http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Monday, 11 June 2012
11:50
BY NQABA MATSHAZI AND NUNURAI JENA
FRESH divisions have
rocked Zanu PF with information emerging that battle
lines have been drawn
in Mashonaland East where the restructuring of
district coordinating
committees (DCCs) has been marred by chaos.
In Mashonaland West,
party bigwigs want the provincial chairman, John Mafa’s
head, while in
Mashonaland Central the two warring factions have declared a
temporary
ceasefire.
Sources told The Standard yesterday that the party was
still battling to
come up with structures in different parts of the country
during the resumed
DCC elections amid allegations of candidate imposition
and factionalism.
On Friday, the sources said there was chaos during
the Mudzi DCC elections
in a province which has traditionally been a
stronghold of the faction led
by Vice-President Joice Mujuru, but is now
seeing the emergence of the
faction led by Defence minister Emmerson
Mnangagwa.
Already the party’s politburo has come down hard on its
political commissar,
Webster Shamu to ensure DCC elections are run smoothly,
while where there is
contention, polls are being rerun. But if the chaotic
scenes in Mudzi South
are an indicator, the party has a long way to
go.
A source who was in Mudzi South on Friday said most of the
district was
tense, as party members sang, toyi-toyed and at times
threatened to assault
party leaders whom they thought were responsible for
imposing candidates.
Joel Mujuru, brother to the late Solomon Mujuru,
was at the receiving end of
some of the harshest criticism and was allegedly
almost assaulted at Gozi.
“Mujuru came with a list of people, whom he said
were supposed to win the
elections,” the source said. “Zanu PF members
started singing that they did
not want disorder and that is when they
started charging at Mujuru.”
The source said Mujuru, a Zanu PF
National Consultative Assembly member who
was responsible for running the
elections, had to be saved by Harare lawyer
Jonathan Samukange, a crowd
favourite, whom he ironically wanted to
disqualify from the DCC
elections.
As if that was not enough, Mujuru, travelling with Peter
Nyakuba, had to
make a hasty retreat at Chikwizo, as the people there pelted
his car with
missiles, also accusing him of imposing
candidates.
“Again he went with a list saying these were the people
that had been chosen
and there was no need for elections, earning the wrath
of the people there,”
the source continued.
It is believed that
the Mujuru faction was trying to ensure that Samukange
loses alleging that
he had not been in the party structures for five years.
“Two other
candidates, Tafirenyika Nyume and Zvai Kaukonde, were told to
withdraw their
candidature to make way for Chanhasi,” the source said.
Samukange,
believed to be loyal to Mnangagwa, is allegedly being frustrated
after
making it public he wanted to challenge provincial chairman, Ray
Kaukonde’s
post, a key member of the Mujuru grouping.
Samukange said he was
going to appeal to Shamu and party national chairman,
Simon Khaya
Moyo.
“This five-year thing is not true, I was a commissar in 1996 and as
candidate in primary elections in 2000, how can it be said I have not been
in the structures for five years,” Samukange charged in an interview
yesterday.
Samukange said the district had made it clear that
they would not accept
anyone imposed on them.
“Mujuru said there was no
need for an election as there was only one
candidate and the people said
they will not have that. That is why there was
chaos,” he said.
But
Mujuru shot back, saying Samukange was ineligible to stand in the
elections
as he did not meet the criteria.
“I am the one who put Samukange in
the branch structures, but in this
election only people from district level
and those in the DCC could
contest,” he said. “The people may want him, but
he does not meet the
criteria.
Mujuru said as far as he was
concerned, Chanhasi had won the seat
uncontested.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Monday, 11 June 2012
16:58
BY CLAYTON MASEKESA RECENTLY IN KATERERE, NYANGA
NYANGA — The
Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) workers here have
engaged the
services of police officers to force residents to pay their
radio and
television licence fees although they do not receive a reliable
signal in
the area.
Residents in the area interviewed by The Standard
last week said they were
being harassed by junior police officers from Ruda
Police Station who were
forcing them to pay the licence fees even though
they could not receive ZBC
transmission signals.
“They are coming
in our homes demanding licences. We do not listen to any
ZBC radio stations
because there is no signal at all,” said David Furanera,
a local villager.
Furanera said most people in the area listened to Radio
Manica from
Mozambique through the shortwave radio band.
“For television, some
rich people here only watch programmes through the
satellite decoders,” said
Hebert Tuwani from the same area. “Many people
watch television at the local
shops and bars where there are decoders.
People do not watch
ZBC.”
He said most of the villagers were more familiar with SABC
programmes and
other international stations than the local TV stations. “Not
many of us are
familiar with ZTV,” he said.
“ZBC and police
officers force us to pay radio and television licences,
which are very
exorbitant to say the least. We are struggling to get cash
but we are being
threatened with jail if we do not pay,” Tuwani said.
A radio licence
costs US$10 while a television licence costs US$50. “We are
an isolated
community and sometimes we wonder if we truly live in Zimbabwe
when we do
not have access to such an important service,” said Patrick
Kwashara, a
local resident.
Manicaland police spokesperson, Sergeant Muzondiwa
Clean said he was not
aware of the harassment of the villagers. “We have not
yet received reports
of police officers forcing and harassing residents to
pay licences,” he
said.
Clean said he would inquire from the
officer-in-charge of Ruda Police
Station.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Monday, 11 June 2012
15:01
BY NQABA MATSHAZI
THE Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) is seeking
new ways to convince people
settled along the banks of the Zambezi River to
relocate as they continue to
risk flooding when floodgates are opened in
Kariba.
Villagers in Muzarabani and other areas in Zambezi Valley
have over the
years resisted resettlement, citing the need to remain on
their ancestral
land. Their continued presence has been a source of concern
for the river
authority and the Zimbabwe Civil Protection Unit
(ZCPU).
“We have to win them over and convince them that it is in
their best
interests to move,” Elizabeth Karonga, the ZRA public relations
manager said
on the sidelines of a regional meeting on river-based
organisations.
ZRA manages the Kariba Dam and monitors water levels.
It is responsible for
opening the floodgates once the levels are high, so
that it can protect the
dam wall.
Completed in 1959, the dam was built to
generate power for Zimbabwe and
Zambia. For optimum use, water levels
should not reach a certain height as
that would put the dam at
risk.
“Some of the people settled during a time when there was a
drought and we
were not opening the floodgates, but now the rains have
increased and they
are at increased risk,” Karonga continued.
She
said the authority sought new innovative ways and media channels to
convince
settlers on the Zambezi valley to move. “We have taken it for
granted that
radio is the best way to reach these people, but we have
realised that we
need new ways of mass communication, to effectively
communicate with these
communities,” Karonga said.
She said while the settlers were being
given information in time, on the
levels of water in Kariba, some people in
Muzarabani had remained obstinate.
Karonga said they were also working with
the ZCPU and the Zambian Disaster
Management Unit in convincing the settlers
on the need to be resettled.
On several occasions, villagers in Muzarabani
have had their houses,
household goods, livestock and crops swept away by
floods especially during
the rainy season.
Southern African officials
were meeting in Harare to discuss how they could
share cross-border water
sources equitably.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Monday, 11 June 2012 14:58
KUBATANA
Primary School in Epworth last week received US$3 000 worth of
stationery
and other accessories from the Defence for Children
International-Zimbabwe
(DCIZ), in the organisation’s endeavour to support
less privileged children
in the society.
The stationery was sourced with the help of the
Chinese Embassy in Harare.
DCIZ national director, Alfas Shangwa, said the
school had an enrolment of
up to 2 500 pupils, mostly from the surrounding
communities. Shangwa said
the donations were aimed at raising awareness of
the existence of the United
Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
(UNCRC) and creating a
friendly environment for children to exercise their
rights.
— BY LESLEY WURAYAYI
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Monday, 11 June 2012
14:56
BY KUDZAI CHIMHANGWA
POLICE were last week called in at
Queensdale Primary School in Harare to
monitor the situation after parents
threatened to beat up members of the
previous School Development Committee
(SDC) over allegations of financial
mismanagement.
