences
of trafficking are rampant, with shops in most high density suburbs awash with
posters of suspects who are collaborating with syndicates and mafias in South
Africa, supplying them with human heads in exchange for cars and cash. The most
recent case which has knocked sense in the heads of the police force which has
been in denial was the beheading of a one year old boy from Lobengula, an
incident that left residents wondering about their safety. Residents are deeply
submerged in fear and some have resorted to locking their children in houses 24
hours for fear of the unknown. The rampant reports of human trafficking,
murders and abductions started with the dawn of the World Cup Soccer tournament
in South Africa. Residents have implored police to take the matter seriously
and put roadblocks in strategic points. There has been increase in reports of
children being stolen on their way to and from schools and murders linked to
ritual manslaughter.
Residents speak on cabinet
reshuffling
The recent cabinet reshuffle by
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has been met with mixed feelings. Despite
concerns over the nature and timing of the axing and re-deployment, residents
from the region have stated that the reshuffle should ring a bell in the heads
of non-performing leaders who have for years been shielded from sacking because
of patronage and bootlicking. Residents in Matabeleland feel that contrary to
allegations that Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC party have an
agenda to oust and alienate the people of Matabeleland from power, cabinet
reshuffling should be exemplary and should be understood within the contest
within which it is situated. There were concerns that people from the region
were merely crowded and concentrated in one office, that of the Prime Minister
and there was need for deployment to other critical ministries. The
redeployment of Minister Gorden Moyo to the Ministry in charge of State
Enterprises and 70 parastatals means that the region has acquired an extra
ministry and is still in the helm of influence in the technical and political
aspect in the office of the Prime Minister as Deputy Prime Minister Thokozani
Khuphe is still in charge of the political side and Dr Samukele Hadebe who was
recently appointed to the post of the Principal Director is in charge of the
technical side. Minister Moyo also left a legacy after putting in place the
Office of the Prime Minister which works hand in glove with cabinet and
crafting the Government Work Plan which is the manual for government. The
coming in of Mr Joel Gabuza as the Minister in charge of Housing Amenities
means that the region is set to benefit in the resuscitation of its aged and
tired infrastructure which has been sidelined for many years.
Residents not impressed by
COPAC
The constitutional outreach
teams which were deployed two weeks ago run the risk of being defunct as
residents continuously maintain that the teams are in a pathetic, sorry shape.
The process which rose to its feet recently is marred with confusion as the
COPAC outreach teams continue to either misinform the residents or completely
leave them in the dark. Residents have slammed COPAC for poor administration,
communication and misplaced priorities. In-fighting that has rocked the
constitutional outreach process has exposed a general lack of direction and
credibility of the teams as the fight has been over the appropriation of
resources and looting rather than on capturing the contributions of citizens.
Residents have lamented that the use of media as the only vehicle for
announcing dates, venues and times for meetings is inadequate as the papers are
not easily accessible and by the time residents get hold of them, the
information will be stale. In many parts of Matabeleland South, residents said
there was only one poster per each meeting and the posters were only displayed
at the venues and not in central places where they are likely to attract the
attention of many people. There have also been concerns that politicians are
not so much interested in the outreach, as in the referendum as they already
have positions regarding the content of the new constitution and residents are
been taken for a ride. Consultations in major cities have been suspended
because of the World Cup Soccer Tournament in South Africa and residents have
stated that the premises within which the process is built are in themselves
flawed and there is no way in which a genuine, people driven constitution will
be penned under the prevailing circumstances. Bulawayo Progressive Residents
Association has trained and deployed its members in the 29 wards of Bulawayo
who will monitor and report on the proceedings.
Residents implore government to
intervene in stopping seizure of assets by BCC
Residents in Bulawayo have
pleaded with their elected representatives to intervene in preventing the
nonprocedural and unwarrantable seizure of assets by the Bulawayo City Council.
Struggling residents of Bulawayo who are grappling with underdevelopment and
cross-rating have been dealt a heavy blow last week by its council which
announced that it is attaching gadgets and properties of defaulting residents
and auctioning them forthwith. Residents said they never struggled with payment
of their dues under the Zimbabwean dollar era and they helped sustain the
council even during an ailing economy and in enabling it to maintain its
privileged reputation in the region. Residents have castigated the measures
taken by council stating that it is unbecoming of the current council and that
elected leaders must ensure that this is stopped and repealed as a matter of
urgency.