This took
place when parents were electing a new SDC executive that would
best
represent their interests. Police details could be seen sitting in the
school hall, monitoring the developments. The frustrated parents wanted to
vent their anger on the former SDC, whom they accused of diverting money
meant for teachers’ incentives towards other uses that had not been agreed
upon.
“As the parents association, we had agreed to pay US$150
for teacher’s
incentives and US$100 for non-teaching staff,” said one
furious parent at
the meeting. “We were surprised when we learnt that
teachers were receiving
a hefty US$300 incentive, contrary to what we had
agreed.”
Some parents felt that the headmistress, Maud Makore, should
be dismissed.
“By regulation, the school account must not be opened by any
one member of
the committee, where he or she banks,” said one
parent.
Members of the previous SDC were not in a position to
comment, referring
questions to the new committee. A district education
officer, who only
identified himself as Muguwe, told the meeting that a
newsletter would be
helpful to inform parents, as stakeholders, about
developments occurring at
the school.
“With regard to teacher
incentives, there are policy guidelines as
stipulated in circular number 5
of 2009. Of the total levy, 10% goes to
teacher’s incentives while 5% is for
non-teaching staff,” said Muguwe.
“These allegations (about the
previous committee’s fraudulent activities)
need to be proved. So in that
regard, issues about the school are solved
right here at the
school.
“Government saw that it did not have the money to maintain standards
at the
dilapidating schools, so parents were called in as stakeholders. It’s
all a
matter of collective responsibility.”
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Monday, 11 June 2012
14:54
BY JENNIFER DUBE
HARARE — Some Zimbabwe Electricity Supply
Authority (Zesa) employees are
cashing in on desperate Glen Norah residents,
charging them an average of
US$30 per household to avoid power
disconnection, a residents’ rights
organisation has said.
The
Harare Residents’ Trust (HRT) last week said some Zesa employees were
demanding payment to stop disconnecting defaulting residents’ power.
“Residents in the area have resorted to bribing Zesa employees around US$30
to avoid disconnection of electricity. Several residents have done this in
the community and continue to fall prey to the Zesa employees,” said the
Trust.
The residents, said HRT, also complained that most of
their electricity
bills were not a true reflection of consumption at
household levels, as they
were based on estimates. They also complained
about faulty billing and
excessive load-shedding in the
suburb.
The residents also said Zesa officials were very
uncooperative and hostile
whenever they attempted to seek detailed
explanations on their accounts.
Zesa spokesperson, Fullard Gwasira,
professed ignorance that some Zesa
employees were getting paid by defaulting
residents to avoid disconnections.
He urged residents to pay the bills at
banking halls and not to individuals.
“Whoever is paying that
US$30 is being cheated and they are doing themselves
a disservice because
their bills remain the same and even increase the
following month,” said
Gwasira.
“One is better off paying that US$30 to Zesa and having
their bill lowered
by the same amount and not giving it to someone for
temporary relief, but
still risk disconnection.” He urged the public to
report such people to
Zesa.
ZESA to continue with disconnections:
Gwasira
Gwasira however said the disconnections to defaulting
residents in Glen View
and other areas would continue. “It is not like we
have a special operation
against residents in that area,” he
said.
“This is just a routine operation,” said Gwasira. “We read
meters, send
bills and expect payment, but some residents do not pay,
prompting us to
send reminders in the form of a second bill. We are open to
those who want
to negotiate payment plans but some ignore us, leaving us
with no option but
to disconnect, which is the last
resort.”
Gwasira said Zesa reads 80% of meters every month and starts
with the other
20 the following month. He said rate payers should know that
there is a
direct relationship between payments and the quality of service
delivered.
“The better payment we receive, the better the service we
deliver because we
use the money to improve our services,” he said.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Monday, 11 June 2012 12:43
In March this
year, a parliamentary committee on transport and
infrastructural development
recommended a probe into NRZ’s operations
following allegations of
corruption, looting of assets and mismanagement,
resulting in the parastatal
suffering a US$3 million monthly shortfall.
It also recommended the
appointment of a new board after it found out that
NRZ officials were
operating without supervision or being accountable to
anyone. A new board,
headed by Khotso Dube, was only put in place recently.
But analysts
said it would be a tall order for Dube to turn around the
loss-making
entity. “For the past 30 years no investment has been put into
railways,”
noted Mudzuri.
“You will notice that all the wagons we are using were bought
by Ian Smith.
The money is not being put where it is supposed to
go.”
Chitambara urged government to partner with the private sector
to ensure
speedy and efficient infrastructural development in the
country.
“However, the problem is the high political risk,” said
Chitambara.
“Most investors are wary of the indigenisation and
empowerment law. They are
very hesitant.”
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Monday, 11 June 2012 12:36
BY CAIPHAS
CHIMHETE
THE scrapping of the vehicle registration extension deadline, barely
a week
after the reprieve, has exposed the confusion, indecisiveness and
general
inefficiency that has rocked the Ministry of Transport,
Communication and
Infrastructural Development, for the past few
years.
Analysts said it was little wonder Nicholas Goche, who heads
the ministry,
was widely regarded as one of the ministers in the inclusive
government who
have dismally failed to deliver.
A fortnight ago,
his ministry, through the Zimbabwe National Roads
Administration (Zinara),
extended the vehicle registration by one month,
only to reverse the decision
a few days later, plunging the transport sector
into chaos.
This
was despite the fact that long and snaking queues, moving literally at
a
snail’s pace, were still evident at post offices as motorists jostled to
register their vehicles.
Angry motorists last week castigated Goche for
being indecisive and failing
to professionally run parastatals under his
ministry, most of which have
been reduced to empty shells.
“This
sudden u-turn by Zinara clearly shows confusion and indecisiveness
bordering
on wanting to extort money from motorists,” said one motorist,
Richard
Chingore.
From June 30, motorists would be required to fork out US$45, up
from US$20
for vehicle registration.
“There is definitely
something wrong with the Ministry of Transport. first
it was change of
number plates, which we hear would soon be changed again,
then came the
looting of tollgate fees and now there is chaos in vehicle
registration,”
said Chingore.
The MDC-T has also expressed concern over the
scrapping of the deadline
considering that the country’s biggest post
offices were only able to issue
less than 100 discs per
day.
“Zinara should be organised and efficient and not punish the
people of
Zimbabwe for its inefficiencies,” said the MDC-T in a statement.
It said the
registration forms must be available online to enable motorists
to register
on the internet to save time.
The party urged Goche
to ensure that the revenue collected from the
motorists was properly
accounted for to facilitate national development.
Analysts said the
indecisiveness shown by Zinara mirrored the general policy
inconsistence,
mismanagement, corruption and incompetence of entities under
the Ministry of
Transport.
The analysts said almost three years after the erection of
tollgates, which
bring in millions of dollars every month, the country’s
roads still have
nothing to show for it.
From August 2009 to April this
year, Zinara collected a whopping US$57
million from tollgates, of which
about US$47 million was disbursed for road
network
maintenance.
In spite of this, the dualisation and rehabilitation of
the Harare-Masvingo
road, Harare-Gweru road and other roads has not moved an
inch. Built as
temporary structures, the tollgate structures have remained
the same.
Engineers have already condemned the structures as a health
hazard to
motorists, workers and a mockery to engineering. There is no
facility to
record the number of cars passing through; the structures are
too narrow for
some vehicles while the roofs are too high, exposing workers
to rain.
As if that was not enough, the workers still collect fees
while standing.
“It’s not only about these tollgates,” said Engineer Elias
Mudzuri.
“Look at the current chaos in vehicle registration, Air Zimbabwe,
National
Railways of Zimbabwe and other parastatals under the Ministry of
Transport.
They have collapsed.”
Last year AirZim, which had been
failing to pay workers, was suspended by
the International Air Travel
Association (Iata) for reneging on paying
subscription fees to the
organisation. One of its planes was briefly
impounded after it failed to
settle debts to an UK-based firm.
Goche, a former Minister of Public
Service, Labour and Social Welfare, could
not be reached for comment last
week, as he was said to be out of the
country.
His secretary said Goche
would call back, but had not done so by the time of
going to
print.
Goche, also a former Minister of State Security, also presides
over Civil
Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (Caaz), NetOne and Telone.
But
a senior official with the Ministry of Transport said it was not fair to
blame Goche for the collapse of the parastatals because he inherited the
problems.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Monday, 11
June 2012 12:33
BY NQOBANI NDLOVU
CALLS for early elections have been
blamed for increased political violence,
with Manicaland being cited as the
most volatile province in the country,
according to a local civic
group.
The Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP), which monitors politically
motivated
rights violations, recorded 524 incidents of political violence in
April
compared to 475 cases the previous month.
ZPP blamed calls
for early elections on increased cases of political
violence as parties gear
themselves for polls. President Robert Mugabe’s
Zanu PF has been calling for
early polls but Sadc over a week ago insisted
that various reforms should be
implemented first within the next 12 months.
“Politically-motivated
human rights violations continued on the upward trend
as the talk of holding
elections this year gathered momentum. Since the
beginning of the year ZPP
has been witnessing a steady increase in
politically-motivated human rights
violations across the country,” ZPP said
in its latest
report.
“The elections mantra was also laced up with controversies
around the
constitution-making process with Zanu PF officials trashing the
first draft
produced by Copac.”
The civic group said Manicaland was the
most politically volatile province
followed by Midlands and Masvingo while
the three Matabeleland regions
recorded the least incidences of
violence.
Zanu PF supporters were blamed for almost all the political
violence. Two
weeks ago, an MDC-T activist Cephas Magura, was allegedly
stoned to death by
several Zanu PF supporters at a business centre in
Mudzi.
Analysts last week said Zanu-PF supporters had realised that
intimidating
and beating opposition supporters in Matabeleland South, North
and Bulawayo
did not necessarily result in poll victory, as shown by the
poor performance
of the party since the 1980’s Gukurahundi
massacres.
Last week, the Joint Monitoring and Implementation
Committee (Jomic) called
on party leaders to back their calls against
political violence with
concrete action and “immediately” hold joint rallies
to help end clashes
between their supporters across the
country.
Both Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai have called
for an end to
political violence but they are yet to hold the joint rallies
promised by
their parties as part of efforts to calm tension.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Monday, 11 June 2012 12:31
by LESLEY
WURAYAYI
ANALYSTS say the proposed holding of joint peace rallies by the
three main
political parties in the country will not curb rampant political
violence in
the country because of the selective application of the law by
the police
and lack of political will.
The Joint Monitoring and
Implementation Committee (Jomic) last week renewed
calls for the political
parties to hold joint rallies in the wake of the
recent disturbances in
Mudzi where an MDC-T activist was killed during
violent clashes with Zanu PF
supporters.
Jomic said political leaders must back their calls for an
end to political
violence with concrete action and immediately hold joint
rallies to help end
clashes between their supporters across the
country.
Both President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai have in
the past called for an end to political violence but are
yet to hold joint
rallies promised by their parties as part of efforts to
calm divisions.
But analysts said no amount of joint rallies would
eradicate the culture of
impunity as long as known perpetrators of violence,
among them Chipangano
members, are left roaming the streets. Chipangano is a
Mbare-based shadowy
group which is accused of committing acts of violence
against Zanu PF
opponents, but the former ruling party has of late denied
links to the
outfit.
Political analyst and social rights
activist, Hopewell Gumbo said Zanu PF
hardliners were not prepared to lose
their hold over power, hence they could
not restrain their
supporters.
“The MDC is serious about addressing the violence because
it knows well how
a peaceful environment will deliver change of regime while
Zanu PF holds
violence as the tool for remaining in power,” Gumbo
said.
“There are a lot of genuine Zanu PF people who would want to go
for joint
rallies as a step towards repentance and accepting reality but the
hardliners see such rallies as a suicide rope and unfortunately these are
more than the born again.”
Bulawayo spokesperson of the Welshman
Ncube-led MDC, Edwin Ndlovu, said
although the idea of joint rallies was
noble, political parties were not
sincere as they “preach peace during the
day but eat and sleep violence.”
Jomic member and deputy spokesperson
of the MDC-T, Tabitha Khumalo said the
GPA principals must “walk the talk”
to help end political violence. “It’s
now a trend that whenever the word
election is mentioned, violence erupts.
Elections do not mean war. It is
about campaigning and selling your party’s
ideology and there is no reason
to fight,” she said.
“Principals might denounce violence at public
gatherings but remember people
are in all parts of the country and the
exercise will be fruitful if they
visit all the 10
provinces.”
Zanu PF spokesperson Rugare Gumbo could not be reached
for comment, but last
week, the party’s women league boss, Oppah Muchinguri
also condemned
violence and supported the idea of holding joint peace
campaigns.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Monday, 11 June 2012 12:26
BY RUTENDO
MAWERE
A chieftainship wrangle in Mbe-rengwa has sucked in President Robert
Mugabe
and Local Government, Rural and Urban Development minister, Ignatious
Chombo. In a High Court application filed recently, Efanosi Shoko contested
the Mudavanhu chieftainship that was conferred on Amen Mudavanhu, contrary
to recommendations.
Amen is the first respondent while the
Mberengwa Administrator is cited as
the second respondent, with Chombo and
Mugabe cited as the third and fourth
respondents
respectively.
Shoko states that he was nominated to be the
substantive Chief Mudavanhu in
2010 following the death of Komboni Wushe who
had been the chief. He however
said he was surprised that while awaiting his
official appointment, Amen was
announced as the new substantive
chief.
He said, on March 10 2010 a meeting was held at Zibanga
business centre in
Mudavanhu area, Mberengwa, and was chaired by the acting
District
Administrator, identified only as Chivanga. He was then nominated
for
appointment as substantive Chief Mudavanhu.
“Immediately
thereafter, I was asked to submit finger prints and was vetted
by the CID,
police and had my criminal record checked and advised that my
papers would
be processed and submitted to the President,” Efanosi states in
the court
papers.
“Whilst still waiting my appointment, I was surprised on the
25th of January
2012 when the Mberengwa District Administrator convened a
meeting at Zibanga
business centre whereupon I then learnt that the
chieftainship was now to be
given to Amen Mudavanhu.”
Efanosi
stated that he believed himself to be the legitimate nominee for the
chieftainship and wants the court to help him restore his legitimate
appointment. Adonia Shoko, son to Komboni Ushe, who has been acting-Chief
Mudavanhu since the death of his father, also confirmed that Efanosi Shoko
had been nominated as substantive chief in 2006.
“I confirm that
in accordance to custom, the applicant was nominated and is
eligible to be
the next substantive chief as agreed by the family members,”
he said in a
supporting affidavit.
“I also confirm that the meeting held on the
25th January 2012, was contrary
to our custom, as there is no provision in
our custom to allow the removal
of a duly nominated chief without a just
cause. I also confirm that the
appointment of Amen Mudavanhu was not in
accordance with custom, as he was
not nominated by the clansman, but was
only imposed by officers from the
District Administrator’s
Office.”
Sources in Mberengwa said the removal of Efanosi Shoko as
Chief Mudavanhu
could be politically-motivated as Efanosi is suspected to be
a supporter of
the MDC party led by Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai.
Appointment out of step with tradition, says
Lawyer
Efanosi Shoko’s lawyer, Brian Dube of Gundu and Dube Legal
Practitioners
told The Standard that it was out of tradition that a chief
can be
replaced while still alive, hence his client had decided to challenge
the
appointment in the courts.
“In our tradition, a chief can
only be replaced after his death and we find
it amazing why Efanos will be
appointed Chief and later on someone else is
reappointed,” Dube said.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Monday, 11 June
2012 12:24
BY JENNIFER DUBE
THE Veterinarians for Animal Welfare
Zimbabwe (VAWZ) has accused the police
of failing to block a South African
man from transporting a dog and an
expensive breed of 15 puppies to the DRC
under poor conditions.
With the help of the police, VAWZ intercepted
Alvaro Machado’s van in
Beatrice two weeks ago as he made his way to the
Democratic Republic of the
Congo.
“We got calls from people who heard the
puppies barking incessantly in the
panel van,” VAWZ chief inspector Meryl
Harrison said.
She said this was cruelty to animals at its worst as
Machado wanted to cross
three borders from South Africa to the DRC with the
puppies in a vehicle
that was unsuitable with no ventilation
.
Harrison said her organisation was disappointed that the police,
who were
usually very cooperative, joined for-ces with Machado in fighting
against
them such that they even questioned her in relation to a trumped-up
theft
charge Machado pressed against her.
“We had a lot of
interference in this case,” Harrison said. “I had police
arresting me in
connection with a theft case he opened against me at
Borrowdale Police
Station. I got calls from people from Zimra and had one
man called Steve,
who only identified himself as an interested party coming
to our office to
make all sorts of threats.”
Machado told The Standard crew that he had dual
South African and Zimbabwean
citizenship but had not been in the country for
many years. Dual citizenship
is illegal in Zimbabwe.
He accused
Harrison of wanting to steal his dogs. “I have inside information
that she
had already found buyers for my dogs,” claimed Machado. “Someone
from her
organisation told me how this nasty woman abuses her position to
sell other
people’s animals and chickens.”
He said he had all documents from the
South African side and from DRC and
had been allowed through Beitbridge and
past many police roadblocks.
Machado said the puppies, including a German
Shepherd pure pedigree and a
Great Dane, cost around US$3 000 each. But
Harrison disputed this saying the
puppies were poorly bred and would cost
between US$100 and US$400 each.
The police later allowed Machado to
proceed with the dogs in the same
vehicle, much to the disappointment of
Harrison and her team.
Efforts to get a comment from police spo-kesperson
Superinte-ndent Andrew
Phiri were fruitless as his mobile phone went
unanswered.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Monday, 11 June 2012
12:23
By Jan Raath
Among the throngs around the world celebrating the
Diamond Jubilee last week
were to have been a few dozen Englishmen and
women, raising their glasses to
the Queen on a balmy winter’s day in the
rolling countryside just outside
Harare.
It was not to be.
President Robert Mugabe’s police on Friday told the
Zimbabwe branch of the
Royal Society of St George that their celebratory
picnic on a farm was
banned under the Public Order and Security Act (Posa).
The law is routinely
used to quash political rallies and demonstrations.
The society was
founded in 1894 “with the noble object of promoting
Englishness and the
English way of life”. It describes itself as “the
standard bearer of
traditional English values at home and abroad.”
The Zimbabwe chapter
consists of about 60 souls, with an average age of
about 70, according to
members. They meet annually also to commemorate
Armistice Day, Battle of
Britain Day and Waterloo Day, the men wearing their
military
medals.
“I have to say that I really don’t want to comment,” said
Brian Heathcote,
the president of the society. “It’s a sad day.” However,
society members
said police told Heathcote that a crowd of whites waving the
Union Jack on a
white-owned farm would provoke trouble among local militants
of Mugabe’s
Zanu PF party.
The society’s committee emailed its
members on Friday to tell them that “we
will not be allowed to hold our
picnic to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond
Jubilee.”
Zimbabwe’s law does not
require police permission for a private gathering on
private property, it
said, “but we, as a committee, feel that it is prudent
under the present
situation in the country not to be perceived to be
creating political
mischief with the authorities (sic)”.
Unbowed, the email said that
the barring of the picnic “does not mean that
you as individuals cannot
privately toast Zimbabwe and the Queen”. Members
of the committee would be
at the Harare Club from noon and “would be pleased
if any of you could join
us there for a short time there to remember this
day.
“We are British and
have risen above situations before with dignity, and
this will no
exception.”
A British embassy official said the incident was
“regrettable”. Deborah
Bronnert, the British ambassador, was due to have
attended. However, the
official pointed out that the Jubilee would be
celebrated “on a large scale”,
with the Queen’s birthday, at the embassy
next week.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Monday, 11 June 2012 12:20
Chinhoyi municipality,
which records an average of 20 deaths per week, is
fast running out of space
to bury its dead and is now exploring new ways,
previously viewed as taboo
to deal with the crisis.
Amenities manager Charles Mandimutsa said
council was now regarding
cremation as the only available solution to
shortage of burial space.
“There is no space to bury the dead at the cemetery
behind the hospital,
that is why we opened another one near Golden Kopje
turn off,” said
Mandimutsa.
— Own Correspondent
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Monday, 11 June 2012 12:19
BY CLAYTON
MASEKESA
MUTARE — The Africa Apostolic Faith Mission has criticised Zanu PF
leaders
who bulldoze their way at religious gatherings in order to preach
party
politics. Leader of the church, Isaiah Murove said partisan
traditional
leaders and apostolic sects who were openly and “blindly”
glorifying Zanu PF
were working against God’s word.
“We worship
God and not politicians,” he said. “Our church has no room for
politicians
as we are apostles of God and not apostles of Zanu PF. He said
time would
come when political leaders would face their “judgement day”
“God has
a way of doing things,” said Murove. “He hears our prayers for a
better
Zimbabwe. He will wipe out our tears when the time comes. The chosen
one
will lead this country.”
Zanu PF political leaders in Manicaland have
been openly campaigning at
apostolic sects gatherings as competition for
voters ahead of elections
later this year or in 2013 hots
up.
Party heavy weights such as Women’s League boss Oppah
Muchinguri, secretary
for administration Didymus Mutasa, provincial governor
Chris Mushohwe and
provincial chairman Mike Madiro, among others, have been
attending various
church services being held by the apostolic sects that
include Johanne
Marange, Masowe weChishanu and Africa Apostolic Faith
Mission among others
where they have been selling their political
manifestos.
One of the faction leader of Johanne Marange, Noah Taguta
last year invited
President Robert Mugabe to the church’s Passover. Top
Zanu PF leadership in
other parts of the country, notably national political
commissar Webster
Shamu, regularly addresses apostolic sects’ gatherings
while bare-footed
and clad in church gowns as they try to win support for
the party.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Monday, 11 June 2012 12:17
BY
JENNIFER DUBE
PRESIDENT Mugabe has been sucked in the fight for the control
of the
Anglican Church’s Harare diocese, with some politicians promising
members of
the Church of the Province of Central Africa (CPCA) that they
will
facilitate access to him.
The feud between the Chad
Gandiya-led diocese of the CPCA and another
faction headed by Bishop Nolbert
Kunonga has been raging since the latter’s
excommunication in 2007 after he
unilaterally pulled Harare from the
province accusing his rivals of
supporting homosexuality.
The feud, largely centred on ownership of
properties and characterised by
violent clashes especially targeted at CPCA
members, has resulted in
numerous court cases and political interventions to
no avail.
In a pastoral letter last week, Gandiya urged members of
his church to be
vigilant amid reports that some politicians had offered
some unsolicited
assistance while some members have received
threats.
“Two things have been brought to our attention,” Gandiya
said. “First, that
there are some aspiring politicians who are telling some
of our people that
they can help us because they have access to the State
President.
“We would like you all to know that our case is pending in
the Supreme Court
and that if we need to have an audience with His
Excellency the President of
the Republic of Zimbabwe, we know the acceptable
channels to follow. Don’t
fall prey to those who want to gain political
mileage out of our suffering.”
Gandiya’s letter also said there were
threats to harm some of his church’s
rural clergy and local rural church
leadership, urging parishioners not to
take the threats lightly.
“Please
report such threats to life to the police and keep us informed,”
part of the
letter read.“The police are obligated to protect all people
without favour.
We ask all our parishes to be vigilant and to be your
brothers and sisters
keepers.”
CPCA spokesperson Precious Shumba said although he could
not name the
politicians who have been trying to manipulate his church’s
predicament, he
had been told that these were not from
MDC.
Shumba said cases of threats had only been documented in-house
and not
reported to the police.
He said most parishioners no longer see
the value of making police reports
as previous cases were ignored, while
some of the victims were allegedly
arrested instead of the
assailants.
Parishioners beware, says Shumba
“We
received reports that there are some politicians who claim to have
control
over the President and are trying to lure our leaders advising them
to talk
to them nicely so they can assist us,” Shumba said.
“We have since
advised parishioners not to be misled by these criminals
because we know the
correct channels to use if we want to have access to the
President.”
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Monday, 11 June 2012 12:15
BY
NQABA MATSHAZI
PLANS by Zimbabwe to add two more generators to Kariba South
have all but
hit a brick wall, with the authority responsible for Kariba Dam
saying the
project was not feasible.
Zimbabwe, which shares the
Kariba dam with Zambia, was hoping that the new
generators would help ease
power shortages and load-shedding, which are
common in the
country.
“We have looked at the feasibility of the project and there
is not enough
water to run continuous power generation, unless they propose
to do so
during the rainy season peak periods,” Wilson Sakala, the Zambezi
River
Authority senior manager for Water Resources and Environmental
Management
explained.
“We fear that if it is continuously run,
there won’t be enough water in the
dam. However, when it’s not during the
rainy season, the two units can run
but only for shorter periods and that
means when the dam is full to
capacity, we no longer have to open the
floodgates.”
But the Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) insisted that it
would go ahead with
the project, as it was looking to expanding Kariba South
to increase
generational capacity.
“It has not been communicated
to us that there are problems with our
expansion project. In fact we have
been advised that the water levels are
always high in the Kariba
Dam.
“Early this year, during a tour of the dam by Sadc, we were
apprised on the
advantages of adding two more units,” Fadzai Chisveto, ZPC
spokesperson
said.
However, the Zambezi Watercourse Commission (Zamcom),
which administers the
Zambezi River on behalf of the eight countries that
are on the basin, says
Zimbabwe’s only chance of increasing power generation
is based on its
ability to look for foreign investors.
“If
Zimbabwe cannot buy enough power from the existing Sadc power pool, the
only
solution is for the country to open doors to partners that can fund its
power projects,” Michael Mutale, Zamcom executive secretary
said.
Countries on a cross-border water course like the Zambezi are
supposed to
inform each other of any projects that they are working on the
river, so
that it does not affect other nations who are either up or
downstream.
There are eight countries on the Zambezi watercourse and
these have to okay
Zimbabwe’s plans on power generation, which also have to
be approved by the
ZRA, which administers the Kariba Dam on behalf of
Zimbabwe and Zambia.
Countries on the Zambezi watercourse are
Botswana, Angola, Zambia, Malawi
Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania and
Zimbabwe.
Sadc hopes for speedy resolution
Sadc hopes that
the issue of adding more generators at Kariba power plant
may be resolved
accordingly. Phera Ramoeli, Sadc senior programme officer
for water, said
despite technical obstacles to Zimbabwe’s installing
additional generating
capacity at Kariba South, he expected a solution would
be
found.
“I am sure these are only technical issues but Zambia and
Zimbabwe will iron
out these between themselves and find a win-win solution
since ZRA is a body
that works in the best interests of the two,” he
said.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Monday, 11 June 2012
12:06
MEMBERS of Parliament want government to scrap President Robert
Mugabe’s
Presidential Scholarship Programme as it is drawing millions of
dollars from
the fiscus and benefiting foreign institutions, yet prejuciding
thousands of
local students.
Glen View North MP, Fani Munengami
said up to US$40 million was being paid
to foreign universities to enable a
few students to study under the
programme, at the expense of heavily
under-funded local colleges and
universities.
“MPs are currently
advocating for the removal of the Presidential
scholarship programme,” he
said during a workshop to mark the end of the
Positive Living programme in
tertiary institutions in Harare recently.
“It is our wish that the
US$40 million which is paid to foreign universities
be channelled towards
local universities and other tertiary institutions.”
The Presidential
Scholarship headed by Manicaland Provincial governor, Chris
Mushohwe has
largely benefitted children of Zanu PF supporters and officials
who go to
study at South African universities notably Fort Hare where Mugabe
was once
a student.
— By Sofia Mapuranga
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Monday, 11 June 2012 12:12
Another
political analyst, George Makoni, believes Moyo is the de facto Zanu
PF
“propaganda consultant,” whose job description permits him to utter any
“rubbish” at any platform.
“Mugabe might have realised that in
some cases, his formal lieutenants,
formally tasked to be party mouthpieces,
usually misfire. “The wily
professor’s task is to do that dirty job, then
when there are questions
regarding that, the formal structures pick up the
pieces,” he said, citing
Moyo’s undiplomatic attack on Zuma, which Zanu PF
distanced itself from.
As The Standard revealed two years ago, Moyo
is increasingly working with
the military in managing a likely transition
and is involved in
behind-the-scenes manoeuvring, in managing the succession
issue.
“Working with these people (security chiefs) is not a crime,
they form the
nationalist critical core of our country and some of us deploy
our talents
and services in defence of the national interests,” Moyo said at
the time.
A source described Moyo as confused, saying his only
motivation was being
close to the seat of power. “He is dying to be part of
the future and has a
hangover of power. He tasted it once (as Minister of
Information and
Publicity) and he does not want to lose out again,” the
source explained.
The source said most of Moyo’s projects had failed,
among them, the
Constitution Commission of 2000, an abortive attempt to form
a party, the
United People’s Movement, and the Gukurahundi Bill, which he
wanted put
before Parliament, as well as the bid to oust the Speaker of
Parliament,
Lovemore Moyo.
Political analyst, Effie Ncube, said
Moyo was too angry to be of any use to
Zimbabweans and was irrelevant to the
future aspirations of the country.
“His inner anger comes from that he has
failed in most of his endeavours,
including making Zimbabwe a one-party
state and shutting down free press,
and this has made him angry,” Ncube
said.
Moyo was not answering his phone yesterday.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Monday, 11 June 2012 12:11
Copac
co-chairperson and MDC-T spokesperson, Douglous Mwonzora, accused Moyo
of
being on a crusade to destablise the constitution-making process in the
hope
that this would collapse the coalition government and force early
elections.
He alleged that Moyo was behind the recent document by
Zanu PF, which has
thrown the drafting of the charter into disarray. “The
document has demands
which are impossible to meet. The demands have no
relationship to what the
people want or said during the outreach
programmes,” said Mwonzora. “Moyo
and Zanu PF are not serious about
elections, but they only want to destroy
the constitution-making process, so
that the current uneven political
playing field remains.”
But
Mwonzora’s Zanu PF counterpart in Copac, Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana,
although
admitting that the party had raised over 300 new issues it wants
incorporated into the new constitution, described Mwonzora’s allegations as
“nonsensical”.
“Give credit where it is due,” he said, suggesting
that he was behind Zanu
PF’s fresh demands. “I am the leader of Zanu PF in
the constitution-making
process and not Moyo.”
Mangwana said
Moyo’s role in Zanu PF was strategic. “Moyo is given
assignments as the
party feels. We are a party of guerrillas and do not
openly discuss our
strategies, unlike the MDC which was formed by whites,”
he said.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Monday, 11 June 2012 12:08
BY OUR
STAFF
ONE of President Robert Mu-gabe’s loudest cheerleaders and Zanu PF
politburo
member, Jonathan Moyo, has staked his political life with that of
the
88-year-old leader and is doing everything in his power to ensure
political
survival, analysts and party insiders have said.
They
however warned Moyo would not succeed in his endeavours as he has made
enemies within and outside the former ruling party and aligned himself with
Mugabe who was in the twilight of his political career.
Moyo’s
greatest stumbling block is Zanu PF itself, in which the sitting MPs
and
senators are decidedly against elections this year — even if they don’t
say
so openly — under any constitution despite loud calls for them by Moyo
and
President Robert Mugabe.
They said Moyo’s role in Zanu PF was
unclear. Some said he might have been
readmitted in the party to kill
factionalism and manage the succession
issue, but he has created enemies
with some of the most powerful people in
the party, particularly those
fingered as faction leaders who he has said,
lack
ideology.
Alleged faction leaders are Defence minister Emmerson
Mnanga-gwa and
Vice-President Joice Mujuru. Moyo is said to be the front of
the military
faction in Zanu PF, which is threatening to thwart the
ascendency to power
of anyone who does not have a guerrilla-war background,
even if he wins
elections.
Moyo is using the state media to spit
all sorts of venom at those who cross
his path as he tries to defend Zanu PF
and President Mugabe at all costs.
But some analysts say although he seems
to be fighting in Mugabe’s corner,
he is actually fronting for the generals,
whom he wishes to take over the
reins after Mugabe, and therefore also
safeguard his own political future.
This, he wants to achieve by all
means necessary, including wrecking the
constitution-making process, pulling
Zanu PF out of the Global Political
Agreement and encouraging a military
takeover.
Last year he nearly caused a diplomatic spat between
Zimbabwe and South
Africa when he dismissed the Sadc-appointed facilitation
team as an agent of
the West, while questioning the suitability of President
Jacob Zuma to
resolve the crisis in the country.
Recently he
described the constitution-making process as “mafia-led” and has
led calls
to hold early elections using the current Lancaster House
constitution.
Moyo wants to create
chaos
Nhlanhla Dube, MDC spokesman, described Moyo as someone who
was driven by
internal party dynamics and was looking for political
accommodation.
“Everyone has a right to hold an opinion, but it is the
people who define
the importance of that opinion,” Dube
said.
Political analyst, Gift Mambipiri said Moyo fell out with
Defence minister,
Emmerson Mnangagwa’s faction, which he recently described
as devoid of
content.
He said the former University of Zimbabwe political
science lecturer was now
the civilian face of the securocrats, whose mission
was to frustrate the GNU
and stall any progress under the
GPA.
“This is shown by his move to rock the boat in the
constitution-making
process by making fresh and unreasonable demands, as
well as the call for
early elections without reforms,” he
said.
“The securocrats have no grassroots support unlike the
Mnangagwa and Mujuru
factions and that is why they want to create chaos so
that they can justify
intervention.”
Political commentator,
Blessing Vava, said the military’s grant plan was to
take over the
leadership of Zanu PF and the country after Mugabe and ensure
that their
business interests are protected.
“The group is not popular, but it
thrives on violence and fear and the
recently held district coordinating
Committee (DCC) polls can testify,” he
said. Political scientist,
Shakespeare Hamauswa, said most Zanu PF
supporters and officials do not
support Moyo because of his lack of respect
for elders, which undermined the
party’s leadership and also his
inconsistency, which has seen him in and out
of the former ruling party.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Monday, 11 June 2012
17:05
BY KUDZAI CHIMHANGWA
RESERVE Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor,
Gideon Gono, has proposed an
empowerment model for the banking sector based
on a supply-chain approach,
in a bid to protect the fragile financial sector
reeling from an acute
liquidity crunch.
Under the proposed
supply-chain based approach, government would institute
policies that would
ensure that indigenous people supply all the operational
requirements in the
banking sector.
This empowerment strategy would then ensure that
indigenous people realise
immediate benefits through receipts from
guaranteed supply of goods and
services to international banks, as opposed
to dividend payments, which are
contingent upon the profitability of the
bank and the decision to issue
dividends to shareholders.
Youth
Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment minister, Saviour
Kasukuwere,
recently summoned executives from four foreign-owned banks
operating in
Zimbabwe to inform them of his indigenisation intentions.
The four
foreign banks are MBCA, owned by South African-based Nedbank,
Stanbic, a
unit of Standard Bank (South Africa), British-owned Standard
Chartered Bank
and Barclays Bank.
Gono warned against indigenising banks in the
current environment, where the
financial sector is highly illiquid, a
development he said would worsen the
liquidity crisis in the economy, where
the 51% is ceded on credit.
He said that under the equity approach,
beneficiaries were generally people
seeking to satisfy their esteem and
self-actualisation needs. “The high
number of locally-owned banks implies
that the sector is already dominated
by indigenous banks. A coercive change
in bank ownership structure, under
the guise of indigenisation, would lead
to a weakened banking sector, thus
undermining the stability of the sector,”
said Gono.
He noted that international banks in the country
constituted 38,7% of total
deposits in the banking industry and 52% of
banking sector profitability.
“As at 31 December 2011, total turnover for the
banking sector amounted to
US$870 million, of which US$800 million was
utilised to cover operational
costs, resulting in a net profit of US$70
million.
Of the US$800 million that was utilised, US$320 million was
in the form of
non-interest expenses and Gono said this presented
empowerment opportunities
through the supply-chain based
approach.
Of the total profitability for the banking sector amounting
to US$70
million, foreign banks accounted for 52% (US$37 million), while
indigenous
banks had the balance of 48% (US$33 million).
“Based
on the foreign banks’ share of profitability amounting to US $37
million, if
indigenous participation were to be based on profitability
alone, the
indigenous investors would be entitled to US$19 million, which is
commensurate with the 51% of US$37 million.
“Moreover, assuming a
dividend of 10% is paid on the US$19 million;
indigenous investors would be
entitled to a paltry dividend of US$1,9
million per year if the equity-based
approach is adopted,” he said.
This, he said, would not be comparable
to the implied benefit of US$320
million under the supply-side approach,
which is available throughout the
year and has the added benefit of the
multiplier effect of reinvested
profits.
“International banks
accounted for 34% of the banking sector’s total
turnover of US$870 million,
while indigenous banks accounted for the balance
of 66% as at 31 December
2011,” he said.
Gono said one way to ensure adequate financing to
indigenous people under
the supply-based model was “to put in place
procurement financing measures
that ensure that indigenous people have
access to capital from the financial
sector for both operational and capital
spending with little or no
traditional type of security for loans”.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Monday, 11 June 2012 17:17
“If
necessity is the mother of invention, it’s the father of cooperation.” —
John Ashcroft
I wish to share with you responses received to last
week’s quiz.
Here are the most important challenges facing entrepreneurial
growth in
Zimbabwe today, according to the selected
winners:
Stanley: Lack of focus; fear of the unknown and reluctance
to embrace and
leverage new technological advances.
Chimuka: lack
of support in terms of a real policy that enables recognition
of small
businesses by financiers; lack of adequate planning; inability to
make
synergies by combining forces, either as a joint venture or a
representative
group that can lobby on their behalf while also allowing
sharing of
experiences or mistrusting anyone that tries to do so because of
past
experiences with groups.
Betina: stiff competition — that is from big
firms and imports; lack of
capital; lack of skills on production and
marketing.
Courage: poor or lack of laid down strategic planning;
lack of capital to
finance expansion projects and when available, it’s
expensive —
entrepreneurs tend to choke the business with their spending on
flashy
lifestyles.
Don’t miss next week’s quiz. One winner will,
in addition to the CD e-books,
also get a copy of internationally recognised
Zimbabwean business expert and
author Rabison Shumba’s latest book The
Fountain of Inspiration.
In his book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective
People, Steven Covey lists
the sixth habit as synergy.
The term synergy
comes from the Greek word synergia, which means working
together. The
dictionary defines synergy as “the interaction of elements
that when
combined, produce a total effect that is greater than the sum of
the
individual elements”.
In the context of organisational behaviour,
synergy is the ability of a
group to outperform even its best individual
member. In all great
entrepreneurial achievements, although one person may
hog the limelight,
there is always a team of two or more people who worked
together: the late
Steve Jobs and Steven Wozniak at Apple; Bill Gates and
Paul Allen at
Microsoft; Julius Makoni, James Mushore and Francis Zimuto at
NMB Bank;
Douglas Munatsi and Oliver Chidawo at ABC Holdings.
If
you are seriously considering building a great business, you must
understand
the simple fact that you can never achieve greatness on your own;
you need
other people.
John Maxwell in his book 25 Ways to Win with People,
says “Great leaders
tumble when they think people need them instead of them
needing people.”
I’m sure you have asked for directions from
strangers sometime. How did they
act? In most cases, I have found a person
repeating directions a number of
times to make sure you really understood;
people go out of their way to
ensure you get where you want to go. By
nature, people want to help others.
But many entrepreneurs trudge along on
their own, reluctant to ask for
advice or assistance. As a result, they
never achieve much in terms of
building a great business.
Below
are some of the ways you can leverage on the synergy of other people
to
build your business into a great enterprise:
Build a great
entrepreneurial team at the top
whether you are starting up or want to grow
your existing business, you must
understand that you cannot do everything on
your own. Engage people with
skills that complement yours. Because of the
scarcity mentality, some
business owners are reluctant to employ the
services of others, thinking
they cannot afford it. Whether or not you can
afford it, is in your mind. if
you have a mentality of abundance and want to
give and share, you will find
the cake expanding faster than you imagined
and all parties benefitting.
Give your staff the AAA treatment
that
is, show attention, affirmation and appreciation to your employees. How
much
do you know about your staff’s families, circumstances and problems?
Many
business owners don’t really care about their staff’s personal issues.
As a
result, they fail to get the maximum synergy they could. Make your
staff
feel needed, that they can make a difference, and they will help you
achieve
your goals.
Phillip Chichoni is a strategic business planning
consultant who works with
SMEs and entrepreneurs. You may contact him by
email to
chichonip@smebusinesslink.com
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Monday, 11 June 2012 14:48
The Zimbabwe
National Roads Administration (Zinara) last week hogged the
limelight for
the wrong reasons. The body, which falls under the Ministry of
Transport,
Communication and Infrastructural Development, recently
introduced a new
licensing system that compels all motorists to obtain new
discs.
Zinara announced the deadline for the discs as May 31 and
then allowed a
grace period ending June 30, taking into consideration the
chaotic scenes at
post offices where thousands failed to register in
time.
Strangely, the body made a quick U-turn last week,
scrapping the grace
period and instructing the police to arrest motorists
who failed to display
the new discs.
Not surprisingly, there was little
support for Zinara’s antics, both from
the motorists, who have to queue for
long periods, and the police, who
should enforce the new
system.
Zinara’s actions were without doubt unreasonable. To expect
motorists to
acquire licences when post offices cannot cope with the demand
was akin to
expecting the impossible to happen.
And for Zinara to
arbitrarily scrap the June 30 extension deadline was the
height of lunacy
for a public body that should be sensitive to people’s
concerns.
What
this debacle exposed was the glaring bankruptcy of leadership at
Zinara.
Officials charged with administering Zinara affairs proved incapable
of
making sound judgement even on matters that are clearly
straightforward.
The computerised system of acquiring the disks also
needed to be simplified
and efforts made to bring in more personnel to deal
with thousands of
motorists who thronged post offices across the country on
a daily basis.
The way Zinara management handled the matter mirrored
the lack of planning,
confusion and leadership deficit that blights most
parastatals.
Interestingly, Zinara is the same body that is responsible for
revenue
collected from tollgates. Despite the millions of dollars the body
has
collected since tolling was introduced, our roads still bear the same
signs
of disrepair they have borne for years.
Quote of the
week
"We should have security sector re-alignment, let me make it
clear, this is
not a creation of externals. It is part of the Global
Political Agreement
and it must be implemented before elections are held,”
Lindiwe Zulu,
President Zuma’s international relations advisor on Zimbabwe
elections.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Monday, 11 June 2012
14:42
The stoning to death of MDC-T Ward Chairperson Cephas Magura by a
marauding
group of Zanu PF activists at a political rally sanctioned by the
police at
Chimukoko Business Centre in Mudzi on May 26 2012 should not be
treated as
an isolated event, but as part of well-documented behaviour
emblematic of
the political culture practised by Zanu
PF.
Magura’s gruesome murder, is one of many political killings seen
recently,
joining those of Tonderai Ndira, Beta Chokururama and many others
who were
murdered in cold blood. The stoning to death of Magura and other
such
killings have become part and parcel of the political DNA of Zimbabwean
politics. It is a sure sign for doom as the country gears up for possibly
two competitive public political processes within the next 12 months — the
constitutional referendum and general election.
Death in any
situation is a disturbing prospect, but murder for purposes of
political
gain is disquieting, especially when nothing is then done about
it. What is
even more disquieting is the tendency by Zimbabweans to sit idly
by and
watch as situations spiral out of control. The guiltiest party in
this
exercise of inaction is largely the police and prosecution services
which
make them complicit in politically-motivated violence.
What is even
more worrying in the case of Zimbabwe’s police and prosecuting
authorities
is that the consent and sponsorship of politically-motivated
violence and
extra-judicial killings is sometimes not even silent. On
numerous occasions,
top officials from the police force and the Attorney
General’s office have
openly spoken in support of it. This shocking
unprofessional conduct is not
only well-documented in the public sphere but
is also drilled into police
recruits and professionals serving in the AG’s
office. This explains why the
police allegedly watched idly as Magura was
being brutally
murdered.
The generality of Zimbabweans are also to blame for what
happens. When signs
of things going bizarre start showing, the tendency
among Zimbabweans to
retreat into their cocoons and wait for the situation
to deteriorate before
they think about preventative action. Some escape to
safer havens created
by the proactive actions of citizens of those
countries.
This attitude is in stark contrast to situations
elsewhere. For instance,
the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi in Tunisia
in January of 2011, which
was blamed on the Tunisian authorities because of
the reasons he burnt
himself for, sparked a public response that eventually
toppled a brutal
29-year-old regime. In stating the above, we are not
calling for
self-immolation or even for the toppling of the Zimbabwean
regime, in spite
of its transgression — all we are simply doing is drawing
attention to the
fact that our dereliction of responsibility as citizens in
terms of forcing
our authorities to act when action is demanded, may just be
pushing us
towards a deeper hole of political violence, than we are already
in.
The tell-tale signs of the country sliding back into a violent
epoch have
never left us, and are already starting to indicate catastrophe
as we head
for elections. This is especially so if the elections are held,
as Zanu PF
would want, in the absence of meaningful democratic and electoral
reforms.
The GNU still has the opportunity to save the country from
doom by
holistically dealing with the issue of violence and starting to take
corrective action instead of paying lip-service to a scourge that continues
to affect Zimbabweans from all walks of life. Convening conferences where
leaders pledge peace with one lip while the other lip is preaching violence
will not address the issue of violence.
The key drivers of
violence in Zimbabwe are impunity and selective
application of the law. Our
society and the legal system have adequate
measures that can deter
perpetrators of political violence. The challenge is
that Police
Commissioner General Augustine Chihuri is presiding over a
police force that
oftentimes ignores its duty or carries it out selectively.
The other
challenge is Attorney General Johannes Tomana, who presides over a
prosecution service that applies the law in a typical Orwellian style, where
some animals are more equal than others and therefore immune to
prosecution.
The failure to arrest and prosecute is now putting the
country to shame
through having other jurisdictions like South Africa being
compelled by
their own justice systems to investigate the political violence
that
occurred in Zimbabwe in 2008. That precedent of inaction on political
violence is certainly going to give impetus to more violence since it has
become apparent that one can get away with crime depending on one’s
political disposition.
BY BELOVED CHIWESHE
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Monday, 11 June 2012
12:49
Last week I entertained the most unusual of visitors. A Zimbabwe
Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) licence inspector in the company of a
policeman stormed my house to deliver summons for me to appear in court for
failing to produce a valid television licence.
In an ensuing
altercation with the two messengers, I was reminded tellingly
and in
authoritarian police fashion that I was legally compelled to pay for
the
licence. That was before I made it categorically clear that no one — not
even the police, could bully me into paying the licence fee. The
confrontation with the two State functionaries left me wondering why I
should pay for a service I do not utilise.
Despite a provision in
the ZBC Commercialisation Act authorising the
broadcaster to collect licence
fees from anyone deemed to own a television
licence, I thought to myself,
the law was on this aspect totally
unreasonable — forcing me to pay for a
product I do not utilise. For this
reason, I believe the coercion to pay the
licence fee is not only a
violation of my right to choice as a consumer, but
also of my freedom of
association, which by the way is also protected by the
constitution.
I am probably one of the millions of citizens who have
stopped watching ZBC
owing to the broadcaster’s incapability to deliver
quality and tasteful
programming. Satellite television which includes DStv
and the free-to-air
channels offer alternative, topnotch viewing to ZBC’s
poor programming.
And, because I like what DStv offers me, I dutifully and
without any qualms,
pay for its subscription.
In most parts of
the world, public service broadcasting is undergoing
fundamental changes in
line with the internet and digitalisation evolution,
so should ZBC. But
alas, ZBC has chosen to remain stuck in Stone Age
broadcasting yet demands
first world prices. ZBC’s failure to deliver what
consumers want is a
shining example of the service inertia of public
institutions in this
country — heavy-handed on collecting payments for
services but short on
delivery.
Apart from the unreasonableness of being asked to pay for a
television
service which I am not watching, the US$50 ZBC is claiming from
hapless
viewers is exorbitant and inconsistent with the low-standard
programming,
partisanship and propaganda drivel the broadcaster spews.
Public
broadcasting services are supposed to be universal, meaning they must
be
available to all citizens in the country, at the lowest price possible.
And
by charging US$50, ZBC is clearly not doing
that.
Hitherto, ZBC shareholders are reluctant to transform the
broadcaster into a
proper public service broadcasting system in keeping with
broadcasting
trends elsewhere. ZBC ought to deliver and reform first if they
want a claim
to my hard earned Obama dollar. The truism Dead BC is a general
statement
that speaks volumes of ZBC service abilities.
It is
also quite disturbing to observe that ZBC is available on the DStv
facility
but continues to demand as much as US$50 dollars from the same
viewers. Does
that not amount to penny pinching?
A lawyer friend of mine tells me
there is a case before the courts in
Chinhoyi where an institutional viewer
is challenging the legality of ZBC
demanding licence fees from viewers not
watching their service, particularly
those who own DStv and are situated in
areas not receptive to ZBC
television.
One of the
prerequisites for being part of the media is access; however,
access cannot
subsist without technological connection. I am counting on the
positive
verdict of the court case to liberate me from further harassment by
ZBC.
Going forward, it is perhaps time ZBC considered subscription or
pay-per-view television.
BY JUSTIN T MAKOMBE
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/
Monday, 11 June 2012
12:45
After the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) summit in
Luanda,
Angola, that ended on the morning of Saturday June 2, many things
became
patently obvious. One of these was that the regional grouping is keen
on
having a lasting solution to the Zimbabwean crisis and is averse to
half-baked methods that may be employed on the roadmap to achieving
this.
Sadc was clear on one thing namely that all reforms
spelt out in the Global
Political Agreement be implemented first before any
national elections are
held. One part to the GPA, Zanu PF might wish to
misinform Zimbabweans on
the outcome of that summit through dishonest and
political spin-doctoring
but the truth has already been
known.
But why is Zanu PF dishonest on an issue that is so
straightforward? The
answer lies in an undoubted truth namely that if the
next elections are held
after the GPA has been implemented according to its
letter and spirit, the
former ruling party, in power for over three decades,
will be swept off
Zimbabwe’s political landscape once for
all.
Not only will this be extremely humiliating to the strongmen who
have run
the country since the end of colonial rule in 1980 —and have
benefited
almost exclusively from the fruits of our independence — but it
may also
open the strongmen to litigation locally and/or at the hands of the
international justice system.
The sentences meted out to two
former African strongmen, Charles Taylor and
Hosni Mubarak, have set
precedents that must scare any African ruler who
may, for one reason or
another, find himself out of power. Taylor of Liberia
was sentenced to 50
years imprisonment for crimes against humanity by the
International Criminal
Court based at The Hague. He had supplied arms used
in the Sierra Leon civil
war using dirty diamonds money. Mubarak of Egypt
had allowed the massacre of
his own people during popular demonstrations
that eventually led to his
ouster. He was sentenced to life imprisonment by
Egyptian
courts.
Zimbabwean strongmen could also face the same fate
considering what they
have done to their own people in the last 30 years or
so. They don’t like
this to happen to them.
Many analysts have
said the Luanda summit spells the endgame for Mugabe and
his party. This
might well be so but this also means, before the final
whistle is blown, the
strongman and his party will put up a fight to the
finish.
There
is no incentive for Mugabe to accept what Sadc directed in Luanda. In
the
recent past, Mugabe has declared that he would not retire for the simple
reason that his party would crumble without him. Former ally Enos Nkala last
month reiterated this after his brief meeting with Mugabe at an airport in
Bulawayo. If his party collapses in the aftermath of his retirement, a fate
for him such as that of Taylor or Mubarak cannot be entirely ruled
out.
The fight to avert such an end has already started and has been
accentuated
after the Luanda summit. It is two-pronged: it is political and
military.
While the politicians are fighting to scupper the whole
constitution-making
process, the military are threatening to take over in
the event of a loss in
the elections.
By scuppering the
constitution-making process the politicians are banking on
Mugabe’s
constitutional right to dissolve parliament, after which he can
rule by
decree. He can call for elections under the old constitution,
thereafter,
which he will win by all means necessary such as the use of the
military
which has already declared its unwavering support.
After Luanda, it
is disheartening to see that the other two parties in the
GPA, have not
realised how advanced this Zanu PF strategy is and how it will
most
certainly pull the rug from under their feet. Reports in the media have
interestingly said Mugabe has been outfoxed by his main rival, MDC-T
president and Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, when the opposite
is almost certainly true.
While the MDCs are harping on the
importance of the constitution-making
process in the resolution of the
Zimbabwean crisis, Zanu PF is doing the
opposite. It knows that a new
constitution in itself is no guarantee to a
free and fair election. It knows
that a new constitution is only as good as
the institutions that support it,
and that is the strength of their
stratagem. Reverting to the old Lancaster
House constitution will keep
intact the institutions that have kept Zanu PF
in power all along. This is
what Zanu PF will force to happen hence they are
fighting the Copac-driven
process.
The MDCs, instead of
continuing to harp on the importance of the new
constitution, should focus
more on the reformation of the institutions that
have sustained Zanu PF
hegemony. They should steal a leaf from US President
Barack Obama’s book.
Addressing Ghanaians in the capital Accra on July 11
2009 Obama
said:
“In the 21st Century, capable, reliable and transparent
institutions are the
key to success — strong parliaments and honest police
forces; independent
judges and journalists; a vibrant private sector and
civil society. Those
are the things that give life to democracy, because
that is what matters in
peoples’ lives.”
He said Africa is in the hands
of the brave people prepared to stand up to
injustice. In Zimbabwe this can
only be done if people fight for strong
institutions that will act as checks
and balances to those in government.
“Make no mistake: history is on
the side of these brave Africans and not
with those who use coups or change
Constitutions to stay in power. Africa
doesn’t need strongmen, it needs
strong institutions,” Obama said, adding,
“each nation gives life to
democracy in its own way, and in line with its
own traditions. But history
offers a clear verdict: governments that respect
the will of their own
people are more prosperous, more stable and more
successful than governments
that do not.”
It is almost like the MDCs will accept to go for an
election solely on the
basis of a new constitution when we all know that the
Zimbabwean crisis was
not a result of a constitutional crisis but of a
crisis of the constitution.
The constitution could not guarantee a transfer
of power in March 2008; a
new constitution can also be exploited in a
similar way. Therefore, any
election without institutional reforms will not
bring any change. Be warned!
BY NEVANJI MADANHIRE
